Contents
·
5 Forms
o
6.1 Film
o
8.1 Book
·
17 Notes
Mass media
Mass media refers
collectively to all media technologies
which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media (also known
as electronic media) transmit their information electronically and comprise of television,
film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs
and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles. Alternatively, print
media uses a physical object as a means of sending their information, such as a
newspaper,
magazines, brochures, newsletters, books, leaflets and pamphlets. Photography
can also be included under this subheading as it is a medium which communicated
through visual representations.[1][2]
The term also refers to the organizations which control these technologies,
such as television stations or publishing companies.[3][4]
Mobile phones, computers and Internet are sometimes referred to as New-age
Media. Internet
media is able to achieve mass media status in its own right, due to the many
mass media services it provides, such as email, websites, blogging, Internet
and TV. For this reason, many mass media outlets have a presence on the web, by
such things as having TV ads which link to a website, or having games in their
sites to entice gamers to visit their website. In this way, they can utilise
the easy accessibility that the internet has, and the outreach that internet
affords, as information can easily be broadcast to many different regions of
the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently. Outdoor media is a form of mass
media which comprises billboards, signs, placards placed inside and outside of
commercial buildings/objects like shops/buses, flying billboards (signs in tow
of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting.[5]
Public speaking and event organising can also be considered as a form of mass
media.[1]
"Mass" media
What exactly is classified as mass
media?
Until recent time, mass media was
clearly defined and consisted of eight mass media industries: books,
newspapers, magazines, recordings, radio, movies, television and the internet.
With the explosion of digital communication technology in the late 20th and
early 21st centuries, the question of what forms of media should be classified
as "mass Media" has become more prominent. For example, it is controversial
whether to include cell phones, video games and computer games (such as
MMORPGs) in the definition. Currently, mass media is classified into the "seven mass
media": print, recordings, cinema, radio, television, internet,
mobile phones.
While a telephone is a two way
communication device, mass media refers to medium which can communicate a
message to a large group, often simultaneously. However, modern cell phones are
no longer a single use device. Most cell phones are equipped with internet
access and capable of connecting to the web which itself a mass medium. A
question arises of whether this makes cell phones a mass medium or simply a
device used to access a mass medium (the internet).There is currently a system
where marketers and advertisers are able to tap into satellites, and broadcast
commercials and advertisements directly to cell phones, unsolicited by the
phone's user. This transmittion of mass advertising to millions of people is a
form of mass communication.
Video games may also be evolving into a
mass medium. Video games convey the same messages and ideologies to all their
users users. Users sometimes share the experience with each other by playing
online. Excluding the internet however, it is questionable whether players of
video games are sharing a common experience when they play the game separately.
It is possible to discuss in great detail the events of a video game with a
friend you have never played with because the experience was identical to you
both. The question is if this is then a form of mass communication.
MMORPGS such as Runescape provide a
common gaming experience to millions of users throughout the globe. It is
arguable that the users are receiving the same message, i.e., the game is mass
communicating the same messages to the various players.
Mass vs. mainstream
Mass media is also sometimes referred
to as the "mainstream media" (although it is in fact
something different), due to the tendency of media choosing to chose prominent,
yet trivial, stories which will be of interest to a general audience (such as
celebrity break-ups), whilst ignoring controversial or intellectually
stimulating news. This trend is attributed to the fact that media, though used
to provide a service to the public to keep them updated, is essentially a
business and will naturally do what it must to sell newspapers or magazines
etc. Mass media has become one of the main sources of news and entertainment
for the general public, and over the past century, mass media has become a
globally huge industry.[2]
Mass vs. local
Mass media is distinguished from local
media by the notion that whilst the former aims to reach a very large market
such as the entire population of a country, the latter broadcasts to a much
smaller population and area, and generally focuses on regional news rather than
global events. A third type of media, speciality media, provides for specific
demographics, such as specialty channels on TV (sports
channels, porn channels, etc.). These definitions are not set in
stone, and it is possible for a media outlet to be promoted in status from a
local media outlet to a global media outlet. Some lcoal media, which takes an
interest in state or provincial news can rise to prominence due to their
investigative journalism, and to the local region's preference of updates in
national politics rather than regional news. The Guardian,
formerly known as the Manchester Guardian is an example of one such media
outlet. Once a regional daily newspaper, The Guardian is currently a
nationally-respected paper.[2]
Broadcast and new-age vs. print
Despite the view that broadcast media
and new age media have made print media obsolete, there exists a majority of
audiences who prefer the print media for various communication purposes.[1]
