Chapter 1 Study Guide
The Evolution of Mass Communication
George Guess/Sequoyah
• Father, white/mother, Cherokee; handicapped, never learned to read or write English;
Cherokee felt they were meant to hunt, not read
• Devised a system of 86 characters, each representing a sound in the Cherokee language;
Guess taught his daughter to read; system adopted by the Cherokee nation in 1825;
nation awarded Guess a silver medal for his contributions
• Only single person in history to create/perfect a system for reading & writing a
language; English botanist named giant California tree Sequoyah, Guess’s Cherokee
name, for his giant contributions
Storytelling
• National Storytelling Association defines storytelling as: “the art of using language,
vocalization and gesture to reveal the elements and images of a story to an audience”
• Story defined as “narrative account of real or imagined events”; stories pass on
wisdom, beliefs, values; explain who/what we are; explain how things are, why; the building
blocks of knowledge; the foundation of memory, learning; connect, link us to the past,
present & future
• Telling defined as “live, person to person, oral/physical presentation of a story to an
audience”; involves direct contact between teller/listener; teller must use vivid language to
bring the story to life, listener must bring experiences to help bring to life.
• Storytelling Elements: interactive, co-creative, personal, interpretive, human; a
process/medium for sharing & interpreting meaning to an audience
Culture
• Culture defined as “the behaviors/beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or
age group”; the learned behaviors of whatever group to which you belong
• Another definition of culture: “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group over a period
of time and passed on from one generation to another”
Media & Storytelling, Culture
• Mass media have become our culture’s storytellers; whether it is advertising, television,
newspapers, whatever media, they all tell stories that we like; those who can tell stories well
will be sought
• Media stories: some positive, some negative; stereotypes build over time (many based
on truthful info for some, extended to all of a given culture); once again, some
stereotypical images dominate
Early Cultures & Storytelling
• Oral cultures: passed on info from one generation to the next without benefit of
writing
• Cultures extremely close, elders considered most wise
• 1st important communicators
• Myth & history intertwined
Early Writing Cultures
• Sumerians: cuneiform, a picture language using a stylus tool
• Egyptians: created hieroglyphs w/2000 symbols; used papyrus (writing surface derived
from plants along the Nile) and parchment (writing surface from the skins of goat & sheep);
Rosetta Stone helped decipher hieroglyphs
• Phoenicians: developed 1st syllable alphabet
• Greeks: credited with perfecting the alphabet
Printing Press
• Before the press, took 5 years for monks to hand write a Bible
• Other presses for art & wine existed; Gutenberg gave 1st printing
w/interchangeable letters
• Five years after the printing press, 12 million books published in Europe
press
Communication Defined
Process in which we assign/convey meaning in an attempt to create shared
understanding; requires interpersonal & intrapersonal skills such as processing,
listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing & evaluating.
Different Communication Types
• Intrapersonal—communication one has with oneself; can be speaking aloud, eye
contact, winking, daydreaming; referred to as “silent language”
• Interpersonal—includes all aspects of personal interaction or contact, usually with 2
people, but can be others (not a large group); interacting with another, exchanging info &
views; a thoughtful exchange, debate
• Mass Communication—when messages are sent through technology, thereby making
it possible for large numbers to access the message; principles of this type the same as
others, but this one much more difficult than the other types because of the large numbers in
the audience
Problems with Communication
• A message can challenge a person’s experiences; may cause rejection, distortion or
misinterpretation
• Noise: anything that interferes with the transmission of a message may occur
(smudged print, reception problems, lawn mowers)
• Feedback: crucial because message may be misinterpreted, unclear, delayed, etc.
Information Revolutions’ Background
• Writing brought an end to the importance of oral storytelling
• Author Irving Fang suggests there are 6 info revolutions; in each of the 6, storytelling
changed drastically
First Revolution: Writing Revolution
• Began primarily in Greece, around 8th century B.C.
