THEORY: CHAPTER ONE Understanding and Evaluating Mass Communication Theory

1. THEORY: CHAPTER ONEUnderstanding and Evaluating Mass Communication Theory

2. Mass Communication Theory and the New Media Revolution • Most of the long-standing media theories considered were developed to try to describe, understand and explain mass communication phenomena – especially television and newspapers • Some of these theories need to be adapted so that they apply to new media; others may need to be abandoned • New media pose serious problems for media researchers trying to assess how and why these media are influential • We each use these media differently to serve different purposes; we use them at different times and in different places; we multitask and use several of them at the same time

3. New Media Revolution • New media such as the Internet or smart phones are often referred to as being revolutionary --- why? • Compared to older or legacy media, new media: • Reach individual members of audiences at different points in time (asynchronous) • Messages originate from a greater variety of sources including audience members • Messages often don’t originate from large, centralized media organizations • Messages are more diverse and serve a broader range of purposes • Are sometimes closely integrated with face to face communication (social networking media) • Allow users to interact to select and obtain media content that is tailored to their needs or interests

4. Defining Mass Media • We can differentiate media by assessing which ones permit mass communication = mass media • Mass communication involves using media technology to communicate with a large audience. Examples include: • Legacy media (broadcast TV, Radio, Cable TV) that transmit centrally produced messages that reach large audiences simultaneously • Some forms of new media (popular Internet websites, popular videos on YouTube) that transmit messages that reach large audiences in relatively short time periods

5. Defining Mass Communication • Various forms of communication range along a continuum from interpersonal communication (IC) at one extreme to legacy media at the other • New media fall along the middle of this continuum -- they share some attributes of interpersonal communication and some attributes of legacy media

6. New Media = Power to the People? • Legacy media, especially TV, delivered highly packaged messages produced by large, remote media organizations • Audiences passively consumed legacy media messages at the times selected by media organizations • New media offer us the potential to be media message creators and distributors • We can choose from among an increasingly diverse array of messages that we can select, store, use and share with others • New media allow us to have much more direct control over the media content we routinely consume and this can put us in a position of power

7. Assess Your Use of Media • How active are you in your use of legacy or new media? How much time do you spend: • Producing and distributing media content? • Searching out and consuming personally interesting or meaningful media content? • Storing and organizing media content to be consumed when you want to use it? • Sharing media content with others and getting content from them? • Passively watching network TV shows at the times they are broadcast?

8. Media Theory and Scientific Research • A key purpose of media theory is to guide research (to try to prove a theory) • Useful research yields findings that give us insight into what media do for us and our society • There are different ways to do scientific research on media

9. Social Science Research • Why might it be more difficult to do social science research than physical science research?

10. Social Science Research • Social science research methods are used to study media • Social science research is more challenging to conduct than physical science research • The most significant and interesting forms of human behavior are the hardest to measure • Human behavior is complex in terms of causation • Humans have goals and are self-reflexive • We find the notion of causality troubling when applied to ourselves – we like to think we are free agents • Why it would be difficult to study your personal media use to determine how it affects your thoughts and actions?

11. Why does our society have greater difficulty accepting the theories of social scientists- people who apply logic and observation to the social world rather than the physical world?

12. Causality People are reluctant to accept theories of social scientists because of the logic of causality. If we manipulate an independent variable and produce the same effects under the same conditions then a causal relationship has been established.

13. Scientific Method • Identify a problem • Gather data • Suggest a logical hypothesis (a testable prediction) • Test the hypothesis (Results should be the same every time. Reproducible results)

14. Why is it hard to apply scientific method to mass comm theory? • How can there be repeated observation? • No audiences are the same. No content is exactly the same. • How do we know our variable is the one that caused the event when humans are exposed to infinite numbers of variables?

15. Media Effects are slow • Media effects usually are NOT the result of exposure to a few messages in a short amount of time. Effects take place slowly over long periods of time. • So…..researchers would have to follow people for decades to complete observation. Then they would have to tease out the variable.

