Slow media is a movement focusing on the pace of media production and consumption in the digital age. It advocates for alternative ways of making and using media that are more intentional, more enjoyable, longer lasting, better researched/written/designed, more ethical, and of higher quality overall. [1]
Slow Media developed in response to complex media formats and instant communication methods characteristic of digital culture, in which "high volumes of information are updated in real-time and are perpetually at your fingertips." [2] Supporters of Slow Media criticize the spheres in which media is produced, shared, and consumed for valuing immediacy and dramatic presentation, in order to attract attention and maximize audiences, over the substance and credibility of a work. [3]
Slow Media is a branch of the Slow movement, also known as Slow Living. Slow Media is closely related to the Slow Blogging, Slow Books, Slow Communication, Slow Journalism, Slow News, Slow Reading, and Slow television (Slow TV) movements, and sometimes used as a term encompassing all of these aspects.
The term "slow media" was spontaneously coined in many places by many people circa 2002-2009. Writers, reporters, filmmakers and commentators (including Arianna Huffington) promoted the concept of Slow Media in publications like The Atlantic, Forbes, Grantmakers in the Arts, Huffington Post, The Times of London, Prospect, Rocky Mountain News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, as well as in Facebook groups, a wide array of blogs, and elsewhere. [4]
Slow Media proponents take Slow Food as their model. "Like Slow Food, Slow Media are not about fast consumption but about choosing the ingredients mindfully and preparing them in a concentrated manner," wrote Benedikt Köhler, Sabria David and Jörg Blumtritt in the widely circulated "Slow Media Manifesto." [5] They said that Slow Media are not a rejection of speed and simultaneity in digital media but rather "an attitude and a way of making use them." [6] According to this manifesto, "It is because of the acceleration of multiple areas of life, that islands of deliberate slowness are made possible and essential for survival." [7]
Documentarist Gregory Coyes, taking inspiration from "indigenous sense of cinematic time and space", has promoted the concept of slow media for video production as means to "decolonize" media. To this end the Slow Media Community website provides guidance for creating content as well as hosts a library of still-frame, long-form videos focusing on the "real time of nature", and human culture. [8] [9]
Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.
A blog is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. In the 2000s, blogs were often the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject or topic. In the 2010s, "multi-author blogs" (MABs) emerged, featuring the writing of multiple authors and sometimes professionally edited. MABs from newspapers, other media outlets, universities, think tanks, advocacy groups, and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog traffic. The rise of Twitter and other "microblogging" systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into the news media. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze media messages, as well as create, reflect and take action—using the power of information and communication—to make a difference in the world. Media literacy applies to different types of media, and is seen as an important skill for work, life, and citizenship.
New media are communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for the influx of interactive CD-ROMs for entertainment and education. The new media technologies, sometimes known as Web 2.0, include a wide range of web-related communication tools such as blogs, wikis, online social networking, virtual worlds, and other social media platforms.
Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information. Courtney C. Radsch defines citizen journalism "as an alternative and activist form of news gathering and reporting that functions outside mainstream media institutions, often as a response to shortcomings in the professional journalistic field, that uses similar journalistic practices but is driven by different objectives and ideals and relies on alternative sources of legitimacy than traditional or mainstream journalism". Jay Rosen offers a simpler definition: "When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another." The underlying principle of citizen journalism is that ordinary people, not professional journalists, can be the main creators and distributors of news. Citizen journalism should not be confused with community journalism or civic journalism, both of which are practiced by professional journalists; collaborative journalism, which is the practice of professional and non-professional journalists working together; and social journalism, which denotes a digital publication with a hybrid of professional and non-professional journalism.
Alternative media are media sources that differ from established or dominant types of media in terms of their content, production, or distribution. Sometimes the term independent media is used as a synonym, indicating independence from large media corporations, but generally independent media is used to describe a different meaning around freedom of the press and independence from government control. Alternative media does not refer to a specific format and may be inclusive of print, audio, film/video, online/digital and street art, among others. Some examples include the counter-culture zines of the 1960s, ethnic and indigenous media such as the First People's television network in Canada, and more recently online open publishing journalism sites such as Indymedia.
Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples of platforms utilized and examined include journalism and advertising. Mass communication, unlike interpersonal communication and organizational communication, focuses on particular resources transmitting information to numerous receivers. The study of mass communication is chiefly concerned with how the content and information that is being mass communicated persuades or affects the behavior, attitude, opinion, or emotion of people receiving the information.
The slow movement is a cultural initiative that advocates for a reduction in the pace of modern life, encouraging individuals to embrace a more thoughtful and deliberate approach to their daily activities.
Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists and the public.
Citizen media is content produced by private citizens who are not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.
Civic journalism is the idea of integrating journalism into the democratic process. The media not only informs the public, but it also works towards engaging citizens and creating public debate. The civic journalism movement is an attempt to abandon the notion that journalists and their audiences are spectators in political and social processes. In its place, the civic journalism movement seeks to treat readers and community members as participants.
Jay Rosen is an associate professor of journalism at New York University. He is a contributor to De Correspondent and a member of the George Foster Peabody Awards Board of Directors.
Participatory media is communication media where the audience can play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating content. Citizen / participatory journalism, citizen media, empowerment journalism and democratic media are related principles.
An online newspaper is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical.
Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital journalism is debated by scholars; however, the primary product of journalism, which is news and features on current affairs, is presented solely or in combination as text, audio, video, or some interactive forms like storytelling stories or newsgames, and disseminated through digital media technology.
Mediatization is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, including politics, business, culture, entertainment, sport, religion, or education. Mediatization is a process of change or a trend, similar to globalization and modernization, where the mass media integrates into other sectors of the society. Political actors, opinion makers, business organizations, civil society organizations, and others have to adapt their communication methods to a form that suits the needs and preferences of the mass media. Any person or organization wanting to spread messages to a larger audience have to adapt their messages and communication style to make it attractive for the mass media.
Canadian online media is content aimed at a Canadian audience through the medium of the Internet. Presently, online media can be accessed by computers, smart-phones, gaming consoles, Smart TVs, MP3 players, and tablets. The characteristics of Canadian online media are strongly shaped by the Canadian communications industry, even though their statistics and findings are more often than not associated with American research. Large media companies are increasingly on the move to start up online platforms for news and television content. The exponential growth of Canadians' dependency on online content for entertainment and information has been evident in the recent decades. However, it has proven slow for Canadian online media to catch up with the constant increase of American online media. Regardless of medium, entertainment and information hubs are not solely focusing on satisfying the audience they have, but are also heavily expanding their reach to new global audiences.
Media consumption or media diet is the sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. It includes activities such as interacting with new media, reading books and magazines, watching television and film, and listening to radio. An active media consumer must have the capacity for skepticism, judgement, free thinking, questioning, and understanding. Media consumption is to maximize the interests of consumers.
Slow journalism is a news subculture borne out of the frustration at the quality of journalism from the mainstream press. A continuation from the larger slow movement, slow journalism shares the same values as other slow-movement subsets in its efforts to produce a good, clean, and fair product. The principles of slow journalism can be defined by the content, the working processes, or the specific relationships with its audience, all of which follow the core mindset of social responsibility of the outlet, less so on profit, which sets it apart from other forms of journalism. At the same time slow journalism shares similarities and has been associated with such forms of journalism like long-form journalism, literary journalism, narrative journalism, and new journalism. Researchers have noted, that the concept is vague and not easily definable. Specialist titles have emerged around the world and proclaim to be antidotes to a mainstream media that is "filled to the brim with reprinted press releases, kneejerk punditry, advertorial nonsense and 'churnalism'". Instead, slow journalism tends to focus on long reports and in-depth investigations.
Multimedia journalism is the practice of contemporary journalism that distributes news content either using two or more media formats via the Internet, or disseminating news report via multiple media platforms. First time published as a combination of the mediums by Canadian media mogul, journalist and artist, Good Fridae Mattas in 2003. It is inseparably related to the media convergence of communication technologies, business integration of news industries, and editorial strategies of newsroom management.