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MEDIA USE & PRODUCTION DIARY

Rachel Hogg- s4289906

Introduction To Contemporary Media

Journalism is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as the collecting, writing, editing and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts. This definition, however is deeply flawed as it only really describes the traditional forms of media, or old media. Despite such attempts no true definition of modern journalism exists. This is due to journalisms constantly changing face making a definitive explanation of what journalism, media and communication entails impossible. As we moved into the 21st century, technology began evolving at a terrifying speed and with it so did journalism. This resulted in the proliferation of digital media. Suddenly convergent journalism provided journalists with the possibility to work and distribute content across several media platforms instead of only a set few and so New Media was born. Today using the internet to communicate information is becoming increasingly prominent to print and television. Journalisms shift from the traditional does have its implications and the digital movement has resulted in the complete altercation of societies relationship with media and in turn has endangered the future of traditional media.

Old Media & New Media

Old Media

Traditional media forms Developed in late 19th century, early 20th century Newspapers Magazines Radio Television Not easily portable Difficult to alter to personal tastes Generally more difficult to find

New Media

Online Media Developed in the 21st century Web 1.0/Web 2.0/Web 3.0 Social Media; Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger etc Focuses on allowing users to be mobile Makes everything about the individual and tailors the service to suit their needs Easily accessible

The aim of this assignment was to develop a diary logging how much time I spent using and producing media over a variety of different platforms during a period of ten days.
The resulting data provided a very detailed and comprehensive overview of my relationship with media in its traditional and modern forms and the role it plays in my everyday life. This allowed me to analyse and evaluate the regularities and irregularities of my habits and compare them with that of the rest of my cohort.

The main forms of media that I use on a daily basis

New Media:

Old Media:

Emailing
Social Networking Facebook Twitter Tumblr Blogger Web General surfing Reading online articles Watching videos on You Tube Watching television online

Radio
Print Newspapers Magazines Television News Comedy Drama Documentaries

Key
(ALL TIMES ARE RECORDED IN MINUTES)
Social Networking: F.BFacebook T.W- Twitter T.UTumblr B.LBlogger Web: G.S O.N Y.T O.TPrint: N.P M.ZGeneral Surfing Online News You Tube Online Television News Papers Magazines

Social Networking
F.B T.W T.U B.L

Emailing
G.S

Web
O. N Y.T O.T

Print
N.P M.Z News

Television
Docs Comedy Drama

Radio

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

2 0 6 0 2 0

10 0 10

0 0 1 0

30 0 20

0 10 10

30 15 0

0 0 5

0 5 20

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

30 30 30

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 0

0 0 5

Day 4
Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day

5 0
3 0 3 0 6 0 2 0 1 0 3

5
5 0 10 0 0 0

5
0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0

0
5 0 0 0 0 0

10
10 10 0 0 0 0

30
30 20 0 10 0 10

0
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

20
20 0 0 0 0 0

30
0 0 0 0 0 30

0
0 0 10 0 0 0

0
60 0 20 15 30 20

30
0 0 0 30 30 30

0
0 60 0 0 0 0

0
60 0 70 0 0 0

0
60 0 50 0 0 0

0
0 0 0 0 0 0

Social Emailing Networking

Web

Print

Television

Radio

Column Totals
120
120

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10
Row Totals

60
60 60

0
10 10

30
20 25

0
0 0

30
30 30

0
0 5

60
40 30 90 30 10

10
10 10 0 0 0

80
60 30 0 20 0

0
60 0 30 15 30

30
120 60 120 30 30

0
0 0 0 0 0

130 180 290 130 240 95 70

30

40

20

30

120

470

50

305

155

510

1495

Graph 1:
Amount of time spent on social networking sites.
70

60

50

Number Of Minutes

40 Social Networking F.B Social Networking T.W 30 Social Networking T.U Social Networking B.L

20

10

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 2:
Amount of time spent emailing.
12

10

Number Of Minutes

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 3: Amount of time spent on the web.

