Intro to Media Final Exam

Textual analysis

highlights the close reading and interpretation of cultural messages, including those found in books, movies, and TV program equivalent to measurement methods such as experiments, surveys and content analysis one type of textual analysis is framing research: looks at recurring media story structures, particularly news stories --> defined as persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation of selection, emphasis and exclusion by which symbol- handlers routinely organize discourse, whether verbal or visual became significant when in 1974 when Horace Newcomb's TV: The Most Popular Art became the first serious academic book to analyze TV shows studied why certain TV programs became popular

Audience analysis

how people use and interpret cultural content also called reader-response research different from textual analysis because the subject being researched is the audience, not the text itself these studies define culture in broad terms- as being made up of both the products of society fashions and the processes that forge those products

2 major strands of early mass media research

media effects research: attempt to understand, and predict the effects of mass media on individuals and society - the main goal is to uncover whether there is a connection between aggressive behavior and violence in the media cultural studies: focuses on how people make meaning, apprehend reality, articulate values, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols.

Media literacy & the critical process

media literacy: attaining an understanding of mass media and how they construct meaning requires following a critical process that takes us through the steps of description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement benefit of a critical perspective: allow us to participate in a debate about media culture for both democracy and consumerism

Public Media Programming

-News and current affairs: ○ NPR's Morning edition ○PBS New Hour, All Things Considered -Educational and Instructional Content: ○letters, numbers, and social-emotional learning ○Children's programming— "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" "Super Why" "Plum Landing" ●TV Program Sources: -PBS provides more than 1,200 hours a year of programming from which its member stations can choose -American Public TV, The Independent TV Service, The National Educational Telecommunications Associations ●Public radio program sources: -Each station typically produces nearly 40% of its own programming -Nearly a quarter is from NPR, including news and information, cultural and entertainment programming -More than 35% from Public Radio Exchange (PRX), public radio International, American Public Media, and other producers

Public Media Funding Model

-95% of CPB's appropriation goes directly to content development, community services, and other local station and system needs -Only 5% is allocated to administrative costs — an exceptionally low overhead rate compared to other nonprofits

Commercial vs. noncommercial radio

-Commercial radio: receives budgets from selling ads. -Noncommercial radio (NPR & PBS) ♣ NPR has morning edition and all things consider ♣ Features educational & cultural programming ♣ Relies on subsidies from nonprofits of listeners' contribution ♣ Remains the place for both tradition & experimentation, as well as for programs that do not draw enough listeners for commercial success

Libel

-Defamation of character in written or broadcast form (including social media posts) -A false statement that holds a person up to public ridicule, contempt, or hatred or injures a person's reputation. -Public official v private individuals -Private individuals need to prove: falsehood, damages, negligence -Public officials need to prove: falsehood, damages, negligence, AND actual malice Case that defined libel: 1960 ad by the Committee to Defend MLK and the Struggle for Freedom in the South --> NYT sued for defamation by Montgomery city commissioner LB New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) - established "actual malice" standard and decided that courts need to define whether the plaintiff is a private individual or a public official

Data mining

-Gathering users' location and purchasing habits -have been good for advertising, but these data collecting systems also function as consumer surveillance and data mining operations -The practice of data mining also raises issues of Internet security and privacy

Funding Challenges

-Government Discretion: In 2011 the House voted to end funding for the CPB; Senate said no - Increasing dependence of corporate advertising -Public fundraisers

The Cultivation Effect

-Heavy viewing of TV leads people to perceive the world in ways that are consistent with TV portrayals -The more time people spend watching TV and absorbing its viewpoints, the more likely their views of social reality will be "cultivated" by the images and portrayals they have seen -"mean world" syndrome: viewers with heavy, long-term exposure to TV violence are more likely to believe the external world as mean and dangerous

Establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

-It is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of public radio and TV broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes -It is in the public interest to encourage the development of programming that involves creative risks and that addresses the needs of unserved and underserved audiences, particularly children and minorities

Pacifica Foundation

-Lewis Kimball Hill: did not believe in war, and instead believed in having open dialogue. -KPFA starts operating in 1949 (Berkeley, CA) -Non-mainstream, radical, communist and anti war -Hill's 2% Theory of listener-sponsored radio - a non commercial radio station could survive if two percent of its potential audience could pay a complementary subscription to support it - Example of Pacifica affiliates — WTRS Ewing, NJ.

