Television and Cable

Cable began to appear in mountainous areas and places that had tall buildings that blocked regular broadcast signals. By 1999 70 percent of homes in America had cable. Cable though began to decline when three big networks CBS, NBC, and ABC used every method they could to broadcast and took up 95% of the market. Competition also arose for cable when direct broadcast satellite systems became available to consumers. Satellite dishes offered a wireless cable type offer.

Today there are two types of cable; basic and premium. Basic cable includes average T.V networks like MTV,  CNN and Channel 2 Action News. Premium includes movie channels like Starz and HBO. Programming falls into two major categories Entertainment and Information. There are huge trends and outlets that have made a huge impact on television programming; talk-shows, game shows, reality television, even educational programs for children.

As cable grew there was a huge debate on what cable systems should carry in their cable packages. After years of court cases and going back and forth Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of  1996. Campbell states, "the act knocked down regulatory barriers in a number of areas, including the one that prevented phone companies, long–distance carriers, and cable operators from entering one another’s markets. While lawmakers believed the act would increase competition among cable providers, about 90 percent of communities in the United States still have no viable competition for the local cable company". Congress tries to do all in its power to avoid monopolies and make it a fair playing field.


Different viewing habits began to immerse. Third Screens refer to one viewing content on a computer like screen. Television and cinemas are the first and second screens. VCR's made way for DVD's etc which allowed consumers to watch shows on their time. Now we can watch T.V, movies, and listen to music on our smart phones, i Pads, and/or stream movies online.

Movies have a major impact on our lives today.  What I enjoy about movies is I get to step away from my life and escape reality. I can relate to the characters on film, go on an adventure, discover a new world, and even fall in love. Kennedy Dickson is credited for creating an early movie cinema. Dickson was Thomas Edison's assistant and when Edison began to see that the demand for movies was increasing he created the viatscope that showed longer films on better quality. Soon after that movies began to rise. They went from being 2 minutes to 2 hours. This new genre of movies and production created a new line of jobs and entertainment

The Big Six

•  Warner Brothers, 
• Paramount, 
• Twentieth Century Fox, 
• Universal, 
• Columbia Pictures, and
•  Walt Disney Studios

 The networks above account for more than 90 percent of the money earned from commercial films. Hollywood wants to provide  an experience. One that makes ones heart race, speaks to a wide audience, and help people share ideas about the world around them.

Changing Industry/ Reformations in Popular Music

Music is something so important in our culture today. There are so many types of genres, so many different emotions music can conjure up. Music can make you feel happy on your saddest day. It can make you push through a hard workout and make you run that extra mile. It can comfort you on your lowest day. It can remind you of your first love, first kiss, and even the day you say "I do". Music can deliver a powerful message or a negative message. All in all music evokes emotions and passion, its something so beautiful and dangerous all in one.

Music has come a long way. Today the music industry is about money. The radio came to existence in the 19th  century. It was used to deliver news, stories, and broadcast music. People loved music, music was something that made people feel good, but soon new technology was created and the radio station has to find a way to renovate its self so it could stay in the market. The radio station collaborated with the Record Label Industry. Now a lot of the music we hear are just catchy beats used to lure people in. A lot of artist's do not write their own music anymore. Music use to be about telling a story, but now when one goes in to this industry they have to be sexy, youthful, and do what the record label demands them to do. They aren't cultivated and given the chance to find out who they are, and what message they want to tell the world. They are told who they are and what message they "will" tell the world.

 Artists are constantly under pressure about releasing albums and making deadlines. It's all about how many CD's are bought when the album hits stores or iTunes. There have been so many changes in music with tapes,cd's, and videos. Now we can listen to music online and download whatever song we want whenever we want. I watched a documentary in class called "Before the Music Dies" and in this documentary there is a big difference between musicians from that past and now. Anyone can be an artist as long as they look the part. With "auto tune" a device that helps ones voice sound in tune, this technology can make anyone sound good. In a way this is frowned upon. Music use to be about the voice and expressing how you feel whether it be about your happiest day, or your worst hour. Music was seen as something sacred, something you had to be born with, something that was seen as pure talent.

Music is a form of communication. It is very important and makes up the American Culture. These stars, these musicians that we are hypnotized by are  doing their job and there is so much corruptness and controversy surrounding the music industry. Music is something that should be appreciated, there are so many people out their that want to sing from the soul and it becomes hard to do that when a person signs with a record label. So maybe these artists that have a hard time putting out their stories should put their foot down and say "I want to do it this way I have the talent". In the end it all comes down to one thing and that is money. It's not about hearing, but about seeing and people must learn not to become slaves to industries.

The video above is a rap written by 3 artists complaining about the music industry and how music isn't what it use to be. the lyrics are vulgar but it goes into comparison with what is going on with the music industry and radio.

The Publishing Industry is Falling into a Deep Hole!!!

Before this era of mass technology invading the world, people relied on hearing their news from the newspaper, from the publishing companies. It wasn't uncommon for someone to wake up, head to work, and grab a cup of coffee and then purchase a newspaper. Now people rely on their phones, I pads, and other devices to hear about the news that goes on in the world today. Also with this new era of social networking when a huge event happens one is already informed at times by someones status or blog due to sites like facebook,twitter, and even blogger.
Small publishing companies can no longer compete efficiently and effectively. Print revenues are plummeting and newspapers are beginning to seem pointless because they are now made available online. For major recycling  companies they see this as a way of society going green. We are cutting down less trees and letting nature grow and breathe once more.
The largest threat for advertising comes from online sites. People are spending more time on the internet and advertisers are finding new ways to reach them. For example Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Linked In, Youtube and so many more sites allows consumers to make profiles but on the right hand corner there is always an ad. Ad placement on social networking sites is also the next shock-wave!
There are adds everywhere and because people spend so much time online  its convenient for companies to put up these ads on popular sites so people are also able to see those adds and shop online if need be.
Publishing is made up of diverse groups including..

• Books 
• Dictionaries 
• Mailing Lists 
• Journals 
• Magazines 
• Business Media 
• Newspapers
• News Agencies etc.

Now not all of these groups are being hit hard. In fact some groups have renovated the way they now publish their ads and information. There is a huge decrease in sales of newspapers and  but some magazines have even go paperless and are now found online. 

This new technological era has its pros and cons, in the end consumers have to be ready for change and publishing companies need to find new ways of staying in the market by making renovations.