Editing Media studies (section)

=== Canada ===
In his book "Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man", media theorist [[Marshall McLuhan]] suggested that [["the medium is the message"]], and that all human artefacts and technologies are media. His book introduced the usage of terms such as "media" into our language along with other precepts, among them "global village" and "Age of Information". A medium is anything that mediates our interaction with the world or other humans. Given this perspective, media study is not restricted to just media of communications but all forms of technology. Media and their users form an ecosystem, and the study of this ecosystem is known as [[media ecology]]. Media ecology also holds that our environment ultimately changes due to technology. Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks elaborate on this theory in their book, stating “...adding smartphones to a family doesn't create a 'family plus smartphones.' The technology changes the family into something different than what it was before.” <ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Griffin |first1=Emory A |last2=Ledbetter |first2=Andrew | last3=Sparks |first3=Glenn Grayson |title=A First Look at Communication Theory |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-265-20924-7 |edition=11th |location=New York, NY |pages=414, 471–472 |language=en}}</ref>

McLuhan says that the "technique of fragmentation that is the essence of machine technology" shaped the restructuring of human work and association and "the essence of automation technology is the opposite". He uses an example of the electric light to make this connection and to explain how "the medium is the message". The electric light is pure information and it is a medium without a message, unless it is used to spell out some verbal ad or a name. The characteristic of all media means the "content" of any medium is always another medium. For example, the content of writing is speech, the written word is the content of print, and print is the content of the telegraph. The change that the medium or technology introduces into human affairs is the "message". If the electric light is used for a Friday night football game or to light up a desk, it could be argued that the content of the electric light is these activities. The fact that it is the medium that shapes and controls the form of human association and action makes it the message. The electric light is overlooked as a communication medium because it does not have any content. It is not until the electric light is used to spell a brand name that it is recognized as medium. Similar to radio and other mass media, electric light eliminates time and space factors in human association, creating deeper involvement. McLuhan compared the "content" to a juicy piece of meat being carried by a burglar to distract the "watchdog of the mind". The effect of the medium is made strong because it is given another media "content". The content of a movie is a book, play, or maybe even an opera.<ref name="McGraw-Hill">{{cite book |last1=McLuhan |first1=Marshall |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingmed0000mclu |title=Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man |date=1964 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0-262-63159-8 |edition=1st |url-access=registration}}</ref>

McLuhan talks about media being "hot" or "cold" and touches on the principle that distinguishes them from one another. A hot medium (i.e., radio or a movie) extends a single sense in "high definition". High definition refers to the state of being well filled with data. A cool medium (i.e., a telephone or television) is considered "low definition" because a small amount of data/information is given and has to be filled in. Hot media are low in participation, because they give one most of the information while excluding certain information. Meanwhile, cool media are high in participation, because inclusively provides information but relies on the viewer to fill in the blanks. McLuhan used lecturing as an example for hot media and seminars as an example for low media. Using a hot medium in a hot or cool culture makes a difference.<ref name="McGraw-Hill" />

In his book, ''Empire and Communications'', University of Toronto professor Harold Innis highlighted media technologies as a powerful contributor to the rise and collapse of empires.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Megan Mullen |date=2008 |title=Space Bias/Time Bias: Harold Innis, Empire and Communications |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/content/crossref/journals/technology_and_culture/v050/50.1.mullen.html |journal=Technology and Culture |language=en |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=175–186 |doi=10.1353/tech.0.0239 |issn=1097-3729 |s2cid=109276947}}</ref> Innis’ theory of media bias utilizes historical evidence to argue that a medium will be biased towards either time or space.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Laughey |first=Dan |title=Key Themes in Media Theory |publisher=Open University Press |location=Maidenhead; New York |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-335-21814-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/keythemesinmedia0000laug |url-access=registration }}</ref> He claims that this inherent bias will reveal a medium’s significance to the development of its civilization.<ref name=":3" /> Innis identifies media biased towards time as a medium durable in character like clay, stone, or parchment.<ref name=":2" /> Time biased media are heavy and difficult to relocate, which keeps their message centralized and thus maintains economic and social control within the hands of a hierarchical authority structure. He defines media in favor of space as a lighter, more transferable medium like papyrus.<ref name=":2" /> Opposite to media in favor of time, Innis explains that the transferable quality of media biased towards space permits civilizations to expand more quickly across vast areas, thus benefiting the growth of sectors like trade.<ref name=":2" /> Space biased media influences an empire to decentralize its power and widen its reach of influence. Though these biases are in competition with each other, Innis argued that an empire requires the presence of both time and space biased media to succeed as a lasting civilization.<ref name=":3" />