exam #1

deduction

using general principles to explain particulars, typically using syllogistic reasoning When we have faulty principles, we will explain particular occurrences in a faulty manner Example: television has a very strong negative effect on other people

info saturation

world wide web: 13.4 billion pages hollywood feature films: 700 hours/a year commercial tv: 48 million hours/year radio: 65 million hours/ year youtube: 100,000 hours/a day

Alternative Model: Civic Journalism's "Five Layers of Civic Life"

1. Official: official politics and institutions in a community. People engage this layer through such places as city council meetings and public hearings. 2. Quasi-Official: organizations and people involved with citizen associations, local municipal leagues, advocacy groups, and other groups that meet regularly. 3. Third Places: where certain people regularly gather to talk or do things together - churches, community centers, bus stops, barber shops, diners, playgrounds, etc. 4. Incidental: where people interact informally and bump into one another - on sidewalks, at the market, on the street. 5. Private: conversations that occur in the privacy of people's homes.

youtube

An entire generation of viewers grew up using YouTube as an on-demand replacement for traditional TV. Google bought Youtube for $1.7 billion in 2005. Youtube is now the 2nd largest search engine in the world, after Google. Big advertisers favor professionally produced video. Plummeting video delivery costs and highly accessible and flexible video management platforms are making YouTube ubiquitous. Every minute, 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. Every day, over 1 billion people around the world watch 4 billion videos on the site in 61 languages. "Viral videos" make unknown people into Internet stars

conditioning audiences

An essential strategy for all mass media Costs of attracting audiences to a first exposure so high; media companies rely on repeated exposure to recoup initial investment Media exposures are inertial When paying attention to a message, we tend to keep paying attention to that message When in an automatic state, we tend to stay in that state

attentional state

Aware of the message and actively interacting with elements in the message Level of concentration varies

Media Literacy Process Skills

Awareness • Access • Analysis • Evaluation (Reflection) • Creation (Production)

psychological convergence

Changes in people's perceptions about barriers that previously existed that are now breaking down or eliminated due to changes in the media Sociological and geographical barriers Redefinition of social spheres Individuals assemble own messages when needs arise; consumers and contributors

marketing convergence

Changes in the way media programmers regard audiences and develop messages Focus on message instead of channel More streams of revenue Stimulate audience members to expose themselves to message in other channels Shift from lowest common denominator to long tail marketing Identifying niche audiences

comedy

Character comedy: character quirks, everyday situations Put-down comedy: one character exercises power in humorous way

deceptive health patterns

Characters not shown having healthy habits, but shown as thin, fit, and healthy High degree of violence, little suffering Everyday health maladies rarely shown Mental health portrayed stereotypically Doctors over-represented

children

Children are treated as a special audience because of their lack of maturation and experience; however, maturation and experience alone do not make someone media literate

Audience Perspective

Find messages they cannot get in real life Impossible to get messages in real life High cost to get messages in real life Two characteristics Messages appear real Present a little more than everyday reality; one-step removed

international perspective

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

Meaning Matching

Largely automatic process Involves recognizing elements in the message and accessing memory for meaning Can become routine Requires competency

role of money

Money makes audiences into products rather than consumers. News organizations sell readers to advertisers. If audiences buy a media product (paper, magazine, etc.), the audiences are the consumers to be satisfied. If advertisers (as consumers) buy audiences (products of marketing), then both the advertisers and media outlet can make a profit. If audiences (as consumers) can watch/hear a media program (product) without paying, the free content must satisfy the audience in order to make a profit via advertising sales or clicks.

field independency

Natural ability to distinguish between the noise (chaos) and the signal (information emerging from the chaos) in any message Field dependent people pay attention to everything, but retain less Field independent people can program attention triggers to maximize the filtering in of signal and filtering out of noise Which are you - field dependent or field independent?

reflection or construction

News coverage is triggered by actual occurrences What is presented as news is not the events themselves; we see stories about the events "News perspective" influenced by constraints, business environment, and operating conventions

Social Construction of Reality

News is not a reflection of actual events; it is a construction by news workers who are subjected to many influences and constraints.

character patterns

Populations of characters on television are very different from real-world populations Research on patterns across all television genres are rare now because of so much fragmentation.

No such thing as "no literacy" or "fully literate"

Position is based on strength of overall perspective on the media Strength based on number and quality of knowledge structures Quality of knowledge structures based on skills and experiences Media literacy varies greatly across people

Constructing Audiences

Quantity or quality strategies Attracting people to niche audiences Long tail marketing Aggregators New technologies remove limitations on production, distribution, and space Conditioning audiences

what are your needs

We encounter almost all messages in automatic state, but advertising messages can be more powerful this way. Construct good knowledge structures about advertising and your own needs. The more aware you are of advertising tactics, the more you can use advertising to enhance your life. Those who are less aware allow advertising messages to shape their needs and wants. Example: pharmaceutical ads

advertising saturation

We live in a culture saturated with advertising messages. Some popular criticisms of advertising form the public discourse, but the issues that should concern us more lie at a deeper level.

responsible Health Patterns

Use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs has dramatically declined over the years on television Movies characters still frequently abuse drugs and alcohol without worrying about consequences

parental boundaries

What rules would you set down for parents who want to friend their kids? Should kids gain more freedom as they get older? Should parents let their kids know about whether they are monitoring their Facebook page? Would you ignore a friend request from a parent

Psychographic Segmentation

Uses a wide variety of variables to create its segments, such as demographics, lifestyle, and product usage Twelve American lifestyles

emotional development

With experience, finer distinctions between emotions Tied to cognitive development Emotional intelligence Reading emotions in oneself and others Empathy Important to children and advertising Emotional manipulation

automatic processing disadvantages

as we expose ourselves to more messages,we pay less attention to each message this means we are less likely to learn from any one message we miss helpful or enjoyable messages we lose opportunities to expand our experiences

consumers

give money and time for information and entertainment

advertisers

give money for space in the media to present message to target audience

re-programming

if you have the motivation, you can take control of the programming process re-program hurtful codes build more helpful codes becoming more media literate puts you in the position to take control

learn to take control

in order to survive info-saturated culture we often put our minds on "automatic pilot" this protects us from the flood of media messages we constantly encounter, the danger with this automatic processing of messages is that it allows the media to condition our though process

moral

information about values Judgments about right and wrong

social info

unverifiable accepted beliefs

romance

lonely person pulls through heartbreak to attain goal; intense emotions

Perceptual Exposure

person is able to receive audio/visual sensory output

what are ads really selling?

physical features product itself) Functional features (how product is used) Characterizational features (psychological consequences of consumption)

what is media literacy

set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the media and interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter. it is multi-dimensional and a continuum. media push us away from developing some skills and push us to develop other kinds of skills (ex: technology's influence on our writing skills) adapting to our changing world, not ignoring it or denying change is occurring developing a broad set of skills that can help with any type of message from any type of medium

messages

instruments that deliver information to us

acquiring

information: wikis such as Wikipedia) Music: Napster and other P2P services (Grokster, KaZaA) Video: YouTube, Vimeo, Periscope, etc.

factual info

raw, unprocessed, context-free

Is Advertising Good or Bad?

Are advertisers unscrupulous manipulators? Has advertising changed the culture for the worse by making us too materialistic? Or are advertisers heroes responsible for keeping the economy fired up by encouraging more and more consumption?

penetration

A greater proportion of the public accepts the new medium Must appeal to a very large, heterogeneous population to reach this stage Public reaction is based on medium's ability to satisfy new need or satisfy a need better than an existing medium

Opposing definitions of "news" PR practitioners

A lack of breaking news or things running smoothly is newsworthy Plants operating safely Companies not laying off employees Nonprofits operating within budget & providing needed services Companies paying dividends for the 50th consecutive quarter

Intentional Imprecision

Advertisers often use intentional imprecision to say something other than the precise truth: Unfinished statements — when the other half of a comparison is not identified, to create the illusion of comparison Qualifiers - words that limit a claim. Connotatively loaded words - a form of puffery Ethical Considerations Caveat emptor - "let the buyer beware" eliminates advertiser's responsibility for ad's impact Advertising should: Promote discussion to help people evaluate the true soundness of options Reflect diverse voices in a culture Accurately convey questions of history and background in context Avoid stereotyping

Advertising as the Engine

Advertising drives growth of media industries Sales of good and services and importance of advertising has grown over the past 50 years More white-collar workers, not self-sufficient High level of employment, people with discretionary income Makes it possible for new goods to enter market

Multiple Dimensions

Actuality or possibility of occurrence Social utility judgment Identity judgment Judgments made independently

advertising perpetuates stereotypes

Almost all advertisers must use stereotypes No time to develop characters in detail Simplification More important question: positive or negative stereotypes?

art

Arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or stimulates thought. Diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. A vehicle for expression or communication of emotions and ideas or as representation of reality. Use of indirect means to communicate from one person to another.

