ACOM 221: MEDIA STUDIES 1B
MEDIA, CULTURE AND SOCIETY
PART ONE
MEDIA AND THE SOCIAL WORLD
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 1
WHAT IS THE “MASS MEDIA”?
 The term “mass media” refers to
print and electronic means of mass
communication that carry messages
to widespread audiences.
 The communication media are the
different technological processes that
facilitate
communication
between
(and are in the “middle” of) the sender
of a message and the receiver of that
message.
MEDIA AND THE SOCIAL WORLD
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 1
 Everyday we are bombarded with messages from
mass media –television, radio, newspapers, and the
internet.
 In fact, in modern society, most of our knowledge,
understanding, and interpretations of the world are
mediated through mass media.
 These media have profound cognitive, emotional,
and interactional effects on individuals, institutions,
and societies.
 At
the
same
time,
individuals
and
institutions are instrumental in shaping the
nature and character of the mass media.
 With
the
pervasiveness
communication
scholars
of
have
the
media,
conducted
numerous studies to examine the effects of
media on audience and society.
 Studies
of
mass
media
have
demonstrated that the media can be quite
influential in a number of ways, such as
shaping
public
agenda,
cultivating
learning
and
silence.
opinion,
setting
salience,
reinforcing
the
the
fostering
spiral
of
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE OF THE MEDIA
According to this perspective the mass media
performs FOUR FUNCTIONS in society:
1. Surveillance of the environment: through
the provision of news and information.
2. Correlation: correlating response to news
and
information
(editorial
function);
The
media coordinate and correlate information
that is valuable to the culture.
3.
Cultural
transmission:
The
media
are
powerful agents of socialization. Through the
media,
cultural
norms
and
values
are
function).
By
communicated to the masses.
4.
Entertainment:
(diversion
providing entertainment, the media act as
stress
relievers
for
members
of
society,
which keeps social conflicts to a minimum.
RISE OF MASS MEDIA
 Social Construction of Reality
– While reality exists, media users negotiate
the meaning of that reality
– The same media product may mean very
different things to different people
– Example: A music video may elicit different
responses from a 15-year old fan and a parent
concerned about sexist stereotypes that may
be present in the video
 Printing technology began in the 15th
century
– Invention of the printing press promoted
literacy in Europe
 Early 17th century – first newspapers in
Europe
 19th century invention of telegraph and
telephone
allowed
instantaneous
communication over long distances
 In the early 20th century radio became the
first broadcast media , followed by TV in the
1940s and 50s
 The
development
of
broadcasting
fundamentally altered life – communicators
could cast their messages broadly to the
masses in their homes
– The media experience became largely
privatized and individualized even as
people were becoming “massified” by
mass mediated homogenized messages
about beauty and even identity itself
RISE OF INTERNET AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
 Recent technologies resulted in a move
away from the mass broadcast audience
toward
smaller,
more
specialized
niche
populations
– Narrowcasting
 The distinction between separate media
forms is now blurred
 Increased
interactivity
users and contents
between
media
MEDIA AND SOCIETY
 The commercial mass media serve
as a powerful socialization agent
– It aims particularly at children and youth
– It’s messages often contradict the parent
– It normalizes a way of life based on
privatization,
individualism,
capitalist
materialism, hedonism, ageism, sexism, and
status-conscious consumerism
– It introduces us to new and creative
messages and perspectives
– It asks people to accept the “normalcy”
of constant rapid social change
MEDIA IN SOCIAL RELATIONS
 Media are bound up with the process of
social relations
– Media affect how we learn about our world
and interact with each other
 Example:
Our
political
system
is
now
mass-mediated by a commercial media that
charges hefty fees for political messages.
 The result is a bias toward the political
viewpoints of the rich and their wellfinanced politicians.
 Media products are connected to the
ways we interact with others
STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINT AND HUMAN
AGENCY
 STRUCTURE
– Any recurring pattern of social behavior
– Example: family structure
– Structure limits human agency
 AGENCY
– Intentional and undetermined human action
– Example: children in the family
– Structure
limits
agency,
but
reproduce or change the structure
agency
can
STRUCTURE AND AGENCY IN MEDIA
 Relationships Between Media & Other
Institutions
– Other social institutions set limits on the media
 Relationships Within the Media Industry
– Internal workings of mass media – social roles
and practices
 Relationships Between the Media and the
Public
– Media content affects public perceptions
PART TWO: PRODUCTION
THE MEDIA INDUSTRY AND THE
SOCIAL WORLD
THE ECONOMICS OF THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 2
 Media industries are in general profit-oriented.
– Profit concerns dominate considerations about
content and policy.
– Like
other
capitalist
institutions,
the
media
always serves the private interest.
– The capitalist media content and its policies - may
or may not serve the larger public interest.
 Generally the capitalist media is very entertaining,
but not very informative.
CHANGING PATTERNS OF MEDIA OWNERSHIP
 Ownership is an important issue.
– Democratic
societies
require
an
informed
citizenry, and we rely upon the media to help
inform citizens about policies and platforms.
– Whoever owns a specific media controls the
content of that media.
 Owners are not all of one mind, so it is too simplistic to
see Big Media as a conspiracy of like-minded powerful
owners.
CONGLOMERATION AND INTEGRATION IN THE
MEDIA
 Conglomeration: this is when media
firms become involved in a variety of
diverse business activities.
HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL INTEGRATION
 Vertical Integration: Cross-industry ownership, or the
degree a to which a single firm owns its upstream suppliers
and its downstream buyers. Here one firm engages in
different
aspects
of
the
process,
from
production
to
distribution. Eg: a firm hires an artist, records them,
distributes them on stations they own and features them in
clubs they own.
 Horizontal Integration: Consolidation of many firms
that handle the same part of a production process. When a
firm buys out other firms doing the same thing, it is seeking
horizontal integration. It seeks to increase its share of the
market.
CONSEQUENCES OF CONGLOMERATION AND
INTEGRATION
1. HOMOGENIZATION.
– Today there are fewer and fewer locally
owned radio and TV stations.
– There has been an erosion of local culture
as national chain-media emphasize nonlocal content.
– Homogenization
diversity.
threatens
cultural
THE HOMOGENIZATION HYPOTHESIS
 This thesis argues that concentration leads
to a lack of diversity in content.
 Research reveals that, while generally true, it
depends on the specific industry:
– In the newspaper industry, increased concentration
does not appear to change content very much.