The Minimal-Effects Model

-Media alone cannot cause people to change their behaviors and attitudes -People engage in selective exposure and selective retention in regards to media -Argues that in most cases, mass media reinforces existing behaviors and attitudes rather than changes them Selective Exposure: People expose themselves to the media messages that are most familiar to them Selective Retention: People retain messages that confirm the values and attitudes they already hold Minimal-effects researchers have argued that in most cases, mass media reinforce existing behaviors and attitudes rather than change them

Economics of the Internet

-No one owns it, but that hasn't stopped corporations from trying to control it -Ownership and control of the Internet are connected to 3 issues that command much public attention: o The security of personal and private information o The appropriateness of online materials o The accessibility and openness of the Internet AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft & Google had emerged as the leading forces on the Internet by the end of the 1990s

The Uses and Gratifications Model

-Proposed to contest the motion of a passive media audience -Ways people use media to satisfy various emotional or intellectual needs -Addressed the functions of the mass media for people, but did not address important questions related to the impact of the media on society. Humans have a free will and CHOOSE what, when, why, and they use a certain media outlet. Audience uses media to fulfill needs/goals. Media outlets compete with other available means of satisfying certain needs.

Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992

-Required cable systems to carry most local broadcast channels -Prohibited cable operators from charging local broadcasters to carry their signal

The Hypodermic-Needle Model

-Suggests that the media shoot their potent effects directly -Powerful media affecting a weak audience Although the hypodermic-needle model has been disproved over the years by social scientists, many people still attribute direct effects to the mass media Excessive powers of the media A passive audience All people respond the same way

The Telecommunications Act of 1996

-The FCC can no longer regulate premium cable rates -Changed rules for regulation of basic cable -Controversial Title 3 "Cable Services"- allowed for media cross-ownership -Primary goal was deregulation of the converging broadcasting and telecommunications markets.

The Next Era: The Semantic Web

-The future promises a layered, connected database of information that software agents will sift through and process automatically for us -The software of the Semantic Web will make our lives even easier as it places the basic information of the Web into meaningful categories- family, friends, calendars, mutual interests, location- and make significant connections for us Ex: Siri

Targeted advertising

-an advertisement that is served to a specific audience, which could be a particular demographic, a group or an individual. At its most basic, targeted advertising can just mean that ads are chosen for their relevance to site content, in the assumption that they will then be relevant to the site audience as well. -Every time a user clicks a sponsored link, the advertiser pays the search engine

Noncommercial (networked) system

-system of independent affiliated local public radio and television stations -stations can choose to become PBS or NPR member stations, but do not have to join either organization -NPR and PBS were the first noncommercial media networks How did it come about? -Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 -The public interest was a central argument for the creation of public media systems

Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS)

-transmits signals directly to satellite dishes on customers' homes. -DirecTv and Dish Network

Social Learning Theory

Bandura concluded that the experiments demonstrated a link between violent media programs and aggressive behavior 4 step process 1: attention must attend to the media and witness the behavior 2: retention must retain the memory for later retrieval 3: motor reproduction must be able to physically imitate the behavior 4: motivation reward or reinforcement to encourage many studies conclude there is no link between media content and aggression SLT makes TV and other media scapegoats for larger social problems relating to violence

Basic Cable vs. Premium Cable

Basic Cable: Local cable companies pay cable channels between a few cents per month per subscriber and over $4 per month per subscriber. Most basic cable networks also include advertising to supplement the fees, since their programming coasts are not usually covered by pre-subscriber fees alone. Premium Cable: lure customers with the promise of no ads; recent and classic Hollywood films; and original movies or series. Major source of revenue for cable companies - they pay $4 to $6 per month per subscriber to carry premium channels but can charge customers $10 or more for it

Prior restraint

Blocking speech or publication before it occurs. The legal definition of censorship in the United States; it prohibits courts and governments from blocking any publication or speech before it actually occurs.

Sedition

Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch Ex: Espionage Act of 1917- Prevent obstruction of military action and prevent insubordination in the military.

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievance.

