Click on the image to get the readable pdf versionYeeap, you've guessed it, this week we're going to discuss about the media, focusing a bit more on its traditional forms, the newspaper, television and radio, but not forgetting its upcoming and new form, the Internet, as well.
As usual, I'd appreciate it if the article above is given a good read before proceeding on,to better understand my entry this week.
So after reading the article above, the first thing that came to my mind was what was Today's purpose of having a full, three-articled page dedicated to re-inforce the statement that "traditional" media, speficially MediaCorp's "traditional" media offerings, is still the first choice? In other words, what was Today's agenda?
Agenda Setting is defined as the media's ability through repeated news coverage, to raise the importance of an issue in the public's mind.
I think this page from Today is a pretty good example of the agenda setting function of the media.
Notice how all the articles put MediaCorp's media offerings in a good light? Every MediaCorp offering is repeatedly backed by figures from the creditable Nielsen Media Index.
Furthermore, each article aligns it's core point to the same issue: That traditional media is still relevant and the most widely accepted form of media. Skeptical of my claims? Let me pick two examples from the article to prove my point:
"Despite stiff competition,the latest Nielsen Media Index found that Today’s readership grew to 621,000, up from the590,000 recorded last year.In fact, over the past five years, Today, whose editorial tagline reads “We set youthinking” has seen its readership grow by 43 per cent." - This is from the left-most article.
"This continued dominance of traditional media — despite the appeal of cyberspace and cable television— has been once again borne out by the latest Nielsen MediaIndex 2008, released yesterday.
And MediaCorp, with its extensive offerings, has done well across a range of platforms, with Today emerging as the second most widely-read newspaper here andChannel NewsAsia the top television channel watched by PMEBs(professionals, managers, executives and businessmen) and those earning $5,000 or more"- This is from the 1st article on top.
Try finding other statements from the remaining two articles that support my claims, and you'll see a recurring and similar pattern.
So let's go back to my original question..what again is Today's agenda then?
One can only speculate, but I think, what Today is trying to do is not only to "champion" all of MediaCorp's traditional media offerings, but remind its readers of the pervasiveness and relevance of traditional media in spite of the rise of the Internet. If you'd let me indulge in some cynicism, I also think it's really not unlike a desperate move to try convince and re-capture readers who have substituted a big chunk of their meida consumption with the Internet.
However, I do agree somewhat that traditional media is still relevant and still play an important role in our daily lives; a lot of people still do read newspapers, a lot of us still consume productions shown by the local tv stations, and the radio is still listened to by many especially those who drive to their workplace. It's just that I feel traditional media may not neccessarily be the automatic first choice for a lot of us, now that the Internet has become so widely and easily accessible.
What do YOU think Today's agenda is? Do YOU believe that traditional media is still the first choice of our media consumption?
2 comments:
ya. true traditional media may retain its dominance. but we must keep in mind of the increasing rate of the decrease of the usage of such form of media. TODAY and mediacorp shows are high in dominance becos they are free of charge. they also somehow has a more extensive influence on singaporeans. more and more of the younger generation are referring to the net for news and entertainment. so i feel that that traditional media's no 1 spot is v v shaky.
yup..i think we share the same view peiyu =)
what they should be looking at should not just be the absolute figures accumulated to each media form, but more particularly at any increasing or decreasing trend with which each form is consumed. I don't exactly have the figures to substantiate it, but it'd be quite safe to say that there has been an increasing trend on the reliance of the Internet as a choice of media for many..
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