LESSON 2 IN MEDIA AND

INFORMATION LITERACY:
THE EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL TO
NEW MEDIA
AT THE END OF THIS LESSON, I CAN:
1. Identify traditional media and new media, and their
relationships.
2. Assess the type of media in the Philippines vis-à-vis
the normative theories of media.
3. Editorialize the roles and functions of media in
democratic society.
4. Search latest theory on information and media.
Over the years, media forms and the technology that
come with them have evolved dramatically. This display of
ingenuity is a testament of how media has been ingrained
in every human being's sensibility. Now take a look at this
picture. What do you think does it suggest?
THE MCLUHAN MANTRA

Marshall McLuhan, who is

famous for the phrase "the
medium is the message" and is
the proponent of the media
theory on technological
determinism, believed that
society is driven by changes in
media and communication
technology.
McLuhan (2007) explained
that society adapts to
advances in technology,
thus, changing cultural,
political, and even historical
aspects of that society.
The only thing constant and
inevitable is change. Thus, some
look at technology as an indication
of progress. Social change is
typically associated with
technological advancement. As
technology stabilizes, users and
consumers adapt their behavior to
the features and perceived benefits
of this technology, oftentimes
making people overly reliant to
technology.
The picture illustrates McLuhan's
(1962) view of the evolution of
media and communication
technology. The Internet is not
exactly an original concept but
rather a hybrid or derivative of
the older forms such as print
media, broadcast media, and film.
The mobile phones are built on
the old idea of telephony, and
smart phones and tablets, on the
idea of Internet and computer
technology.
HOT AND COLD MEDIA
“Hot" media refer to forms
requiring little involvement
from the audience and
examples include film and
television. They are hot
because, metaphorically
speaking, they cannot be
"touched" and thus the
experience is relatively
passive and static.
HOT AND COLD MEDIA
"Cool" media are those
with high-level user
interactivity, where the
experience is more
dynamic and the audience
is more involved. Media
forms that utilize
animation, such as video
games, or provide
participation, like online
MILESTONES IN MEDIA EVOLUTION
The three most significant
inventions in communication
would be the phonetic
alphabet, the printing
press, and the telegraph.
Each of them linked one
period to another. The most
recent forms of media carry
the features of the older
media.
There are four main periods
in the history of
communication. It begins
with the Tribal age where
hearing was the
predominant and most
valuable sense of reception.
Early human ancestors relied
heavily on their sense of
hearing to hunt for food and
to stay alert from danger.
The next period is the
literacy age where the
sense of sight was dominant.
If the tribal age was highly
acoustic, the literate age
was highly visual. This is
because of the invention of
the alphabet, allowing
humans to learn to read.
The printing press was
invented in the print age,
which meant mass-producing
written texts. Having more
copies of these texts gave
humans the liberty to read
them at their own pace and
to share them to others. With
a growing number of
produced and reproduced
reading materials came the
McLuhan's (1989) idea of the
"global village," a community
where everyone in the world is
interconnected through media,
was evident in the electronic
age. In this period, the telegraph
was invented which paved the
way to the invention of more
recent technologies such as the
telephone, television, mobile
phone, and the Internet.
The communication
technology at this time
led humans to instantly
connect to each other
even in great distances.
An example is when you
log on to play in an
online video game while
simultaneously chatting
with other players from
The electronic age is the
age of sound and tactile
sense of reception. An
example would be the
incorporation of touch
screens in smart phones,
tablets, and laptop
computers these days.
In addition to the media map of
history are two other time periods
not covered in McLuhan's
periodization. Also known as the
digital or new media age, this is
a time in human history where
everything relied heavily in the use
of computers to run major
industries. Information was utilized
based on personalized needs and
motivations. Global communication
and networking were enhanced.
Digital technology and
Internet become
pervasive, thus, pushing
the world to enter the
infrastructure age. A car
with global positioning
system built with it, a
railway system. which
runs digitally.
Simple appliances or
gadgets at home that
can be controlled using
the Internet are
examples of
infrastructures in this
age. There is more
involvement in the
cyberspace. Internet
CULTURE SHAPE TECHNOLOGY
According to Winston (1986), a
media scholar who advanced the
idea of cultural determinism,
society is still in control of
technology and the innovations
over time do not dictate how it
must adapt and function in relation
to these technologies. Technology
is a product of need and not the
other way around. If there is no
need for the technology, or it does
TRADITIONAL VS. NEW MEDIA
Traditional media are those forms
in the earlier periods of McLuhan's
media map. They are traditional
because of the specific
characteristics that they have and
functionalities that they offer. The
media experience is limited and the
sense receptors used are very
specific (ie., print media requires
sense of sight, radio requires sense
of hearing, and television and film
requires both)
With New media, the
experience is more
interactive. The audiences
are more involved and are
able to send feedback
simultaneously. New
media integrates all the
aspects of the traditional
media.
WHAT IS NEW ABOUT NEW MEDIA?

