Mass Communication Theory Foundations- Ferment- and Future PDF

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 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  MASS COMMUNICATION CHRONOLOGY 1455 Johann Gutenberg invents printing press 1940 Paul Lazarsfeld’s voter studies begin in Erie 1644 Milton’s Aeropagetica appears County, Ohio 1690 Publick Occurrences, first newspaper in 1941 United States enters World War II America, published British develop first binary computer 1704 First newspaper ad appears 1942 Carl Hovland conducts first war propaganda 1741 First magazines appear in the Colonies research 1790 Bill of Rights and First Amendment adopted 1833 Benjamin Day’s New York Sun ushers in penny British develop Colossus, the first electronic press digital computer, to break German war code 1836 Charles Babbage develops plans for a 1945 World War II ends mechanical computer in England Gordon Allport and Leo Postman’s rumor study 1844 Samuel Morse invents telegraph published 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents telephone 1946 John Mauchly and John Atanasoff introduce 1877 Thomas Edison demonstrates phonograph ENIAC, the first “full-service” electronic digital 1894 America’s first movie (kinetoscope) house opens computer 1895 Louis and Auguste Lumière introduce 1947 Hutchins Commission issues report on press single-screen motion picture exhibit freedom William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer The Hollywood Ten called before the House embark on yellow journalism Un-American Activities Committee 1896 Hearst sends infamous telegram to reporter in 1948 Norbert Wiener’s Cybernetics published Cuba Cable television invented Press services founded 1949 George Orwell’s 1984 published 1912 Radio Act of 1912 signed into law Carl Hovland, Arthur Lumsdaine, and Fred 1915 Pulitzer endows prize that bears his name Sheffield’s Experiments in Mass Communication 1920 KDKA goes on the air published 1922 Walter Lippmann’s Public Opinion published 1951 Harold Innis’s The Bias of Communication First commercial announcement broadcast on published radio Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now premieres 1924 The American Society of Newspaper Editors’ UNIVAC becomes the first successful Canons of Journalism adopted commercial computer 1926 NBC begins network broadcasting 1953 Carl Hovland, Irving Janis, and Harold Talking pictures introduced Kelley’s Communication and Persuasion 1927 Radio Act of 1927 creates the Federal Radio published Commission 1954 Murrow challenges McCarthy on television 1933 Payne Fund’s Movies, Delinquency, and Crime 1955 Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz’s Personal published Influence published 1934 Communications Act passes, creates the Federal 1957 C. Wright Mills’s Power Elite published Communications Commission Soviet Union launches Sputnik, Earth’s first 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast human-constructed satellite 1939 First public broadcast of television Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance World War II erupts in Europe published Paperback book introduced in the United States 1958 Television quiz show scandal erupts Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  1959 C. Wright Mills’s The Sociological Imagination 1975 ASNE’s Statement of Principles replaces Canons published Bill Gates and Paul Allen develop operating 1960 John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon meet in system for personal computers the Great Debates 1977 Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak perfect Apple II Television in 90 percent of all U.S. homes 1978 Digital audio and video recording adopted as Joseph Klapper’s Effects of Mass Communication media industry standard published 1981 IBM introduces the PC 1961 Key’s Public Opinion and American Petty and Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood Democracy published Model introduced Kennedy makes nation’s first live TV 1983 Journal of Communication devotes entire issue presidential press conference to “Ferment in the Field” Schramm team’s Television in the Lives of Our CD introduced Children published 1985 Meyrowitz’s No Sense of Place published 1962 Festinger’s cognitive dissonance article appears 1990 Signorielli and Morgan’s Cultivation Analysis Sidney Kraus’s Great Debates published published 1991 Gulf War explodes, CNN emerges as important Air Force commissions Paul Baran to develop a news source national computer network 1963 JFK 1992 ACT disbands, says work is complete assassinated 1992 World Wide Web released Albert Bandura’s aggressive modeling 1993 Ten years after “Ferment,” Journal of experiments first appear Communication tries again with special issue, Networks begin one-half-hour newscasts “The Future of the Field” 1964 McLuhan’s Understanding Media published 1996 Telecommunications Act passes, relaxes 1965 Color comes to all three commercial TV broadcast ownership rules, deregulates cable networks television, mandates television content ratings Comsat satellite launched 1998 Journal of Communication devotes entire issue 1966 Mendelsohn’s Mass Entertainment published to media literacy Berger and Luckmann’s The Social MP3 introduced Construction of Reality