New technology and changes in the mass media : considerations for political scientists

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.