Mass Media and Society Chapter 1 Discussion

Role of Media?

Some of the Basics Mass Media: “…media that reach a relatively large audience of usually anonymous readers” (p. 8) Medium  Media (plural) Evolution of the year E.g. digitization, growth of Internet Audience as reader and user Media as party of socialization process Audiences actively creating meaning Social construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann)

Socialization “…learn and internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of our culture…” (p. 16) ‘develop sense of self’ (p. 16) Learn social roles Socializing agents Family, education, friends, media Role of social relations Impacted by media (media influence goes beyond media content)

Structure and Agency

What impacts interpretations? Active Audiences What impacts interpretations?

Types of Mass Media Print Film Radio Television Sound Recordings Internet Social Media? (debatable)

Looking Ahead What to expect in this course Focus on mass media (some discussion of social media; again, depending on the use and reach) Discussion of textbook chapters Discussion of journal articles Discussion of real world events May tie in current topic or combination of topics we’ve discussed

Real-World Scenario Read the brief story Read the comments from viewers What does this article say about the potential of mass media? What does the article say about the need for structure? Agency? What potential impact does this story have on society?

Assignment for Thursday Record your use of media Include social media (reflect on if it was “mass media” in each instance) Make a list When you used it, why, length of time Start at the end of our class period Tuesday and record through Wednesday (at least 24 hours; the longer the better. Build in time for reflection paragraph) Reflect on your chart. What did you learn about your media use? Were you surprised? Is this an average day for you? Is your use of media problematic/acceptable? What does your media use mean considering the role of media (based on what you’ve read in chapter 1, our discussion, and your opinion)? 1 Paragraph Type list and paragraph

Example TUESDAY 5:00 p.m.: Listened to radio on the way home from school. About 45 min commute. Talked on phone with mom so didn’t pay full attention the entire time. 8:00 p.m.: Television show. Watched for pleasure. Love Scandal! Watched for a little over an hour 10:00 p.m.: Logged into Twitter. Checked my own personal page and sent tweet. Also checked in on friends and favorite celebrity