Criticism
One major criticism of the mass media
is that it can be too topical. A mass media is often forced to cover national
and international news due to it having to cater for and be relevant for a wide
demographic. As such, it has to skip over many interesting or important local
stories because they simply do not interest the large majority of their
viewers. An example given by the website Wise Geek is that "the residents
of a community might view their fight against development as critical, but the
story would only attract the attention of the mass media if the fight became
controversial or if precedents of some form were set".[2]
Whilst some elitists refer to mass
media as the "opiate of the masses", other argue that is a vital
aspect of human societies. By understanding mass media, one is then able to
analyse and find a deeper understanding of one's population and culture. This
valuable and powerful ability is one reason why the field of media studies is
popular. As WiseGeek says, "watching, reading, and interacting with a
nation's mass media can provide clues into how people think, especially if a
diverse assortment of mass media sources are perused".[2]
Since the 1950s, in the countries that
have reached a high level of industrialization, the mass media
of cinema, radio and TV have a key role in political power.[6]
Contemporary research demonstrates an
increasing level of concentration of media ownership,
with many media industries already highly concentrated and dominated by a very
small number of firms.[7]
History
The history of mass media can be traced
back to the days when dramas were performed in various ancient cultures. This
was the first time when a form of media was "broadcast" to a wider
audience. The first dated printed book known is the "Diamond Sutra",
printed in China in 868 AD, although it is clear that books were printed
earlier. Movable clay type was invented in 1041 in China. However, due to the
slow spread of literacy to the masses in China, and the relatively high cost of
paper there, the earliest printed mass-medium was probably European popular
prints from about 1400. Although these were produced in huge
numbers, very few early examples survive, and even most known to be printed
before about 1600 have not survived. The term "mass media" was coined
with the creation of print media, which is notable for being the first example
of mass media, as we use the term today. This form of media started in Europe
in the Middle Ages. Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press
allowed the mass production of books to sweep the nation. He printed the first
book on a printing press with movable type
in 1453. The Gutenberg Bible, one of the books he published, was translated
into many different languages and printed throughout the continent. The
invention of the printing press in the late 15th century gave
rise to some of the first forms of mass communication, by enabling the
publication of books and newspapers on a scale much larger than was previously
possible.[8][9][10]
The invention also transformed the way the world received printed materials,
although books remained too expensive really to be called a mass-medium for at
least a century after that. Newspapers developed from about 1612, with the
first example in English in 1620;[11]
but they took until the 19th century to reach a mass-audience directly. The
first high-circulation newspapers arose in London in the early 1800s, such as The Times,
and were made possible by the invention of high-speed rotary steam printing
presses, and railroads which allowed large-scale distribution over wide
geographical areas. The increase in circulation, however, led to a decline in
feedback and interactivity from the readership, making newspapers a more
one-way medium.[12][13][14]
The phrase "the media" began
to be used in the 1920s.[15]
The notion of "mass media" was generally restricted to print media up
until the post-Second World War, when radio, television and video were
introduced. The audio-visual facilities became very popular, because they
provided both information and entertainment, because the colour and sound
engaged the viewers/listeners and because it was easier for the general public
to passively watch TV or listen to the radio than to actively read. In recent
times, the Internet become the latest and most popular mass medium. Information
has become readily available through websites, and easily accessible through
search engines. One can do many activities at the same time, such as playing
games, listening to music, and social networking, irrespective of location.
Whilst other forms of mass media are restricted in the type of information they
can offer, the internet comprises a large percentage of the sum of human
knowledge through such things as Google Books. Modern day mass media consists
of the internet, mobile phones, blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds.[16]
During the 20th century, the growth of
mass media was driven by technology, including that which allowed much duplication of
material. Physical duplication technologies such as printing,
record pressing and film duplication allowed the duplication of books,
newspapers and movies at low prices to huge audiences. Radio and television
allowed the electronic duplication of information for the first time. Mass
media had the economics of linear replication: a single work could make money.
An example of Riel and Neil's theory. proportional to the number of copies sold,
and as volumes went up, unit costs went down, increasing profit margins
further. Vast fortunes were to be made in mass media. In a democratic society, the
media can serve the electorate about issues regarding government
and corporate entities (see Media
influence). Some consider the concentration of media ownership
to be a threat to democracy.[17]
Professions involving mass media
Journalism
Journalism
is the discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting information
regarding current
events, trends, issues and people. Those
who practice journalism are known as journalists.