35 30

25

Number Of Minutes

20

Web G.S Web O.N Web Y.T

15

Web O.T

10

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 4:
Amount of time spent reading print sources.
70

60

50

Number Of Minutes

40 Print N.P Print M.Z

30

20

10

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 5:
Amount of time spent watching television.
80

70

60

Number Of Minutes

50 Television News 40 Television Docs Television Comedy Television Drama 30

20

10

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 5:
Amount of time spent listening to radio.
6

Number Of Minutes

0
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Graph 6: +140 The total amount of time spent on each media form.
120

100

Number Of Minutes

80

Social Networking Emailing Web Print

60

Television Radio

40

20

0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

Analysis
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Day 5 (Friday) Day 7 (Sunday) Day 4 (Thursday) Day 3/6 (Wednesday/Saturday) Day 1/2/10 (Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday) Day 8 (Monday) Day 9 (Tuesday)

290 mins 240 mins 180 mins - 130 mins - 120 mins 95 mins 70 mins

Most: Friday night and Sunday Thursday night Least: Saturday During the week; Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

From the data I can conclude that the amount of time I spend on media platforms every day depends entirely on when I have time available. Generally I watched television and spent time on the internet or social networking sites the most irregularly when I was at home relaxing on Friday night or Sunday and the days where I did not have university (Thursday). During the busy times of the week (Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) my media usage dropped considerably and formed a pattern of sorts.

Analysis
Most 1. 2. 3.

Social Networking 470 Minutes Television 510 Minutes Web 305 Minutes

Why: Because these platforms are easily accessible and portable. I can tailor what I read or watch to my interests as easily as flipping through television channels or performing a Google search. Least 1. 2. 2.

Radio 5 Minutes Emailing 50 Minutes Print 155 Minutes

Why: The highly specific nature of these media formats made it less accessible. When I emailed it was more for work purposes and when reading print media or listening to the radio, it was harder to find the things that interested in and doing so took more time.

Regularities
Social Networking
I went on Facebook more than I did any other social networking site, it was the only thing I checked every day because I had easy access from my IPad. When on Facebook usually I just look through my newsfeed and use chat and messaging to talk to my friends, and I rarely comment or make posts. My use of Twitter, Tumblr and Blogger was minimal in comparison. I would only go Twitter and Tumblr every few days and stay on for only a few minutes. Likewise the amount of time spent blogging decreased as the week progressed. I think that the reason behind these behaviors is that I am a lot more familiar with Facebook than I am with the other forms of social media. I have been using Facebook for years. As opposed to having Twitter, Tumblr and Blogger for only a few weeks now, therefore I am still trying to find my way around. As I become more comfortable with these new platforms, how often I use them will increase.

Regularities
Email
The data demonstrated that I only used email on days 2-6 and went on for only ten minutes each time. I feel this is due to emails being something I regularly check and reply to. So since I have been doing this so often for a number of years now, the process never takes any longer than 10 minutes.

Regularities
Web
I spent a fairly regular amount of time on YouTube within the ten days which was due to the fact that I usually only view videos by a select few YouTube personalities and each individual usually uploads videos at the same time every week. Additionally I only watched television online once a week for half an hour on Wednesdays. This is because at the moment I am only streaming one TV show, from the US and generally watch each weeks episode when it is released online.

Regularities
Television
During the week I dont watch any television that wasnt the news. I have always tried to restrict myself to just watching TV on the weekend. Therefore if I find a show or a movie that I want to watch, I will always tape it for later. The only regular television I do watch is the 30 minutes German News segment on SBS. I try to watch this every weekday whilst I eat my breakfast, as it not only gives me insight into global events but also allows me to develop my language skills.

Regularities
Print- Newspapers
Every weekend my father buys a newspaper and I always tend to have a look through it on a Sunday.

