Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

Mass Media and Communication

Chapter 13

.

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• The Importance of Mass Media• What Are Mass Media?• The Individual and the Media• The Individual, Mass Media, and Society• Ethics and Mass Media• Becoming a More Effective Media Consumer

Overview of Themes

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

The Importance of Mass Media

.

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Media messages serve several functions• People may bond over similar media interests• Media messages shape how people view the world and other

people• Media provide both information and entertainment

The Importance of Mass Media

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

Media = plural of medium Mass media = mediated communication for large

audiences Culture industries= businesses providing mass media Media Types

◦Newspapers◦Mass-Market Paperbacks◦E-Books◦Television/Movies◦Radio◦Popular Music

What are Mass Media?

Cultural Heritage

Cultural Heritage• Beginning of writing came 15,000 years ago

• Cro-Magnon people painted on cave walls• Peoples in the Middle East scratched crude drawing on rock slabs

between 5000 and 4500 B.C.• Idea was for people who saw the representations to interpret their

intended meanings

Cultural Heritage

• Chinese and Maya developed systems of ideographic writing

Cultural Heritage• About 1700 B.C. symbols were developed to represent

sounds rather than whole ideas. This was the beginning of alphabetical writing.

Cultural Heritage

Portable surfaces on which to write were a critical factor in the development of media

Papyrus

Cultural Heritage

• Libraries of rolled up scrolls of papyrus and parchment were developed

Cultural Heritage

• Romans developed books as we know them today.

Cultural Heritage

13th century saw the rise of secular books

Cultural Heritage

• Gutenberg Press invented in 1455

Development of Contemporary Media• Books• Newspapers• Magazines• Motion Pictures• Radio and Television• The Internet and World Wide Web

Books

• A press in Mexico produced books almost a century before the Pilgrims arrived

• First book printed in the colonies was the Whole Book of Psalms

Books and the Colonies

• Book industry delayed in American colonies • British authorities controlled the presses• Most of the population was illiterate• Transportation was limited

What Changed the Situation?• 1840 – Statewide and free public education began in the

1830s• Steam presses advanced book production technology• Boston, New York, and Philadelphia became centers of

book production• Books became a foundation for education

Books Today

• Still the most respected medium

• Paperbacks emerged in the 1950s with cheap printing

Book Power

• Pass on cultural heritage• Entertain• Provide references for critical technologies• Pass along new ideas

Newspapers• Began to appear in England in 1600s• 1665 – Oxford Gazette

• Published regularly• Produced by mechanical printing press• Available to the public• Contained news of general interest• Was readable by people of ordinary literacy• Reports were timely and stable over time

Newspapers in the Colonies• Factors that made it difficult to establish newspapers in

the Colonies• Low literacy• Uncertain financing• Suppression by the Crown

• Success was mixed• The first newspaper in South America was Diario de

Pernambuco, in 1825

Newspapers before 1800• Small• Expensive• Designed for well-educated readers• Highly partisan

New York Sun

• First published in 1833• Aimed at ordinary people

• Cost was one penny• Newsboys sold it on the street

Newspapers Today• More than 80% owned by chains• Use is declining on a per capita basis• Present far more local news in greater detail than other

media• Provide more in depth coverage of national and

international events• 20% of paper is news• 80% is comics, stock market, classified, etc.

Magazines• Storehouses of ideas, opinions, and other types of content• Started as instruments of politics in Europe• First magazine published in 1704

• Included subscriptions and advertisements• Readers were affluent and educated• Not a medium for the masses

Magazines in the U.S.• Initially unsuccessful

• Small cities• Illiterate population• Uncertain and expensive postal services

• Once these barriers disappeared, magazines flourished in the U.S.

Magazines Today• Early 20th century they were very popular• Magazines lost much revenue to television

• Thus, they specialized• Many magazines today are published for very specific audiences

• Still a major mass medium• Politics• Entertainment• Information

Motion Pictures

• Film, cable TV, VCR, DVD, and some Internet services are considered “motion picture media”

• First part of 20th century movies came onto the scene

Movies in America• 1920s theatres became elaborate• WWI shut down the movie industry in Europe and

American films emerged• 1930s movies had a “golden age” when families made

them popular• 1950s television brought a drop in movie attendance• Today movie audiences continue to change

Movies in the 21st Century

• Use of film has expanded the development of cable TV, VCRs, and DVDs

• Movie industry appears to be alive and well

Radio and Television

• Television is a child of radio

• Radio really began with the Telegraph

• The Federal Communications Act of 1934 made big changes still in effect today

Radio• Financing transmission was solved by selling advertising• FM (“frequency modulation”) was patented in 1933• “Golden Age” between mid-1930s and 1950• Free home entertainment

Television• Extended radio• Philo Farnsworth first to successfully transmit and receive

moving pictures• Broadcast began before WWII but really got going about

1948• It is now the dominant medium in American society

Television Growth• New ways of delivering content

• Cable• Satellite• Computers

• Specialized channels will continue to increase

Internet and World Wide Web• Computers making their way into more homes• Combines features of mass and interpersonal media• Advertising, entertainment, and educational content much

like other mass media

Internet Forecast• Will not replace TV but will continue to mix with it• Continue to have an impact on business• Will become increasing more important in the lives of

most Americans

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

The Individual and Media

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Media consumers as active agents• Mass Media Effects

• Measures influence of media on individuals’ everyday lives• Body Image• Violence

• Linear Model• Message Audience

How Media Messages Affect the Individual

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Selective Exposure― seeking media that confirm one’s beliefs

• Uses and Gratifications• Information• Personal Identity• Integration and Social Interaction• Entertainment

• Consumers do not always accept messages, but may resist them as well

How Individuals Choose Media Messages

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

The Individual, Mass Media, and Society

.

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Mediated messages can create, shape, or enforce certain types of identities as normal or valued

• Content analysis – a way of examining mass media texts for types of messages

• Textual analyses - more detailed investigations of a few media texts, which can provide insight into values or ideas being emphasized

CONFIRMING SOCIAL IDENTITIES

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Most images of the world are mediated• Can distort our images

• This process is studied through agenda setting research• Cultivation Theory

• Media immersion enculturates us to shared beliefs about the world• Media hegemony – how people consent to social

constructions

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Events that interrupt regular programming• Shapes understanding • Can create powerful responses• Some media events are staged • Often focus on important rituals and promote subtexts

INTERPRETING MEDIA EVENTS

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Variable responses to violent programming• Effects on children

• Increased aggressiveness and anti-social behavior• Increased fear of becoming a victim• Less sensitivity to violence and victims of violence• Increased appetite for violence in entertainment and every day life

• Industry response• V-chip

MONITORING MEDIA VIOLENCE

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Media and Corporate Ownership• Political Economy Research• Cultural Industries

ANALYZING MEDIA ECONOMICS

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

Ethics and Media

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Not a recent phenomenon

• Hays Code• MPAA• TV Parental Guidelines

• Activist Groups

Media Activism

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

BECOMING A MORE EFFECTIVE MEDIA CONSUMER

Introduction to Communication -- Panama 2012

• Be an active agent• Broaden your media horizons• Talk back

Improving Media Consumption