News-oriented journalism
is sometimes described as the "first rough draft of history"
(attributed to Phil Graham), because journalists often record
important events, producing news articles on short deadlines. While under
pressure to be first with their stories, news media
organizations usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication,
adhering to each organization's standards of accuracy, quality and style. Many
news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and
institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised
questions about holding the press itself accountable.
Public relations
Public
relations is the art and science of managing communication between
an organization and its key publics to build, manage and sustain its positive
image. Examples include:
·
Corporations
use marketing public relations to convey information about the products they
manufacture or services they provide to potential customers to support their
direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short and long term,
establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing
market.
·
Corporations
also use public relations as a vehicle to reach legislators and other
politicians, seeking favorable tax, regulatory, and other treatment, and they
may use public relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in
support of human-resources recruiting programs.
·
Nonprofit organizations, including schools
and universities, hospitals, and human and social service agencies, use public
relations in support of awareness programs, fund-raising programs, staff
recruiting, and to increase patronage of their services.
·
Politicians use
public relations to attract votes and raise money, and, when successful at the
ballot box, to promote and defend their service in office, with an eye to the
next election or, at career’s end, to their legacy.
Publishing
Publishing
is the industry concerned with the production of literature
or information
– the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases,
authors may be their own publishers.
Traditionally, the term refers to the
distribution of printed works such as books and newspapers.
With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet,
the scope of publishing has expanded to include websites,
blogs, and the like.
As a business,
publishing includes the development, marketing,
production,
and distribution of newspapers, magazines,
books, literary works, musical works, software,
other works dealing with information.
Publication is also important as a legal concept; (1) as the
process of giving formal notice to the world of a significant intention, for
example, to marry or enter bankruptcy, and; (2) as the essential precondition
of being able to claim defamation; that is, the alleged libel must have been
published.
Software publishing
A software publisher is a publishing
company
in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all
three of these roles may be combined (and indeed, may reside in a single
person, especially in the case of shareware).
Software publishers often license
software from developers with specific limitations, such as a time limit or
geographical region. The terms of licensing vary enormously, and are typically
secret.
Developers may use publishers to reach
larger or foreign markets, or to avoid focussing on marketing. Or publishers
may use developers to create software to meet a market need that the publisher
has identified.
Forms
Today, mass media is generally
categorised into 7 branches. These "seven mass
media", in order of their introduction are:
1.
Print
(books, pamphlets,
newspapers,
magazines,
etc.) from the late 15th century
2.
Recordings
(gramophone records, magnetic tapes,
cassettes,
cartridges,
CDs, DVDs) from the late 19th
century
3.
Cinema from about 1900
4.
Radio from about 1910
5.
Television
from about 1950
6.
Internet
from about 1990
7.
Mobile phones
from about 2000
Each mass media has its own content
types, its own creative artists and technicians, and its own business model.
The sixth and seventh media, internet and mobile, are often called collectively
as digital media;
and the fourth and fifth, radio and TV, as broadcast
media.
Broadcast
The sequencing of content in a
broadcast is called a schedule. With all technological
endeavours a number of technical terms and slang are developed please see the list of broadcasting terms for a glossary
of terms used.
Television
and radio
programs are distributed through radio broadcasting over frequency bands that
are highly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
Such regulation includes determination of the width of the bands, range,
licencing, types of receivers and transmitters used, and acceptable content.
Cable
programs are often broadcast simultaneously with radio and television programs,
but have a more limited audience. By coding signals and having decoding
equipment in homes,
cable also enables subscription-based channels and pay-per-view
services.
A broadcasting organisation
may broadcast several programs at the same time, through several channels (frequencies),
for example BBC One
and Two.
On the other hand, two or more organisations may share a channel and each use
it during a fixed part of the day. Digital radio
and digital television may also transmit multiplexed
programming, with several channels compressed
into one ensemble.
When broadcasting is done via the
Internet the term webcasting is often used. In 2004 a new phenomenon occurred
when a number of technologies combined to produce podcasting.
Podcasting is an asynchronous broadcast/narrowcast medium, with one of the main
proponents being Adam Curry and his associates the Podshow.
Film
'Film' encompasses motion
pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The name
comes from the photographic film (also called filmstock),
historically the primary medium for recording and displaying motion
pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures (or just pictures
and "picture"), the silver screen, photoplays, the
cinema, picture shows, flicks — and commonly movies.
