CMDS Exam Review PDF

Discussion Questions 1. What is a communication medium? Provide three examples of different types of media. A communication medium is any tool or channel used to transmit messages or information from a sender to a receiver. Examples include: - Print Media: Newspapers, books, and magazines....

Discussion Questions 1. What is a communication medium? Provide three examples of different types of media. A communication medium is any tool or channel used to transmit messages or information from a sender to a receiver. Examples include: - Print Media: Newspapers, books, and magazines. - Broadcast Media: Radio and television. - Digital Media: Social media platforms, websites, and mobile applications. 2. Define the terms communication, mass communication, and mass media. - Communication: The process of exchanging information, ideas, or feelings through symbols, language, or gestures. - Mass Communication: Dissemination of information to large audiences via mediums like television, radio, or the internet. - Mass Media: The tools and platforms used to deliver mass communication (e.g., television networks, newspapers, digital platforms). 3. How do electronic communication technologies, the telegraph most famously, “shrink space through time”? Electronic communication technologies allow instantaneous information exchange over vast distances. The telegraph revolutionized communication by enabling people to send messages across continents in seconds, collapsing geographical barriers and reshaping global trade, governance, and relationships. 4. How does the sender-receiver model differ fundamentally from the social model of communication? - Sender-Receiver Model: Linear and one-directional; focuses on the transmission of messages from sender to receiver with minimal feedback. - Social Model of Communication: Interactive and contextual; emphasizes mutual understanding, shared meanings, and the cultural and social contexts in which communication occurs. 5. What might we learn from studying how animals and plants ‘communicate’? Do you think it makes sense to see trees or animals as communicating organisms? Studying non-human communication reveals the diversity of signaling systems used for survival and adaptation. For example: - Trees communicate stress through root networks and chemical signals. - Animals use vocalizations, body language, and pheromones to exchange information. It makes sense to see these as communication systems because they share fundamental characteristics with human communication: signaling, response, and interaction. 6. What are the key theoretical and methodological approaches used by Grindstaff and Torres Valencia, and how do they use them? Grindstaff and Torres Valencia use: - Theoretical Approaches: Media representation theories to explore identity construction. - Methodology: Seminar-based interviews to gather rich qualitative data. - They emphasize participants’ personal narratives, which allows for in-depth analysis but may introduce biases or limit generalizability. 7. How has this article helped you understand your social media engagements? The article reveals how our dual roles as producers and consumers of content shape our online presence. It highlights the performative aspects of identity and the societal pressures influencing self-presentation on platforms like Instagram. 8. How do we construct our identities on social media? We craft identities through: - Curated content: Photos, captions, and interactions. - Platform Affordances: Tools provided by platforms (e.g., filters). - Social Influences: Peer validation and societal norms, including gender, ethnicity, and cultural affiliations. 9. Key Turning Points in Media Technology Development - Printing Press: Enabled mass literacy and dissemination of knowledge. - Telegraph: Revolutionized communication by reducing time delays. - Internet: Facilitated global connectivity and democratized access to information. Social changes were also influenced by economic shifts, political developments, and cultural contexts. 10. Distinctive Aspects of Media Development in Canada - Public Broadcasting: CBC fosters Canadian identity and multiculturalism. - Indigenous Media: Promotes language preservation and cultural representation. In contrast, U.S. media prioritizes commercial interests, while UK media emphasizes public service through the BBC. 11. Indigenous Language and Culture Focusing on Indigenous communication challenges Eurocentric media histories. It highlights the importance of oral traditions, storytelling, and the resilience of Indigenous cultures in preserving language and identity. 12. Cultural Genocide and Historic Trauma Transmission - Cultural Genocide: Erasure of a group’s cultural identity (e.g., residential schools in Canada). - Historic Trauma Transmission: The intergenerational passing of collective trauma, affecting mental health and community cohesion. 13. Role of News Media in the Public Sphere News media inform citizens, hold power accountable, and facilitate public debate. However, biases, sensationalism, and corporate interests often undermine their democratic role. 14. How News Media Shape Stories - Gatekeeping: Controlling which stories are published. - Framing: Shaping how issues are presented. - Objectivity: Aspiring to neutrality, though influenced by cultural and political contexts. 15. Making Meaning in Media - Semiotics: Study of signs and their meanings (e.g., a blanket symbolizing comfort or heritage). - Intertextuality: References between texts that shape interpretations. - Encoding/Decoding: Audiences interpret media differently based on cultural contexts. 16. Media Effects Theories - Definition: Theories exploring how media influence behaviors and attitudes (e.g., cultivation theory). - Limitations: Oversimplify audience engagement and ignore active interpretation. 