Mass Media Chapter 6 PDF

Ch. 6: MASS MEDIA 1. PREVALENCE & FORMS OF MASS MEDIA A) Technologies Technology (e.g. FitBit Tracker) is not just something we buy and use; it also affects how we live & interact with each other. Micro Level → part of person’s personal practice (weight loss tool, stress relief, etc.) Macro Level →...

Ch. 6: MASS MEDIA 1. PREVALENCE & FORMS OF MASS MEDIA A) Technologies Technology (e.g. FitBit Tracker) is not just something we buy and use; it also affects how we live & interact with each other. Micro Level → part of person’s personal practice (weight loss tool, stress relief, etc.) Macro Level → tech is socially embedded (created, and is used at specific socio-historic moment reflecting larger social structures/processes). -​ Cultural Norms → fitness trackers reflect pressure to adhere to societal norms (where “appearance is one of the most significant forms of communication in increasingly visual world”). -​ McDonaldization of Society → efficiency (speed), calculability (quantitative aspects of products sold like portion, size, cost), predictability (assurance that products/services will be the same over time & in all locations), & control (lines, limited menus, few options, uncomfy seats encourage diners to eat quickly and leave). Tech is more than just gadgets → intertwined with personal habits & broader social issues. B) Mass Media Move through media landscape similar to how we move through physical landscape: -​ Media Landscape → The forms of media present in a certain context. -​ Listening to music at gym, reading e-textbook at school, walk past ads posted in hallways, check Instagram throughout the day, etc. -​ This also means we are bombarded with information/imagery everywhere we look. Media Landscape is dynamic (media forms/communication tech changing over time). 2. CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, LEGACY & NEW MEDIA A) Media Integration Levels Media is a central part of all areas of life today: -​ Individual Level → use media to learn about events, communicate, relax, bank, order food delivery, find movie showtimes. -​ Business Level → use media to order supplies, communicate with customers, provide items for purchase via online shopping. -​ Government Level → use media to communicate with citizens, provide information/online signup for government services, etc. B) Consumption Patterns Patterns of media use show some variation by age -​ Across age groups the 2 primary internet activities are using online audio (steaming music) & online video (Netflix). Forms of media used are diverse & impacted by micro-level forces (ex. COVID). C) Legacy Media There has been a decline in the use of Legacy Media & corresponding increase in engagement with New Media. Legacy Media → Forms of media that have origins in the distant past including: -​ Print Media (newspapers, magazines, books), Radio, TV, Cinema, & Physical Music Recordings. -​ “Legacy” Media includes handwritten letters, sign language, graffiti, smoke signal, etc. -​ These are not all considered “Mass” Media (which refers to communications that target large audiences). D) New Media New Media → Forms of media that have emerged more recently (various digital forms that are dependant on computer technology) including: -​ Websites, Apps, Streaming Audio/Video, Ebook, Texting, & Social Media. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) → foundation of today’s internet, created in 1960s as product of Cold War. -​ US government funded development of interactive network at 5 universities for government-use and has expanded into the internet we currently know. Newer forms of mass media can make older forms obsolete but more often improve on features of previous forms. -​ E.g. → listening to music changing forms from Radio → Walkman → iPod → Smartphones (the medium changed but we are still just listening to music). ★​ MEDIUM = MESSAGE (McLuhan) MCLUHAN (1911-1980) → “the medium is the message”: -​ With each new tech invention/medium, a change is introduced that fundamentally alters the way we experience life. -​ E.g. the railway did not introduce movement/transportation/wheels/ roads into society, but it accelerated/enlarged the scale of previous human functions → creating new kinds of cities/new kinds of work/leisure. -​ Each new form of media has properties that may not be “unique” but are unique in how they fundamentally change how we experience things, creating a different world. ★​ ALONE TOGETHER (Turkle) TURKLE (2011-) → “alone together”: -​ people are more connected than ever but tend to maintain relationships using internet (ex. text instead of phonecall) → making convos more superficial, and less emotional/sensitive. -​ People often multitask while communicating, meaning the person being communicated with rarely has their full attention. -​ Overtime → lower levels of empathy & less capable of developing emotional connections with others.  -​ People don’t notice strangers anymore as their heads are down in their phones → meaning we are “alone” while being “together” physically with others in public spaces. -​ Quality over Quantity? → Now people tend to have more “friends” (e.g. followers) but less meaningful connections. -​ Infinite Sources of Stimulation → people may feel expected to be “on call” for friends, regardless of what activities they may be engaged in (limits ability to multitask & causes decline in productivity). -​ May impede child-development as parents are physically present but mentally absent. -​ Opportunities for self-reflection/creativity/solitude are filled with digital stimulation. ★​ PRIVACY & REGULATION Privacy Risks: -​ Data Breach → Data can be breached if organization is hacked. -​ Data-Mining → Organizations may use/share personal information in ways we are unaware of. Canadian Radio-TV & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) → ensures access to diverse, affordable, high-quality communications that serve the interests of Canadians by following objectives of the Broadcasting Act, Telecommunications Act, & Anti-Spam