Lecture 14 - Mass Media and Communication Flashcards
What is Mass Media?
Means of communication that can reach large numbers of people: music, film, television, internet, newspapers
What is the Symbolic Interactionism view?
Focus on interaction among individuals and the everyday use of symbols
- These symbols come to be shared through the process of socialization
- Microsociological - does not easily extend to how media institutions are organized or their role in society
What is the Structural Functionalism view?
Macrosociological - social order maintained by a shared consensus about social norms
- Media contributes to social order
In what ways does media contribute to social order?
- ) Surveillance of the environment
- ) Correlation of parts of society
- ) Transmission of social heritage
- ) Entertainment
What is the Conflict Theory view?
Macrosociological - concentrates on social conflict between unequal groups and change
- Questions media institutions and how they involve power and reinforce inequality
What is the Feminism view?
- ) Difference - how media justifies inequality between men and women on the basis of natural differences
- ) Voice - degree to which women are denied an opportunity to speak in various forms of communication
- ) Representation - ways in which women are depicted in the media and the consequences of these characterizations
What is Political Economy?
Critical theory that focuses on ownership/control of the media, government policy/regulation, and conflicts over ownership, policy, and globalization
What is Cultural Studies?
Critical theory that emphasizes importance of the ideology embedded in media content, interpretation by audience members, efforts to change media representations/provide alternative messages
Political Economy: What are the forms of media ownership?
Public - government owned, freely available, educating
Private - commercially owned, content produced to make profit
What are the types of Private Ownership?
- ) Independent - small local companies (usually bought out)
- ) Horizontal Integration - (chain ownership) one company owns a number of similar media organizations in different locations
- ) Vertical Integration - one firm owning media enterprises that link production, distribution, and exhibition or retail to guarantee an outlet for products (anti competitive)
What is Net Neutrality?
When your internet service provider should treat all internet traffic the same, without discriminating (by price or performance)
- Vertically integrated company seen as a problem
What is the common representation in mainstream private media?
Messages reflect dominant ideology and the views of the powerful.
- representations of working-class, women, and minorities
What are the three possible ways to decode media texts?
- ) Dominant-hegemonic reading (accepting the preferred meaning)
- ) Oppositional reading (opposing the preferred meaning)
- ) Adopting a negotiated reading (not accepting every aspect of the preferred, or a mix of dominant and oppositional readings)
What is the Digital Divide?
Separates those who use broadband from those who do not. Digital divide is separated into two categories:
- ) Technical Divide - accessibility or the technical ability to have a broadband connection
- ) Socio-Economic Divide - gap between urban and rural or remote areas
What is the Attention Economy?
The birth of modern advertising
