| Students are bombarded by messages from the mass
media and certainly need to be aware of the degree to which those messages
are affecting them. In addition to introducing both the direct effects
and limited effects research on the mass media, our chapter examines the
media's contributions to the globalization of culture by reviewing, for
instance, the media frenzy surrounding the death of Princess Diana.--Dr.
Matthew J. Smith, Author |
Chapter 9: Interpreting Messages in Mass Communication
Chapter Outline
The mass media communicate
messages through magazines, books, and newspapers; radio, film, and television;
and symbols or slogans on clothes or other object.
These mediated messages
(sent through the media) are sent to us packaged as commodities.
The mass media encourage us
to return to them.
I. Characteristics of
Mass Media
The mass media have three
characteristics in common:
-
The source is usually a complex
organization. People who decide what message to present in the time or
space allowed are gatekeepers.
-
The audience is anonymous to
the source.
-
The message goes through channels
that involve technology that overcomes time and space.
-
There is no immediate feedback.
II. Theories of Media Effects
There are two points of view
on how persuasive the media are:
The Direct-Effects Perspective
-
The first students of mass communication
assumed the media had direct effects on the audience.
-
According to the message-flow
model, the audience is influenced by opinion leaders, who have
previously received mediated messages and formed opinions on them.
-
According to the cultivation
theory, the media establish in our minds certain expectations about
society. They engage in agenda-setting, selecting topics to focus
on.
The Limited-Effects Perspective
-
The media have limited effects
because we exercise selective exposure, or choice, to the media
available.
-
· According to the theory
of uses and gratifications, we pick bits of information from the
media that suit our needs.
-
· According to the cultural-studies
theory, we are constantly rejecting or adapting messages to fit our conceptions
of reality.
III. Media Issues
Propaganda
-
Propaganda is any campaign
to further an idea.
-
Both political leaders and advertisers
use propaganda campaigns.
Globalization of Culture
-
The spread of culture through
the mass media helps displace local cultures and create a uniform global
culture.
-
The domination of an outside
culture over a local, indigenous one is called postcolonialism.
Media producers make people around the world dependent on the producers'
products.
-
Consumers of mass media need
to be aware of the influences behind the messages.
Activity
Helpful Links!
"Media Culture" - Want to study media culture? This site offers links to journals, databases, research that
directly discusses media impact on communication, and a direct link to the Noam Chomsky archive.
"ComEd Resources" - This page offers tons of mass communiation links geared toward internet
computer based education!
At Your Bookstore
Crowley, D.J., & Heyer, P. (Eds.).(1995). Communication in History: Technol-
ogy, Culture, and Society(2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.
Lowry, S.A., & DeFleur, M. (1995). Milestones in Mass Communication
Research: Media Effects(3rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.
McGinniss, J. (1969). The Selling of the President, 1968. New York: Penguin
Books.
Peppers, D. (1995). Life's a Pitch: Then You Buy. New York: Doubleday.
Sproule, J.M. (1997). Propaganda and Democracy: The American Experience
of Media and Mass Persuasion. New York: Cambridge University Press.