How media and the Internet make excellent bed-fellows

In many ways, the Internet has augmented the range of mass media we have at our disposal, rather than replacing any sections of it. For example, many people use the web every day to keep up with the latest world news, but it hasn’t replaced the need for newspapers. Although sales of daily papers are lower than they used to be, they’re still relatively healthy.

The worldwide web is also home to several sites which show movies and episodes of television shows, but it hasn’t replaced the role of TV in our modern lives. Having said that, there are serious concerns about the effects of downloading music via the Internet. Many of the world’s major record companies, as well as several high-profile stars, have gone public with their objections in recent months.

Using the web to generate interest in other forms of media

In one respect, the rise of the Internet has been particularly advantageous to other forms of media, and that’s in the field of advertising. When a major movie blockbuster is released, large sums of money are spent on persuading the public to go and see it. As well as using the television, newspapers and magazines to advertise it, the web is also a popular choice.

The media and the Internet can be either harmful or beneficial

The relationship between the media and the Internet remains a complicated one, with a degree of mutual self-help but also a modicum of one slowly destroying the other. Time will tell what will happen in the long run, but in the meantime it will be interesting to see how it develops.