Irregularities
Social Networking Whilst I did go on Facebook every day, the amount of time I stayed on for was never consistent.
General Surfing Even though I tended to browse the internet after I got home every afternoon, I was never really looking for anything in particular. This meant that I would surf the internet for only 10 minutes on one day and 30 the next, depending on what I found. News articles The amount of time I spent reading news articles online was fairly irregular as it depended on me finding something good to read. Occasionally I stumble across an interesting piece but I never check any particular news sites habitually and usually rely on television, newspapers or magazines to find the story and will then research it online.

Irregularities
Radio I hardly ever listen to radio, as I only ever usually listen in the car and since starting University I have barley spent any time driving. Print- Magazines When I read magazines depends entirely on when my subscriptions arrive and so I have no regular pattern.

Conclusion & Analysis

In conclusion most of the aspects of my media usage are fairly regular and throughout my data various patterns or trends definitely emerged. This is not due to me scheduling my media use, but instead is just a result of habits developed over many years of media consumption. Even though I have general habits regarding media use, irregular independent factors also come into play. Whether I am able to find new and interesting subject matter, often results in varying amounts of time being spent on certain media forms.

Pie Chart 1: Old media consumption.

1%

23%

Print Television Radio

76%

Pie Chart 2: New media consumption.

37% Social Networking Emailing

Web
57%

6%

Pie Chart 3:
Old Media Vs. New Media Consumption.

New Media 45% Old Media 55%

Old Media Vs. New Media Usage Analysis

My new media usage only made the majority by 11% and most of this was from social networking. Most of my old media consumption came from television and surprisingly little was from print and radio.
I suppose this difference could be due to the most powerful tool at the disposal of social media being its portability. It is easy to carry the internet wherever I go, whereas it is more difficult to do the same with a magazine or newspaper. This means that social networking is incorporated in my life to an extent that is not possible with traditional media forms.

I compared the results of my media use diary to the results of the media use survey completed by my cohort and identified several similarities and differences between my relationship with media and that of the majority.

Comparison Table

Similarities Spends around 2-3 hours a day on internet. Spends the most time on social networking sites and general browsing. Dont use Tumblr, Twitter & Blogger very often. Didnt have Tumblr, Twitter & Blogger accounts before starting Journalism. Get most of their news from watching television.

Differences Dont own an IPhone - Perhaps influences how much time I spend social networking. Dont get any of my news from Facebook. I watch less than the average amount (1-2 hours) of television every day. Read more print journalism (Magazines + Newspapers)

Dont listen to a lot of radio.

Conclusion
Old Media Vs. New Media Debate

Through my personal relationship with media I have developed a greater understanding of how journalism works. This new look into my own behavior has cemented my stance on the Old Media vs. New Media debate. Previously, if asked, I would have claimed to have a definite preference for traditional media forms. Now I know that I actually spend very little time reading newspapers and magazines and that old media plays a much smaller role in my everyday life than I thought it did. Whilst I am still an advocate for keeping old media alive I have become more aware of the benefits of the digital revolution. Digital media plays a very important role in society today, and the constant improvements in technology provide almost limitless possibilities for expansion. Everyday the internet is becoming more and more accessible and easier to personalize, so really it is no wonder that this is providing a threat to the comparatively inflexible old media sources. I have decided to consider changing some of my habits and will start putting more energy into finding magazines, newspapers, radio stations and news and television programs in the future.
I feel that journalism has a promising future in which traditional media forms play a prominent role, however some adjustments will have to be made in order for old media to survive the digital age, as society is only becoming more and more reliant upon technology.

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Completing a Media Use and Production Diary has been a very interesting experience that has allowed me to reflect on how I consume media on a daily basis and made me more aware of the regularities and irregularities in my behavior. Before this assignment I had no idea that aspects of media use had such a regular pattern, it had just become inherent. I also didnt realize how big a part digital media played in my life, I couldn'tt believe how much time I managed to accumulate just from checking Facebook, watching a quick YouTube video or looking quickly through Twitter.