Copyright infringement

Copyright= legally protects the rights of authors and producers to their published or unpublished writing, music, lyrics, TV programs, movies, or graphic art designs. Copyright period- Public domain Fair use

Culture as a map

Culture is an ongoing and complicated process We can pursue many connections across various media choices and can appreciate a range of cultural experiences without simply ranking them high to low Our attraction to and choice of cultural phenomena represent how we make our lives meaningful The comfort of familiar stories Innovation and the attraction of what's new A wide range of messages Challenging the nostalgia for a better past

Emergence --> Convergence -4 stages of media innovations

Emergence/ novelty stage Inventors try to solve a problem, such as making pictures move or sending mail electronically Entrepreneurial stage inventors or investors determine a practical and marketable use for the new device Mass medium stage businesses figure out how to market the new device or medium as a consumer product Convergence stage older media are reconfigured in various forms into newer media

John Milton

English poet John Milton, published his essay Areopagitica, which opposed government licenses for printers and defended a free press. Milton argued that all sorts of ideas, even false ones, should be allowed to circulate freely in a democratic society because eventually the truth would emerge.

Immersive

Enveloping the user via head worn display or another wearable device (surrounds us) Augmented Reality (layering digital content, usually geo-located, onto user's real-world experience; Hollerer, Feiner & pavlik 1999)

Obscenity

Expression that is not protected as speech if these three legal tests are all met: 1. the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material as a whole appeals to prurient interest; 2. the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way 3. the material, as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Miller v California (1973) - established the three-part test of obscenity and notion of community standards (that different communities and regions have different standards by which to judge obscenity) and that the work be judged as a whole.

Government regulation

In 1988, the FTC developed fair information principles for online privacy to address the unauthorized collection of personal data. These principles require Web sites to 1. Disclose their data-collection practices 2.Give consumers the option to choose whether their data may be collected 3.Permit individuals access to their records to ensure data accuracy 4.Secure personal data from unauthorized use Unfortunately, the FTC has no power to enforce these principles, and most Web sites either do not enforce them As a result, consumer and privacy advocates are calling for stronger regulations: Requiring Web sites to adopt opt-in or opt-out policies Opt-in policies are favored by consumer and privacy advocates, and require Web sites to obtain explicit permission from consumers before the sites can collect browsing history data Opt-out policies are favored by data-mining corporations, and allow for the automatic collection of browsing history data unless the consumer requests to opt-out of the practice

Imagined audiences

We don't have full control over our self-presentations online We picture who our messages and posts are directed to

The Commercialization of the Internet

World Wide Web changed the uses of the internet Tim Bergners-Lee: HTML HTML (hypertext markup language): the written code that creates Web pages and links, is a language that all computers can read The release of Web browsers- the software packages that help users navigate the Web- brought the Web to mass audiences 1993 --> computer programmers led by Marc Andreessen released Mosaic, the first windows-based browser to load text and graphics together in a magazine-like layout 1994 --> Andreessen joined investors in Silicone Valley to introduce Netscape, a commercial browser AOL was the top Internet service provider (ISP) -Was so great it bought the world's largest media company, Time Warner - a deal that shocked the industry -As broadband connections, which can quickly download multimedia content, became more available, users moved to high-speed service from cable, telephone, or satellite companies -Today, the major ISPs are Verizon, Time Warner Cable, Cox, and Charter.

Cookies

a method that commercial interests use to track the browsing habits of computer users Purpose: to verify that a user has been cleared for access to a particular Web site such as a library database for a school Many Web sites require the user to accept cookies in order to gain access into the site

Spyware

a more unethical and intrusive information-gathering software that is often secretly bundled with free downloaded software

Low Power Fm and it's evolution

a new class of noncommercial radio stations approved by the FCC in 2000 to give voice to local groups lacking access to the public airwaves; the 10-watt and 100-watt stations broadcast to a small, community-based area. for giving voice to local groups, includes religious groups, high schools, colleges, labor groups & museums, etc. LPFM stations are located in unused frequencies on the fm dial. The local community radio act in 2011 created more opportunities for more LPFM stations by 2013. By 2016 more than fifteen hundred LPFM stations were broadcasting. Prometheus Radio project, a non profit formed by radio activists in 1998- has helped build community stations in NY, Louisiana, Oregon LPFM: -100 watts (effective radiated power) -3.5 mile radius -Other stations' signals may interfere with their signals

Convergence

a term used to describe all the changes that have occurred over the past decade, and are still occurring, in media content and within media companies. The term has 2 meanings- 1 referring to technology and one to business- and describes the changes that have a great impact on how media companies are charting a course for the future. First meaning: the technological merging of content across different media channels- magazine articles, radio programs, songs, TV shows, now available on the Internet through laptops and smartphones Second meaning: sometimes called cross platform- describes a business model that involves consolidating various media holdings, such as cable connections, phone services, TV transmissions, and Internet access, all under 1 corporate umbrella. Goal is to maximize profits

Narrowcasting-Pay-per-view (PPV)

any specialized electronic programming or media channel aimed at a target audience.

