1. CH3028 Media Processes and Influences
Seminar 1
Rhythma Kapoor 1 1

2. Plan for Today
Practical Information Media Use Survey Media/Society/Organizations Assignment 1

3. Practical Information
Weekly Seminar (incl. Lecture, Discussion, In class activities)
Book: Media/Society (4th edition)
Additional Readings
Course Blog

4. Assessment
3 Assignments
1 Mid-term
1 Term Paper
Passing grade: 5.5

5. Rules of Conduct Please be on time Many-to-many communication
Attendance is compulsory
Be prepared to present your work, ideas
Regularly check Course Blog for news and information

6. When in doubt, have problems or any other issues….
Inform Me!
Me!
Me! Me! Me! 

7. Topic Presentations-Media Artifacts
Due: Throughout the course
You will be assigned one class session for which to find media artifacts related to the day's readings.
The kinds of artifacts that are most helpful for this class include: news articles, critical analyses, podcasts and interesting visual/graphical materials.
Artifacts should also be posted on the class blog with an accompanying short description.

8. Media Use Survey -Handout -Class Discussion
What are some media issues that interest you the most?

9. Overview Media & Socialization The Rise of Mass Media
Structural Constraint and Human Agency
Mass communication vs. Media communication
A Model of Media and the Social World
Media professionals, organizations, and culture
Shared conventions, roles, and routines in media organizations
Structure-Agency relationship in media organizations

10. Rise of Mass Media Discuss: Milestones in Different forms of Media
-Print
-Broadcast
-Sound and Film
-Internet and New Media Technologies
didyouknow?
Printing technology began in the 15th century, Movable type, Gutenberg, 1450, Early 17th century—first newspaper in Europe, Invention of the telegraph and telephone-19th century- instantaneous communication over long distances
Sound & Film-1877—Phonograph 1895—Cinematograph, 1948—LP record, 1920s—Magnetic tape1960s—Personal cassette tape 1970s—VCR 1980s—CD 1990s—MP3, DVD, and other digital formats
Radio became the first broadcast medium in the early 20 century ,First television sets introduced to U.S. households in the 1940s, 1998—Digital TV broadcast began

11. Studying Mass Media What are media? Are all media mass media?
Are all media now within ‘new media’?
Why should we study them?
- media in socialization
1. difference with communication
2. ubiquitous (surround us)
example:
try to imagine this class room without media
try to imagine your way home without media
try to imagine your life without media

12. Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What channel (with) What effect?
Studying (mass) media
Big Question:
Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What channel (with) What effect?
(Harold Lasswell, 1948)
production of media
content of media
reception of media

13. media message or product Technology Social World
readers or audience
media message or product
Technology
Social World
media
industry
Social world: Dolle Mina
media industry: reporting of dolle mina (news products)
reports influences audiences
audiences used technology (tv)
but:
Dolle Mina: equal rights for women
more women at work in media industry
Dolle Mina chose 'likable women' to prevent getting a bad reputation
audiences thought the humorous action of Dolle Mina were pleasant and developed a favourable attitude to equal rights movement
Simplified Model of Media and the Social World

14. Today, mass media serve as a powerful socializing agent. HOW?
Media and social world
Today, mass media serve as a powerful socializing agent. HOW?

15. Socialization The main argument: People interact
People develop rules of interaction
Over time and with repetition people become accustomed to these rules
These rules become normalized
People internalize these norms
These norms create people’s social/cultural identity
“Socialization”—The process whereby we learn and internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of our culture and, in so doing, develop a sense of self.
Examples?

16. Media and Socialization
Today, mass media serve as a powerful socializing agent:
Media affect how we learn about our world and interact with one another
Most of our political knowledge is based on mass media
Media act as watchdogs against abuse of power
Media constructs reality
Teaches and influences youngsters
Create common world views- values, ideologies, perceptions, customs, stereotypes
Discuss: Some examples? Case studies?
‘Electronic hearth’??

17. Social Construction of Reality
While reality exists, media users negotiate the meaning of that reality
The same media product may mean very different things to different people
Example: A music video may elicit different responses from a 15-year-old fan of the band and a parent concerned about stereotypically sexist images that may be present in the video
Some examples?
Example: A music video may elicit different responses from a 15-year-old fan of the band and a parent concerned about stereotypically sexist images that may be present in the video

18. Sociology of Media Importance of Social Relations
“Looking-glass self”
Our sense of identity and individuality emerges from our social interaction with others
The Interplay Between the Social System
Relationships between institutions
Interaction between media industry and government
Relationships within an institution
Relationship between media producers and studios
Relationship between institutions and individuals
Relationship between media contents and audiences

