Article #1
This article initiated by scientists from Aalborg University, Denmark provides the reader with the information on the research of cross-media communication in advertising. The research was inspired by latter studies connected to this area. It focuses on the television commercial and the website as two separate advertisings connected with each other.
Three dimensions comprising announcements, participants, and address strategy were studied. Besides, authors have “examined multimodal connections between texts in terms of different degrees of similarity or dissimilarity between what is represented and how it is represented” (Jessen & Graakjaer, 2013, 451).
Finally, authors conclude that nowadays television advertising is an integral part of the entertainment. However, the main difference between the two concepts studied lies in a way of advertising. If a person perceives a television commercial by means of hearing and vision, the web advertising is associated only with visual contact.
Problem Statement
Through examining 80 television commercials and their declared websites, the study investigates how advertising communication is associated on a textual level. Precisely speaking, the article examines the influence of the television and Web advertisings on human perception. Thus, the article attempts to establish the importance and peculiarities of the topic.
Why did authors decide to choose this problem? I believe that the problem chosen is of great interest as for specialists as well as for an average person because it discloses rather interesting and actual problem and is easy to understand.
Research Questions
- RQ1: What is the difference between television advertising and its website?
- RQ2: How they connected to each other?
- RQ3: Who are participants in the research?
I believe that those questions were completely revealed in the body of the research. The relevance of this study is identified by problems of modern media and communication and, mainly, by the need to examine the representation of television commercials and websites commercials as well as by the need to address the problems of multimodal connections.
Methodology
Authors use a qualitative method of the research procedure to prove their point of view. They present a systematic description of what actually happens on TV and Web advertising.
The choice of the method seems justified as the research involves the collection of information in a free form; it focuses on the understanding, explanation, and interpretation of empirical data that is the source of speculation and productive ideas. Results of the described methodology are significant as they explain the data collection and findings in detail allowing the reader understand the suggested information easier.
Analysis
The study is explorative as it examines perspectives from advertising analysis and multimodal study and focuses on a sample of actual and observed examples (for instance, Danish YouSee Internet provider). Speaking of the procedural design advantages, the thing worth turning one’s attention to is the presence of illustrative material such as tables and drawings.
It is a convincing argument that the article comprises some proved data or statistics organized in an appropriate way. It is also should be noted that the article includes some disadvantages such as lack of comparing examples, or diachronic analysis.
The analysis of the data that was made by authors can be proved. It could not be easily argued and denied, as there is evidence of it being taken from credible sources. Therefore, the information presented in the article appears to be accurate and trustworthy. The article has a flow and is easy to comprehend.
In my opinion, the article is quite interesting and informative as people sometimes do not even think about how advertising affects them. In this case, I was interested in learning about the differences and similarities between the Internet and TV advertising. I believe that the study might be considerable and helpful as for scholars in their future researches as well as for usual readers.
Limited and Justifiable Conclusions
In the conclusion, authors pointed out the main trends and changes connected to the advertising research within the framework of multimodal analysis. Consequently, one may conclude that the goal desired by the authors was achieved because they provided a reader with the useful and comprehensible information. However, results of this study cannot be generalized, as authors did not examine plenty of samples.
Article #2
This article examines the evolution of the personal and the public in the mass media. Previously, in order to express their opinion on any subject, people wrote letters to the editor, but now one observes the opportunity of completely innovative online comments of various newspapers and magazines. So, one does not even need to leave his or her house to discuss a particular topic of interest with someone who can be anywhere in the world. Exploring this topic, authors come to the following conclusions:
- segregation into a communicative setting, linguistic realization, and topic contributes to the detailed issue investigation;
- online feedback is the most popular form comment in 2008;
- nowadays people write more about private than in 1985.
Problem Statement
According to Landert and Juckerto, the main purpose of the study was to “argue for a more differentiated view of public and private aspects of texts” (2011, 1432). The text of the letter both print and electronic plays an integral part of the whole message as it is the main visual tool used by readers. Authors made an attempt to determine the similarities and differences between the same newspaper comments 30 years ago and nowadays. Moreover, authors wanted to describe the main trends of electronic feedbacks.
Why did authors decide to choose this problem? I consider their preference is quite appropriate in order to show the importance of the communication with the reader and his opinion related to different issues that were raised in the newspaper. Moreover, authors conducted the research in a diachronic manner that allows readers to follow the development of initially print and then electronic feedback.
Research Questions
- RQ1: How customer’s letters to the editor changed over 30 years?
- RQ2: How three dimensions affect print and electronic media?
I consider research questions were helpful and played a considerable role in the study as due to them authors provide an innovative investigation in the field of media and communication. In my opinion, the research questions are relevant nowadays because they are based on modern problems of mass media communication and discover the key tendencies of it.
Methodology
The research compares letters to the editor of The Times in 1985 with those on The Times Online in 2008. The data from 1985 includes eight letters issued between November 30 and December 7, 1985. Readers comment one question – should tobacco advertisement be legalized or not.
As in the previous article, qualitative method of investigation was utilized here as it is more appropriate to use this method in the case of the description and comparison of the newspaper texts. Authors attempted to analyze previous researches and, relying on them, demonstrated and confirmed the promoted hypothesis. They described the work of scientists, data collection, and the topic as a whole.
Analysis
Authors carefully explain notions of “private” and “public” referring to the previous scholar works devoted to this topic. Thus, private is something hidden and pertains only to an individual (it might be spam e-mails or New Year greetings via e-mail) while public means something open, revealed, and accessible affecting the interests of a collective (for example, the website of a company and recreational online chat).
The trend is that many large and successful publications realizing modern realities bet on the development of the Internet. In spite the fact that print media market is highly competitive, it has to compete with other newspapers and magazines seeking advantage over the new media.
The interaction with the audience, in other words, feedback exchange is of great importance. The analysis of the data provided by authors can be proved as well. There is the evidence of it being taken from reliable sources; therefore, it could not be easily argued and denied.
I believe that it is significant to adjust the activity of the newspaper and to form the target audience loyalty (people like the situation when their opinion is taken into account). Internet resource provides unique possibilities for interaction with the audience.
Forums, blogs, feedback forms, surveys – this is not a complete list of the common forms of interaction with the audience, which are promising for the use by traditional print media. I consider the topic described is worth turning one’s attention as it contains modern issues of media and communication.
Limited and Justifiable Conclusions
In conclusion, it should be stressed that in the context of globalization, this sphere also moves forward. Therefore, people are witnessing a gradual transition of print media to its online analogue. It should be noted that comments on electronic newspapers and magazines, in particular, The Times, which has been analyzed in this article, becomes more private and informal than about 30 years ago.
References
Jessen, I. B., & Graakjaer, N. J. (2013). Cross-media communication in advertising: Exploring multimodal connections between television commercials and websites. Visual Communication, 12(4), 437-458.
Landert, D., & Jucker, A. H. (2011). Private and public in mass media communication: From letters to the editor to online commentaries. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(5), 1422-1434.