Chapter 6; The mass media Flashcards
(36 cards)
media landscape
the forms of media present in a certain context
How do Canadians spend there time interacting with media?
60 hours/week
1. broadcast television 25 hours/week
2. internet based media 23 hours/week
legacy media
forms of media that have origins in the distant past; print media, radio, cinema, physical music recordings
new media
forms of media that have emerged more recently
media
any tool used to communicate
mass media
communications that target large audiences
data mining
organizations sharing or personal data in ways we are not aware of
What is broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada are regulated by?
The Canadian Radio-Television and telecommunications commission (CRTC)
net neutrality
a principle of equality and detachment with respect to how info on the internet is treated by network providers
marshal McLuhan
the medium is the message
Sherry Turkle
new media has fundamentally changed the way we experience life;
as individuals we are less creative and less productive
socially we are “alone together”, more superficial interactions
The functional perspective on media
The media serves important functions:
political functions: tools used by governments/political parties in their own activities, used to raise awareness of public issues
economic functions: contributes to the nations economy via online businesses, are avenues for other industries economic activities ex. advertising
cognitive function: provides us with important info
social integrative function: connects us to other people
tension-reducing function: entertaining us so we can temporarily relax and relieve stress
people excelling can stop terrorism
The conflict perspective on media
The media perpetuates social inequalities because the media is a source of essential information and it is concentrated in a small group of corporations and conglomerates that have the power to shape the messages contained in the media.
the media supports consumerism
conglomerate
a corporation made up of several widely diversified companies, Canada’s largest media conglomerate is BCE
Repercussions of concentration and conglomeration in media ownership
- affects content through agenda setting
- conflict of interests contribute to media bias
- growing distance between parent company and any single part of the balance with a focus on profit rather than quality
producer capitalism
capitalism leads the business owners to exploit workers in order to make profit (Marx)
consumer capitalism
double exploitation, workers continue to be exploited through low wages and poor working conditions, and consumers are being exploited through manipulative advertising, high prices and low-quality products
prosumers
people acting as both consumers and producers within the same setting
prosumer capitalism
“synergistically double exploitation” The workers are still exploited by the employer and people are exploited as both consumers and producers (providing online data that will later be used in targeted advertising, attracting traffic)
Interactionist perspective on media
our understandings of the world are in part shaped by the media
media framing
dramaturgical theory
social learning theory
people learn by observing the behaviour of others and imitating that behaviour (Bobo the clown experiment)
desensitization theory
repeated exposure to violence lessens its emotional impact
cultivation theory
repeated exposure to television violence has cumulative effects on viewers, mean world syndrome: people believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is
sizing
helps the general public gather the importance of an event; the overall salience of the event in the news based on how much coverage it gets and how prominently it is displayed