• Began w/convergence of the Phoenician alphabet to the East, the Egyptian papyrus to
the South
Ramifications of 1st Revolution
• Memory no longer crucial
• Knowledge now boundless
• Elders no longer revered
• Cultures divided
Second Revolution: Printing Revolution
• Began in Europe, second half of the 15th century when paper (originally from China) and a
printing system established by Gutenberg
• Marked the beginning of the modern world
Ramifications of 2nd Revolution
• Info spread through many layers of society; royalty/church no longer all powerful
• Printing lends itself to massive political, religious, economic, educational & personal
changes (Martin Luther)
• Period called the “Reformation” or “Renaissance”
• Marked the end of feudalism
Third Revolution: Mass Media Revolution
• Began in Western & Eastern United States during the middle of the 19th century
• Began w/the convergence of advances in paper production & printing press methods
& the invention of the telegraph
• Changed the way info was conveyed
Ramifications of 3rd Revolution
• For the 1st time, newspapers & magazines reached out to the common man with news,
events near & far & packaged goods for sale
• Photography became popular
• Public schools & libraries began to spread
• Literacy possible for the masses
Fourth Revolution: Entertainment Revolution
• Began in Europe and America toward the end of the 19th century
• Stories printed, sold cheaply, just like cars on an assembly line; entertainment can
now be infinitely duplicated/canned
Ramifications of 4th Revolution
• Entertainment will change American audiences forever
• Eventually, audiences will spend more time being entertained than many spend
working
Fifth Revolution: Communication Toolshed Revolution
• Evolved during the middle of the 20th century, transforming the home into the central
location for receiving info & entertainment
• Includes telephone, broadcasting, recording, improvement in print technologies,
cheap universal mail services
Ramifications of 5th Revolution
• Radio keeps families entertained (foreshadows fascination w/television)
• Birth of TV changes all other media; radio loses programs & becomes a jukebox;
general magazines lose prominence
• Home entertaining will never be the same
Sixth Revolution: Information Highway Revolution
• Began with the Internet explosion in the 1990s
• Describes today’s convergence of electronic technologies
Ramifications of 6th Revolution
• Has created an uncertain situation for future of all media
• New media now extremely popular; young people spend the most time utilizing new
media
Overview of Media Changes
• 4000 B.C.E.: Written language began
• 1455: Gutenberg’s Bible is published
• 1960: U.S. transitions to information society
• 1975: 1st personal computer introduced; SATCOM 1 was 1st satellite approved; it is
sustained about 22,300 miles above the Equator.
• 1982: CD, 1st digital music recording medium, introduced
• 1991: World Wide Web begins
• 1995: First digital hit movie (Toy Story)
• 1996: Telecommunications Act of 1996 changes U.S. media policy (particularly ownership)
• 1998: First U.S. HDTV broadcasts; new Copyright Act
• 2007: Internet reaches 75% of American homes
• 2009: U.S. transition to digital television
Broadcast Media in 5th/6th Centuries
• Radio dominated until 1948; audiences abandoned TV in early 1950s
• In the 1950s, more TVs sold than children born (in spite of the “Baby Boom
Generation”: 1946-1964)
• In 1963, TV becomes the preferred medium for Americans to get their news
• For years, network TV dominated; news figured dominated, trusted as credible
• Mass efficiency; could reach 97% audience w/3 ads in primetime; ads were succinct,
not tailored to niche audiences, but large sections of the population
Pivotal Moments in Television
• 1963: TV reaches maturity
• 1975: HBO goes on satellite
• 1976: 1st basic cable service & WTBS debut
• 1987: Fox TV network debut
• 1996: Telecommunication Act triggers mergers
• 1998: Broadcast news loses dominance
Media Problems/Issues at Hand
• Audience fragmentation (now really difficult to reach)
• Convergence (erosion of traditional distinctions among media; content now available
everywhere)
• Conglomeration prevalent (media bought by non-media companies)
• New media, convergence, media ownership all impactful, all hitting at the same time
Technological Innovations
• Digital communication helped in the development of the 1st computers in the 1940s
(can duplicate, store & play back complicated media content).
• Microprocessors, miniature circuits, led to the first personal computers: smaller,
cheaper, and increasingly more powerful (computer chip power doubles about every 18
months)
• Fiber optic cable appeared in the mid-1980s, featuring thin bundles of fiber, incorporating
glass & pulse of light that can be transported through lasers and can carry broadcast
channels, telephone signals, & all sorts of digital codes.
• Various innovations from 1969 to the 1990s led to the Internet & the WWW.
Aftermath of Media Changes
• Democratization of media; because audiences are everywhere, reach is now diminished
• Other new problems: “newstainment,” credibility questioned, reality programming,
product placement & beyond
• No boundaries, no news cycles
• Content delivery now proliferated
New Media
• From Colossus to ENIAC, to Apple, computers & the Internet pivotal in all changes
• Blogs have changed society, particularly politics.
• eBay & Craigslist revolutionized retailing.
• Facebook, MySpace & Twitter, Google, YouTube, Yahoo. . .
Blogs
• Coined in 1997, describes web logs: daily postings with content personally posted on
narrow topics, often watchdogs & self-proclaimed experts
• In 1999, a few companies began offering blog software; by 2002, Pyra Labs claimed
970,000 users
• Gone from obscure fad to a genuine alternative to mainstream news outlets
• Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party marked the turning point; Trent Lott
complimented Thurmond’s segregationist party involvement in his run for presidency
in 1948; Lott’s comments virtually ignored by mainstream press; blogs kept it alive; 4 days
later, Lott apologized; 2 weeks later, Lott was out as Senate Majority Leader
• CBS’s Dan Rather (story on George W. Bush’s military stint), presidential candidate John
Kerry (“Swiftboat” incident) helped cement the future importance of blogs
eBay
• Online selling site begun by Omidyar in 1995
• Originally called AuctionWeb; 1st sold a broken laser pointer for $14.83
• Bought PayPal in 2002; now have a 25% stake in Craigslist
Craigslist
• Begun by Craig Newmark as e-mail list for friends; later, job & apartment listings added;
now has everything!