There are four main categories of

new media and all of them share
"certain channel similarities and
are approximately differentiated by
types of use, content, and context,"
according to McQuail.
1. Interpersonal
communication media.
Examples would be the
telephone, mobile phone,
and e-mail where "content is
private and perishable and
the relationship established
and reinforced may be more
important than the
2. Interactive
play media.
Video and
computer-based
games, plus virtual
reality devices
compose this
3. Information search media.
The Internet and the World Wide
Web become repositories or
sources of a vast collection of
information that can be
accessed real-time despite
geographical location.
Broadcast teletext and radio
data services are also examples.
Other means of information
storage and retrieval include the
4. Collective participatory
media.
This refers to the use of the
Internet for "sharing and
exchanging information, ideas,
and experiences and developing
active (computer-mediated)
personal relationships. New
media use expanded
opportunities for self-expression
especially among the youth
through Web logs, online forums,
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION AND
MEDIA
Media, whether traditional or new, has
a role to play in the proper functioning
of a democratic society such as the
Philippines. In order for a democratic
society to function in an ideal way,
media and communication must fulfill
its mandate. According to McNair,
1. inform citizens of what is happening around them (also
called the monitoring function)
2. educate the audience as to the meaning and significance
of the "facts":
3. provide a platform for public political discourse, facilitating
the formation of "public opinion" and feeding that opinion
back to the public from whence it came, [including] the
provision of space for the expression of dissent;
4. give publicity to governmental and political institutions
(known as the "watchdog" role of journalism); and
5. serve as a channel for the advocacy of political viewpoints.
MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT: A LOVE-HATE
RELATIONSHIP
The relationship of media and
government is oftentimes adversarial.
This is normal and healthy because
media, being a "watchdog." keeps
everything at bay. Before you can fully
understand the nature of the media in
the Philippines, familiarize yourself first
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF THE PRESS
Authoritarian
-All forms of communications are under the control of the
governing elite, authorities, or influential bureaucrats.
-Controlling the media is necessary to protect and prevent the
people from national threats through any form of
communication (information or news).
-The government has all the rights to restrict/censor any
sensitive issue from press to maintain peace and security in the
nation.
-Different types of censors include political censor, moral
censor, religious censor, military censor, and corporate censor.
Soviet Media
-The government undertakes or controls the total media and
communication to serve [and educate] working classes and
their interests.
-The state has the absolute power to control any media for the
benefits of the people.
-The state puts an end to private ownership of the press and
other media.
-Government media provides positive thoughts to create a
strong socialized society as well as providing information,
education, entertainment, motivation, and mobilization.
-The public is encouraged to give feedback which would be
able to create interests toward the media.
Libertarian
-Liberalism means information is knowledge and
knowledge is power.
-Libertarianism is free from any authority or any control
or censorship and is an idea of individualism and limited
government which is not harmful to another.
-The people are more than enough to find and judge
good ideas from bad [because] people are rational.
-The press should not restrict anything, even a negative
content may give knowledge and can help make better
decision during worst situations.
Social Responsibility
-Social responsibility should be reached by self-control, not
government intervention.
-View media ownership as a form of public trust or stewardship,
rather than as an unlimited private franchise.
-Media has obligations to society, and media ownership is a public
trust.
-Media should follow agreed codes of ethics and professional conduct.
-The government must not merely allow freedom; it must actively
promote it when necessary; therefore, the government should act to
protect the freedom of its citizens.
-Under some circumstances, the government may need to intervene
to safeguard public interest.