19. Structural Constraint and Human Agency
“Structure” and “Agency” are core concepts of sociology
Structure
Any recurring pattern of social behavior
Example: family structure, educational system
Structure limits the human agency
Agency
Intentional and undetermined human action
Example: students under an educational system
Structure limits the agency, but agency reproduces and changes social structure

20. Structure and Agency in Media
Relationships Between Media and Other Institutions
Social, economic, and political institutions set certain limits on the media
how social structures affect the media industry and how the media affect other social institutions
Relationships Within the Media Industry
Internal workings of mass media
the social positions, roles, practices, and personnel of media
Relationships Between the Media and the Public
How the audience interacts with media products
How media contents are interpreted by the audience

21. Mass Communication vs. Media Communication
One to many transmission
Few channels
Unified audience
Lack of individual control
Typical medium-TV
Unified, controlled content
Media producers-Power
Many-to-many,Interactive
Many channels
Diverse audience
Open & individual control
Internet
Diverse, open, User generated content
Media users

22. A Model of Media & the Social World
Readers / Audience
Technology
Media Industry
Media Message / Product
Media messages about the movement affect audience
Audience interprets the meaning and significance of the message
Audiences use new technology to access media messages
Specific formats of technology influence audience’s media use
Social World
Technology affects industry practices
Industry makes use of new technology to cover the event
Industry creates messages about the event
Norms of news influence media personnel

23. Media Organizations & News Reporting

24. Media Organizations Perspective
Media professionals do not make products under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given, and transmitted from the past.

25. Agency vs. Structure in Media Organizations
“Agency”: human individuals
“Structure”: organizations, traditions, culture, conventions (and economics and politics)
Every media occupation (agency) requires socialization into roles and group culture (structure)

26. News Routines and Conventions
The organization of news work
News organizations need to know when and where the required amount of news will happen every day
Before anything even takes place, news organizations already make decisions about where to look for news

27. News Routines and Conventions
Front-page news story selection
Technical, rule-based selection
Newsworthiness criteria
Convention-based selection
What’s happening in editorial meeting
Collective discussion of editors

28. News Routines and Conventions
The conventions of “Beats” and “Rounds”
Beats—sites where news is likely to take place
Rounds—schedule for visiting locations and talking to sources
Beats and rounds are work routines that define what reporter is exposed to

29. Time, People, Enter. Weekly
Media OrganiZation
AOL Time Warner
Time, People, Enter. Weekly
Warner Bros Pictures
Warner Music Group
AOL Online Services
Example of Harry Potter
Cable Networks
Moviefone

30. Question
So many people involved; how do these people cooperate and produce a media product??
daily fresh start?
agreements?
conventions?
social roles?
There are several answers of which only a few make sense. Of course, media professionals don't get to work and start all over every day. Meaning, that for example a radio DJ does not get to work and then find out again what kind of programme he/she is going to make, what format it should fit into, what kind of music he or she is going to play, and whether he or she is or is not going to talk.
Another rather silly thought would be that the DJ would make new agreements every time he makes a new programme.
What is less silly, and this is what C & H argue, and many, many others is that a lot of work of the media professional is organised by conventions. Of course, there are many, many of these conventions. What is important to remember that conventions might often seem logical and natural, but we always deal with constructs. We discussed this concept in the first lecture. Conventions are man made, are therefore dynamic and might be subject to change.
Together with these conventions belong social roles. These two are actually interdependent. Today we will scrutinize the roles and conventions in the news industry, and more specifically for journalists.

31. Conventions widely used practice or technique in a field
identifying conventions
explaining conventions
conventions are constructed by human beings
convention are not static but dynamic
media professionals: conventions are the result of routines
Let's start with conventions. What are they? How can we identify them, and how can they be explained.
The short explanation of what a convention actually is, is that it is a widely used practice or technique in a field. This explanation is a little oversimplified: though it is a widely used technique or practice, it also refers to the concept of construction. Conventions are practices that are used, this also means that other practices can be used. That somehow, these practices are common, and other practices are not. Conventions are not only practices in a professional field, they are also common in everyday life. There is ways of doing things like going to getting in a tram. In the Netherlands, you must have experienced by now, getting in a tram is a way of pushing yourself in. There is no queue, no waiting for other people to get out, et cetera. This is a convention in the Netherlands: the practice of getting in a tram. In the U.K. however, this practice knows different conventions. You do queue before getting in, and you wait for people to get out first. This small example shows how conventions are constructed by people. This is similarly true for conventions used by media professionals. As Croteau and Hoynes eplain, these conventions are results of routines. so, what are these routines?

32. Routines Where do we find news? What is newsworthy?
There is many examples of news routines, but they all start with the questions: where do we find the news? When we think about where the news is found, and produced, these images come to mind. The question is of course: how does this journalist know to be here? how do they know where important things are going to happen? With other words: how do they know what is newsworthy, and what is not?

