Journalism 201 Review
The Marketing Process
- discover consumer needs - develop product to satisfy needs - emphasizing existing needs is easier then trying to create them - ads as information and persuasion
Mean World Syndrome
Violent crimes have gone down in time, however people think that there is more crime and violence today.
Knowledge Gap Hypothesis
"As the infusion of mass media information into a social system increases, segments of the population with higher socioeconomic status tend to acquire this information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than decrease" - Tichenor, Donohue, & Olien Knowledge Gap Hypothesis = As new information or news is disseminated through media channels, there is a gap in the acquisition of this information between individuals with different levels of education, income, or prior knowledge. Other Knowledge Gaps: 1. Gender gaps - experimental evidence suggests they don't hold up 2. Mode gaps - news deserts - newspaper readers have larger gaps - television viewing narrows gaps (but everyone learns less)
Media Focusing Our Attention
"The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about" - Bernard Cohen
How The Parties Framed Abortion and Taxes from 1975-2008
- Republicans frame taxes around how tax cuts help business - Democrats frame targeting tax hikes on healthy people to give to poorer people - Republicans frame abortion as murder - Democrats have framed abortion in many ways, no consistent way - Republicans got more attention on abortion (they are the ones who want to change abortion law) - now Democrats get more attention because of the new abortion laws (they are trying to change it) - Democrats and Republicans got different attention during some periods on taxes Frames get attention based on: - the structure of politics - when Democrats are in office, they get more attention on issues - who is trying to change something/a new development
Cultivation of Global Attitudes?
- Australians exposed to US TV perceive Australia as more dangerous place to live - South Koreans and Japanese heavy viewers of US TV have more liberal values about women and families - heavy viewing of US TV in India resulted in felines of deprivation and dissatisfaction - Israeli viewers of American TV gave estimations of occupations according to TV portrayal
What Are Social Mediums? How Are They Unique?
- Tiktok = built-in edit and record videos, spot on algorithm, influencers and teens ages 25 and younger - Instagram = high-end images and videos, influencers, engagement ages 18+, men and women - BeReal = real, in the moment, authentic, growing fast among young adults - Facebook = ages 35+, men and women, groups text + visuals, family/friend connections - X = breaking news, events, journalists, celebrities, influencers - Pinterest = visual discovery engine, highly visual, with click through to shop, ages 25+ - LinkedIn = businesses and thought leadership, find, jobs jobs, 25+, higher income - Youtube = video, long and short, influencers, men and women, all ages - Snapchat = quick authentic snaps to friends, young adults and teens
The TV World
- characters are young, appealing, and energetic - older people are rare and often portrayed as sick or dying characters - women make up a third or less of the lead characters in all samples except daytime serials - violent crime involves more than half of all characters - for every male victim of violence there are 17 female victims - villains are male, lower economic class, and foreign to the country where the show is aired - less economically well off people and non-white people have tended to be invisible on TV - stereotype usually of groups not involved in producing the content
What Is The Role Of Social Media in The Marketing Mix
- create a "lean in" experience = consumers are opting into these communications - offer opportunities for more user-generated content (UGC) = so the user is more in control - more interactive, forming a 2-way relationship between consumers: communication - extremely targetable = can reach very specific, discrete audiences
Framing can Affect Policy Outcomes: Death Penalty
- fewer people got sentenced to death throughout time (due to DNA evidence) - learned this through framing of the death penalty Frame when trying to deicide in Supreme Court: "cruel and unusual" Other frames: "Eye for an eye" "Innocence" - when DNA evidence came out (rise of innocence frame)
New Directions in Framing
- frames compete - frames compete in different environments Polarized vs non polarized: - in polarized environments people adopt their side - in non-polarized environments people adopt best argument Liberals and conservatives prefer different kinds of frames: - policy vs symbolic - Conservatives like symbolic framing - Liberals like gray areas of framing Who can frame? - Credibility
Why Would Nike Speak Up About Injustice
- free attention for Nike - has endorsers who speak about injustice - consumers choose brands based on their beliefs
Types of commercials
- get this not that ("Mac vs PC" ad) - emotional connection ("Like a Girl" ad) - object use (Absolute Vodka ads) - Fear (Snickers ad) - Funny (Betty White Snickers ad) - Celebrities (Betty White: effective vs Kendall Jenner: ineffective)
Politics & Journalism Bias
