Virtually There

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in February 2015.

Folklore has it that when "The Great Train Robbery" was shown in 1903, some audience members pulled out their revolvers and shot up the screen. Unfamiliar with the idea of moving pictures, some folks didn't know how to react when an actor pointed a gun at them from the screen. So, just to be safe, they fired.

Hard to imagine what they would think of virtual reality, where people can experience a war zone or a historic event or a fictional world. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Create the VR version of "Avatar." What would the VR user want to experience in the Avatar world?

•Name a movie about a real-life event. What would you like to experience from that movie?

•What are some real-life adventures you would like to experience, but probably won't?

•Will this technology be good or bad for Hollywood? Why?

Stream My News, Please

Local TV news is an odd place: unusually good-looking people reading news scripts about events that are easily summed up in pictures. But is this form of news about to jump out of the box in our living rooms and onto our phones and tablets. This Reuters story indicates that streamed local news is growing.

Questions...

•How many of you have watched local TV news in the last week? How about in the last month?

•Why doesn't local TV news appeal to you?

•Would you watch it more if it was on a phone or tablet?

•How might streaming change the stories local news covers and the way it covers them?

•How can advertising be more targeted with streamed TV news than for conventional TV news?

Apple's Digital DJs

It has been a long time since live radio was considered trendy or cool. But maybe that is about to change. Apple has entered the streamed audio business with an old-fashioned idea: a live, DJ-driven music station, Beats 1. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•What is radio? Define it.

•In what ways you listen to the radio? How often?

•Do you listen to radio more on your phone than on a radio?

•Does Beats 1 sound appealing to you? Why?

•Are car radios obsolete? Why or why not?

The End of Broadcast TV?

This is a MediaNote Classic that was originally presented in Spring 2014. The Supreme Court case involving Aereo has been decided, but the issues surrounding the future of television continue to evolve.



Television--which people used to get through the air for free--has increasingly become dependent on "retransmission fees." These are costs paid by cable and satellite companies to networks and local TV stations which help to pay for programming. Retransmission fees are passed along to the viewer in their cable and satellite bills. The remaining small percentage of the population that continue to get TV through an antenna on their TV set continue to get their TV for free.

But a new startup, Aereo, may completely upend this system of TV economics. Aereo, which recently began its service in the New York area, charges subscribers $8 a month for HD broadcasts of local, over-the-air stations, which can be played on a smartphone, tablet or computer. The shows are then stored for the consumer on the internet (the cloud). The TV broadcasters insist that Aereo must pay a retransmission fee, as cable and satellite companies do. Aereo claims there service is simply another form of broadcast antenna and VCR, and therefore is not subject to retransmission fees.

The case is now being argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. If Aereo wins, Fox and Univision have pledged to end over-the-air broadcasts. Major League Baseball and the NFL have pledged to do the same. Some believe these are empty threats. But it could also mean the beginning of the end for free over-the-air television. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Does it matter if broadcast TV goes away? Why or why not?

•Is Aereo more like a cable company, or more like a private individual using an antenna and a VCR?

•How do you imagine the television world changing over the next 10 years?

•Is television becoming more important or less important in your life?