– This is because newspapers have been concentrated
since the early 20th century and they’ve standardized
content: a front page, a sports page, a lifestyle page, etc,
with editorializing relegated to a page or two.
2. HIGHER PROFITS FOR BIG MEDIA.
– Stockholders benefit from conglomeration, but the
public doesn’t.
3. HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION.
– The loss of independence between films, TV, and music
means the same artist we see in the movies may also
show up on an album. Or visa versa. They will be cross-
promoted, guaranteeing success even if they aren’t very
good. Example: Britney Spears.
– This also means “the look” matters. In the age of MTV,
musical artists who don’t look good generally don’t get
promoted.
4. VERTICAL INTEGRATION.
 When the same firm that produces a musical
artist
also
distributes
the
artist,
it
virtually
guarantees they will sell. Ex: Britney Spears.
5. A SHIFT TO THE RIGHT, IDEOLOGICALLY.
 While anti-establishment content is sometimes
allowed – as long as it is profitable – Big Media
prefers artists who are friendly to their agenda, and
this agenda leans to the middle and right.
6. CORPORATE SELF-CENSORSHIP HAS INCREASED.
News that challenges the legitimacy of capitalism or the
policies of private corporations is more likely to be censored
by corporate media.
7. WITH CONCENTRATION, THE PUBLIC GETS LOCKED OUT
OF PARTICIPATION.
– Today, freedom of the press is limited to those who can
afford to own radio and TV stations – the millionaires and
their corporations.
– Media
corporations
routinely
use
the
rhetoric
of
freedom at the same time that media oligopoly serves to
reduce choices.
MEDIA CONTROL AND POLITICAL POWER
 Can
the
concentration
of
media
undermine political system?
 Yes. Corporate Media routinely lobbies
and
“donates”
funds
to
politicians
in
exchange for favorable treatment.
 Many politicians are afraid to be openly critical of
Corporate
Media
policies
because
they
have
become dependant on their “donations” to get reelected.
CORPORATE CENSORSHIP
 It is ironic that most discussion of censorship and
free speech focuses on government censorship, not
corporate censorship.
– Most media censorship is corporate censorship. It
is self-censorship.
– Corporations are reluctant to publish news that
reflects badly upon themselves.
 Corporations use Public Relations firms to “spin”
the truth – a version of censorship.
PROFIT AND THE NEWS MEDIA
 Capitalist media focus on one specific goal:
financial profit.
– News divisions are typically not as profitable
as Entertainment divisions.
 Therefore, under pressure to increase profits,
news policies have shifted in recent years to
increase corporate profits.
RECENT CHANGES IN CORPORATE NEWS
Corporate news programs have found numerous
ways to increase profits:
1. Less investigative reporting.
2. Use fewer news sources.
3. Decreased news staffs.
4. Make the news more entertaining.
 More emphasize on “if it bleeds, it leads.”
5. Focus on sensational or tabloid news stories
6. Include “soft” human interest stories that
reassure audiences with their “happy endings.”
Use upbeat styles.
7. Hire personalities rather than real journalists
to deliver the news. Place emphasis on these
news personalities as celebrities to worship.
8. Eliminate the news altogether and play reruns of former hit shows.
ADVERTISING AND THE PRESS
 The
press
government
won
and
their
party
freedom
control
as
from
they
shifted to an advertising-driven press.
– This view claimed they achieved economic
independence, allowing them to become
“watchdogs” or “the fourth estate.” e.g. The
press should monitor the full range of state
activity and fearlessly exposé abuses of
official authority.
 However,
this
argument
obscures
how
advertising led to new forms of self-censorship.
 An advertiser-driven press is not a free press.
It is beholden to the advertisers’ interests in
order to sustain revenue.
 To
the
criticized
extent
the
capitalism,
working
class
advertisers
press
withdrew
support and gave it to the more conservative
press.
– Ultimately, the ad-driven press led to:
 the decline of the radical ideology press;
 the
emergence
of
a
press
inclined
toward non-ideological coverage, such as
lifestyle pages;
 more “balanced” coverage of events in
order not to offend paying consumers.
MARKET INFLUENCES ON JOURNALISM
 Advertising driven, mostly. Therefore, it is
biased
toward
capitalist
values.
Most
content is ads.
– Radical
ideology
is
almost
totally
censored.
 Prefers safe or soft content that is nonideological
content.
over
Hence
hard
lots
or
of
controversial
sports,
lifestyles, local news, tabloid, etc.
leisure
– Relegates
politics
and
(controversial)
editorializing to the back page(s).
 Tries
to
present
relatively
balanced
coverage in order not to offend different
constituencies.
ADVERTISING AND NEWS
 Advertising exerts pressure on the news
media to:
– Avoid upsetting the sponsors, who are
typically major capitalist corporations.
– Use safe stories that won’t rock the
boat.
– Present a world view consistent with
that of the advertisers.
 Utilize subtle reassurance messages that
the status quo is just and orderly.
 Self-censorship
–
no
direct
criticism
of
biased
toward
the
capitalism is expected.
 The
news
beat
is
powerful – especially capitalists – at the
expense of balance.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE ON MEDIA
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 3
 The state is part of a system of news
production
 The state is a key part of the process by
which
the
very
idea
of
‘information’
is
constructed.
 The
state
communication
establishes
that
the
operate
forms
within
of
its
territorial borders and regulate the content of
those systems
 At one level, the state is responsible for
creating the market value of knowledge. E.g.
copyright laws construct a regime of rights
around
certain
forms
of
knowledge
or
expression.
 The laws of libel can be viewed in a similar.
 The ostensible purpose of these laws is to
mark out areas which are protected from
journalistic intrusion.
COPYRIGHT AND LIBEL LAWS
 These
laws
like
many
other
laws
help
to
construct the resources with which the mass media
deal.
 The state, in this sense, constitutes the raw
material which the mass media the process. But the
state does more than produce the crude oil of
publication, it also help to create the refinery.
 All forms of mass communication exist within the
framework of law, regulations and rights.
MEDIA REGULATION DEBATES
 Debates
regarding
media
regulation
reflect competing interests.
 The
media
industry
promotes
its
interests through a well-organized and
powerful political arm that—along with
individual media corporations— finances
political candidates and lobbies elected
officials.
 It is safe to assume that such efforts are
aimed at promoting legislation in which
the
industry
has
an
interest
and
at
derailing efforts it deems threatening.
 Politicians
courting
favourable
media
coverage for re-election are likely to be
highly conscious of legislation that can
affect the media industry.
