CMST 126- chapter 2 PDF

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Dr. McClanahan second lecture notes...

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Chapter 2- Media Literacy in the Digital Age CMST 126 Lecture Notes What makes Mediated Communication Different  Concern that mediated information- constructed through signs, symbols, words from books, radio, TV, digital media- affect us in ways unlike unmediated information.  Constructed messages in media made to look natural Semiotics  Study of sign and symbols, theoretical approach to media literacy  Ferdinand de Saussure o Dual sign compromised of signifier (form) and signified (what form represents)  Umberto Eco o We need a common understanding of sign in order to communicate Framing  How are messages presented?  Gatekeepers  Kenneth Burke “Terministic Scenes” (Ebola video) o Reveal the attitude of the message o “God” terms o “Devil” terms  Particular presentation and communication of message influences our perception of it  Audience must classify, organize, and interpret media information  Frameworks, or schemas, simplify the complex  Like signs, frames appear natural and often go unquestioned What is Media Literacy?  Audience members understanding of: o Who/what the media are, and how they operate o The messages delivered by the media o The roles media plays in a society o How audience members respond to media messages Dimensions of Media Literacy  Aesthetic dimension- how things are put together (visual representation) o Ex. Car keys in the shape of a gun  Cognitive dimension- what you learn through the media o Ex. Searching symptoms on the internet and then thinking you’re dying  Emotional Dimension- what the media makes us feel  Moral dimension- media telling us right vs wrong and good vs. bad Media Effects Early concerns of Media Effects  Questions about each mediums impact of culture, political processes, children’s values and behaviors  Socrates and Plato worried about influence of literacy on children  Contemporary researchers concerned about influence of internet and video games Types of media effects:  Messages o How are people affected by the content of messages? o Cognitive- what we learn o Attitudinal- how we feel

Chapter 2- Media Literacy in the Digital Age CMST 126 Lecture Notes

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o Message effects o Behavioral- can the media get you to do something  Ex. Georgia’s governor Deal with the commercial o Psychological- how you feel about yourself vs others Medium o How does the medium used change the nature of the message and the receivers response to the message? o What are the social effects of each medium? o “The medium is the message” – Marshall McLuhan Ownership o How does ownership impact the media and the messages we receive? Active Audience o People can be segmented by geographics, demographics, or psychographics o Audience members are selective consumers rather than naïve victims of the media...