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Jim Gaudino envisioned a ‘gathering’
of anyone interested in discussing the future of
the mass media.
That’s why Gaudino, dean
of the College of Communication and Information
at Kent State University, called together media
scholars, journalists
CCI Dean Jim Gaudino |
and students
to discuss the media’s ever-changing
audience. The discussion took place as part
of Kent State’s first MediaMindsets
Conference with the title, “Where is
my audience going?” The conference attracted
top media analysts |
such as Lauren Rich Fine of Merrill
Lynch, as well as scholars from around the Midwest
to participate in what Gaudino deemed, “a
discussion of issues that remain unresolved.”
To many, Gaudino’s definition
of such a discussion might seem vague. But as presenters
like Stan Wearden, director of Communication Studies
at Kent State, King Hill, marketing strategist for
DigiKnow, point out, the future of media depends
on so many variables it’s difficult talk about
it in a vacuum.
Discussion triggers more
questions
Some of these variables discussed
during the day-long conference included young people’s
preference of television or Web news to newspapers,
the development of new technologies and the increasingly
egocentric view of media users.
And, just as these discussions
tend to answer questions, they also raise more,
as audience members pointed out during the conference’s
conclusion. Many are asking whether the dependence
of new technology is isolating people.
Others questioned whether the tendency
to consume more than one medium at a time (i.e.
watching
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