THE “PUBLIC INTEREST” AND THE
REGULATION DEBATE
 Supporters
of
some
deregulation
generally assert that the “free-market”
system is adequate for accommodating
the needs of both media producers and
media consumers.
 They
argue
that
consumers
have
the
ultimate power to choose to tune into or buy
media products and that there is no need for
government interference in the form of media
regulation.
 The
marketplace
serves
as
a
quasi
democratic forum in which consumers, not
government agencies, get to decide the fate
of media.
 In
contrast
to
the
deregulation
approach, support for media regulation
is usually based on a desired outcome.
 The
most
common
standard
for
assessing this outcome is the “public
interest.”
WHAT IS THE “PUBLIC INTEREST”?
 Diversity:
the
range
of
views
and
experiences present in society
 Innovation and creativity in content and
medium
 Substance:
importance and depth of
coverage
 Independence / decentralization
REGULATING MEDIA CONTENT AND
DISTRIBUTION
 While the regulation of the ownership and
control of media outlets, programming, and
technology raises basic questions about the
relationship between government and media,
a different set of issues is raised with respect
to the regulation of media content.
 However, the basic dynamic of structure
and agency remains.
REGULATING FOR MORALITY
According
to
Dole
(1995),
“One
of
the
greatest threats to family values is the way
our popular culture ridicules them. Our music,
movies, television and advertising regularly
push the limits of decency, bombarding our
children with destructive messages of casual
violence and even more casual sex.”
RATINGS AND WARNINGS
 One way content is regulated is by
industry self-regulation, rather than formal
government involvement.
 The rating and warning systems devised
for different media fall into this category
OUTLAWING AND CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTION
 The
suggestion
that
stores
should
not
sell
recordings with explicit lyrics to minors is an
example of a more active approach to regulating the
media industry for its moral content.

It is an approach most often associated with
obscene material. Obscene material is different
from
both
pornography,
or
sexually
arousing
material, and indecent material, or material morally
unfit for general distribution or broadcast.
 Pornography
and
indecent
material
are
legal, although the government may regulate
their broadcast or distribution.
 The
government
material.
outlaws
only
obscene
(The major exception is that the
government also outlaws sexually explicit
materials involving children, regardless of
whether
obscene.)
it
judges
such
material
to
be
THE CASE OF PORNOGRAPHY
 Pornography is defined as display of
explicit, sexual nudity or activity, where
the display is the end in itself rather than
a means to a different end.
 Some
commentators
argue
that
‘pornography incites and causes sexual
violence.
 The UN Committee on the Elimination of
all forms of Discrimination Against Women
has argued that
‘pornography and the
depiction and commercial exploitation of
women as sexual objects contribute to
gender-based violence’.
 In certain circumstances, there are grounds
to believe that the production of pornography
causes harm when the pornographic material
depicts a criminal act.
 There is a very broad consensus that the
main
objective
pornography
of
the
should
aim
laws
regulating
at
protecting
members of public from nuisance of offensive
material
in
places
happens to take them.
to
which
normal
life
THE ISSUE OF VIOLENCE
 Violence in the media is another area of
content regulation that has received a great
deal of attention
 Violence on television is usually at the
center
of
this
debate
because
it
is
so
accessible to children.
 An enormous amount of research studies
has been done on the effects of
violence.
media
 Some researchers contend that for some
children, violent programming can lead to
more violent behaviour (aggressor effect),
increased
fearfulness
about
violence
(victim effect), or increased callousness
about
violence
(bystander effect).
directed
at
others
 Although various studies showed different
degrees of influence, there is “a positive and
significant
correlation
between
television
violence and aggressive behaviour.”
 Producers of violent media products often
argue that they are merely reflecting the
violence that already exists in society.
 However, polls repeatedly show that
most people believe violence in the mass
media contributes to violence in society.
 As
a
result,
widespread
regulation
there
popular
of
has
support
violent
especially on television.
been
for
fairly
the
programming,
REGULATING FOR ACCURACY: ADVERTISING
 Another
area
of
content
regulation
worth noting is regulation that affects
advertising.
 A number of different agencies regulate
the advertising industry because of its
broad and varied commercial dimensions,
which
encompass
communication.
all
forms
of
mass
 The
collection
of
regulatory
agencies
addresses two basic concerns.
 First,
the
agencies
protect
the
public
against fraudulent or deceptive advertising.
 The
second
government
major
regulations
area
affect
in
which
advertising
involves ads featuring potentially dangerous
products,
especially
when
the
targeted at children and minors.
ads
are
 Thus,
the
advertising
government
for
products
regulates
such
as
alcohol and tobacco. Cigarettes, for
example, cannot be advertised on
television.
REGULATING IN THE “NATIONAL INTEREST”:
MEDIA AND THE MILITARY
 The relationship between the news media
and the military has been an evolving one.
 The natural tension which exist between an
institution which depends on the secrecy of
plans and operations designed to protect the
country from foreign enemies and
which
is
given
special
another
constitutional
protection in order to be free to call attention
to
tyranny
and
which
endeavours
to
expose all manners of operations engaged
in by any arm of government is most
intense during times of conflict.
 The are uncontroversial example where
press freedom causes a clear and present
danger to national security.
 Revelations
about
counter-intelligence
military
work
secrets
could
and
directly
endanger lives and would be irrecoverable
after disclosure.
 The right to freedom of expression/ press
may, therefore, legitimately be limited to
allow prior restraint on the ground of ‘national
security’
CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE OF FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA (SECTION 16)
The law state that: Everyone has the right to
freedom of expression, which includes(a) freedom of the press and other media;
(b)freedom to receive or impart information or
ideas;
(c) freedom of artistic creativity; and
(d) academic freedom and freedom of scientific
research.
LIMITATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The
right
in subsection
(1) does not
extend to(a) propaganda for war;
(b) incitement of imminent violence; or
(c) advocacy of hatred that is based on
race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that
constitutes incitement to cause harm.
MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF THE
SOCIAL WORLD
PART THREE: CONTENT
THE NEWS MEDIA AND JOURNALISTIC FIELD
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 4
 In this part we explore how professionals
create media products, the ways in which
media work is organized, the norms and
practices of several media professions, the
social and personal networks that media
professionals cultivate, and the ways the
organizational
structure
of
media
shape the methods of media work.
outlets
THE LIMITS OF ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
CONSTRAINTS
 Economic and political forces can be
powerful constraints.
 Media personnel actively respond to
these constraints when making decisions,
often limiting their impact.
