Mass Media 1165 - Lecture notes All lectures including readings PDF

Preview

Summary

Typed notes of lectures and readings from Dunphy's intro to mass media class...

Description

Mass Media 1165 Professor Dunphy 

09/02/2015

Email: [email protected]

Week 2 notes- INTODUCTION   Media Litteracy- the ability to understand and make productive use of the media  Involves understanding the effect media can have on you and on 

society around you For some media literacy is the difference between being victimized and being in control of media’s influence

Media Criticism- the analysis used to assess the effects of media on individuals on societies and on cultures  Doesn’t necessarily have to be negative but it does have to consist 

of analysis based on well reasoned argument Using media is something most people will do for the rest of their lives so the prospect of making that use more meaningful is often compelling

Two approaches to the study of media (critics vs. the practitioner)  Criticism o Some find it to be harsh and unrealistic Career preparation o Some find it simplistic and detrimental to society Communication – refers to the process of human beings sharing messages 

Interpersonal Communication- usually refers to individuals interacting faceto-face and includes the study of interpersonal communication or thought patter they makes Feedback- defines as messages that return from the receiver of a message to the source of that message Noise- anything that interferes with communication which includes:  psychological noise when it occurs internally such as daydreams, 

worries, or being offended by the language used in a message and environmental noise when it occurs externally such as a younger sibling screaming across the room

Mediated Communication- any type of sharing of messages conveyed through an interposed device rather than face to face Medium- interposed device used to transmit messages Media- plural of medium  print, books, newspapers etc.  New media- internet, cell phones  Entertainment Media- movies, video games Mass Communication- consist of mediated messages that are transmitted to large, usually widespread audiences  Has no talk back between the sender and the receiver because of its broadness Gatekeepers- those who determine which messages will be delivered to media consumers  Commonly producers  Medias job to point out hypocrisy Mediated interpersonal communication- the sharing of personal messages through some form of interposed device  Email, personal phone calls etc Converging communication media  Convergence- the merging of technologies, industries and content especially within the realms of computer, telephone and mass media o Facebook is an example which combines medias of yearbooks, 

blogs, bulletin boards Oligopoly- more than one company competing o However you can only have access to one o You only have access to one tv service because they are the only ones in your area

American Empire- American domination of world media products



May be due to freedom of speech

Cultural imperialism- the displacement of nation’s customs with those of another coutry  France and Canada have both imposed limits on the importation of 

U.S. television programming Globalization of media businesses is not one way. American takes in media from other countries as well

-The reason for corporate media growth simply stated is media businesses have a tendency to grow large because they can make more money that. Three primary reasons why growth is profitable involves  Economies of scale o Economies of scale- savings that accrue (accumulate) with mass production o When large numbers of items are produced each unit cost less  Synergy o Synergy- combination in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts o Merging of companies o Cross merchandizing- promoting a product in one form to sell it in some other form  Book companies publish some of the earliest magazines  

and used them to promote their product Movie studios buy publishing houses to so they can sell

their stories in both movie and print form Global competition o Among companies to drive growth o A company will make a thousand products to compete with each other but eventually one will come out with a moneymaker and will make growth o Most companies in America are owned by foreign companies  X factor was in England first

Patterns of ownership -As media businesses grow, they become structured in various patterns of ownership, including groups and conglomerates



Group Ownership (chain ownership)- a system in which one



company owns the same type of medium in more than one market area. o Television stations are owned in groups (Disney owns 4, clear channel owns more than 800) Conglomerates- large companies involved in many different type of



businesses sometimes through vertical intergration Vertical Integration- a business model in which a company owns



different parts of the same industry Antitrust Laws- laws that prohibit monopolistic practices in restraint



of trade Horizontal integration- when a company buys many different types of businesses o When a television network buys a publishing company to produce books about its television shows

-Combined integration is most common where a company has horizontal and vertical integration  Disney owns channels as well as movie studios, theme parks, publishing companies -concentration of media ownership can result in one company’s having too much power to sway public opinion Media and governments around the world  Government ownership o Communist countries such as china and Cuba decide what 

media is good for society Private ownership, Government Control o Less extreme than Government ownership



o Private companies that still have government control Libertarian o Privately owned and free of government control

 

Mixed Model o Combination of the above The U.S. Model o Media Businesses are subject to government regulation

o The media act as a the fourth estate or a potential watchdog of government o The media are the principal channels through which political campaigns take place Regulation  Censorship- any action that prohibits an act of expression from







being made in public o Endangerment to the country in war times perhaps Adversarial Relationship o While the U.S. government does have some control over the media the media is to act as an unofficial watchdog of government actions Fourth Estate- press as an unofficial branch of government o Envisioned by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin o Report on executive, legislative and judicial branches o The media is to inform citizens about actions and decisions of their elected representatives Adversarial Relationship – a relationship in which two parties contend with or oppose each other. o In the U.S. the media are expected to have an adversarial relationship with the government so that they can serve a watchdog role

