Are the media becoming more democratic?

Within the past few decades there has been a significant change which has occurred within aspects of the media. This change is due to the reason that people are gaining more access to the internet where they can share their first hand reports as well as their creativity.

A reason that the media could be said to be becoming more democratic is due to the vast range of fast moving technology available. In the past, to record materials and edit products required the use of very large, expensive devices which were only affordable for the large institutions. However, nowadays the inventions of digital convergence such as portable devices like mobile phones with cameras within the device, creates an efficient way of recording first hand materials. This creates an efficient way of recording materials which can be uploaded straight to the web and shared with consumers.

David Gauntlett suggests that the media is becoming more democratic due to the discovery of Web 2.0. Before Web 2.0, Web 1.0 was were only certain people could create websites as it was difficult to understand how to create websites which could be uploaded onto the worldwide web. However, due to the findings of  Web2.0 which discovered sites such as Youtube and Blogger, it is much easier for one to upload their reports onto the internet. However, it was found that only 8% of those who use sites like Youtube, actually upload videos onto the site.

Within the music industry, democracy has risen vastly as rather than one having to send their materials to the big institutions, upcoming artists simply just upload their materials onto sites such as Blogger and Youtube in order for people to listen to their music. Sites such as Facebook enable the uses of peer recommendation where peers share music with one another, which is in an advantage for the upcoming artists as their materials are recommended by their peers.

People recorded first hand reports on many things such as the riots and programmes such as Crimewatch encourage people to get their voices heard by sending in things they have been subject to or witnessed and recorded. There are many factors which have shown the media becoming democratic and examples of this have been shown in the recent years in particular.