- in the US the coverage of politics is the coverage of elite conflict - this makes politics one of the most difficult beats - where fairness is most critical and unbalance more noticeable - US journalists are more likely than the public to say all sides don't alway deserve equal coverage
Positive Effects on Advertising
- information - public service - economic benefits - public health - entertainment - unifying appeal
The Cultural Indicators Project
- institutional analysis (how are messages produced and distributed) - message system analysis (what is the recurring media content) - cultivation analysis (how TV exposure molds perceptions about the "real" world)
Women in Journalism
- journalism is a male dominated field - most women in journalism are in print, not broadcasting - percentage of any given group has not changed much throughout the years
Agenda Setting
- journalists focus on informing us - advertisers focus on persuasion and attitude (have more freedom for storytelling)
Societal Functions of Journalism
- keep those in power accountable - enhance citizenship/self-government Entman - provide knowledge on: - policy issues - actions of those in power - ideology (perspectives that shape decisions) - self interest (your stakes on issues)
Cultivation - Main Points
- media cultivate in viewers interpretations of the world in line with the TV world - heavy doses of violence on TV result in a mean world syndrome - among heavy TV users political attitudes tend to converge - new interactive settings may enhance the cultivation of attitudes - but do we continue to have a centralized storytelling system
Political Party of Journalists
- mostly Democrats - percentage of independents has increased - say this because they are supposed to be bipartisan/not biased
Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Journalism
- not representative of the country - underrepresented across all groups except... - overrepresentation for Jewish and white people
Hayes and Guardino: When Frames are Reported Matters
- number of stories told about Iraq - coverage on weapon inspections and weapons of mass destruction - last four months leading up to the war → stopped talking about invading before invading - increased coverage on what the planning is for the war - on the agenda there is more news coverage on weapons when war might happen - when coverage on a topic happens its important - tend to cover one thing at a time and then move on
Limits to Agenda-Setting
- obtrusiveness of the issue - political conversation - personal goals and motivations - delving trust in news
Examples of Cultivation: The World of the Heavy TV Viewer
- overestimate crime statistics - underestimate # of old people in society, think they are in worse health conditions and live less - believe in more traditional roles for females - have stronger orientation towards consumption - believe luxury items are more easily available - less likely to have knowledge of environmental issues - hold erroneous and unhealthy views of nutrition
Limits of Targeted Advertising
- people are hard to persuade - it's hard to get people's attention - some people are skeptical of advertising
TV is...
- pervasive (almost everyone has it) - accessible (easy to understand) - coherent (tells stories that make society seem the same)
Harms of Targeted Advertising
- privacy violations - drive us to believe we are like the features highlighted - limits awareness of alternatives - filter bubbling - preying upon vulnerabilities - harassment - Cambridge Analytica and the 2016 Election
Issue Coverage by Ownership
- private ownership covers more issues - corporations cover less issues and have more game frame - the more competition there is, the less issue coverage there is
The Marketing Mix (The Four P's)
- product - price - place (distribution) - promotion
Urban League Charter School Debate
- tension between traditional objective coverage and interpretive coverage - affective polarization = how much people like their side and dislike the other side (emotional polarization) People use codes to get more attention and agreement with their argument: - way of communicating without people knowing what you are communicating about Results: - white journalists find it awkward and fraught (not wanting to say wrong thing) - activists wanted journalists to build trust, not come in, get quotas, and leave - want objectivity, not not objectivity that privilege historical stereotypes Constraints and Opportunities: - reporters stressed by time - activists want more time investment - reporters want named sources - many Black sources preferred anonymity - journalists focus on what they should avoid - activist focus on what they want journalists to do - call for newsrooms to look like the communities they cover - creation of Madison 365 - creation of Maraniss Fellows
Most People Think Media Are Biased
- thought that media is biased has gotten wider (and continues) - social media has caused an increase in thinking that news media is biased - more Republicans think news media is biased - relative bias and partisan asymmetries
Favored Coverage Styles Vary by Age
- younger journalists say every side does not need equal coverage - online journalists say not every side needs equal coverage - radio and print say sides should be more equal - left leaning journalists say not every side needs to have equal coverage
Why Does Agenda-Setting Happen?