• Most postings free; expenses covered through job postings; 1 million jobs posted
each month; now more than 50 million users
• Negative press because of “Erotic Services” section that had been a well kept secret (now
called “Adult Services”); allegedly, Philip Markoff, a Boston med student, met victims
using the site; in April, 2009, Julissa Brisman killed, Markoff charged; on 8/15/10,
what would have been the 1st anniversary had he gotten married, Markoff found dead
in his cell, a suicide; his death has renewed interest in the site that has now been
removed with “Censored” on the site instead
Facebook
• Originally called “thefacebook.com”; begun by Harvard sophomore Zuckerberg in his
dorm room as a hobby
• Later extended to Stanford & Yale
• Forbes called him “the youngest billionaire on earth & possibly the youngest self-made
billionaire ever” (2008)
MySpace
• Begun by Greenspan, DeWolfe & Anderson in ’03; #1 social networking website in ‘06
• In ’07:
o Approximately 180 million MySpace.com accounts in ’07
o Typical user has 278 “online friends”
o Teens spend an average of 15 hours per week on site
• Bought by News Corporation in ’05; looked like a wise decision; site steadily lost its
stature over years
• New team, different logo (no longer the “place for friends”), and a smaller workforce
may help site bounce back
Twitter
• Founded by Dorsey, Stone & Williams in ’06; users limited to only 140 characters;
messages known as “tweets”
• Postings answer the question, “What are you doing?”
• Growing fast, thanks in large part to the celebrities that now have accounts
Google
• Founded by computer science grad students Page & Brin at Stanford in 1998
• Wanted to find a way to retrieve information from the web; began the search engine
BackRub that later became Google (named for the number represented by the number
1 with 100 zeros behind it)
• In ‘98, Google opened its office in Menlo Park, CA; so powerful, it now owns YouTube
($1.65 billion)
YouTube
• Founded by Hurley, Chen & Karim in 2005; now the world’s most popular online video
sharing site (people watching hundreds of thousands videos daily)
•
•
•
•
President Obama one of the 1st politicians to take advantage; his info watched for 14.5
million hours
Average viewer watches 15 minutes a day; would take two centuries to watch all of
the videos
Gets two million views a day, double the number of viewers watching network
television in primetime, combined
70% of traffic comes from outside the U.S.
Yahoo!
• Begun in ‘94 by two Stanford electrical engineering Ph.D. candidates, Filo & Yang;
originally begun as “David & Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web”
• “Yahoo” stands for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle,” though founders say
definition sold the name
• Leading global Internet, commerce and media company offering services to more than
345 million each month worldwide
Convergence
• Now allows access to all types of media products whenever desired.
• Hulu is the site offered by News Corporation & General Electric; allows viewing of
Fox, NBC & other network programs
• TV.com is CBS’s version of Hulu offering CBS programs
• ABC programming available on the network’s website & iTunes
Concentration of Ownership
• More media companies are owned by fewer & fewer people.
• Should encourage the widest possible dissemination from diverse sources
• Marketplace of ideas shrink; new & independent voices are stifled.
• Osama v. O.J., Whitewater, Princess Di; embassy bombings v. Lewinsky; all focus on
insignificant issues instead of pressing concerns.
Top Powerful Media Corporations (2008)
• Time Warner
• The Disney Company
• News Corporation
• General Electric/NBC Universal
• Viacom
Ted Turner & Warner Brothers Merge; Time Warner Results (#1)
• Turner already owned:
o CNN & Headline News
o MGM/United Artist pre-1986 libraries (TNT)
o Hanna-Barbera Productions (Cartoon Network)
o WTBS
• Turner merged w/Time Inc.; Warner Brothers merged also to become Time Warner
• Time Warner owns: CW (50%), Warner Brothers, Hanna-Barbera, HBO, Cinemax,
CNN, Headline News, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, TBS, Cartoon Network, AOL, Time,
Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune, Atlanta Braves, New Line Cinema, Cartoon
Network, DC Comics
The Disney Company (#2)
• Disney Company owns: ABC, Pixar, Disney Studios, Buena Vista, Touchstone,
Miramax, ESPN, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Toon Disney, SoapNet, Classic Sports
Network, pieces of Lifetime, E! (portion of), A&E, History Channel, Disneyland,
Disneyworld, ESPN magazine, 62 radio stations
• Previous animated hits: Beauty and the Beast, Lion King (pen & ink animation)
• More recent hits: Pirates, Freaky Friday, National Treasure
• Disappointments: The Alamo ($100 million), King Arthur, Around the World in 80 Days
• 2001-2002, tried Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 4 times a week; rebounded with
Desperate Housewives, Lost, & Grey’s Anatomy
• Had the opportunity to work with Pixar
Pixar Animation
• As of January, 2006, had won 20 Academy Awards (2007’s Ratatouille : most
nominated animated film)
• Had a previous deal with Disney, beginning in 1991 with Toy Story (1995); shared box
office receipts & licensing revenues; Disney retained the right to make sequels to movies
such as Monsters Inc.
