New Technology and Changes in he Mass Media.
Conside a ions o Poli ical Scien is s
Miquel de MORAGAS
Uni e si a Au ònoma de Ba celona
Wo king Pape n.17
Ba celona 1990
The e a e nume ous poin s o con ac be ween Poli ical Science and mass
media s udies (1).
In ac , he i s s udies on he sociology o communica ion, (Be elson,
Laza s eld, Me on, MacPhee, Klappe , e c.) we e s udies applied o poli ical
phenomena, in pa icula elec o al phenomena.
The i s " unc ionalis " s udies on communica ion (Lasswell) we e also abou
he communica i e o ganisa ion o poli ical ins i u ions and o socie y.
This impo ance o "poli ics" is also e iden a he bi h o ano he o he
b anches o communica ion sciences: ha o he social psychology o pe suasion.
Au ho s like Ho land, Tcha ho ine, " a he s o he heo y o pe suasion" a e in ac
analys s o he communica i e beha iou o poli ics.
Mo eo e , we could e en say ha he sociology o cul u e, un il he i s signs
o comme cial ad e ising (Ba hes), also has one o i s main poin s o in e es in
poli ical pe suasion.
In any e en , he main ela ionships be ween poli ical sciences and
communica ion sciences ha e cen ed a ound he s udy o e ec s, a an ini ial s age
conside ing he mass media as gene a o s o immedia e e ec s on poli ical
beha iou , and la e on (Lang) (2), s udying he exis ing il e s be ween he mass
media and his beha iou .
Howe e , hings change apidly in communica ion. The main eason o his
pape , add essed o Poli ical Science expe s, is o analyse a change ha may
appea o be su p ising. I is no so much a ques ion o s udying he e ec s he mass
media ha e on socie y and poli ics, bu a he o s udying he e ec s he mass media
ecei e om he apid changes ha new echnology b ings o socie y.
We a e no saying ha he mass media no longe in luence socie y, we a e
saying, howe e , ha he mass media a e g adually becoming media o s,
non-independen agen s o social and poli ical dynamics.
In any e en , i is ue ha , pa icula ly when one wishes o s udy hei u u e,
i should be aken in o accoun ha he mass media a e a he same ime "in luenced"
by socie y and "in luences" on socie y, and ha makes hei p ospec i e analysis
pa icula ly di icul .
One hing appea s, howe e , o be unques ionable: in ecen yea s, as a
esul o echnological ans o ma ions and he wo ldwide expansion o he
communica ion indus y (3), he limi s o independence o he communica ion sec o
ha e become es ic ed. The de elopmen o communica ion is becoming g adually
condi ioned by ac o s ha hi he o clea ly had no hing o do wi h communica ion.
The "mass media" indus y's loss o independence
Communica ion, and in pa icula he new o ms o communica ion, depend
oday, mo e han e e , on he de elopmen o echnology and on he condi ions in
which i is in oduced; on he home consume ma ke 's abso p ion capaci y, bu e en
mo e on i s indus ial and mili a y applica ions, on he logic o he I+D p ocesses and
on he capaci y o he economy o make he in es men s p o i able.
The key concep is ha "social communica ion" no longe depends
exclusi ely on sociopoli ical ac o s, such as eedom o speech, o e en on
economic ac o s linked o he ma ke i sel , bu ha "social communica ion" begins o
depend hea ily on o he o ms o " ansmission o in o ma ion".
Take, o example, he case o he Spanish p og amme o esea ch and
ope a i i y o he sa elli e Hispasa , wi h an in es men o a ound 40,000 million p as,
designed o "o e some social communica ion se ices", bu de e mined by i s
p o i abili y o e and abo e i s con ibu ion o he "mass media".
The mass media ha e become a mo e and mo e limi ed pa o he mode n
communica ion business. The mass media sec o is an e e -smalle pe cen age o
he communica ion u no e . In 1987 his pe cen age was calcula ed a a me e 26%
(TABLE 1).
Inc ease in he "capaci y" o communica ion
One unques ionable ac o and one ha mus de e mine he de elopmen o
communica ion media in he coming yea s, is ha o he inc eased numbe o
communica ion "capaci ies".
This inc ease can be seen in he ollowing aspec s:
a- Inc ease in ep oduc ion "capaci y": wi h a g owing numbe o specialised
publica ions and wi h he appea ance o new possibili ies o a mo e independen kind
o own publishing.
b- Inc ease in audio isual p oduc ion "capaci y", wi h a g owing numbe o la ge
indus ialisa ion p ocesses, and o ama eu p oduc ion as well.
c- Inc ease in ansmission "capaci y", wi h he se ing up o new communica ion
channels, hanks o sa elli es, o he new cable ne wo ks and o main enance o he
e he ne wo ks.
d- Inc ease in da a-selec ing and p ocessing "capaci y", wi h all he new elema ic
p ocesses (4).
