Report on project in understanding new media. Prepared and published pursuant to a contract with the Office of Education, U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Cover title: Understanding media.

An assessment of the industry cluster approach as a tool for local economic development:the case of the new media industry in Birmingham

Industry cluster policies are a current trend in local economic development programmes and represent a major shift from traditional approaches. This trend has been coupled by an increasing interest in new media industry as a significant focus for regional development strategies. In England clusters and new media industry have therefore come to be seen as important tools in promoting local and regional economic development. This study aimed to ascertain the success of these policies. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the Birmingham new media industry was chosen for the study. In addition to an extensive review of the literature, semi-structured interviews were conducted with new media firms and Business Support Agencies (BSAs) offering programmes to promote the development of the new media industry cluster. The key findings of the thesis are that the concerns of new media industry when choosing their location do not conform to the industry cluster theory. Moreover, close proximity in geographical location of the industries does not mean there is collaboration and any costs saved as a result of close proximity to similar firms are at present seen as irrelevant because of the type of products they offer. Building trust between firms is the key in developing the new media industry cluster and the BSAs can act as a broker and provide neutral ground to develop it. The key policy recommendations are that new media industry is continually changing and research must continuously track and analyse cluster dynamics in order to be aware of emerging trends and future developments that can positively and negatively affect the cluster. Policy makers need to keep in mind that there is no uniform tool kit to foster the different sectors in cluster development. It is also important for them to be winning support and trust of new media firms since this is key in the success of the cluster. When cluster programs are introduced they must explain their benefits to industries more effectively in order to encourage them to participate in programmes. The general conclusions of the thesis are that clusters are a potentially important tool in local economic development policy and that the new media industry has a considerable growth potential. The kinds of relationships which cluster theory suggests develop between do not, as yet, appear to exist within the new media cluster. There are however, steps that the BSAs can take to encourage their development. Thus, the BSAs need to ensure that they establish an environment that enables growth of the industry.

Redefining 'media' using a 'media-as-a-constitutional-component' concept:an evaluation of the need for the European Court of Human Rights to alter its understanding of 'media' within a new media landscape

This paper considers the impact of new media on freedom of expression and media freedom within the context of the European Convention on Human Rights and European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence. Through comparative analysis of US jurisprudence and scholarship, this paper deals with the following three issues. First, it explores the traditional purpose of the media, and how media freedom, as opposed to freedom of expression, has been subject to privileged protection, within an ECHR context at least. Secondly, it considers the emergence of new media, and how it can be differentiated from the traditional media. Finally, it analyses the philosophical justifications for freedom of expression, and how they enable a workable definition of the media based upon the concept of the media-as-a-constitutional-component.

A seismic shift? An evaluation of the impact of new media on perceptions of freedom of expression and privacy

New media platforms have changed the media landscape forever, as they have altered our perceptions of the limits of communication, and reception of information. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp enable individuals to circumvent the traditional mass media, converging audience and producer to create millions of ‘citizen journalists’. This new breed of journalist uses these platforms as a way of, not only receiving news, but of instantaneously, and often spontaneously, expressing opinions and venting and sharing emotions, thoughts and feelings. They are liberated from cultural and physical restraints, such as time, space and location, and they are not constrained by factors that impact upon the traditional media, such as editorial control, owner or political bias or the pressures of generating commercial revenue. A consequence of the way in which these platforms have become ingrained within our social culture is that habits, conventions and social norms, that were once informal and transitory manifestations of social life, are now infused within their use. What were casual and ephemeral actions and/or acts of expression, such as conversing with friends or colleagues or swapping/displaying pictures, or exchanging thoughts that were once kept private, or maybe shared with a select few, have now become formalised and potentially permanent, on view for the world to see. Incidentally, ‘traditional’ journalists and media outlets are also utilising new media, as it allows them to react, and disseminate news, instantaneously, within a hyper-competitive marketplace. However, in a world where we are saturated, not only by citizen journalists, but by traditional media outlets, offering access to news and opinion twenty-four hours a day, via multiple new media platforms, there is increased pressure to ‘break’ news fast and first. This paper will argue that new media, and the culture and environment it has created, for citizen journalists, traditional journalists and the media generally, has altered our perceptions of the limits and boundaries of freedom of expression dramatically, and that the corollary to this seismic shift is the impact on the notion of privacy and private life. Consequently, this paper will examine what a reasonable expectation of privacy may now mean, in a new media world.

New media data to identify student training needs

The main objective is to exhibit how usage data from new media can be used to assess areas where students need more help in creating their ETDs. After attending this session, attendees will be able to use usage data from new media, in conjunction with traditional assessment data, to identify strengths and weaknesses in ETD training and resources. The burgeoning ETD program at Florida International University (FIU) has provided many opportunities to experiment with assessment strategies and new media. The usage statistics from YouTube and the ETD LibGuide revealed areas of strength and weakness in the training resources and the overall ETD training initiative. With the ability to assess these materials, they have been updated to better meet student needs. In addition to these assessment tools, there are opportunities to connect these statistics with data from a common error checklist, student feedback from ETD workshops, and final ETD submission surveys to create a full-fledged outcome based assessment program for the ETD initiative.

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC THROUGH NEWS MEDIA: CASE STUDIES OF NEWS LITERACY IN THE NEW MEDIA LANDSCAPE

Two decades of unprecedented changes in the media landscape have increased the complexity of informing the public through news media. With significant changes to the way the news industry does business and the way news consumers access this information, a new set of skills is being proposed as essential for today’s news consumer. News literacy is the use of critical thinking skills to assess the reliability and source of the information that people consume on a daily basis, as well as fostering self-awareness of personal news consumption habits and how it can create audience bias. The purpose of this study was to examine how adults experience the news in their everyday lives and to describe the nature of the news literacy skills people employ in their daily news consumption. This study purposefully selected four adults who have completed high school, and who regularly consume news information across a number of platforms, both traditional and digital. Two of the participants, one man and one woman, were over 50 years old. One other male participant was in his 30’s and the final participant, a young woman, was in her 20’s. They all utilized both traditional and digital media on a regular basis and all had differing skill levels when using social media for information. Their news experiences were documented by in-depth interviews and the completion of seven daily news logs. In their daily logs the participants differentiated news information from other information available on-line but the interviews revealed a contradiction between their intentions and their news consumption practices. All four participants had trouble distinguishing between news and opinion pieces in the news information realm. In addition all but one seemed unaware of their personal bias and any possible effect it was having on their news consumption. Further research should explore the benefits of an adult-centered news literacy curriculum on news consumers similar to the participants, and should examine the development of audience bias and its relationship to the daily exposure people have to the torrent of information that is available to them on a daily basis.

The music video in the new media: music as an integrated experience

"The Music Vidio in the New Media" is an exploration of the past, present and future of the music cullture. After the evaluation of the existing new media chanels I propose Virtual Reality as a potential media to experience the music. The project explores following terms and topics within them: New Media / New Media Channels and Virtual Reality (...)