published 2000 Name change of “Critical Studies in Mass 1967 Merton’s On Theoretical Sociology published Communication” to “Critical Studies in Media 1969 Blumer coins “symbolic interaction” Communication” 2001 Terrorist attacks on New York City and ARPANET, forerunner to Internet, goes online 1971 Bandura’s Psychological Modeling published Washington, D.C. 1972 Surgeon General’s Report on Television and 2003 FCC institutes new, relaxed media ownership Social Behavior released rules McCombs and Shaw introduce “agenda-setting” U.S. invasion of Iraq Gerbner’s Violence Profile initiated Social networking websites appear FCC requires cable companies to provide “local Bloggers’ Code of Ethics formalized access” 2004 Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly focuses edition on media framing Ray Tomlinson develops e-mail 1973 Watergate Hearings broadcast live American Behavioral Scientist devotes two 1974 Blumler and Katz’s The Uses of Mass entire issues to media literacy Communication published Facebook launched Noelle-Neumann introduces “spiral of silence” 2005 YouTube launched Goffman pioneers frame analysis News Corp (Rupert Murdoch) buys MySpace Home use of VCR introduced 2006 Google buys YouTube Term “Internet” coined Twitter launched Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  2007 Journal of Communication publishes Internet overtakes newspapers as a source of special issue on framing, agenda-setting, news for Americans and priming American Society of Newspaper Editors 2008 Journal of Communication publishes special becomes American Society of News Editors issue on the “intersection” of different mass Radio and Television News Directors communication research methods and Association becomes Radio Television theoretical approaches 2009 Potter’s Arguing for a General Framework for Digital News Association Mass Media Scholarship published Social networking use exceeds e-mail Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  From the Wadsworth Series in Mass Communication and Journalism General Mass Communication Rich, Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, Biagi, Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media, Tenth Sixth Edition Edition Hilmes, Connections: A Broadcast History Reader Public Relations and Advertising Hilmes, Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in Diggs-Brown, Strategic Public Relations: Audience Focused the United States, Third Edition Approach Lester, Visual Communication: Images with Messages, Fifth Diggs-Brown, The PR Styleguide: Formats for Public Rela- Edition tions Practice, Second Edition Overbeck, Major Principles of Media Law, 2011 Edition Drewniany/Jewler, Creative Strategy in Advertising, Tenth Straubhaar/LaRose, Media Now: Understanding Media, Edition Culture, and Technology, Seventh Edition Hendrix, Public Relations Cases, Eighth Edition Zelezny, Cases in Communications Law, Sixth Edition Newsom/Haynes, Public Relations Writing: Form and Style, Zelezny, Communications Law: Liberties, Restraints, and the Ninth Edition Modern Media, Sixth Edition Newsom/Turk/Kruckeberg, This is PR: The Realities of Public Relations, Tenth Edition Journalism Bowles/Borden, Creative Editing, Sixth Edition Research and Theory Davis/Davis, Think Like an Editor: 50 Strategies for the Print Baran and Davis, Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, and Digital World Ferment, and Future, Sixth Edition Hilliard, Writing for Television, Radio, and New Media, Sparks, Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview, Third Tenth Edition Edition Kessler/McDonald, When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Wimmer and Dominick, Mass Media Research: An Introduc- Guide to Grammar and Style, Eighth Edition tion, Ninth Edition Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY Foundations, Ferment, and Future SIXTH EDITION Stanley J. Baran, Ph.D. Bryant University Dennis K. Davis, Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University Australia Brazil Japan Korea Mexico Singapore Spain United Kingdom United States Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  This is an electronic version of the print textbook. Due to electronic rights restrictions, some third party content may be suppressed. Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. The publisher reserves the right to remove content from this title at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. For valuable information on pricing, previous editions, changes to current editions, and alternate formats, please visit www.cengage.com/highered to search by ISBN#, author, title, or keyword for materials in your areas of interest. Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, © 2012, 2009, 2006 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Ferment, and Future, Sixth Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright Stanley J. Baran and Dennis K. 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Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our preferred online store www.cengagebrain.com. Instructors: Please visit login.cengage.com and log in to access instructor-specific resources. Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14 13 12 11 10 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  To Sidney Kraus His words and actions—indeed, how he has chosen to live his life and career—in the years since the first edition of this book have convinced us of the wisdom of our original decision to honor him—our friend, mentor, and colleague. Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  CONTENTS P REFACE xvii SECTION 1 I NTRODUCTION TO M ASS C OMMUNICATION T HEORY 1 CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY 3 Overview 5 Defining and Redefining Mass Communication 5 Science and Human Behavior 7 Defining Theory 11 Postpositivist Theory 12 Hermeneutic Theory 13 Critical Theory 14 Normative Theory 14 Evaluating Theory 16 Flexible Social Science 17 Mass Communication Theory 17 Summary 19 Critical Thinking Questions 21 ix Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  x Contents CHAPTER 2 FOUR ERAS OF MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY 22 Overview 25 Four Eras of Media Theory 26 The Era of Mass Society and Mass Culture 27 A Scientific Perspective on Mass Communication Leads to the Emergence of the Limited-Effects Perspective 29 Ferment in the Field: Competing Cultural Perspectives Challenge Limited-Effects Theory 34 Emergence of Meaning-Making Perspectives on Media 35 Ongoing Debate over Issues 38 Summary 39 Critical Thinking Questions 40 SECTION 2 T HE E RA OF M ASS S OCIETY AND M ASS C ULTURE 42 CHAPTER 3 THE RISE OF MEDIA INDUSTRIES AND MASS SOCIETY THEORY 45 Overview 46 The Beginnings 47 The Rise of Yellow Journalism 49 Cycles of Mass Media Development and Decline 49 Mass Society Critics and the Debate over Media 52 Assumptions of Mass Society Theory 55 Early Examples of Mass Society Theory 63 Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft 64 Mechanical and Organic Solidarity 65 Mass Society Theory in Contemporary Times 67 Summary 70 Critical Thinking Questions 71 CHAPTER 4 THE RISE OF MEDIA THEORY IN THE AGE OF PROPAGANDA 73 Overview 74 The Origin of Propaganda 76 Propaganda Comes to the United States 79 Behaviorism 81 Freudianism 82 Harold Lasswell’s Propaganda Theory 83 Walter Lippmann’s Theory of Public Opinion Formation 85 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xii Contents Limitations of the Experimental Persuasion Research 157 Contemporary Selective Exposure: The Return of Minimal Effects 160 Information-Flow Theory 161 Joseph Klapper’s Phenomenistic Theory 164 Elite Pluralism 166 C. Wright Mills and The Power Elite 168 A Summary of Limited-Effects Generalizations 169 Drawbacks of the Limited-Effects Perspective 170 Contributions of the Limited-Effects Perspective 171 The Hovland-Lazarsfeld Legacy 172 Summary 172 Critical Thinking Questions 173 CHAPTER 7 MOVING BEYOND LIMITED EFFECTS: FOCUS ON FUNCTIONALISM AND CHILDREN 174 Overview 174 Theories of the Middle Range and the Functional Analysis Approach 176 Systems Theories of Communication Processes 183 The Rise of Systems Theories 184 Modeling Systems 184 Applying Systems Models to Human Communication 185 Adoption of Systems Models by Mass Communication Theorists 186 Functionalism’s Unfulfilled Promise 188 Focus on Children and Violence 189 Television Violence Theories 192 Social Learning 193 Social Cognition from Mass Media 195 Aggressive Cues 197 The Context of Mediated Violence 200 Active Theory of Television Viewing 201 The Developmental Perspective 202 Video Games Reignite Interest in Media Violence 203 Media and Children’s Socialization 204 Summary 206 Critical Thinking Questions 208 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Contents xiii CHAPTER 8 THE EMERGENCE OF CRITICAL AND CULTURAL THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION 209 Overview 210 Changing Times 211 The Cultural Turn in Media Research 212 Macroscopic versus Microscopic Theories 213 Critical Theory 214 Comparing Cultural Theories with Those Based on Empirical Research 215 The Rise of Cultural Theories in Europe 216 Marxist Theory 217 Neo-Marxism 218 Textual Analysis and Literary Criticism 218 The Frankfurt School 219 Development of Neo-Marxist Theory in Britain 220 Political Economy Theory 223 The Debate Between Cultural Studies and Political Economy Theorists 224 Cultural Studies: Transmissional versus Ritual Perspectives 227 Research on Popular Culture in the United States 228 Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message and the Massage 229 Harold Innis: The Bias of Communication 230 McLuhan: Understanding Media 231 Summary 235 Critical Thinking Questions 236 C ONTEMPORARY M ASS C OMMUNICATION T HEORY : F ROM SECTION 4 A CTIVE -A UDIENCE TO M EANING -M AKING T HEORIES 238 CHAPTER 9 AUDIENCE THEORIES: USES, RECEPTION, AND EFFECTS 241 Overview 243 Audience Theories: From Source-Dominated to Active-Audience Perspectives 245 Limitations of Early Audience-Centered Research 246 Confusion of Media Functions and Media Uses 247 Revival of the Uses-and-Gratifications Approach 249 The Active Audience Revisited 251 Uses-and-Gratifications Research and Effects 255 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Contents xi Reaction against Early Propaganda Theory 86 The Institute for Propaganda Analysis 88 Modern Propaganda Theory 91 Libertarianism Reborn 93 Summary 94 Critical Thinking Questions 95 CHAPTER 5 NORMATIVE THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION 96 Overview 99 The Origin of Normative Theories of Media 100 The Origin of Libertarian Thought 101 The Marketplace of Ideas: A New Form of Radical Libertarianism 105 Government Regulation of Media 108 Professionalization of Journalism 109 Limitations of Professionalization 111 Social Responsibility Theory of the Press: A Postwar Compromise 114 The Cold War Tests Social Responsibility Theory 116 Using Social Responsibility Theory to Guide Professional Practice 117 Is There Still a Role for Social Responsibility Theory? 