Impo ance o Communica ion Policies
These ac o s de e mine a change o emphasis, om poli ical communica ion
o Communica ion Policies.
In he 60s, 70s and e en 80s, nobody in Eu ope wan ed o hea abou
"Communica ion Policies". The libe al p inciples o democ acy demanded a single
p inciple: he bes law (policy) on communica ion was no o ha e one. The exis ence
o dic a o ial egimes, like F anco's, wi h i s "Spanish Doc ine o In o ma ion",
jus i ied his posi ion. The MacB ide epo , widely discussed by wes e n libe als, was
ecei ed as a h ea o he eedom o communica ion. Thi d-wo ld coun ies,
howe e , insis ed on he need o in oduce Communica ion Policies ha would
enable hem o comba hei own unde de elopmen .
We canno o ge , howe e , ha in he mean ime he coun ies in Eu ope,
and hei go e ning poli ical pa ies, con olled monopoly ele ision s a ions wi h
g ea poli ical and cul u al in luence. The e we e, in e ec , communica ion policies in
Eu ope. The sec e lay in he ac ha nobody wan ed o b ing hem in o poli ical
discussion.
A he end o he 80s, he idea o communica ion policy eappea ed explici ly
in Eu ope, as a poli ical deba e.
Communica ion policies unques ionably occu in poli ical li e, bu in pa icula
in he ield o de elopmen and indus ial compe i ion.
As has al eady been seen in he ansi ion in Spain o democ acy and in
Ca alonia o sel -go e nmen , and as we a e beginning o see in Eu opean poli ics,
poli ical ac o s (" egula ion" - "de egula ion" - " egula ion") occu equen ly in he
de elopmen o he communica ion sys em as a whole.
I we concen a e on he expe ience o Ca alonia, we ind ha
Communica ion Policies ha e an in luence on he se ing up o communica ion
channels. The policy o "de egula isa ion" does no di ec ly help o es ablish
communica ion channels o he communi ies ha do no all ei he wi hin a s a e
bo de o wi hin a ma ke bo de . Spanish Laws such as hose o P i a e Tele ision
and Telecommunica ions Planning (LOT), he mos impo an ac ions o he Spanish
Communica ion Policy, a e ac o s ha ha e a nega i e in luence on he de elopmen
o communica ion channels in Ca alonia.
The displacemen o poli ics by economics
Poli ics, howe e , will no longe be he only ac o capable o a ec ing he
de elopmen o he "mass media". Wo ldwide "mul imedia" companies, e en mo e
han poli ics, will be esponsible o he de elopmen o he "mass media" in
Ca alonia. Thei inancial and managemen capaci y, hei ma ke ing s a egy,
ag eemen s o me ge s, and e en s a egies o image and ad e ising will be ac o s
mo e likely o ha e an in luence han he poli ical s a egies o decisions o
" egula ion" o "p o ec ion" made by go e nmen s.
This mobili y is al eady e iden on he pages o he wo ld economic p ess,
which is mo e and mo e in e es ed in he change in owne ship o he "mass media".
In luence o e e yday li e on he "mass media"
Laza s eld's heo y on he " wo s ages o communica ion" is con i med in he
a ious condi ions o each s age in he de elopmen o he mass media.
The ac ion o he media inds a cons an il e in he condi ions o e e yday
li e. Al hough we mus acknowledge he e e -g owing in luence o he "mass media"
on he li e o he people, he possible e e se in luence, o e e yday li e on he mass
media, should ne e be o e looked.
So, o example, he Medi e anean na u e o ou cus oms and ou way o li e
will be obse ed in he e y de elopmen o he use o new media and may explain
ce ain de ia ions no o ecas by analys s in coun ies like F ance, Uni ed S a es o
Japan, ha a e mo e ad anced in he ield o elecommunica ions.
Analys s o communica ion, as i s echnology inc eases, should no o e look
he in luence o he ac o s ha a ec e e yday li e in gene al and, as a esul ,
communica ion beha iou : clima e, ime o ganisa ion, o ms o leisu e, housing, o ms
o own planning, all o which ha e a s ong in luence on he de elopmen , and on he
s abili y, o he o ms o social communica ion.

