Converged media ratings: Towards a new method of measuring media use.

摘要

Without a doubt, the Internet is the defining medium of the 21 st century. In its brief existence, it has enabled people around the world to communicate, gather, and exchange information; build relationships and communities; express themselves; and explore in ways never possible before. Through these activities the Internet has impacted virtually every business sector from education, to healthcare, to mass media. In what is known as media convergence, traditional mass media combine with each other, as well as with Internet Communication Technologies (ICT), to create evolving hybrids of interactive new media. Whereas mass media technologies, business operations, and consumption habits are evolving, methods of measuring mass media use within this new convergent environment are not. The present study examines the construct of a new form of media ratings, Converged Media Ratings (CMR). The construct for CMR was derived from in-depth interviews with working media industry professionals knowledgeable of media ratings. CMR could potentially provide the only combined, or "all media" ratings report, elusive knowledge that is not presently available from traditional ratings system. However, CMR may also provide additional perspective concerning the nature of media use within the converged media environment, the "new media mix," and define the role of all mass media in this mix. The examination begins with a discussion of what media ratings are and why they are needed. The history of media ratings and the use of technology to gather media ratings at various points in history is also presented. A discussion of the literature related to media audiences, media use, and media ratings, and the processes of conducting in-depth interviews is presented. These interviews were the means of gathering current industry information concerning the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of current media ratings' systems. Lastly, a discussion of the results, findings, and recommendations is presented, and opportunities for continued research discussed.