16. Difficult to use the Scientific Method • It is hard to measure human behavior. (It is easy to measure the temp when water boils but hard to measure civic duty because we have to come up with a definition) 2. Human behavior is complicated. It is very hard to make causal arguments. We cannot isolate single factors that explain behaviors. 3. It is hard to measure human behavior because people change their mind a lot. They learn and they adapt. 4. People are resistant to the idea that they are affected by media content. This is called the third person effect

17. Theory • Theory explains an event or behavior. • It tries to bring clarity to something confusing • It brings together data and focuses our attention on what is important. • A theory is an organized set of explanations of some set of human experience

18. Mass Communication Theory Today • Many specific topics, even those that have been studied for decades such as the effects of violence in the media, theory and research findings are mixed and even contradictory • There are many mass communication theories, each more or less relevant to a given medium, audience, time, condition, and theorist

19. Critical Thinking • Can you think of any social science findings that you reject? What are they? Why are you skeptical of them?

20. Have you ever read or heard of any social scientific findings regarding media and aggressive behavior? If you have, do you believe what social science has told you about this controversial issue? Why or why not?

21. THEORY: CHAPTER TWO4 Eras of Mass Communication Theory Mass Society and Mass Culture Limited Effects Critical Cultural Challenge Meaning-Making Perspectives

22. Revolutions in Media • The invention of the printing press in 1440 • The rise the first mass newspapers, magazines and books in the 1800s • The rise of broadcast media and movies early in the last century • The rise of personal computers and new media in the 1980s and 1990s

23. How Should We Think about Media? • Our book traces the historical development of theories of mass communication • It explains how specific theories about media were developed in an effort to understand the role of media at specific points in time • Older notions about media are often integrated with newer ideas to try to account for new forms of media

24. Where do you stand on the fundamental issue of media impact? In other words, do you believe that media influence individuals, society, and the culture, and if you do, to what extent do they do ­so?

25. 4 Eras of Media Theory • In each of these eras, different notions about media became popular among media scholars • The eras were: • Mass Society and Mass Culture • Limited Effects • Critical Cultural Challenge • Meaning-Making Perspectives

26. Mass Society and Mass Culture • The increasing popularity of mass newspapers, magazines and books in the late 1800s raised elite concerns • During WWI innovative forms of propaganda were widely circulated using mass media; the effectiveness of this propaganda was troubling • The sudden popularity of movies and radio in the 1920s and 1930s raised more concerns

27. Mass Society Theory • Developed during second half of 19th century during industrialization. • View that media is influential but problematic. • Rooted in a nostalgia for a golden age of rural life and anticipates a nightmare future where we all lose our individuality and become servants to machines. • Rooted in threat to existing social order • Version of this theory reoccurs with each generation when new technology threatens status quo.

28. Essential Argument of Mass Society Theory • Essential argument that media subvert and disrupt existing social order. • But media are also potential tool to either restore order or institute a new one. • Should media be operated by entrepreneurs whose goal is to make money? By revolutionary groups? • Is technology good for people?

29. Thinking about Mass Society and Mass Culture • Discuss some of the most popular new ideas or technologies • To what extent were media important in popularizing these ideas or technologies • How did you find out about these ideas or technologies? • If you found out about them from other people, did you go to media to learn more • Discuss popular movies or TV shows • How important is this content to you personally? • Does this content do more than entertain you? • Does the content promote lifestyles or values?

30. Mass Society Theory leads to emergence of Limited Effects Theory Investigations prove that people are not so easily swayed by media content. Also, that technologists failed to recognize possible impact of new technology.

31. Limited Effects Theory • Insisted on using empirical social science methods to prove validity of a theory • Refused to engage in pure speculation.

32. Limited Effects Theory • Limited Effects theorists (Lazarsfeld) find that people resist media influence and their attitudes are shaped by many competing factors- family, friends, religion, education. • Rather than serving as a disruptive social force, media more often seemed to reinforce existing social trends- it strengthens- not threatens the status quo.

33. Limited EffectsEra • By 1930 the power of media to fuel societal disruption and totalitarianism was widely feared • The power of media began to be seriously studied • During WWII the power of propaganda was systematically studied • By 1950 experiments and survey research indicated that media effects were limited by a number of factors • Media effects were limited in terms of the number of people influenced, the type of influence, and the duration of the influence

34. Limited Effects Era • During the 1960s and 1970s limited effects theories were tested over and over • Researchers became convinced that media did little to promote problematic social changes or harmful effects • TV violence didn’t cause widespread aggressiveness • Propaganda couldn’t quickly convert people from one political ideology to another • Advertising only reinforces existing predispositions to buy products • Popular culture fads are a superficial form of entertainment with no lasting consequences

35. Example: Limited effects perspective says ads can’t lead to cultural change….instead advertising just reinforces existing social trends. These theorists say people use media to take advantage of attitude trends to serve their purposes.

