An Australian's Take On the New Media

Let's hear it for blogs, the media of the people July 16, 2006 New laws will mean little to the real media owners at home, writes Mark Pesce. Ten years ago, the Government's proposed changes to media ownership laws might have seemed radical; today they look more like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. The huge influence of the mass media on the Australian audience has eroded as the internet makes its way into the vast majority of the nation's homes. In another decade, the phrase "mass media" will be viewed by almost everyone as quaintly historic, reflecting a bygone era. Although Communications Minister Helen Coonan's plan purports to offer more choice to the Australian consumer, we are already fairly drowning in choices - though few of them are coming through mass media outlets. Instead, we're experiencing a groundswell in blogs, wikis, podcasts, video-sharing websites and the like. The balance of power has shifted from the publishers and broadcasters, who have historically controlled the distribution of information and programs, to the audience. An empowered audience, just by sending out a few well-chosen emails, has become a nation of "personal broadcasters", where everyone distributes their works (or works by their friends, or works recommended by friends) just as easily as News Corporation or the Nine Network might. This people-powered revolution isn't just stealing eyeballs from the broadcasters and publishers, it's picking their pockets as well. Fairfax can't hold onto its profit centres in a world with eBay and craigslist, and Seven's audience won't resist the allure of Lost episodes distributed via Apple's iTunes Music Store. Media incumbents worry about holding their own against each other - and foreign buyers - but, in reality, each is fighting over the slices of a vanishing pie. Last week, the US reported its lowest ratings since the introduction of television half a century ago. Where's the audience? They're at home watching videos on YouTube, or the latest podcast of The Show with ZeFrank, or reading their friends' blogs. Or writing their blog. Or listening to some band's songs on MySpace. And here's an interesting point: the week that recorded the lowest TV ratings in US history was the same week in which News Corporation's MySpace became the most visited website in the US. Coincidence? Hardly. The meaning is clear: the audience is more interested in what they can find for themselves than anything a broadcaster or publisher might offer up. The audience is fragmenting - even the incumbents will grant this - but what they refuse to admit publicly is that the audience is leaving the mass media behind. Rupert Murdoch seems to understand this transformation better than most. His purchase of MySpace for nearly $1 billion seemed at the time to be little more than irrational exuberance. Today it looks a lot more like good value. Murdoch's biggest complaint (the anti-siphoning laws that keep Foxtel underfed and undersubscribed) have been exchanged for use-it-or-lose-it regulations that seem, on the surface, to be a win for Foxtel. But as the commercial broadcasters find themselves assaulted on all sides, they'll increasingly transform themselves into live broadcasters - in other words, sports broadcasters. The networks have always had a healthy appetite for sports: now it's the only area where the internet can't compete. It's inconceivable that the broadcasters will let any of that live programming go to waste. It's the only thing they can count on to get audiences in front of the telly. Ten years from now, after all the mergers, will anyone care that Australia's media markets have become even more concentrated? This is the great fear - that a lack of competition will stifle dissenting voices, and dim democracy. But (again in the US) we see the emergence of netroots political activism - liberal and conservative and everything in between - supplanting the mass politics of the mass media. The next federal election will see an Australian electorate going online to exchange political views on more websites and blogs than anyone can count. Is this the stifling of democracy or a return to its ideal form? Like it or not, the mass media has less power over the audience than ever before. Let them merge. It won't matter a bit. Mark Pesce is the founder of FutureSt, a Sydney media and technology consultancy. His blog is at blog.futurestreetconsulting.com