Changes in he channels and on ie s o communica ion
Wi h ega d o Ca alonia, i s language and i s cul u e, one o he main
changes in he communica ion sys em is he one ela ing o new channels o
communica ion.
The mos impo an inno a ion is he Go e nmen 's shi in he con ol o
some communica ion channels, he new mul ina ional ac i i y o p i a e en e p ise
and he se ing up o new ansna ional communica ion channels. This is he case o
he Eu opean audio isual channel, which in Ca alan socie y as a whole is seen as a
new channel o i s own.
In hese new condi ions, he main p oblem will be o be able o keep a
communica ion channel o i s own o Ca alonia in gene al.
I egula and unbalanced in oduc ion o new echnology
The communica ion sys em is oday being in e p e ed in a e y dis o ed
manne as a esul o he in luence ha he ad e ising campaigns p omo ing hem
a e ha ing on public opinion.
New echnology is g owing in an unbalanced and he e ogeneous way,
adap ing o he a ious economic and social condi ioning ac o s in each communi y.
TABLE 2 clea ly shows hese imbalances and he s uc u al condi ion ha he
a ious media o m among hemsel es. Jus as an in oduc o y example: he low
numbe o VCRs he e a e in I aly is only explained by he gene al s uc u e o i s
ele ision supply, among which is a la ge e he supply, concen a ed in he yea s o
p i a e ele ision expansion.
An analysis ha includes he hi d wo ld coun ies shows his imbalance e en
mo e clea ly.
New echnology is being in oduced in a e y di e en way om he way
he zian ele ision was in oduced, ha in ew yea s achie ed almos uni e sal
expansion (in all hose coun ies ha had elec ici y).
SOME SPECIFIC CHANGES FORECAST FOR THE PRESS (5)
Concen a ion o owne ship and ansna ionalisa ion
The e is likely o be economic consolida ion o a limi ed numbe o jou nalis ic
companies, ollowing a educ ion in he numbe o indi idual names and he end
owa ds monopoly o he p ess in i s espec i e sphe es, pa icula ly in he local and
dis ic p ess whe e i is becoming mo e and mo e di icul o wo names o exis side
by side.
"Mul imedia" logic (p ess- adio- ele ision-ad e ising) will be imposed on
p ess companies, and his will also lead o he p og essi e en y o in e na ional
capi al in o p ess companies.
Numbe o eade s a a s ands ill and an inc ease in in luence
The numbe o daily pape s pe 1000 inhabi an s in Ca alonia (cu en ly
be ween 80 o 90 pe 1000 inhabi an s) may s ay he same, below he a e age o he
Eu opean Communi y coun ies, bu wi hou inc easing, hanks o he expansion o
he gu e p ess, as is occu ing in England o Ge many.
This s ands ill may allow a limi ed expansion o he p ess in Ca alan, no only
by he appea ance o new dailies, bu also by ex ending he pages in Ca alan in he
cu en dailies published in Spanish in Ca alonia.
The p ess will main ain a p og essi e social in luence and a la ge
income- e u n om ad e ising o p ess companies.
These companies ha e al eady seen hei p o i s in ad e ising inc ease
d ama ically, abo e all he o he media, including ele ision. In 1986 his income
eached 40.2%, while ele ision income was s ill e y a below ha o he p ess, a
23.7%. The inc ease in e enue om ad e ising in he p ess in ecen yea s has
been spec acula , wi h a jump om 39,000 million pese as in 1980 o 275,000 million
p as in 1988. All he o ecas s lead us o hink ha his income may s abilise, e en
a e he appea ance o p i a e ele ision s a ions.
Ad e ising is becoming a bigge and bigge pe cen age o he o al income
o newspape companies (275,000 million in ad e ising compa ed o 140,000 million
in sales in 1988). The inancial ole o ad e ising in he p ess, in spi e o being
smalle han in he case o he audio isual media, s ill has su icien weigh o explain
i s edi o ial policies.
New o ms o he p ess
New echnology applied o he p ess, as o he communica ion media in
gene al, a ou wo appa en ly con adic o y mo emen s, one o cen alisa ion and
he o he o decen alisa ion.
On he one hand, he small media will become mo e nume ous, hanks o
easy access o own publishing, ha will a ou he specialised p ess, mainly ha o
companies and o ganisa ions. I is likely ha he e will a p og essi e di e si ica ion o
p in ing p oduc ion and he aboli ion o he adi ional bounda ies be ween he book
and he daily newspape .
Bu on he o he hand, he e will also be mo e long-dis ance publishing
p ocesses, a ou ing he la ge na ional o in e na ional daily newspape s, as is he
case o El País in Spain, o USA Today o he Financial Times on a wo ldwide scale.
