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The Media Society and the New Media Society 1 Jochen Hoffmann MKAD01

The Media Society and the New Media Society

Jochen Hoffmann Karlstad University Department of Media and Communication Studies Digital Media, Culture and Politics MKAD01 Autumn 2010 October 7th, 10:15–12:00 11B344

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Trends in Society

(based on Blumler/Kavanagh 1999)

 Modernization  Individualization  Secularization  Economization  Aestheticization  Rationalization  Mediatization

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Dominance of Media Logic?

Politics

Mass Media

Art Economy Science

Rules of the Public Sphere

Personalization? Currency? Negativism? Conflict?

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Media Society

 Increased range of media products  Specialization of media formats  Increased speed of media performances  Increased attention to media  Increased acceptance of public realities

(see Jarren/Donges 2002: 30-31)

Medial penetration

• f the whole society?

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Mediatization of Politics?

Politics Media Economics Decoupling

Economization Mediatization (Adaptation) Instrumentalization (Induction)

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Publicity everywhere?

 …the decoupling of media from politics.  Functional differentiated society !  … the economization of media.  Economical society !  … the adaption of politics to media logic.  Media Society !  … the instrumentalization of media by politics.  Political Society ! We observed…

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Digital Media

ANALOG Signal Continuous Discrete DIGITAL Signal

• lat. digitus = finger

expressed by 0/1 code

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What is Special about Digital Media?

 Storing of huge amounts of information  Easy access to information  Integration of multiple communication modes (text, graphic, sound, video)  Associative structure complements sequential structure of information (hypertext).  Simultaneously information storing and communicating  Supports both Push- and Pull-Strategies in communication management  High connectivity due to universal ”language” (TCP/IP)  Overcoming of time and space constraints (same or different time/place)  Applicable to both interpersonal and mass communication (1:1, 1:n, n:1, n:n)  Allows flexible switching between sender and recipient roles  And finally: If new media ought to be successful, they must not be new.

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A Reciprocal Model

Digital Media

effect use launch  Selection of technology?  Type of use?

• Intended use according to declared purpose
• Intended use not according to declared purpose
• Unintended use

Cumulative usage patterns Feedback loop

Producer Consumer

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The Transformation Hypothesis

„By using the Internet as a fundamental medium of communication and information-processing, business adopts the network as its

• rganizational form.“ (Castells 2001: 66)

Traditional Organization Network Enterprise New Technology

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Application to Politics

State Politics Public Public Interests Information

Traditional political communication as a linear process Political communication in the network society

„Open generative informational loops“ structured by „recursive governance“ Governance “refers to governing modes in which government is only one among several actors involved in governance. In this understanding, distinctions between, and within, public and private sectors become blurred such that governing mecha- nisms are no longer underpinned solely by the authority of the state but rely upon the interaction of multiple actors and their influence on each other. In these terms, governance is a multi- stakeholderprocess with actors drawn from market and civil society institutions as well as from government.” (Crozier 2007:3)

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Characteristics of Networks

 Autonomous elements  Loosely connected  Not enduring  Flexible scalability  Functional relations  Flat hierarchies  Self-organizing  Coordinating management  Representing ”modernism”  Diminishing organizational boundaries

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The Function of Structure: Boundary Enables Identity

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Organization Organization

Project Orientation Replaces Organizational Boundaries

Organization „Thus, the network enterprise is neither a network of enterprises nor an intra- firm, networked organization. Rather, it is a lean agency of economic activity, built around specific business projects (…): the network is the enterprise“

(Castells 2001: 67)

PROJECT

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Challenges for Network Enterprises

 Economies of Scale

Networks allow for a customization of products and services. Their unstable structure complies less with the need for standardization which is necessary to reduce production costs.

 Branding

The autonomy of its elements impedes the chances of network enterprises to develop an inimitable identity and a clear brand.

 Accountability

If self-organizing network structures fail to operate properly, it will become difficult to identify the source of the problem and the social position which can be held to account.

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Potential Effects of Communication Technologies on Hierarchies

Bottom Up Top Down Access Open access Restricted access to relevant information Information storage Transparency Information overload Skills Inhouse trainings on new technologies Digital divide Specialisation Reduction of formal hierarchies Emergence of informal hierarchies Permeability Overleaping of hierarchy levels Communication triage Internal Monitoring Traceable collaborative work Surveillance External Monitoring Countercheck management positions Violating privacy Outgoing information „Polyglot“ external communication Public relations monopoly Scope for development Use of creativity enabling software High regulation by use of digital templates

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Digital Media Technologies as a Social Tool

Digital media technologies have no inbuilt political bias:  neither towards the strengthening of hierarchies  nor towards more democracy at the workplace. It is up to the people who use technologies as a tool. From a normative point of view, organizations are successful, if digital media help them to find an appropriate balance between… Bottom-Up-Participation Top-Down-Leadership Challenging power structures Legitimizing power structures Individual freedom Organizational actionability Encouraging creativity Reliable standardization Enabling innovation Reliance on experience