Term Project: The Evolution of Broadcast Graphics

The following link will take you to my final term project for Evolutions and Trends in Digital Media. I’ve attempted to take an in-depth look at the history of television graphics and how they help viewers process information when watching news, sports and weather programming. It is my belief that broadcast graphics not only grab the attention of the viewer, but also hold that attention and help the viewer understand complex information visually. Please read on to learn more.

Broadcast Graphics: Influencing how viewers process television news

The following slide presentation is for my final presentation in Evolutions & Trends in Digital Media.

Extra credit reflection: Is IM really taking the place of email?

Remember when email was considered the fastest way to send messages and documents via the internet? That was the case in the early 1990s, when individuals and businesses really started using electronic mail as a way to communicate and share information over long distances. Since then, other technologies, such as Instant Messaging have come along that allow users to share digitally over the internet as well. But what are the chances that IM could replace email as the preferred method in which people, and businesses, swap messages and documentation?

There’s more than one way to remove a band-aide

When the class decided, a month or so ago, to structure the Discussion Leader presentations as small group discussions repeated several times as opposed to one presentation to the whole class, I wasn’t too happy. When it comes to public speaking, I’ve always held to the belief that you get up there, power through it and get it over with. It’s kind of like removing a band-aide; you rip it off in one swipe rather than peeling it off carefully and prolonging the pain. Well, I’m happy to report, that removing this band-aide didn’t hurt one bit.

Takeout TV: The factors that lead to consumer adoption

In the United States, mobile TV has yet to become a technology embraced by consumers. There are services out there that allow the streaming of live content to mobile devices, but consumers have been reluctant to invest their time and money in order to watch their favorite programs while riding the bus to work. South Korea, however, is a different story. In 2005 the country launched mobile TV with its Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) service. A year later, over a million Korean people subscribed to mobile TV.

Blame it on broadcast media

Since the television became a common appliance in the homes of most Americans, it has had a huge influence on our lives. It babysits our children, entertains us during and after meals, informs us of catastrophes and breaking news and keeps us company when we can’t sleep at night. But just how responsible is broadcast media for shaping our opinions and influencing important decisions that effect our social and professional lives? Ben H. Bagdikian (1997), in the afterword of the book The Media Monopoly, believes that mass media, and particularly television, is one of the most influential factors on American society; even more so than parents, schools or religion. He believes that the commercial force that guides broadcast programming is so influential that it borders on dangerous as is exposes children and adults to high levels of violence, sways voters’ opinions and drives economical decisions.

Broadcast Graphics: A theoretical framework

The use of graphics, animation and special effects in television programming has become commonplace, even in broadcasts with low budget constraints. Broadcast graphics not only add to the entertainment and enjoyment facets of television viewing, they provide visual accompaniment to informational content such as news, sports and weather that improve the viewer’s understanding of complex content. The purpose of my project is to examine how advancements in broadcast graphics and animation technology have changed the way in which viewers process information and entertainment they receive from television programming.

Preliminary Annotated Bibliography

Mass Media: Political watch dog or corporate stooge?

Over the years the press has always stood behind the concept that the public deserves to know the truth about what goes on in the political process. Truth about the issues and about those who represent them. Journalists have taken oaths to uncover the truth no matter how deep they have to dig and who they have to discredit in order to find it. But how sure can the general public be about the objectivity of said journalists when their employers are corporate giants who have millions of dollars invested in the commercial and political arena?

Review: The Victorian Internet – SMS for the Nineteenth Century

Have you ever seen a teenager furiously tapping away with his thumbs at the keys of his phone? Have you ever admired or even envied the dexterity and skill with which he manipulates the device to push out message after message to his friends describing his whereabouts and eating habits? Or been confused and fascinated by the seemingly complex cryptography he uses to encode such information? Okay, me neither, but there was a time when operators of similar devices were not only held in high regard, but were paid handsomely to perform such duties. Telegraph operators, according to Tom Standage in his book The Victorian Internet: The remarkable story of the telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s On-line Pioneers, were the nineteenth century’s version of on-line communicators using a vast network and sophisticated language to relay information instantly over long distances.