MEDIA DEPENDENCIES
IN A
CHANGING MEDIA
ENVIRONMENT
Tam NGUYEN
z3398485
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60+ percent of patients nowadays consult
the internet.
From January through June 2009, 51
percent of American adults aged 18-64
had used the Internet to look up health
information during the past 12 months.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gWdq
P4nD6k&feature=related
The main purposes:
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80% of those looking for health information
use the internet to look up a specific
disease or medical problem.
50% have looked for information on a
particular treatment, drug or
procedure
7% look for info on life-ending decisions
24% have read someone’s commentary, blog
or other account of a personal health
experience.
16% surfers consult ratings or rankings of
doctors and or hospitals.
Media dependencies in a
changing media environment:
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Media system dependency:
Originally proposed by Sandra BallRokeach and Melvin DeFleur (1976).
- This theory was “used to investigate
people’s dependency on mass media to
satisfy clusters of needs arising from social
roles to individual dispositions”.
Three types of “dependencyengendering” information resources
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Information gathering and creating
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Information processing
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Information dissemination
In the crisis communications,
Media has a tendency to shape and form
the “reality” of the public during and after
the crisis situation.
 The public’s dependency relationship with
media in crisis situation is more intense
than in non-crisis situations.
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The case of the 2003 SARS epidemic
in China
In spring 2003, SARS first broke out in
China’s southern Guangdong province and
then spread to Beijing.
 Government officials banned the release of
SARS-related stories from mid-Feb to
March because they want to:
- Quell public panic
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- Maintain order in the southern province of
Guangdong.
- Keep attracting foreign investment.
- Promote economic development.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/apr/21/china.sars
Chinese citizen’s response:
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SMS & the internet: Communication tools &
alternative sources:
In late January, rumors about a fatal flu
quickly spread by word-of-mouth & SMS.
On 8 Feb 2003:
- 40 million SMS messages were sent.
On 9 Feb 2003:
- 41 million SMS messages were sent.
On 10 Feb 2003:
- 45 million SMS messages were sent
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SMS in combination with informal networks
of communication (email, chat-rooms, forums,
bulletin board systems) and foreign media
constitute a credible source for most
people.
 During the crisis, people received news about
SARS from:
- Others (56.7%)
- Talking to others (such as on the phone) (19.4%)
- The internet (14.2%)
 More than a month after the government’s “full
disclosure” policy on SARS information, all kinds
of information were finally available from all
media sources.
References:
Lyu, J. C. (2012). How young Chinese depend on the media
during public health crises? A comparative perspective.
SciVerse ScienceDirect Journals doi:
10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.07.006
 Tai, Z., & Sun, T. (2007). Media dependencies in a changing
media environment: the case of the 2003 SARS epidemic in
China. New Media & Society, 9(6), 987-1009. doi:
10.1177/1461444807082691
 Ball Rokeach, S.J and M.L. DeFleur (1976). A dependency
Model of Mass-media Effects. Communication research, 3(1),
3-21
 Lee, C. S. (2011). Exploring emotional expressions on
YouTube through the lens of media system dependency
theory. New Media & Society, 14(3), 457-475.
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