Films are produced by recording
people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation
techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of
individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the
illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not
seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision — whereby the eye
retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been
removed. Also of relevance is what causes the perception of motion; a
psychological effect identified as beta movement.
Film is considered by many to be an
important art
form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. Any film can
become a worldwide attraction, especially with the addition of dubbing or subtitles
that translate the film message. Films are also artifacts created by specific
cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.
Video games
A video game is a computer-controlled
game where a video display such as a monitor
or television
is the primary feedback device. The term "computer game" also
includes games which display only text (and which can therefore theoretically
be played on a teletypewriter) or which use other methods, such
as sound or vibration, as their primary feedback device, but there are very few
new games in these categories. There always must also be some sort of input device,
usually in the form of button/joystick combinations (on arcade games),
a keyboard & mouse/trackball
combination (computer games), or a controller
(console games), or a combination of any of the
above. Also, more esoteric devices have been used for input. Usually there are
rules and goals, but in more open-ended games the player may be free to do
whatever they like within the confines of the virtual universe.
In common usage, a "computer
game" or a "PC game" refers to a game that is
played on a personal computer. "Console game"
refers to one that is played on a device specifically designed for the use of
such, while interfacing with a standard television
set. "Arcade game" refers to a game designed to
be played in an establishment in which patrons pay to play on a per-use basis.
"Video game" (or "videogame") has evolved into a catchall
phrase that encompasses the aforementioned along with any game made for any
other device, including, but not limited to, mobile phones,
PDAs, advanced calculators,
etc.
Audio recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction
is the electrical
or mechanical re-creation and/or amplification of sound, often as music. This involves the
use of audio equipment such as microphones, recording
devices and loudspeakers. From early beginnings with the invention of the phonograph
using purely mechanical techniques, the field has advanced with the invention
of electrical recording, the mass production of the 78 record,
the magnetic wire
recorder followed by the tape recorder,
the vinyl LP record. The invention of the compact
cassette in the 1960s, followed by Sony's Walkman,
gave a major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings, and the
invention of digital recording and the compact disc
in 1983 brought massive improvements in ruggedness and quality. The most recent
developments have been in digital audio players.
An album is a collection of related
audio recordings, released together to the public, usually commercially.
The term record album originated
from the fact that 78 RPM Phonograph
disc records were kept together in a book
resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an
"album" was Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker
Suite, release in April 1909 as a four-disc set by Odeon records.[18][19]
It retailed for 16 shillings — about £15
in modern currency.
A music video
(also promo) is a short film or video that accompanies a
complete piece of music, most commonly a song. Modern music videos
were primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale
of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further,
they came into their own in the 1980s, when Music
Television's format was based on them. In the 1980s, the term
"rock video" was often used to describe this form of entertainment,
although the term has fallen into disuse.
Music videos can accommodate all styles
of filmmaking, including animation, live action films, documentaries,
and non-narrative, abstract film.
New-age media (digital media)
Internet
The Internet
(also known simply as "the Net" or less precisely as "the
Web") is a more interactive medium of mass media, and can be briefly
described as "a network of networks". Specifically, it is the
worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer
networks that transmit data by packet
switching using the standard Internet
Protocol (IP). It consists of millions of smaller domestic,
academic, business, and governmental networks, which together carry various information
and services, such as e-mail, online chat,
file
transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide
Web.
Contrary to some common usage, the
Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is the system
of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic
cables, wireless
connections etc.; the Web is the contents, or the interconnected documents,
linked by hyperlinks
and URLs. The World Wide Web is accessible
through the Internet, along with many other services including e-mail, file sharing
and others described below.
Toward the end of the 20th century, the
advent of the World Wide Web marked the first era in which most individuals
could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass media.
Anyone with a web site
has the potential to address a global audience, although serving to high levels
of web traffic
is still relatively expensive. It is possible that the rise of peer-to-peer
technologies may have begun the process of making the cost of bandwidth
manageable. Although a vast amount of information, imagery, and commentary
(i.e. "content") has been made available, it is often difficult to
determine the authenticity and reliability of information contained in web
pages (in many cases, self-published). The invention of the Internet has also
allowed breaking news stories to reach around the globe within minutes. This
rapid growth of instantaneous, decentralized communication is often deemed
likely to change mass media and its relationship to society.
