Communication Culture & Society PDF

COMMUNICATION CULTURE & were expressed persuasively and in the right SOCIETY setting by a well-respected person. He believed that in the right combination, words could shape...

COMMUNICATION CULTURE & were expressed persuasively and in the right SOCIETY setting by a well-respected person. He believed that in the right combination, words could shape what people thought and how they acted. LESSON 1 MASS MEDIA Everybody communicates. Perhaps more than ever before, media and communication are at the Mass Media comprise the communication center of our everyday lives. platform that enable the exchange of information and meanings (content) between individual and ETYMOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION groups. These messages are shared via common system of language or symbols on or along a The word communication was originated from platform or medium that is equally accessible by the Latin word ‘communis’ which means all parties in the exchange. It is technology that is ‘common’. Communion, community, intended to reach a mass audience. communism, commonality, communalism etc. Communication is the transfer of ideas, are some related words having the same thoughts, and emotions. Mass Media are the linguistic roots. channels used to transmit or transfer those ideas, thought, and emotions. DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNICATION TYPES OF MEDIA Communication is the exchange of Print Media (newspapers, books, meanings between individuals through a magazines), Printed media is the term common system of symbols. (I.A. used to refer to books, newspapers, and Richards). magazines. This type of mass media is The transmission of information, ideas the oldest. attitudes, or emotion from one person Electronic Media (television, radio) or group to another or others primarily Digital Media (CD and internet facilities) through symbols. (Theodorson and Theordorson) It’s important to remember, though, that not all Communication is the transmission and media are created equal. While some forms of interchange of facts, ideas, feeling or mass communication are better suited to course of action. (Leland Brown) entertain, others make more sense as a venue Communication is a social interaction for spreading information. In terms of print media, through messages (Grabner,1967) books are durable and able to contain lots of The interchange of thoughts or information, but are relatively slow and information to bring about mutual expensive to produce; in contrast, newspapers understanding and confidence or good are comparatively cheaper and quicker to create, human relation. (American society of making them a better medium for the quick Training Directors). turnover of daily news. ‘One mind affecting another’ (Claude Shannon) Mass media influence our daily life more than any other cultural institution. They are our main HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION sources of news and entertainment. They define our purchase decision, voting behavior, The study of communication began about 2,400 academic achievement and so on. Because of years ago, when ancient Philosophers such as this all-encompassing impact of mass media, Aristotle in Greece, and Confucius in China politicians, businessmen and government recognized the relationship between good agencies depend on media to influence people. governance and good communication between Since the early 20th century, most rulers and the people they governed. Confucius communication has occurred through the use of believed that spoken and written words served technology that extends our connection far as forces for social change and could beyond face-to-face discussion. Technological significantly influence how both individuals and innovation is ever-evolving and continues to grow even entire societies behaved. exponentially. It’s important to keep in mind that Aristotle also recognized the power of the implementation of new technologies doesn’t spoken and written words, especially when they mean that the old ones simply vanish into dusty Media literacy is important especially museums. nowadays. We are bombarded with a lot of Today’s media consumers still watch information because of technology, specifically television, listen to radio, read newspapers, and the internet. Being media literate can help us to become immersed in movies. The difference is understand and evaluate the contents we see. that it’s now possible to do all those things Media literacy is not just for the people through one device—be it a personal computer in media, or communication students – it’s for all. or a smartphone—and through the Internet. Such All of us as members of this society should be actions are enabled by media convergence. media literate. Media, as a powerful social system, plays an important role in creating a MEDIA CONVERGENCE person’s sense of reality Even those persons who closely monitor their media consumption Refers to the merging of different types of mass are not immune to media effects. media such as Traditional Media, Print Media, Broadcast Media, New Media and the Internet as MEDIA CONSUMPTION well as portable and highly interactive Refers to what and how much media technologies through digital media platforms. you are exposed to. Yes, media affect us. EXAMPLES OF MEDIA CONVERGENCE MEDIA EFFECTS OR MEDIA INFLUENCE Refers to how mass media influence Smartphones (converging camera, people – as individuals, as families, as music, the internet, books, and all other communities, as a nation. Media effect looks at media together) how media content, from news to entertainment, Online Radio (converging radio with the influences the way we see our neighbors, the Internet) world and ourselves. E-books (converging paperbacks with the digital technology) LESSON 2 News Websites and Apps MASS COMMUNICATION However, it’s still difficult to predict how It refers to information transmitted to media convergence and immersion are affecting large segments of the population. The culture, society, and individual brains. transmission of mass communication may The internet has changed the nature of happen using one or many different kinds of mass media by creating consumers who control media (singular medium), which is the means of and even create media of their own, and transmission, whether print, digital, or electronic. producers who can more easily track consumer responses. Mass media influence what we know, DIFFERENCE OF MASS MEDIA & MASS what we believe and how our society and culture COMMUNICATION progress. In recent years, communication scholars have advocated that media consumers Mass media are the transport forms of must develop knowledge about media. mass communication, or act as the mediums or Academics and researchers call this “media channels used in the dissemination of messages literacy”. widely, rapidly, and continuously to large and diverse audiences in an attempt to influence MEDIA LITERACY them in some way. While Mass Communication is the act of disseminating information or ideas Is the term commonly used to describe to the public. identification, study and analysis of all processes involved in creating and consuming media FIVE DISTINCT STAGE OF MASS content across all media types and platforms. COMMUNICATION EXIST ACC TO AMERICAN Media literate people are not only COMMUNICATION SCHOLARS DEFLEUR & capable to understand and convey ideas, but DENNIS: also equipped to understand how media technologies and media biases affect the vary of Professional communicators create information, news and media content available. various types of "messages" for presentation to individuals.  The messages are disseminated in a the distribution is made available to a large "quick and continuous" manner through number of people, those who choose to read or some form of mechanical media. consume the information. Wherein, users can The messages are received by a vast pick and choose media content to suit their and diverse audience. needs, whether those needs were the intent of The audience interprets these the producers or not. Mass self-communication messages and gives them meaning. was created because of the internet. The audience is influenced or changed in some manner. LESSON 3 FUNCTION OF MASS COMMUNICATION Culture is a way of life. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the language you speak in and TO INFORM: Dissemination of information is the the God you worship all are aspects of culture. primary function of the news media. generation”. Newspapers, radio and TV provide us news from around the world and keep us informed. WHAT IS CULTURE? Journalists are not just ‘reporters’ now. They Culture generally refers to a set of have become news analysts who discuss the values, attitudes, beliefs, and practices that implications of important news stories. characterize a social group, organization, or institution. TO PERSUADE: Most of the mass media are used as vehicles of promotion and persuasion. COMPONENTS OF DEFINITION: Goods, services, ideas, persons, places, events Beliefs – are the set of notions we hold to be true – the range of things that are advertised through Values – are those ideals that a society judges to mass media is endless. Different media have be morally proper and good above all others. different features and reach. These values are the building blocks of norms, which are the basic rules or expectations that TO ENTERTAIN: The most common function of are socially enforced. Norms provide us with an mass communication is entertainment. Radio, expected idea of how we behave, and function to television and films are basically entertainment provide order and predictability in society. media. Even newspapers provide entertainment Example of a norm: Students are expected to through comics, cartoons, features, cross word arrive to a lesson on time and complete their puzzles etc., Entertainment through radio work. consists of mainly music and also drama, talk shows, comedy etc. CULTURAL DIVERSITY It is a group of diverse individuals from TO TRANSMIT CULTURE: Any communication different cultures or societies. For example, in a leaves a direct or indirect impact on an individual. workplace, a company hires employees from It becomes part of one’s experience, knowledge different countries with different races and and accumulated learning. Through individuals, characteristics. communication becomes part of the collective experience of groups, audiences of all kinds and ETHNOCENTRISM & CULTURAL RELATIVISM finally the masses. Mass communication plays Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look an important role in the transmission of culture at the world primarily from the perspective of from one generation to another. one’s own culture. Part of ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own race, ethnic or cultural MASS SELF COMMUNICATION: A NEW FORM group is the most important or that some or all OF COMMUNICATION aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups. Some people will simply call it With the widespread availability of the internet cultural ignorance. and the development of social media, Cultural relativism is the principle of communication consumption has a decidedly regarding and valuing the practices of a culture personal character that is mass self- from the point of view of that culture and to avoid communication. making hasty judgments. Cultural relativism tries Mass self-communication means that to counter ethnocentrism by