WORKING WITHIN ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS
 Economic forces identify the goals and
shape the terrain of
the decision-making
process, but human actors must assess both
program
and
audience
in
their
effort
to
deliver the “correct” product.
 They adopt certain rules or conventions to
smooth out and routinize the decision-making
process.
RESPONDING TO POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS
 Political
forces,
particularly
government
regulations, also play a significant role in
shaping the environment within which media
organizations operate.
 Sometimes
media
organizations
comply
with government regulations, but sometimes
the media preempt, ignore, reinterpret, or
challenge regulations.
 Compliance is the easiest strategy for media
organizations because it avoids conflict with
regulators, thereby enabling them to shape the
actions of media organizations.
 A second strategy used by the media in
dealing
with
preemption.
government
Media
industries
regulation
can
is
preempt
external regulation by engaging in a public form
of self-regulation.
 A third often-used strategy is rooted in the
fact that government regulations are almost
always subject to interpretation, giving media
organizations the power to read regulations in
ways that match their broader agendas.
 Fourth, media industries can simply ignore
regulations. Passing laws is one thing, but
enforcing regulations is another.
 Finally, media organizations can challenge
regulations to try to alter them or rescind
them altogether. Media organizations can
adopt
legal
strategies,
challenging
the
constitutionality of specific regulations, or
they can use political strategies, lobbying
potentially
supportive
politicians
and
threatening opponents in an effort to win new
legislation more to the liking of the industry.
THE ORGANIZATION OF MEDIA WORK
 In a classic study, sociologist Howard
Becker (1982) observes that “producing
art requires elaborate cooperation among
specialized personnel”.
 Some researchers have argued that the
behaviour of media personnel is shaped by
the “needs” of an organization (Epstein
1973).
 In
other
words,
maintaining
the
existence of the organization points
different
individuals
within
that
organization in the same direction.
NEWS ROUTINES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES
 News is information about recent important
events.
 The processes of news gathering and news
reporting
is
rationalized
because
news
organizations cannot start afresh each day.
 In other words, news organizations must be
able to anticipate where news will happen—
before
it
happens—and
structure
reporters’ assignments accordingly.
their
 Within
news
organizations,
reporters
follow routines that tell them where to
look
for
efficiently.
news
and
how
to
gather
it
WHAT ARE THESE JOURNALISTIC ROUTINES?
 News outlets cannot report on all the
things
that
happen;
only
some
“happenings” are defined as important
enough to be news.
 Tuchman (1978) adopts the metaphor of
the “news net” to explain the standard
practice for gathering news.
 News organizations cast a ”net”— made
up of wire services, full-time reporters,
and
stringers—
to
catch
newsworthy
happenings.
 The “net”, however, does not catch
everything; like all nets, it is full of holes
and catches only the “big fish.”
 The netlike nature of news gathering serves
as
an
initial
filter,
sorting
out
those
happenings that do not meet the standard
criteria for news.
 The organization of news gathering shows
which criteria determine how the news net is
constructed.
 Newspapers will have staff or bureaus in
places they define as important.
 News organizations also establish “beats”
at prominent organizations where news can
be expected to occur.
 In practice, this means that a series of
official
locations
—police
stations,
court-
houses, city halls, state houses, Parliament—
become sites where reporters are stationed.
 The news we get needs to be understood as
the end result of these professional routines,
which generally focus on the activities of
legitimate, bureaucratic institutions.
 Finally, areas such as sports, business, and
the arts are topical beats that are expected to
produce news each day, so reporters establish
relationships with key players in these areas to
guarantee a regular supply of news.
THE ROLE OF NEWS WIRE SERVICES
 A news agency is a news organization
designed to supply news reports to other
media outlets that subscribe to its services.
 News
agencies
can
be
considered
the
backbone of modern journalism.
 They scout and produce the news that we
read daily
television.
in newspapers and watch on
 They are the fundamental source of
reporting on national and international
news for the large majority of local and
regional
media
outlets,
which
largely
reproduce or rebroadcast news agency
products.
 As a result, news agencies have a
significant impact on the selection of
what constitutes relevant news.
 But like all newsgathering organizations,
news
agencies
themselves
follow
standardized news routines, and staffrecognized
beats
that
ensure
they
produce sufficient material to supply to
subscribing news outlets.
SELECTING FRONT-PAGE STORIES
 Selecting news for the front page is
shaped by economic constraints and the
organization of news gathering.
 Front-page
assessments
are
not
haphazard but are governed by norms that
routinize potentially conflict-ridden daily
decision.
One way to identify these norms is to
list the specific criteria that make a
story front-page material, such as
timeliness,
impact,
geographic
social proximity, the prominence.
or
THE CONCEPT OF OBJECTIVITY
 The belief in objectivity is a faith in
‘facts,’
a
distrust
of
‘values,’
and
a
commitment to their segregation.
 Objectivity can be seen as a set of
practices
or
conventions
that
the
professional journalist is trained to follow.
WHAT PRACTICES MAKE UP THIS METHOD?
(1) maintaining political neutrality;
(2) observing prevailing standards of decency and
good taste;
(3) using documentary reporting practices, which
rely on physical evidence;
(4) using standardized formats to package the news;
(5) training reporters as generalists instead of
specialists; and
(6) using editorial review to enforce these methods.
OBJECTIVITY AS ROUTINE PRACTICES
 News accounts have a tendency to look
similar because all reporters follow the
same basic routines.
 They talk to the same people, use the
same formats, observe the same basic
dos and don’ts, and watch one another
closely to make sure that they are not out
of step with the rest of the profession.
THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF
OBJECTIVITY
 News-gathering structure includes certain
happenings as news and excludes others.
 In particular, things that happen in and
around
established
institutions,
especially
official agencies, are defined as news.
 Happenings outside of these boundaries are
likely never to be detected by professional
journalists.
 News, therefore, is the product of a
social
process
through
which
media
personnel make decisions about what is
newsworthy and what is not, about who is
important and who is not, about what
views are to be included and what views
can be dismissed.
 None of these decisions can be entirely
objective.
 The ideal of objectivity—separating values
from facts— is ultimately unobtainable.
 The reliance on “appropriate,” available,
and preferably authoritative sources means
journalists mostly talk to government and
corporate officials and end up reproducing
their view of the world.
 Thus, “objective” journalism, by highlighting
the views and activities of officials, can be
seen on balance to favour those in power.
MEDIA AND IDEOLOGY
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 5:
What Is Ideology?
 “Ideology,” means the belief systems
that help justify the actions of those in
power by distorting and misrepresenting
reality.