"Cross-media" means the idea
of distributing the same message through different media channels. A similar
idea is expressed in the news industry as "convergence". Many authors
understand cross-media publishing to be the ability to publish in both print
and on the web without manual conversion effort. An increasing number of wireless
devices with mutually incompatible data and screen formats make it even more
difficult to achieve the objective “create once, publish many”.
The Internet is quickly becoming the
center of mass media. Everything is becoming accessible via the internet.
Instead of picking up a newspaper, or watching the 10 o'clock news, people can
log onto the internet to get the news they want, when they want it. For
example, many workers listen to the radio through the Internet while sitting at
their desk.
Even the education
system relies on the Internet. Teachers can contact the entire class
by sending one e-mail. They may have web pages where students can get another
copy of the class outline or assignments. Some classes have class blogs in
which students are required to post weekly, with students graded on their
contributions.
Blogs (web logs)
Blogging,
too, has become a pervasive form of media. A blog is a website, usually
maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions
of events, or interactive media such as images or video. Entries are commonly
displayed in reverse chronological order, with most recent posts shown on top.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function
as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images and other
graphics, and links to other blogs, web pages, and related media. The ability
for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of
many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art
(artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog),
audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media. Microblogging
is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts.
RSS feeds
RSS is a format for
syndicating news and the content of news-like sites, including major news sites
like Wired,
news-oriented community sites like Slashdot,
and personal blogs. It is a family of Web feed formats used to publish
frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts.
An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" or
"channel") contains either a summary of content from an associated
web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web
sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or
filtered displays.
Podcast
Main article: Podcast
A podcast
is a series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet
using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers.
The term podcast, like broadcast, can refer either to the series of content
itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also called
podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
Mobile
Mobile phones
were introduced in Japan
in 1979 but became a mass media only in 1998 when the first downloadable
ringing tones were introduced in Finland. Soon most forms of media content were
introduced on mobile phones, and today the total value of media consumed on
mobile towers over that of internet content, and was worth over 31 billion
dollars in 2007 (source Informa). The mobile media content includes over 8
billion dollars worth of mobile music (ringing tones, ringback tones,
truetones, MP3 files, karaoke, music videos, music streaming services etc.);
over 5 billion dollars worth of mobile gaming; and various news, entertainment
and advertising services. In Japan mobile phone books are so popular that five
of the ten best-selling printed books were originally released as mobile phone
books.
Similar to the internet, mobile is also
an interactive media, but has far wider reach, with 3.3 billion mobile phone
users at the end of 2007 to 1.3 billion internet users (source ITU). Like email
on the internet, the top application on mobile is also a personal messaging
service, but SMS text messaging is used by over 2.4 billion people. Practically
all internet services and applications exist or have similar cousins on mobile,
from search to multiplayer games to virtual worlds to blogs. Mobile has several
unique benefits which many mobile media pundits claim make mobile a more
powerful media than either TV or the internet, starting with mobile being
permanently carried and always connected. Mobile has the best audience accuracy
and is the only mass media with a built-in payment channel available to every
user without any credit cards or paypal accounts or even an age limit. Mobile
is often called the 7th Mass Medium and either the fourth screen
(if counting cinema, TV and PC screens) or the third screen (counting only TV
and PC).
Print media
Book
Main article: Book
Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon,
1902.
A book is a collection of
sheets of paper,
parchment
or other material with a piece of text written on them, bound together along
one edge within covers. A book is also a literary work or a main division of
such a work. A book produced in electronic format is known as an e-book.
Magazine
A magazine
is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles,
generally financed by advertising and/or purchase by readers.
Magazines are typically published weekly, biweekly,
monthly,
bimonthly
or quarterly,
with a date on the cover that is in advance of
the date it is actually published. They are often printed in color on coated
paper, and are bound with a soft cover.
Magazines fall into two broad
categories: consumer magazines and business magazines. In practice, magazines
are a subset of periodicals, distinct from those
periodicals produced by scientific, artistic, academic or special interest
publishers which are subscription-only, more expensive, narrowly limited in
circulation, and often have little or no advertising.
Magazines can be classified as:
·
General
interest magazines (e.g. Frontline, India Today,
The Week,
The Sunday
Times etc.)
·
Special
interest magazines (women's, sports, business, scuba diving,
etc.)
Newspaper
A newspaper
is a publication
containing news and information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost
paper called newsprint.
It may be general or special interest, most often published daily or weekly.
The first printed newspaper was published in 1605, and the form has thrived
even in the face of competition from technologies such as radio and television.