Sets of organized information in your memory

Carefully constructed; help us see patterns Not all information equally useful Media literacy involves transforming information into knowledge Information: piecemeal, transitory Knowledge: structured, organized, of enduring significance

Audience Fragmentation

As the audience becomes more fragmented, its segments are more narrowly defined. Some media are trying to survive by targeting smaller audiences that are alike in some characteristic. This is more attractive to advertisers. This practice is known as narrowcasting, niche marketing, or targeting. Taste publics - groups bound by little more than an interest in a given form of media content. Ways to attract larger audiences Homogenize the news content Deal with topics guaranteed to offend few individuals Take no risks, unless research shows the audience will follow Focus on only one foreign story at a time Report events more than processes / issues Focus on quick-onset disasters "Television is an industry. It's a business. We exist to make money. We exist to put commercials on the air. The programming that is put on between those commercials is simply the bait we put in the mousetrap." - ABC journalist Ted Koppel, 2005

imbalance

Attempt to present both sides of an argument with equal weight Average story is imbalanced Issues How many sides are there? Some sources more credible than others

popular art

Consciously adjusted to the median taste Simple, superficial Reflects the mainstream Standards less clearly defined and linked to commercial success Audience expects entertainment and instruction Reflects widely held mores of society Cannot afford to offend a significant part of the audience Often arises from folk art Often blunts critical thinking

Localism

Control of important institutions should be spread out Considerable power at local level, closest to individuals; best serves society Each person is a rational being with equal say American tradition

Competitive Experiences

Desire to compete fundamentally human No geographic limitations Large numbers of players: MMORPGs Mobile Electronic Games Digital code Create your own story High attention MMORPGs

Reporters using social media

Many news organizations encourage reporters to use social media to gather information and to create a "brand" for themselves by starting their own blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account. Online commenting can put reporters in trouble with editors or the people they comment about, especially if the news outlet they work for claims to provide impartial coverage.

4 C's of Digital Marketing

Creating - creating new content that people want to learn more about. Curating - sorting through information, to help people find interesting content relevant to your brand. Connecting - linking your brand to audiences and linking audiences to other audiences, to make your brand feel like a friendly, knowledgeable member of the social group. Culture - staying relevant with your brand's culture and with those who share common interests and values. Say goodbye to the 4 P's of marketing: Product, Place, Price, Promotion.

general story formula

Creators use the general entertainment story formula: conflict introduced, heighted, resolved Consumers use formula to recognize elements of story Elaborated within different genres

Unavoidable Constraints

Deadlines: can only convey what is available at the time story is due Geographical focus: more "local" news, within specific region; some cities and countries receive more attention Resource limitations: cannot cover all events, can only send correspondents to so many places; assignment editor decides Reflection or Construction: Business Environment Commercialism: ultimate goal is to attract audiences; cannot offend audience or advertisers Marketing perspective: not what audiences need, but what will attract them Organizational structure: small companies are more flexible Ownership: fewer owners, each has more influence; usually reinforces marketing perspective Branding: many reporters are celebrities

Entrepreneurial Not-For-Profit Journalism

Declining readers and profits of mainstream media has caused newsrooms to shrink their staff. Many journalists have started not-for-profit newsrooms, news sites, and centers of investigative journalism based on money from foundations and donations from citizens. Should journalists go online to ask for citizens to send them money to do stories? Why or why not? The journalist no longer simply reports while other people (advertising staff) raise funds for their newsroom. How independent can such newsrooms really be, when they are so reliant on funds from a limited number of donors? What happens if the newsroom intends to report a negative story about one of its main funders? From whom will these newsrooms take money? How transparent should they be about who gives them money and under what conditions?

Direct and Indirect Costs

Direct costs: those paid directly to the company (e.g., subscriptions, fees, etc.) Indirect costs: payments of time when you expose yourself to messages or money spent for advertised products Media companies sell your time to advertisers Advertising cost is added to price of product; you pay this when you buy an advertised product Balance is shifting from direct to indirect

moral development

Distinguishing between right and wrong Lawrence Kohlberg Pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional Steps not in set sequence, but hierarchical Gilligan Gender differences in moral development Men: rights and rules Women: care and cooperation

megamergers

Mergers more and more popular Consolidating resources in fewer companies No signs of slowing down: number of mergers among media companies more than doubled from 2011 to 2012

Social Responsibility vs. Economic Responsibility

Economic responsibility more primary than social responsibility Goal to increase sales and market share of clients If advertisers can be socially and economically responsible, they will do it If they have to choose, they will choose economic responsibility

conclusion

Efficiency vs. localism: a matter of opinion Construct an informed opinion Monitor changes to the situation and update knowledge structures Move toward concentration, but still a great deal of competition as media industries try to increase their share of the advertiser's dollar

media formulas

Entertainment messages from the media follow formulas that are designed to attract our attention and condition us for repeat exposures.

What is the Intended Effect of the Ad?

Establish awareness Establish emotional link Inoculate against competitor claims Reinforcement

information processing tasks

Filtering Meaning matching Meaning construction

sex

Frequency Prevalent on television, especially teen TV Two-thirds of network TV shows contain talk about sex or sexual behavior (5 scenes/hour) Rates change in cyclical pattern Consequences Topics related to safe sex, responsibilities, and risks increasingly included Infrequent overall

news routines

Gatekeeping: editors determine which stories should run and make judgments about whether a story is important. Inverted pyramid: Puts most important info first and organizes the rest of the content in descending order of importance. 5Ws & H: A summary lede contains the basic Who-What-When-Where of the story. Why and How discussed later. Deadlines: most stories must be produced within a few hours and then must be continuously updated. Sourcing: journalists often quote two opposing viewpoints to provide "balance" and fairness.

twitter

Grandparents are the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter (#seniorsrock #AARP) What will happen if Twitter expands the tweet limit to 10,000 characters (from the current 140)? A study of the 500 most popular hashtags among more than 3 billion tweets found a pattern: Idioms. #DontYouHate or #CantLiveWithout can get instant response More serious subjects—like #hcr (HealthCareReform) get posts only after they show up several times. Listening to Twitter users Co-founder Evan Williams says many ideas driving Twitter growth come from unexpected uses invented by users themselves.