promoting the the content is still created by the producers, and understanding of cultural practices that are HOW DOES MEDIA AFFECT CULTURE? unfamiliar to other cultures. The media plays an important role in educating the people and making them familiar with some cultures so as to avoid stereotypes. CROSS CULTURAL RELATIONSHIP Learning about other cultures through the media is the idea that people from different can create some stereotypes which should be cultures can have relationships that avoided. Examples of stereotypes that have been acknowledge, respect and begin to understand created by the media include portraying Muslims each other’s diverse lives. Becoming aware of as terrorists and Africans as illiterates. these new possibilities will ultimately change the Media can help in preserving and people who are exposed to the new ideas. This promoting culture. In the past, to preserve cross-cultural relationship provides hope that culture, the “Traditional Knowledge Transfer” is new opportunities will be discovered. used. Examples are thru trainings, thru word of mouth, thru signs. But with the development of THREE MAIN SOCIOLOGICAL / THEORIES ON language and literature, and the coming of THE ROLE OF MEDIA technology, it became advanced and easier. Media, especially digital media LIMITED EFFECTS THEORY “SOCIAL MEDIA”, has reconstructed the way This theory suggests that people we communicate. Slang has also become choose the media they consume based on what popular in our culture as each year seems to they already believe. This theory focused on have its own slang signature, especially with persuasion and political campaigns. Studies that tweens and teens. were made to examine the ability of media to Popular culture, pop culture for short, influence the voting behaviors of people, found generally refers to the dominant or prevalent that well-informed people relied more on traditions and aspects of material culture in a personal experience, prior-knowledge, and their certain society. In modern western countries, the own reasoning. As a result, media had little or term is used to describe various cultural limited effects on the voting of people. However, products (movies, music, art, television, and media more likely swayed those who were less more) that the majority of the population informed. The theory states that even if there is regularly consumes. Popular culture is the media, an effect created by media on the thoughts and products, and attitudes considered to be part of opinions of individuals; this effect is minimal at the mainstream of a given culture and the best or limited. everyday life of common people. Pop culture is everywhere. You know it CLASS DOMINANT THEORY when you come to the Internet, listen to music, This theory states that media reflects watch television, read comics, app-gaming or go the views of the elite who control it, rather than to a movie, concert, or stage show, or even buy a the majority population. It argues that the media shirt with “The Stranger Things” print on it. is controlled by corporations, and the content- especially news content- is dictated by the MEDIA IN A SOCIAL WORLD individuals who own these corporations or these elites who control these major media corporations can dictate the information In the 21st century, we normally navigate dispersed to the public. through a solid media environment that is unprecedented in human history. Our everyday CULTURALIST THEORY lives are saturated with words, pictures, videos, As the newest theory, the culturalist and sounds that we access through phones, theory combines both the classdominant and tablets, laptops, TVs, streaming devices, radios, limited-effects theory to claim that people draw books, newspapers, and more. their own conclusions. Specifically, the culturalist theory states that people interact with THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA media and create their own meanings. RADIO is universally present in the Technology allows us to watch what we want world’s households and automobiles. Adults use and control the entire experience. radio 76% of time, more than any other media platform. TV is in almost all homes, with 86.6% of TV local relationships while losing touch with households paying for access – either through people who are physically farther away. traditional cable, broadband, or a virtual multichannel video programming distributor like WATCHDOG ROLE YouTube. Many TV households also have Transparency is required on many additional TV related electronic devices including levels including for access to information; DVD/Blu-Ray players, DVRs video game console, accountability and legitimacy of individuals, and internet connected devices that enable institutions and processes themselves; and for streaming like Amazon Fire TV, or GOOGLE rightful participation and public debate. Media Chromecast. acts as a mechanism for the prevention and Devices that can connect to the internet are investigation of allegations of violations or available to most – although not all- bout about malpractice. This watchdog role extends from 90% of adults have a cellphone of some sort. 60% accountability of officials and their actions while of adults also have desktops or laptops, and 45% ‘in office’ to entire processes. For example, have tablets or iPads. At a recent study, phones media presence at voting and counting centres is and laptops are not limited to adults nowadays, critical to preventing electoral fraud, given that even teens own these kinds of devices. full measures protecting freedom of speech are guaranteed, and that media are free to act As consumers embrace new independently and with impartiality. technology, they continually change the landscape of media equipment. For