Recent developments on the Internet are posing major threats to its business
model, however. Paid circulation is declining in most countries, and
advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of a newspaper's income, is
shifting from print to online; some commentators, nevertheless, point out that
historically new media such as radio and television did not entirely supplant
existing.
Outdoor media
Outdoor media is a form of mass media
which comprises billboards, signs, placards placed inside and outside of
commercial buildings/objects like shops/buses, flying billboards (signs in tow
of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting. Many commercial advertisers use this
form of mass media when advertising in sports stadiums. Tobacco and alcohol
manufacturers used billboards and other outdoor media extensively. However, in
1998, the Master Settlement Agreement between the US and the tobacco industries
prohibited the billboard advertising of cigarettes. In a 1994 Chicago-based
study, Diana Hackbarth and her colleagues revealed how tobacco- and
alcohol-based billboards were concentrated in poor neighbourhoods. In other
urban centers, alcohol and tobacco billboards were much more concentrated in
African-American neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods.[5]
Personal media
Non-mass or "personal" media
(point-to-point and person-to-person communication) can include:
·
Gestures
·
Letter
Influence and effects
There are 3 theories to describe the
influence of mass media. The website CliffNotes explains in detail the theories
with examine the role that mass media plays in modern society. The limited-effects
theory, which was originally tested in the 1940s and 1950s, states that
"because people usually choose what media to interact with based on what
they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence". The class-dominant
theory states that "the media reflects and projects the view of a
minority elite, which controls it". It continues by explaining that the
people who own and control the corporations that produce media comprise this
elite. The culturalist theory, which was developed in the 1980s and
1990s, combines the other two theories and claims that "people interact
with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they
receive". This theory states that audience members play an active, rather
than passive role in relation to mass media.[20]
In an article entitled Mass Media
Influence on Society, rayuso argues that the media is dominated by five
major companies (Time Warner, VIACOM, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney and News
Corp) which own 95% of all mass media including theme parks, movie studios,
television and radio broadcast networks and programing, video news, sports
entertainment, telecommunications, wireless phones, video games software,
electronic media and music companies. Whilst historically, there was more
diversity in companies, they have recently merged to form an elite which have
the power to shape the opinion and beliefs of people. People buy after seeing
thousands of advertisements by various companies in TV, newspapers or
magazines, which are able to affect their purchasing decisions. The definition
of what is acceptable by society is dictated by the media. This power can be
used for good, for example encouraging children to play sport. However, it can
also be used for bad, for example children being influenced by cigars smoked by
film stars, their exposure to sex images, their exposure to images of violence
and their exposure to junk food ads. The documentary Supersize Me
describes how companies like McDonalds have been sued in the past, the
plaintiffs claiming that it was the fault of their liminal and subliminal
advertising that "forced" them to perchance the product. The Barbie
and Ken dolls of the 1950s are sometimes cited as the main cause for the
obsession in modern day society for women to be skinny and men to be buff.
After the attacks of 9/11, the media gave extensive coveage of the event and
exposed Osama's guilt for the attack, information they were told by the
authorities. This shaped the public opinion to support the war on terrorism,
and later, the war on Iraq. A main concern is that due to this immense power of
the mass media (being able to drive the public opinion), media receiving
inaccurate information could cause the public opinion to support the wrong
cause.
In his book The Commercialization of
American Culture, Matthew P. McAllister says that "a well-developed media
system, informing and teaching its citizens, helps democracy move toward its
ideal state."[21]
In 1997, J. R. Finnegan Jr. and K.
Viswanath identified 3 main effects or functions of mass media. The
Knowledge Gap: The mass media influences knowledge gaps due to factors
including "the extent to which the content is appealing, the degree to
which information channels are accessible and desirable, and the amount of
social conflict and diversity there is in a community". Agenda Setting:
People are influence in how they think about issues due to the selective nature
of what media choose for public consumption. After publicly disclosing that he
had prostate cancer prior to the 2000 New York senatorial election, Rudolph
Giuliani, the mayor of New York City (aided by the media) sparked a huge
priority elevation of the cancer in people's consciousness. This was because
news media began to report on the risks of prostate cancer, which in turn
prompted a greater public awareness about the disease and the need for
screening. This ability for the media to be able to change how the public
thinks and behaves has occurred on other occasions. In mid-1970s when Betty
Ford and Happy Rockefeller, wives of the then-President and then-Vice President
respectively, were both diagnosed with breast cancer. J. J. Davis states that
"when risks are highlighted in the media, particularly in great detail,
the extent of agenda setting is likely to be based on the degree to which a
public sense of outrage and threat is provoked". When wanting to set an
agenda, framing can be invaluably useful to a mass media organisation. Framing
involves "taking a leadership role in the organisation of public discourse
about an issue". The media is influenced by the desire for balance in
coverage, and the resulting pressures can come from groups with particular
political action and advocacy positions. Finnegan and Viswanath say, "groups,
institutions, and advocates compete to identify problems, to move them onto the
public agenda, and to define the issues symbolically" (1997, p. 324).