We use skills to construct knowledge structures

Help us mine through piles of facts With practice, they get stronger Not exclusive to media literacy, so the challenge is not to acquire them but to get better at them

Conceptual Differentiation

High ability: classify objects into a large number of mutually exclusive categories Leveling: look for similarities between new and old messages Sharpening: look for differences/separation Increasing media literacy requires more sharpening of categories

Complex Interdependency

Highly dynamic and interrelated situations Decision makers conflicted because they are experiencing cross-purposes as members of more than one group Vehicles compete in different markets

Types of Concentration

Horizontal merger: media company of same type Vertical merger: suppliers and/or distributors; integrate production and distribution Conglomerate merger: combination of media companies and/or non-media businesses

technological convergence

How innovations in storing and transmitting information have brought about changes to mass media industries, challenging the notion that channels are distinct from one another Switch from analog to digital coding Standard code can by read by any medium Can be compressed Switch from copper wire to fiber optics

the rules

Need resources and willingness to exchange them in order to play Other rules made up by players as they negotiate in order to maintain a sense of fairness Need huge number of players to remain exciting

Digital Media Questions

If anyone can post anything online for the world to see, then what exactly is a "journalist"? Is it about skills, training, or pay? Then what is "journalism"? When is it ok for journalists or news audiences to post content anonymously online? Assuming audiences are bored by impartiality - instead attracted to strong opinion and conflicts of opinion - then is it ok for online news sites to post opinionated or partisan news and commentary in order to attract clicks (stay afloat)?

scenario

Imagine you are a reporter covering city hall. You try to report dispassionately about the candidates for mayor. You have a personal blog, linked to your Twitter and Facebook pages, where you are allowed to express strong opinions. Would you post negative comments about a particular candidate, such as saying he is an unlikeable and incompetent politician? How should media outlets help reporters explore the new media world while drawing reasonable limits on personal commentary?

journalists

News = disruption or change in status quo A plant that pollutes Employees who embezzle Firms that go bankrupt

price of consolidation

Information has fallen into the hands of a very few well-financed corporations.The press is no longer a public trust but a public utility like a power company The press delivers a necessary product but often without competition.

benefits

It supports our economic system People use it to gather information and make decisions It's a form of free speech Ad revenues make possible the "free" mass media It increases national productivity and improves the standard of living

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photos

Johannesburg, South Africa - an African National Congress (ANC) supporter hacks at a burning Lindsaye Tshabalala, as a young boy flees. Photo from a series that won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News in 1990. Photo by Greg Marinovich This 1994 Pulitzer photo shows a famine-stricken Sudanese girl crawling towards a UN food camp, located a kilometer away. No one knows what happened to the child because photographer Kevin Carter left as soon as he took the photo. Three months later, he committed suicide at age 33 because of depression. The "disclaimer" Disclaimer (definition) - a repudiation or denial of responsibility Translated: "We're telling you to watch out for what's coming, so don't blame us." Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay Janet Jackson's "Wardrobe Malfunction"

marketplace of ideas

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859 Truth can emerge if everyone can consider all perspectives, as long as each idea is presented in its most persuasive form. The dialogue must be transparent and allow the free and equitable competition of ideas. If some views can't be aired in their most persuasive form - or if only one or two ideas can be heard - how can "truth" emerge? Are the quality of ideas effectively "crowdsourced" via social/online media? Why or why not? Why do mostly mainstream ideas make it into the mainstream media?

differences across individuals

Judgments of reality vary across people of same age and experience Reality and fantasy not mutually exclusive More of a continuum

real world vs. media world

Line between real world and media world is increasingly blurry Memories are interlaced Attaining higher media literacy means being able to distinguish between the two

movie stereotypes

Lippmann - we hold to stereotypes by "defining first and seeing second" Excuses for stereotyping in media content: Time is tight Need to maintain the status quo TV is a threat to society because most of its messages are so common yet people take them so seriously.

Deaver's continuum of truth

MESSAGE TRUTH - facts and info; journalistic news PR copy, op/ed columns, ad copy, propaganda Parables and allegories, fiction, honest error Deceit, "white lies," and blatant lies INTENT Inform accurately & fully with no apparent bias Persuade using selective info - the truth but not the whole truth Tell non-truths with no intent to deceive Intend to deceive, even if it's for a purpose claimed to be justifiable

Stereotypes

Make characters recognizable to viewers (can be harmful) Women African Americans Occupations Family Elderly Body image

Marketing games

Marketers have identified four types of audiences: explorers, socializers, achievers, and controllers Market games both to players and other developers (middle-ware market) Shift from selling games on discs to selling internet subscriptions Many developers are launching new games through Kickstarter:

Reducing Risk

Marketing concept: begin with audience needs, then construct message to meet them Market research Go with "what works" Sequels Spin-offs

summary

Mass media are constantly working to identify changing needs and create content to attract people with those needs Being aware of our needs allows us to use the mass media as an essential resource If we are not self aware, the mass media will herd us into audiences for their most profitable messages Increase media literacy, increase control

Social Contact

Mobile phone apps, blogs, social networking sites Social networking sites SixDegrees, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter Friendship-driven, interest-driven 22% of Internet time Friendship, dating, living (virtual worlds), and opinion sharing

bias

More difficult to spot Willful distortion by journalist Ignoring important stories Serve the wealthy, political, and sports-minded Non-conscious conspiracy Bias toward particular political views Liberals perceive conservative bias, and vice-versa Most large news organizations present both sides Bigger concern should be broader biases Commercialism, entertainment, superficiality

Who Qualifies as a Journalist?

No professional certification Anyone can create a blog Some blogs have readerships greater than traditional newspapers Where should we draw the line between "real journalists" and "bloggers?" No one answer that is not arbitrary

internet expansion

Number of websites available is huge, but internet exposure is concentrated Concentration results from search engines and paid placement Computer industry is hugely splintered

language

Obscenity Regulated by FCC Depends on context Recent increase on network TV, especially during "family hour" Racial and gender slurs

media ownership

Ownership patterns show a strong movement toward concentration and away from localism

niche audience

Particular messages are constructed to appeal to particular people These audiences are then rented to advertisers Each person is a member of multiple niche audiences Segmentation types: geographic, demographic, social class, geo-demographic, psychographic.

VALS typology

People's values strongly influence spending patterns Keeping up with changes in people's lifestyles over the years

Reality Programming

Popular with audiences Appeals to voyeuristic interest Liked by programmers Less expensive to produce

exposure states

Qualitatively different experiences for audience members Not on a continuum based solely on level of attention

elite art

Reflects the individual artist's vision Complex, profound Explores the new and different Standards consistent & integrated; much less commercially oriented Audience seeks an aesthetic experience Criticizes society Challenges and sometimes offends the status quo Often arises from an intellectual tradition Stimulates critical thinking and moral imagination

advertising is excessive

Requires evaluative judgment Based on standard Negative ramifications of decreasing or eliminating advertising

content analysis method

Scientific technique of counting the occurrence of various things Representative sample from population With fragmentation and internet videos, more difficult to obtain representative sample of all televisions shows Future: more specialized segments of media environment

ideal female beauty

Small noses Less curves Thin thighs/legs Lighter skin tones Underweight Airbrushed skin tone/texture

Three Cooperative Experiences

Social contact Acquiring Creating markets

vulnerable audiences

Sometimes advertising intended for one group is seen by another. Rated R movies target teens between 12 and 17 Joe Camel ads and billboards targeted underage smokers Teens see drinking as something connected with fun and good times (and even young kids know the Budweiser lizards) Do any audiences need protection from potentially harmful advertising messages? Children Teens Ethnic minorities Young women

Eyewash

Stock photos or file footage to illustrate a story Decoration that bears little relationship to the story

becoming media literate

Strengthen knowledge structures regarding content patterns, discrepancies from real world, formulas Separate reality from fantasy Be entertained by fantasy Avoid being guided by unrealistic expectations Ask questions; be skeptical Stay active during consumption

innovation

Technological innovation: makes a channel of transmission possible Marketing innovation: an entrepreneur recognizes a need in a population and uses new technology to satisfy the need Get people to recognize value of new medium Mass-like orientation Turn need into a habit

Creating Markets

The average person has a 7-second attention span. More people own a mobile device than a toothbrush. By 2018, mobile video will account for 2/3 of mobile usage. 90% of buyers trust online peer recommendations. Real-time marketing - creating a strategy focused on current, relevant trends and immediate feedback from customers. Newsjacking - injecting your ideas or angles into breaking news, in real-time, to generate media coverage for your brand.

real world

The media spin reality to make it appear more exciting and thus attract people away from their real lives

advertising

The most important product of advertising is YOU! Advertisers have trained you and all members of the public to give them your time, your attention, and your money Advertising is Pervasive Country saturated with advertising Money spent on advertising grows each year and will continue to grow We generally accept advertising 15% of Americans have a negative attitude We are influenced by advertising in our purchase decisions (e.g. Cheerios vs. store brand) We voluntarily participate as advertisers

drama

Tragedy: bad things happen to good character Mystery: plot element missing Action/horror: good vs. evil

emerging issues about news

Transformation: With convergence, traditional business model changing Loss of readers: lack of immediacy and control compared to online sources Loss of advertisers: newspapers created websites, but not enough ad revenue Social participation in news gathering: increased access for non-journalists as informants and reporters