• Hits: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The
Incredibles, Cars (all digital animation)
• Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive, also owns ½+ of Pixar; talks of a deal w/Disney
broke down when Michael Eisner was CEO
• Cars was to be their last joint effort; Disney’s new CEO, Robert Iger, worked well with
Jobs; agreed to be a major partner w/iTunes, releasing two ABC hits to Video iPod.
• ABC’s release of popular programs helps cement the success of Video iPods.
• New relationship helped hasten the merger; now Jobs is the largest Disney
shareholder
Power of Steve Jobs
• Named by Fortune magazine as 2007’s most powerful person in business; founded
Apple Inc. in 1977; the Apple II began the PC era
• Gave us “desktop publishing,” the laser printer, & pioneered personal computer
networks
• Bankrolled Pixar, a brand new business model for creating computer-animated
feature films; Jobs bought the Pixar technology from George Lucas
• Left Apple in 1985, returned in late 1996; changed consumer electronics with the iPod
• Persuaded the music industry, the television networks, and Hollywood to distribute
their content with iTunes Music Store; opened successful Apple Stores (retail);
ushered Apple’s entry into cell phone business (iPhone)
• So the five industries that Jobs has influenced:
o Computers
o Hollywood
o Music
o Retail
o Wireless phones
• According to Fortune, “no one has more influence over a broader swath of business”
than Jobs; he figured out a reason & a way for people to pay for media
Apple Statistics
• Apple’s computer division had a record 2008, selling 9.7 million Macs (twice the
growth of industry average); as of 2009, Apple has sold 6 billion songs in 6 years to
75 million people.
• The iPhone, the 1st true mobile computer, is generating billions
• Apple released the iPad (already successful)
News Corporation (#3) & Rupert Murdoch
• News Corp owns: Fox, 34 O & Os, My Network TV, 20th Century Fox, FX, Fox News
Channel, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Sports, The SPEED Channel, National Geographic
Channel, Madison Square Garden Network, Newspapers, satellite TV, HarperCollins,
MySpace.com, Wall Street Journal
• Chairman & CEO News Corp is Rupert Murdoch; Fortune named him the #2 most
powerful person in business
• Career began in 1953 when he inherited control of 2 Australian newspapers;
expanded to Britain in the 1960s, the U.S. in the 1970s, and Asia in the 1990s; in
Britain, he owns the biggest tabloid, the Sun; in the U.S., the New York Post, Fox
News Network, 20th Century Fox, etc.
• His purchase of MySpace.com & Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street
Journal, as well as the recent launch of the Fox Business Network, position him as a
global-spanning financial news powerhouse.
• “At 76, Murdoch appears to be at the height of his power” (Fortune, CNNMoney.com)
GE/NBC Universal & Comcast (#4)
• NBC Universal owns: NBC, Telemundo, part of PAX, 14 NBC O & Os, 15 Telemundo O
& Os, NBC Universal Studios, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Trio, USA, Sci-Fi, 5 theme parks
• Comcast has purchased NBC Universal (NBCU); presently, Comcast is the largest
multiple system operator (MSO), meaning it owns multiple cable operations across
the country (23.8 million customers)
• Comcast provides high-speed Internet service to 15.7 million; voice service to 7.4
million; owns the Golf Channel and portion of E!; Philadelphia Flyers (hockey), 76ers
& their 2 arenas; now owns majority NBCU (after the sale is approved by the
government)
Things to Watch When Comcast Takes Over
• Jeff Zucker’s fate: NBCU chairman who grew the cable side
• Leno’s fate: will they embrace him?
• Olympics: will they bid for the next or leave it to Disney?
• NBCU name: will likely go away
• Hulu: network programming likely free; cable likely will be a pay model (has already
begun pay model)
Viacom (#5)
• Viacom owns: CBS, CW (50% ownership with Time Warner), 16 CBS O & Os, 18 UPN
O & Os, 5 others, Paramount Studios, CBS Productions, King World Productions,
Showtime, Spike TV, MTV, MTV2, Noggin, VH-1, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central,
TV Land, CMT, Flix, Sundance Channel, Blockbuster, Simon & Schuster, Infinity (184
radio stations)
Extent of Media’s Reach
• 37 million people in the U.S. will tune in to a primetime TV show on a typical Sunday
night
• 98% of all homes have a TV set
• 91% have a VCRs & DVDs
• TV sets are on more than 8 hours a day in a typical U.S. homes
• 2/3 of all U.S. adults will read a newspaper each day
• 2/3 will listen to radio for some part of every day
• Internet population exceeds 938 million people
• 71 million Americans use e-mail every day
• 66% of the entire U.S. population regularly uses the Internet; 90% of teens, 12 to 17
• Americans spent more than $8.8 billion buying 1.4 billion movie tickets (’05)
The Economy
• Not just individuals harmed by bad economy; fewer people working means fewer buying;
fewer buying means fewer advertisers; less advertising, less money for media
• One in every 5 journalists who worked in 2001 likely gone.
