Chapter 1-3 Media and Society.docx

Chapter 1: Mass Communication and Its Digital Transformation Telephony: Case Study in Convergence Telephone adapted telegraphy's principles adding transmission of voice Cell phones increased spontaneity and phone use, implementing a variety of functions Three Types of Convergence The coming tog...

Chapter 1: Mass Communication and Its Digital Transformation Telephony: Case Study in Convergence Telephone adapted telegraphy's principles adding transmission of voice Cell phones increased spontaneity and phone use, implementing a variety of functions Three Types of Convergence The coming together of computing, telecommunications, and media in a digital environment Three Types: Economic Technological Cultural Specific types of media such as print, audio, and video, all converge into digital media form Digital media often change our use and perception of traditional technologies Economic Convergence Merging of Internet or telecommunication companies with traditional media companies is Economic Convergence **Consolidation**: Traditional media companies growing smaller and much larger through mergers and acquisitions Corporate umbrella subsuming independent and dissimilar companies Cultural Convergence Globalization of media content Consumption, creation, and distribution of content Shift from passive audience to public that produces and shares content cheaply Implications of Convergence Media organization: **Centralized** - Functions of media--including productions, distribution, marketing, and advertising--are controlled by a single individual or unit **Converged** - Functions of media may be de-centralized via the Internet, inviting more diffuse methods of production, distribution, marketing, and advertising Media type: How we engage with and what constitutes media are in flux. Different media are regulated differently with other protections and restrictions Media content: **Hyperlinks** - Connect online content to other content and stories **Digital natives** grew up with digital media; **digital immigrants** grew up with analog media **Digitized content** - Computer-readable media transforming production cycle and process Media use: **24/7 media environment** - the ability to always be "on" and "connected" Media companies need content to fill the time We live in a multi-screen world, although Internet access and benefits remain unequal Media distribution Media audience Media profession Attitudes and values The Internet enables global dialog, more fluid and rapidly transmitted content Audiences are increasingly active in media use and distribution, bypassing corporate control - Viral Marketing: Rapid information travels through the Internet "word-of-mouth" - Peer-to-peer (P2P): Individual file sharing - User-Generated content (UGC): Digital media enable audiences to develop content Traditional mass communication: one-way communication from source large, anonymous heterogeneous audience Converged audience communication: Interactive model, able to create and distribute own content, if desired Producers: Audiences who both use and consume contemporary media; can be both passive recipients and active creators. Convergence changing how professionals do their jobs - Divisions among different activities fading The era of digital media requires learning new skills while maintaining professional ethics and standards Citizen journalism: Interactive relationship wherein audiences contribute to story content and/or correction - No formal training in journalism is required With increased global digital communication comes increased desire for transparency and methods for gaining trust Confusion over traditional notions of privacy for individuals and companies Behavioral targeting: Advertising technique drawn from the information we readily share through our digital footprint Cookies: Information archived on hard drives that allow for digital tracking of our web habits. Mass Communication in the Digital Age Traditional mass communication: communication to a large group or groups of people largely unknown to the sender of the message Traditional interpersonal communication: communication between two or more individuals, often in a small group, although it can involve communication between a live speaker and an audience Traditional interpersonal communication: usually interactive; flows at least two ways; tends not to be anonymous; involves both verbal and nonverbal messages Meditated interpersonal communication: takes place through an external medium, such as a telephone, IM, text, chatroom, or Twitter; visual cues are often absent; online medium blurs lines between interpersonal and mass communication Mass Media: technological means of communicating between large numbers of people distributed widely over space or time In the traditional model, content creators represent and define reality Synchronous media: audiences assemble simultaneously for broadcast, transmission, or event, such as live TV or radio Asynchronous media: audiences can attend on their own time, such as with printed materials or recorded audio or video Timeshift: recording of an audio or video event for later Digital media blur lines between interpersonal and mass communication, each adopting characteristics of the other - Examples include email, weblogs, Twitter Mass communication entertainment and information generate interaction and conversation Functions of Mass Communication - Surveillance - Correlation - Cultural transmission - Entertainment Surveillance: Information about processes, issues, events, and other developments in society, primarily connected to journalism Potential that too much bad news promotes skewed or apathetic responses Correlation: Media interpretation of events and issues that help individuals understand roles within larger society Journalism, advertising, and PR help shape public opinion; media can help maintain social stability Potential to thwart change and favor interests Cultural Transmission: Transference of dominant culture and subculture(s) from one generation to the next or to immigrants Includes socialization, which helps people learn the rules of society Potential for a homogenized culture that promotes mindless consumption Entertainment: Function performed by other three activities and content designed specifically to entertain Potential to encourage lowbrow entertainment and escapism Potential to perpetuate stereotypes Chapter 2: A New Introduction to Mass Communication Media Educate and inform us. Educators are recognizing a growing need to teach media literacy skills to school-age children. *If media are so pervasive in our lives, why aren't we studying them in the same way that we study geography or biology?