Operating Conventions

Use of sources: choice not based on knowledge; stick with same sources; not objective; limited perspectives Perception of values: tell stories to resonate with perceived American values Hyper-localism: vehicles becoming more specialized, targeting niche audiences Story formulas: choose deviant stories; focus on who, what, when, where, why, and how; inverted pyramid, narrative, or simplified extended conflict

Magic Window

Young children see media (television) as window to the world Skepticism increases with age; most adults can discount and suspend disbelief.

demographic segmentation

based on enduring characteristics of audience members Gender Age Ethnicity Education Income

geo-demographic segmentation

blend of geographic and demographic segmentation Relatively recent innovation Assumes that we choose to live in neighborhoods where people are like us PRIZM scheme: 40 different types of neighborhoods in the US

abstracting

creating a brief, clear, and accurate description capturing the essence of a message This description: is a smaller number of words than the message captures the "big picture"

Automatic processing advantages

helps us make decisions with little effort increases efficiency allows us to multi task protects us from information overload

Wikipedia

A multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on a model of openly editable content. The name "Wikipedia" uses the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by anonymous volunteers. Anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles. It functions as a free encyclopedia, written from a neutral point of view, without rules. If Wikipedia were made into a book, it would be 2.25 million pages long and would take you over 123 years to read it.

construction of reality

A picture is an interpretation of reality. Two types of photos: Mirror photo - recreates the world in whatever image suits the photographer, through manipulation of light, proportion, setting, or subject Window photo - as objective a picture of reality as the medium allows; captures a moment without any attempt to alter it Deception occurs when a photo mirrors bias but is passed off as a window on reality. Variables in photography Angle Light Texture Focus Color Framing

Popular Surface Criticisms

Advertising manipulates us Advertising makes us materialistic Advertising is deceptive Companies manipulate us through subliminal messages Advertising is excessive Advertising perpetuates stereotypes Advertising Manipulates Us Into Buying Things We Do Not Need How do we define need? Maslow's hierarchy Survival Safety Social Self-esteem Self-actualization Each person must define for himself We believe we are too materialistic but keep buying more products

Potential Problems

Advertising potentially harmful products (beer, alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals) Advertising can exploit children, who have less experience and are less cognitively developed so cannot protect themselves Intrusive - invading privacy (monitoring and creating fake ratings) Shapes standards and shifts belief in needs from public goods to private goods; demeans and corrupts culture. Consumer culture — where personal worth and identity reside not in ourselves but in the products with which we surround ourselves.

concentration among ad agencies

Agencies are growing; focused on national markets rather than local companies Half of all advertising placements in the US are handled by one of four international advertising conglomerates: WPPC plc, Omnicom Group Inc., IPG, and Publicis Groupe

Becoming Literate with News Content

Analyze the news perspective: news is a construction Search for context: distinction between news and information Develop alternative sources of information: search for context on your own; multiple perspectives Be skeptical of public opinion: creating or changing public opinion through measurement Expose yourself to more news, not less

programmer perspective

Anchor message in real world, but tell stories that are bigger than life Remove audience from reality one step at a time; formula with farce Problem-solution advertising News focus on anomalous events

Issue of Concern: Change in Content

Assumption: decreased competition may lead to negative changes in message content Does it promote more negative speech and/or obscenity? Does increased media concentration and reduced competition in some markets lead to lower quality of content? Other consequences?

news routines:

Attribution: most of the content in a news story must be attributed to authoritative sources either as direct or paraphrased quotes. Verbs: "said" or "according to." • 24/7 news cycle: Cable news, internet and social media removed time constraints on publishing breaking news. • AP style: commonly used for news stories and scripts. • Constraints: Journalists regularly must edit complicated stories down to 500 words or 30 seconds of air time. • Scoops: journalists are under pressure to get an "exclusive" story first, even when they are forced into pools or pack journalism situations. • Visual element: media bias toward the cheapest, easiest, and most visually intriguing stories. • Beat system: journalists frequently visit places where the news is expected to occur, but this often leads to circularity. • Horse race coverage: most political campaign stories focus on daily polls rather than issues, promoting voter apathy. • Press relations: the press needs government for interesting stories, and the government needs the press to get stories out and gain popular support.

organizing principle

Audience exposure decisions guided by desire for it It also guides decisions from programmers' perspective

Issue of Concern: Deregulation

Belief that strong vertical integration will drive away competition and exploit the consumer Consolidation trend has grown stronger than government impulse to regulate (e.g., Telecommunications Act of 1996) FCC more concerned with companies' ability to dominate world market`

penny press of the 1830s

Benjamin Day, New York Sun publisher, lowered the price to a penny, at a time when his competition cost a nickel. • His gamble: get extra ad revenue to offset printing losses, and then circulation would increase. • Everyone could afford to read the paper every day, as long as readers were baited by content and then "sold" to advertisers

image technology issues

Both citizens and professional journalists have many new and easy ways to alter and manipulate images. Should newsrooms trust images from citizens and citizen journalists? How can newsrooms verify the identify of the sender? How can they verify whether an image is really of the event in question? Sometimes photojournalists can justify changing the 'technical' aspects of a picture, such as altering slightly the tone or color of a photo. Changing the meaning or content of the image to mislead viewers is considered unethical. What should a news organization do, if they later find out that a citizen's video or photograph was altered?

branding

Brand - a business image; the name, slogan, design, symbol, or other feature that identifies a seller's product as distinct from those of other sellers. Brand awareness - customers' ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and link the name, logo, jingles, etc. to certain associations in memory. Brand recognition and brand recall: Help customers understand to which product or service category a particular brand belongs Help them remember what products and services are sold under the brand name. Brand touch point - an opportunity to impress a brand upon customers or give them an experiential opportunity with it. Brand Elements Name: words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept. Logo: visual trademark that identifies a brand. Tagline or catchphrase: for example, "The Quicker Picker Upper" is associated with Bounty paper towels. Graphics: The ribbon is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand. Shapes: The distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands.

Radio: "Clear Channelization"

Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) has benefited from relaxation of ownership limits in radio. After spending about $30 billion, Clear Channel owned over 1,200 stations nationwide. FCC rules led to non-local ownership of radio stations - therefore many audiences receive no local radio news. Stations are remotely automated; a DJ from anywhere in the country sounds as if he/she is broadcasting from anywhere else in the country. iHeartMedia has been criticized for censoring opinions critical of Republicans. Media reform organizations including Future of Music Coalition have mobilized against Clear Channel, but the company has held onto all its stations.

Attraction to Electronic Games

Cognitive and emotional needs Arousal and strong emotions Competence and autonomy Sense of control Opportunity to socialize with others on common task Other reasons to play?

brand elements

Colors: Owens-Corning is the only fiberglass insulation that can be pink. Sounds: A unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. (example: NBC chimes). Scents: The rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked. Tastes: KFC trademarked its recipe of 11 herbs and spices for fried chicken. Movements: Lamborghini trademarked the upward motion of its car doors.

news perspective

Combination of constraints, environment, and conventions Prevalent across vehicles and locations Taken for granted, part of socialization Advantages: helps journalists simplify and organize material Disadvantages: narrow view of what is news; superficial treatment of stories

Photo manipulation techniques

Combine images: take parts of two or more photos to create a third image (i.e., morphing) Copycat: take pictures of a scene another photographer set up Crop: remove the outside edges of prints Cutline/headline: change the content of an image with words Obstruction: prevent photographers from doing their job Re-enactment: recreate an event that happened in the past Photo manipulation techniques Staging: arrange objects or persons for the camera Touch-up / touch-out: alter, add or remove image elements Burning and dodging Airbrushing Removing distractions Creating an image from pixels Inserting existing images into new contexts Photographer Allan Detrich lost his job, after the Toledo Blade accused him of manipulating hundreds of news and sports images, 79 of which he submitted to the newspaper

Nature of Competition

Competition for limited resources Monopolistic competition: high barriers to entry, few companies generating the majority of revenue All products relatively indistinguishable within a market Competition is about image not product features

