1. Mass Communication: A Critical Approach
Chapter 1

2. 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 ‘#’

3. 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

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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Gutenberg’s Printing Press

9. 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.

10. 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
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)

11. 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

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

13. Cultural Model

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. Daily Media Consumption by Platform (2015)