Week 7: Media and Information Languages (Cont..

Topics
- Media and the audience
- Media and the Producers/Stakeholders

Values Integration
Integration of the core values specifically, Integrity, Respect & Excellence.
Critical thinking, improved perception, patience in learning media codes

Acquire new Knowledge

a. Discussion / New Input
Instruction: Open your Google Classroom and refer to the uploaded file “week 8: Media and
Information Languages”.

MEDIA AND INFORMATION LANGUAGES

MEDIA AND THE AUDIENCE

1. How often do you utilize media of any form?
2. How do you react to any form of media that you consume?
3. Are you aware of your rights as a member of the audience?
4. What behaviors do you usually manifest in consuming media?

The previous lessons have clearly explained how media is powerful, and how it can drastically affect
consumers on many levels. However, it is equally important to look at how the audience can als o be as
powerful as the media in terms of reception, which apparently varies. There are several considerations
in order to reach the audience as a whole, and perhaps, the differences and segmentations are the
biggest obstacles in achieving such.

TWO FACES OF AUDIENCE

According to Potter (2012), the members of the audience are perceived in two ways —human
mind as machines, and interpretive beings. Apparently, there is an existing debate on what really is the
face of the audience. Both positions are logically driven, give n their respective justifications and
reasoning.

Having minds like machines implies that members of the audience are like robots that receive
information, decode them, and end up with negotiated meanings. The proponents of this audience face
explain that in order for communication similarity-of-interpretation should be necessary. Because of this
common understanding, sharing of thoughts surface; therefore, this sharing can potentially initiate an
effective communication process.
In today's society, there are several ways Z promote common interpretations among the
members of the audience. One of these is the use of hashtags, determined by the number sign (#),
which was introduced by the social networking site Twitter. Hashtags are used and attached to a twe et
in order to promote exclusivity among Twitter users. Meaning, by looking at hashtags, all those users
who use such are shown together, with a common knowledge on why such hashtag is used. For
example, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomi cal Services Administration (PAGASA)
Twitter (@dost_pagasa) uses official hashtags every time bad weather conditions hit the Philippines.
Some of these are #ChedengPH and #YolandaPH. rnese were typhoons named Chedeng and Yolanda,
respectively. Other hashtags during calamities include (relief ops); #RescuePH (request for rescue);
#SafeNow (successful rescues) #FloodsPH (general food news). With these, people are able to acquire
unified interpretations on what the media tries to communicate.
Meanwhile, being interpretive beings totally the idea of the first position. While the first idea
centers on how robotic and unified the members of the audience are in terms of interpretation, this
position states that human beings have the liberty to conclude anything th ey want. Interpretations vary
depending on people's background. In effect, this idea can open doors to several opinions and stands.
For example, as stated by Potter, moviegoers re not expected to have the same impression and
interpretation of movies they watched. In fact, arguments may even take place after talking about the
conclusion of a movie, especially those that are open-ended. Another instance includes controversial
statements of famous personalities on social media. A lot of these prominent people were either bashed
or praised by netizens, depending on their various beliefs.
This goes to show that indeed, there are dear differences on how the audience is perceived.
The debate still exists today; however, it cannot be contested that even without th is rift of beliefs, both
kinds of audience exist in the society. It is not enough to look at how audience are diverse based on
their nature; it is more significant to look at the effects on them, and how media is able to define them
based on its influence.

EFFECTS ON THE AUDIENCE

The audience is not only confined with the idea of perceiving and interpreting media messages.
More importantly, the effects of these messages are the true indicators in analyzing the relationship
between the media and the audience. In the first place, media is pervasive and constant (Potter, 2012),
and it is inevitable that most of the people are dependent on their use of such. He extensively discussed
domains which are also affected.
 LEARNING PACK: MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY 2
Physiological. This focuses on the human brain, being a physical organ of the body, which is
determined by its pre-birth programming. This programming refers to stimuli, whether positive
or negative. Media becomes involved because it can actually trigger this programming, which
eventually escalates to arousal (finding pleasure from media use), and leads to dependency.
For example, if a person is in love, which is a normal response done by the brain, watching
romantic movies and listening to love songs can potentially trigger the said emotion; hence,
elevating the physiological response originally done by the brain.