17. Audience Commodity Audiences are viewed as products sold to advertisers, shaping media content and platform design. 18. Socio-Technical Ensemble Theory Explains how technology is shaped by social contexts, emphasizing that design decisions reflect societal values. 19. Design Justice Advocates for equitable technology design, ensuring marginalized communities’ needs are addressed. 20. Global Media and Colonial Histories Colonialism created global media inequalities, with cultural imperialism dominating media flows. NWICO and NAM sought equitable communication systems, though challenges persist today. NWICO: New World Information and communication order NAM: Non-aligned movement 21. Free Speech - Importance: Supports democracy and individual autonomy. - Limitations: Hate speech, censorship, and corporate control. Critical perspectives reveal how marginalized groups often lack equal access to expression. Definitions Algorithms (pg. 133, Ch. 4) An algorithm is a set of step-by-step instructions or rules designed to perform a specific task or solve a problem. In the context of brand marketing, algorithms are used to analyze consumer data and optimize ad targeting by learning patterns in consumer behavior, enabling automated processes like programmatic advertising. These algorithms rely on data analytics to collect and analyze information about consumer habits. The Audience Commodity A treatment of a targeted group of users of any communication medium as a market to be sold to advertisers Simple definition: free media advertisement Instagram users click on the ads, and the app tracks their browsing and shows them favorable ads to catch their attention. Audience Fragmentation (Pg 90 - Ch 4) Audience Fragmentation is a term used to describe the way media audiences have become divided into smaller, more specific groups instead of being one large, unified audience. It results from technological advancements, increasing media diversity, and the shift away from traditional mass media to personalized and niche media consumption. The text highlights a platforms like specific statistic: in 1969, 35% of the TikTok, Instagram, English-speaking and Twitter target television audience different watched CBC, demographics and while 25% watched content types, CTV. By the dividing audiences 2015-2016 period, by age, interests, and the share of the CBC had fallen to region. just 5.1%, with CTV, Global, and other non-specialty channels capturing about 25% of the viewing audience. Colonialism Colonialism refers to the historic control of a colonial power over any foreign territory, which systematically removed the native people from their land and imposed one's governance, culture, and language. Settler colonialism, characterized by land appropriation and the systematic colonization of language and culture, is believed to have really impacted countries such as Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the United States, leading to the suppression of Indigenous cultures. The discussed topics are especially cultural genocide, in particular, from the point of view of the Indian Act of 1876 in Canada, which initiated the taking of control and undermining the identities by prohibiting traditional practices. This is further manifested in the historical legacy of residential schools, too, that were organized for assimilation with Euro-Canadian culture, where the languages of the Indigenous people were supposed to be erased. This passage continues to reflect the lively debates of colonial figures and monuments, which unveil the struggle of society trying to come to terms with colonial legacy and bring out injustices that accompanied it to Indigenous peoples. In summary, the context underscores the profoundly profound effects of colonialism on Indigenous cultures while emphasizing the importance of acknowledging such legacies in contemporary society Connotative meaning (pg. 63) Refers to emotions, associations or meanings that go beyond its literal definition. Connotative refers to the range of other less obvious or more subjective meanings that may be drawn. - Home means a place where someone lives but can also mean warmth, security, comfort, or family ⁃ Rose is a flower but can also mean romance, love and beauty ⁃ Childlike, having qualities as a child but can also mean innocence ⁃ Family is a group of people related by blood or marriage but can also mean support belonging and unconditional love - The color 'blue' or feeling "blue' Commodity Fetishism (pg. 125, Ch. 4) Commodity fetishism is a concept from Marx’s critique of capitalism, describing how the social and labor origins of goods are obscured, and instead, commodities are marketed with symbolic meanings that mask their production process. Culture In communications, culture is usually used in a context that refers to the way of life for a certain group of people, period of time or humanity in general (Coulter et al., 2024). Within this context, culture is made up of a large collection of common features that is shared between its members. For instance, culture can include features such as “knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, laws, and customs” (Coulter et al., 2024). When it comes to the case of Canadian culture, there are multiple layers. At the first level, Canadian culture is made up of a set of shared and commonly agreed upon beliefs on what being Canadian means; for many people being Canadian means having knowledge of both English and French, being represented by the maple leaf on the national flag and a range of other features such as customs, laws and holidays. At a slightly deeper level, Canadian culture also refers to the distinctive way of life for a certain region of the country; since Canada