119 The Public Interest in the Internet Era 121 Other Normative Theories 126 Summary 129 Critical Thinking Questions 130 F ROM L IMITED -E FFECTS TO C RITICAL C ULTURAL SECTION 3 T HEORIES : F ERMENT IN THE F IELD 132 CHAPTER 6 THE RISE OF LIMITED-EFFECTS THEORY 135 Overview 136 The Development of Limited-Effects Theory 138 The Two-Step Flow of Information and Influence 142 Limitations in the Lazarsfeld Approach 146 Limited-Effects Theory 148 From Propaganda Research to Attitude-Change Theories 148 Carl Hovland and the Experimental Section 149 The Communication Research Program 151 Mass Communication Research and the Focus on Media Effects 153 The Selective Processes 154 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xiv Contents Development of Reception Studies: Decoding and Sensemaking 257 Feminist Reception Studies 260 New Directions in Audience Effects Research: The Rise of Moderate-Effects Theories 262 Information-Processing Theory 263 Processing Television News 266 Elaboration Likelihood Model 268 Entertainment Theory 270 Summary 274 Critical Thinking Questions 276 CHAPTER 10 MEDIA AND SOCIETY: THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE SOCIAL WORLD 278 Overview 280 Information (Innovation) Diffusion Theory 281 Social Marketing Theory 284 Media System Dependency Theory 288 The Knowledge Gap 291 Agenda-Setting 293 The Spiral of Silence 298 News Production Research 303 Media Intrusion Theory 307 Summary 311 Critical Thinking Questions 312 CHAPTER 11 MEDIA AND CULTURE THEORIES: MEANING-MAKING IN THE SOCIAL WORLD 313 Overview 315 Symbolic Interactionism 316 Pragmatism and the Chicago School 319 Current Applications of Symbolic Interactionism 321 Social Constructionism 323 Framing and Frame Analysis 330 Recent Theories of Frames and Framing 335 Framing and Objectivity 336 Effects of Frames on News Audiences 338 Reforming Journalism Based on Framing Theory 339 Cultivation Analysis 340 The Controversy 343 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Contents xv The Products of Cultivation Analysis 343 The Mean World Index 344 A Final Note on Cultivation 345 Media as Culture Industries: The Commodification of Culture 347 Advertising: The Ultimate Cultural Commodity 350 The Media Literacy Movement 351 Two Views of Media Literacy 353 Summary 354 Critical Thinking Questions 355 CHAPTER 12 AFTERWORD: THE FUTURE OF MEDIA THEORY AND RESEARCH 357 Challenges 360 The End of Mass Communication Theory: The Rise of Media Theory 362 REFERENCES 364 INDEX 383 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  PREFACE We wrote the first and second editions of this textbook at a prosperous time in the life of our nation, when U.S. media industries were undergoing rapid change. American corporations were spreading around the world. Dot-com companies were thriving in a “New Economy” many thought likely to expand for decades. New media technology was evolving so rapidly and new media applications were proliferating so fast that a new scale of “Internet time” was created to measure change. “Brick and mortar” companies were disdained in favor of virtual enterprises. Change was also going on in media theory and research. Theory was in fer- ment as new perspectives challenged long-standing assumptions. Researchers strug- gled with questions flowing from the changes in media. They debated how best to understand the role of new media and chart their place among the well-established mass media. Considerable research focused on mass media entertainment and its effects. Researchers asked whether new media-based entertainment would displace established mass media. Would the Internet replace television or would the tube absorb the Internet? Would people pay the extra price to get HDTV? Did the pro- tection of children from online smut require new laws? What would happen to face-to-face communication in the wake of the e-mail onslaught? Virtual democ- racy? MP3? Smartphones and augmented reality? On September 11, 2001, everything changed. As we wrote the third edition to this textbook, the Western world was reeling from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A new type of war was declared, a war not against an identifiable nation, but against a tactic, terrorism. Americans were told to make important sacrifices and to be vigilant, but at the same time to carry on our daily lives as though September 11 had never happened. When we prepared the fourth edition, our country had just embarked on what was—and would become even more so—a controversial war. xvii Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xviii Preface Many if not all of the reasons that sent us to combat, unexamined and