 Ideology is related to concepts such as
worldview, belief system, and values.
IDEOLOGY
 There are numerous ideologies used to
explain
and
relationships:
egalitarianism,
justify
sexism,
specific
social
feminism,
racism,
capitalism,
communism,
individualism, collectivism, classism, etc.
 Ideologies are inherently political. They
justify how power should be allocated and
which groups, if any, deserve more power
than others.
DOMINANT IDEOLOGY
 Within any society, some ideologies will
be more widespread or dominant than
others.
 The dominant ideologies are those that
are
most
accepted
and
visible
in
mainstream society.
 Dominant ideology stems mainly from
elites.
 They have the most power to spread their
world
views
and
to
censor
alternative
or
competing ideologies.
 Dominant ideology tends to be taken for
granted by members of society as the “normal”
way to view people.
 Dominant ideology is rarely challenged. It
tends to be accepted as Truth.
MEDIA AND DOMINANT IDEOLOGY
 Most corporate media producers argue that their
images are merely reflections of our society, and
that they are not purveyors of an ideology.
 This argument is inaccurate. By selecting some
images and ideologies over others, they cannot help
but promote specific world views at the expense of
others.
 The media are at the center of modern culture
wars over how various categories of people should
be portrayed.
THEORETICAL ROOTS OF IDEOLOGICAL
ANALYSIS
 The major strain of research within this
critical perspective may be loosely termed a
Marxist tradition, which regards society as
rooted in conflict along class lines between
dominant and subordinate groups.
 The major effect of the media is considered
ideological.
 The point of departure from the pluralist
view is the following famous quote from
Marx: “the ideas of the ruling class are in
every epoch the ruling ideas: i.e., the
class which is the ruling material force in
society is at the same time its ruling
intellectual force”.
 The class which has the means of material
production at its disposal has control at the same
time over the means of mental production, so that
thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who
lack the means of mental production are subject to
it.
 "The role of the media here is that of legitimation
through the production of false consciousness, in
the interests of the class which owns and controls
the media"
NEWS MEDIA AND THE LIMITS OF DEBATE
 The news media produce ideological visions of
the nation and the world.
 The news focuses on powerful people and
institutions and generally reflects established
interests.
 The news supports the social order of public,
business and professional, upper-middle-class,
middle-aged, and white male sectors of society.
 The news pays most attention to and
upholds the actions of elite individuals
and elite institutions. With its focus on
elites, news presents images of the world
that are significantly lacking in diversity.
 The “insider” nature of political news
means that a small group of analysts are
regular commentators and news sources.
 The
“debates”
we
see
in
the
news,
therefore, are often between insiders who
share a common commitment to traditional
politics, to the exclusion of those outside the
constructed consensus.
 The result is that contrasting perspectives
in
the
news
frequently
represent
the
differences—generally quite narrow—between
establishment insiders.
 This approach to the news does little to
inform the public of positions outside this
limited range of opinion.
 More important, it implicitly denies that
other positions should be taken seriously.
 Ultimately, one principal way the news is
ideological is in drawing boundaries between
what is acceptable—the conventional ideas of
insiders—and what is not.
ECONOMIC NEWS AS IDEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT
 The capitalist media rarely portray
corporate takeovers and mergers as a
“social problem.”
 Instead, they often let the corporate
executives define the meaning of their
own behavior.
– The executive will typically call it healthy
progress, despite the fact that it is harmful
to competition, consumers, and workers.
 Similarly
a
workers
strike
is
often
portrayed through the lens of the corporate
executive
more
than
the
strikers.
striker is often branded a trouble maker.
The
MOVIES, THE MILITARY, AND MASCULINITY
 Two film genres, action-adventure and military/war
films
are
worth
exploring
for
their
underlying
ideological orientation because of their popularity.
 With action-adventure movies such as Raiders of
the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone and military
movies such as Rambo and Top Gun attracting large
audiences—and
inspiring
sequels
and
seemingly
endless imitators—scholars have used an ideological
framework to understand the underlying messages in
these films.
ACTION-ADVENTURE FILMS
 These are stories about good and evil –
heroes and villains.
 One
underlying
theme
of
the
action-
adventure genre is the drawing of rigid lines
between “us” and “them,” with the villain
representing the dangers of difference.
– The hero typically represents the forces of
civility and goodness, while the bad guy
represents uncivilized, debased society.
 Ultimately the hero kills or domesticates
the bad guy, restoring security.
VIETNAM FILMS
 In
essence,
mediated
these
refighting
films
of
the
provide
war,
a
mass-
in
which
Americans are both the good guys and the
victors.
 The films serve as a kind of redemption for a
country unable to accept defeat in Vietnam and
still struggling with the shame of loss.
 In these stories, there is no longer shame or
defeat
but
instead
pride,
triumph,
reaffirmation of national strength.
and
a
 The masculine/military films of the time
both
reflected
the
fears
and
desires
of
American men and helped reproduce a new
brand of toughness.
 The films were part of a political culture
that created the conditions for the popular
1989 invasion of Panama and the even more
popular 1991 war in the Persian Gulf.
TELEVISION, POPULARITY, AND IDEOLOGY
 TV is central to our mass mediated culture.
 TV mediates reality in seemingly realistic
images, but they are not that realistic.
– Because most TV seems real, the viewer
routinely suspends disbelief.
 The ideological work of TV lies in the ways it
defines normalcy.
– Portrayals
of
sex,
race,
class,
age,
generally reinforce dominant ideologies
etc
 TV producers have adopted the strategy
of “least objectionable programming.”
– Programs
are
intended
to
avoid
controversy and remain politically bland in
order to please sponsors and gain the
widest array of viewers.
– The result has been an emphasis on
stereotypes
(i.e.
simplistic
generalizations
about different categories of people).
– They tend to emerge from dominant groups to
affirm dominant ideology. The dominant ideology
reassures people that the system works.
– They are not true, but are believed because they
are taken for granted as “common knowledge.”
– TV ideology is mostly determined by the strategy
of using conventional images, dominant ideologies,
and stereotypes as the backdrop to most programs.
-Television ideology is mostly determined by
the strategy of using conventional images,
dominant ideologies, and stereotypes as the
backdrop to most programs.
– Hence,
television
disproportionately
“normalcy”
White,
Male,
is
Upper
middle class (affluent), Relatively young,
Trim and fit, Eurocentric definition of beauty
 This
approach
is,
itself,
ideological;
blandness favours certain images and stories
and pushes others to the margins or off the air
entirely.