Conglomeration and Convergence

Concentration and conglomeration may be necessary in a media environment that is increasingly fragmented and internationalized. Companies must maximize the number of outlets, to reach as much of the divided and far-flung audience as possible. Economies of scale - the relative cost of an operation's output declines as the size of threat endeavor grows. Oligopoly — the concentration of media industries into a smaller number of companies. Globalization - large, multinational conglomerates are doing most of the media acquisitions.

risks of media illiteracy

Consuming the good with the bad Being conditioned by media to habitual exposure patterns Missing valuable messages Accepting unchallenged the meaning of messages presented by media Accepting faulty meaning Media literacy provides mental energy and direction Goals: shape information processing tasks Drive: effort to attain goals Low awareness of goals and low drive energy weak personal locus default to media control Engaging locus increases media literacy Engage locus in bursts to make corrections to mental codes; does not always need to be fully engaged

Reasons for photo manipulation

Demonstration: show readers or viewers what you can do with technology. Marketing / advertising reasons - commercial, bottom-line considerations Personal or editorial decisions: aesthetic, political, or other considerations Pressures: Competition or adverse situations cloud reasonable judgment. Community standards: When readers or viewers complain about what and how stories are covered. Subject request: When a subject insists on documenting something in a certain way.

regulation

FTC says an ad is false if it: Lies outright Does not tell the whole truth Lies by implication, using words, design, production device, sound, or a combination of these

Character Patterns: Demographics

Ethnicity Gender Occupation Marital status Age Socioeconomic status Demographics of television writers

facebook

Facebook During weekday business hours, more Americans spend time on Facebook than watching TV. Baby boomers are the only age exception. TV dominates during prime time in the evening. Primetime is also the peak time people use mobile web and apps. Social media are our "second TV screen." New Yorker writer David Denby says Facebook celebrates "the aura of intimacy while providing the relief of distance." If you connected with everyone on Facebook, you'd have more than 1.5 billion friends. If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest in the world - bigger than the United States. Facebook vs. Google The Google search box is all about the past; the Facebook status update is the future. With Google, you have contacts and tasks; with Facebook you have friends share and collaborate. Facebook passed Google as the most popular website of 2010. The most searched term on Google is Facebook. Facebook: The Back Story Mark Zuckerberg was depressed from a girlfriend's rejection when he hacked his way into the servers of the school's dorms. He created a site called Facemash that showed head shots of students and asked viewers to vote on which in each pairing was "hotter." He was brought before the school's administrative board to answer questions about how he gathered the Facemash data. He was allowed to remain in school. When he later started Facebook, his parents asked him not to make another site. All his Harvard classmates — and students from the rest of the Ivy League — joined. He spent the rest of his college money on servers. He never completed his degree.

online info issues

Fairness / balance Objectivity (avoiding bias) Completeness Production (gathering, editing, and delivering information on deadline) Accuracy - verifying/confirming facts (vetting) Linking (credibility, taste) Anonymous feedback Interactivity - citizen journalism Issues in online publishing Corrections Links Context - including presentation of conflicting views When to edit Anonymity and pseudonyms Taste and judgment User-generated content linking to external sources Moderating Shared ethical standards Use of raw video Production standards

flash mobs and robs

Flash Mobs A group assembles in a public place, performs an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire and artistic expression. Often organized via social media - social networking sites, blogs, public forums, text messaging, viral emails. Example: Each March, several thousand people show up simultaneously at Union Square in New York to pummel each other with feather pillows. Annual ritual is organized through a Facebook page. Over 25 cities participated in the first one, in 2008. Flash mob robbery or flash rob started in Washington, D.C. in April 2011. About 20 people streamed into a high-end jeans store, making off with $20,000 in stock. The practice has spread to other cities, usually targeting convenience stores.

playing

Flow: losing track of space and time Telescoping: focus on steps within the process of moving through a game Intense and rewarding Continually draws players back for repeat experience Competitive Experiences: MMORPGs MMORPG - massively multiplayer online role-playing game; a very large number of players interact with one another within a world through role playing. Examples: World of Warcraft, 10.3 million players EverQuest: real world economy Profound effects: cyber world takes place of real world Economic and political implications very popular and addictive

Interactive media

Interactive mass media are platforms that attract audiences who want to create their own media experiences either for purposes of competition or cooperation. Designers create platforms User create content and shape their experiences Users not paid to create content Two types: those that offer competitive experiences and those that offer cooperative experiences

Net Neutrality

Internet must remain "open," to preserve current freedoms. Net service providers and governments must treat all data on the Internet equally. Companies cannot discriminate or charge differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication. All Internet traffic, content, sites, and platforms must be treated equally. Broadband providers cannot remove competition, block content, selectively degrade some services, create artificial scarcity, or oblige subscribers to buy their services.

Designing Electronic Games

Involves nine steps, from conception of idea to distribution Three fundamental decisions: category of play, formality of play, affective tone Six design rules: rewards, easy to learn, predictable, consistent, familiar, challenging Risky business: 3% earn a profit

Media Literacy

Involves understanding media messages, why they are produced, and their effects gives you clear maps to help you navigate media world allows you to take control build the life you want, rather than letting media build the life they want for you

Poynter's image considerations

Is the photo what the photographer saw in the viewfinder? Is the photo being changed in ways beyond basic image quality corrections? Is the illustration clearly obvious to the reader or viewer? Is it necessary to place the image in context with additional text for disclosure?

profile of the mass media workforce

Less than 1% of adult population in US Largest employer: newspapers/film & video production Growth in number of women in media industries: most growth in newspapers; highest percentage in books and magazines Women usually lower status, less money, less education

other social network

LinkedIn - professional social network 2nd most visited social network Every second, 2 new members join LinkedIn. 1 out of 6 people who recently found work say social media helped them find employment. Tumblr - blogging platform, growing alongside Facebook Groupon and LivingSocial Top reason people give for following or liking a brand, company or celebrity on social networking sites is to get a deal. Nearly 60% of social media users visit social networks to receive coupons or promotions; 23% say they do this on a weekly basis. Foursquare Location-based game; geotagging app Users broadcast their location by "checking in" at various places Users log their location through the website to collect virtual badges. Whoever logs in the most at a particular location is deemed the "mayor." Text-based scoring system keeps people engaged. Repeat customers are awarded through specials and digital coupons. Potential new source of information for reporters Klout San Francisco-based company, 2009 launch: Measures a user's influence across social networks Measures the size of a person's network, content created, and how other people interact with content Analyzes data taken from Twitter, Facebook, etc. For example, on Twitter, it accounts for: Following/follower counts Retweets List memberships Number of spam/dead accounts following you How influential the people are who retweet you Unique mentions

transported state

Lose sense of separateness from the message, swept away, lose track of real-world surroundings Attention is high but narrow

Default Strategy

Maintain minimal level of uninterrupted satisfaction Expose ourselves in a habitual pattern Rarely search out experiences with different types of messages Value determined by low cost rather than high return Allow media to condition us Use clickbait headlines to increase likes, retweets, and clicks

Maximizing Profits

Make as large of a profit as possible; high return on revenues and return on assets Increase revenue streams Appeal to more than one audience Generate money from one audience in multiple ways Merger and acquisition activities Minimize expenses Low pay for below-the-line employees Economies of scale Economies of scope

fabrication

Make up facts or accept them without checking Across all vehicles and reporters Newsmakers might present fabricated facts and present them to journalists jason blair 2003 and stephen glass 1998

concentration among advertisers

Manufacturers buying each other up More power in marketplace and as advertisers: Procter & Gamble Products that appear very different may be marketed by same company

what qualifies as news?

