Charting The Digital Broadcasting Future

Embodies the collective efforts of numerous individuals in the TV industry, public interest community, & the general public. Includes a history of the Advisory Comm. on Public Interest Obligations of Digital TV Broad. (AC); an account of the genesis of digital TV; the AC's recommendations & supporting material; & individuals views of many AC Members. Appendixes: public interest programming & community service certification form; model voluntary code of conduct for digital TV broadcasters; statement of principles of radio & TV broadcasting; innovative approaches to public interest responsibilities; Exec. Order No. 13038 & Charter of the AC.

Provides recommendations on how the public interest obligations of television broadcasters should change with the arrival of digital television.

This volume presents timely discussions on how digital technology is reshaping broadcasting and the media in the United States and around the world. It features contributions from distinguished scholars and young researchers, representing work that spans domestic and international issues of technological change and the implications for broadcasting and related media in a global context. Among the many issues covered are: The impact of digital technology on the structure of broadcasting organizations and regulation; The nature of broadcast content or media programming and how it is delivered at home and abroad; Engagement and interaction of the public with broadcasting and social and mobile media; and The reshaping of revenue models for broadcasters and media organizations globally. The first two parts of the volume, addressing research challenges, issues, and advances in global broadcasting, are competitively reviewed research papers which were presented at the BEA2014 Research Symposium. The third part focuses on international perspectives, with chapters from broadcasting scholars and paper discussants at the Research Symposium. This section provides reflection on the problems and prospects for research, education, and public policy that arise in this era of rapid and continuing change. As a benchmark of the remarkable changes taking place in today’s media environment, the volume sets an agenda for future research on the implications of digital technology for broadcasting and broadcasting education.

Recent years have brought many changes to the world of mass media. The In ternet and mobile communications technology have provided consumers with interactive digital services. Television is catching up with this trend through the digitalization process. Digital television is a hybrid platform combining elements from classical analog television and the Internet, providing modern multimedia services on a familiar platform. In short, digital TV is a gateway to the world of interactive digital media. Digital TV brings consumers into the television service arena and offers them new degrees of freedom. However, as the service and multimedia content types diversify and the services and their content increase, television is facing many of the same challenges of complexity and information overflow faced by other digital media. Metadata can handle the diverse services and content of digital TV effi. ciently and in a consumer-friendly way. Metadata means that the data are accompanied by other data which describe them. As data about data, meta data can provide an insight into syntactically and semantically complex data by distilling their essence to a set of simple descriptors. Metadata also helps to structure and manage information in diverse settings. The use of metadata in broadcast multimedia should not be restricted to being merely a tool for coping with the challenges of a complex networked multimedia environment. Instead, metadata ofTers new opportunities for the development of innovative services.