 In
striving
for
popularity,
the
television
producers have often adopted the strategy of
“least objectionable programming,” whereby
programs are intended to avoid controversy and
remain politically bland.
RAP MUSIC AS IDEOLOGICAL CRITIQUE?
 According to Tricia Rose, rap music should be
understood as a mass mediated criticism of the
dominant ideology of racism within the power
structure.
 Rap criticizes traditional institutions like the
police, the justice system, education and the
job system because these systems are seen as
oppressive to blacks and the goal of equality.
 Rose argues that much rap music rejects
dominant ideological assumptions.
– Rap affirms the experiences of inner city black
youth while criticizing the social institutions that
contribute to their ghettoization.
– Rap music has been empowering to black youth by
providing them a way to express themselves and
their critical ideologies.
 Yet
at
the
same
time,
rap
is
full
of
ideological contradictions. While some rap
challenges racism, the lyrics and imagery are
often
misogynistic,
depicting
women
in
degrading ways.
 Thus
rap
oppressive
music
dominant
may
challenge
ideologies
some
(racism)
while affirming other oppressive dominant
ideologies (sexism).
ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER CULTURE
What kinds of stories do advertisements
tell about ourselves and our society?
Certainly, on one level, ads are specific to
their product or service. They tell us that
1. if we drink a particular brand of beer,
we will meet attractive women;
2. if we wear the right makeup, we will
meet handsome men;
3. if we purchase a certain automobile, we will
gain prestige;
4. if we use specific cleansers, we will save time;
and
5. if we wear certain clothes, we will find
adventure.
6. Ads may also tell us that a particular item will
save us money, that a specific service will make
us healthier, or that a new product will make a
great gift for a loved one.
 Despite the diversity of advertising messages and
their frequent use of irony and humour, there is an
underlying
commonality
to
almost
alladvertisements:
 They are fundamentally about selling.
 They address their audiences as consumers and
celebrate
and
take
for
granted
the
consumer
course,
decidedly
capitalist organization of society.
 This
perspective
ideological.
is,
of
 Ads tell us that happiness and satisfaction can be
purchased, that each of us is first and foremost an
individual
consumption
unit,
and
that
market
relations of buying and selling are the appropriate—
perhaps the only—form of social relations outside
the intimacy of the family.
 Our culture of consumption, then, is intimately
connected to advertising, which helped create it
and
continues,
in
new
forms,
to
sustain
consumerism as a central part of contemporary
ideology.
WOMEN’S MAGAZINES AS ADVERTISEMENTS
 The “women’s magazine” is one medium that
is
particularly
consistently
advertising
promotes
the
oriented
and
ideology
of
consumerism.
 The
magazines
promote
the
consumer
lifestyle by showing how beauty, sexuality,
career success, culinary skill, and social status
can be bought in the consumer marketplace.
 Social problems, from the standpoint of
consumer
ideology,
are
redefined
as
personal problems that can be solved by
purchasing the appropriate product.
 In addressing a specific social group,
women’s magazines, identify women as a
consumption
product needs.
category
with
special
 Women’s magazines use both direct and
covert advertising to sell magazines and
promote an ideology that celebrates the
consumption of gender-specific products
as a means to identity formation and
personal satisfaction
ADVERTISING AND THE GLOBALIZATION OF
CULTURE
 The dreams that advertisements sell within
the
United
States
are
also
exported
all
around the globe.
 The images on global display, like much
domestic
advertising,
are
about
dreams.
America is portrayed as a kind of dreamland
where individuals can fulfil (or buy?) their
desires.
 The images of the dreamland do not require
a rigid uniformity, because central to the
ideology
on
display
are
the
notions
of
individuality and freedom, which merge into
the concept of consumer choice.
 The world portrayed in television programs
such as MTV displays images of attractive
people living comfortable lives surrounded by
contemporary consumer goods.
 Both
advertisements
and
entertainment
media promote a commitment to the latest
styles—for example, in clothes, cars, leisure
activities, and food— that requires continuous
consumption
to
keep
up
with
stylistic
changes.
 The focus on style is directed particularly
at youth, who are increasingly the most
coveted market and who are particularly avid
media users.
 The international advertising, television,
and music scenes have helped generate an
emerging
cross-national,
global
youth
culture in which teens in different countries
adopt
similar
appearance;
styles
consume
in
clothes
the
same
and
soda,
cigarettes, and fast food; and listen to and
play the same kind of music.
 The international teen market may
cross national boundaries, but, with
the help of American media products,
youth style is based to a great degree
on American images and consumer
goods.
MEDIA IMAGES AND THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF
REALITY
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 6
 The mainstream media do not reflect the
social
diversity
that
characterizes
our
society.
 To
a
certain
extent,
the
mainstream
media present images that are consistent
with
stereotypes
and
the
ideological portrayal of society.
dominant
 This is at the cost of women, people of color, the
poor,
and
others
who
have
been
historically
marginalized in our society.
 It is unrealistic to expect the media to accurately
mirror the real world, because the media can only
feature representations of that world, and these
images involve at least some filtering.
 But there is great significance in how the media
portray
the
world,
because
these
portrayals
influence our perceptions of the real world.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTENT
1. As a reflection of media producers and
their ideologies.
2. As a reflection of audience preferences
and desires.
3. As a reflection of society in general,
including social norms, beliefs and values.
4. The way media content influences
audiences and our society.
5. Content as self-enclosed text whose
meaning is to be de-coded on its own
terms,
independent
audiences.
of
society
and
RACE AND MEDIA CONTENT
 Race is a socially constructed category
whose meaning varies across time. There is
no
biologically
valid
difference
in
the
genetic makeup of different “races.”
– Nevertheless,
perceived
racial
distinctions have powerful social meaning
with profound real-world consequences.
 Historically, the
media have taken “whites”
to be the norm against which all other racial
categories are compared.“White” is normalcy.
 For
example,
we
speak
of
“the
black
community” when referring to blacks, but we do
not say “the white community” when referring
to whites.
– Using terms like “the black community” or
“the black man” signifies race as an important
trait to notice – it is a racial signifier.
– Racial and gender signifiers are common in
the media, and highlight how we call attention
to our differences, thus providing covert fuel for
racism and sexism.
 Historically when racial minorities have
been portrayed in the media they have been
stereotyped into such roles as the Black
mammy, the Black coon, etc
– These
stereotypes
are
the
product
of
whites and their dominant ideology of white
racism.