Many criteria, often in conflict Socio-economic impact vs. deviance Prominence vs. personal resonance The interests of younger generations not being met by traditional outlets Traditional definition: significant, timely, and proximate Best friend's tweet? Facebook status update? Slippery slope What Should be the Standard? Three potential criteria: usefulness, accuracy, and credibility Utility means different things to different people in different situations Accuracy is not a workable standard for many stories Credibility of the journalist is the most practical standard

re-examning the case for special treatment

Maturation: development continues across lifetime; not everyone at given age is at same level Experience: not the same as age Natural abilities: vary greatly across people; 7 of these related to media literacy

media game of economics: the goal

Maximize value of the exchange Quantitative value for businesses, employees, and advertisers: number of dollars Qualitative value for audiences: satisfaction Net winner or loser of exchange, but ongoing goal is to maintain value throughout All players have different, often conflicting, goals

Questions about citizen journalism

Media organizations can collaborate with citizens in covering disasters, accidents, and other breaking news. Citizens who capture events on their cell phones can transmit text and images to newsrooms. Should content provided by citizen journalists be as balanced and impartial as content produced by staff reporters? Should they be held to other editorial standards such as attribution, format, video quality, etc.? Should staff print reporters be held to a higher standard of pre-publication verification than online staff journalists? How should newsrooms vet citizen-supplied material on deadline, to determine if it is bogus or biased? How should citizen journalism sources be identified in stories?

Localism and Mass Media

Media voices should be kept local to best serve the public Development of broadcasting industries Regulations based on spectrum scarcity, localism, public interest, and promotion of diversity Over time, FCC allowed more ownership concentration: pressure from broadcasters

Importance of Media Literacy

More often media bring messages into our world; do not wait for us to cross over into their world Avoid trap of debating which shows are real and which are fantasy Next-step reality principle asks: Which elements reflect reality and which are removed from reality in some way? People vary in terms of how big of a step from reality they desire/are willing to tolerate Key is not limiting ourselves to the reality end of the spectrum, but being flexible and aware Many layers of meanings within messages Need to be aware of layers to control the selection of which meanings you want Next-step reality helps us Keener aesthetic sense; appreciation of media messages Better recognition of real world and media story patterns

emerging issues about news

More pressing issues emerging with shift to interactive media Three pressing issues: Who qualifies as being a journalist? What qualifies as news? What should be the standard for quality?

violence

Most studied form of media content 60%-80% of all entertainment programs Prevalent in movies Physical and verbal aggression Sanitized and glamorous Level of violence higher than in real world

Entertainment Formula: Challenges Medium-related challenges

Print/radio: limited perceptual channels Television: competition/interruptions; simple Web: break through clutter Changing public tastes: shifting line of acceptability Dealing with risk: must demonstrate ability to attract audience

censorship of entertainment content

Public library books banned for sexual content Controversy over government funding of "obscene" art Boycotts of TV networks and advertisers over objectionable content "Explicit lyrics" warnings on many CDs that earn top awards in the music industry Deletion of objectionable scenes and language from movies Movie Sanitizing The business includes Family Flix and ClearPlay, which recut ''family-friendly" DVDs. About 100 video stores around the country rent and sell these altered versions; many others order them online from CleanFlicks. Questions: If sanitizers can alter a creative work without the permission of the author, will they be able to redo the Bible? Shakespeare? What does intellectual property mean, when businesses are allowed to do this?

pseudo events

Staged events attract favorable media attention: Examples: ribbon cuttings, signings, press conferences, vigils, demonstrations, strikes, photo opportunities. Provide inexpensive stories with good visuals that foster community goodwill. Can breed more pseudo-events, when one event is staged in response to a previous staged event. Appear in at least a fourth of all news stories. "We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in place of reality." - Daniel Boorstin, author of 1961 book The Image A pseudo-event has four qualities: Not spontaneous Planted primarily to be reported or reproduced Has an ambiguous relationship to the underlying reality of the situation Intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy "Whenever in the public mind a pseudo-event competes for attention with a spontaneous event, the pseudo-event will tend to dominate." - Boorstin

Can Journalists Be Objective?

Strong ethic of objectivity in journalism What do we mean by "objectivity?" More than just whether a story is slanted Being wholly accurate and complete is an impossible goal to attain Five specific threats to this goal

media competition

The businesses in the media industries are in strong competition with each other to acquire limited resources, play the high-risk game of appealing to audiences, and achieve a maximum profit. Comparisons Across Mass Media Life cycle pattern not perfect; some media do not reach peak Indicators of peak Dominant (most important to most people) People are paying attention (not background) Generates most revenue (directly) Cable TV is still at peak, with computers quickly approaching

Attention vs. Exposure

Three conditions must be met for attention to occur: Physical exposure Perceptual exposure Psychological exposure

special case of the computer industry

Three types of businesses Developers of software and hardware Conglomerates that have acquired many media companies Companies that provide Internet based services Three ages of computing Steve Jobs believed we have seen three ages of computing, so far: Productivity (1980-1993) The Internet (1994-2000) The digital lifestyle (2001 to present)

tradition news values "TIPCUP"

Timeliness / recency Impact (significance) Proximity (geographic or cultural) Conflict (or consequence) Uniqueness / unusualness (or human interest) Prominence (of a person or honor)

Efficiency

Trend towards concentration, consolidation, and centralization Increased barriers to entry Small companies go out of business or are bought out by conglomerate In 2004, five companies owned most US media properties: Bertelsmann, Disney, News Corp., Time Warner, and Viacom Danger of narrowing the range of voices

TARES Test of Ethical Advertising

Truthfulness of the message • Authenticity of the persuader • Respect for the audience • Equity of the persuasive appeal • Social responsibility for the common good T is for Truthfulness Are the verbal and visual claims truthful? If the message communicates only part of the truth - if facts are omitted - are the omissions deceptive? Does the ad lead a mature consumer to make false assumptions or bad choices? A is for Authenticity Sincerity - it's important to do the right thing and to do it with the right attitude. Is there a sincere need for this product within the range of products and services available? Would the reasons given in the ad motivate the person who developed and wrote the ad? Does the ad promote a scare or stereotype? R is for Respect Does the ad respect the person who will receive the persuasive message? Are you willing to take full, open, public, and personal responsibility for the content of the ad? E is for Equity Is the recipient of the message on the same, level playing field as the ad's creator? To correctly interpret the ad, must that person be abnormally well informed, unusually bright or quick-witted, and completely without prejudice? Does the ad take advantage of common ignorance? S is for Socially Responsible If everyone who can buy this product or service did so and used it, would society as a whole be improved? Could some groups in society benefit by using this product as advertised? Are there groups that could be significantly harmed by it? If so, are there ways to protect them? S is for Socially Responsible (continued) Does the ad increase or decrease the trust the average person has for persuasive messages? Does the ad take the notion of corporate responsibility seriously and truthfully? (i.e., to make money and to improve human life/welfare)

PR tactics

Try to influence editorial content to get free publicity - and more credibility than an ad. Hype an unimportant story to get good press. Put the company "spin" on a legitimate story, to ensure that only the company line gets heard Transmit a constant flow of news releases to print and electronic media (even though 90% are dumped)

Characteristics of the Game: Valuing Resources Well Importance of valuing resources well

Two considerations How well does a resource achieve a particular goal Supply and demand Don't want to over-value (nobody will exchange) or under-value resources (you get short-changed)

2 competing values

Two strong values that address the issue of concentration of power Localism: values sharing of power among many Efficiency: values concentration of power in hands of those who can make decisions well and quickly

homosexuality

U.S. television has long history of marginalizing, ignoring, and stereotyping gays Late 1990s, first lesbian and gay lead characters: Ellen, Will & Grace Recent analysis: non-heterosexuals in 15% of television programs Not necessarily more progressive

Media Literacy Strategy

Understand economic game Higher expectations for return on resources expended Target people with a strong personal locus Target audiences willing to expend greater effort Use skills better Build more elaborate knowledge structures More interesting experiences In-depth reporting and narrative storytelling

partial story

Unintentional, but results in distortion Major story stops getting coverage, even when important events continue Tell story from single point of view

advertising tactics:

Unique selling proposition (USP) — highlights the aspect of a product that sets it apart from other brands in the same product category. Parity products - most brands in a given product category are essentially the same; forces advertisers to emphasize a product's USP AIDA — to persuade consumers, advertising must attract attention, create interest, stimulate desire, and promote action.

peak

When the medium commands the most attention from the public and generates the most revenue compared to other media Usually when medium has achieved maximum penetration Can continue to absorb a greater proportion of audience time and money

ask critical questions

Who wrote this? Who would believe it? Is the source educational, commercial, gossip, or solid research? What are the credentials of the writer or producer? When was it originally published or produced? How accurate, current, and organized is the information? Why was it done? Where might I get more accurate information?