Cord-cutter

cancelling pay-TV subscription and moving to streaming services

Survey research

collecting and measuring data taken from a group of respondents draws on a much larger population than those used in experimental studies surveys may be conducted via mail, calls, websites to get a large amount of information from a diverse number of people help examine demographic factors such as income level, race, gender, age, sex benefits: generalizable to larger population and enable researchers to investigate in long-term studies longitudinal studies: more long range, which make it possible for social scientists to compare new studies with those conducted years earlier surveys can reveal correlations between 2 variables

New Media Theories

content available on-demand through the Internet accessible on any device

Cultural Communication Theories

developed by Stuart Hall; the media encodes messages and we have to decode them 3 ways audiences read media messages ♣ dominate ♣ negotiated ♣ resistant

Augmented Reality (AR)

digital content layered onto user's real-world experience via mobile or wearable device (visually, through sound, through haptics, etc.) (E.g. Snapchat lenses)

HD Radio

digital technology that enables am & fm radio broadcasters to multicast up to 3 additional compressed digital signals within their traditional analog frequency.

Community media

encompasses a range of community-based activities intended to supplement, challenge or change the operating principles, structures, financing, and cultural forms and practices associated with dominant media" (Kevin Howley) Usally run by volunteers: -Community Radio (e.g. Grow Radio) -Participatory Video -Independent Publishing -Online Media (e.g. Edgewater gold radio)

Emotional contagion

example: if you see sad posts on Facebook, you will post sad things and vice versa

Experiments

experiments in media research isolate some aspect of content, suggest a hypothesis, and manipulate variables to discover a medium's effect on attitude, emotion or behavior to test whether the hypothesis is true, researchers expose an experimental group - the group under study to ensure validity, researchers use a control group, which serves as a basis for comparison. This group is not exposed to the selected media content subjects picked to each group through random assignment

Technical convergence

gives devices like smartphones and tablets multiple functions

USA Patriot Act

grants sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies to get their e-mail and browsing records Was intended to uncover and track potential terrorists, but it is too vaguely worded, allowing the government to unconstitutionally probe the personal records without probable cause and for reasons other than preventing terrorism

Cord-never

never had a pay-TV subscription

Satellite Radio

pay radio services that deliver various radio formats nationally via satellite.

Digital divide

refers to the growing contrast between the "information haves" - those who can afford computers and pay for Internet, and the "information have-nots"- those who are not able to pay for them

Net neutrality

refers to the principle that every Website and every user has the right to the same Internet network speed and access The major telephone and cable companies want to offer faster connections and priority to clients who are willing to pay higher rates, eliminating net neutrality Supporters of net neutrality: bloggers, video gamers, small businesses argue that cable and telephone giants have incentive to rig their services and cause net congestion in order to force customers to pay a premium for higher speed. Large corporations such as Google and Amazon also support it because their business depends on their millions of customers' having = access to the Web The FCC's attempts to adopt net neutrality rules were rejected twice by federal courts, with the argument that because broadband Internet service had been defined by the FCC as an information service rather than a telecommunications service, they did not have the authority to impose net neutrality regulations 2015- FCC reclassified broadband Internet service and approved net neutrality rules

Content analysis

systematic method of coding and measuring media content (experiments and surveys focus on general topics) drawbacks: does not measure the effects of the messages on audiences, nor does it explain how those messages are presented.

E-commerce

the buying and selling of products and services on the Internet

Over-the-top (OTT) services

the delivery of film and TV content via the internet, without requiring users to subscribe to a traditional cable or satellite pay-TV service.

Filter bubble (New Media Theories)

the intellectual isolation that can occur when websites make use of algorithms to selectively assume the information a user would want to see, and then give information to the user according to this assumption.