Telema ic in o ma ion ansmission ( ideo ex ) will no be, s ic ly speaking, a
eplacemen o he con en ional p ess bu i will p o ide new selec i e means o
in o ma ion.
Easy eading
The g owing in luence o he audio isual media on people's pe cep ion habi s
will o ce newspape publishe s o come in o line wi h hem by designing new
newspape s. These changes will in ol e mo e g aphic and s a is ical ea men ,
adop ing new o ms o display, bu also educing o condensing he jou nalis ic
discou se, and likewise he cul u al and poli ical discou se, which a e mo e easily
educed o s e eo ypes.
IMMEDIATE CHANGES (1990) IN TELEVISION
He zian ele ision
1990 will see a g ea inc ease in he supply o ele ision in Ca alonia, ha
may ha e 9 majo e he TV ne wo ks, all o hem wi h mainly comme cial
p og amming.
S a e ele ision s a ions: TVE-1 (RTVE), TVE-2 (RTVE), TVE-3 (RTVE), TV-3
(CCRTV), Canal 33 (CCRTV), Canal 9 (RTVV-Valenciana)
P i a e ele ision s a ions: Tele 5, Canal Plus, An ena 3.
An inc ease in he numbe o ele ision ecep ion hou s pe pe son is
o ecas . This inc ease, ha mus be limi ed in he o e all a e age, may be signi ican
in he a e age o some sec o s o he popula ion. The cu en ele ision wa ching
ime in Spain (3.43 hou s pe pe son) may come close o he Ame ican a e age (4.15
hou s pe pe son).
This inc ease in he supply o ele ision and in compe i i eness will o ce
s a e ele ision s a ions (TVE and TV-3) o adap o he new condi ions o
p og amming (and o show p esen a ion) o p i a e ele ision s a ions. Be ween 1990
and 1995 he e will be s ong compe i ion and a educ ion in he le el o pene a ion
(audience) o he p esen s a e ele ision s a ions.
This will lead o g ea di icul ies o he expansion o educa ional ele ision
and o cul u al p og amming, ha will cas aside in his compe i i e p ocess.
Consolida ion o TV-3
TV-3's audience achie emen s up o 1989 occu ed in a e y unusual
si ua ion: duopoly (TVE-TV-3).
In 1988, his audience achie emen was accompanied by a pa allel success
in ad e ising e enue (15,059 million p as), ob aining 9.3% o he whole o he
ad e ising "cake" o ele ision in Spain (162,000 million p as).
In his pe iod also he e was a la ge inc ease in in es men s in ad e ising in
gene al in he "mass media" sec o (105,000 million p as in 1980 agains 684,000
million p as in 1988), and i s p og essi e in luence on he decisions ega ding con en
and p og amming.
I is di icul o o esee how he appea ance o p i a e TV s a ions will a ec
he TV-3 audience. Howe e , i is no easy o en isage an audience inc ease, bu
a he a consolida ion ha could be conside ed a comme cial success.
A subs an ial inc ease in ad e ising in es men s in ele ision as a whole is
also unlikely, and so he consolida ion o TV-3 will ha e o limi i sel o keeping he
9% sha e o ad e ising in es men in Spain.
Local ele ision
Local he zian ele ision in Ca alonia (a ound 100 b oadcas ing s a ions in
1988) (6) is unique a in e na ional le el. I , a e he appea ance o p i a e ele ision
s a ions, he p esen si ua ion o ole ance does no al e , hese expe imen s may
become es ablished, o ming he 10 h e he channel a ailable o he majo i y o
Table3

NOTES
(1) MORAGAS, Miquel de.: Sociología de la comunicación. III P opaganda Polí ica y Opinión Pública.
Ed. Gus a o Gili, Ba celona, 1985.
(2) LANG, K./G.E.: The mass Media and Vo ing, The F ee P ess, Glencoe, N.Y., 1955
(3) ZALLO, R.: Economia de la comunicación y de la cul u a. Akal/Comunicación, Mad id, 1989.
(4) MORAGAS, Miquel de: Espais de comunicació, Edicions 62, Ba celona, 1989
(5) The e e ence da a used we e p epa ed a he eques o he IEM o he Gene ali a o Ca alonia.
Fo u he in o ma ion, see Comunicación Social 1989/Tendencias. Annual Repo s o Fundesco,
Mad id, 1989.
(6) MORAGAS, Miquel de: Espais de comunicació, Edicions 62, Ba celona, 1989.