Transcript What are MASS MEDIA?

Chapter 1
Mass Media
and Culture:
A Critical Approach
What is CULTURE?
defined as “the symbols that individuals,
groups and societies use to make sense
of daily life and to articulate their values”
includes both products and processes
communicates the values of a society
through products or meaning-making
forms
What are MASS MEDIA?
 Mass Media are the culture industries that
mass-produce and distribute cultural
products, which can include songs, novels,
newspapers, movies, online services,
magazines, comic books, DVDs, video games,
textbooks, radio programs, cable TV,
advertising, sports events, and so on
 Mass Communication is the process of
designing and delivering cultural messages and
stories to large and diverse audiences through
media channels
FIVE HISTORICAL ERAS
of media and communication:
Oral
Written
Print
Electronic
Digital
Pre-Industrial Cultures
Oral
Meanings are specific and local
Knowledge is passed by showing
and telling
Memory is crucial
Elders are repositories of
knowledge, as are storytellers
Myth and history are intertwined
Pre-Industrial Cultures
Written (c. 3000 BC)
Ideogrammatic alphabets (Egyptian, Sumerian, Chinese)
give way to syllabic [sound based] alphabets (originally
from Sumerian cuneiform)
Developed to enhance business record keeping
Effects of Literacy
• Meaning and language became more uniform
• Communication could occur over great distances and
long periods of time
• Memories, history and mythology could be recorded
on first papyrus, then parchment,
Industrial and PostIndustrial Cultures
Print
Invention of the Printing Press in China
Block presses invented in 600 AD, with movable clay
type by 1000 AD
Invention of the Printing Press in Europe
Johannes Gutenberg (1397-1468, Germany)
studied metallurgy, sold trinkets to religious pilgrims
invented movable metal type printing
first printed “Indulgences” for Catholic Church
printed 200 copies of two-volume Gutenberg Bible
Impact of Print
Wider availability of written material led to higher need for
literacy among middle and working classes
Increased interest in education to empower the middle
classes to compete with heredity aristocracies
Broader distribution of ideas and information led to
increased technological progress
Printing served as model for industrial mass production
Increased literacy led to both democratic self-expression as
well as interest in censorship
Reading also triggered emphasis on nationalism and
individualism
After industrialization, more need for books both to entertain
and to inform
Industrial and PostIndustrial Cultures
Development of Telegraph (1840s)
separated communication from
transportation
transformed information into a commodity
coordinated commercial and military
operations
Forerunner of electronic communication
Electronic and Digital Communication
create mass market for information and
entertainment
Social and cultural changes
with advent of mass media
democratization of knowledge
and literacy
nourishing ideal of
individualism
facilitation of large social
movements
LINEAR MODEL OF
COMMUNICATION
sender
message
channel
receivers
gatekeepers
feedback
senders-->messages-->receivers
Alternative model
based on belief that audiences are NOT
merely passive receptacles of message
audience members can can interpret the
meanings of media messages differently
based on their own values and viewpoints
Mass media and public perception
mass media can alter a society’s perception of
events and attitudes
For instance:
news coverage of civil rights movement
(example: the murder of Emmett Till)
Hill-Thomas hearings & sexual harassment
News coverage of Bush-Gore in Florida and
doubts about voting systems in US
Public debates about media
Ancient Greece: art and drama
early 20th century America: working class
popular culture
ongoing concerns about children’s
exposure to sex and violence in media
Concerns about media today
fragmentation of media audience
perceived lack of quality, “family values”
overabundance of information
dangers of cyberspace for youth
sex and violence in media
loss of face-to-face community
Developing a CRITICAL
PERSPECTIVE
DESCRIPTION
Outline content
Note structure
Identify characters, conflicts,
themes,ideas
Research
ANALYSIS
Focus
Isolate and analyze patterns
Define area of analysis
Developing a CRITICAL
PERSPECTIVE
INTERPRETATION
Determine meanings of patterns
Answer “so what?”
(significance)
EVALUATION
Make an informed judgment
based on previous steps, not on
personal reaction
Conclude, perhaps with a
recommendation