example, the creation and the coming of smartphones led to SOCIOLOGY OF MEDIA the decline of telephone landlines. The growth of To best understand media, we need to “connected televisions” (TV with internet see it as a social institution comprising various access), and video streaming services led to a elements that constantly interact. Moreover, to steady increase in “cord-cutters”, people who do not subscribe to traditional pay TV via cable, understand this media system, we need to put it satellite, of fiber optics. Voice-activated “smart in a larger context of the social world. This speakers,” such as Amazon’s Echo Devices enables us to better see how media relate to and Google Home “Alexa”, are mostly used other actors and social institutions as well as now for music streaming and their digital how media influence this larger social world. assistants. This pushpull interaction between elements All of these media devices are an reflects sociology’s broader interest in the role of indicator of the immense amount of time people structure and agency. spend watching, listening to, reading, or Sociologists often link discussions of otherwise using various forms of media. If the interaction and social relations to the concepts media disappeared, nothing else would be the of structure and agency. In this context, structure same. Our entertainment would be different. Not suggests constraint on human action, and just that, our understanding of politics and the agency dictates independent action. Combined, world around us would be vastly different the push-pull interactions that result from because we would not have websites, structure and agency are essential to understand newspapers, radio, tv, to explain what is social life, the media included. happening in our world. Indeed, our world would STRUCTURE be much “smaller” because we would know little Structure is not something physical. In beyond our direct experience. the broadest sense, social structure describes But, here’s another thing. With no any recurring pattern of social behavior. For one media, we would have a great deal of time in individual, the weight of social structure can be our hands, and like earlier generations, we experienced as “pressure” from an unnamed would probably spend much time interacting source to think, act, or behave in any particular with other people face-to-face. We might way. For example, we can talk about ‘family entertain ourselves by playing musical structure’ as a pattern of behaviors associated instruments or games. We might take up with the culturally defined idea of family. hobbies or learn new skills to pass our time. The ‘traditional family’ is actually a quite Our social lives – how and with whom we recent and geographically specific phenomenon. interact – would change radically in the absence of media. We would likely develop more tense During the post-WWII years in countries, the ‘traditional family’ usually meant married, heterosexual couples with children. Wherein the institutions. Example is a totalitarian regime. expected role of the wife as to work at home Totalitarianism is a form of government that raising children. While the expected role of the attempts to assert total control over the lives of husband was to work for income to cover its citizens or it theoretically permits no household bills. individual freedom. When sociologists speak of the change in the family structure, they are referring to the Relationships within an institution changes in the pattern of expected family (Relationship within the media behavior. Traditional expectations that a family industry) include two parents, parents that are married, heterosexual, housewife, and so forth, have Second, to understand the decisions made changed dramatically. Single-parent families, by journalists, writers, producers, film-makers, blended families, two-income families, media executives, and other media personnel, unmarried couples, child-free couples, we must understand the contexts in which they gender-nonconforming couples, and same sex work. This means that we must be familiar with couples, to name a few, have supplemented the both the internal workings of mass media ‘traditional’ family. The family structure – the organizations and the processes of professional pattern of behavior associated with families- has socialization. The sociological emphasis here is changed. on social positions, roles and practices, not on particular individuals. Within the media industry, AGENCY the tension between structure and agency is When sociologists discuss structure, related to how much autonomy media personnel they often pair it with agency. Agency is the have in doing their work. The amount of intentional and undetermined human action. autonomy will vary depending on the position an Human agency produces – or sometimes individual occupies, as well as the industry and changes – social structure. The “traditional” media organization they work. Media personnel’s family structure continues as long as new actions depend on how much power they have. generations of people accept the roles; they are Their agency or actions may be constrained due asked to fill within them. Most of the time, that’s to their position or job title in the media company. exactly what our actions do; they help reproduce existing social structures. But when enough Relationships between an institution people began to demand the right to choose from and the public (Relationship between a wider set of family roles, including women the media and the Public) having career outside the home and same-sex couples being legally recognized, the “traditional” A third kind of social relationship involves family structure began to change. In this case, how media content and technology