By MAUREEN JONES
Digital technology has emerged as a viable form of carrying and distributing messages to the world. It combines different elements of media, said the vice president of photography for the ABC Television Network in the honored alumni lecture Thursday for the College of Fine Arts and Communications.
The college awarded Brent C. Petersen with the Honored Alumni Award. Petersen graduated from BYU with a B.A. in communications.
Petersen said that digital press communication reaches a larger audience than more traditional forms of media. Some examples of digital communication are digital broadcasting and cable.
'It's an exciting thing because it combines the talents of print and broadcast arts into a new medium,' Petersen said.
One of the first examples of the impact digital communication had on the world was in China in 1989.
The government forbade the television stations from broadcasting, and so, digital images were sent over telephone lines and were then projected over the world.
At ABC Petersen developed digital promotional photography transmission systems for newspapers and magazines to use of ABC's television shows. He also utilized CD-ROM technology as promotional tools for the press.
'With the ability to put video and audio on CD-ROM, we can communicate a message that could never reach our audience before,' Petersen said.
The television market is increasingly competitive. It is important to continue developing innovative ways to get the message to the press, he said.
Petersen has recently developed MediaNet for the ABC network. This is a website for the press to have access to press releases, images and content that pertain to the television shows that interest them.
Petersen said when he joined ABC, he never realized how much new technology he would have to learn.
'Your job can change right before your eyes. It's important to stay on top of your profession,' he said.
Petersen said the he sees the importance of communicating in his profession constantly.
'If you learn how to be a good communicator now, you'll be successful in the future,' he said.
According to information provided by the alumni association, Petersen's career started in 1968 as the staff photographer for the Laramie (Wyoming) Boomerang.
In 1979, he joined the staff of 'Parade' magazine as a photographer. He later became picture editor where he commissioned and directed photographic assignments.
He joined ABC in 1989 as director of photography. He directs and photographs productions on movies shot around the world.