To whom it may concern Essay Example for Free

To whom it may concern Essay Early in my career, I was sure I was set for life. I was fresh out of school and one of the starting members of Pusan’s own terrestrial broadcasters. Having only two national broadcasters in Korea at that time, I was helping to start a cornerstone of entertainment. Unfortunately I realized 15 years down the road complacency held me back from my true potential. Traditional media has provided many open roads for me, and what I’ve learned and experienced along the way I am very proud of. Starting as an assistant producer, I was on set for 24 hour periods making sure the set was proper and everybody was where they needed to be. It was hell everyday at different locations, but of course at my young age I didn’t mind. This was a whole new world that I was going to be able to direct. Eventually working my way up, I made a name for myself producing and directing regional variety programs and documentaries. In a way I was directing business decisions of the company and impacting the region’s economy. This position allowed me to raise a family of three and become well known throughout the country. I believed in traditional media with the printed newspapers and linear channels on TV. It took spending a day off with my daughter for me to realize that my thoughts, or rather hopes, of traditional media is far from the direction it is headed. Sure TV and radio will always be utilized but how about the way we watch TV or listen to the radio? How are we going to receive information in the future? Korea is a hotbed for ‘New Media’ with the start of satellite and terrestrial DMB as well as IPTV/VOD services. Never did I imagine the day would come when we can watch TV shows on a 3-Screen service. Traditional form of broadcasting is what I know now. ‘New Media’ is what I need to know in order to evolve, adapt and survive. I decided to take action upon my complacency and go back to school. The media world around me is changing so rapidly, I really should be at the forefront instead of becoming a dinosaur. There are so many things I need to learn about ‘New Media’. Sure the technology has changed and the mediums used are different. I believe though it is the impact of ‘New Media’ on society and the economy that will have the biggest affect which will spread all over the world. What is the next step? What can we do with this new service? How can we shape people’s lifestyles and the way they are entertained? Taking a look at the direction media is headed, I believe interactivity is the key. People want to control what they watch and it all starts with controlling what is on the air or on the Internet. Digital media is allowing viewers at home to shoot, edit, and broadcast what is seen. The rise of You Tube and Yahoo Videos can testify to this. Then there is the â€Å"Real Time† factor. Information is easily accessible where I can get the information I need right now. It is easy to link back how this affects the economy now, but what about the future? What adaptations will be made to the existing technology and where will that lead us? For example, how popular will WiFi be? How will WiFi affect consumer purchasing? How will this in turn affect manufacturing and exporting of new technology? Hitting a little closer to home, I am very interested in learning about IPTV. In my mind, IPTV has limitless reach around the world unlike terrestrial and cable TV, and the cost is much cheaper than satellite. Currently there are three IPTV operators in Korea, all backed by conglomerate giants. Will they survive? If so, what path will they take to ensure dominant market presence? If not, what are the reasons they lost control of a multi-billion dollar market? I attended a seminar a couple years back called ‘Convergence through Divergence’. Here the speaker spoke about how the semiconductor was the start of the digital revolution. According to him, the semiconductor allowed the manufacturing of devices we use today such as the computer, LCD TVs, digital cameras, phones, etc. This allowed the rapid change in digital lifestyle which led me to think what will be the paradigm that shifts media industry? For example when the compact disc was introduced, it was seen as the next step in digitalizing music. Just like LPs and cassette tapes, CDs were sold with whole soundtracks. Who would have imagined back then that sales of CDs would drop 60% today? Because of digital revolution, the music industry will never be the same. The industry will have to come up with new ways to earn profit thus affecting the economy. The same with TV. I remember when only terrestrial TV available, viewer rating would constantly reach as high as 40% to 50% for hit shows. Now with so many outlets and choices for contents, a number one show will get only 20% to 30% of the audience share. Should we continue to lose the audience’s attention or should we adapt to the audience’s focus and utilize new methods to reach them? Obviously losing the audience will mean losing advertisement revenues, but what is the most effective way to retain and even gain more viewers? Sitting at my current position and filling my current role, no matter how diligently I work, will not produce the answer this question. Going back to my original revelation, how did my daughter make me realize I need to change my thought and adapt to changes brought about by the digital revolution? I couldn’t relate to my daughter and what she was saying. Of course people say this is because of a generation gap, but the curious side of me started questioning why she thought how she thought. Where and how was she learning her information and what was it teaching her? I realized her thinking was not incorrect, just not fit for my generation’s way of thinking. The way I watch the news is on TV, at 9pm. The way she gets her news is through DMB, or blogs. And she doesn’t have to wait until 9pm. This made me envision the next shift in media. Anticipating where media is shifting is not easy since the shift will be dependant on many variants of the market. Questions I must ask myself is what are the emerging markets? Does one market affect the direction media is headed or does media control the emergence of certain markets? What area should I focus on in order to fully understand and control the emerging media market? In Korea we talk about the success of CDMA digital phones. We use Japan’s implementation of TDMA in the beginning and the current shift to CDMA as an example of how our network was a risk worth taking. But people fail to talk about the success of GSM world-wide, and compared to GSM, our CDMA system is not so economically successful. I need to be able to make the right decisions in shaping the country’s path for mass media. Instead of thinking locally, I want to focus on globalization of the Korean television industry. I feel the best way to further my career path will be to attend school. Once in school I hope to learn the following topics: Where Media is headed Shifts in media- mobile, IPTV, DMB, Making new media more profitable How to Impact society and business with new media The most important step for me in shaping my future is choosing the right school. I realize where I attend will affect what I learn and my views on my chosen field. I highly anticipate that your scholastic academy can offer me a balanced blend of intellectual challenge as well as a peaceful yet energetic setting for me to continue my studies. I look forward to hearing good news from you and discovering my future in ‘New Media’ together. Thanks. Tel : +82 11 853 6896 E-mail : woo. [emailprotected] com.