1. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 The Sociological Perspective ORGANIZING SOCIAL LIFE part McGraw-Hill 2 © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. chapter McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHAPTER OUTLINE Sociological Perspectives of the Media The Audience The Media Industry Social Policy and Mass Media: Media Violence 7 THE MASS MEDIA

3. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 The Mass Media (Click inside frame to start video) █ Michael Moore on Donahue

4. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █ Figure 7.1: Rise of the Mass Media Source: Author’s calculations based on Bureau of the Census 1975:43, 783, 796; 2002a:567; Newburger 2001; Television Bureau of Advertisers 2001.

5. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist View –Agent of Socialization The media increases social cohesion by presenting a more or less standardized common view of culture through mass communication. Mass media provides a collective experience for members of a society. “The Internet has become for many the public commons, a place where they can come together and talk.” (Miller and Darlington 2002)

6. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist View –The most obvious function of mass media is to entertain. –While this is true, we may be overlooking other important functions of mass media.

7. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist View –Enforcer of Social Norms The media often reaffirms proper behavior by showing what happens to people who act in a way that violates societal expectations. The media plays a critical role in shaping perceptions about the risks of substance use, although not necessarily in a positive fashion.

8. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist View –Conferral of Status The mass media confers status on people, organizations, and public issues. The media singles out one from thousands of other similarly placed issues or people to become significant.

9. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █ Figure 7.2: The Ebbs and Flows of Popularity, 2002 Source: Google Inc. 2003

10. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist View –Surveillance of the Social Environment The surveillance function refers to the collection and distribution of information concerning events in the social environment. The media collect and distribute facts about a variety of events and generally define what “constitutes a fact” to be reported. In defining events to be reported, the media reflects the values and orientation of the decision makers within media organizations.

11. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Functionalist ViewDysfunctional Media –Narcotizing dysfunction: the phenomenon whereby the media provide such massive amounts of information that the audience becomes numb and generally fails to act on the information. –Interested citizens may take in the information, but they may make no decision or take no action.

12. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Conflict View –Conflict theorists emphasize that the media reflect and even exacerbate many of the divisions of our society and world, including those based on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. –They point in particular to the media’s ability to decide what gets transmitted through gatekeeping.

13. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Conflict View –Gatekeeping The mass media constitute a form of big business in which profits are generally more important than the quality of the product. Within the mass media, a relatively small number of people control what material eventually reaches the audience, a process known as gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is not as dominant in the Internet.

14. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Conflict View –Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Conflict theorists argue that the mass media serve to maintain the privileges of certain groups. While protecting their own interests, powerful groups may limit the representation of others in the media. Continued...

15. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Conflict View –Dominant Ideology: Constructing Reality Dominant ideology: the set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. The media transmit messages that virtually define what we regard as the real world, even though these images are frequently at wide variance from the larger society.

16. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Conflict View –Dominant Ideology: Whose Culture? Globalization projects the dominating reach of the U.S. media into the rest of the world. These media cultural exports undermine the distinctive traditions and art forms of other societies and encourage their cultural and economic dependence on the United States.

17. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Feminist View –Feminists continue the argument advanced by conflict theorists that the mass media stereotype and misrepresent social reality. –The media are a powerful influence on how we look at men and women, and, according to this view, their images of the sexes communicate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions.

18. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Feminist View –Three Problems Arising From Media Coverage: Women are underrepresented Men and women are portrayed in ways that reflect and perpetuate stereotypical views of gender Depictions of male-female relationships emphasize traditional sex roles and normalize violence against women

19. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 Sociological Perspectives of the Media █Interactionist View –Interactionists are especially interested in shared understandings of everyday behavior. –They examine the media on the micro level to see how they shape day-to-day social behavior. –Scholars increasingly point to the mass media as the source of major daily activity. –The interactionist perspective also helps us to understand more about one important aspect of the entire mass media system—the audience.

20. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 The Audience █Who is the Audience? –Mass media are distinguished from other social institutions by the necessary presence of an audience. –It can be an identifiable, finite group or a much larger, undefined group.

21. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 The Audience █The Segmented Audience –The media is increasingly marketing themselves to a particular audience. –This specialization is driven by advertising. –Members of these audiences are more likely to expect content geared to their own interests. –This specialized targeting of audiences has led some scholars to ponder whether there is still a “mass” in mass media.

22. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 The Audience █Audience Behavior –The role of audience members as opinion leaders intrigues social researchers. –Opinion leader: someone who, through day- to-day personal contacts and communication, influences the opinions and decisions of others.

23. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 The Audience █Audience Behavior –Audience members do not all interpret media in the same way. –Their response is often influenced by social characteristics such as occupation, race, education, and income.

24. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 The Media Industry █Media Concentration –A handful of multi-national corporations dominate the publishing, broadcasting, and film industries. –Without government intervention, media giants will continue to grow as long as there are benefits to being large.

25. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 The Media Industry █ Figure 7.3: Media in Selected Countries Source: Bureau of the Census 2001a:858.

26. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 26 The Media Industry █Media Concentration –Concerns Over Media Concentration: Is the public interest being best served by the growing concentration of media? Will innovation and independence decline as media empires grow? In some countries, gatekeeping is controlled by political leaders who desire to maintain control of the government. The Internet is a significant exception to the centralization and concentration of media.

27. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 27 The Media Industry █The Media’s Global Reach –Mass media have begun to create a global village in terms of communication. –Not all countries are equally connected. –The media permeate all aspects of everyday life. –The Internet is the key to creating a truly global network that reaches into workplaces, schools, and homes. –People are concerned that unhealthy influences and even crime are taking place in today’s electronic global village.

28. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 28 The Media Industry Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. The Population Profile of the United States: 2000. Figure 10-1. (Internet Release) accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/profile2000.html#cont. █ Computers and Internet Access in the Home: 1984 to 2000

29. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 29 The Media Industry Home computer access School computer use Total access 94.2 83.5 65.3 34.5 87.3 85.7 79.8 71.7 98.7 96.5 90.0 78.5 $75,000 or more $50,000 to $74,999 $25,000 to $49,999 Less than $25,000 * Among children in families. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. The Population Profile of the United States: 2000. Figure 10-2. (Internet Release) accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/profile2000.html#cont. █ Percent of Children Age 6 to 17 Who Have Computer Access at Home and School by Annual Family Income: August 2000

30. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 30 The Media Industry 198419891993199719982000 8.2 15.0 22.8 36.6 18.0 42.1 26.2 51.0 41.5 Percent of households with a computer Percent of households with Internet access Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. The Population Profile of the United States: 2000. Figure 10-1. (Internet Release) accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/profile2000.html#cont. █ Computers and Internet Access in the Home: 1984 to 2000

31. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 31 The Media Industry Email Information searches News, weather, sports School research or courses Job-related tasks 22.2 32.7 10.0 23.9 6.0 19.6 20.7 9.0 12.5 Percent of children 3 to 17 years Percent of adults 18 years and over Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2001. The Population Profile of the United States: 2000. Figure 10-3. (Internet Release) accessed at http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/profile2000.html#cont. █ Adults and Children Using the Internet for a Specific Task: August 2000

32. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 32 Social Policy and Mass Media █Media Violence –The Issue What effect does movie and TV violence have on audiences? Does violence in the media lead people, especially youth, to become more violent?

33. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 33 Social Policy and Mass Media █ Table 7.2: Violence in the Media, 1998-1999 Television 3,381 1,754 12 (6 serious) Broadcast and cable movies 865 485 17 (10 serious) Theatrical release movies 2,319 1,377 46 (28 serious) Acts ofActs of SeriousViolent Acts per MediumViolenceViolenceEpisode/Movie Source: Lichter et al, 1999

34. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 34 Social Policy and Mass Media (Click inside frame to start video) █ Vincent Schiraldi of the Justice Institute Discusses Research on School Violence

35. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 35 Social Policy and Mass Media █Media Violence –The Setting We spend a great deal of time with the media. Does watching hours of mass media with violent images cause one to behave differently? Some studies have linked exposure to media violence to subsequent aggressive behavior. It is important to recognize that other factors besides the media are also related to aggressive behavior.

36. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 36 Social Policy and Mass Media █Media Violence –Sociological Insights If the function of media is to entertain, socialize, and enforce social norms, how can violence be a part of that message? Even if the viewer does not necessarily become more violent from watching violent images, there could be a desensitization taking place. Continued...

37. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 37 Social Policy and Mass Media █Media Violence –Sociological Insights Both conflict and feminist theorists are troubled that the victims depicted in violent imagery are often those who are given less respect in real life: women, children, the poor, racial minorities, citizens of foreign countries, and even the physically disabled. Interactionists are especially interested in finding out if violence in media may then become a script for real-life behavior.

38. McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 38 Social Policy and Mass Media █Media Violence –Policy Initiatives Policymakers have responded to links between violence depicted in the media and real life aggression in two ways: –Public statements of support for family-oriented, less violent media content –Reluctance to pass laws that could be regarded as censorship.