Final

Context of portrayals

meaning of messages arises from the way they are portrayed, social lessons, attractiveness of character, justification of actions, rewards, etc.

What are the assumptions that we make when we expect privacy?

1. Individuals do not want to share all information about themselves with everyone 2. A person might want to share some bits of information with some people but not with others 3. Individuals own their personal information and should be able to control it 4. When we set boundaries around our personal information, we expect people to respect those boundaries.

Who is Richard Stallman?

1985; developed to set out rules for sharing computer programs, open source software

Are people aware of the problems of privacy?

54% of mobile users do not install app after learning about the information it collects & 30% of mobile users uninstalled an app after discovering that it was collecting personal information

What are the threats of a computer virus?

A small string of code that inserts itself into a normal software program and destroys stored information - highly contagious & over one million exist

What evidence is out there to show that the concentration is harmful? Reduced Number of Public Voices

As concentration increases, the individual's access to the media is reduced The media industries lose diversity of voices when the industries become more concentrated When we consider the internet, the claim that the number of voices heard in the media has been narrowing appears completely wrong

III. What evidence is provided to demonstrate trends towards media ownership concentration? Consider findings reported in research by Ben Bagdikian, then pay attention to what happened between 1980 and 90's and what was the pattern like by 2012?

Bagdikian found that the control of the media was essentially in the hands of 50 people, the CEOs of the largest media companies 1980s to 1990s - mergers and acquisitions became more and more popular because they are so profitable 2012 - the number of mergers among media related companies more than doubled

What should one consider when assessing the media's role when a negative effect occurs? Are media always to blame? Can media be totally blameless?

Blame needs to be assigned across several factors, seldom is a single element responsible, does not mean that an influence is forgiven because it is not the only one

III. What are the forms of media piracy?

Bootlegging Counterfeiting Sharing copyrighted messages without paying for access

. In addition to behavioral effects, what types of effects are out there?

Cognitive-type effect Belief-type effect Attitudinal-type Emotional-type effect Physiological-type effect Behavioral-type effect Macro-type effect

Why do we say that privacy is an issue on-line? What is at the essence of this issue?

Competition between threats and protections - threats come from criminals & protections come from consumer groups that push legislators to enact laws protecting privacy

What is hijacking?

Computer is hijacked and used by hijackers without your permission or knowledge Use botnets to allow spammers to send out messages under your IP address Advertisers take over your homepage with a browser or to implant a search engine in your computer

What evidence is out there to show that the concentration is harmful? Reduced Level of Competition

Concentration of ownership by itself has not yet eliminated competition Conglomerates still compete with one another Little evidence of vertical integration among companies providing computer services and hardware

VII. What are some potential problems with copyright when it comes to ownership rights?

Copyright owners have "sole and exclusive right to reproduce the work in any form for any reason" - life of author plus 70 years Public domain - where anyone can use the message without permission and without having to pay 1976: fair use allows for news reporting, criticism and teaching Copyright has its limits; becoming more ambiguous with digitization of messages and free exchange through computer CC (creative commons) - ownership is not limited to any one individual or company; copyrights are barriers to widespread creativity

What is at the core of the debate/problem of Violence in the media?

Criticism that there is too much violence in the media -- The public and producers of media messages hold many faulty beliefs about media violence

What evidence is out there to show that the concentration is harmful? Changes in Content

Critics argue that decreased competition leads to negative changes in message content No evidence of decrease in quality Relationship between concentration and reduced "competition" breaks down when analyzed

What are the factors that continually but subtly shape our baselines throughout the course of our lives?

Developmental maturities Cognitive abilities Knowledge structures Sociological factor Lifestyle Personal locus Media exposure habits

What evidence is out there to show that the concentration is harmful? Increased barriers to entry

Entry into the radio and television broadcasting businesses has always been very high - the internet decreases barriers to entry

V. How can you use media literacy skills to form your own informed opinion about the sports?

Extend your knowledge - think about money cycle limits Cost-benefit analysis - what am I getting back as benefits for all these costs? Implications - use your resources more wisely and increase the value to you personally

b. History of regulation and de-regulation

FCC - early days of radio, federal government split country into marketed areas and allowed them some frequencies in each market 1940s - did same with television; felt the film industry was too concentrated forced companies to sell off vertically integrated businesses 1980s - began deregulating all media businesses Telecommunications Act of 1996 - further relaxed regulations and caused many mergers among media companies

Belief-Type effect

Faith that something is true or real show us values used by people in news and fictional characters, sometimes explicitly expressed by a specific character, other times evolves over time, beliefs about attractiveness, relationships and success

How does globalization affect the ownership trends?