Legislation. -​ Main Activities = issuing, renewing, & amending licenses; approving merges/changes in ownership; & promoting regulation compliance. -​ monitors/evaluates traffic management practices of internet service providers -​ takes action to prevent service providers from giving their own content (e.g., mobile television services) an advantage by exempting them from monthly data charges -​ acts to prevent differential pricing of varied types of content  -​ Operates by the principle of Net Neutrality → principle of equality and detachment with respect to how information on the internet is treated by network providers. -​ “all traffic on the internet should be given equal treatment by internet providers with little-to-no manipulation, interference, prioritization, discrimination or preference given.” Censorship: 3. FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE Social Order = Main Concern of macro-level functionalist perspective is → helps us see how media contributes to social stability. -​ Politically: media are tools employed by governments/political parties in their own activities, as well as tools for raising citizens’ awareness of public issues that affect the nation’s collective well-being. -​ Economically: media contributes to the nation’s economy (as profitable businesses) & are also avenues for other industries’ economic activities (e.g., advertising). -​ Historically: media were considered central to building Canada as a nation. Micro Level: -​ Cognitive Function → providing us with important information -​ Socializing Agent → media provides us much of the general information we need to be functioning members of society. -​ Social-Integrative Function → connects us to others through various forms. -​ Tension-Reducing Function → entertainment to relax/relieve stress. Proposes that media are an important part of the social structure that helps keep society running smoothly. 4. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE Conflict Perspective focuses on large-scale institutions (like the media), but it suggests that society is characterized by disparities and power struggles linked to the unequal distribution of resources → media perpetuates these inequalities. A) Media Ownership: Concentration, Conglomeration, & Agenda Setting 5 companies dominate the Canadian media industry (Bell (BCE), Telus, Rogers, Shaw, & Quebecor). Conglomerate → corporation made up of several different widely diversified companies (BCE = Canada’s largest media conglomerate → owns TV, internet, & telecommunications infrastructure, TV stations, video streaming service CraveTV). -​ Media Owners affects content through Agenda Setting → conglomerates selectively determine which issues the public will be exposed to, therefore becoming relevant in society. -​ “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.” -​ Conglomeration can create conflicts of interest leading to media bias. -​ Monopoly → company that has exclusive control over a particular product or service. -​ Conglomerates make money in so many different ways, there is growing distance b/w parent company & branches of the company. -​ Quality is sacrificed as conglomerates main objective is to make money for stakeholders rather than make quality content (contributing to superficiality of media as it appeals to largest number of people). B) Media Supports Consumerism (Marx) Producer Capitalism (Marx) → structure of capitalism leader business owners to exploit workers in order to make profit. Consumer Capitalism → a form of double exploitation occurs in that works continue to be exploited through low wages/poor working conditions, but are also exploited by manipulative advertising, high prices, & low-quality products.  -​ Conflict Perspective believes this relationship is central to maintaining structure of capitalism. Prosumer Capitalism → characterized by “synergistically double exploitation” where words are exploited by employers, and people are exploited as both consumers/producers in same setting. -​ Prosumers → People act as both consumers and producers within the same setting (using self checkout). -​ Helping the rich get richer through unpaid labor (interacting with company posts boosts their engagement=free marketing, self checkout=unpaid labor). 5. MEDIA SHAPES PERCEPTIONS A) Interactionist Perspective Micro-level perspective helps us appreciate how we are shaped by our interactions with the people around us. Media is key avenue for social interaction (communicating on SM or watching movie/TV show. -​ Through media we develop understandings of issues/events, other people, & ourselves. ★​ Media Framing Communication, interpretation, & meaning → how an interaction/event is depicted/“framed” is integral to its perceived meaning. The term “representation” is used to describe how meanings are attributed to media images. -​ On TV “framing” centres on the main characters who deliver messages, what the overall objectives of particular show are → can be misleading. -​ Some social groups have greater presence in media than others (rendering those groups who are absent from the media “invisible to public conscience” → can then contribute to stereotypes.  -​ Stereotypes → An overgeneralization about a group, often based on faulty assumptions. Media Framing Factors 1)​**Sizing (most important): overall salience of the event in the flow of the news based on how much material on the event is available. -​ High-Coverage Event = interpreted as most important due to society’s awareness of them. 2)​Agency: the inclusion of particular words that suggest where responsibility for an event lies (placing the blame on specific party). 3)​Identification: the use of words that encourage/discourage identification with the central characters in news story. -​ Ex. the inclusion of victims’ names or “humanizing” phrases (“innocent human beings” or “loved ones”) → encourages identification. -​ Neutral terms (e.g. “those who died”) discourage identification. 4)​Categorization: overall framework used to label an event by the media (e.g. using “attack” rather than “tragedy”. 