1. Accessibility = See it and understand it. 2. Relevance = Have to decide if it matters; via emotions (fear and anxiety).
What's the Buzz (Jeopardy)
1. Accessibility and relevance are preconditions for this media effect to be able to occur - Agenda setting effect 2. Issue obtrusiveness, declining media, trust, and political conversation all limit this media effect - Agenda setting 3. Agenda setting involves the transfer of this from one entity to another - Salience 4. True or false: agenda setting affects what people think, not what they think about - False
The Gaps (Jeopardy)
1. If you want to decrease the knowledge gap, use this - TV 2. Fox News interviewed more partisan/health care experts when covid first hit - More partisans 3. The growth of accessible technology has made difference in political knowledge better or worse - Worse 4. This is how we learned women know as much about politics as men do - Adding "I don't know" option (when added they were encouraged to guess, and got rid of the gap) 5. If you are going to read a news story. The device that helps you pay more attention and retain more information - Biggest screen (computer)
Culture Club (Jeopardy)
1. Marketing campaigns that seek to empower women, as opposed to objectify them tend to fail: true or false - False 2. Engaging in less indexing is an example of traditional objectivity or active objectivity - Active objectivity 3. Black twitter posts about the BLM movement taught others about race and policing issues by - Providing first hand accounts, posting videos, critiqued traditional style news story telling 4. True or false: algorithms can be biased because they are automated - False 5. Posting video or showing weapon used in a police shooting - the behavior that causes the post to go viral - Nothing (there is not a single thing that will make a video go viral guaranteed)
Frame This (Jeopardy)
1. People tend to be more risk averse when exposed to gains/loss frames - Game frames 2. When frames compete in the same news story, this happens to framing effects - Effects of framing tend to disappear 3. Pro-choice and pro-life: equivalency frames or emphasis frames - Emphasis frames 4. True or false; republicans support for black lives matter is the same in counties Joe Biden won by a lot and lost by a lot - False 5. When frames compete in moderate political environments, people tend to choose the best argument or the argument made by their political party - The best argument
Functions of Journalism (Jeopardy)
1. The function of the media that turns stories into context (often the function most related to accusations of bias) - Interpretation 2. The function of journalism that helps prepare us to live in our society - Socialization 3. Emphasis frames are most closely associated with this news function - Interpretation 4. The function of the news media in which journalists pursue stories happening outside of typical activity - Manipulation 5. The function of the media in which the news reports on what is newsworthy, telling people what is happening - Surveillance
Random Category (Jeopardy)
1. The type of news coverage focusing on a narrow range of elite debate - Indexing 2. The number one source for political news in the country is... - Local news 3. Routinized or randomly: the times of day people search for news online - Routinized 4. Mainstream, cable, or web: NBC news is... - Mainstream 5. The number of stories on the front page of NYT on an average day - 8
Different Outlets Contribute Differently to These Functions
1. Traditional journalism (neutral-fact oriented) - Ex: Wall Street Journal 2. Advocacy journalism (advancing a particular policy solution) - has to still be facts, not made up - Ex: Fox News & VOX 3. Tabloid journalism (commercial considerations) - not very much on information, try to get attention and make money - still need to tell things that are true - Ex: Buzzfeed 4. Entertainment media - Ex: People Magazine
Bubbles (Jeopardy)
1. When people have more diverse media diets and/or more diverse talk networks they tend to cast more of these kinds of votes - Split ticket 2. The largest category of news use -more people fit in this media repertoire category than any others - Avoiders 3. Boomers or gen Z, the generation with more overlap in attitudes by gender - Boomers 4. The most trusted news sources - Local news 5. This political party's members are more likely to live in mediated filter bubbles - Republicans