Impact of the 2003 FCC rulings

Within a given market, a single company can own: Up to 2 TV stations Up to 8 radio stations A full-power TV station or daily newspaper, but not both The 2003 ruling relaxed ownership limits: Continued to ban the 4 largest TV networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) from merging their operations. Expanded the potential allowable reach of TV chains to 45% of the U.S. total population Competition in news no longer exists, and the public loses important viewpoints

lack of context

Without context, meaning is ambiguous Fear of biased reporting, so just report undisputed "facts" Limits our ability to see underlying meaning Many stories present very little context No contextualizing crimes within larger patterns

media companies

bring money, messages, and audiences to attract talent, audiences, and advertising money

advertising is deceptive

ds do not make claims that can be proven false Puffery: the making of implicit claims that cannot be tested Exaggerations, opinions Unclear superiority claims: "nothing beats it" Can be true, but misleading Subliminal Advertising Primarily folklore Subliminal means below threshold to perceive Most people mean unconscious effects of advertising when they use the term

cognitive development

ean Piaget Children's minds develop from birth to 12 years old Sensorimotor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-12), formal operational (12) TV watching 6 months: pay attention 3 years: exploratory, viewing patterns, action-focused 4 years: search mode, agenda, ads vs. programs 8-10 years: understand plots, characters, skepticism of advertising 10-12: rudimentary idea of economic nature of TV

automatic state

exposed to message but not consciously aware of it Filtering and processing occurs automatically A lot of media exposure happens in this state, especially when multi-tasking is involved

cognitive

factual information Dates, names, definitions

Mass Audiences

he mass media segment the general population into marketing niches, then construct niche audiences by creating special content to attract people in each niche so those audiences can be rented to advertisers. Mass communication: assumed that messages affect all audience members in the same way "Mass" refers to type of audience Heterogeneous Anonymous No interaction No social organization People vulnerable; no defenses In the 1950s, researchers began to acknowledge that mass audience was fallacy Many audiences but different experiences with same content Interpersonal communication and social networks also influence interpretation`

Social media job opportunities

ocial Media Editor/Reporter (Pueblo Chieftain, CO): "This individual would work closely with the newsroom staff under supervision from the director of digital media in delivering content to various social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and many others. The position requires the following skills: familiarity with blogging and content management systems such as WordPress; Twitter-literate (retweets, hashtags, lists, two-way communication); understand the difference between a Facebook profile and a fan page and be able to exploit each; able to moderate online comments and engage with users when necessary."

how news media avoid risk

tom Fenton, former CBS reporter, argues that media inattention has contributed to America's isolation and false sense of security. He blames corporate greed for decline in network news; says he was "beaten down by the corporate bean counters." Example: In 1996, he sat down with an Arab journalist who had interviewed bin Laden and described his violent designs on America. "Our navel-gazing executives" left that part of the piece "on the cutting-room floor"; CBS executives required that all references to bin Laden be cut because the story had "too many foreign names."

media employees

trade time, skills, and talent for pay and benefits Below-the-line employees: crafts and clerical people with fairly common skills Above-the-line employees: creative types with talent to attract audience Media company managers: oversee construction and distribution of messages

Emotional Intelligence

Ability to understand and control our emotions Composed of several related abilities Empathy: ability to read others' emotions Awareness of our emotions Ability to harness/manage our emotions Ability to handle emotional demands of relationships

media life cycle

All mass media industries — old and new — share commonality in their growth and development Life cycle pattern provides a useful framework Five stages of media development: Innovation Penetration Peak Decline Adaptation

why treat children as a special audience?

Lack of maturation Cognitive development (reasoning) Emotional development (reading/discriminating one's own emotions and the emotions of others) Moral development (sensitivity to right vs. wrong) Lack of real world experience required to process media messages

special treatment from parents

Rules: what/when/how much to watch Co-viewing: no conversation necessary Active mediation: conversations; positive or negative; rarely done Program ratings/v-chip: rarely used by people who most need them; not trusted or understood usefulness of parents special treatment: Overall, not very effective Many parents have little motivation to help Research limited to parent intervention of TV viewing Many parents not media literate themselves

Six Core Principles of Media Literacy (National Assoc. for Media Literacy Education)

1. All media messages are "constructed." 2. Each medium has different characteristics, strengths, and a unique "language" construction. 3. Media messages are produced for particular purposes. 4. All media messages contain embedded values and points of view. 5. People use their individual skills, beliefs, and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages. 6. Media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and the democratic process.

8 elements of media literacy

1. Critical thinking - independent judgment about media content Why do you read/watch/listen to the media you do? What is the outcome of those choices? 2. Understand the mass communication process How do media industries operate? What are their responsibilities? What are your responsibilities, as an audience member? How do different media limit or enhance messages? Which forms of feedback are effective - and why? 3. Understand media impact on individuals and society - How do media impact your life and lives of others? How can we control this impact? 4. Media message analysis strategies - How do media production techniques affect audience perceptions? 5. Understand media content as a text that provides insight into culture. How do media messages shape culture, values, concerns, myths, etc.? 6. Appreciate media content. How can using multiple points of access provide different levels of meaning? 7. Effective and responsible media production skills. How do/can you create useful and ethical media messages? 8. Understand ethical and legal obligations of media professionals • What are the competing pressures on media professionals? • What are the "rules" of media operation? • What power and responsibility do you have, to demand removal of unethical content?

Crystalline Intelligence

Ability to memorize facts When highly developed, allows us to absorb images, definitions, opinions, and agendas of others Generally increases through lifespan Associated with vertical thinking (systematic, logical) Helps with meaning matching tasks

fluid Intelligence

Ability to be creative, insightful, perceptive Associated with lateral thinking (more intuitive, creative) Helps with meaning constructions tasks Few people have natural aptitude for lateral thinking

Seven Media Literacy Skills

Analysis Evaluation Grouping Induction Deduction Synthesis Abstraction

attracting audiences

Attention has become a scarce resource To gain audience attention, media companies use two tactics: Appealing to existing audience needs and interests (based on the success of other messages) Cross-media and cross-vehicle promotion Appealing to existing needs and interests The mass media first identify the needs of audiences, then develop content Audiences have a relatively narrow exposure repertoire Media programmers look for what has triggered our attention in the past and construct their messages in a similar manner Cross-media and cross-vehicle promotion Rise of media consolidation Media programmers have shifted their focus to the message and away from the vehicle Media companies think of audiences more in terms of messages that would attract them rather than as groups of people limited to one medium or one vehicle Differences across media are blurring over time

Attention

Clearing these hurdles does not guarantee attention Attention also requires conscious awareness of a message Out attention can easily be distracted by something else

Nonimpulsiveness

How quickly people make decisions about messages Impulsive people rush into decisions Non-impulsive people take their time to consider and reflect Trade-off between speed and accuracy Governed by our emotions

self reflexive state

Hyper-aware of message and one's processing of the message Most control over perceptions Meta-analysis: analyzing one's analysis of the message

information processing

In our information saturated culture, individuals constantly process media messages as they make decisions either consciously or automatically about filtering, meaning matching, and meaning construction. They continually make these decisions in one of four exposure states: automatic, attentional, transported, or self reflexive.