unchal- lenged by much of the media we count on to help us govern ourselves, proved to be false. Where was the Fourth Estate “when it might have made a difference?” (Massing, 2004, p. 1). Growing awareness of the media industries’ powers and responsibilities led to significant criticism of their performance in the run-up to war and its coverage, and more surprising, an unprecedented public outcry against media concentration. The American people, writes media critic Todd Gitlin, “rub their eyes and marvel that a nation possessed of such an enormous industry ostensibly special- izing in the gathering and distribution of facts could yet remain so befogged” (2004a, p. 58). But befogged we remained, as the media, our political leaders, and those in the financial industries failed to heed—or even notice—the coming economic crash that would damage so badly our lives, homes, savings, and jobs. As authors, we now face a serious challenge as we produce this, the sixth edi- tion. When it comes to media theories, what is still relevant and what is unimpor- tant? How can and should we understand the role media now play in the world that has been so radically altered? What has happened to trust in media? In our system of self-governance and our ability to know ourselves, our neighbors, and our world? In previous editions we argued, “The price to be paid for our failure to understand the role of media is dear.” We pointed to controversies over the ef- fects of media violence and the banning of rap music lyrics. We worried about growing dissatisfaction with modern election campaigns and the role in our de- mocracy of a press increasingly focused on the “bottom line.” These questions re- main important and will doubtlessly arise again on the media research agenda. But for a time these questions have been overshadowed by more pressing issues: an ob- vious one, the war in the Middle East. Where were democratic debate and public discourse in the run-up to this costly conflict? Where were the media when it counted, or in the words of Michael Massing in the New York Review of Books, “Now they tell us.” But consider that five years after the start of what was sup- posed to be a “cake walk” and three years after President Bush himself told the public that there was no link between Iraq and September 11, “as many as four in 10 Americans [41 percent] continued to believe that Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in financing, planning, or carrying out the terrorist attacks on that horrible day” (Braiker, 2007). “Where were and are the media?” is an im- portant question for those interested in mass communication theory, but so is “Where were and are the people?” This textbook takes a historical approach to presenting media theory. In previ- ous editions, we argued that the value of this framework resides in its ability to re- veal how social theory generally—and media theory specifically—develops as an ongoing effort to address pressing technological, social, and political problems. Of- ten the most important eras for media theory development have been those of cri- sis and social turmoil. These are the times when the most important questions about media are asked and the search for their answers is most desperate. For half a century after the 1940s, we relied on media theories forged in the cauldron of economic depression and worldwide warfare. But by the 1990s, the concerns of earlier eras had faded. In our first two editions, we asked whether an era of dra- matic technological change might give rise to new media theories for a world whose problems were different from those of the 1940s. Did we need new media Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Preface xix theories to fit a stable and orderly world with rising economic prosperity and star- tling but beneficent technological change? After 9/11 we were confronted by the challenges of a world in which many old questions about the role of media suddenly had new urgency. As you read this edi- tion, you will find that we devote considerable attention to propaganda. In the 1930s and 1940s, the most important questions concerning media centered on pro- paganda. Could media propaganda induce widespread conversions from one polit- ical ideology to another? Was systematic censorship of media essential to the preservation of democracy as we faced the totalitarian threats of fascism and com- munism? Was propaganda inherently bad, or should it have been used to promote democracy at a time when its deficiencies were so evident and the fruits of totali- tarianism so alluring to masses of people around the world? After September 11, and then again after tens of thousands of deaths in Iraq and our failure to find the weapons that were the stated reason for the conflict that killed them (Carter, 2004), similar questions were again being asked and answered in the highest circles of the American government, in the offices of media organizations, in colleges and universities, and in people’s homes. They were asked again in the wake of the country’s “surprise” economic crash, and again as the interminable, often ugly health care reform debate dragged on for the first two years of the Obama presi- dency, a presidency resulting from what some called the “first YouTube election,” raising even another series of questions. An understanding of media theory will provide crucial insights as we work to come to grips with a new kind of public dis- course, a new kind of America, a new kind of world. A UNIQUE APPROACH One unique feature of this book is the balanced, comprehensive introduction to the two major bodies of theory currently dominating the field: the social/behavioral theories and the cultural/critical theories. We need to know the strengths and the limitations of these two bodies of theory. We need to know how they developed in the past, how they are developing in the present, and what new conceptions they might produce, because not only do these schools of thought represent the mass communication theory of today, but they also promise to dominate our un- derstanding of mass communication for some time to come. Many American texts emphasize social/behavioral theories and either ignore or denigrate cultural/critical theories. As critical/cultural theories have gained in popu- larity in the United States, there have been more textbooks written that explain these theories, but they often ignore or disdain social/behavioral theories. Instructors and students who want to cover all types of media theories are forced to use two or more textbooks and then need to sort out the various criticisms these books offer of competing ideas. To solve this problem (and we hope advance understanding of all mass communication theory), we systematically explain the legitimate differences existing between researchers who use the different theories. We also consider possi- bilities for accommodation or collaboration. This edition considers these possibilities in greater depth and detail. It is becoming increasingly clear how these bodies of the- ory can complement each other and provide a much broader and more useful basis for thinking about and conducting research on media. Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xx Preface THE USE OF HISTORY In this book, we assume that it is important for those who study mass communica- tion theory to have a strong grounding in the historical development of media the- ory. Therefore, in the pages that follow, we trace the history of theory in a clear, straightforward manner. We include discussions of historical events and people we hope students will find inherently interesting, especially if instructors use widely available DVDs, video downloads, and other materials to illustrate them (such as political propaganda, the War of the Worlds broadcast, newsreels from the World War II era and the early days of television, and so on). More and more historical audiovisual material is readily available via the Internet, so instructors can ask stu- dents to assist them in illustrating key leaders and events. Readers familiar with previous editions of this textbook will find that we’ve made some significant changes in the way that we present the unfolding of media theory. For example, one theme of this book ever since its first edition is that the- ory is inevitably a product of its time. You will see that this edition is replete with examples of media’s performance during our ongoing “war on terror” and their own ongoing institutional upheaval, but you will also see that many individual conceptions of mass communication theory themselves have been reinvigorated, challenged, reconsidered, or otherwise altered. NEW TO THIS EDITION As has been the case in each of the past editions, we have updated all statistics and examples. But as in the past, we have made a number of more significant changes. To be specific: Chapter 5: In the discussion of normative theory, we look at the pressures of falling audiences and revenues on the media industries, especially as they at- tempt to perform their public service function. We debate the merits of public subsidy of journalism in a section that asks if we should worry about saving newspapers or saving journalism. Chapter 6: This chapter reflects new insights into early mass communication research provided by media research historians. Our look at the rise of the limited effects perspective is augmented by an examination of more current thinking that suggests a return to viewing media as having limited effects. Chapter 7: We have enriched our discussion of social cognitive theory with the addition of two relatively recent ideas, Albert Bandura’s social prompting and Leonard Berkowitz’s cognitive-neoassociationistic perspective. This chapter’s discussion of effects on children also takes into account the latest media con- sumption data released by the Kaiser Family Foundation in their periodic Generation M studies. Chapter 9: We have made a major addition with an examination of the elabo- ration likelihood model (ELM). Mass communication researchers of late have made meaningful use of ELM—long considered an interpersonal communica- tion theory—especially as it pertains to information processing in the Internet Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Preface xxi age. Specifically, because ELM assumes different levels and types of processing (and therefore effects) when individuals use different routes to process infor- mation (central or peripheral), pull media (new