Cultivating Excellence (Jeopardy)
1. Women make up a third, half, or three quarters of TV characters - ⅓ 2. Heavy TV viewers think that luxury items - Are easier to get 3. This syndrome symptoms include thinking you'll be the victim of a violent crime - Mean world syndrome 4. Poor men from a foreign country often play this role in TV shows - Villain 5. Heavy TV viewers think old people... - Are sick, dying, and not very humorous
The Process of Cultivation
1. our own personal knowledge 1a. our own personal communication 1b. other forms of knowledge: web, social media, other media 2. comes together with the real world and what we know is happening 3. process of retrieval and perception - heavy Tv viewers = view more from TV and have perceptions from TV
How Targeted Ads Work
Ads directed towards you; use information about you to build ads that they think you will click on. - companies have a lot of your information; vulnerability
The Agenda-Setting Effect
Agenda-Setting Effect = The transfer of salience from one entity to another; when someone has ability to communication in mass communication, it is taken serious/it is important; when the same thing is reported about regularly, it becomes important for people. - whether we think something is important, because we saw it in the news - news media has an agenda, so it gets on our agenda
The Alarm-Patrol Hybrid Model
Alarm Model = When there's breaking news the media rushes to cover the issues; sudden increase in coverage; then dies down. Patrol Model = An extended period of coverage to neighborhood issues. Hybrid Model = Both alarm and patrol model; surge in coverage, with a gradual decrease in their agenda, but still noted/mentioned. Balance w/ steady coverage and explosions related to: - events - attention from political elites - attention from the public - diversity of discussion
Agenda Setting Function (McCombs & Shaw)
Chapel Hill voters queried before 1968 presidential election to identify and rank issues of importance to them; content analysis of news (agenda). Results: almost identical agenda for both public and news media Conclusion: transfer of salience that sets the agenda
Cultivation
Cultivation = Theory and research area that examines the long-term effects of media exposure on individuals' perceptions of reality. - mean world syndrome - mainstreaming
Mediated Society
Democracy in the US is mediated; what takes place in politics and society is interconnected with and influenced by the information shared through the news media, social media, and how people communicate with each other. Humans are storytellers that professionalized storytelling; from interpersonal modes of storytelling to developed forms that have mass audiences.
Ads that Motivate
Desired action = A clear next step that you want viewers to take. - goal: get your attention - developing a set of attitudes about a product - attention and relationship building - buy this now? Relevance = Ad copy and creative that speaks to your audience's lives. - avatars on social media marketing to replicate you - how realistic is the avatar - human like, does it talk? (behavioral realism and form realism) Reason to act now = A sense of urgency that will get you instant clicks. - scarcity = do you have limited stock? - limited time only = tell people that time is running out on the offer - exclusive price = works well on social media; not everyone gets this deal but you do - tools = motivate customers by showing countdown on specific offers - bonuses = popular for SaaS and information businesses; bonus items are bundled together with the main product - exclusive giveaway = run a prize draw which is only open to people who purchase through your ad Transformation = A story that your audience will aspire to.
Market
Different uses of the term "Market" - region: Chicago, Midwest, urban areas, etc - type of consumer: women, upscale, etc - type of product: tires, laundry detergents, etc - locus of exchange = Selling directly to the consumer? Business to business?
Power
Direct power = Overt and explicit control or influence over media organizations and their content. - Scope of conflict = Encompasses the coverage and reporting of a wide range of conflicts, controversies, and issues, both local and global, including politics, society, economics, and the environment; structures outcomes. Indirect power = More subtle and often involves structural or systemic factors that shape the news without overt control.
