The phrase "knowledge is power" has been much used and abused. Expressions which have entered common currency like the "Information Superhighway" and the "information-rich" and "information-poor", show the value placed on access to information in our society. Education is an important tool of democracy because it gives people the power to think and act through the acquisition of knowledge and skills. So, how does increased knowledge of media aid democracy? What are the implications for democracy in new developments in technology?
New developments in technology are occurring at an immeasurable rate. Even before existing media forms find their way on to the formal curriculum, they they may be obsolete. An article in this newspaper recently posed questions about the demise of the print media. More newspapers are going online, and convergence between "old" and "new" media - as witnessed by the recent merger of US information giant Time Warner with the world's biggest Internet service provider, America Online - are likely to become more frequent. When one considers the number of subscribers/viewers/readers - from Time magazine to CNN - that both corporations have between them, complaints from Internet users about US corporate dominance of the web is understandable. So students should learn about "oligopolies" and why they can mean bad news for the consumer. If a few "super-companies" can deliver all our media services, from telephone to television, radio, news services, film and Internet, then choice and even cost can be completely out of the consumer's control. With little competition, we can expect less diversity of taste and opinion, greater reproduction of existing materials and less original production.
There are also implications for national sovereignty when the power of media conglomerates transcends borders. Business interests can dictate government policy; governments can find themselves powerless to intervene on behalf of the consumer when, for example, powerful satellite and cable companies outbid state television services for popular programmes, and then only make them available on a pay-per-view basis.
In Britain, media company BSkyB controls the payTV rights to 90 per cent of Hollywood's output, all Premier League matches and a range of popular American programmes such as Friends and ER. Recently, its efforts to buy into Manchester United became the subject of a monopoly inquiry in Britain.
Television has become a vital source of funding for the film industry: TV companies frequently buy the rights to films before they even go into production. This may interfere with the traditional time delay between cinema and television releases and damage a film's earning power at the box office.
It is increasingly important for students to learn about the concept of "public service broadcasting" and how it differs from its more commercial cousin. The much maligned TV licence fee, needed to fund RTE's operations, might be better appreciated as a result. State-subsidised television services must be maintained if ordinary consumers - and particularly the less well-off - are to be catered for. The need for public broadcasting services like RTE to produce imaginative and high-quality programmes is obvious. It is also imperative that they introduce digital terrestrial television to keep pace with their competitors.
Media convergence is the way of the future. All delivery systems (TV, computers, mobile phones) will be capable of delivering all media. The television as we know it is undergoing drastic change with the advent of digital and broadband ensuring vast numbers of channels and high-speed data transfer. Internet access is now possible from your TV set and there will be greater opportunities for interactivity. Mobile phones are no longer just a convenient way of keeping in contact but, with new WAP technology, the phone is becoming yet another delivery system for advertising and Internet services. A mobile phone is the ultimate fashion accessory for today's teenagers. Given teens' impressive spending power, the mobile makes them a potentially lucrative market for advertisers. Teenagers should be in a position to make informed choices.
The Internet is often viewed as a bastion of democracy. It is seen to offer great individual power, as it is largely unregulated. Media/broadcasting output, historically the preserve of a minority, is increasingly democratic when, in theory, anyone can be a "webcaster" via the Net . Hence, training in information and communication technologies are of the utmost importance. Through making programmes and other media products themselves, students realise the subjectivity and selectivity of the media. They can tell the difference between "news" and press releases from PR departments masquerading as news. They understand the media's power to set an agenda, to reinforce stereotypes, to ignore - and sometimes to defame.