Cognitive. Alongside the previous effect, cognitive changes can be generated by the media.
Media effects on this aspect concern learning, and how knowledge can be constantly altered by
continuous exposure. For instance, social interaction on social media started wi th its simplest
means—perhaps by just simply adding people to one's network. However, because of
innovation, socialization has been constantly redefined by using other means apart from adding
people. This includes posting statuses, sharing photos and video s, and the like.

Belief. Belief falls under cognition, only that it is anchored by probability that requires
verification. It is part of human nature to have beliefs, depending on one's orientation and
cultural background. However, media has the capacity to affect such, either through affirmation
or negation. For example, one's belief on political issues may be affected by the media. If
media frames it in a way that the involved personality is condemned because of anomalous
activities, chances are, people might be more inclined to seeing that person negatively.

Attitude. Once belief is affected, attitude comes next. Attitude is defined as an evaluative
judgment, which relates to comparing an object to a standard. For instance, known
personalities like politicians and celebrities are always evaluated based on their actions, while
public's attitudes are always defined based on standards. That is why whenever these known
personalities engage in negative circumstances like early pregnancy, drug addiction, and even
controversial statements, backlash usually occurs.

Affective. Affective effects are anchored by emotions. This simply says that media may also
trigger man's emotional inclination towards something he perceives. An example would be
news on the aftermath of calamities. After typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines in 2013, several
news reports on its effects were shown on news programs. These effects included casualties,
destruction of infrastructures, mourning of survivors, and others. Because of this, many people
from different walks of life extended their support through financial assistance, donations, and
prayers. These actions only proved that media was able to affect emotions of people.

Behavior. Behavior is the overt action of people. If media is able to penetrate most of the above
mentioned components, then people can gradually change in terms of how they translate all
these effects into actions.
The book of Alvarado, Gutch, and Wollen (1987) discussed effects studies, which
justifies the influence of media on the audience, especially that there are several forms of
media present, and those that are continuously being invented and innovated. This study
primarily focuses on dominant effects like behavioral changes.
In line with this, the angle of the audience being anti-social individuals because of
media, is also discussed. This is highly applicable in the society nowadays, especially that the
advent modern technology has already taken the wo by storm. For example, a group of friends
who catch up after a long time of not being togeth can be interfered by the presence of gadgets
each member has. Instead of sharing stories, they may be more inclined in using social medi
while they are together.

THE POWER OF THE AUDIENCE

However, it is important to note that media is not entirely the sole reason why the audience are
inclined to its influence and effects. It should be noted that earlier in this book, Uses and Gratification
Theory by Elihu Katz was discussed. Again, this theory simply states that the audience has the power to
choose the kind of media they desire to consume, depending on what gratifies their needs.
In the example given on behavioral change, if the effects of being anti-social are manifested by
a person, it is assumed that the permission from the media to generate such behavioral effect is granted
by this individual. Hence, it can be inferred that if one chooses to react to it otherwise, it will also be his
or her discretion, thus, opposing the power of media controlling the people.

MEDIA AND THE PRODUCERS/STAKEHOLDERS

1. Do you have any idea on how forms of media are executed?
2. Are you aware of the significance of commercials on media?
3. In your opinion, how are ratings relevant?