Media convergence

the technological merging of content in different mass media

Pirate radio

the transmission of communications over radio waves by unlicensed amateurs; such broadcasts are illegal because they are not in accordance with FCC transmission requirements. since large corps gained control of Radio soundwaves, people began making their own stations taking up watts from Low Power FM in protest

Horizontal/ social surveillance

we are all watching each other online/everyone is watching everyone

Asymmetrical/ vertical surveillance

Asymmetrical or "vertical" surveillance - when strong hierarchical power structures are involved - goes beyond future employers' monitoring of your social media accounts

2 trends noteworthy of mobile devices and social media altering our relationship with the Internet

Apple now makes more than 6 times as much money selling iPhones, iPads, and accessories as it does selling computers The number of Facebook users keep increasing The significance of these 2 trends is that through Apple devices and Facebook, we now inhabit a different kind of Internet- what some call a closed Internet, or a walled garden Open internet is best represented by Google

4 models of expression

1. Authoritarian - a model for journalism and speech that tolerates little public dissent or criticism of government; it holds that the general public needs guidance from an elite and educated ruling class. 2.Communist/State- a model for journalism and speech that places control in the hands of an enlightened government, which speaks for ordinary citizens and workers in order to serve the common goals of the state. 3. Social responsibility- a model for journalism and speech in which the press functions as a Fourth Estate, monitoring the three branches of government for abuses of power, and provides information necessary for self-governance. Fourth Estate- the notion that the press operates as an unofficial branch of government, monitoring the legislative, judicial, and executive branches for abuses of power. 4. Libertarian- a model for journalism and speech that encourages vigorous government criticism and supports the highest degree of freedom for individual speech and news operations.

AR,VR, & MR are all

1. Interactive 2.Immersive 3. Individualized 4.Mobile & wearable 5. Multi-sensory

Forms of expression that are not protected under the First Amendment

1. Sedition 2. Copyright infringement 3.Libel 4.Obscenity

Birth of the Internet: ARPAnet

Advanced Research Projects Agency developed a solution to enable researched to share computer processing time starting in the late 1960s This original Internet enabled military and academic researchers to communicate on a distributed network system Created a wired system in which users from multiple locations could log onto a computer whenever they needed it To prevent logjams in data communication, the network used a system called packet switching, which broke down messages into smaller pieces Ray Tomlinson developed e-mail to send electronic mail messages to any computer on ARPAnet

4 trends that contribute to the ride of modern media research

1. propaganda analysis -was considered a positive force for mobilizing public opinion during the war, after the war it was labeled as negative calling it "partisan appeal based on half-truths and devious manipulation of communication channels" -control of opinion by significant symbols, such as stories, rumors, reports, pictures 2. public opinion research -focuses more on how the mass media filtered information and shaped public attitudes today, social scientists conduct public opinion research or citizen surveys -upside: provided insights into citizen behavior and social differences -downside: journalism has become increasingly dependent on polls, particularly for political insight pseudo-polls: call-in or online polls that the news media use to address a question of the day. Entertaining but do not provide that type of information that belongs in a serious report 3. social psychology studies -measures the behavior and cognition of individuals -Payne Fund Studies concluded that films could be dangerous for young children and might foster sexual promiscuity amongst teenagers 4. marketing research -Developed when advertisers began conducting surveys on consumer buying habits in the 1920s

2 foundational concepts in cultural studies research

1. public sphere: a space for critical debate, first advanced by Habermas in 1962. - An emerging middle class began to gather to discuss public life and they began to build a society beyond the control of aristocrats and royalty led to support for the the right to assemble, free speech, and free press . -A democratic society should to create the most favorable communication system possible - a public sphere 2.the idea of communication as culture -James Carey rejected the "transmission" view of communication, that is, that a message goes simply from a sender to receiver -Argued that communication is more of a cultural ritual -Defined communication as a "symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed" -Communication creates out reality and maintains that reality in the stories we tell ourselves

Research methods associated with effects theories

1. survey research 2. polls 3. content analysis 4. experiments

Research methods associated with cultural theories

1. textual analysis 2. audience analysis

6 categories of social media on Internet

1.blogs 2.collaborative projects- such as Wiki Web sites and Google Drive 3.content communities -exist for the sharing of all types of media -YouTube, Flickr, Photobucket 4.social networking sites 5.virtual game worlds 6.virtual social worlds