33. Routines Where do we find news? Routines define newsworthiness
news networks
beats
rounds
Routines define newsworthiness
Explain the three steps.
The problem with this is that we talk about newsworthyness whether it is an inherent characteristic of events, while these routines clearly show how 'newsworthiness' is created.

34. Routines - Example What is the news? negativity large scale
significance
drama and action
What is the news?
large scale
close to home
clarity
time scale
relevance
consonance
Personification
EXAMPLES?
source: McQuail, 2005: 310

35. Routines - gatekeeping
process of selection
pass through the gate into the news channel
also: literary agents, publishers, tv networks, et cetera
related to media access

36. Routines-objectivity
"The belief in objectivity is a faith in 'facts', a distrust of 'values', and a commitment tot their segregation."
(Croteau & Hoynes, p. 132)
Most of the time, objectivity is formulated similar to: this definition.

37. Routines Objectivity objectivity factuality impartiality
a media practice
strict separation of fact and value
objectivity
factuality
impartiality
Balance Neutrality
truth relevance informativeness
source: Westerstahl 1983, in: McQuail, 2005: 202

38. Routines-objectivity
6 key practices:
maintaining political neutrality
decency and good taste
documentary reporting practices
standardized formats
training reporters as generalists
editorial reviews
How do these interact with routines?
these six keypractices are formulated by Lance Bennett, p. 133 in Croteau and Hoynes. These are practices are named by journalists as standards to maintain objectivity. The important thing is of course, to remember how these practices interact with routines.

39. Routines Consequences of objectivity principle:
similarity in news accounts
socially constructed
reflection of relative power
some people are more newsworthy than others
news net excludes events as well as includes

40. Routines limits of objectivity: new and less obvious forms of bias
news is at best reflection of small part
claims of media freedom
no distinction between true and false expression
diversity
objects reflected are not passive
This means that the newspapers presents us the world as a factual one, even though quite often we are dealing with an interpretation. For example:voters loose trust in democracy. Presented as a fact, even though it is unclear what ‘trust is’, what are the parameters of trust? Loose trust compared ot what: last year? last elections? No research: who is this voter?
Yet: it puts something on the agenda!

41. Socialization & Roles
"Roles can be thought of as the bundles of expectations that are associated with different social positions." (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003: 136)
socially constructed
internalized
not rigid
dynamic
learned through socialization

42. Journalist's Roles informative disseminator
mirror or channel
interpretative investigator
interpreting and investigating complex questions, government claims
adversary
fourth estate
watchdog
And they are just like people, media professionals also learn their roles in organisation. Today we will discuss journalists roles, and I have just listed a few. For example, there are journalists who consider themselves to have the role of a neutral reporter. They try to only give the facts and sustain from value laden reporting.
The participant sees her- or himself as someone who is part of public debate, and thus gives his/her opinion
The adversary thinks he or she is supposed to be critical.
The concept of the Fourth Estate (or fourth estate) is a societal or political force or institution whose influence is not consistently or officially recognized. It now most commonly refers to the news media; especially print journalism.
The disseminator thinks the journalist's role is to disseminate, to spread the news, these journalist see themselves almost as a medium
The interpreter thinks that her or his primary function is the interpret events for the public.
There are many more roles that journalists can take, and these roles are guided by different ethics. What those ethics are, we discuss after the break! For now, it's important to look a bit closer at journalism.

43. News Routines and Conventions
Have You Ever Wondered Why
News reports are remarkably same across the media
There is so much news on the activities of official institutions
Charlie Brooker

44. Rise of User-Generated Content
Users and mainstream media
Audience comments and contributions
Example: CNN iReport
Pro-Am efforts
Professional and amateur collaboration
Example: The Guardian, blogs
Collaborative creation
All amateur
Example: Wikinews
Citizen journalism
Every citizen can be a news reporter
Examples: OhMyNews, Current TV

45. Group Assignment 1: The Practice of Objectivity
Form groups of 4
Write a news story about an event (e.g. campus event, neighborhood, local event etc.).  
Observe the norms of objectivity—maintaining balance, avoiding highly charged language, attributing opinions to sources, keep your own personal views out of the story. 
Max 500 words.
Give suitable title etc.
Post the story on the course blog by Sunday, , 5pm.
Read the stories posted on our CB and comment on at least 2 stories. (Not your own!)
Preferably: Try not to comment blindly, follow the given comment and reply to it.

46. 46 Assignments Hand in on time, otherwise not graded
Bring paper copy to class
Upload on BB & Course Blog
me if you have problems
Write name, student no, word count, page no., staple pages etc. 46

47. Topic Presentations
Groups

48. Minute Memo for your Blog
What is the most important concept or idea you have learnt about today?