Contemporary Media Landscape in Sri Lanka
Media is the plural form of medium, which (broadly speaking) describes any channel of
communication. This can include anything from printed-paper to digital data, and encompasses
art, news, educational content and numerous other forms of information. Anything that can
reach or influence people, including phones, television, and the Internet can be considered a
form of media. Media of Sri Lanka consist of several different types of communications media:
television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. State and private media operators
provide services in the main languages Sinhala, Tamil and English.
The media sector in Sri Lanka consists of two main parts namely traditional media and new
media. Traditional means of communication for a period of time, the communication methods
used by the rural people for information, knowledge, leisure and entertainment using the
resources available from the surrounding environment can be termed as traditional media.
These have their origin in traditional societies and are used in those societies. These media
continue to exist in rural communities. These have no definite authorship. It is also done with
the participation of villagers without the use of technical tools. In the prehistoric era of human
history, sound signals, drumming, sak sound, trumpet sound, etc. and visual signals such as
hanging tobacco branches, flags, marking etc. have been use for traditional communication.
Types of traditional communication media, Village plays, Janakavi, Folk tales, Puppets,
Folklore are some of them.
As humans evolved biologically, media evolved to suit their changing needs. Acharya Tudor
Weerasingheyan says that newspapers, magazines, periodicals, radio, television, and cinema
can be called authentic media. New media emerged as traditional media were swayed by the
technological revolutions of the 20th century. New media is a worldwide network of
interconnected computer networks accessible to anyone. Just a few examples of new media
include Blogs, Email, Music and television streaming services, Social media networks. Virtual
and augmented reality. Websites are some of them.Nowadays we do not call them new media. We currently use the name Digital media for them.
That is because we are living in the year 2022. Examples of digital media include software,
digital images, digital video, video games, web pages and websites, social media, digital data
and databases, digital audio such as MP3, electronic documents and electronic books.
Let us examine the current performance of each of these media,
As far as newspapers are concerned, a media has attracted the attention of many people. During
the last covid period, it faced many challenges. But the newspaper industry continued printing
by displaying it through e-papers. The media today operate in an extremely challenging
environment. The print newspapers industry is hamper by the high cost of newsprint, dwindling
advertising revenues and readers switching over to alternative forms of media consumption
such as the web. Many newspapers around the world have either closed down or downsized.
However, some newspapers have managed to defy these trends and managed to improve their
circulation on both print and digital platforms thanks to quality output and reader engagement.
Every newspaper is now available digitally, but most readers will keep away if there is a pay
wall, unless the content is exceptionally good.
Nowadays, digital media is emerging. Because of in 2021 the digital media Landscape in Sri
Lanka in constantly evolving. Social Media usage is at an all-time high post-pandemic.
The world has changed and so has user behavior, as more and more people shift to the digital
ecosystem. We have collected data from leading and credible data tracking sources to capture
the digital media landscape in Sri Lanka in 2021, encompassing key stats across different social
media platforms. In 2021 May the Internet user penetration in Sri Lanka is, there are 49.28%
of total population and 50.72% internet users and there are 32 Million mobile connection and
7.9 million social media users. In addition, The Google, YouTube, Facebook, & Hiru F.M are
the most visited websites in Sri Lanka. The most liked Face book celebrity pages in Sri Lanka
are 1. Jacqueline, 2. Kumar Sangakkar, 3. Sri Lanka cricket, 4. Gossip Lanka are some of them.
The Instagram is also the same. The most subscribed YouTube channels are T.V Derana, Sri
Lanka cricket, Ape Amma, Village life and Swarnawahini.
Today, Nadagamkarayo tele drama aired on Swarnawahini channel became more popular, but
the audience watched it through YouTube channel. The tele drama go to the highest number of
wives through You Tube. One thing that can be seen here is that YouTube (Digital Media) is
rising more than television. You can watch them on your phone. Accessing TV, radio and the
internet through mobile phones has become widespread. Investments in digitalization largely
depend on the success of an independent regulatory mechanism.
Radio is portable among many modes of communication. Plays music and broadcasts news:
The love for music never fades away for most of us. Radio continues to play music in the
middle of traffic jams, long queues to keep us entertained. Also, it keeps us informed about
headlines and essential news. Furthermore, it keeps us in touch with local traffic updates and
daily weather reports. Also, it has been observed that the radio had been the last person to stand
up in times of disaster and disaster. During situations such as the 2004 tsunami and the 2013
Uttara hand floods, radio provided information about relief work, aid and recovery efforts when
other media became inaccessible. Nowadays, many sources of information and entertainment
charge customers for their services. But the radio is free for all of us. This is one of the most
significant reasons for the popularity of radio in the 21st century. Along with its free services,
it offers its listeners a wide range of topics that they want to listen to. Trends in technologies
are continuously growing. However, radio can evolve with technology, and that is why it is
still prevalent in the 21st century.
Moreover, it has been excellent support for many of us during
the COVID-19 pandemic. It brings us comfort and familiarity with its broadcasting songs, news
and stories.
It has adapted to technological changes and consumer trends. Radio is now accessible through
smartphones, laptops, smartwatches, etc. The best part is that radio does not require you to set
aside time the way TV does, as it asks less of its audience, being the only audio medium. In the
case of TV, it requires the full attention of its audience because of the audio and visual elements
present in it. However, people can take the radio with them wherever they go without losing
half the experience.
Therefore, what we can include from this is that no matter how much digital media has
developed, radio is moving in the same way. In addition, old media is moving in the right
direction just like new media.
So, This is contemporary media landscape in Sri Lanka .
