Mass Communication1 Focus Questions 1. How do media shape our thinking? 2. To what extent is news constructed, or created? 3. Does mass communication foster a global village? 4. What is the mean world syndrome? 5. How can you develop media literacy?

Mass Communication2  Two (three) questions to answer…  Understanding Mass Communication  Media and Information  Media and Entertainment  Media vs. Perception  Media History  Marshall McLuhan: “… the dominant media at any given time in a society strongly shape both individual and collective life.”  Four distinct eras

Mass Communication3 Four Eras by Media  The Tribal Epoch (Talking – Hearing)  Face to face oral communication  The Literate Epoch (Alphabet – Sight)  Symbols in written form; requires less memory; sight supplants hearing  Linear communication; sequential logic  The Print Epoch (Book – Sight)  Inaugurating industrial revolution (McLuhan, 1962)  Mass-produced writing: Homogeneity vs. Fragmented communities  The Electronic Epoch (Telegraph – Hearing & Sight)  Increased contact via electronic media – “Global Village”  Isolated people vs. Personal interaction

Mass Communication4 Functions and Effects  Gratification  Uses and gratification theory  People control & select to gratify themselves (active agent)  Agenda Setting  Spotlighting (select and call to public attention)  Gatekeeper (Lewin, 1947)  Cultivation  Cultivation theory: Cumulative process  Violence, Stereotypes  Mainstreaming & Resonance  Supporting Dominant Social System  Prevailing power relations, perspectives, ideology

Mass Communication5 Challenges for Interacting with Mass Communication  Develop Media Literacy  Realistically assess media’s influence  Become aware of patterns in media  Actively interrogate media messages (pp : 5 checking questions)  Expose yourself to a range of media sources  Focus on your motivations for engaging media  Respond Actively  Assume an active role (resist and redefine the messages of mass media)