Communication and the Media

Understanding the media

In this chapter we will focus on the question of what influence the media have on the way people feel, think, and behave.

Communication and language:

Humans communicate through languages with shared meanings. Communication occurs not only through face to face interaction, but also through the media, which refers to television, newspapers, radio, internet and films. The media are central to not only communication but to cultural, economic, and political activities.

The media and society:

The media, basically TV, newspapers, and radio, have been the principal means through which people get information. If the media do not cover an issue or an event that means that nobody will know anything about it (probably only those immediately involved in it). The media do not only inform us selectively about events and issues, they actually shape them. The media have an important role in cultural, economic, and political activities. They do not just inform us about events, they also create popular culture. They are central to the functioning of the economy. They serve as a means of manipulation for politicians to persuade voters.

Manipulation and domination:

manipulation and domination of people by governments and business through the media Mass media; the media became mass media in the sense that they could reach the broad masses of the population. The concept of mass media emerged out of the masssociety theory. of the atomizing of society by industrialization and urbanization. This theory argues that industrialization and urbanization atomized society, composed of isolated individuals, through the disintegration of traditional community and family structures. Social atomization and isolation meant that people were particularly open to influence by the media. These theories point to the dangers of political and commercial manipulation.

Manipulation and domination:

The dominant ideology approach, on the other hand, argued that subordinate classes are dominated by the ideas and beliefs of ruling classes. (Marxs famous motto: the ideas of the ruling classes are, in every age, the ruling ideas; i.e. the class, which is the dominant material force in society, is at the same time its dominant intellectual force.) Antonio Gramsci: the ruling class maintains its power not just by coercion but by also establishing hegemony. By hegemony he means the ideological domination of society by the ruling class, which persuades other classes to accept its values and beliefs. Dominant ideology theory emphasizes the role played by the media and their owners in maintaining ruling-class hegemony.

Consumption and production:

both mass-society and dominant-ideology theories assume that the content of the media is shaped by those who own and control them. Alternative approachthe content of the media is determined by market forces. That is to say, the content is determined not by their owners but by the consumers who buy them. The media represents what the consumers want. Limitations of these approach i) why the media consumers hold the views they do; ii) it treats those who own and control them as passive elements. Another approachit is the media producers who shape the content of the media. Journalists, program producers.

Public sphere:
the matter of public sphere is an important issue in the study of the media. Public sphere refers to a space where people can freely discuss matters of general importance to them as citizens in a non-commercial atmosphere uncontrolled by state. The public sphere needs protection from commercial pressures and protection from the state. (Jurgen Habermas) The media can perform important functions for the public sphere, but these are undermined by commercialization, political pressures, and a weakening of the distinction between the public and the private.

The media and culture:

the media shape the way that people think, feel, and act largely through popular culture.

Folk, high, and popular culture:

distinction between high culture of the aristocratic elite and folk or low culture of ordinary people in preindustrial societies in Europe. With industrialization and urbanization, a new and increasingly commercialized culture emerged among the people; popular culture. It was a mixture of old folk culture and the new way of life in the industrial cities. Popular culture influenced the content of the media, as they tried to attract larger audiences, but it was in turn shaped the media themselves. Three different common meanings of popular culture: i.that which is not high culture ii.what most people like and do iii.culture created by people

Mass culture, dominant culture, and subcultures:

according to mass-society theory, popular culture is mass culture. The real folk culture of the people was destroyed by a highly commercialized and standardized mass culture, which also undermined the standards of high culture. Culture industry (Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer) Culture became something that was made and sold, just like any other industrial product, in order to make a profit.

Mass culture, dominant culture, and subcultures:

The elitist view valued the high culture of the arts and treated popular culture as commercial and trivial. Populist views underlined the vitality and creativity of popular culture and argued that it expressed the experience of ordinary people. They saw popular culture as rooted in subcultures. Subcultures are the cultures of particular groups within society, such as youth cultures or the cultures of subordinate groups and classes. Some Marxist writers consider the subcultures of subordinate groups and classes as resisting the dominant culture and challenging the social order. ( e.g. the subcultures that emerged among the young in the 1960s)

Models of media influence:

three main models of media influence i. the media-effects model: this model assumes that audiences are passive and simply absorbs the injections of material from the media. ii. the active-audience model: audiences hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see. They interpret media messages according to their existing ideas and beliefs. iii. the media-themes model: this model focuses on a middle path. It accepts that audiences are active but also argues that the media have an influence on them.