– They bear little resemblance to the real
world.
HISTORICAL FORMS OF RACISM
 Historically, society has gone through
several phases of racist ideology.
 1640-1865:
The
capitalist
version
of
slavery (extremely harsh) brought intense
versions of paternalistic racism to justify
the
complete
colonization
humanization of blacks.
and
de-
 Paternalistic racists viewed blacks as
simple minded, lazy, ugly, happy servants
who were perhaps even likeable (as long
as they were obedient and knew their
place).
 In this view, slaves “needed” to be put to
work in order to be productive, but could
only do menial work.
 1865-1920s:
violent
racism
emerged,
especially in the South, to contain newly freed
black slaves who now “threatened”
whites
(especially poor whites) with competition for
jobs, land, women, and other resources.
 Violent racists stereotyped blacks as ugly,
angry, beastlike savages who were out of
control. This view portrayed young black males
as instinctually inclined toward rape and other
savage behaviors.
GENDER AND MEDIA CONTENT
 The media’s history of portraying women
parallels
its
history
of
portraying
racial
minorities.
 Women have typically been stereotyped as
submissive,
passive,
overly
emotional,
nurturing, and dependent.
 Conversely men have been stereotyped as
dominant,
active,
independent.
rational,
aggressive,
and
 These depictions are consistent with the
dominant ideology of sexism, which supports
the social system known as patriarchy.
 The media has historically depicted women in
a narrow range of social roles: love interest,
housewife, mother, virgin, and whore.
 Capitalists have exploited sexual themes to
emphasize the image of young women as sex
objects.
 Today if a woman is applying for a TV role, the
single most important consideration, given the
capitalist
media
obsession
with
sex
and
violence formulas, is her physical appearance.
SOCIAL CLASS AND MEDIA
 Most advertisers (sponsors) aim for the middle
class consumer, ignoring the poor and working
class.
– They want to reach people with spending money.
 Consequently they push the idea that media
content emphasize the middle or upper middle class
lifestyle as “normalcy.”
Result: the poor and working class are largely
ignored by the capitalist media.
 When the poor and working class are found
in the media, they are typically stereotyped in
negative ways.
– It is important to remember that media
producers and owners rarely come from the
poor and working classes. They tend to
subscribe to mainstream stereotypes about
the lower and working classes, just as other
do.
 Thus when they depict them, they portray
them
as
less
civilized,
uglier,
somewhat
incompetent, and dumber than average.
 The
commercial
classist
ideology,
media
generally
because
consumers over non-consumers.
they
favours'
favour
MEDIA INFLUENCE AND THE
POLITICAL WORLD.
PART FOUR
AUDIENCE: MEANING AND INFLUENCE
MEDIA INFLUENCE AND POLITICAL WORLD
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 7
The media system is presumably animated by
certain
democratic
principles.
These
principles can be summarized into three basic
relationship:
 media
and
government;
the
proposition
that, acting on behalf of the citizenry, the
media should monitor the full range of state
activity, and fearlessly expose abuses of
official authority.
 media and
diverse opinion sources; the
proposition that the press should provide a
robust, uninhibited, and wide-open marketplace
of ideas, in which opposing views may meet,
contend, and take each other’s measure.
 media
and
the
public
at
large;
the
propositions that the press should serve the
public’s right to know and offer options for
meaningful political choices and nourishment
for effective participation in civic affairs.
MEDIA AND POLITICS
 The media have fundamentally changed the
way we view politics.
 Today politicians rely on the commercial mass
media to get the word out.
 Given the capitalist nature of the commercial
media, politicians must garner massive amounts
of money to purchase media space.
– Much of this money comes from Big Media and
other large corporations, who expect “special
favours” in exchange for these “donations.”
 Aside from incumbency, one of the best
predictors of which politician will get
elected involves which candidate raises
the most money to spend on media ads.
 The media also play an indirect role in
influencing politics.
 The news media, for example, helps set
the agenda of modern debates and issues.
MEDIA AND POLITICAL ELITES
 The most profound and direct influence of the
commercial media on politics involves which
politicians
are
covered by the mainstream
media.
– The
commercial
media
selects
which
politicians to cover – and which to ignore.
– Those politicians most likely to get media
attention are the insiders – those already in
power – and those with the most money to
purchase commercial time.
 In
both
cases
the
direction
of
media
favoritism is toward the political elites – who
are almost all wealthy and supportive of the
status quo.
MEDIA AND INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS
Citizens in any democracy require adequate
information to make informed decisions. There
are four theoretical models of media influence:
1. The Hypodermic Model.
2. Limited Effects or the Social Influence Model
(1940s to 1960s)
3. Agenda setting model.
4. Priming Model
5. Framing Model
THE HYPODERMIC EFFECT
 The press is a powerful force in
shaping public opinion.
 Messages were conceived as being
‘injected’ into the mind where they
changed feelings and attitudes.
THE SOCIAL INFLUENCE MODEL
 The
period
psychological
of
strong
studies.
In
advances
this
in
the
period
the
foundations of the media effect were established.
 Surprisingly, the general conclusion was that
the media don’t have as strong effect as it was
thought before.
 The media don’t have a direct impact, but are
filtered by the community, by the opinion leaders.
AGENDA SETTING HYPOTHESIS
 This model argues that the media, while
not so successful in telling people exactly
what to think, are successful in telling
people what to think about (Cohen 1963).
 The media set the agenda for discussion
of public issues and debates by directing
people’s attention to some issues while
censoring other issues
 By seeing certain subjects more often
we are becoming convinced that they are
important.
 Further,
we
evaluate
other
terms of what is important
news
in
PRIMING EFFECTS
 The ability of the media to affect which issues
or traits individuals use to evaluate political
figures.
 Individuals base their vote choice more on
issues covered by the media than on issues not
covered by the media
 The media's content will provide a lot of time
and space to certain issues, making these issues
more accessible and vivid in the public's mind
FRAMING EFFECTS
 Framing effects result from the media’s
description
of
an
event
or
issue
that
emphasizes potentially relevant considerations to help individuals make sense of the
issue (e.g., suggesting causes)
 Individuals view policy issues consistent
with how they are portrayed by the media
POLITICS AND ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA
 The
commercial
media
tend
to
emphasize form over substance in
their political coverage.
 This is partly due to the nature of
television itself, with its emphasis on
the image.
 In effect, the commercial media have chosen
to
censor
substantive
issues
of
national
importance in order to provide more escapist
entertainment for the masses – and in order to
maximize corporate profits.
