image, a shape, or audio (words, music, etc.). In other words, all forms of data can be digitised and conveyed through electronic mediums such as a computer or phone. The digital revolution presented the possibility of tying existing communication networks at different points, through which an incredible amount of digital information can be stored and distributed in a continuous and steadily increasing manner (1) . The digital revolution disrupted the means of traditional produc- tion and consumption, and many areas of our social life are now struc- tured around digital communications. It also led to the emergence of the so-called “information society”, by which information and com- munications technology represent to the digital age what machines represented to the Industrial Age (2) . In the same context, “digital glo- balisation” (3) emerged, which has made it easier to share information on culture, capital, and commodities on a global scale. Production and consumption were introduced into this society of networks, with digital media becoming central to global capital flows. The digital revolution and its technological applications had a profound and swift impact on the media environment. The combining of various methods and plat- forms gave rise to media outlets able to transmit content in many differ- ent forms (video, images, text, sound and visual and audio effects) that can be easily shared on the internet quickly and had a powerful impact. Many mass media outlets (both radio and television) have come to rely on digital media platforms, applications and social media sites (4) to pub- lish and broadcast their media content. (1) Fadel Mohamed Al-Badrani, Digital Media in the Era of News Flow (Beirut: al-Ma’aref Forum, 2017), p. 12. (2) Scott Brennen and Daniel Kreiss, “Digitalization and Digitization”, Culture Digitally , 18 September 2014, https://culturedigitally.org/2014/09/digitalization-and-digitization/ (accessed 25 September 2020). (3) For more on digital globalisation and its contexts, see: Robert Hassan, Media, Politics and the Network Society , translated by Basma Yaseen (Cairo: Arab Nile Group, 2010), p. 54. (4) Azzam Abu al-Hammam, “A Critical Review of Agenda-Setting Theory in the Context of a Digital Communications and Media Environment”, Lubab , Issue 7, (August 2020), pp. 164-165.
83
EN2.indd 83
20/02/2022 4:14 PM
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter