To facilitate the process of inquiry, it certainly necessitates the use of theory in academic writing (Wolcott, 2009). This is because theories help to structure a study. Theories also serve as a backbone that enables a researcher to make a reasonable argument. The theories that guided this research are; the domestication theory, technology determinism and agenda-setting theory.
The theory of domestication deals with how new technology is ‘tamed’ or accepted by its users. The concept also describes analyses and descriptions of process regarding decisions to use new technology. Domestication theory strives to explain both practical and symbolical characteristics of adoption and use of technologies (daily life routines, social embeddedness and media consumption process). The concept of domestication demonstrates the importance of meanings of things and their materiality, which gives a concise understanding of how technologies become part of everyday life (Berker, Hartmann, Punie and Ward, 2006: 5). As a prominent social theory, the concept highlights the negotiations, challenges to power and control, rulemaking and breaking that often accompanied the advent of technologies in any social setting. The underlying assumption of domestication theory,
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mostly points to the fact that the concept provided ways by which technology, media determinisms and rationalistic biases can be contested (Berker et al., 2006: 5). The concept has been used to explore the incorporation of technologies not just in households, but in various aspects of the society.
The technology determinism theory, assumes that innovation in technology is the principal foundations that drive changes in society. The arguments on this concept stress that technological determinism theory influences our everyday life. That is, how we as individuals in a society feel, think, act and how a society operates (Chandler, 1995). The concept is believed to have been coined by an American social scientist, Thorstein Veblen (Chandler, 1995; Selwyn, 2012). Other ideas, however, maintained that the concept was propounded by Marshal McLuhan (2003), which helps us to understand how technology, just like machine, can influence historical change, by transforming the material condition of human existence. The interpretations and implications of the technological determinism theory argued that we learn, feel and think the way we do because of the messages we receive through the use of technologies that are currently available (Ayotunde, 2012).
By reflecting on the changes that have occurred in mass media technology over the years, other important aspects worth noting as technological determinism theory upholds, lies within the conception that, the development of printing press enabled the use of our visual senses, radio requires us to listen and, in the process, developed our sense of learning, while television encompasses both learning and visual sense. With the introduction of the Internet, however, all our sensory channels, as related to the media messages are engaged at once. The Internet also permitted the provision of
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instantaneous interactivities such as chat rooms and built in web camera that available on some computer systems. These developments, therefore, altered the orthodox ways of news making particularly, the print media. Over and above, it has shifted attention and focus of every news media institutions around the globe (Lievrouw, 2002: 185).
The concept of technological determinism, furthermore, espouses that the level of developments in any given society can be measured based on the level of technologies obtainable in such a society, and can potentially influence people’s thoughts and actions. The concept of technology determinism basically seeks to explain technical innovations in media, or the perception of technology as a core agent of history and social change (Kunz, 2006). This idea will therefore be used to explain how much impact new media has within the South African print media sector, of which this study seeks to investigate, as related to print newspaper content.
Agenda setting theory was the third concept applied in this study. McCombs and Shaw developed the concept of agenda setting in 1968, with focus on comparing salience of issues in news content in the United States of America.
The central approach that is grounded on agenda setting theory underlines the power the media has on public opinions. In other words, if the media attention is less towards an issue, then, the public will equally see such issue as less vital. The concept of agenda setting theory mainly describes news media’s ability to influence the prominence given to certain issues or articles (public agenda), over others (McCombs and Reynolds, 2002). Agenda setting theory has often been applied within social science studies. It can also be used to make predictions. The insinuation of making predictions establishes
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that when the media gives significant attention to a particular issue, the public will perceive that issue as important (Dominick, 2010).
Based on the agenda setting theory’s link to adoption of innovations (domestication theory), adapting to new technology (technological determinism theory), the concept is believed to have a remarkable value that could offer journalists more opportunities for gathering; both local and international news items in real time. The perceived public role in reversed- media-agenda setting, could potentially influence media agendas that forms part of newspaper content. Therefore, a combination of these theories can better describe changes occurring in the media, and by probing published print newspaper pages for changes in news stories. This study thus focused on print newspaper content, how print is adapting in a new media environment characterised by new communication technologies or that print newspaper content is gradually diminishing.