 It is the entertainment value rather than the
substantive value that matters most to media
corporations.
 This blurring of tabloid coverage with social
relevance reflects one of the contradictions
of the post-modern commercial media.
– The public becomes unable to separate fact
from fiction
– Today we live in a media culture saturated
with infomercials – where the line between
truth
and
blurred.
fiction
has
been
deliberately
 As
the
mass
media
have
become
more
important in political campaigns, political party
organizations have become less important.
 Parties
used
to
rely
on
grass
roots
organization – which pulled people into the
political system.
 Conclusion: Candidates rely mostly on TV ads
to “sell” their agenda, and the political system
has been greatly cheapened.
MEDIA AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
 The
civic
organisations
democratic
media
that
are
democracy.
sector
the
supports
life
These
force
are
of
political
parties, new social movements, interest groups
and
sub-
concerns
cultural
of
networks
society
and
that
relay
propose
the
policy
initiatives for consideration by political system.
 The
civic
segments:
media
sector
has
three
main
 The first consist of media (such as party
controlled newspapers) which provide a
link
wider
between
civic
public.
organisations
They
are
and
generally
adversarial, and seek to build support for
a partisan understanding of society and
set of objectives.
 The second segment consist of subcultural
media (such as gay or lesbian
magazines)
which
relate
to
a
social
constituency rather than an organised
group.
These
can
have
an
important
‘constitutive’ function; they can promote a
sense of social cohesion and common
identity,
and
clarify
values
and
goal
through internal processes of discussion.
 The
third
segment
consists
of
intra-
organisational media (such as trades union
journals) whose purpose is to reinforce the
loyalty of its members, hold leadership to
account, assist in the sharing of relevant
information and experience, and provide a
forum
for
initiatives.
developing
new
ideas
and
GLOBAL MEDIA AND GLOBAL POLITICS
 The emergence of a global media has
been controversial. This is
some
people
fear
that
the
because
media
products of the West will become the
dominant products of the rest of the
world, thus robbing the world of its
diversity.
 Their
concern
involves
the
issue
of
cultural imperialism: the imposition of a
dominant culture and its cultural forms
upon a weaker culture.
 The basic argument is that Western media
products
introduced
to
other
nations,
especially developing nations, contribute to
a decline in the local values, traditions, and
cultures of these societies.
ACTIVE AUDIENCES AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF
MEANING
Croteau and Hoynes, Chapter 8
 While it is true that the media influence what
we think, it is not true that the media determine
what we think.
– Audiences are active interpreters.
 Mass society theorists tend to argue that the
emergence of a mass society and the forces of
massification have led to mass indoctrination
into dominant ideologies and myths.
– These dominant ideologies serve the interests
of elites.
– This view downplays audiences’ ability to
think for themselves.
 The
idea
of
audiences
as
“active”
interpreters rather than “passive” receivers
emerged out of several forces:
1. Recent research.
2. Rising populism (“power to the people!”)
associated with the 1960s.
THREE BASIC WAYS IN WHICH AUDIENCES ARE
ACTIVE:
1.
Through
individual
interpretation
of
media
products.
– Individuals have their own filters and perceptions linked to
their unique lives.
2.
Through
collective
interpretation
of
media
products.
– Membership in social categories influences how we
collectively see issues.
– Interpretations are socially constructed.
3. Through collective political action.
– Audiences make demands upon and give feedback to
media producers.
MEANINGS: AGENCY AND STRUCTURE
 The notion of an active audience points to a
central insight:
– Media texts do not have a singular meaning. They have
multiple meanings, depending on who produces them and
who interprets them.
– Everyone uses filters to interpret meanings, so the
same program or song may mean different things to
different people and audiences.
 Polysemy:
having
interpretations.
– Media are polysemic.
multiple
meanings
or
WHERE DO MEANINGS COME FROM? THEY COME
FROM A MIX OF AGENCY AND STRUCTURE.
1. Dominant ideology, core values, stereotypes,
language, and cultural myths provide mainstream
ways to interpret. We all learn and understand these
mainstream interpretations, which are reinforced by
the mainstream media. This is an aspect of social
structure.
2. Personal experience. (An aspect of agency).
3.
Subcultural
and
social
category
memberships, such as learned in family
and
among
friends,
peer
groups,
subcultures, etc. This is an aspect of both
social
structure
and
agency,
because
these meanings are negotiated.
4. Authority and structural institutions like
school, church, government, media, etc.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE CONSTRAINS MEANINGS
 Given the notion of (1) active audiences, and (2)
polysemy, does this mean that audiences are free
agents who can derive any meaning they want, or
that the meaning of texts is limited only by the
number of people reading the text?
 John Fiske tends to push the envelope here, but
even he concedes that there are structural limits to
how people are likely to interpret a media text.
 Social structure limits the ways we are likely to
interpret a media text.
 The social landscape of daily life influences how
we interpret media messages.
 Our personal filters are shaped by our social
identities. These social identities include age, race,
sex, social class and other social characteristics.
– People tend to interpret media messages in ways
that are consistent with their social locations in
society.
ONE’S SOCIAL LOCATION MATTERS
 Social location refers to age, race, sex,
social class, and other matters of social
status. It matters because it helps shape our
personal interpretive filters.
 The task, then, is to be aware of the ways
in which meanings are socially constructed –
by socially located audiences under specific
social-historical circumstances.
DOMINANT IDEOLOGY MEANINGS ARE EASY
TO GRASP.
 Some meanings are easier to grasp than others.
– The easier ones draw upon widely shared values,
stereotypes, and dominant ideologies – aspects of
society we are all exposed to.
 Other meanings are harder to grasp because they
are not mainstream interpretations or they do NOT
draw upon dominant myths and ideologies.
 Note: This helps explain why advertising is a
fundamentally conservative phenomenon. Ads
must
draw
upon
wider
meanings
(like
stereotypes) to be successful in reaching mass
audiences.
PLEASURE AND FANTASY
 What explains why a woman might get
pleasure from a TV show that depicts
women as subservient to men?
 One
pleasure
hegemonic
she
pleasure.
might
This
get
pleasure
is
is
achieved if she believes in the patriarchal
order that is reinforced by the TV show.
 Another possible pleasure she might get
involves fantasy. If the TV show is read as
fantasy, then she is likely to suspend its
real-world ideological implications.
 In fantasy, we are permitted to imagine
that we are different and therefore we
suspend real-world judgments. Fantasy is
intrinsically fun because it liberates us
from traditional real world structures.