SOC Readings for Week of 10.01.20
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
University of Toronto *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
100
Subject
Communications
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by CoachPorpoisePerson1058
CHAPTER 13 – Mass Media and Mass Communication
The Significance of the Mass Media
What are the Mass Media?
-
Mass media refers to print, radio, television, and other communication technologies that reach many people
-
Communication via the mass media is often one-way, or one sided, meaning that there are few senders/producers and many receivers
-
Members of the audience cannot exert much influence on the mass media, only choosing to tune in or out
o
Tuning out is often difficult, as the feeling of missing out occurs
The Rise of the Mass Media
-
A majority of mass media is only recently created
o
Systems of writing only appeared 5500 years ago in Mesopotamia
o
The newspaper first appeared in the 1830s US, being the dominant mass medium until as late as the 1950s
o
Most electronic media are creatures of the 20
th
century
o
TV first happened in the 20s
o
The internet first appeared in ‘91
Causes of Media Growth
The causes of media growth can be explained by three main factors – one religious, one political, and one economic
1.
The protestant reformation. Prior to 1517, people relied on Catholic priests to tell them the writings of the bible. However, when Martin Luther protested certain practices of the church, he wanted people to develop a closer relationship with the bible. Within the
next 40 years, millions were being encouraged to read the bible, making it the first form of mass media in the west.
2.
Democratic movements. From the 18
th
century, citizens of Western countries demanded
and achieved representation in government, but simultaneously wanted to become literate and gain access to previously restricted centres of learning. In turn, democratic governments depended on an informed citizenry and therefore encouraged popular literacy and the growth of a free press.
3.
Capitalist industrialization. Modern industries required a literate and numerate workforce. They also needed rapid means of communication to do business efficiently. Moreover, the mass media turned out to be a major source of profit in their own right.
Theories of Media Effects
Functionalism
-
As societies develop, they become larger and more complex, the number of institutions and roles proliferate
o
Because of this, face-to-face interaction becomes less viable as a means of communication. As a result, the need increases for new means of coordinating society
-
In the 19
th
century, George Hegel said that the newspaper unites the secular world in the way that daily prayer once united the Christian
-
The mass media perform an important function by coordinating the operation of industrial and post-industrial societies
-
According to functionalist theory, the mass media are also important agents of socialization
o
E.g. families relinquishing their former nearly exclusive right to transmit norms, values, and culture
-
The mass media have stepped into the breach, reinforcing shared ideals of democracy, competition, and justice
-
The mass media helps to ensure conformity
-
The mass media provides entertainment
Conflict Theory
-
Conflict theorists state that functionalism exaggerates the degree to which the mass media serve the interests of the entire society
o
They state that some people benefit from the mass media more than others
-
They state that there are two ways in which dominant classes/political groups benefit disproportionately from the mass media
1.
The mass media broadcast beliefs, values, and ideas that create widespread acceptance of the basic structure of society, including injustices/inequalities
2.
Ownership of the mass media is highly concentrated in the hands of a small number of people and is highly profitable for them, thus making them a source of economic inequality
Media Ownership
o
For decades, a majority of Canadian mass media have been owned by less than a
dozen families
o
Today, there are 5 multi-media giants, 4 of which are privately owned and 1 being government-owned
o
Over time, concentration of the privately-owned media has increased, fewer and
fewer people control Canada’s media with every passing decade
o
Until the 1990s, media concentration involved mainly a small number of firms trying to control as much production as possible in their particular fields
o
In the 90s, however, media firms sought to control production and distribution in
many fields, becoming “media conglomerates”
o
Today, a media conglomerate may own any combination of television networks, stations, and production facilities; magazines, newspapers, book publishers; cable channels/systems; sports teams;
Rogers owning the Blue Jays
Media Bias
There are 3 biasing mechanisms that help bias the news that support powerful corporate interests and political groups
1.
Advertising. Most of the revenue earned by stations and newspapers come from advertising by large corporations. These corporations routinely seek to influence the news so it will reflect well on them.
2.
Sourcing. Most news agencies rely heavily for information on press releases, news conferences, and interviews organized by large corporations and government agencies. These sources routinely slant information to reflect favourably on their policies and preferences.
3.
Flak. Governments and big corporations routinely attack journalists who depart from official and corporate points of view.