is quite large, each province will have their own interpretations on what being Canadian means that is relative to their location and its history. For example, being Canadian in Quebec is significantly tied to the French language. At an even deeper level, Canadian culture is deeply tied to the various Indigenous cultures across the country as well as to the cultures of groups who have immigrated to Canada and made significant contributions to the country (Coulter et al., 2024). The Digital Divide The digital divide refers to the growing gap in access to technology and information, both globally (between wealthier and poorer countries) and even nationally, where factors like location, income, education, age, and gender play a role. As we become increasingly dependent on digital connectivity, this divide becomes more noticeable and pressing. It highlights the evident inequalities that prevent many people from benefiting from the opportunities and resources that technology provides, leaving them at a disadvantage in an expanding digital world. Feminist Media Research Feminist media research uses feminist theory to look at how media is shaped by and creates narratives surrounding gender and sexuality, how lived experiences of women and other minority groups impact the creation of media, and how media is intertwined into everyday life (Coulter et al., 2024). Typically, feminist media research uses three approaches to study media. The first approach looks at the relationship between “feminism, difference and identity”; this approach focuses on how representation in media and social discussion disregards the perspectives of certain groups, such as women and minority racial groups. The second approach analyzes how the media plays a major role in both creating space for and preventing the voices of women and other minority groups from being heard in public debates. The third approach analyzes the relationship between the media and its related technologies to the body; research using this approach often looks at “how power plays not only in different locations online but also in institutions that shape the layout and experience of cyberspace” (Coulter et al., 2024). Globalization Globalization highlights the increasing interconnectedness of societies and cultures worldwide and the role of media in facilitating these connections. Media act as agents of globalization by transmitting information, ideas, and cultural products across national borders, influencing our understanding of the world and shaping global cultural flows. However, the sources emphasize that globalization also raises concerns about media imperialism, cultural homogenization, and the unequal distribution of power and resources in the global media landscape. Understanding globalization's impact on media and communication allows us to critically assess its potential benefits and drawbacks, as well as its implications for cultural diversity, national sovereignty, and the flow of information. The concerns about foreign media eclipsing local or national media are particularly relevant to Canada, which shares a border with the United States, the world's largest economy and a major exporter of entertainment products. Ideology Ideology helps us analyze how media content reflects and reinforces dominant social values, beliefs, and power structures. Understanding the ideological underpinnings of media messages allows us to critically assess the representation of various social groups, events, and issues. It provides a lens for identifying biases, stereotypes, and perspectives that might be privileged or marginalized within media narratives. For instance, feminist research utilizes ideology to examine how media portrayals of women and gender roles can contribute to societal perceptions and inequalities. Feminist research is used as an example of how ideology can be used to analyze media content. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was a big change that began in the late 1700s in Western Europe. New machines, like the steam engine, and better ways of making things made factories proliferate. People moved to cities to work in these factories, which changed how they lived and worked. Life improved for some, but many workers faced long hours, low pay, and tough conditions. This period started the modern way of producing goods and shaped the world we live in today. Information society Definition: An information society is a society or subculture in which information and communication technology are central to the economy, society, and culture. Background: The information society, proposed because of the development of computers and the Internet, mainly emphasizes the important role of information production, processing, and dissemination for the entire society. Importance: The information society is gradually emerging, which will become the main driving force of the economy, because the role of information in new media has changed people's lives, work, and social interactions to some extent. Information has become the main driving force of the economy, affecting many countries. Examples: social internet (Facebook, Snapchat), electronic business (Amazon, Shein) Instrumentalism Instrumentalism is a relatively naive position, which views technology as a value-neutral tool that can shorten the path to natural ends or social goals; technology here is simply a means to an end, a simple tool for our use. Market Segmentation (pg. 131, Ch. 4) Market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market into sub-groups of consumers based on shared characteristics such as demographics, lifestyles, and social values. Mass Communication Definition: Traditionally, forms of communication that address large audiences have been called “mass communication.” Here the modifier