A recent article in the Wall Street Journal said that people who watch busy multimedia presentations remember less than those who take in information in a more sedate and focused manner. Adding to my growing anxiety, it said that people who juggle many tasks are less creative and less productive than those who do one thing at a time.
It’s always fun to talk about change intellectually, but when it comes right down to it, we are all creatures of habit, and significant change makes us all more anxious until it becomes part of who we are
So, it helped to understand that while the Internet is revolutionizing the way the world works, the anxiety about change is not new. I learned that every increase in freedom to create or consume media, from paperback books to YouTube, alarms people who are accustomed to the restrictions of the old system, convincing them that the new media will make young people stupid. This fear, the article said, dates back to at least the invention of movable type.
“As Gutenberg’s press spread through Europe, the Bible was translated into local languages, enabling direct encounters with the text; this was accompanied by a flood of contemporary literature, most of it mediocre. Vulgar versions of the Bible and distracting secular writings fueled religious unrest and civic confusion, leading to claims that the printing press, if not controlled, would lead to chaos and the dismemberment of European intellectual life.”
Sound familiar?
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While thumbing through the March 22nd issue of Time Magazine, I was startled to see an article by Charles Kenny, telling us to forget Twitter, Facebook, Google and the Kindle.
What?
I thought the world had taken a noticeable shift and television’s future was no longer by any means rosy. Then, to my surprise, I was told that television is still the most influential medium around. In fact, notes Kenny, for many of the poorest regions of the world, it remains the next big thing.
He then adds that, for those of us who are not captivated by all of the reality programming garnering ratings today, the television revolution is changing lives for the better. Though many of us know that, across the developing world, around 45 percent of households had a TV in 1995; by 2005 the number had climbed above 60 percent. We also know that this is way behind the U.S., where there are more TVs than people.
The startling part is that television dwarfs worldwide Internet access. Five million more households in sub-Saharan Africa will get a TV over the next five years. After the fall of the Taliban, which had outlawed TV, one in five Afghans had one. The global total is another 150 million by 2013—pushing the numbers to well beyond two-thirds of households.
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Carol Troy comes to Saxum from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, where she served as director of corporate communications. While at Chesapeake, Troy developed the plan for the new corporate communications department and developed an enhanced media presence for the corporation. She previously served as president and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. During that time, a new strategic planning process was initiated and implemented. Marketing and fundraising efforts were refocused, which produced a 150% increase in revenue for the organization.
As vice president of community relations for KOCO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City, she managed the department and initiated revenue-producing projects to meet strategic plans. She also oversaw production of and co-anchored a weekly hour-long news program, along with political debates, documentaries and the annual 5 Who Care Awards. She later joined parent company, Gannett Broadcasting Company, headquartered in Washington, D.C., as a community relations vice president.
Troy is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma. She currently serves on the Allied Arts Foundation executive committee and board of directors, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation board of directors, and the University of Oklahoma Health Center Foundation board of trustees. She and husband, Mac, live in Oklahoma City.