5)​Generalization: extent to which a media story is generalized to larger political system/issue -​ E.g. reporting of terrorist attack is often used to generalize to the rise of ideological groups (like Islamic extremists, Alt-Right, or Incels). ★​ Understanding & Presenting Ourselves -​ While media presents people, issues, & events in certain ways (“framing”), we also present ourselves in certain ways (especially on SM). -​ Dramaturgical Theory (Goffman) → social life is like a performance on a stage (public posts = frontstage). -​ In the public = playing specific roles (frontstage) -​ When alone/with close friends = roles are dropped and we are our true selves (backstage). -​ The way we present ourselves on SM is also affected by the technology. B) Feminist Perspective Argues that media has significant impact, at both micro & macro levels, in part by stereotyped portrayals of women & men (repeated exposure).  -​ While these stereotypes seem innocuous, they contribute to maintaining gender inequality (teaching females to be nurturing/submissive & males to be aggressive/independent). Most differences between men and women are socially constructed rather than the result of biology → highlights a critical perspective, which suggests that gender roles are not inherent but rather are learned and reinforced by cultural and societal influences, especially through media. Media Stereotypes of Females Media Stereotypes of Males -​ Victims -​ Jokers -​ Consumers -​ Locks -​ Sexual Objects -​ Strong Silent Types -​ Big Shots -​ Action Heroes -​ Buffoons -​ ★​ Media Violence 1)​Social Learning Theory → people learn by observing the behaviour of others (& its consequences) & then go onto imitate that behaviour (ex. Bobo the Clown study). 2)​Desensitization Theory → repeated exposure to violence lessens its emotional impact. 3)​Cultivation Theory → repeated exposure to TV violence has cumulative effects on viewers. Begins with fear/vulnerability that one will become a victim of violence, then progresses to the point where people believe the world is more dangerous than it really is (termed “Mean World Syndrome”), which can lead to people seeking more protective measures than necessary. C) Postmodern Perspective Emphasizes the dynamic/multi-faceted ways media impacts/is impacted by society (particularly concerning marginalized groups/social change). Also encourages consumers to be aware of media ownership objectives, think critically about the messages they take in, & make informed decisions about the kinds of messages/media they engage with. -​ Reshapes culture → highlights how Indigenous Peoples use social media to revitalize their cultures, share news, and maintain connections. -​ Mobilizes social movements → digital media are essential tools for marginalized groups, enabling them to share information, connect with others, and organize social action. -​ Voice for marginalized groups -​ Media Literacy 6. MEDIA LITERACY Media Literacy → The ability to recognize, critically assess, and make informed choices about the messages contained in mass media forms. A) Concepts of Media Understanding 1)​Media are constructions → media products are created by individuals who make conscious and unconscious choices about what to include, what to leave out & how to present/frame what is included. -​ Who created this media product? What is its purpose? What assumptions/beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content? 2)​Audiences negotiate meaning → meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers but is a collaboration between the producers/audience — different audiences can take away different meanings from the same product. -​ Media literacy encourages us to understand how individual factors, (e.g. age, gender, race, and social status) affect our interpretations of media. -​ How might different people see this media product differently? How does this make you feel, based on how similar/different you are from the people portrayed in the media product? 3)​Media have commercial interests → most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit.  -​ What is the commercial purpose of this media product (how will it help someone make money)? How does this influence the content & how it’s communicated? If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media product have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to convince audiences of a particular POV). How do those purposes influence the content and how it’s communicated? 4)​Media have social & political implications → media convey ideological messages about values, power, & authority (what/who is absent may be more important than what/who is included. -​ Who and what is shown in a positive light and in a negative light? Why might these people/things be shown this way? Who/what is not shown at all? What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts? 5)​Each medium has unique aesthetic form → content of media depends in part on the nature of the medium (inlucding technical, commercial, & storytelling demands in each medium). -​ Ex. Interactive nature of videogaming leads to different forms of storytelling & different demands on media creators than are found in film/TV. -​ What techniques does the media product use to get your attention/ communicate its message? In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques (ex. camera angle, photo manipulation)? What are the expectations of the genre (ex. print advertising, TV drama, music video) toward its subject? B) Becoming Media Literate: 1)​Understand the nature of the media (mainstream=profit-centred, highly-concentrated industry=uses techniques that construct reality for viewers). 2)​Appreciate the wider implications of media (ex. exposure to violence, stereotype portrayals, & promotion of consumerism). 3)​Develop critical viewing skills (be aware we are being influenced, analyze the messages objectives/source, and then think about what the specific message is designed to accomplish).