Chapter 18

The Mass Media

Chapter Outline

The Significance of the Mass Media Theories of Media Effects Domination and Resistance on the Internet

1 Mass Media

The mass media are print, radio, television, and other communication technologies. “Mass” implies the media reach many people. “Media” signifies that communication is

usually one way.There are few senders (or producers) and

many receivers (or audience members).

2 Media Usage, 2005(projected hours/capita)

3 Media Usage

Hours in a year: 8,760 Hours per year the average American uses the

mass media: 3,649 63% of waking hours assuming eight hours of sleep per

day

Increase since 1996 in hours per year the average American uses mass media: 11%.

4 Media Usage, 2005 (Projected dollars/Capita)

Question

Which media source do you think has the strongest impact on attitudes and behaviors of your generation?

a. Advertising

b. Television

c. Music and music videos

d. The Internet

e. Magazines

5 Development of the Mass Media

Circa 100

Papermaking developed in China

Circa 1000

Movable clay type used in China

Circa 1400

Movable metal type developed in Korea

1702First daily newspaper, London’s Daily Courant

1833First mass-circulation newspaper, New York Sun

5 Development of the Mass Media

1837Louis Daguerre invents a practical method of photography in France

1844 Samuel Morse sends the first telegraph message

1875Alexander Graham Bell sends the first telephone message

1877 Thomas Edison develops the first phonograph

1895 Motion pictures are invented

1901Guglielmo Marconi transmits first transatlantic wireless message

5 Development of the Mass Media

1906 First radio voice transmission

1920 First regularly scheduled radio broadcast, Pittsburgh

1921 First commercial TV broadcast

1922 Long-playing records (LPs) introduced

1939 Network TV begins in the United States

5 Development of the Mass Media

1952 VCR invented

1961 First cable television, San Diego

1969First 4 nodes of the Defense Dept. ARPANET (precursor to internet)

1975 First microcomputer marketed

1989World Wide Web conceived by Tim Berners-Lee in Switzerland.

Question

The mass media refer to communication technologies that:

a. reach many people b. do not take place directly through face-to-face

interactionc. are usually one way or at least one-sided in the

sense of having few senders and many receiversd. all of these choices

Answer: d

The mass media refer to communication technologies that reach many people and communication technologies that do not take place directly through face-to-face interaction and communication technologies that are usually one way or at least one-sided in the sense of having few senders and many receivers.

6 Causes of Growth of the Media

1. Protestant Reformation of the 16th century encouraged people to read the Bible themselves.

2. Democratic movements in the late 18th century encouraged people to demand literacy.

3. Capitalist industrialization in the late 19th century required rapid communication.

7 Magazine Advertising and Circulation Revenue, United States, 1960–2004

8 Theories of Mass Media EffectsTheory Mass Media Effects

FunctionalismCoordination, socialization, social control, and entertainment

Conflict Theory

Reinforce economic inequality and core values of a stratified society.

Interpretiveapproaches

Effects are ambiguous and can never be assumed.

Feministapproaches

Gender and racial stereotypes in the media perpetuate inequalities.

Question

According to functionalists, which of the following is not a function of mass media?

a. coordination

b. socialization

c. strengthening of community

d. social control

Answer: c

According to functionalists, strengthening of community, is not a function of mass media.

9 Media Bias Advertising

93%of newspaper editors said advertisers tried to influence their news reports. 37% of newspaper editors admitted to being influenced by advertisers.

Sourcing Most news agencies rely on press releases, news conferences, and interviews

organized by corporations and government agencies. These sources slant information to reflect favorably on their policies.

Flak Governments and big corporations attack journalists who depart from official

points of view. 60 Minutes refused to broadcast a damaging interview with a former Philip Morris

executive because CBS was threatened with legal action by the tobacco company.

9 Media Bias Advertising

93%of newspaper editors said advertisers tried to influence their news reports.

37% of newspaper editors admitted to being influenced by advertisers.

Sourcing Most news agencies rely on press releases, news conferences, and

interviews organized by corporations and government agencies. These sources slant information to reflect favorably on their policies.

Flak Governments and big corporations attack journalists who depart from

official points of view. 60 Minutes refused to broadcast a damaging interview with a former

Philip Morris executive because CBS was threatened with legal action by the tobacco company.

9 Media Bias Advertising

93%of newspaper editors said advertisers tried to influence their news reports.

37% of newspaper editors admitted to being influenced by advertisers.

Sourcing Most news agencies rely on press releases,

news conferences, and interviews organized by corporations and government agencies.

These sources slant information to reflect favorably on their policies.

Flak Governments and big corporations attack journalists who depart from

official points of view. 60 Minutes refused to broadcast a damaging interview with a former

Philip Morris executive because CBS was threatened with legal action by the tobacco company.

9 Media Bias Advertising

93%of newspaper editors said advertisers tried to influence their news reports.

37% of newspaper editors admitted to being influenced by advertisers.

Sourcing Most news agencies rely on press releases, news conferences,

and interviews organized by corporations and government agencies.

These sources slant information to reflect favorably on their policies.

Flak Governments & big corporations attack journalists who

depart from official points of view. 60 Minutes refused to broadcast a damaging interview with

a former Philip Morris executive because CBS was threatened with legal action by the tobacco company.

