The Mass Media

Sociological Perspectives

Mass Media defined

• Mass media is defined as -interpersonal communications directed to a vast audiences.

• Mass Media include-television, radio, newspapers, the internet

Early Critics (Gomberg, 1964)

• According to (television standardizes children’s minds and stereotypes their imaginations.

•

Urie Bronfrenbrennar

• Referrred to the television viewing as, “The Unmaking of the American child(1962)

Mass=large clump

• The term- mass media, derives from the term mass -large clump, shapeless piece of matter…

Mass Communications

• Media…media = middle

• Some (Chomsky, 1991) mass media: • middling, • leveling, • compartmentalizing, • channelling,

Brief HISTORY of the News

• THE UNITED STATES • & • CANADA

Early Democracy US

• Free Press dynamic=liberty.. • Independent News in every city and town

• The 1850 census catalogued 2,526 newspaper titles.

The early US 20th century.

• An astounding 11,314 different papers were recorded in the 1880 census.

Radio and television

• By the 1960s Radio and Television

surpassed the Newspaper.

• By the 2000s Radio and TV were being surpassed by the Internet.

Media in Canada

• The Oldest Canadian Newpaper The Halifax Gazette

• Currently six corporations control

Canadian media compared to over 100 owners in 1900.

Timeline of To the Internet

1. 1939 First Television 2. 1945-War ends-domestic

production and consumerism begins

3. 1957-Sputnik

Timeline

4. 1960-ARPA. From military use to University

5. 1980- Computer begin*** 6. 1990’s WWW 7. 2000 –capitalism and

globalization.

Selectivity of the News-

• Leftist -note that news coverage of ethnic minorities is negative

1. -Unbalanced coverage

2. Street Crime vs Suite Crime

Right Wing Media Critic..

• argue that news is too negative about the economy

• i.e More people are working, output is higher.

Theoretical Perspectives on Mass Media

1. Structural Functional –integration (the town crier)

2. Conflict-ideology (bourgeois false consciousness)

3. Symbolic Interactionist- (formal rationality)

4. Post Modernism-(fragmented discourses)

1. Functionalists-Mass media

• The mass media in a democratic nation reflect varied opinions, it is fair and neutral many groups are represented.

• Media integrates human society, brings

groups together, contributes to collective consciousness.

Mass Media: A Functional Social Institution

• Mass media-newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the internet, can be considered an institution.

• One of society’s key agents of socialization

Mass Media and SF

• a. Functionalists such as T. Parsons-

media plays a vital role in the integration, adaptation society.

• The media gathers and disseminates information (It is only the town crier).

Mass Media and SF

• b. It socializes us into the on-going social order…It transmits cultural heritage, and basic norms and values.

• c. It provides pleasure and entertainment-stress management (chill out and watch the tube)

• d Reinforces shared ideals, justice, democracy, respect for the law amidst freedom and individualism

• e. Provides social integration, surveillance, reproduces a moral order (Durkheim

2 Conflict Theory on Media

• The media is an instrument of the bourgeoisie.

• The wealthy and the powerful utilize media to maintain the hegemonic status in the social order.

• The Mass Media -disseminate ideology

Box 5.1 The Number One Global Media Corporation

Chapter 5 Copyright © 2001 Harcourt Canada Ltd. Slide 10

Ideology

• Conflict theorists define ideology as a body of assumptions, ideas, and values the combine into a coherent world view.

IDEOLOGY-

• COMES FROM THE TOP DOWN…IDEAS OF THE RULING CLASS.

• The bourgeoisie suffer from `false consciousness’.

Mass Media: CONFLICT THEORY

• Few of us have actually sat down and thought about ideas vs. ideology

• IDEOLOGY- ideas legitimated by the RULING CLASS

Legitimacy

Legitimacy comes to us from without in at least four ways:

Conflict Theory – Mass Media See Adorno

1. The media is a capitalist tool

2. The media is owned by the dominant class

3. -Only a few corporations in charge,

4. Television is an advertising mechanism with splatters of news and entertainment.

5. Media =mass deception 6. Media -legitimates the status

quo-

False Consciousness

7. Disseminates a dominant ideology that cultivates production and consumption of commodities…commodity fetishism

Media -mass deception ..