Cultivation of Perceptions: The extent to which media exposure shapes
audience perceptions over time is known as cultivation. Television is a common
experience, especially in places like the United States, to the point where it
can be described as a "homogenising agent" (S. W. Littlejohn).
However, instead of being merely a result of the TV, the effect is often based
on socio-economic factors. Having a prolonged exposure to TV or movie violence
might affect a viewer to the extent where they actively think community
violence is a problem, or alternatively find it justifiable. The resulting
belief is likely to be different depending of where people live however.[21]
Since the '50s, when cinema, radio and
TV began to be the primary or the only source of information for a larger and
larger percentage of the population, these media began to be considered as
central instruments of mass control.[22][23]
Up to the point that it emerged the idea that when a country has reached a high level of industrialization, the country
itself "belongs to the person who controls communications."[6]
Mass media play a significant role in
shaping public perceptions on a variety of important issues, both through the
information that is dispensed through them, and through the interpretations
they place upon this information.[22]
They also play a large role in shaping modern culture, by selecting and
portraying a particular set of beliefs, values, and traditions (an entire way
of life), as reality. That is, by portraying a certain interpretation of
reality, they shape reality to be more in line with that interpretation.[23]
Mass media and racism
Mass media has played a large role in
the way white Americans perceive African-Americans. The media focus on
African-American in the contexts of crime, drug use, gang violence, and other
forms of anti-social behaviour has resulted in a distorted and harmful public
perception of African-Americans. African-Americans have been subjected to
oppression and discrimination for the past few hundred years. According to
Stephen Balkaran in his article Mass Media and Racism, "The media has
played a key role in perpetuating the effects of this historical oppression and
in contributing to African-Americans' continuing status as second-class
citizens". This has resulted in an uncertainty among white Americans as to
what the genuine nature of African-Americans really is. Despite the resulting
racial divide, the fact that these people are undeniably American has
"raised doubts about the white man's value system". This means that there
is a somewhat "troubling suspicion" among some Americans that their
white America is tainted by the black influence.[24]
Trends
In an article by Peter R. Kann, Chairman
of Dow Jones, he explains the 10 "disturbing trends in mass media:"[25]
1.
The blurring of
the lines between journalism and entertainment.
2.
The blurring of
lines between news and opinion.
3.
The blending of
news and advertising, sponsorships or other commercial relationships.
4.
The problems
and pitfalls inherent in pack journalism.
5.
The issue of
conflict and context.
6.
The exaggerated
tendency toward pessimism.
7.
The growing
media fascination with the bizarre, the perverse and the pathological — John
Mark Karr journalism.
8.
Social
orthodoxy, or political correctness.
9.
The media’s
short attention span.
10.
The matter of
[the media’s] power.
Future
In 2002, Arnold Kling wrote that
"the newspaper business is going to die within the next twenty years.
Newspaper publishing will continue, but only as a philanthropic venture."
Jim Pinkerton said in 2006 of the future of mass media, "Every country
with ambitions on the international stage will soon have its own state-supported
media."[26]
Leo Laporte, founder of the TWiT
network of podcasts, says that "there will always be a need for
storytellers, poeple who dig up facts and explain them".[27]
Purposes
A panel in the Newseum
in Washington, D.C., shows the September 12
headlines in America and around the world
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help
improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)
|
Mass media encompasses much more that
just news, although it is sometimes misunderstood in this way. It can be used
for various purposes:
·
Advocacy,
both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising,
marketing,
propaganda,
public
relations, and political communication.
·
Entertainment,
traditionally through performances of acting, music, sports, and TV shows
along with light reading; since the late 20th century also through video and computer games.
