Mass Communication: A Critical Approach Chapter 1

Shared Cultural Experiences Shared experiences are not as prevalent in media anymore “Mass” media may become a thing of the past More individual experiences with media and new generation Similar experiences and the hashtag ‘#’

Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication Creation and use of symbol systems that convey information and meaning Culture: The symbols of expression that individuals, group and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate values Mass Media: The cultural industries (channels) of communication that produce and distribute products to the masses

Eras of Communication I. Oral II. Written III. Print IV. Electronic V. Digital

Oral and Written Eras (1000 BC to Mid-15th Century) Oral communication—Information passed on by poets, teachers, and story tellers Socrates and Plato famous for oral debates Believed the written word would threaten public debate Critics of modern media: TV, phones and Internet mean that we are once again silencing public debate and discouraging face-to-face communication

Written Era Creation of alphabets and words brought about the Written Era n Became popular, causing a class division among the literate and illiterate…people put their fate in the literate

The Print Era --Mid 15th-19th Cenury Print Revolution began with the invention of moveable type and the printing press, Gutenberg Books were only available to wealthy, literate due to size and expense, but eventually became affordable to everyone, making books the first mass-marketed media The Print Era encouraged the Industrial Revolution, social and cultural revolutions, the Protestant Reformation, democratizing education, and the rise of a consumer culture

Gutenberg’s Printing Press

Electronic Era 19th Century-20th Century The move from print to the Information Age began with the development of the telegraph (1840s) Film and radio were significant media introduced in this era, but the invention of television in the 1950s dramatically enhanced the Electronic Era and our daily lives.

Digital Era---20th Century-present Digital communication—Images, texts , and sounds are converted into electronic signals (binary numbers) that reassemble as a precise reproduction of a TV picture, magazine article, song, or telephone voice With new media like cable TV and Internet, network news lost audiences to blogs, cable channels E-mail is replacing Postal Service (especially defying border boundaries, like International mail) and also controlling/censoring messages Social media: Reinvented oral communication (Twitter, Facebook) The media user is more in control (Once had to watch program at scheduled airtime vs. now, options: Hulu, DVR, and On-Demand) Viewing videos and pictures (digitally) from friends and family (YouTube, Movie Maker, Snapchat, FaceTime)

Changing Communication Models The models of communication are shifting in the Digital Era Linear Model: Outdated model; says senders transmit messages through a mass media channel to a large group of receivers In this process, gatekeepers functioned as media filters II. Cultural Model: recognizes how individuals bring diverse meanings to messages Audiences affirm or reject messages and stories flowing through various media channels Selective Exposure: People seek messages responding to their own cultural beliefs

Linear Model Noise ---------------------------------------------------------> Sender Receiver <--------------------------------------------------------- Feedback (Tweets, Texts)

Cultural Model

Media Convergence in the Digital Era Two definitions (Technology and Business) Technological merging of content across different media channels (ex. TV broadcast streamed on Internet) Cross platform: businesses delving into various media (ex. Disney) Companies like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and the most profitable, Google, are the results of media convergence (Google is more profitable with ads that accompany search results)

Media Convergence and Culture Social media and the Internet have led to significant changes in the way we consume and interact with media culture In pre-Internet days, we would watch TV programming at the original aired time, but now we rely on Hulu, Netflix or DVR to watch programming on our time. We are now making media choices on the recommendations of our friends on social media We also upload photos/videos of our lives for social media “friends” rather than relying on traditional media for entertainment While we have more options and can connect with friends, also ridding our culture of weekly get-togethers to watch shows Media experiences are more “individual”, but we still may get together with family or friends to “binge-watch” shows

Media Multi-Tasking The ability to access different forms of media in one place is also changing the way we consume and interact with media In the past, we read newspapers in print, watched TV on television sets, and played video games on a console, but now we can do all these things on a single device (computer, tablet, smart phone), making multitasking very easy and tempting Media multitasking has resulted in more media consumption, particularly among young users Critics say that while we are consuming more media, we are paying less attention to one particular medium’s content and are giving more attention to the device in our hand rather than the person sitting next to us Also resulted in “live-tweeting”, “trending” topics and real-time discussions via social media

Stories: The Foundation of Media Stories we seek and tell are changing in the digital era. Reality TV and social media dominate. Ordinary citizens are able to participate in, and have an effect on, stories told in the media. (Citizen Journalism) Media institutions and outlets are in the narrative business.

Daily Media Consumption by Platform (2015)