The Audience is the final Arbiter of meaning  The audience decides what the final meaning of the medium is despite what the producers, writers, editors might have in mind Media Controversies  “violent media makes violence” Chapter 2 Understanding Research and Effects Theory- set of related statements that seek to explain and predict behavior  media is constantly changing so there is no set fact Early Studies



Propaganda- information that is spread for the purpose of promoting a doctrine or cause o People believe media is powerful enough to brainwash people

Payne Fund Studies (1929)  First large scale investigation into the effects of media (specifically movies on behavior of children) o They found children who went to the movies once a week were developing anti social habits  Payne fund was to study this by bringing in social  

scientist Modeling- the imitation of behavior from media Content Analysis- a research method in which observers systematically analyze media subject matter o Commonly used today to count things such as vilent things on



tv Powerful effects model- predicted that media will have an



immediate and potent influence on their audience Mixed effects model- predicts that sometimes media will house



powerful effects, sometimes minimal effects Laboratory Experiment – scientific method of isolating and



observing variables in a controlled environment o Sex scenes in these movies blew 16 year old electrode test of the the graphs Survey methods – research methods that rely on questionnaires to collect research data

People’s Choice Study  A study on how media affected voter behavior in the 1940s 



presidential election Random Samples o Random Sampling- Method that ensures that every member of the population being studied has an equal chance of being chosen Psychological Consiency

o Selective exposure- process by which people seek out messages that are consistent with their attitudes o Selective perception - process by which people with different attitudes interpret the same messages differently o Selective retention- process by which people with different views remember the same event differently  People in the study remembered information that was consistent with their attitude and tend to forget information that conflicted with those attitudes o Opinion Leaders- well informed people who help others interpret media  Tend to sought out other as sources of information  Thus creating two step flow of communication o Two step flow – communication process in which media effects travel through opinion leaders The American solider studies  Shows movies as educators o Films have a factual effect on people  

Applied Research: Conducted by industry  Applied Research- media investigations devoted to practical commercial purposes o Research preformed by ad agencies to determine how to best to attract an audience and maximize their advertising profits

Television and Violence  Desensitization- a process by which viewers of media violence develop callousness or emotional neutrality in the face of a real- life act of violence Force of effects  Payne fund studies supported the powerful effects model o Predicts that media will have an immediate and potent influence on their audiences causing teenagers for example to change from good behavior to bad following the view of a movie

o Minimal effects model- predicts that media willhave little influence on behavior as when they fail to change voting behavior in an election campaign o Mixed effect model- today most researchers accept this. Predicts that sometimes media will have powerful effects sometimes minimal effects and sometimes depending on a complex variety of contingencies Flow of Effects  Flow Theories- theory about the way effects travel from mass media 

to their audiences Bullet theory- theory that implies that media effects flow directly from the media to an individual o People who watch violent movies will become violent



according to this theory Multistep flow- complex interaction of media effects o Multiple sources for your decisions

Social Science Perspectives  Media theories based on the social science perspective have developed from research featuring controlled laboratory 

experiments and content analyses Social learning theory- also known as modeling theory. Based on



the assumption that people learn how to behave by observing others Socialization- the process by which a child learns the expectations, norms and values of society o Albert bandura nursery school study with bobo the clown. One group saw a film of an adult beating bobo and was rewarded  Those children beat the clown after the experiment o Another group saw the adult get disciplined after the clown beating  The children respected the clown afterward

Individual differences  Individual difference theory – theory that predicts that people with different characteristics will be affected in different ways by the mass meda



o Some types of users are more susceptible to some type of media messages than others are Diffusion of innovations theory- theory that different types of people



will adopt new ideas at different times Theses types also predict who will be first to use and become competent in new media o Innovators – these are venturesome people who are eager to try new idea. They tend to be extroverts and politically liberal. They are the first to try out and become competent in new media and new technology o Early adopter- less venturesome than innovators, these people still make a relatively quick but informed choice. This tendency makes them important opinion leaders within their social groups o Early majority- these people make careful, deliberate choices after frequent interaction with their peers and with their opinion leaders. They seldom act as opion leaders themselves, however, and tend to adopt an innovation when it has reached or increasing peer pressure o Late majority- these people tend to be skeptical and accept innovation less often. When they do adopt an innovation the often do so out economics necessity of increasing peer pressure. o Laggards- these people tend to be conservative, traditional and resistant to any type of change. Their point of reference tends to be the past, and they tend to be socially isolated. Today, these are the people who are mystified by the internet, smartphones and social media.

