Item 4-d

8. Discussion concepts: semiotic landscape (valuation of modes), genre change & audience expectations & iPad usability/ web design; multimodality.

iPad-only newspaper furthers media trend.

This article written by Trotter (2011), talks about the growing trend of newspaper on print screen versus the traditional newspaper. Ever since Rupert Murdoch's new iPad-only newspaper on 2 February indicates the transition of news from the traditional paper newspaper to the internet form newspaper. Here is a video from Youtube showing the newspaper format on the iPad. 

Now, even though the features of a newspaper on iPad is more advanced and interactive but some readers still prefer the old traditional newspaper or even just reading newspaper from the desktop. This could be due to genre change and audience's expectation. 

According to Corner (cited in Chandler 1997, p. 8), genre is the key factor in the influence of audience's choice and of audience expectations towards what is appropriate for watching, listening to and reading different types of thing. In this case, younger generations may favor the concept of iPad-only newspaper because of its cool features but others may prefer the old traditional newspaper because they like the texture of the newspaper and the sound of it as pages flip. 

Manchel (1990, p. 684) states that no matter how genre changes from one form to another, it all still depends on the audience's expectations and needs. Hence why even though the iPad-only newspaper has more functions, some audiences still prefer old style newspaper. Trotter concluded the article by stating that  there is no certainty that old style newspaper will come to an end due to its demands, the only thing certain is the continuous decline of newspaper circulations as news consumptions transitions online. 

In my opinion, genre change is largely affected by audience's expectations. No matter how advance or user-friendly the iPad-only newspaper is, there is still a strong demand for the traditional paper, which is why the circulation of newspaper continues. Audiences still expect to see more, feel the texture and hear the sounds made by old-style newspapers. 

References: 

1. Trotter, C 2011, 'iPad-only newspaper furthers media trend', Cento, 17 February, viewed 9 November 2011, <http://www.thecento.com/news/2011/feb/17/ipad-only-newspaper-furthers-media-trend/>.
2. PageSuite 2010, Daily and Sunday Express live iPad demo, video, Youtube, April 14, viewed 9 November 2011, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x3ff4LJzRzg>.
3. Chandler, D 1997, An introduction to genre theory, viewed 9 November 2011, <http://www.aber.ac.uk/~mcswww/Documents/intgenre/chandler_genre_theory.pdf>.
4. Manchel, F 1990, Film Study: An analytical bibliography, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, United States of America.