4 major characteristics/ values that resonate best with changes across media

1.populism: tries to appeal to ordinary people by highlighting conflict between the people and the elite 2. diversity -mixture of old and new cultural styles -some critics say this devalues originality 3.nostalgia -involves rejecting rational thought as "the answer" to every social problem -mystical and supernatural TV shows 4.paradox -the willingness to accept paradox -stresses converging retro beliefs and contemp. Culture

Culture in our everyday life

2 metaphors offer contrasting views about the way culture operates in our daily lives: culture as a hierarchy represented by the skyscraper model and culture as a process, represented by a map model

Cultural values of the modern period

4 major values that resonate best with changes cross media and culture: 1. efficiency -modernization involved captains of industry using new tech. to create efficient manufacturing centers, produce inexpensive products, and make commerce more profitable. -"forms follow culture" -growing populations placed a premium on space, creating a new form of building that fulfilled that functional demand by building upward 2. individualism -modernization elevated individual self-expression to a more central position 3.rationalism -emerged out of the Progressive Era- a period of political and social reform -muckrakers- journalists who exposed corruption and scandal represented media's significant contribution to this era 4. progress -breaking the tradition and embracing progress -focus on "the now" and report timely, new events

The Digital Era

In digital communication images, texts and sounds are converted (encoded) into electronic signals that are decoded as a precise production of a TV picture, a magazine article, a song, or telephone voice New technologies developed so quickly, leaders in communication lost their control over information. 1992 - presidential campaign, the network news shock began to lose their audiences to cable channels and partisan radio talk shows 2012 - social media sites were key players in news, especially as information sources for younger generations who had grown up in an online and digital world • has fundamentally disrupted traditional media models, the way we engage and consume media products, and the ways we organize our daily lives e-mail has assumed some of the functions of the postal service

Oral & written eras in communication

In most early societies, information circulated through oral traditions passed on by poets, teachers, and tribal storytellers As alphabets and written word emerged, a manuscript/ written culture began to overshadow oral communication Manuscript culture served the ruling class Effect: many philosophers who believed in the superiority of the oral tradition feared that the written word would threaten public discussion Time: Western civilization's pre-modern period 1000 BCE to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution

The Electronic Era

Influence: the development of the telegraph Effects: ♣ Telegraph made media messages instantaneous ♣ Information could be bought and sold ♣ Made it easier for the military to coordinate ♣ Gave rise to technological developments such as the radio Time: 1950s-1960s with the arrival of the TV

Interactive

Interaction via network between and among public, journalists and other media story tellers. Interaction between user and content itself Content interaction: -Clicking to access embedded content or other story elements -Engaging artificial intelligence-enabled features -Interactive Documentaries -Interactive billboard

The Print Revolution

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the movable metallic type and the printing press ushered in the modern print era Printers reduced the size and costs of books, so they became available and affordable to more people and not just the wealthy and powerful Effect: ♣ Machine duplication replaced the tedious system ♣ Large quantities of books were produced; books were the first mass marketed products in history ♣ Costs got lower because of the faster production of multiple copies Machine production became an essential factor in the mass production of other goods, which led to the Industrial Revolution. The mass publication of texts, pamphlets, magazines, books etc in USA helped democratize knowledge and literacy rates rose among working/middle class. It promoted literacy. It fostered nationalism, and individualism. People looked to commercial, religious, and political leaders for guidance. Individualism became a fundamental value in American Society in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries.

Differences between the models

Linear model is more filtered and affected by higher-ups in the industry while the cultural model is more up for interpretation and welcomes differing of opinions. Linear- senders=more influence. Cultural- senders=less influence.

Spiral of Silence Theory

Links the mass media, social psychology, and the formation of public opinion Those who believe their views are in the minority opinion will become silent for fear of social isolation Mass media can help create a false, overrated majority People may fall silent because they don't monitor the media or because they mistakenly perceive that more people hold their position than they really do.