Foreign companies buy and invest in American media companies American companies market their entertainment services worldwide to increase revenue streams

How can our behavior be controlled? Who can control it? Consider Kosinski's discovery that we discussed in class. How can it be used for good? How can it be abused?

Google presents us with search results using algorithms Internet searches are also affected by our past search history

1. What does it mean to be proactive when dealing with media effects?

Greater control over process leading to negative effect, Better position to achieve positive effects

Is public concerned with this issue of privacy?

Grew from 34% in 1970 to 90% in 1998

I. What are some of the major arguments against concentration of ownership?

Harming the economy and society Increases the barriers of entry for new companies Those in power will filter out information they do not like

Who can and is monitoring you? How?

ISPs track Internet activity Facebook makes a copy of everything all users post through its service Facebook, Google, and other sites monitor your activity using cookies (tiny computer files that are planted on your hard drive, created by Netscape) Companies, for means other than online shopping, can use cookies Phone company has data on where you travel and whom you call Free apps can access your private data and information With Internet and cell phones, companies have a much easier task monitoring activities of their employees

What are the potential dangers of a database security breach?

Keeping databases secure is becoming more difficult because of the "cloud" - generated $41 billion in 2010 Federal government is encouraging the digitization of health information - comes at the risk of invasion of privacy by hackers

Emotional-type effect

Immediate - trigger strong emotions and weak emotions Long-term - desensitization after years of exposure to media violence

Consider timing as a dimension of media effects. How can you categorize effects in terms of timing? Define the categories, provide examples. How do these categories compare to each other? Which ones are easier to notice? Is there a difference between these effect categories in terms of endurance?

Immediate: during or immediately after exposure Long-term: show up after many exposures; slow and gradual Immediate effects easier to notice

Media effects can be intentional or unintentional. Define each type. Consider how they relate to each other? Can they occur concurrently? How long do they last

Intentional: expose ourselves to media for certain reason Unintentional: often when we are in state of automaticity (can be long term and immediate) Can be simultaneous Actively analyze and evaluate messages to gain more control

What are the factors that drive the trend? Business efficiency

Larger companies are able to operate more efficiently than smaller companies because of economies of scope and scale Horizontal merger: when one media company buys another media company of the same type Vertical merger: when one media company buys supplies and/or distributors to create integration in the production and distribution of messages Conglomerate merger: when a media company buys a combination of other media companies and/or companies in non-media business

2. What are the two major categories of media effects?

Manifested effects Process effects

IV. How the notion "Amorphous Infobits" is related to the issue of piracy?

Media messages are amorphous bits of information that should be available for everyone to share (copyleft)

Copyright

Method to register ownership of intellectual property Like a catherderal, unique, unchangeable, heavinly structured, protected

What are the non-criminal threats to your privacy?

Monitoring, Selling Information, Controlling, Spamming

VI. Why is it a problem to determine a message unit?

More difficult now due to digitization - How much transformation is necessary to alter a media message before it can - or should - be regarded as a different message?

Who can sell your information?

Most of the information that is collected about you is compiled into databases and sold - Toysmart.com sold company and user information

How does the issue of money affect Olympics? What is the role of media in this?

Networks pay the International Committee fees for broadcasting rights, IOC sells rights to broadcast games in other countries

Why do we need to broaden our perspective on media effects? Why the narrow perspective is problematic?

People believe effects only happen to other people, No awareness or control of effects. Broader perspective = more media literate

Lifestyle

People with active lifestyle and high levels of interaction are generally less affected by the media, Particularly susceptible groups: poor, low SES, minority, and elderly individuals

Who is winning the money cycle game?

