Historically, broadcast media followed a hierarchical model where a small elite group of wealthy producers shaped the public sphere and sent one-way communication to a much larger mass of receivers, often promoting views favorable to the status quo.
Where all media communicate through rules of notice, interactive media are fundamentally defined by their structural possibilities – what might be called "rules of action " – which significantly influence how users communicate and behave.
The social media industry represents a profound transformation of the traditional media landscape, moving from hierarchical, one-way communication to decentralized, interactive digital networks.[1] Today’s dominant platforms are best defined as "two-sided platforms that primarily host user-generated content distributed via algorithms, while allowing for interactions among users.”[2] This highly interactive and networked environment has created immense wealth for the platform operators while simultaneously establishing
Video media—including film, TV and online video—use different techniques to direct the viewer's attention and communicate meaning. These techniques, known as "rules of notice," involve motion, editing and sound.
The commercial features and distribution models of the movie, traditional television, streaming video and online video industries each exert an influence on the type of content produced, how it's crafted and how audiences engage with it.
Comics invite you to see the visual aspect of a story through the specific viewpoint of the artist’s mind. Perhaps because of this active participation, youth who read comics are almost twice as likely to say they enjoy reading print books.
Unlike film or photography, which "intrinsically claim to be accurate documents," comics invite the reader to experience “the visual aspect of a story as it’s transformed through the cartoonist’s perception.” With rare occasions, such as photo-comics, a comic is a "particular, personal version of its artist’s vision – not what the artist’s eye sees, but the way the artist’s mind interprets sight."
The comics industry is currently experiencing a period of immense transformation and expansion, marked by surging sales, rapid digital disruption and a dramatic diversification of readership and content. Far from the niche market it was decades ago, today's industry is a global one where new technologies and distribution methods are reshaping how stories are created, circulated and consumed.
Visual media, such as art, photos, and movies, use special techniques called "rules of notice" to guide what viewers pay attention to and how they feel about what they see. Understanding these rules helps both creators and those trying to understand the messages in visuals.
Visual media, encompassing art, photography and film, communicate meaning to an audience by strategically employing "rules of notice" – deliberate techniques used by creators to guide a viewer's attention and influence their interpretation of an image or narrative.