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Low tolerance: ignore messages that do not meet expectations; too confused/frustrated High tolerance: willing to go into unfamiliar territory; search for clarity People with low tolerance encounter messages on surface People with high tolerance do not have barrier to analysis

Media literacy involves knowledge structures in:

Media effects Media content Media industries The real world The self

adaptation

Medium redefines its position in media marketplace Identifies new set of needs that medium can meet

Geographic Segmentation

Most important for local TV, newspapers, radio, media that involve geographic boundaries to coverage areas. Many companies expanded to national distribution, so this segmentation is less useful

meaning construction

Not an automatic process Using synthesis, induction, deduction, and grouping to create meaning for ourselves Happens when we do not have a denoted meaning in our memory or when that meaning does not satisfy us Requires skills

filtering

Often automatic Determines whether we take in or ignore each of the thousands of media messages we encounter every day Relies on programmed codes, heavily influenced by the media

decline

Peak medium is challenged by newer medium Loss of audience acceptance and loss in revenues Decline results from message needs being satisfied better by competing medium

media literacy perspective

Periodically check your exposure habits and the meanings you have memorized Practice and develop media literacy skills so that you can get more out of your media exposures Work on transforming the raw material of information into knowledge that helps you achieve your own goals`

special treatment from regulators

Protecting Children from Negative TV Content Congress has passed no regulations on media violence in 50 years Self-regulation by industry: "family hour" Telecommunication Act: v-chip FCC: regulating indecent material (sex, language) Protecting Children from Unfair Advertising Tactics Limiting ad time in children's programs 12 minutes/hour on weekdays, 10.5 minutes/hour on weekends Clear separation between program content and advertising 5-second "bumpers" Host selling prohibited

media literacy

Provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms - from print to video to the Internet Allows people to effectively and efficiently comprehend and use any form of mediated communication. Helps people understand the role of media in society. Builds essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.

stages of literacy

Stage 1: Acquiring Fundamentals (first years of life) Stage 2: Language Acquisition (years 2 and 3) Stage 3: Narrative Acquisition (years 3 to 5) Typically left behind upon entering adolescence Stage 4: Developing Skepticism (years 5 to 9) Stage 5: Intensive Development (years 10+) Many people stay in this stage for the rest of their lives. Stage 6: Experiential Exploring Stage 7: Critical Appreciation Stage 8: Social Responsibility Regarded as advanced; requires higher level skills and active development of elaborate knowledge structures Can move up a stage or two from "home" stage with conscious effort and energy Appetite for wider variety of media messages More self programming of mental codes More control over your media experience

media convergence

The blending together of previously separate channels of communication such that the characteristics that have divided those channels into distinctly different media have been eroding Three types: technological, marketing, and psychological Historically the mass media industries have followed a life cycle pattern of development (innovation, penetration, peak, decline, and adaptation stages), but now the most powerful force shaping their current nature is convergence. Technology is always transformative; its impact is ubiquitous. Traditional lines between media have disappeared. If a company owns newspapers, an online service, TV stations, a magazine and a film company, it has a strong incentive to get the greatest use from its content. Synergy is using as many channels of delivery as possible.

Five aspects of TV viewing

We help create TV as we watch it - we bring life experience to our viewing as we try to connect with it Nothing on TV is "real" or perfect TV makers use their own language - angles, music, special effects, etc. TV is in business to make money - the content is influenced by the profit motive TV teaches that some people and ideas are more important than others Who benefits? Who loses?

automaticity

a state where our minds operate without any conscious effort from us we encounter most media messages on "automatic pilot" we filter out almost all messages with little to no effort until something triggers our conscious attention

competing publics

as they get bigger, media organizations must satisfy competing publics to survive: • Stockholders • Audiences (readers, viewers, listeners) • Advertisers News as profit driver: "In short, as long as serious journalism is deemed unprofitable, it will take a back seat to the sensational, superficial, and 'soft' news stories of the day." - Hemant Shah, The Production of Modernization

synthesis

assembling elements into a new structure We use new messages to keep reformulating, refining, and updating existing knowledge structures Synthesis of ideas can help you understand the power and influence of media messages on your own and others' lives.

high degree of exposure

average person increases his or her media exposure /use each year main reason is multitasking most ppl increase use of video games and computers

analysis

breaking down a message into meaningful elements. You can either accept a message on the surface or dig deeper to examine the composition of each element. To understand media content, you must focus, pay attention, filter out noise.

media literacy is the ability to

critically read, watch and listen to media messages decipher their underlying ideologies assess their embedded commercial, political and propagandistic intentions reduce their potential harmful or hidden consequences. Gives us the power to intelligently manage media habits, use digital tools effectively for personal, political and commercial purposes, and engage in global and national discussions. The ability to effectively express opinions and advocate beliefs. The tools to help marginalized individuals and disenfranchised communities balance the power of big business, concentrated wealth and unbridled authoritarian governments. It is media education for the masses - the silent revolution that can counter the ideologies of greed, hate and death and fight for social justice and egalitarian systems. A set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the mass media to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter We build perspectives from knowledge structures To build knowledge structures we need tools (skills), raw material (information), and willingness (personal locus)

grouping

determining which elements are alike in some way, then determining how a group of elements are different from other groups of elements. You can either accept the classification rules set by the media or determine which rules are best for you. Understand genre conventions and when they are mixed. How do the style elements within different media categories cue our interpretations of content? Understand internal language of media and their effects. How do production values affect meaning of content?

who programs our automatic routines?

family, institutions, society, mass media some programming helps us achieve our goals; other programming furthers the goals of others the mass media continually reinforce certain behavioral patterns of exposure until they become automatic habits advertisers program how we think about ourselves. have programmed many of us into a shopping habit

social class segmentation

income and psychological characteristics Lower class: low income, your fate is not under your control Middle class: perspective that you control your fate, make sacrifices now, invest in the long-term Upper class: more money, more power, more control over resources

Induction

inferring a pattern across a small number of elements, then generalizing the pattern to all elements in the larger set. Inductive reasoning can unconsciously lead to emotional (rather than reasoned) reactions to media content. When you use elements from your own experience to infer patterns about the real world,, this may lead to faulty beliefs. Example: belief that violent crime is increasing in the U.S.

emotional

information about feelings Perceiving subtle feelings requires higher literacy level

aesthetic

information about message production Appreciating/judging products of creative craftsmanship

evaluation

making a judgment about the value of an element Think critically about media messages. How can you tell what is credible? Develop heightened expectations of media content. How can you put more effort into choosing and evaluating media content? You can either memorize opinions and make them your own - or compare message elements to a standard before accepting or rejecting them Faulty beliefs are self-reinforcing. Example of faulty belief: TV is negatively related to academic performance

Physical Exposure

message and person occupy the same physical space at the same time

psychological exposure

messages leave a trace in a person's mind consciously or subconsciously

accelerating growth

more info has been generated since you were born than the sum total of all info throughout all recorded history up until the time of your birth total amount of info generated doubles each year largest amount of info is created by ordinary ppl

the challenge of selection

search engines are efficient in quickly reducing our number of options they still leave us with an overwhelming number of choices our brains rely on a set of automatic routines to help us with filtering so we can select media quickly and efficiently

automatic processing/ automatic routines

sequences of behaviors or thoughts that we learn from experience then apply again and again with little effort, like computer codes in our minds

direct exposure

when we perceive a media message: listening to a song watching a video surfing the web reading a story browsing your twitter feed or headlines

indirect exposure

when we think about some element in a media message while we are not being exposed to it at the time: talking about messages with friends thinking about why you like certain kinds of songs making judgements by using standards the media have conditioned

media industry trends

• Concentration of ownership - fewer and fewer media companies • Conglomeration - increased ownership of media outlets by larger non-media companies • Globalization • Audience fragmentation • Hyper-commercialism • Convergence - erosion of traditional distinctions among media

questions about the impact of TV in everyday life

• How can children better control & benefit from TV? • Why does TV stereotype? • What's missing from the news? • Can anything be done about commercials? • What happens when people are exposed to violence? • What does TV teach about sex? • How does TV affect family interactions? • Why do males often control the remote control?

Media message analysis concepts

• Media messages are constructed - ask the 5 Ws & H about a message • Media representations play a role in our understanding of social reality • Media messages are produced within economic, social, political, and historical contexts • Interpretative meaning-making process - an interaction between reader, text, and culture • Media have unique "languages" - different for various forms, genres, and symbol systems Ask critical questions...

commercial-free news of the

• Newspapers supported solely by readers thrived in America for more than a century • 1920: Hoover argued for a commercial-free broadcast industry to be funded by sellers of radio receivers • When airways became filled with commercials, the FCC declared the public the owner of the airwaves, with the station merely the "trustee" of that commodity