[TML] 3I Media (was Killer instinct)

[Tom Naro]

Jerry W Barrington jerry.barrington at gmail.com wrote:
>> 
>> Ob Trav: How does media production work in the 3I? Is it all local? How does
>> a company handle distribution across different tech levels and cultural
>> biases? Is it even desirable to try for sub-sector to sector wide dominance
>> of media production?
>
>I can't imagine most media having great sale value outside it's system.  The
>local stuff would pander more to the local tastes/prejudices/whatever.

OK, there are really two types of media.  News, and Entertainment.  I think that the first category will be very Internet-like with leader clips and links.  The relevance of news is not going to carry very far unless it is spectacular or freakish.  All off-world news feeds are quite literally "Last Weeks News". The TAS news feed will cover the important bits.  Local news services would be much more likely to simply redo a news report rather than show the foreign news. 

Entertainment media will be quite another animal.  The entertainment providers will, without a doubt, find ways to make content with wide market appeal.  It is their best interest to do so. 
 
Some types of shows will stand on their own.  Documentaries of exotic and dangerous places will probably hold a fair share of interest.  Travel shows (which might be nothing more than infomercials) would encourage tourism.  Recordings of live performances (music, dance, stand-up) will provide a draw for later live appearances.  (Recording saturated cultures will probably put a premium on live performances.)
 
Some show formats will need a little extra work to go from planet to planet.  With digital editing, it would be relatively easy to "localize" many programs for a specific planet. A drama might be scripted much like a mad-lib.  "Hero must go to <insert major city> before <insert local holiday> to prevent the assassination of <insert name of local VIP>".  Digital dubbing can already fool most people.  The production might include "extra" scenes that can be inserted depending on the local needs.  "Travel shot: Flying low over the <grassy, forest, desert> terrain, Pan up to show the <yellow, white, blue> sun.  Roll camera 90 degrees to show <tower, dome, sprawling> city."
 
Long programs (movies) and serials (TV shows) will likely be packaged and sold on individual media just as we do today.
 
A rerun is not a rerun if you have never seen it.  A traveler might arrive on a planet an be surprised to see advertisements for a "new" program on a "new" media/service that he watched when he was a child.


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