The Extension of Radio - Quin McLane Blog post 4.
Earlier on in the course, Marshall McLuhan taught us about his theory on the human sensorium. His theory discusses the idea that a medium is an extension of a human sense or faculty. The primary example example of this being that a wheel is an extension of a foot. I think it is possible to use this theory in order to describe podcasting as an extension of the radio in a sense. The upbringing of the radio, a way to obtain information without being able to see them face to face has now developed into the podcast, something that you can listen too but also watch in order to gain the information. A possible conflict with the assertion i have made is also described by McLuhan when he talks about mediums such as print which favours the Eye. This tits the ratios in favour of the visual sense producing in human beings a perception of the world which is biased towards one sense which can create a sense of distortion. This means that people who listen to podcasts vs watch podcasts could potentially interoperate stories much differently. Although people will already obtain the things they hear differently regardless of the way they consume media, this aspect of multiple senses working together to create a picture can distort public opinion even deeper.
Do you believe podcasts stand alone as a brand new, different medium or do you think they can be described as an extension of the radio?
Hi Quin, I personally think that podcasts stand alone as a brand new different medium from radio but at the same time I believe that is an evolution of radio rather than an extension. The on-demand factor with podcasting strays from radio as well as having the option to watch podcasts which radio doesn't have. Although these two main aspects show how different podcasting is from radio, I can also see how the audio element stems from traditional radio. Overall, I would have to say that podcasting is a stand alone medium as it incorporates the audio element from radio but also modern day factors like video options and the on-demand aspect that we see on music streaming services. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Quin, Great post this week!
ReplyDeleteI believe that podcasts are simply an extension of radios and are heavily inspired by the radio medium, particularly radio talk shows. While podcast use a totally different method of sharing or "broadcasting" their content, the set up for a concept behind a podcast comes directly from radio shows of a few years prior. This is the set up of two friends or two people, gathered around the microphone chatting or being interviewed. From my perspective the only difference between the two is how the content is shared.