The Plan

Robert Rodriguez / TV Guide

A large group of people (including myself) thought that the growing trend of  "cable-cutting" was going to be the solution to the exorbitant prices of the cable companies pushing 100's of channels when you're only interested in a handful of them. We envisioned fantasies of  "À la carte TV"; "You pay for what you want. In a perfect world, you would be able to pick the channels you want from a list and pay a price based on your selections" (Fedewa, 2020). Sadly this isn't the case, and it isn't the cable companies to blame. While they do impose monopolies on access and significantly high subscription prices, the bundling of content comes down to deals made between providers and content copyright holders. This is evidenced by the rising cost of online subscriptions coupled with an increasing roster of channels (Fedewa, 2020). So, with this in mind, an updated plan of action would need to include a way for content holders to limit or minimize bundling of content to help drive customization options for "À la carte TV".

As radio continues to trend digitally, greater thought should be given to making the internet a utility. "The reality is, the public overwhelmingly agrees that broadband is essential and should be treated as a utility. A recent study from Consumer Reports found that eighty percent of people believe that broadband is as important as water and electricity" (Hizkias, 2021). As a utility, internet access would be mandatory for every household, at speeds that are appropriate for accessing content by today's standards. As we move closer and closer to a digital lifestyle, I feel that the trends already observed will continue to edge closer to a digital based radio media.

newspaperlinks.com

We've already seen this digital shift in print media. So many papers are available digitally now and some even format content specifically for mobile phones (Sonderman, 2014). While we make these changes to how the user consumes the content, the creation of content needs some assistance as well. While reporters take on the jobs of 3 or 4 people, workload can begin to be shifted to automation. "'Maybe a few years ago A.I. was this new shiny technology used by high tech companies, but now it’s actually becoming a necessity,' said Francesco Marconi, the head of research and development at The Journal. 'I think a lot of the tools in journalism will soon by powered by artificial intelligence'" (Peiser, 2019).

It won't just be journalism, though. There's a lot of content on the internet. Some day hopefully soon, A.I. will be able to compile a universal media search engine.

References

Fedewa, J. (2020, July 1). The à la carte TV dream died before it ever got off the ground. Retrieved from xda-developers: https://www.xda-developers.com/a-la-carte-tv-dream-dead-youtube-tv-sling-tv/

Peiser, J. (2019, February 5). The Rise of the Robot Reporter. Retrieved from NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/business/media/artificial-intelligence-journalism-robots.html

Sonderman, J. (2014, June 10). Mobile news presentation should be different from web or print. Retrieved from American Press Institute: https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/white-papers/mobile-news-presentation/

Venable, M., & Kirkpatrick, N. (2019, August 8). How to Cut Cable: Your Guide to Getting the Most From Streaming. Retrieved from TV Guide: https://www.tvguide.com/news/features/how-to-cut-cable-cord-cutting-guide-best-streaming-services/