McLuhans Argument - Assignment Example

McLuhan’s Argument When McLuhan claimed that the medium is the message, he implied that the medium often conveyed social development thus influencing the changes in the society besides contributing to the social development. Marshall McLuhan provides numerous example referring to such major inventions as the wheel and the book as major media that influenced numerous other changes in the society owing to the lessons people obtained from the unique inventions. McLuhan explains that the choice of the media helps provide a realistic view of the society thus enhancing successive inventions that cumulatively result in the social change (McLuhan 66). The invention of the print media is one major inventions of the 19th century that revolutionized the world. The media created an effective way of conveying messages thus contributing to the development of an informed society besides the provision of an effective platform for sustained research thus championing the technological development in the modern society. Newspapers provided for efficient ways of convening messages, the papers are cheaper but the printed messages invaluable. The introduction of newspapers and the successive improvements on the media did not only increase the efficiency of news access but also typified the technological changes in the society. Among the major social developments that arose from the invention and the popularization of newspaper was the development of journalism as a profession. Newspapers are the oldest news media. With the invention of cost effective ways of printing, man thought of ways of disseminating news thereby resulting in the creation of journalism. From the small special interest newspapers, the media industry has thus grown to become one of the greatest and equally important industries in the world today. The popularization of newspapers provided an effective way of sharing information throughout the world. Additional technological inventions arose from the development of newspapers thus resulting in the modern day newspapers. The modern day newspaper is an appropriate type of media that unlike popular beliefs will not die owing to the introduction and use of the digital media. Through successive improvements on the techniques of typing resulted in successive improvements on the efficiency of printing newspapers thus resulting in the modern day desktop printing press, which is easier and more cost effective than the earlier technologies. The development and the popularity of the newspaper thus validates McLuhan’s hypothesis that the medium is indeed the message. Newspapers just as with any other printed media provided for efficient ways of distributing news than the use of word of mouth. Journalists would distribute their newspapers throughout the nigh a feature that made newspapers reliable sources of news. Additionally, newspapers provide physical evidence thus acting as references for the future. As such, the newspapers began influencing other disciplines in the society including the operations of the judiciary and the dispensation of justice in the society. the fact that newspapers provided for ways of storing information thus enabling future references made newspapers evidence in court cases among other situations that required future referencing on particular news excerpts. Such features of both the media and the society thus naturally introduced journalistic ethics and morality. The fact that the distribution of fallacious information about individuals would result in numerous court cases that the plaintiffs would always present newspaper excerpts thus influenced the development of the discipline as journalists sought to make the profession ethical thus minimizing misinterpretations. Journalists in the modern society observe numerous ethical concerns and codes of conducts besides the effective training of journalists. Such a scenario validates the McLuhan’s explanation as the media influences the development of the society. Among the major features of the contemporary society is the presence of the internet. The internet succeeded in developing a global village. One in which every part of the world is accessible and thus heightening human interaction. This thus globalized news, journalists investigate for the newsworthiness of events before publishing their news. In the modern society, a newsworthy event in the United States for example will remain newsworthy in such far-flung parts of Asia as Japan and China. This thus influences the presentation of the news since the two publics should access the information at the same time. The internet thus provides an effective platform for such expansive dissemination of news contents. The development of the internet coupled with the increased accessibility of the internet in the modern society owing to the spread of smartphone among other mobile devices have thus revolutionized both journalism and news access. In Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, Clay Shirky argues that people continue to use their free time constructively in the modern society a feature that will revolutionize the world. His observation readily manifests itself in the development of different media in the modern society thus validating McLuhan’s explanation on the media. The development of the internet among other digital media for example provided effective platform for successive investigations, researches and development. Among such major developments was the invention of the social media a feature that proves the limitlessness of the internet. The numerous social networks in use in the modern society increased the number of people accessing the internet in different parts of the world thereby intensifying interactions in the modern society. This way, the use of social networks further influenced journalism thus compelling professional journalists to carry out their roles effectively. Currently, every media house in the world has a dedicated website through which they run their news concurrent to the print and broadcast channels. Websites provide appropriate platforms for the journalists to disseminate their information to a large audience group possibly throughout the world. Additionally, websites provide efficient platform for such media houses to break news. Unlike in traditional newspapers often circulated once a day, the website provides an efficient platform for the journalists to update developing stories continuously and conveying breaking news. This ensures that the media provide the latest news without waiting for the daily circulation of newspapers. Besides the dedicated websites, journalists and media houses currently have dedicated social media accounts. Every news channel currently has such social network accounts as Facebook, twitter and Instagram among many others. Through such platforms, the journalists and media houses interact with their audience thereby improving their circulations. Social media are creations of effective use of free time in the modern society just as Clay Shirky explained in his Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. The inventors of the different social networks developed such effective media owing to their dedicated investigation of the already existing media. As a computer programmer, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg carried out extensive research on computer programing thus succeeding in developing numerous computer programs and networks key among which is Facebook, one of the largest social networks in the modern society. Among the major contributions of the social networks in journalism is the creation of a concept known as citizen journalism. This refers to a situation in which the population distributes news in their personal social media accounts. The citizenry who for a long time was a consumer of news content is currently a major news source besides being an equally potential disseminator of the news. Through their personal social media accounts, people share the latest information on the events occurring in their regions. This way, they expedite the works of the professional journalists who easily investigate the efficacy of the claims thus running similar stories in their major channels. Media houses often obtain photos among other evidence of different newsworthy events from the populace by sharing the images people upload of the developing stories globally. While such provide for an increased and efficient source of information for journalists and media houses, it raise major concerns on the validity and the journalistic integrity that the populace employ since some of them runs unedited contents a practice that may have severe legal ramifications for professional journalists. In a summary, the development of the media industry in the modern social embodies Marshall McLuhan’s argument. The development of the media industry for example just as any other industry has developed progressively often portraying progressive improvements of particular features of the industry. Funnily, none of the media supplants the other, as the print media is currently rife and operational alongside the contemporary internet and the digital media. Work cited McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium Is the Massage. New York: Penguin Group, 1967. Print. Read More