1. Media Characteristics Human Industrialized technology for producing messages Acts as a channel: “medium” Generally aimed a reaching large and/or targeted audiences Operates across distances Does not require “co-presence” Development affected by commercial and/or political interests

2. Media History First major medium: Print Books, Pamphlets, Magazines, Newspapers 18 th -19 th Centuries: Advanced Printing Technologies tied to urbanization and increased literacy Photography Latter 19 th -20 th Century: Sound recording, motion pictures, radio, television (analog) Latter 20 th -21 st Century: Digitization and Computerization Cable/Satellite/Internet/Wireless

3. Why study media? Sociology “Because vested interests and power relationships influence the content and interpretation of media texts, questions about the relationship between media, profit, ownership are important and constitute the basis for studying the political economy of the media.” O’Shaughnessy and Stadler Why study media texts? Aesthetics Because that’s where the producer and the audience meet. Tankel

4. 5 ways of looking at how the media work The media show us what the world is like; they make sense of the world for us Representation Interpretation Evaluation Media products DO NOT show or present the real world, they construct and represent reality The media are just one of the ways by which we and society make sense of the world, or construct the world The media are owned, controlled, and created by certain groups who make sense of society on behalf of others The need for popularity/the desire for entertainment

5. CRASH THE FRAMES OF PRODUCTION AND RECEPTION CLASS RACE AGE SEXUAL ORIENTATION and GENDER HANDICAP

6. A MODEL OF MEDIA TEXTS AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE Media texts reflecting/influencingaffecting/influencing Media producersaudiences reflecting/influencingaffecting/influencing Popular common sense