Cultivation theory- theory that the media shape how people view the world Agenda Setting theory- theory that predicts that the amount of attention given to an issue in the media affects the level of importance assigned to it by the public  Telling people what to think about

Cumulative effects theory- opposing agenda setting theory, theory that media have profound effects over time through redundancy Uses and gratification theory- theory that looks at the ways media consumers choose media to meet their needs  Doesn’t regard consumers as passive creatures whos behavior is controlled by media by rather a choice. Who they choose to follow and how to use them. Cultural Studies  Rather than the media effect on individuals the media affect on 

entire cultures have long term effects Cultural studies- research based on careful observation and thought



rather than on controlled experiments Media ecology- school of cultural study that suggest that media make up and ecological system for humans

Gender Analysis  Gender studies- research that looks at how the media deal with male and female roles o A cultural assumption about how males and females should think, act ,and speak are continually presented in mediate messages Political/economic analysis- theory that predicts that culture’s exchange system will influence it’s values  Based on the work of the philosopher Karl Marx  He believed that the economic system of a nation influenced the 

values of the entire culture Media helps create “false consciousness”

Media Theory: A Complex Whole  Together the various theories of media impact demonstrate that is usually ill advised to make blanket statements about media effects o To say “violent video games make violence in society” is not accurate

Manifestation of effects  Baseline effect- Researchers claim that media exposure is always affecting us, whether we realize it or not Third person effect- the belief that media affects other people more than oneself  People generally see others as more vulnerable to persuasion than themselves o People who believe censorship is there for others and not himself Catharsis theory- the idea that viewing violence actually reduces violent behavior because it satisfies a person’s aggressive drive

Chapter 5 Magazines 

09/02/2015

Magazine Evolution: Historians say that media goes through three

stages of development over time  Elite Stage- phase of media evolution in which only the richest and



best educated members of the population makes use of particular medium Popular Stage- phase of media evolution in which a truly mass



audience takes advantage of a particular medium Specialized Stage- phase of media evolution in which a particular medium tends to break up into segments for audience members with diverse and specialized interests o Magazines demonstrate the elite popular specialized cycle most clearly

The first magazine  Edifying Monthly Discussions (Germany 1663) o Today we would call a literary journal  It was targeted to an elite literate audience 

Gentleman’s Magazine by Edward Cave (England 1773) o First real magazine to have magazine in its title  Also closest to what we would know as a modern day magazine because of its storehouse of excerpts from other sources and a precursor to Reader’s Digest

The First American Magazines  They were slow to appear because people didn’t have leisure time



to read them because of their work schedule and spent their reading time with the bible American Magazine by Andrew Bradford (1741) o Only lasted for 3 months



General Magazine by Benjamin Franklin (1741) o Franklin originated the idea but Bradford beat him to the press o Lasted for 6 months



The magazines originally failed because of the same reasons they took so long to come in the first place o Also were seen as luxuries because of their cost





During the 18th and 19th century the magazine industry started to grow was made of specialized magazine such as for religion or even for farmers Womens magazine began to rise in 1822 by Sarah Josepha Hale o Eventually she merged with a male editors magazine and she became head editor. This became very important later when fighting for women’s rights

The Golden Age of Magazines  From 1885 to 1905 the number of magazines doubled  These magazine became important in shaping public opinion and

 

providing a forum for the discussion of important ideas such as evolution or women’s rights Magazines became an advertising medium o Something the economy needed The increase in magazine purchase was related to the US literacy education endorsement with free universal education o Also the decrease in the price to ship literature (became by the pound) o The lower in price of the magazine due to the penny press and low subscription rates

The Muchrackers: Journalism That Inspired Social Change  Magazines were most effective in bringing about in depth investigations o Womens rights o Before the civil war, the abolition of slavery  Douglass’s Monthly  A former slave arguing against slavery 

This became knows as muckraking o Reporters would be put to business and investigate big companies who would cut corners and other illegalities exposing them in magazines

Digest



Mass circulation magazine and composed mostly of material excerpted from other sources including books newspapers and other magazines

-First newsmagazine was time founded by Henry Luce -readers digest is one of the last general magazines to survive to this day

The Golden Age of Photojournalism  1930s with 35mm leica cameras The decline of General Interest Magazines  with the establishment of TV in the 1950s advertisers became more interested in the moving image over magazines The Rise of special interest magazine  Special interest magazines- aimed at specific readers with specific concerns and taste (target marketing) o E...