Agenda-Uptake
How agendas move between news sources, social media, and public interest. - issue publics like abortion more patrol-based - if an issue is cared about a lot, news will cover it regularly - obtrusive issues like economy alarm/patrol - economy always gets covered a lot - new issues like Iraq more classic agenda-setting effects - scandals large, but fleeting effects
Ownership Rules
Duel TV network ownership: - FCC prohibits a merger between: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC Local TV multiple ownership: - you can own up to two TV stations in the same Designated Market Area (DMA) if at least one station is not ranked among the top-four rated stations - usually, you cannot have more than one station in a media market Local radio ownership: - 45 or more stations, an entity may own up to 8 radio stations, no more than five of which may be in the same service (AM or FM) National TV ownership: - no limit on the number of TV stations a single entity may own nationwide as long as the station group collectively reaches no more than 39% of all US TV households Elimination of broadcast station cross-ownership rules: - the commission eliminated its rule that had prohibited common ownership of a full-power broadcast station and a daily newspaper
Ownership Concepts
Horizontal integration - cross media ownership = global media corporations invest in a wide range of media - Ex: News Corp owns companies in each of these: newspapers, magazines, books, terrestrial and satellite TV and film studios - vertical integration = a single corporation that controls different stages in the production and distribution chain - Ex: "downstream" vertical integration = a movie studio owns cinemas where films are exhibited, streaming, services where movies can be rented, magazines that review movies
Hostile Media Perception
Hostile Media Perception = People who are partisan on a given issue tend to see media messages as against to their point of view.
Types of Frames
Equivalency Frames = Aim to present two or more sides of an issue or event as equally valid, balanced, or of similar importance. This is used to provide a fair and objective representation of different perspectives and often involves giving equal space or time to different viewpoints, even if they may be contradictory or have varying levels of support. - Ex: in a news report on climate change, the journalist provides equal space to the views of climate scientists and climate change skeptics, presenting both perspectives as valid Emphasis Frames = Focus on highlighting a specific aspect or angle of a news story, emphasizing its significance or relevance. This technique is used to draw attention to a particular aspect of the story that the journalist or media organization considers more important, urgent, or newsworthy. It may involve giving more prominence to certain information, context, or sources while downplaying or omitting others. - Ex: in the same news report, the journalist focuses on the latest scientific consensus on climate change, emphasizing the urgency of the issue and giving more space to the findings of climate scientists
Facebook Targeted Ads
Facebook rumor: listens to us and feeds through what you say - Facebook denies this rumor - sometimes you do not know the origins of ads (can be frightening) - TV advertising is more regulated than social media advertising - data matrices for each person → categories for each person - know interests and infer other things about us - creates targeted advertisements
Framing
Framing = The central organizing idea on a topic (gains or losses); tells what controversy is about; focuses on particular dimensions on an issue. A frame can be constructed as one of several potential dimensions on which one bases their evaluation of an object. These dimensions involve either substantively distinct considerations (emphasis frames) or logically equivalent ones (equivalency frames) - in both cases, the frame leads to alternative representation of the problem and can result in distinct evaluations and preferences - seeking to define the "scope of conflict" - most frames are NOT connected in an EQUIVALENCY ENVIRONMENT - most are emphasis framing
Social Networks and New Distribution
Generational effect for news distribution. Statistics: political news sources - Millennials get news from Facebook - Gen X gets news from Facebook - Baby Boomers get news from local TV
News Deserts Amplify Polarization
In counties with fewer newspapers, Republicans look at the economy more positively, while Democrats look at it more negatively (when republicans are in charge). - places with lots of news = less partisan divide - local news issues tend to be more unifying → create less polarization
Indexing
Indexing = The news content on public policies on issues generally follow the consensus of political elites; coverage tends to be dominated by those involved in mainstream government debate. - news media frames filter into legacy media frames - narrow range of debate - limited voices included in discussion
Filter Bubbles
Individuals are exposed to information that aligns with their existing beliefs while being sheltered from other perspectives through the use of algorithms and social media. Statistics: TV news viewing in WI and the Nation - Local news is watched the most across all categories - local TV is consumed more in WI than nationwide average - Democrats use local news the most - network TV news is watched by Democrats in equal measure - network TV news is turned away by Republicans - Democrats watch CNN and MSNBC more than Republicans - Republicans watch Fox News more than Democrats - Republicans in WI watch Fox News more than nationwide average; WI is a politically consequential state because it is a swing state Statistics: newspaper reading in WI and the Nation - local newspapers are read the most across all categories - local newspapers are read more in WI than nationwide average Statistics: radio programs in WI and the Nation - Republicans listen to more local radio (especially conservative talk radio) - 86 hours a day of conservative talk radio in WI Statistic: soft news and entertainment in WI and the nation - most people avoid to learn information in this form and do not learn from it Statistics: political conversation