Players Owners and Leagues

Media effects can have a positive or negative valence. When is the media effect positive? When is it negative? individual perspective

Positive - helps you achieve a specific goal or satisfy a personal need Negative - when the medias goal is in conflict with your own goal

Media effects can have a positive or negative valence. When is the media effect positive? When is it negative? Societal Perspective

Positive - when the media illustrates prosocial views Negative - media messages teach people how to commit crimes, endorse criminal behavior

II. How do traditionalists see media messages? How do they think the message ownership can be protected?

Regard media messages as commercial products - media messages are created by artists and marketed by media businesses In favor of copyright

Are regulations of internet activities effective? Why or why not?

Regulations and law enforcement agencies have their jurisdictions limited to geographical areas, but internet activities take place in cyberspace. The federal government has been slow to pass new laws and regulations to control these threats, because the agencies that are charged with enforcing the existing laws are having so much trouble with this enforcement.

Privacy Strategy

Savvy users are deciding that some websites are not worthy of getting their personal information

II. What is privacy?

Secluding personal information by individuals about themselves

Is video gaming a sport? How so?

Some colleges are making it a varsity sport, televised professional leagues

What are the different ways in which our private information can be stolen?

Spyware Phishing Hacking

What are the dangers of the identity theft?

Stealing name, date of birth, and social security number can lead to stolen identity. Ruin individual's credit - 85% of victims find out from an adverse situation, criminals can buy verified credit card numbers for 1$, in the US 10 million people become victims

Information Assessment

Take and inventory about what information is publicly available on you & map your information by privacy levels

What is the major issue when it comes to sports and media

The money cycle drives sports.

II. What are some of the major arguments for concentration of ownership?

The overall economy is strengthened when individual companies become stronger

What are the public's faulty perceptions of the issue?

Too much violence in the media Focus on amount instead of context Media violence harms other people

What can you do to form your own informed opinion?

Try to keep an open mind and continually view the controversy from multiple points of view Do not accept arguments on face value but demand credible evidence to support those arguments

I. What is piracy?

Unauthorized use of things owned by other people, copyright owners have sole and exclusive right to reproduce the work in any form for any reason - lasts through life of author plus 70 years

From Media Literacy perspective, what should we be able to recognize about media effects?

Understand full range of effects and become more sensitized, expand perspective, accept influence, and recognize positive and negative influences

What does it mean to understand media effects from media literacy perspective?

Understanding the variety of effects and the role of media and non-media influences, consider process effects, understand where our baselines are and shape them according to our goals

What is hactivism?

Use of hackers' techniques to break into organizations' secure databases for the purpose of either damaging those databases or using the information to publicly embarrass the organization - Foreign governments are engaging in cybercrime against US businesses, individuals, and even the US government agencies (The Interview and the hacking of Sony, China is the worst - 43%)

Threat Assessment

Use your desired privacy map as the standards for what should be shared then compare your desired privacy levels to what websites are doing to protect your privacy

What are the dangers of spamming?

Using of media to invade your privacy with unsolicited and unwanted messages that are designed to get you to buy a product or service Invasion of privacy 300 billion emails were sent each day and 89.1% were spam Skilled spammers can send 30 million emails a day Slows ISPs down Using adware

What are the producers' faulty beliefs about the issue?

Violence is necessary to storytelling - You cannot portray conflict without violence. Blame Others, Not Producers - many people blame media but blame must be shared

Knowledge structures

With more knowledge, learn more from media, and better integrate information With many topics, we rely on media information; no real-world experiences on which to base evaluations

How does the money cycle apply to sports? Players

athletic talent demands higher salaries plus bonuses each year - to help control the rise of salaries and to create parity among teams, several professional sports have established salary caps for teams in their leagues (often ignored because star players increase value of franchise) WINNING

What are some media literacy strategies that can help you form an informed opinion of your own?

broader sensitivity to media violence, develop a definition of violence

Developmental maturities

cognitive, emotional and moral development

Personal locus

combination of goals and drives, may be most important - reflects and activates power of previous five factors & determines exposure habits, strong locus = more awareness of effects process; which effects one wants to achieve and avoid