Methods of media research:

three main methods are basically used in media research: i. content analysis: this involves quantitative studies of how often a particular item is covered by the media. ii. textual analysis: it tries to penetrate behind the actual words or images used to uncover their meaning. iii. audience research: showing a program to an audience and evaluating its effect by making before and after comparisons. It has its own limitationsthe problem of research situation, the problem of longterm effects, the social context of influence

The rise of mass media:

Industrial societies, beside producing and distributing goods and services, produce and distribute information and entertainment. Industrialization not only generates mass production but also create the mass media of popular press, film, radio, and TV.

The print revolution:

it was capitalism that turned printing from an invention into an industry. Printing capitalism, Benedict Anderson. Printing press helped the growth of national languages. It played a key role in standardizing and stabilizing national languages.

Newspapers:
newspapers first published in Britain in the 18th century, mainly providing business information. The popular press emerged at the beginning of the 19th century. In the second half of the 19th century, we witness the growth of more cheaper and more popular newspapers. At the end of the 19th century advertising became a greater source of newspaper earnings. As newspapers became more popular, headlines became more bigger and there was more illustration. Increasing circulation, extension of public sphere.

Film:
emerged at the turn of the 19th century. A mass leisure activity.

Radio and television:

they are broadcasting media and different from film for the following reasons: domesticity, continuity, immediacy, variable usage. State control of broadcasting media Commercial radio and television

The influence of the mass media

There are a number of key areas in which the mass media are said to influence people: the media production of information, their representation of people, and their impact on culture and morality.

Information:
the mass media are the most important sources of information. But the question is whether information provided by the mass media is accurate and objective, balanced and representing different range of opinions?

Information:
Constructing the news: The social construction of the news shapes the way that information is presented by the media. Selection of news; what is newsworthy, what is not News-gathering; journalists can be forced to conform to editorial policies and the views of owners. Those with power and wealth are able to dominate the flow of information and interpretation through the media. Governments can influence the media through censorship, controlling public broadcasters, provision of information, pressure on journalists, having good relationships with media owners. Occupational values vs. organizational values Explaining events: illusion of balance e.g. presentation of Arab-Israeli conflicts

Representation:
The media can influence people not only through the information they provided but also through the way they represent people. Representation of class, gender, race and ethnicity Class, gender, racial stereotypes

Culture:
Impact of the mass media on the development of culture Audiences; passive or active? Americanization of popular culture

Morality:
The question of whether the media are responsible for generating crime, violence, immoral sexual behavior The media are not only accused of causing people to behave badly but also accused of reporting bad behavior in an exaggerated and distorted way. They generate moral panics through exaggerated and distorted reporting of events.

The limits of choice:

On the one hand; The media have become more specialized The multiplication of media channels The international availability of TV programs On the other hand; Concentration of media ownership

Diversity and choice:

Technological change; satellite and cable delivery systems, digital transmission have made hundreds of channels possible across national boundaries. Post-Fordism; broader changes in production and consumption in general Specialization and diversity in media; specialized Tv channels, the change from the publisher model to the producer model Technical change and post-Fordist organization have resulted in greater media diversity. But, the exercise of choice depends on income, knowledge, time, and control.

Ownership and control:

Greater competition does not only lead to greater diversity, also lead to greater concentration of ownership. -concentration within media -multi-media ownership -transnational ownership (e.g. Rupert Murdochs News Corporation)

Newspaper Policies:
Does ownership matter? Consequences of the concentration of newspaper ownership for the political process Do owners politically manipulate their readers/customers or merely follow their views?

Decline of the public sphere?

Growing commercial and political pressures weakens the autonomy of the public sphere. The internet provides an alternative medium for the extension of the public sphere.

The commercialization of the media:

Commercialization threatens the public sphere because of both the danger of commercial manipulation of media content and the replacement of material that informs and debates with material that entertains. The declining coverage of public affairs in popular press; the increasing coverage of human-interest stories, entertainment features, sport pages, womens articles A widening gap between the popular and the quality press The breakdown of the barrier between program content and advertising in TV channels; integrated advertising

The state and the public sphere:

governments attempts to control and direct flow of information Political manipulations and attempts at censorships Promotion of government policy News management

The Internet revival of the public sphere?

The Internet provides new opportunities for developing the public sphere. It is decentralized and open to all who have skills to access it. It is relatively free of state regulation. But, this does not mean that governments are not making attempts to monitor and regulate it. (The absence of regulation allows racist and hate groups to flourish on the Internet.) But, the public functions of the Internet coexist with its commercial functions. Can the Internet provide an alternative to the media as a means of information exchange and discussion? >>i.access, ii.the interface between Internet and politics