Agenda-Setting Theory

Mass media sets the agenda for the major topics of discussion Don't tell us what to think, but what to think about

Cultural Model of Understanding Mass Communication

More contemporary approach Recognizes that individuals bring diverse meanings to messages, given factors and differences such as gender, age, educational level, ethnicity, and occupation Audiences actively affirm, interpret, refashion or reject the messages and stories that flow through various media channels Selective exposure: consumers shape media messages to fit or support their own values and viewpoints. People seek messages and produce meanings that correspond to their own beliefs, values, and interests. o Focuses on how meaning is produced rather than how messages are transmitted. Meaning emerges at the tangled intersection of o The creators vision, usually conveyed in story form o The industry's control of production and distribution processes o Audiences' fragmented responses- why we choose and enjoy particular stories

Must-Carry vs. Retransmission consent

Must- Carry: Broadcasters can demand that a cable company carry it's cable signal- in this agreement the broadcaster is NOT entitled to a fee. Retransmission consent: Cable operator needs to obtain consent from broadcaster before retransmitting content- in this agreement a broadcaster can ask the cable company to pay them a fee

Nonprofit radio and NPR

NPR- 1970 Washington DC One of the first noncommercial networks Used radio and TV as educational tools

Storytelling of the self

Networked technologies enables access to multiple audiences, as well as multiple voices or aspects of one's own personality

Community Antenna Television (CATV)

Strategically placed antennas with very long cables connecting them to subscribers' homes

The Third-Person Effect Theory

Suggests that people believe others are more affected by media messages than they are themselves We can escape the negative effects of media, but younger, less educated people are less capable of guarding against media influence

Culture as a skyscraper

Superior products at the top and inferior ones at the bottom High culture: ballet, classic literature, art museums ♣ Identified with good taste, higher education, and wealth Low culture: reality TV, teen pop music, violent video games 5 areas of concern about low culture: ♣ inability to appreciate fine art ♣ tendency to exploit high culture ♣ a throwaway ethic: many elements of popular culture have a short life span, lower forms of culture are unstable and fleeting; they follow rather than lead public taste ♣ a diminished audience for high culture ♣ dulling our cultural taste buds

Virtual Reality (VR)

Supplanting user's direct world experience with computer-mediated via headset or volumetric display (Also visual, audio, haptic, etc.)

The Net Widens: introduction of microprocessors

The 1st signal of the Net's marketability came in 1971, with the introduction of microprocessors: miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals This innovation facilitated the integration of thousands of transistors and related circuitry into thin strands of silicon along which binary codes traveled Using microprocessors, manufacturers were able to introduce the first personal computers (PCs) which were smaller, cheaper, and more powerful than the bulky computer systems PCs allowed a 2nd opportunity for marketing when the National Science Foundation developed a high-speed communications network (NSFNET) designed to link university research computer centers around the country and encourage private investment in the Net led to a dramatic increase in Internet use In the mid-1980s, fiber-optic cable became the standard for transmitting communication data speedily - thinner, faster cables made commercial use even more viable than before

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, outlaws any action or technology that circumvents copyright protection systems. In other words, it may be illegal to merely create or distribute technology that enables someone to make illegal copies of digital content, such as a music file or a DVD. Outlaws any action or technology that circumvents copyright protection systems.

Media convergence & cultural change

The ability to access many different forms of media in one place is also changing the ways we engage with and consume media Media multitasking has led to growing media consumption, particularly for young people. Participation such as "live tweeting" could indicate that audiences are engaging more with the media they consume, even though they are multitasking. More so than ever, we are able to participate in and have an effect, on the stories being told. Our media institutions are basically in the narrative business

The Linear Model of Mass Communication

The digital era brought a shift in the models media researchers have used to explain how media messages and meanings are constructed and communicated in everyday life Older and outdate explanations of how media operate view mass communication as a linear process of producing and delivering messages to large audiences According to this model, senders (authors, producers, organizations) transmitted messages (programs, texts, images, sounds, ads) through a mass media channel (newspapers, books, magazines) to large groups of receivers. In the process, gatekeepers functioned as message filters o Made decisions about what messages actually got produced for particular receivers Drawback: media messages especially in the digital era do not usually move smoothly from sender at to receiver Senders often have little control over how their intended messages are decoded or whether their messages are ignored or misread

Mediated and networked identities

The networked self rests on notion that we construct ourselves in relation to other people

Shield laws

The right of reports to NOT reveal sources. Laws protecting the confidentiality of key interview subjects and reporters' rights not to reveal the sources of controversial information used in news stories.