potentially while structure constrains/limits agency, it is influence users and, in turn, how media users human agency that either alters or maintains can impact media industry and the content it social structures. produces. Media users are not passive sponges that soak up the many messages they come STRUCTURE AND AGENCY IN THE MEDIA across in the media. Because, if that’s the case, it would be a oneway relationship with the media Relationship among institutions Instead, media users are often active on several (Relationship between the media and fronts: choosing what media content they will other social institutions) use and when they will use it; promoting, redistributing, criticizing, or ignoring content; and First, our broadest level of analysis is even creating their own content. Not just that. the tension between structure and agency Media users also interpret media messages produced by different institutions. We cannot through their own social lenses; they are active adequately understand the media system ‘readers’ of media content. without considering the social, economic, and political context in which it exists. Institutions outside the control of media personnel set certain legal and economic limits within which the media industry must operate. In turn, the media industry has agency in the sense of acting on its own and perhaps influencing other social  MEDIA LITERACY to the different types of media and we are exposed to a massive and saturated information, we must know how to consume them properly. The concept of media literacy began in the 1960s with the introduction of sexy, adult 3 APPROACHES OF MEDIA LITERACY themes in tv and film. Activists with a protective nature, sought regulation and acknowledgment PROTECTIONIST APPROACH of the potential harm such programs and their The protectionist approach aims at messaging might cause young children. protecting vulnerable users against potential threats of the media messages. Protectionist regulations are frequently associated with MEDIA LITERACY children and youth, who are the most vulnerable It is the ability to access, analyze, to the potentially harmful effects of the media evaluate, create, and act upon media messages due to their age and education. using all forms of communication. (US-based One characteristic within the writings National Association of Media Literacy about media literacy is a focus on the mass Education) Being media literate is being able to media as being harmful; that is, mass media consider the authorship of media content, to messages expose people to risks of harmful interpret media content, to identify what is effects. Media literacy has been examined as an missing, to know the purpose of the messages, intervention to address some of the problems and to understand what do producers want caused by media content or media use, and this audiences to think about the media content. approach to media literacy has been called protectionism. WHY MEDIA LITERACY MATTERS? PROMOTING APPROACH The promoting orientation consists of GROWTH OF INFORMATION IS encouraging activities that tend to stimulate ACCELERATING greater awareness of the media environment. Our culture is saturated with media This approach is based on the conviction that the messages – far more than you may realize. Not media offer all users opportunities and only are we already saturated with media potentialities. Therefore, it is less defensive than messages, the number of messages available the protectionist orientation and stresses the from the media continues to grow. Because of constructive aspect of the relationship with the the explosion of information, it resulted to the media through either intellectual creativity or creation of “fake news”. These fake news stories communication relations. are “masterfully manipulated to look like credible journalistic reports and are easily PARTICIPATORY APPROACH spread online to larger audiences willing to The participatory orientation stresses believe the fictions and spread the word’. (Holan, the development of social production and 2016) The media nowadays are highly attractive, communication for the enhancement of so we increase the time we spend with media knowledge, interactivity and dialogue. This messages each year. attitude upholds individuals’ autonomy, critical capacity and ability to properly guide their own HIGHER DEGREE OF EXPOSURE personal development. The Internet and the web Over the last 3 three decades, every facilitate on the highest level the sharing of new survey of media use has shown that people, resources and social interactivity. These on average, have been increasing their exposure orientations might appear mutually incompatible. time every year. For example, in 2010, people However, these orientations can be integrated spent an average of 10 hrs. and 46 minutes with systematically. Despite the existing differences, all forms of media each day; this increased to 12 all three coexist and are complementary in many hrs. and 14 minutes by 2017. The media media literacy programs. become increasingly important to us as we absorb information from others and contribute our own information by connecting with friends and sharing our ideas, pictures, and opinions with others every day. So even if we are exposed  THREE BUILDING BLOCKS OF MEDIA “big picture” or central idea of the media LITERACY message in as few words as possible. 