• There will always be a need for talented, eager & passionate media employees.
Chapter 2 Study Guide
Mass Communication Effects
Mass Communication Research
• Scholars wanted to know: how media affect society, how media will affect our future
• Media influences, consequences still not understood
• Clear media do affect us, but how much & to what degree; effects closely studied by
psychologists, sociologists & social psychologists
Charles Horton Cooley: Pioneer
• One of 1st social psychologists to look at media’s role; Human Nature & Social Order
(1902) & Social Organization (1909) attempted to explain role of communication in society
• 2 opposing views: 1) media encourage individuality; 2) media limit distribution of new ideas,
thus lead to assimilation
• Individuality encouraged: persons with unpopular political views can find like-minded
individuals & find validation through media
• Limit new ideas: language in media could become the universal dialect of a people,
replacing their own
• Cooley said 2 kinds of people result: one that embraces isolation; the other that is
drawn to choice
• Felt modern media foster isolation & obliterates choice.
• Over time, media will eliminate what makes us unique as individuals, communities,
races, and nations.
• May look, dress, behave differently; all still extremely similar
Cooley Summarized
• Some effects positive; info about alternative lifestyles, races, can lead to tolerance &
acceptance
•
•
Can be negative when:
o audiences develop superficial understanding & concern
o no detail about important issues
o overloaded with information
Theories based on print media effects; inspired future researchers.
Movie Industry Concerns
• Researchers determined that film industry different from all others because films
appealed to multiple senses; looked at actors such as Charlie Chaplin, one of the most
popular; his films, The Kid (1921) & The Gold Rush (1925) showed just how popular;
millions were going to the movie theaters a week
• Motion Picture Research Council questioned amount of influence on children; launched
one of the largest studies funded by the Payne Fund
• 13 studies began in 1928, each answering a different question
o What was the content? (1500 films between 1920-1930; genre films)
o Who was exposed? (Edgar Dale studied 50 Ohio communities; found
children, 5-8, attended more than adults, boys more than girls)
o How much info was retained? (Over 3 yrs, 3,000 tested at 6 wks, then 3
months; retention rates high among all groups; sleeper effect showed info
can sit dormant in subconscious & emerge over time; movies did provide
special format for learning
o Could retained ideas create an emotional response? (Most children
displayed increased anger, sadness related to content)
o Do films cause children to act on increased emotions? (Children who
attended often showed declining morals, delinquent behavior, lower
intelligence, etc.)
o Does frequent film attendance lead to unsophisticated behavior or do
unsophisticated children attend often? (Found no simple cause-and-effect
relationship)
Payne Fund Studies’ Results
• Unable to find definitive answers to all of the questions
• Found that movies do have an effect on children
• Groundbreaking discovery: adults/children learn from media
• Discovered that what audiences learn affects how they live their lives; changed way
academics viewed communication & media
Research Turns to Radio/Orson Welles
• Radio pivotal in homes; millions turned to CBS for its news; station known for being the
only network to break into programming for newsworthy events
• On October 30, 1938, theater director Orson Welles adapted the HG Wells novel The
War of the Worlds (with fictional news bulletins & “interruptions”)
War of the Worlds Broadcast
• Excellent special effects, acting & writing; seemed completely real to the 12 million
listened; some listened without knowing it fiction; some estimate 6 million believed it
factual; some evacuated, called police
•
CBS radio under pressure; Federal Communication Commission (FCC) published
guidelines against fiction & news
Suggestibility Research Resulting from War Broadcast
• Researcher Hadley Cantril & other broadcasters at Princeton University interviewed &
observed to identify causes of panic
• 1st time communication researchers described types of people & conditions that lead to
panic
• Suggestibility rather than less education a cause (Cantril thought less education) found
that characteristics alone don’t explain listener’s reaction to panic, but people were more
susceptible to panic if they had the following characteristics:
o A lack of self-confidence
o A sense of fatalism
o A tremendous amount of personal worry
o Strong religious beliefs
Lasswell’s Hypodermic Needle/Direct Effects
• Theorist Harold Lasswell theorized this; one of the 1st true theories to deal with mass
media effects (1920s & 1930s)
• Suggested media “inject” public with thoughts & opinions media manipulators wanted;
attributed powerful/direct effects of media
• Audience’s direct access to media was new & unfamiliar; now messages in homes &
workplaces, unfiltered by human interaction
• 1930s Nazi Germany’s intelligent use of radio, film & print media an example;
Lasswell felt there was no question that media influenced World Wars I & II; political
propaganda on all sides
• Though convincing, this theory later discredited as being too simplistic; more
sophisticated, complex theories resulted
• Lasswell went on to ask one of the most important questions of research: “who says what
in which channel to whom & with what effect”; led future research
Lazarsfeld & Political Power Research
• 1940s, Paul Lazarsfeld & colleagues looked at mass media & changing views in politics
• 1st thought media sway a voter’s decision; later decided little effects on voting
• Political party affiliation more important; paid attention to media messages that support
their affiliation
Selective Perception Theory
• Individuals respond & perceive messages selectively, based on their own personal
needs (pay close attention to some things, ignore others)
• Media messages don’t affect groups the same; instead, the effects personalized & people
remember what they choose to
• Recall in place to satisfy individual needs of the audience (recall what they want)
Uses & Gratification Theory
• Using selective perception, Lazarsfeld & researcher Elihu Katz developed uses & grats
theory.
