Chapter 1

Mass Communication:A Critical Approach

Some guiding questions

What is the role of media in our lives?How do media shape our culture, both

positively and negatively?How do media reflect and sustain a vital

democracy?How do we take a “critical perspective”

about media?

Our goal is to BE INFORMED and to THINK CRITICALLY about

the powerful dynamics of media (their structure and function)

their impact on community and global lifetheir impact on our personal desires as

consumersour roles as citizens who can shape media

culture

Culture and the

Evolution of Mass

Communication

What is CULTURE?

defined as “the symbols of expressions that individuals, groups and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values”

includes both products and processesa process that delivers the values of a

society through products or meaning-making forms

What are MASS MEDIA?

the culture industries that mass-produce and distribute cultural products

examples of cultural products: songs, mystery novels, newspapers, movies, online services, magazines, comic books, CD-Roms, video games, textbooks, and so on

FIVE HISTORICAL ERAS of media and communication:

OralWrittenPrintElectronicDigital

Characteristic communication of Pre-Industrial Cultures

Oral Written

Characteristic media of Industrial and Post-Industrial Cultures

PrintElectronicDigital

Mass communication:

the process of designing and delivering cultural messages and stories to large and diverse audiences through media channels

Invention of the Printing PressJohannes Gutenberg (1397-1468, Germany)

studied metallurgy, sold trinkets to religious pilgrims

invented movable type printingfirst printed “Indulgences” for Catholic

Churchprinted 200 copies of two-volume

Gutenberg Bible

Printing innovated MASS PRODUCTION and MASS MARKETING:

mechanical duplication replaced tedious hand copying

rapid duplication produced multiple copiescopies were less expensive and thus

affordable to more people

Social and cultural changes with advent of mass media:

transmission of knowledge beyond local communities

rise of nationalismrise of elite class

Social and cultural changes with advent of mass media

democratization of knowledge and literacy

nourishing ideal of individualism

facilitation of large social movements

Development of Telegraph (1840s)

separated communication from transportation

transformed information into a commoditycoordinated commercial and military

operationsforerunner of electronic communication

Industrial Revolution

shift from agrarian to industrial societytransformations in production and spread

of informationchanged perceptions of time and spacechanged demographics (urbanization)development of working classneed for leisure time activities

From Electronic to Digital

images, texts and sounds converted (encoded) into electronic binary signals

transmitted through satellite and digital technology, then decoded

LINEAR MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

process of producing and delivering messages to large audience

sees mass communication as component system:

senders-->messages-->receivers

Components of linear model

sendermessagechannelreceiversgatekeepersfeedback

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

e. g.: news coverage of civil rights movement Hill-Thomas hearings & sexual

harassment O.J. Simpson trial and domestic

violence

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 audienceperceived lack of quality, “family values”overabundance of informationdangers of cyberspace for youth sex and violence in medialoss of face-to-face community

What do you think?

CULTURE AS HIERARCHY

broad appeal vs. narrow appeal

high culture vs. low/popular culture

artistic merit vs. consumer culture

forms with short life span vs. “classics”

Concerns about popular culture

inundates our cultural environment and fills our lives with cheap, low-quality forms

makes “genuine” culture less accessibleundermines democratic reasoning and

inhibits social progressmultinational media conglomerates control

what we see, hear, read, and know

What do you think?

Do you agree or disagree?

Why or why not?

Culture as a MAPa metaphor that challenges the “culture

as hierarchy” metaphoron one hand, cultural phenomena are

conventional, recognizable, stable and comforting

on other hand, cultural forms may be innovative, unfamiliar, destabilizing and challenging

Culture as a MAP

people have complex cultural tastes, needs and interests

cultural forms contain a variety of messages, “all over the map”--not just vertical as in hierarchy

Media ConvergenceCharacteristic of digital era and

development of InternetBlurring of boundaries between media

forms and channelsTV, computers, stereo systems, VCR’s,

newspapers--all functions merging into online information/entertainment sources

Shift from MODERN to POSTMODERN

Social and cultural responses to changing economies and technologies

reflected in mass media and other forms of popular culture

Values of MODERN period

Celebrating the individual

Believing in rational order

Working efficiently

Rejecting tradition

Values of POSTMODERN period

Opposing hierarchy

Diversifying and recycling culture

Questioning scientific reasoning

Embracing paradox

Developing a CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE

DESCRIPTION

ANALYSIS

INTERPRETATION

EVALUATION

Our goal is to BE INFORMED and to THINK CRITICALLY about

the powerful dynamics of media (their structure and function)

their impact on community and global lifetheir impact on our personal desires as

consumersour roles as citizens who can shape media

culture