1. SKILLS The skills are the tools that allow users to 2. KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES construct knowledge structures and to process These are sets of organize information in media messages. Media literacy relies on 7 your memory. If information were simply specific skills. unorganized piles of random facts, then they a. ANALYSIS – It is the breaking down of a would not be very useful. Instead, information message into meaningful elements. As we needs to be carefully organized into a structure encounter media messages, we can simply that helps us see patterns that clarify how our accept these messages on the surface or we can world’s work. Information is the essential dig deeper into the message itself by identifying ingredient in knowledge structures. But not all their components and examining the information is equally useful in the building of a composition of those components that make up knowledge structure. the message. b. EVALUATION – It is judging the value of 3. PERSONAL FOCUS the element. This judgement is made by In order to develop and use the 7 kills of comparing a message element to some standard. media literacy to build useful structures, you Evaluation is the use of standards to assess the need one more element – personal locus. Your content of the messages. personal locus is composed of goals and drives. c. GROUPING – It is determining which The goals shape information processing tasks by elements are alike in some way, then determining what gets filtered in and what gets determining how group of elements are different ignored. from other groups of elements, like compare and contrast. Grouping entails the identification of KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDIA LITERACY similarities and differences from within a message, using a classification rule. All media messages are constructed d. INDUCTION – It is inferring a pattern across a small set of elements, then generalizing A media message doesn’t just the pattern to all the elements in a larger set. happen: somebody creates it. Whether we One example is poll or survey. are watching the nightly news, passing a e. DEDUCTION – It is using general billboard on the street or reading a political principles to explain particulars, typically with campaign flyer, the media message we the use of logical reasoning. The starting place experience was written by someone (or for deductive reasoning is our general principles. probably many people), images were If our general principles are accurate, then we captured and edited, and a creative team are likely to reach good conclusion. But when we with many talents put it all together. Media have faulty general principles, we will end up messages are carefully designed explaining particular occurrences in a faulty combinations of various elements, manner. calculated for maximum impact. f. SYNTHESIS – It is the assembling of information elements into a new structure to Media messages are constructed reveal new relationships among the elements. using a creative language with its own This is an essential skill we use when building rules. and updating knowledge structures. As we take in new information, it often does not fit into an Each medium (newspaper, radio, existing knowledge structure, so we must adapt TV, multimedia, online etc.) has its own that knowledge structure to accommodate the technical and cultural codes, its own set of new information. Thus, the process of synthesis generic conventions, and its own production uses our media messages to keep formulating, elements. These building blocks are refining, and updating. selected, manipulated, and coordinated g. ABSTRACTION – It creates a brief, clear, using professional editing methods for and accurate description capturing the essence enhancing the meaning of the message. of a message in a significantly smaller number of Each medium has specific strengths and words (or images, sounds) than the message limitations. In designing a message, a itself. Abstracting is being able to capture the producer strongly considers the  characteristics of the medium—which of its techniques are most effective, all designed to influence those who consume it. Different people experience the same media message differently. All media messages are explicitly intended for target audiences. Audiences play a role in interpreting media messages because each audience member brings to the message a unique set of life experiences. Differences in age, gender, education and cultural upbringing will generate unique interpretations. Media have embedded values and points of view. Because all media messages are constructed, choices have to be made. Media always promote an agenda, overtly or covertly, thus defining the ways in which people define reality. In looking at the content of a media message, it is important to understand that there are no value-free media and never will be. All media carry subtle messages about who and what is important. Because they are constructed, media messages carry a subtext of who and what is important — at least to the person or people creating the message. The choice of a character’s age, gender or race, the selection of a setting, and the actions within the plot are just some of the ways that values become “embedded” in a television show, a movie or an advertisement. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power. The primary purpose of media is to generate profits. Information and entertainment are secondary considerations. Newspapers and magazines lay out their pages with ads first; the space remaining is devoted to news. Likewise, commercials are part and parcel of most television watching. Now, the Internet has become an international platform through which groups or individuals can attempt to persuade. In order to become and to stay economically viable, media organization must attract a sufficiently large audience to be interesting for advertisers. Money drives the political process, too, since candidates must raise millions to purchase advertising time on radio and tv. Whoever may read this, good luck to your midterm exam!!