mass tends to emphasize the meaning “large in scale,” as in mass audience, mass action, or mass murder, simply means communication on a large scale. Example: Today, online social media and networking services like Instagram, Twitter(X), Facebook, LinkedIn and many others have engulfed us in a complex web of relationships. While the Internet was initially developed as a means of communication between people, with the success of the World Wide Web and digital technologies and their increasing use in business communities and other organizations, the Web has become a large-scale system of communication between people and a decentralized broadcast or distribution system. It has rapidly evolved into a large-scale interactive communication system that enables people in many countries to create content for free and make it available to the world. Now powered by ubiquitous search engines. Media Convergence Media convergence explains how once-separate forms of media, such as print, television, and radio, have merged into interconnected systems through digitization. This integration has transformed how information is produced, distributed, and consumed. Historically, media operated in a silo (the media types function apart from each other), with industries like broadcasting and publishing functioning independently. Today, digitization allows content to flow seamlessly across platforms, erasing traditional boundaries (Coulter et al., 2024). For example, companies like Bell Canada have evolved from telecommunication providers to multimedia giants offering television, digital streaming, and internet services. This shift illustrates how convergence has created versatile ecosystems where media conglomerates dominate multiple sectors. At the same time, platforms such as Netflix and Spotify provide users with integrated experiences by combining various media forms under one umbrella. While these developments offer efficiency and accessibility, they also raise concerns about concentrated ownership and limited diversity in content. Convergence is not just about technology; it represents a cultural shift. Media convergence enables content to reach broader audiences, but it also centralizes control in the hands of a few corporations. These dynamic shapes what content is available and how audiences engage with it. For instance, algorithms on streaming platforms influence viewing choices, reinforcing dominant narratives and sidelining alternative voices. This concept urges critical reflection on how digital technologies shape contemporary media landscapes. While convergence facilitates innovation and accessibility, it also calls for vigilance to ensure diverse perspectives and equitable access to media in an increasingly interconnected world. Mass Media Definition: Mass media refers to widely disseminated media that is accessible to many people. "Mass media" includes newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet media（ social media). A communication medium is any carrier or thing that can convey meaning or information. Background: It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and gradually formed a concept due to the two technologies of printing and broadcasting. In the mid-20th century, the popularization of television in every household further promoted the development of the concept of mass media. Importance: Mass media is the main channel for information dissemination and includes key functions such as cultural dissemination and social education. It is also responsible for managing and shaping public opinion. Examples of mass media include the BBC, CBC, Netflix, YouTube, and Instagram. Panopticism (panoptic society) This concept describes self-discipline that is solely induced by constant surveillance. Panopticism stems from Jeremy Bentham and is a social mechanism of control and surveillance that has been spread throughout many aspects of modern society, such as governments, schools, and hospitals. Through these systems of observation and surveillance, individuals are conditioned to regulate their own behaviour because they are uncertain whether or not they are being watched. Social media platforms highlight a more peer to peer surveillance making individuals visible to marketers, law enforcement and governments. The benefits of this constant observation are improved security and better governance; however, it invades individual privacy due to cases of personal data overreach and cyberbullying. Public Sphere Definition: Habermas (1996: 55) termed the public sphere: By "public sphere" we mean first of all a domain of our social life in which such a thing as public opinion can be formed. Access to the public sphere is open in principle to all citizens. A portion of the public sphere is constituted in every conversation in which private persons come together to form a public... Citizens act as public when they deal with matters of general interest without being subject to coercion, thus with the guarantee that they may assemble and unite freely and express and publicize their opinions freely. When the public is large, this kind of communication requires certain means of dissemination and influence; today, newspapers and periodicals, radio and television are the media of the public sphere. Example: If the media provide some space for citizens to speak-increasingly so in the digital era, the focus of news coverage is almost exclusively on what are termed opinion leaders: politicians, business people, administrators, pollsters, public relations spokespeople, researchers, intellectuals, and other assorted experts and officials. These people are not speaking for themselves or impartially, but often on behalf of society's most powerful vested interests. Again, this explains the potential significance of alternative journalism