36. Thinking about Limited Effects Theory • Discuss Direct to Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs • Most drug advertising is aimed at older people who have the problems that the drugs are designed to alleviate • How effective do you think this advertising is? • Are you aware of family members who have responded to these ads? • Would you be likely to try a drug after seeing it advertised on TV? • What harmful effects could result from these ads? • What beneficial effects could occur?

37. Critical Cultural Challenge • Limited effects theories leave unanswered questions about the possible power of media • Why are billions spent on advertising if it doesn’t have effects? • Why has fundraising to buy advertising become the central focus of most political campaigns if the ads are ineffective? • Why is there such widespread interest in sports and celebrities? • Why have Google, YouTube, and Facebook become multibillion dollar industries? • Why are typical young adults spending more than 7 hours a day using media? • Critical cultural theories offer ways of answering such questions

38. Critical Cultural Challenge • Critical cultural theories of media began to slowly enter the US during the late 1960s and 1970s • The most important source of critical cultural theory was the British Cultural Studies School • Another important source was Marshall McLuhan • James Carey was one of the first Americans to gain notoriety for promoting American Cultural Studies in the 1980s

39. Cultural Studies • Neo Marxist theorists believed media allows dominant social elites to maintain their power. • British Culture Studies: Focused heavily on mass media and their role in promoting a hegemonic worldview and a dominant culture.

40. Cultural Theories • Cultural Theories typically aim to explain something BUT they aim to CHANGE things. They are theorists with a cause. • Cultural Criticism are theories that look at conflicts of interest AND the ways communication creates domination of one group over another.

41. Thinking about Critical Cultural Theories • Discuss how you have learned about the various ethnic cultures that are important in the US such as African American, Hispanic, or Asian cultures? • Through personal experience • From talking to other people • From classes that you have taken • From media content = news, sports and entertainment content • Compared to other information sources how important and useful have media been in providing information? • To what extent does media content promote useful, accurate insights into other cultures? • To what extent do media perpetuate problematic stereotypes? • Are you aware of misunderstanding among your friends that could be perpetuated by media?

42. Fourth Era of Media Theory: Now • New era in media theory: New media technology forces theorists to rethink how people use and are used by media. • Crucial component: Active audience that uses media content to create meaning. • Meaning making theory says people make media serve certain purposes like providing info, managing moods and seeking excitement.

43. Thinking about Meaning Making Theory • Discuss how much you rely on media to make meaning in your life: • Do you engage in mood management = use portable music players to enhance or change your mood? • Do you use Facebook to promote a specific identity for yourself among your friends through pictures and stories? • Do you choose news content that mostly reinforces what you currently believe about politics or do you try to learn new things about politics from media? • Do you routinely use media content to avoid thinking about problems in your life or do you seek solutions to those problems in media content?

44. On-Going Debate over Media Effects • How likely is it that the following types of media content have important good or bad effects? • Violent images or sexual content in videogames • Fast food advertising • Advertising aimed at children for toys or fast food • News coverage of politics, war, or economic crisis • Fashion magazines and ads that promote ultrathin body images as ideal • Heavy metal or rap music • If you think certain types of effects are possible, consider how those effects take place – why would certain types of people be influenced and how widespread would that influence be?

45. The United States is a country that permits, even celebrates, its various differences. At the same time, it is a country with its own distinct culture—we know what it means when someone says he or she is “typically American.” Do you see the fragmentation of the audience, as people search out and consume ever more narrow forms of media content, enriching our diverse culture, or do you see it further dividing us and insulating us from one ­another?

46. We make some strong claims about the power of the new communication technologies to reshape not only the media industries but also the world that relies on them. It is impossible to pick up a contemporary newspaper or magazine without seeing the same theme echoed. Are people making too much of the Internet and the World Wide Web? Are these technologies destined to become just “more TV” or another way to see ads and do your ­shopping?

47. We have argued that convergence promises to alter mass communication theory in many ways, some predictable, some not. What are some possible directions that change might take?

48. List some reasons for fearing media and some reasons for being optimistic about media. Characterize your own views. Are you an optimist or a pessimist when it comes to media? Why?