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Mass Media

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Article 1

Citation

Miranda, S. M., Young, A., & Yetgin, E. (2016). Are social media emancipatory or hegemonic?

Societal effects of mass media digitization in the case of the SOPA discourse. MIS

Quarterly, 40(2), 303-330.

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which social media, which is a

form of digital mass media, is permitting widespread participation in public discourse and the

surfacing of diverse perspectives. Importantly, the authors embrace an interpretive research

paradigm whereby they rely on questioning and observing in order to discover or arrive at a deep

comprehension of the phenomenon that they are investigating.

In the study, the authors use a case study approach. This sees them engage with data on

the discourse surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and source literature. To find the

information needed, they used sampling as their data collection method. This saw them take

samples of focal media and discourse. Principally, of the five traditional media that usually shape

public discourse, the authors focused on newspapers and television. Additionally, of the many

social media sites, the study sampled only three; Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

The key finding of the study is that social media is emancipatory with regard to structural

constraints. However, they also found that the same social media is hegemonic when it comes to

important content restrictions. What can be concluded from these findings is that in a similar way

as with traditional media, there are some inevitable evils that tend to accompany the social

benefits of social media. Further, the findings indicate that the mass media is having a
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detrimental effect on public discourse. Noteworthy, what remains unanswered from the study is

the efficiency of the steps that can be taken to counter this effect.

Article 2

Durkin, S., Brennan, E., & Wakefield, M. (2012). Mass media campaigns to promote smoking

cessation among adults: an integrative review. Tobacco control, 21(2), 127-138.

Summary

The purpose of this study is to summarize the impact of mass media campaigns on

promoting quitting among adult smokers overall and for subgroups. The study particularly

focuses on the influence of campaign intensity and different channels and the effects of different

message types. The authors embrace a critical paradigm in the research to attempt to criticize and

justify the existing status quo in society and to attempt to issue alternative knowledge whose

objective is to produce a better social order.

Additionally, the study uses record review as its data collection method. In doing so, the

study searched databases for needed articles and excluded articles that were written in languages

that are not English. Letters and editorials were also excluded. The collected articles were

categorized using population-based or exposure forced exposure methods as population-based

studies of campaign effects and studies comparing message types.

The major findings of the study are that mass media campaigns which are conducted in

the context of comprehensive tobacco control programmes have the ability to promote quitting

and reduce adult smoking prevalence. Further, the research finds that campaign reach, intensity,

duration, and message type may influence the success of the mass media campaigns.
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Additionally, the study also found that negative health effects messages are most effective in

quitting behavior.

What can be concluded from the study is that mass media campaigns play a key role in

promoting quitting smoking tobacco. As such, jurisdictions should embrace mass media

campaigns, and mainly focus on negative health messages if they want to reduce the use of

tobacco in the populations. However, the study fails to answer the cost-effectiveness of these

mass media campaigns.