How does the money cycle apply to sports? television networks

compete against one another to attract fans so they drive up the fees they pay for the right to telecast the games, there has been a shift from focusing in sports to an entertainment formula

Sociological factors

consistent socialization with particular values = weighty baseline resistant to change, we learn norms through observing people in real life and the media, influenced by institutions, parents, friends

What are the specific factors that explain fluctuations from our baselines?

content of messages context of portrayals cognitive complexity of content motivations states degree of identification

Counterfeiting

duplication of copyrighted message along with its packaging, and then selling it as a real product

Attitudinal-type effect

evaluative judgement based on standard simply accept attitude of media figure, make our own judgement based on standards set by media, rely on beliefs, influence stronger at general level than specific level

Cognitive complexity of content

fewer cognitive demands, easier processing, TV news easier than print, degree to which information is central to the narrative, presence of emotional cues

Cognitive abilities

field independency, type of intelligence, type of thinking, conceptual differentiation

Media exposure habits

focus our attention on certain media and types of messages, different messages have different influences on baseline levels

Process effects

gradually influence how we think, feel, and act over time

Degree of identification

identification with characters, pay more attention to those whom we identify, the stronger the attachment the higher the probability of effect, judgements and "as if" experiences

Sharing copyrighted messages without paying for access

individuals make copies available to others for free

Physiological-type effect

influence on automatic bodily systems beyond conscious control, arousal & relaxation, over time reactions can change

Macro-type effect

influence on larger institutions (organizations, society) direct influences, heightening of social pressures

Motivations

learn more when we actively seek information, higher education and higher intelligence = more motivation, content with highest utility selected

Copyleft

like a bazaar[marketplace] - letting people creatively share software or artistic work may be used, modified and distributed freely on condition that anything derived from it is bound by the same condition - "creation keeps evolving"

Cognitive-type

most pervasive, overlooked, planting ideas in our minds, factual or social information ex. celebrities smoke

How does the money cycle apply to sports? owners and leagues

owners willing to bid high for athletic talent so they can field a competitive team that will attract fans - the NFL controls all television rights to its games and distributes the money equally along all teams so teams in smaller TV market can afford to be competitive, NBA allows for teams to negotiate own TV deals, naming rights range from $620,000 to $20 million a year, college sports generate huge revenues at major universities WINNER

Too much violence in the media

public underestimates amount, has narrow conception of what constitutes violence, producers sanitize violence

How does the money cycle apply to sports? public

receive satisfaction in following our favorite sports teams - for the money cycle to grow, the number of fans has to grow, in order to build new stadiums, non-fans must support money cycle (most cities feel it is important to have major sports teams)

Bootlegging

recording of a live delivery of a message

Focus on amount instead of context

sanitization makes us desensitized, glamorization attracts us to violence & lowers our inhibition, trivialization leads to a belief that risk of being punished is slight * if violence was presented in different context, repetitive exposure could be positive

Hacking

set of computer programming techniques used to break through "secure" databases

Spyware

small program you inadvertently download into your computer, which records keystrokes, sites visited, and personal information such as credit card numbers, email address, passwords, etc.

How does the money cycle apply to sports? advertisers

sports fan can be an especially desirable audience, pay huge fees to TV networks to get their messages to their target audiences, have turned stadiums into advertising vehicles

States

temporary drives or emotional reactions can interact with media content and lead to certain effects, media can alter our psychological states, cognitive states (e.g., ignorance)

Media violence harms other people

third person effect: differences in perception between one's self and others, most people think about imitation of physical violence and do not consider other types of aggression "Most people believe other people are at risk but think they are free from risk"

Manifested effects

those which can be observed

Behavioral-type effect

trigger actions immediate (buy a product), long-term (patterns of buying), behavioral habits, addiction

Baseline effects vs. Fluctuation effects

typical degree of risk that continues over time; if there are more factors that increase likelihood of manifestation, the baseline will gradually ascend vs. sudden spike from normal baseline; usually temporary *Rarely will a fluctuation effect be strong enough to break through the manifestation level

Phishing

used to acquire sensitive information from unaware users by seemingly trustworthy message senders

Content of messages

what you expose yourself to in a given exposure session