Transversality VS. Framing

Framing versus Transversality 

I find this week's theories a little confusing and abstract. For people who has not studied media ecologies or this course, they might not have heard of the terms  'Transversality' and 'Framing' used together as, neither did I before this week.

As technology advances, our technological footprint consequently enlarges. There are more assemblages and divergence between multiple media platforms, which in turn create new ways of doing things, and essentially, change our mentality, behaviour and perceptions towards old and new technologies. According to Murphie (2006), such change in attitudes and actions is known as 'transversality', in which the divergence or convergence of platforms result in dismantling or the gathering of elements. In other words, transversality is to grasp as much from infinity as we can.

On the other hand, 'framing' refers to the basic foundation and influences from the world in which our perceptions, beliefs and attitudes are formed and gathered (Cola and Prario 2012, p. 188). From our daily media consumption, our minds are 'framed' to behave, react and perceive a certain way, either leaning towards or extremely against the stance as portrayed in the media. As a result, our social behaviour, memory and protention is simultaneously influencing and influenced by the process of 'framing'. In short, framing is to reject infinity as much as we can in favour of what are known (Murphie 2006).

Being my skeptical (sometimes even cynical) self, I can't help but wonder: So what's so special about the formation of our behaviours and perceptions, as well as their subsequent alterations?

Scholars like to use these theories to explain the transformations happening in the media sphere. One example is the change in the music industry, where traditional CDs are no longer popular as free (often pirated) music is made available with the advancement of peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing, well connected networks and piracy. Does that mean the music industry is dying or more alive than ever? Neither. With the robust sharing capability and people's desire for easily accessible and up-to-date music, the industry needs to adapt to the needs of the customers and find new, legitimate ways that satisfy all parties with a vested interest, in order to sell music online. Yet the industry is not more alive than ever because it has failed to transform their operational modes to the current trends. Suing Kim Dotcom's MegaUpload for 'illegal user content' and raiding various music sharing sites is not a solution. The roots of the problem are their ancient business model and most importantly, the outdated version of the copyright law. There are numerous opportunities in the new era, it all depends on the company itself and its capability to change. Think Spotify and Rdio, online services which allow unlimited streaming of legal music with a fixed premium every month. A new service called Megabox was also introduced by Kim Dotcom to compete with music streaming rivals, and it boasted to allow artists to keep 90 per cent of the profits earned from their music (2012). As we can see, through the process of transversallity, pre-established frameworks (revenues through traditional distribution channels such as selling CDs) have been challenged, changed and diminished by a new technology and hence, users' behaviours.

Another example is the assemblage and convergence between printed books and the online platform, which created hybrid books, e-books and e-magazines. Through such transversality process, the pre-established platform of printed books has been somewhat diminished, there are more and more publications have axed their printed books production and moved their production to digital platforms. Think Newsweek magazines, which has been printing for 79 years (Saba and Lauria 2012), and the complete shutdown of the Australian Grazia magazine, as well as the recent announcement to cut the Australian Madison magazine (mUmBREALLA 2013). It is clear that these changes are done in response to the rising popularity of iPads and tablets, combined with the effects of a bad economy, which consequently result in a sharp decrease in readers of print-based media and decline in their revenues. The media has the power to 'frame' their readers into perceiving and believing what is true and what's not. In saying so, they should be held partially responsible for the Domino effects of printed publications. To me, how transversality works in the real world is not as ideal as depicted in the theory. It is especially saddening when the media has failed to figure out a sustainable model to keep both its traditional ways and to cater for those new tablets demands. Because ultimately, the experience and satisfaction from reading printed books will never be the same as e-books. I wonder if our future generations will be able to witness or experience printed books at all?

Transversality and framing take place on a daily basis. But the way institutions and individuals tackle the associated problems, is the key issue. At the end of the day, it all comes down to one question: How much are we willing to sacrifice for the advancement of technology?

Word: Data (given in lecture 6)


Reference:

Cola, M. and Prario, B. 2012, 'New ways of consumption: the audiences of public service media in Italy and Switzerland', Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 34 (2), March, p. 181-194, accessed 24 April 2013, from SAGE Journals.

Murphie, A. 2006, ‘Editorial’, The Fibreculture Journal, Issue. 9, accessed 26 April 2013, < http://nine.fibreculturejournal.org/ >

(No name) 2012 'Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom announces music streaming service', News.com.au, June 25, accessed 24 April 2013, <http://www.news.com.au/technology/kim-dotcom-says-megabox-is-still-coming/story-e6frfro0-1226407676843#ixzz2RXLXnrr5http://www.news.com.au/technology/kim-dotcom-says-megabox-is-still-coming/story-e6frfro0-1226407676843#ixzz2RXLKLPgP>.

Saba, J. and Lauria, P. 2012, 'After 79 years in print, Newsweek goes digital only', 18 October, accessed 24 April 2013, <http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/us-newsweek-digital-idUSBRE89H0L020121018>.

mUmBREALLA 2013, 'Bauer to close Madison magazine', mUmBREALLA, 3 April,  accessed 26 April 2013, <http://mumbrella.com.au/bauer-to-close-madison-magazine-148778>.