Mass Communication:
A Critical Approach
Chapter 1
News Media and our Political
Process
“During the 2008 elections, the news
media played a major role in helping us
get to know the candidates and
understand their platforms. How well, then,
did the news media help Americans
understand the complex issues raised
during the national election?”
The Media Storytellers
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At their worst, the media’s appetite for telling and
selling stories leads them to exploit or misrepresent
tragedy.
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Hurtle from one event to another
Lose their critical distance
At their best, our media reflect and sustain the
values and traditions of a vital democracy.
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Engage and entertain
Watch over society’s institutions
Cultural Contexts
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Cultural institutions/cultural industries:
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Media
Schools
Art
Beliefs
News-delivery technologies
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The new overlaps the old.
The old struggles to retain vitality.
Eras of Communication
Oral communication
 Written communication
 Printed communication
 Electronic communication
 Digital communication
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When did mass communication start?
Media Convergence
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Convergence refers to the appearance of older
media forms on the newest media channels.
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Convergence also refers to newspaper,
broadcast, and Internet outlets existing under
one corporate roof (also known as cross
platform).
Evolution of a Mass Medium
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Novelty, or development, stage: inventors
and technicians try to solve a particular
problem
Entrepreneurial stage: inventors and
investors determine a practical and
marketable use for the new device
Mass medium stage: businesses figure out
how to market the new device as a consumer
product
Models of Mass
Communication
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Linear Model:
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Sender—message—mass media channel—
(gatekeepers)—receivers
How does feedback fit into the model?
Cultural Approach:
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Individual cultural component
Selective exposure
Storytelling
Cultural Landscapes
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Culture as a Skyscraper:
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High culture
Low culture
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Different media for each
But many people consume both.
Culture as a Map:
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Culture is an ongoing, changing process.
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Modern vs. postmodern values
Culture as Skyscraper
“Culture...was becoming increasingly organized
during the twentieth century. And the model
for that organization was the hierarchical,
bureaucratic corporation.”
— Jackson Lears, Historian
Skyscraper Model:
Opera vs. Folk Music
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Some who like Beethoven also like American Idol.
Did The Munsters rip off Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein?
Does popular culture cheapen public life?
 TV sets in use for more than seven hours a day
 More refined culture struggles to find an audience
Popular media may inhibit social progress by
transforming us into cultural dupes.
 We have been seduced by the promise of products
 The “Big Mac” theory: We have lost our
discriminating taste for finer fare.
Map Model:
Shifting Values
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Four values of the modern period:
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Working efficiently
Celebrating the Individual
Believing in a rational order
Rejecting tradition/embracing progress
Postmodern Values
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Four features of the postmodern:
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Celebrating populism
Diversifying and recycling culture
Questioning science and revering nostalgia
Acknowledging Paradox
Postmodern culture (present) changes
modern values.
Media Literacy
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Critical approach, not cynical
Pay close attention
Analysis of facts, not mere counting of facts
Interpretation and meaning
Ethical/moral evaluation of meaning
Take action to shape the cultural environment
Media Literacy and the
Critical Process
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Description
Analysis
Interpretation
Evaluation
Engagement
The Rules of Engagement
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Reassess and rebuild the standards by which
we judge our culture
Recognize the links between cultural
expression and daily life
Monitor how well the media serve democratic
practices