Media may be initially perceived as a sophisticated way of disseminating information and messages
to the public, which comes in several forms. However, it should not be forgotten that in the end, it is a
business, just like other companies and corporations all over the country. Naturally, in the context
business, it requires to be driven by capital and profit. However, in order to achieve such, media entities
need stakeholders.
This lesson will focus on the relevance of these stakeholders in running the media. Similarly, it will
also focus on how media can be relevant to stakeholders.
 LEARNING PACK: MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY 3
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
The economy is important in maintaining stability of the society. In order to achieve this, it is
important to always look at the contribution of the market. Market, in liberal democratic countries, is the
means of producing and distributing goods and services (Spence, et al, 2011). It is important to ensure
that this effort is given worth through the patronage of consumers; otherwise, the market will fai l, and so
also the economy.
Media plays a major part in terms of reach through commercial organizations. Because of being
pervasive, the market is able to attract more people and more potential consumers. Hence, the
marketability of products featured on commercials shown depends on their recurrence in order to
establish recall. It is risky though, because being on media requires a huge amount of money, hit or
miss.

Even if the market depends on media in terms public reach, it must be noted that media also pends on
the market. Without them, no profit will me. Again, media as a business organization cannot ist without
such. Meaning, it is a give and take cess. Both benefit, both gain. It is just important to member that
their dependencies are at stake in the nt that the public does not give in.

ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES
Because of the advent of social media and her Internet websites wherein a lot of potential target
people are drawn to, advertisers cannot help ut extend and promote products and services in the cyber
world. For example, because video streaming sites like Youtube, which is now a commonly visited site
among netizens, advertisements are now embedded on selected videos.
Likewise, other social media sites like Facebook re now inclined to such practice for the
stakeholders. Pages emerge as advertisers aim to increase its umber of "likes" to ensure its
pervasiveness among ople. Other advertisers use hashtags to make their products and services trend
online. Hence, all these opportunities are fully utilized in order to attract more potential consumers.

THE CONFLICT BETWEEN MEDIA AND STAKEHOLDERS

The power of media and stakeholders working together is undeniable. Because of their equally
relevant influence on the public, they are able to intensify their goals —appealing to public interest and
getting potential consumers. However, this power that they share is not always as ideal as it may
sound. Since both ideas are big, more complications likewise interfere.
Spence and his colleagues (2011) also emphasizes that both the media and the market have
their own set of norms in order to achieve their objectives. Apparently, these norms do not always meet;
in fact, some even oppose. One of the common examples of this conflict is interest. Businesses are
driven by the individual's own interest or egoism, while med ia has to abide by its norm of delivering
public interest, or the interest of many. For example, if a product or service is not commonly utilized by
the public, and even unknown by some, it would be assumed ineffective for media to air its
advertisement; hence, the conflict.
Another conflict is that businesses are always only after what consumers want to know. This is
called want-regardingness. In order to simply present a product or service, it is imperative that they
keep it simple, in a way that consumers are able to get only the crucial information, which is enough to
generate patronage. Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the media to practice transparency; and in
order to do such, every relevant detail should always be incorporated to avoid lack of accuracy. For
instance, in selling cigarettes, messages are always vague. A TV advertisement that shows a cowboy
riding on a horse does not say much about the product, because everyone knows that the said product
is perceived negatively by the general public. Instead of including the hazards of smoking, advertisers
find ways to translate the image and divert it elsewhere, compromising transparency that should be
exhibited by the media.
Lastly, the norm exit and voice, which emphasizes on choosing between giving up on a deal or
engaging people to like the deal, is also a major conflict. If businesses are driven, by the “exit” in the
event that consumers’ standards and requirements are not met by the product or service, media works
otherwise. Media is into forums or “voice” rather than giving the audience the immediate chance to
choose something else.
These conflicts are important to be considered. Otherwise, media and stakeholders, no matter
how powerful they can potentially become, are put to waste. Negotiations can be done so both parties
are able to meet halfway. If achieved, then goals are met in the end, benefitting both parties, alongside
the audience/consumers.

Source: Ligaya C. Hidalgo, Mattheus A Mopera (2015) #MediaTrends: Importance of New Media Technology to Modern Filipinos,
Philippines: Don Bosco Press, Inc.

Key notes:
- Media and the audience have a clear relationship, otherwise, one cannot even exist without the other.
- Media and stakeholders are dependent on each other.
- Media aims to air information, while stakeholders in the market aim to sell products or services.
- Media and stakeholders are powerful influences