Author Topic: What is in universe mass media like?  (Read 9812 times)

Daryk

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #30 on: 29 October 2019, 16:26:25 »
At least until they return to Lyran space...  ^-^

massey

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #31 on: 30 October 2019, 15:00:52 »
Don't recall ever seeing a data rate, but the "standard" HPG message form was once mentioned to be about a typical paragraph in length.  That would go out with an unknown sized batch of other messages.  Any more than that and you're paying premium rates.  For headline news, the cost of a handful of forms isn't at all out of the question even for a small local news service, but video is going to get awfully expensive in a hurry.

I would assume that the data rates and total volume of transmission would match the rest of the BT economy: as much or little as the plot requires.

I think it said somewhere that a C-bill was the cost for a single HPG transmission of one page of text.  A C-bill was also supposed to be the equivalent of about 5 US dollars back in 1990.

Sports scores, stock prices, newspaper articles, and things like that would be cheap enough to transmit.  Even a massive novel like Stephen King's The Stand would only cost like 1300 C-bills to send from one planet to another.  A publishing company could afford a $7,000 expense to send a copy of a best selling book to a subsidiary company on a different planet.

What you wouldn't have is sound or video that was remotely affordable by normal people.  But you could send an e-mail to grandma for 5 bucks, wishing her a happy birthday or something.

massey

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #32 on: 30 October 2019, 15:18:35 »
Sounds good until a couple captains loose their license because they didn't prevent their crews from cutting into some media conglomerate's juicy exclusive distribution contract.

In the real world, international copyright doesn't really get enforced until there's an established market that people care about.  Think about guys bringing over bootleg anime tapes in the 1980s.  The Japanese companies that owned the rights to those shows didn't pay any attention until they realized there was a lot of money to be made.  In the Inner Sphere, bootleggers wouldn't be making money off of delivering known media along existing trade routes.  You'd do it by going to places with little direct contact with each other.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #33 on: 30 October 2019, 15:49:39 »
Unless the licensed version was really expensive or had tons of DRM on it.
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Hellfire

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #34 on: 11 November 2019, 21:53:27 »
40% of household in the FWL have working RHE https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Recreational_Hologram_Environments gear in 3025. They have viewing parties and sharing equipment spread that out further. The tech has advanced substantially into things like smellovision by the late 3060s. We would call that something like room scale augmented reality these days. The Boreal Reach arena on Solaris is the largest example of this technology.

TheFedComFan21

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #35 on: 16 January 2020, 22:11:29 »
I always thought that each House has their own mass media conglomerates.
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Colt Ward

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #36 on: 17 January 2020, 10:16:39 »
Sure, but just like IRL there would be something like the AP and Rueters- which INN sort of covers with shades of CNN.  But I think you would also have stuff like bureaus on capitals of other Houses- except the DC, maybe the CC.  And Solaris VII, just because it was the game world.

So . . . here are some of the news networks I have tracked, and programs/podcast/webzine from some of the networks-

New Avalon Broadcaster- owned by Karl Green
Capellan State Broadcasting- CapCon company
Tharkad Broadcasting Company
Donegal Broacasting Company
Federated News Service
Atreus Free Press
Taurian Broadcasting Company

Holo-Mags
Conflict (FNS/FS)
Banner Headlines (AFP/FWL)
Headline News (FNS/FS)
New Avalon Daily (FS)
Colt Ward
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Daryk

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #37 on: 17 January 2020, 16:17:40 »
Don't forget Battletechnology magazine! :)

HyperionCormyr

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #38 on: 20 January 2020, 00:28:15 »
And Mechbunny Monthly

Colt Ward

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #39 on: 20 January 2020, 10:36:12 »
And Mechbunny Monthly

Yeah, mix the guns magazines and car mags with bikini clad models draped on the hoods.
Colt Ward
Clan Invasion Backer #149, Leviathans #104

"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

Kovax

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #40 on: 20 January 2020, 12:21:27 »
Yeah, mix the guns magazines and car mags with bikini clad models draped on the hoods.
…or models in really minimalist cooling vests and short-shorts, setting various poses on or leaning against a Battlemech or other exotic combat hardware.

Colt Ward

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #41 on: 20 January 2020, 12:26:21 »
Sure, I want to say we are told there are pin up posters of Natasha or Rhonda Snord to that effect.  I was just pointing out the two current type of publications that would qualify.
Colt Ward
Clan Invasion Backer #149, Leviathans #104

"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

Mohammed As`Zaman Bey

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #42 on: 20 January 2020, 20:34:03 »
BTU media? Shallow, politically motivated...like it is now. If its the media of the 1980's...not as bad...Shallow but less dogmatic.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #43 on: 21 January 2020, 01:38:59 »
In interstellar empires that at best make only a pretense of having representative governments?  No chance that you'll see media that's less dogmatic.
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massey

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #44 on: 21 January 2020, 16:49:51 »
To a certain degree, governments like the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine are fictions.  They exist at a very high level of abstraction.  Historically, these were small empires that grew and absorbed neighboring entities either through conquest or mutual defense pact.  Duke Stuffypants is granted control over the world Backwater V by the Coordinator.  But that's because he already had control over Backwater V.  Before he became Duke Stuffypants, he was Dictator-for-life Stuffypants.  He joined the Combine in a mutual defense agreement and got official recognition of his claim, rather than risking war.  And he and his descendants have kept that iron-fisted control over that world.  To the people of Backwater V, the "Combine" is some far off entity that doesn't have much affect on their day to day life.

In other words, I don't think you'd have any politics at a national level the way we do today.  Everything is too far removed.  Modern politics (avoiding any specifics here to dodge Rule 4) revolve around what kind of policies people want to see implemented on a national level.  But most of those policies would be implemented on a planetary level in the Inner Sphere.  Many of the planets would be so different from one another that the issues just wouldn't translate.

A lot of the Great House politics are personal.  The 0.000001% have enough personal wealth and power to start interstellar wars.  And sometimes they do it because that guy slept with your sister, and screw that!  It doesn't matter what the civilian population thinks.  Even if you don't like Duke Stuffypants, he's got a massive army and that's that.  If he wants to invade a neighboring territory, that's between him and the Coordinator.  Besides, the other side also has a Duke Stuffypants equivalent, and that guy just might decide to invade your world as well.  There's nothing you can do about it, so just hope your guy makes good decisions.

As a result, the mass media beyond a planetary level would probably be more like gossip magazines than the political talk shows of today.  Think British Royal Family stuff, except if the Megan Markle situation was actually threatening to bring the USA and UK to war with one another.

Hellfire

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Re: What is in universe mass media like?
« Reply #45 on: 06 February 2020, 21:49:21 »
It still amazes me that 3 Houses Entertainment Agency manages to get live acts over the CapCon/FedSuns and FedSuns/Combine boarders.

 

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