Relationship Between Centrality of Values and Diversity of Media Opinion

10 Two-step Flow of Communication

The two-step flow of communication between mass media and audience members involves:

respected people of high status and independent judgment evaluating media messages

members of the community being influenced by these opinion leaders.

11 Cultural Studies

Cultural studies is an increasingly popular interdisciplinary area of media research. It focuses not just on the cultural meanings producers try to transmit but also on the way audiences filter and interpret mass media messages in the context of their own interests, experiences, and values.

Feminist Approach to Media: Abortion Study

Study by Andrea Press and Elizabeth Cole of audience reaction to abortion as portrayed on TV shows.

Over 4 years, they conducted discussion groups involving 108 women.

The women watched shows focusing on abortion and discussed their reactions.

The programs dealt with women who chose abortion to avoid poverty.

Feminist Approach to Media: Abortion Study 4 Opinions

1. Pro-life women from all social classes form the most homogeneous group.

• They think abortion is never justified.

• They reject the mass media’s justification for abortion.

2. Pro-choice working-class women

3. Pro-choice working-class women who aspire to middle-class status

4. Pro-choice middle-class women

Feminist Approach to Media: Abortion Study 4 Opinions

1. Pro-life women from all social classes

2. Pro-choice working-class women adopt a pro-choice stand as a survival strategy, not on principle. • They fear laws restricting abortion would be

applied prejudicially against women of their class.

• At the same time, they reject the TV message that financial hardship justifies abortion.

2. Pro-choice working-class women who aspire to middle-class status

3. Pro-choice middle-class women

Feminist Approach to Media: Abortion Study 4 Opinions

1. Pro-life women from all social classes

2. Pro-choice working-class women

3. Pro-choice working-class women who aspire to middle-class status distance themselves from “reckless” members of their own class who sought abortions on the TV shows.• They tolerate abortion for such people but

reject it for themselves and for other “responsible” women.

2. Pro-choice middle-class women

Feminist Approach to Media: Abortion Study 4 Opinions

1. Pro-life women from all social classes

2. Pro-choice working-class women 3. Pro-choice working-class women who aspire to middle-class

status

4. Pro-choice middle-class women believe only an individual woman’s feelings can determine whether abortion is right or wrong in her own case.• Many reservations about abortion, and

reject it as an option for themselves.• They staunchly defend the right of all

women to choose abortion.

12 Representation of Minority Groups in Television

Question

Which of the following groups was not highly underrepresented among American fictional television characters who appeared in prime-time and daytime series, films, and animated cartoons in the period 1994-97?

a. poor peopleb. African Americansc. disabled peopled. Hispanic Americans

Answer: b

African Americans were not highly underrepresented among American fictional television characters who appeared in prime-time and daytime series, films, and animated cartoons in the period 1994-97.

13 Top 10 Countries, Millions of Internet Users

Question

Of friends and relatives you keep in contact with at least once a year about how many do you stay in contact through e-mail? a. None

b. 1-5

c. 6 and up

GSS National Data

Age <30 30-49 50 and Up

None 41.2% 43.1% 63.6%

1-5 24.9% 25.4% 13.6%

6 and up 33.9% 31.6% 23.1%

14 Internet ConnectivityPopulation Density

15 % Population With Internet Access

United States 59.1

UK 57.4

Canada 53.1

South Korea 53.0

Japan 44.1

Germany 38.5

Italy 33.4

France 28.4

China 3.5

Question

How likely is it that you would be willing to pursue an Internet romance?

a. Very likely

b. Somewhat likely

c. Unsure

d. Somewhat unlikely

e. Very unlikely

16 Media Imperialism

Media imperialism is the domination of a mass medium by a single national culture and the undermining of other national cultures.

17 Media Convergence

Media convergence is the blending of the World Wide Web, television, and other communications media as new, hybrid media forms.

Quick Quiz

1. Which of the following was not a factor that led to the rise of the mass media?

a. the Protestant Reformationb. the Catholic Counter-Reformationc. the democratic revolutions in France, the

United States, and other countriesd. capitalist industrialization

Answer: b

The Catholic Counter-Reformation was not a factor that led to the rise of the mass media.

2. According to conflict theorists:a. the mass media stimulate social conflict

b. the mass media create widespread acceptance of social inequality

c. the mass media are themselves a source of economic inequality

d. b. and c. only

Answer: d

According to conflict theorists: the mass media create widespread acceptance of social inequality and the mass media are themselves a source of economic inequality.

3. The two-step flow of communication refers to the fact that:

a. ideas, fashions, and fads originate in the press and only later make their way to TV

b. ideas, fashions, and fads originate on TV and only later make their way to other mass media

c. respected people of high status typically evaluate mass media messages and then may influence the broader public

d. b. and c. only

Answer: c

The two-step flow of communication refers to the fact that respected people of high status typically evaluate mass media messages and then may influence the broader public.

4. Media convergence refers to:a. the restriction of access to the mass media to paying

customers

b. the blending of the World Wide Web, television, and other communications media into new, hybrid forms

c. global inequality in access to the mass media

d. the accumulation of vast amounts of wealth by media conglomerates

Answer: b

Media convergence refers to the blending of the World Wide Web, television, and other communications media into new, hybrid forms.

5. Americans spend more time interacting with the mass media than they do working.

a. True

b. False

Answer: True

Americans spend more time interacting with the mass media than they do working.