media) may produce greater or more lasting effects than push media (traditional media) because their use is personally motivated. Chapter 10: We have added a discussion of the use of meta-analyses in devel- oping mass communication theory as well as expansion of two existing sec- tions. The first, social marketing theory, is experiencing renewed interest in its application to health communication issues. The second, knowledge gap the- ory, has reemerged in the age of the Internet because of its implications for the digital divide. We discuss this in terms of the Obama Administration’s pro- posal to bring high speed Internet to the entire country and the FCC’s parallel plan for a “digital literacy corps” to ensure that all Americans can access the technology. Chapter 11: We reluctantly deleted our discussion of social semiotic theory, as the promise it once held for the integration of mass and interpersonal commu- nication theory has gone unfulfilled. We replaced it with an examination of the development of personal identity in the Facebook era and recent thinking on cultivation theory as new media possibly challenge television’s cultural dominance. Chapter 12: We elaborated our discussion of the trends in theory development and the three primary challenges facing media researchers: new media, global- ization, and research on the human organism. As new media rise in impor- tance, media theory is evolving to replace mass communication theory. THE USE OF TOPICS FOR CRITICAL THINKING It is important, too, that students realize that researchers develop theories to ad- dress important questions about the role of media—enduring questions that will again become important as new media continue to be introduced and as we deal with a world reordered by September 11, the ongoing war on terrorism, and sys- temic economic distress. We must be aware of how the radical changes in media that took place in the past are related to the changes taking place now. We attempt this engagement with mass communication theory in several ways. Each chapter includes a section entitled Critical Thinking Questions. Its aim, as the title suggests, is to encourage students to think critically, even skeptically, about how that chapter’s theories have been applied in the past or how they are being applied today. Each chapter also includes at least two Thinking about Theory boxes. These pedagogical devices are also designed to encourage critical thinking. Some discuss how a theorist addressed an issue and tried to resolve it. Still others highlight and criticize important, issue-related examples of the application of me- dia theory. Students are asked to relate material in these boxes to contemporary controversies, events, and theories. A few examples are Chapter 3’s Murrow versus McCarthy, Chapter 4’s Engineering of Consent: WMD and the War in Iraq, Chap- ter 8’s Media Coverage of Work and Workers, and Chapter 9’s Semiotic Disobedi- ence. We hope that they will find these useful in developing their own thinking Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xxii Preface about these issues. We believe that mass communication theory, if it is to have any meaning for students, must be used by them. We have also sprinkled the chapters with Instant Access boxes, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of the major theories we discuss. The advantages are those offered by the theories’ proponents; the disadvantages represent the views of their critics. These presentations are at best sketchy or partial, and although they should give a pretty good idea of the theories, the picture needs to be completed with a full reading of the chapters and a great deal of reflection on the theories they present. All chapters also provide marginal definitions of important terms, and chapter summaries; and finally, at the end of the text there is an extensive bib- liography and a thorough index. THE BIG PICTURE This textbook provides a comprehensive, historically based, authoritative introduc- tion to mass communication theory. We have provided clearly written examples, graphics, and other materials to illustrate key theories. We trace the emergence of two main schools of mass communication theory—social/behavioral and critical/ cultural. Then we discuss how theories developed by each of these schools contrib- ute to our understanding of the use of media by audiences, the role of media in so- ciety, and finally the links between media and culture. The book ends with a brief chapter that summarizes challenges facing the field and anticipates how media the- ory may develop to meet these challenges. We offer many examples of social/behavioral and critical/cultural theory and an in-depth discussion of their strengths and limitations. We emphasize that media theories are human creations typically intended to address specific problems or is- sues. We believe that it is easier to learn theories when they are examined with contextual information about the motives of theorists and the problems and issues they addressed. In the next few years, as mass media industries continue to experience rapid change and as we continue to come to terms with the post–September 11/war on terrorism “new world order” and Internet-dominated, “YouTube” democratic