THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION COM 205 INTRODUCTION

There is no common understanding on what media studies deal with. Let’s start with some ‘given’ tems that we do not question like mass media and mass communication. Mass media are technologies make mass communication possible. There are levels of communication form individuals and to groups, organisation and society. Mass communication is a process reaching ‘a large and heterogenous’ mass audiences through mass media. Which way to go through? Ways to media theories taken by media scholars -production -text -content -technology -reception -effects. -representation -audiences These various ways define what to study and how to study as well.. This fact also indicates the inter and multi disciplinary characteristics and eclectic natures of the field of media studies.

WHO says? WHAT through? WHICH CHANNEL? To WHOM? To WHAT EFFECT? (by Lasswell 1948) ‘Media help us to learn about the values, beliefs and norms of our societies as well as assist us to develop our own sense of identity. It is not only a matter of what we learn but also how we learn’’ (Williams 2003, p.6). We can identify three main groups in media theories: theories of media and society (subset of social theory). theories of relating to the process of mass communication inculing various components of mass communication. The narrower theories or one medium of mass communication.

ISSUES AND DEBATES IN MEDIA STUDIES The effects of mass communication and the media on audiences’ opinion and behaviours, knowledge and understandings. Complian of bias in the media: This issue concentrate on the news media. The media are defined biased in terms of source, langauge and discourse, presentation or organisational (Gunter 1997). Media content: This is studied in mostly non-news media forms. The media can be categorised into different genre (borrowed from film theories) such as western, thrillers or soap operas. Understanding of ideology: For some scholar ideologies are constructed and promoted by the media. (Remember that ideology is a partial, misguided system of belief and conceal social relations.) The media play an important role in reproducing legitimation, false conscious, ruling ideas... The production of media organisations: Media’s personnel policies and organisations are studied by political economy. Who owns, who controls who distributes?

Debate in media theories Lack of original theory in the media studies that’s why theoretical vacuuming from other theories. Neglect the theory Normative theories of the media ‘ are concerned with examining and prescribing how the media ought to work if a certain set of values are to be observed or attained’(MxQuail 1994). Empirical theories are concerned facts and observable data to make causal links between the things being studied. ‘Social scientific theory seeks to describe and explain events objectively and to use empirical research methods to evaluate the usefulness and validity of theory’’ (Baran & Davis 2003)