forms, such as blogs and citizen journalism sites, that seek to restore citizens' voices and perspectives to the mediascape. The news media's role in the public sphere is significant, given the extent to which we depend on the media for knowledge about our world. Reception Analysis Reception Analysis is a media and communication research approach that investigates how audiences understand and interact with media, considering their unique experiences, cultural backgrounds, and social contexts. Main concepts in reception analysis include interpretative diversity and active audience. Interpretive variety recognizes different interpretations depending on age, gender, race, socioeconomic background, and personal experiences, whereas active audience avoids passive listening and encourages active meaning the structure. Example: Film reception - Diverse films/television shows that have diverse characters and representation, for example, Black Panther. Representation Representation underscores the constructed nature of media content and its influence on shaping our perceptions of the world. Recognizing that media representations are not neutral reflections of reality, but choices made by producers influenced by various factors, allows for a more critical understanding of media messages. Examining representation helps unpack the underlying meanings, power dynamics, and potential biases embedded within media content. For example, the way news outlets frame a particular event, selecting certain details and perspectives, can significantly impact public understanding and perception. Representation in the media involves using signs and symbols to create meaning, but this process is not neutral or objective. Semiotics Semiotics is known as the “science of signs”; this concept uses signs to make meaning. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the founder of semiotics, a sign can be anything with a meaning, ranging from things such as words or pictures. A sign is composed of two elements, the signifier and the signified. The signifier refers to something being expressed through sight, sound or feeling (i.e., a red stop sign) while the signified refers to the idea that is drawn from the signifier (i.e., a red stop sign signifies to a driver to stop) (Coulter et al., 2024). Signs can be further classified into three categories: icons, index and symbols. An icon is a sign that looks like the signifier; for example, a photograph would be an icon as it depicts what is being described. An index is a sign that is associated with the signifier; smoke would be considered an index as it is often associated with a fire. A symbol is a sign that doesn’t have any direct relation to its signifier what; for example, the word apple would be considered a symbol (Coulter et al., 2024). Signifier (pg. 61) Signification is the activity of meaning-making which is carried out in the use of signs that have two elements: the signifier (which can be a symbol or a figure) and the signified (which can be the meaning or an image of it). The meaning attached to a sign is therefore not the same at all times; rather, it is continuously adapted or altered by the situation surrounding its use, and hence may change according to the conditions and the people concerned. - Traffic lights and signs - “Pull” or “push” on a door - “Stop” to get someone's attention - Morse code - Sign language - Flags - The word “dog” is a sign where the word is the signifier, and the idea of a dog is the signified. Structuralism Structuralism is a perspective which emerged out of the 1950s and 60s within the field of the social sciences and humanities. In terms of media analysis, it investigates the potential fundamental structures that form media texts and genres, searching for patterns that may be shaping them. This viewpoint understands that while an author may have agency, their agency is not a primary factor of creating meaning in media. Structuralism aims to simplify complex narratives, reducing them to a set of patterns or elements that form them. Social theory Social theory explains the interactions between individuals, communities, and systems as well as how society functions. This offers a look into the structure of the world, the causes of social events, and group dynamics. These concepts help in our understanding of issues like social change, culture, and inequality. For instance, some social theories study the distribution of money and power, while others focus on how many parts of society collaborate to maintain order. Technological Determinism Technological determinism is the idea that technology develops and operates according to its own internal logic, separate from social forces. In simple terms, technology takes on a life of its own and society simply reacts to it. However, this theory is heavily argued against. Because the technology was developed to solve a problem or find an opportunity as well as the role of state and institutional control over applications of technology, it is believed that social forces do play a role. Example: Cars ~ Created a society, where cars are the easiest way to get around and many of us cannot imagine what we would do without them. World Systems Theory It has 3 parts- core, peripheral, or semi-peripheral states, it depends on the nation and its role in the international economic system It is more focused on relationships between nations in global economics. For example, the global coffee trade. Core countries like the US, Germany, and Japan dominate the global coffee trade, controlling multinational companies and investing in technology, marketing, and logistics. Periphery countries like Ethiopia, Honduras, and Vietnam produce raw coffee beans, while semi-periphery countries like Brazil, Colombia, and India remain subordinate.