•
•
•
Individuals respond, perceive & use media messages differently, depending on their
own interests & needs
People remember media messages on what they select to retain (selective recall)
Places emphasis on personal gratification each individual gets from media to explain
how why we select messages we consume & how they affect us
Two-Step Flow Research
• Lazarsfeld & Katz (political science research) suggest that media messages 1st influence
economic & political power elites or opinion leaders who put their own “spin” on
messages (1st step), then later pass them on through interpersonal contact or by using
media messages (2nd step)
• Popular in the 1950s & 1960s, lost power once media channels expanded allowing more
access.
The Technological School
• Early theories focused on direct effects of media on people; other theories emphasize
indirect media influence
• Impact comes from media (the technology itself) rather than their messages
• Technological School (Toronto School) contends that the real impact lies in the changes
that the technology has brought to societies
• Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the message” suggest that media have the power to
shape & influence the message itself & determine how the audience interprets the message
(broadcast emphasize image); McLuhan & mentor Innis felt media are extensions of human
mind & body; electronic media extension of human nervous system; this extension circles
globe, establishing interpersonal involvements, the “global village”
• Joshua Meyrowitz’s 1985 No Sense of Place examines the influence of electronic media
on our cultural environments, and how our roles & behavioral patterns in society are formed.
• Manuel Castells’ 3-volume The Information Age examines the social, cultural, political &
economic impact of the information society on our daily lives; 2nd volume focuses on how
new media & technologies are changing how we organize our lives & define ourselves
(MySpace, iPod, etc.)
Third-Person Effects Research
• End of the 20th century, researchers looked at effects from new angle; important not just
how public is affected by media; how does the public think it is affected?
• New hypothesis seems to be confirmed in study after study.
• 1980s theory that suggests people tend to believe media messages affect & influence
others more than themselves.
• As audience members, we resist the idea that we can be directly affected by messages;
everyone else is susceptible though; this led to a more recent model, the indirect-effects
model
Indirect Effects Research
• People tend to perceive the effect of messages of others, then react to their
perception.
• Example: You hear me discuss Judge Judy, and you begin to assume that even if you are
not a fan, the show is influential.
•
If you hear it so much, you become tempted to jump on the bandwagon so you won’t be
left out.
Social Learning/Modeling Theories
• Social learning: involves learning behavior that is controlled by environmental influences
rather than internal influences.
• Modeling: typical result of social learning; observation of others’ actions to determine how
you should behave.
• Concerned with ways in which observation of behavior in mass media can encourage similar
behavior in audience members; problems that could result include:
o People make many decisions simply because of the behavior of others.
o Replicating aggression of cartoon characters, or wearing a jacket without going
outside because others are doing so are all examples of modeling.
• Albert Bandura found that children learn aggression, sharing, cooperation, social
interactions & disappointment from individuals in their environment.
Violence
• Bandura’s research led many to believe that if children could learn so much from people,
they also likely learned from television, especially violence.
• Research on media violence & children controversial & falls under two types.
o 1st type: media violence lessens the likelihood that children will want to
commit violence.
o 2nd type: media violence increases the drive for children to participate in
violent behavior.
History of Media Violence Concern
• Issue of concern since 1950s; do media have great influence or limited effects?
• In 1960s, 2 government commissions explored topic; found some influence (some
causal relationship between watching & acting violently).
• In the last 15 years, more criticism due to videogames & hip-hop music (Ice T’s “Cop
Killer”; Columbine)
• More recent studies show just how much violence young people are subjected to (average
child under 14 exposed to 11,000 TV murders).
Cartharsis Theory
• Dates back to Aristotle who felt that viewing tragic plays, people get to release emotions
such as grief, rage & fear.
• Claims media can ease children’s urges to participate in violent behavior.