* Media Literacy - The process of critically analyzing media content Its particular presentation  Its underlying political or social messages Its media ownership or regulation Concern that mediated information--constructed through signs, symbols, and words from books, radio, TV, and digital media--affects us in ways unlike unmediated information. Constructed messages in media made to look natural Study of signs and symbols, theoretical approach to media literacy Ferdinand de Saussure - Dual sign comprised of signifier (form) and signified (what form represents) Rene Magritte's "This is not a pipe" Umberto Eco Framing: Particular presentation and communication of message influences our perception of it. Audiences must classify, organize, and interpret media information. Frameworks, or schemas, simplify the complex. Like signs, frames appear natural and often go unquestioned. Questions about each medium's impact on culture, political processes, children's values and behaviors Socrates and Plato worried about the influence of literacy on children. Contemporary researchers are concerned about the influence of the Internet and video games. **Media Grammer:** Medium's underlying rules, structures, and patterns that influence audience use and understanding. **Print Media** Sophisticated media grammar because of long history - Books  - Newspapers - Magazines **Radio and Recorded Music** Radio: Audio techniques include volume changes, multiple audio tracks, actualities, sound effects, and voice-overs Record music - Particular stylistic conventions include song length and music formats **Film and Television** Intricate media grammar based on editing, camera angles, lighting, movement, and sound The film uses cross-cut scenes to tell more complex and dramatic stories. TV uses film techniques with smaller production budgets - Different TV genres have different grammars **Digital Media** Media grammar evolves without communication devices. Digital adopts traditional forms while creating new ways for us to interact with media. The grammar of mobile and social networking media has become increasingly important. **Implications of Commerical Media** The average media consumer rarely considers commercial factors that shape media content. Economic factors and corporate decisions influence everything - What is and is not covered in the news - What is and is not produced as entertainment for the general public **Commerical-Media Debate** Critics: Greater influence means greater need to publicly fund media Proponents: Profit motive remains a key incentive to produce quality content **Concentration of media ownership** Successful media enterprises become larger in size and scope by acquiring, through purchase or merger, other media enterprises. Greater concentration of ownership may mean a poorly served public - Less diversity of media voices - Minority and non-mainstream views may be silenced **Media Bias** A real or perceived viewpoint held by journalists and news organizations that slants news coverage unfairly, contrary to professional journalism's stated goals of balanced coverage and objectivity **Developing Critical Media-Literacy Skills** What is the purpose of the media content? Consider the source of the media. Examine the framing of media content What stereotypes are presented Question the media ecosystem Make the media Chapter 3: Print Media: Books, Newspapers, and Magazines **Functions of Print Media** Transmission of Culture Diffusion of ideas and knowledge Entertainment **Distinctive Functions of Books** Compilation of comprehensive knowledge in single document considered a vital, even sacred endeavor Book burning, protests, and censorship highlight enduring cultural relevance and authority of books, even digital age **History of Books to Today** Monastic Scribes - Specially trained monks, or scribes, copied religious and classical works, used calligraphy and rich illustrations Johannes Gutenberg - German printer credited with creating the first mechanical printing press in 1455 Mass communication and Mass Literacy - Printing press spreaded scientific discoveries and religious beliefs - Books and broadsheets in local common languages became popular as more poepl learned to read Cheaper and Smaller Books - Dime Novels - Mass-market paperbacks - Print-on-demand - Ebooks **Current Book-Industry Issues** Industry mergers, consolidations increase profit margins by reducing operating costs Books publishing intertwined with global media and entertainment industry Emergence of online booksellers, ebooks, POD transforming sales and distribution **Sales and Readership of Books** Patterns of book sales unsteady Markets bary by category Textbooks largest portion of sales Bestsellers can dramatically increase revenues **Outlook for Books** Ebook and audio books are growing in sales **Distinctive Functions of Newspapers** Most important function is **surveillance**: informing the public of important events Local Newspapers - Serve local geographic communities, monitoring government, law enforcement, business, religion, education, arts, and other institutions National Newspapers - The *New York Times* - The *Wall Street Journal* - *USA* Today History of Newspapers to Today Commercial & Partisan Press ○ Merchant; Political Colonial readership & finances ○ Elite,literate readers The Golden Age of Newspapers ○ 1830's to 1930 Current Newspaper-Industry Issues Benjamin Day sold the New York Sun for a penny (the penny press) Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 intended to preserve diverse editorial opinion Many newspapers defer to marketing polls and focus groups when setting standards for content, tone, and layout Joint operating agreement (JOA) Consumers have become accustomed to getting news online for free, either through social media feeds or news aggregators like Google News Newspaper Chains Benefits of shared resources Problems of cost-cutting strategies that weaken the ties with the local community Communities are becoming news desserts, with no daily or weekly papers significantly serving them Sales and Readership of Newspapers Production and distribution are roughly two-thirds of the overall cost of publishing a newspaper Newspaper readership(number or percentage of those who read a newspaper) larger than circulation(number of copies sold or distributed) Advertising generates roughly two-thirds of the U.S. newspaper revenue, with the rest from descriptions Outlook for Newspapers Six major trends ○ More newspaper executives are outsiders with little appreciation or understanding of industries unique aspects Digital subscriptions models will likely need to offer drastic incentives Understanding and measuring audiences increasingly critical in online world Six major Trends Local coverage is increasingly important Smaller but more numerous revenue streams need to be developed Collaborations with other media outlets must occur to offer a complex mix of media that includes print newspapers Distinctive Functions of Magazines Surveillance, correlation, entertainment, and marketing Longer treatment of topics Published at regular but less frequent intervals Higher-quality, paper such as glossy magazines History of Magazines to Today Early histories of magazines and newspapers interwoven ○ Overlapping technological, business, and journalistic/entertainment functions helped spur development of modern mass media 19th-century magazines helped young America define itself and reach nationwide audience Muckrakers pioneered investigative reporting of corrupt practices in government and business Current magazine-industry issues Specialized magazines supplant general-interest publications to compete with TV for adventures in the 1950s As of 2020, there were about 7,400 print consumer magazines on various topics in the U.S., the highest since 2009 Sales and Readership of Magazines Contemporary magazines increasingly subject to ownership consolidation and media concentration Established magazine moving to online-only editions Hundreds of new magazines titles are published every year, but most do not survive more than two years Outlook for Magazines Relatively large screens and high resolution have helped increase reading activity, even longer-form content Print magazines both expensive to produce and environmentally friendly Type of magazine content may not change much, but the way in which we see it will