in WI and the Nation - ¼ of people will talk to anyone - Democrats are more likely to have Democrats in their talk network - Republicans are more likely to have Republicans in their talk network - Independents are more likely to have Independents in their talk network - nationally, partisan political conversation is higher, WI is less polarized (talk to people on the other side more) Statistics: media trust - local news is most trusted in WI and around the nation - major newspapers are highly trusted - Conservative sources are least trusted overall, BUT not true for conservative citizens Statistics: filter bubbles - 20% of Democrats are in a left-leaning bubble - 18% of Republicans are in a right-leaning bubble - Republicans rely on Fox News - Democrats rely on CNN, NPR, and NYT - Democrats rely on more traditional news sources - minimal news is TOP category in WI and in the nation - traditional mainstream sources; democrats are twice as likely to only view - hardly anyone watches pure
Internet Search Interacts with News Flow
Internet search is habitual. - Ex: when Trump would tweet, more people would search; he strategically tweeted at certain times Hybrid media campaigning case study: When he tweets more than normal, there would be more news coverage on him - got more retweets and attention
News that Meets Certain Standards
Key journalistic standards: - accuracy - balance - checks on pure profit maximization - democratic accountability focus - editorial separation
Types of Firms & Agencies
Large Firms - Exs: BBDO, WPP, and Ogilvy - use celebrities for advertising Smaller Firms/Creative Boutiques - small agencies focus on creative - specialize in producing ads - little staff for research, strategy, media planning, or PR - sub-contract for creative work from full service agencies - often have short life spans Digital and Social Shops - 52% of CMO's believe traditional ad agencies are ill suited to conduct online marketing - specialize in web design, e-mail drops, blogs, peer reviewing, social media, and viral video - less siloed and more nimble about new media - few mid-level managers who are over-specified - more open to experimentation and innovation Medical/Political Shops - entirely service specialized clients - specialized knowledge of category - provide full-service functions Minority Agencies - often full-service agencies - specializing in campaigns that target minorities/specialized populations - Ex: Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+ - Ex: Social Driver agency In-House Agencies - owned and supervised by company Reasons for in-house agencies: - savings - specialization - priority service - BUT, minimum staffing of experts and possibly of "group-think" Shift to "In House" Services - 78% of companies in 2018 have some in-house agency functions, up from 42% in 2008 - 49% of in-house have created in-house production capabilities in past five years - in 2018, over 36% of companies are bringing media strategy and planning functions in-house, compared to 22% in 2012
Agendas Are...
Limited: - usually there are only 8 stories on cover of NYTs Skewed: Most issues are... - international affairs - defense - government operations Explosive in Changes: - usually coverage is the same, but when changes happen there are spikes - Ex: 9/11 → defense spike, continued and became permanent Fluid
Types of News Media
Mainstream/Traditional = Sources that have been here for a long time/long standing; people have heard of them, tend to not take a side on news coverage; balanced. - 3 TV networks: ABC, NBC, CBS - Ex: cable TV, major newspapers Broadcast News = Subset of mainstream media; over the airwaves. - part of ABC, NBC, and CBS - Ex: Good Morning America Cable News = News that transfers through cables; provides a lot of TV; movie channels, not always objective or balanced; shows driven by host and their opinions. - Cable news does NOT have same regulation as broadcast and mainstream news - Ex: CNN
Mainstreaming
Mainstreaming = The idea that those whose lives are most different from what the see on TV will be most affected by what they see on TV. - people who fear that crime would happen to them → high income (least likely) think they will be affected more
We Have Always Been Obsessed w/ Body Image
Marketing campaigns that empower women are providing to be hits with consumers and highly effective at generating sales. - 52% of women have bought a product because they liked how the ad for it portrayed women
Mass Communication
Mass Communication = process by which a person, group, or organization creates a message and shares it through mediums to a large, mostly anonymous and diverse audience; reach mass audiences; mediated though print, radio, TV, computer, games, mobiles, etc; we consume a lot of it. Statistics: TV viewing per day - people 75+ watch the most TV - younger people watch less TV - US id #1 TV viewers - people watch TV w/ or w/out people Statistics: internet use - younger people use the internet more - people search online at the same times of the day - more searches midweek than on weekends Overall, we are creatures of habit. Statistics: news attention w/ google searches - if covered on news, we search it more - Ex: Trump and Covid-19 Media becomes part of our experience of "real" things. Powerful focuses shape our perceptions of experience. Mass communication can be dangerous. Ex: Twitter post about anti-Trump protests - used hashtags #fakeprotests - far right sites created stories about the post - misinformation spread to Facebook - Trump tweeted about the protesters - ALL information was FALSE - busses were actually for accountants Entertainment: The Queen's Gambit - before the show, people were NOT interested in chess - after the show, many people brought items relating to chess Sean Comb's communicative eras; used different names for different parts of his brand - Puff Daddy = music, record label - Diddy = clothing line - Love = activism Main Points: Storytelling has become professionalized. Mass scale and extent of communication has increased. Our experiences continue to become more mediated (experiences vary by audiences and communicators and are regulated differently). Mass communication is not just about politics and current events; it includes entertainment and advertising as well.