8. Media for the most part is an opiate –see Marx on religion

.

Media +hegemony • 9. -Those on top are not

something to strive for… • Achievement is an ideology. • SEE LOTTERIES AS

IDEOLOGY

Information technology

• 10. -IT distracts people /prevents them from recognizing the exploitive characteristics of capitalism

IDEAS OR IDEOLOGY?

• Far beyond serving as sources of information, the media influence our attitudes towards social issues, other people, and even our self concept.

R.Connel (1989)

• Mass media constructs gender

• People identify with the stereotypes view on TV and the Movies.

• For example, despite attention to violence today,

• 40% of violent acts are committed by Heroes.

1. Violence is normalized

2. Violence part of masculinity.

3. Femininity-passive, compliant.

• Hegemonic Masculinity and • Emphasized Femininity

3. Symbolic Interactionism

• CW. Mills • “The media not only give us

information; they guide our very experience.

• .” –our standards, our credulity our view of reality itself…

Sociological Imagination(C. Wright Mills 1959)

• Sociological imagination helps us

grasp the relationship between history and biography.

Public influences private

• Through Mass media we can see

• how our personal lives are connected to social world

• (micro-macro connection).

SI and Conflict View

• See Herman and Chomski, Manufacturing Consent.

• The mass media constructs social reality

Symbolic Interactionism,

• Use of language, visual images, symbolic tools-

• representation of reality is a selective process-

• What is to be included and left out…. • Every representation is only one of

several ways of seeing and talking about something.

Media &the political spectrum

• “From the point of view of those on left-wing of the political spectrum, the right wing media are:

• …Not merely influential or persuasive, they are powerful!

Political Right

• To those on the Political Right, such as George Bush and even Lou Dobbs, a left wing media,

• However small and tacky, however badly mimeographed and coffee stained, carry more weight than the New York Times.

Crime in the News

• We here much about STREET CRIME-crack dealer, prostitute, robbery at the grocery store.

• Little about SUITE CRIME-white collar crime is more destructive to society as a whole.

4. The Technological Perpective

• SEE MARSHAL McLUHAN

• THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE • (Theory-enhance, retrieve, reverse,

obsolesce)

Technological change

• Mass media is driven by capitalism and technological change-television for example, was introduced in 1939…

• Now it consumes our lives….

Electronic Media `is’ the Message

• -Technological Approach • THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE • Medium=enhance, retrieve, reverse,

obsolesce

Television

• Television, in particular, has become a critical force in the socialization of children.

• In 1999, survey in Canada, 99% of households contained at least on TV, 75% at least on VCR, 75% cable.

•

Technological change

• In the New millenium-cell phones, IPODS, MP3,

• Global positioning systems-BIG BROTHER…

• See Enemy of the State-Will Smith

Social Change

• In 1979, Canadians spent 200 million on movie rental and going to movies…

• Whereas in the 1990’s that figure jumps 800 million…

• W. F Ogburn (1933)-a change in material culture, produces `cultural lag’-change in non-material culture is slower.

• McLuhan-media messages are growing increasing powerful and ubiquitous

5. POST MODERNISM:

• . Television and other media are a discourse those in privileged positions:

• can limit the discourse of other, • control the information flow, • select content.

4. POST MODERNISM:

• . Television and other media are a discourse those in privileged positions:

• can limit the discourse of other, • control the information flow, • select content. • .

• .

Bruce Hornsby and the Range

• Well they passed a law in 64 To give those who aint got a little more But it only goes so far Because the law anothers mind When all it sees at the hiring time Is the line on the color bar

Television and Stereotypes

• a. TV mirrors society’s patterns of inequality • b. TV rarely challenges the status quo…trailer

park boys • c. TV almost always places men in positions of

power • d. TV almost always depicts women as mothers

or subordinates •