• Viewing violence in media helps aggressive people address their anger vicariously &
lessens aggressive behavior.
Cultivation Theory
• Grew out of work by George Gerbner & colleagues (Annenberg)
• Late 1960s, tried to correlate amount of violence in primetime television to
perceptions television viewers hold about “real-life” violence
• Thus, causal link to watching television & how we perceive reality; television “cultivates”
or shapes the way we see the world.
Mean World Syndrome
• So much television violence leads people to think that the world is far more dangerous than
it really is.
• Basically, TV shapes the way we see the world; the more TV watched, the more
distorted perception of the world.
• David Walsh: violent video games can lead to violent behavior; other risk factors, but
games heighten impulses of troubled teens.
Violence and Music
• Recent studies done focusing on violent images in music videos on cable music channels.
• Studies found that 16.4% of videos contained acts of violence; low, but 76% of violence
was assisted by use of weapons.
• Study found that hard rock (72% of videos) and hip-hop/rap (48% of videos) were most
violent genres.
• Three main problems identified with this violence:
o Increased levels of aggression: young males seeing violence as natural way to
resolve conflicts.
o “Mean world” syndrome: steady diet of violent media over lengthy time makes
viewers think it’s a “mean & violent” place; might lead to feelings of anxiety,
alienation and depression.
o Desensitization: violent messages might lead to a loss of sympathy for victims,
less proactive involvement in preventing & stopping violence, and a general
perception of violence as the norm.
Women, Sex, Hip-Hop, Video Games & TV
• Depiction of women in videos of concern; some suggest that lyrics & videos degrade
women; subservient to men (misogynist)
• Popular videogames objectify & stimulate violence & aggressive behavior toward women
• Popular television shows also problematic; 83% of most popular TV shows among
teenagers in 2001-2002 had sexual content.
Sex & Pornography
• Worldwide business, but difficult to determine what is offensive, obscene &
pornographic & what is not; even difficult for the Supreme Court to define (“know it
when you see it”)
• Research begun in earnest in 1970 with the Presidential Commission on Obscenity &
Pornography.
• Image & treatment of women & relationship between the sexes has been studied.
Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Most sweeping reforms in the field of telecommunications in 62 years (1934);
mandated digital television; allowed cable services by telephone companies;
discontinued media ownership regulations.
• One entire section dedicated to the issue of pornography on the Internet; courts have
struck most rules down as unconstitutional & conflicting with the protections
warranted by the First Amendment.
Ethics & Antisocial Behavior
• Media messages might be eroding traditional ethical values, thus stimulating
antisocial behavior
• Images so pervasive that they might be creating a sense of alienation & frustration in the
youth
• Pervasive use might lead to a society that places excessive importance on materialism,
appearances & consumption of material goods.
Education and Socialization
• People who spend a great deal of time watching television have lower IQs.
• Studies suggest children who spend a limited amount of time watching television do
better academically.
• Educational programming can help children strengthen abilities.
• Questions go unanswered in terms of the effects; certain that they tend to reflect &
perpetuate gender & stereotypes.
Political Beliefs & Attitudes
• Many of us rely on media for political information; researchers interested in finding out if
these images have an impact on people’s views, beliefs, attitudes & behavior.
• Anti-smoking public service campaigns have provided a wealth of information to
gauge the effectiveness of mass media.
• Now looking at the relationship between political messages & voting behavior (“Rock
the Vote”)
Chapter 3 Study Guide
The Media as Entertainment
Industrial Revolution
• Late 18th & early 19th centuries (1700s & 1800s), in which there were huge changes in all
aspects of society (transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, education)
• Economies changed from manual labor-based to technologically based; technology
made work much more efficient, thereby giving workers time & more money (Henry
Ford)
• Relaxation now possible; media there to fill void
Media Negatives & Positives
• Negatives
o Media supply a tasteless product with little redeeming social value
o Media waste opportunities to enlighten & enrich
• Positives
o An outlet for relaxation & relief of stress
o Entertainment only one aspect; balances the other functions
Newspapers as Entertainment
• Most novel product of the printing press
• Early colonial papers provided little entertainment
• Literacy levels in the North were high, thus leading to cradle of American journalism
Benjamin Harris
• Understood the premise of entertaining as well as informing
• Gets credit for the first attempt at a newspaper, Publick Occurrences, Both Forreign
and Domestick
• Included stories about lustful royalty & bloodthirsty natives; audience loved it;
authorities did not; newspaper shut down after first issue
James Franklin
• Brother of Benjamin Franklin, who was an apprentice to James
• His New England Courant similar to papers in England; exciting & relevant
• Included best writers of his day (James Fennimore Cooper), making it popular with the
audience
• Lasted only five years
Silence Dogood
• A contributing writer to James Franklin’s paper, the widow of a minister; wrote 14 letters
complaining about the limitless power of the government from April to October 1772
• National Treasure’s plot suggested that the letters had a hidden code
• Silence Dogood was actually 16-year-old Benjamin Franklin; began his writing career
Benjamin Day
• Visionary because he was desperate; his paper: New York Sun
• First to sell newspapers on a per-issue basis rather than by subscription
• Gave the common man an entertaining product they could afford; only a penny
(beginning of the penny press)
• Emphasized sex, crime & violence
Joseph Pulitzer
• His New York World the quintessential sensational paper
• Toothless, grinning child in his paper dressed in yellow gives nickname for the period
(“yellow journalism”)
• Paper the 1st to have separate sports department, cartoons, promotional coupons &
an expanded Sunday edition
• Served as an example for Hearst & others to come
Early Twentieth Century Newspapers (1900s)
• Dubbed “jazz journalism”; newspapers lively just like the roaring ’20s
• Tabloid-style papers popular (smaller size, more focused on entertainment)
• Graphic, shocking photography the norm
• Most papers did not last past the decade.