·
Public service announcements and emergency
alerts (that can be used as political device to communicate propaganda to the
public).[2]
Technologies
The electronic and print medias use a
wide range of mediums. These include broadcasting
(in the narrow sense, for radio and television); film (mostly used for
entertainment, but also for documentaries);
the internet,
blogs or podcasts
(such as news, music, pre-recorded speech, and video); publishing
(including electronic publishing). Many instances of
various types of recorded discs or tapes
—in the 20th century, these were mainly used for music; video and computer uses
followed, video games
themselves having developed into a mass form of media.[citation needed] Other devices,
such as mobile phones,
can be used for rapid breaking news and short clips of entertainment like
jokes, horoscopes, alerts, games, music, and advertising.
See also
Notes
1.
^ a
b
c
Manohar, Uttara. "Different
Types of Mass Media". Buzzle.com. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
2.
^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Smith, S.E. (4 October 2011). "What is Mass Media?".
Conjecture Corporation. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
4.
^ Potter, W.
James (2008). Arguing for a
general framework for mass media scholarship. SAGE. p. 32. ISBN 9781412964715.
5.
^ a
b
"Mass
Media". Retrieved November 28, 2011.
Not long ago, if you wanted to seize
political power in a country, you had merely to control the army and the
police. Today it is only in the most backward countries that fascist generals,
in carrying out a coup d'etat, still use tanks. If a country has reached a high
level of industrialization the whole scene changes. The day after the fall of
Khrushchev, the editors of Pravda, Izvestiia, the heads of the radio and
television were replaced; the army wasn't called out. Today a country belongs
to the person who controls communications.
7.
^ Downing, John,
ed (2004). The SAGE
Handbook of Media Studies. SAGE. p. 296. ISBN 9780761921691.
8.
^ Splichal,
Slavko (2006). "In
Pursuit of Socialized Press". In Berry, David & Theobald
John. Radical mass media criticism: a cultural genealogy. Black Rose
Books. p. 41. ISBN 9781551642468.
9.
^ Ramey, Carl R.
(2007). Mass media
unleashed: how Washington policymakers shortchanged the American public.
Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780742555709.
10.
^ Galician,
Mary-Lou (2004). Sex, love
& romance in the mass media: analysis & criticism of unrealistic
portrayals & their influence. Psychology Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780805848328.
12.
^ Newhagen, J.E.
(1999). ""The
role of feedback in assessing the news on mass media and the
Internet"". In Kent, Allen. Encyclopedia of library and
information science, Volume 65. CRC Press. p. 210. ISBN 9780824720650.
13.
^ Nerone, John
(2006). "Approaches
to Media History". In Valdivia, Angharad N.. A companion to
media studies. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 102. ISBN 9781405141741.
14.
^ Pace, Geoffrey
L. (1997). "The
Origins of Mass Media in the United States". In Wells, Allen
& Hakenen, Ernest A.. Mass media & society. Greenwood Publishing
Group. p. 10. ISBN 9781567502886.
15.
^ Briggs, Asa
& Burke, Peter (2010). Social
History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet. Polity
Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780745644950.
17.
^ News
Incorporated: Corporate Media Ownership And Its Threat To Democracy. Ed. Elliot
D. Cohen. Prometheus Books, 2005. ISBN 1591022320[page needed]
21.
^ a
b
"Mass Media".
Retrieved November 28, 2011.
24.
^ Balkaran,
Stephen (October 1999). "Mass
Media and Racism". The Yale Political Quarterly. Retrieved
November 28, 2011.
25.
^ By kullin
(2006-12-22). "10
disturbing trends in mass media | Media Culpa". Retrieved 2011-12-04.
26.
^ Kling, Arnold
(June 15, 2006). "The
Future of Mass Media". Liberty Fund, Inc.. Retrieved November
29, 2011.
References
·
Eco, Umberto
(1967) Per una guerriglia semiologica (English tr. Towards a Semiological
Guerrilla Warfare) first given as a lecture at conference Vision
'67 in New York.
·
Lorimer,
Rowland & Scannell, Patty (1994). Mass
communications: a comparative introduction. Manchester
University Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 9780719039461.
·
Vipond, Mary
(2000). The mass
media in Canada. James Lorimer & Company. p. 88. ISBN 9781550287141.
Further reading
·
Blanchard,
Margaret A. (1998). History of
the mass media in the United States: an encyclopedia. Fitzroy
Dearborn. ISBN 9781579580124.
·
Fourie, Pieter
J. (2008). Media
Studies: Media History, Media and Society. Juta and Company. ISBN 9780702176920.
·
Martin, James
B. (2002). Mass Media: a
bibliography with indexes. Nova. ISBN 9781590332627.
·
Wilke, Jürgen
(2011). Media Genres.
Institute of European History.
External links