dis- course, understanding media theory will become even more necessary and univer- sal. We’ve argued in this edition that many of the old questions about the role of media in culture, in society, and in people’s lives have resurfaced with renewed rel- evance. This book traces how researchers and theorists have addressed these ques- tions in the past, and we provide insights into how they might do so in the future. THE SUPPORTING PHILOSOPHY OF THIS BOOK The philosophy of this book is relatively straightforward: Though today’s media technologies might be new, their impact on daily life might not be so different from that of past influences. Changes in media have always posed challenges but have also created opportunities. We can use media to improve the quality of our lives, or we can permit our lives to be seriously disrupted. As a society, we can use media wisely or foolishly. To make these choices, we need theories—theories explaining the role of media for us as individuals and guiding the development of Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Preface xxiii media industries for our society at large. This book should help us develop our un- derstanding of theory so we can make better use of media and play a bigger role in the development of new media industries. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In preparing this sixth edition, we have had the assistance of many people. Most important, we have drawn on the scholarly work of several generations of social and cultural theorists. Their ideas have inspired and guided contemporary work. It’s an exciting time to be a communication scholar! We work within a research community that, although it may be in ferment, is also both vibrant and supportive. In these pages, we acknowledge and explain the contributions that our many colleagues across the United States and around the world have made to mass communication theory. We regret the inevitable errors and omissions, and we take responsibility for them. We are also grateful to our reviewers: Benjamin Bates, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Glen Cummins, Texas Tech University Rachel Kovacs, College of Staten Island (CUNY) Carol Lomicky, University of Nebraska, Kearney These reviewers helped us avoid some errors and omissions, but they bear no responsibility for those that remain. We also wish to thank our Wadsworth/ Cengage friends, whose encouragement and advice sustained us. Their task was made less difficult than it might otherwise have been by our first Wadsworth editor, Becky Hayden, and Chris Clerkin, the editor for the first edition of this text. These accomplished professionals taught us how to avoid many of the sins usually committed by novice authors. The editor who has worked with us the longest, Holly Allen, is as sharp as her predecessors, and she became quite adept at using her gentle hand with what had become two veteran textbook authors. Our new editorial team, Michael Rosenberg, Megan Garvey, and Erin Pass, continued the competence and professionalism to which we have become accustomed. We are proud of this, our sixth edition and their first. We must also thank our families. The Davis children—Jennifer, Kerry, Andy, Mike—are now scattered across the Midwest in Norman, Lincoln, Nashville, and Chicago, so they have been less involved with (or impacted by) the day-to-day de- velopment of this edition. Nonetheless, they often assisted with insights drawn from the academic fields in which they themselves have become expert: history, philosophy, Asian studies, marketing, and computer science. In Wakefield, the Baran kids—Jordan and Matt Dowd—remained close to the book-writing process, so they suffered more of the authors’ detachment and absences as this edition un- folded. They did so with charm and love. It would be impossible to overstate the value of our wives’ support. Nancy Davis continues to provide a sympathetic audience for efforts to think through media theory and brainstorm ways to apply it. Susan Baran, an expert in media literacy in her own right, has a remarkable ability to find the practical in the most theoret- ical. This is why more than a few of the ideas and examples in these pages found Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  xxiv Preface their refinement in her sharp mind. She keeps her husband grounded as a thinker and author while she lifts him as a man and father. Finally, this book is the product of a collaboration that has gone on for nearly forty years. We started our professional careers at Cleveland State University in 1973 in a communication department headed by Sidney Kraus. Sid inspired us, along with most other junior faculty, to become active, productive researchers. Today, a disproportionate number of active communication scholars have direct or indirect links to the Cleveland State program. Sid demonstrates the many ways that a single person can have a powerful impact on a discipline. Through his scholarship, his mentorship, and his friendship he has left a truly indelible mark. S.J.B. & D.K.D Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY SECTION 1 1 Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.  Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party cont