USA Today
• Debuted in 1982, combining short stories with color & bold photographs
• Seemed more like broadcast journalism than print; has influenced the look of
competitors; now even the Wall Street Journal has color pictures on front page
• Called “McPaper” by newspaper professionals
Magazines as Entertainment
• Began in 1700s, but took a century to become popular
• Women were the predominant audience; issues revolved around children, cooking &
taking care of home; advice columns & short stories added
• Formula still successful
Ladies Home Journal
• Began as Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper, and quickly became the most
successful of its kind
• Most popular aspect is the feature, “Can This Marriage Be Saved?”
• One of the most enduring of all magazines
Playboy
• Founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner as Stag Party; had to change the name
• Targeted men; content controversial; first issue unnumbered since Hefner felt uncertain
to its future
• First centerfold. . .Marilyn Monroe
People
• Founded in 1974 by Time, Inc. as a new type of entertainment mag
• Blended celebrity news, human interest stories & impressive photography
• Similar publications followed; also spawned broadcasting versions that remain popular
(Entertainment Tonight)
Books as Entertainment
• First books were for religious purposes brought by the Puritans
• Later, books provided for educational purposes
• Audiences were white, wealthy men
• Harvard University established for this demographic audience
Dime Novels
• Debuted in late 1800s making books affordable
• Similar to penny press—full of crime, sex and romance
• Westerns & detective plots also popular
• Later lost popularity when other media arrived
Paperback Books
• Pocket Books made paperbacks popular in 1939, followed by Bantam Books.
• Dell (not the computer company) introduced smaller versions of paperbacks
• Sophisticated marketing led to paperback versions sold after hard copies sold.
• Romance novels now a permanent & popular staple in paperbacks.
Films as Entertainment
• Thomas Edison’s Black Maria studio introduced the movie theater in America in late
1800s.
• Early films similar to home movies, but still of interest to the audience.
• Lumiere brothers developed technology that allowed filming & projection
• Silent films dominate until 1920s.
Notable Film Firsts
• Porter’s Great Train Robbery
• Griffith’s Birth of a Nation
• Warner Brothers’ The Jazz Singer
• Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Lucas’ American Graffiti & Star Wars
Radio & Recording Industries
• Thomas Edison developed the phonograph
• Initially, radio had programming similar to what is now on television.
• RCA dominant (two networks), followed by CBS; ABC much later.
• Eventually, radio & recording industries become inexplicably bound.
Guiding Light
• First soap opera on radio (15 years), later transferred to television (57 years).
• Began on NBC radio, later shifted to CBS television; September 18, 2009 was its last
episode.
• Longest running soap opera production; also longest running drama in television
history
Amos ‘n Andy
• Created by two white men, Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll in 1928; they provided
the voices of the two black lead characters, Amos and Andy.
• First syndicated radio program
• Most popular radio program, that became popular on television as well; taken off of
television due to the stereotypes.
Television as Entertainment
• Early programming innovative & thought-provoking.
• First situation comedy, I Love Lucy, was groundbreaking entertainment.
• News established as crucial; Edward R. Murrow the consummate broadcast
journalist.
I Love Lucy
• First interracial marriage on television
• First situation comedy
• First to have three camera set-up
• First to use expensive film stock
• First to be a syndicated television show
Television Firsts
• Fox Network the 1st to survive in competition with ABC, CBS & NBC; now a major 4th
network
• CBS then NBC, the 1st networks to expand news from 15 to 30 minutes in ’63; ABC
followed in ‘68.
• Music Television (MTV), 1st video network, debuted August 1, 1981; Cable News
Network (CNN), 1st cable news network, debuted June, 1980
•
The Amazing Race is the 1st & was the only reality show to win an Emmy Award for
“Outstanding Reality-Competition Program” since the Emmys began the category in
2002 (7 years straight); in 2010, Top Chef toppled the perennial winner.