Common Denominator Programs
Most Americans’ lives are dominated by television, although many young people today use online streaming services as their preferred media source. Until the 1970s, the majority of individuals on American television shows were Caucasian (Stanley, 2020). This affected the way individuals of other ethnicities perceived themselves and others. The few minorities who appeared on television tended to be stereotyped, showcasing the lack of ethics of the TV networks. This has affected the relationship between people and society in general. The history of television prior to the 1970s shows that large corporations had strong control over the content they showed to the viewers as they developed programming based on their perceptions of what should be seen by their audience. The common denominator in the case was the perception of the attention that the television show or program could generate from the users since broadcasting networks profited from advertisements shown in between breaks.
By definition, over-the-air television programs are programs transmitted from the broadcasting station to the user’s home television and controlled by corporations. This approach is the basis of the attention-selling model since television networks profit from the advertisement contracts they have. As Stanley (2020) stated, the common denominator of the programming was a result of traditional broadcast television in a previous age when three profit-driven corporate-owned networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC, appeared to have an unbreakable monopoly over daytime and primetime programming. Hence, if they can keep the users’ attention on their screens for a long time, they can generate more revenue.
Streaming and Social Media
With the increasing popularity of social media and online resources, the attention of corporations has shifted from adapting the attention-selling model on television to adapting it to online media. For example, unlike television, streaming services such as Netflix allow users to watch their preferred content at any time and watch the entire series simultaneously. Hence, these services use algorithms to collect data on user activities and offer them recommended content they will most likely enjoy.
Streaming and social media fare has changed the way advertisers and content producers generate content and revenues. Most streaming services offer their users to pay a monthly fee for their services, and they can freely select what content they can view or listen to, as opposed to television, where the content depends solely on the programming. Hence, the users have more freedom, and the companies that own the streaming services or social media are interested in keeping the attention of the users to ensure that they do not cancel their subscriptions. This allows for alleviating the issue of ethics, gender roles, and racial discrimination, which are common with broadcast television. With this approach, the company is less dependent on the advertisers, as most of these services do not show ads, but the management is interested in ensuring that the content on their platform is interesting and engaging for the people.
Television and Web Culture
Television, unlike the web, is regulated by the government, and the content aired there must comply with certain standards. For example, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which amended the Communications Act of 1934, was the first comprehensive update of US telecommunications legislation in more than sixty years (Stanley, 2020). The Act was a significant shift in American telecommunications law since it was the first time the Internet was incorporated into broadcasting and spectrum allocation. Moreover, Section 230 of this law grants immunity to the platforms, limiting the ability of the judges to impose control on them due to the content published by third parties.
In terms of culture, there are also substantial differences between television and the web. For one, self-regulation plays a major role in the Internet, as individuals can freely choose what to watch and when. In terms of the broader context of the relationship between society and the individual, people can choose content that is created by minority groups or that represents their beliefs and cultures. With television, there is limited control the viewer has over what they see and when.
Reference
Stanley, R. (2020). Making sense of the media. Penguin.