Interpretive Approaches
-
Both conflict theory and functionalism understate the degree to which audience members interpret media messages in different ways
-
Cultural studies focus not just on the cultural meanings that producers try to transmit but also on the way audiences filter and interpret mass media messages in the context of their own interests, experiences, and values
-
The signal contribution of symbolic interactionist and related approaches, such as cultural studies, is that they highlight the importance of such interpretive acts
-
The question of “how much influence do the mass media actually exert over audiences?” is raised
-
Stuart Hall, states that audience members are active consumers of media, and they filter
and interpret messages of their own interests, experiences, and values
-
Therefore, from his view, any adequate analysis of the mass media needs to take into account both the production and the consumption of the media products
o
First study the meaning by the producers, then how the audience consumes/interprets
-
Various traits affect how people consume the media, gender, race, class, age, sexuality etc.
Feminist Approaches
-
Focuses primarily on the misrepresentation of women in the mass media
o
In TV, women were primarily casted as homemakers, secretaries, and other subordinate roles in comparison to men
o
Early research assumed audiences were passive, so they targeted toward that
-
A study which made 108 women watch 3 different programs focused on abortion was conducted. The programs were pro-choice and dealt with women who chose abortion to avoid poverty
Four distinct categories of opinion emerged:
1.
Pro-life women from all social classes form the most homogeneous group. They think abortion is never justified. On principle, they reject the mass media’s justifications for abortion. 2.
Pro-choice working-class women adopt a pro-choice stand as a survival strategy, not on principle. They do not condone abortion, but they fear that laws restricting abortion would be applied prejudicially against women of their class. Therefore, they
oppose any such restrictions. At the same time, they reject the TV message that financial hardship justifies abortion.
3.
Pro-choice working-class women who aspire to middle-class status distance themselves from the “reckless” members of their own class who sought abortions
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
on the TV shows. They tolerate abortion for such people, but they reject it for themselves and for other “responsible” women. 4.
Pro-choice middle-class women believe that only an individual woman’s feelings can determine whether abortion is right or wrong in her own case. Though many reject it as an option for themselves, they believe in choice for the individual.
-
It can be concluded that women are much more than their media portrayals
-
In recent years, the capacity of the mass media to reproduce and change the system of racial inequality has been focused on
-
Eliminating the common stereotypes both gender-wise and race-wise is prioritized
Centralized Control and Resistance on the Internet
-
The internet, especially social media, offers better prospects for audience influence than
do the traditional mass media
-
The internet gives consumers new creative capabilities, partially blurring the distinction between producer and consumer
-
The internet can/sometimes does make the mass media more democratic
Access
-
Access to the internet is growing rapidly, however, it can still be restricted based on factors such as location and income
Content
-
Media imperialism is the domination of a mass medium by a single national culture and the undermining of other national cultures (e.g. American web domination)
Internet Advertising
o
Advertising seeks to influence/manipulate consumers to buy products and services
o
Companies invest a lot in advertising because it works
o
Targeted ads are widely used, services routinely collecting information on you
Biased Algorithms
o
Algorithms are written to drive the internet/social media
o
The biases that people who write algorithms hold are incorporated into them, often favouring right-wing groups
Online Piracy vs. Net Neutrality
-
Online piracy
is the term used by internet service providers and online distributors of media to describe the downloading of copyright material without paying for it
o
People are extremely against this as they are not receiving money for their work
-
Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers should not restrict access to any online content
o
Advocates state that this allows maximum freedom of expression, innovation, and user choice
The Rise of Social Media
-
Using social media affects identity, social relationships, and social activism
-
The internet is a mass medium unlike any other in the sense that it provides unique opportunities for user autonomy and creativity
-
It also increases opportunities for corporations and authorities to engage in the homogenization, surveillance, and possible control of users
END OF CHAPTER QUIZ:
1. According to the text, three factors account for the rise of the mass media. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors? a. the widespread use of the Bible after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century
b. the widespread use of the Bible after the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century
c. the spread of democracy beginning in the eighteenth century
d. capitalist industrialization
2. Which of the following is NOT a function of the mass media according to functionalist theory?
a. coordinating the operation of industrial and postindustrial societies
b. acting as important agents of socialization c. helping to ensure conformity d. providing many jobs that pay well
3. Which theory claims that the mass media are biased because of advertising, sourcing, and flak? a. feminist theory b. symbolic interactionist theory c. conflict theory d. functionalist theory
*4. Which of the following research methods provides the most valid assessment of the relationship between TV violence and real-world violence? a. laboratory experiments b. field research c. surveys d. natural experiments
5. What is net neutrality?
a. The principle that Internet service providers should not restrict access to any online content.
b. The principle that people should pay the same fee for Internet access regardless of how much data they use.
c. The principle that political messaging on the Internet should avoid extremism.
d. The principle that people should have equal access to the Internet and that the speed of their connection should also be equal.