Why Is Social Media Important
Media device & access trends are changing: - cord cutting of phone and cable - shifting to better, faster smartphones/tablets - high consumer internet, demonstrated by super fast adoption rate of new mediums # of years to reach 50 million users - Radio = 38 years - Youtube = 4 years - Snapchat = 4 months More consumers are multi-tasking with more mediums and using them more frequently - advertising are "following the eyeballs" and investing significant amounts of cash to reach these users Note: this means JOBS AND CAREERS FOR YOU
Social Media Flow Interacts with News Flow Across Issue
More social media on a topic means more coverage in the news about that topic. - Ex: "lipstick on a pig" - spike in news coverage, but it went away (being loud doesn't alway mean the coverage will last) - news media reacts to social media and search engine searches - Ex: after mass shootings - gun rights frames last the longest on social media - thoughts and prayers spike (goes away fast) - gun control (spikes but doesn't last long) - gun rights (lasts the longest) more conservative topic Information flow interacts with context; when times are good, we go to partisan corners. However, when times are bad, people come together more. The more we talk to people with different views our opinions become less extreme. - Ex: split ticket voting - People who split tickets talk to people who are different than them and watch more balanced news - more extreme information = more extreme views - more moderate information = more moderate views
Storytelling Systems
Most of what we know we have not experienced directly; TV transformed the cultural process of storytelling by making it into a centralized standardized system, coordinated by the advertising market. Today, TV tells the largest number of stories to the largest number of people most of the time. Storytelling Systems: - cultivation does not privilege the impact of one specific show, or its production quality, nor audience - TV is understood as a message system that exposes a community to an aggregate and repetitive system of images that a community can adopt over time
Antecedents of the Cultural Indicators Project
National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence (1967); George Gernber's content analysis of prime time TV: - by age of 12 children have witnessed 8,000 homicides and 100,000 violent acts - project expands from violence to other themes such as gender roles, stereotypes, health, science and politics
Ownership, the Market, and Negative Tone
Negative comments are talked about more and people are oriented more towards it; large corporations and big chains are more negative while small single chains are less negative. - more a market dominates, the more negative it is - the smaller the ownership is, the more neutral the coverage will be
Media Fulfill These Functions by Providing Us w/ News
News = Part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside; foremost value is to keep people informed.
Potential Challenges to the Agenda Setting Function of the Press
News media environment including Twitter, Facebook, blogs and news aggregators, online news: - less of an ability for social media to cause agenda setting Issue publics: - younger people want to be told about topics of interest - older people want an overview of world news Partisanship: - Republicans trust Fox News but don't trust many news sources - Democrats just distrust right-leaning new sources
Newspaper Ownership
Newspapers are not as common anymore causing an increasing number of news deserts. News deserts = Counties where you cannot get a newspaper When you lose your local newspaper, turn to national ideological news; creates more polarization and extreme perspectives.
Black Lives Matter: Beyond the Hashtags
Nine periods of analysis: Supportive communities consistently attracted more attention than unaligned or opposed ones. - the discussion was Black-led on Twitter - when discussion reaches its highest peak on Twitter, there is a higher proportion of non-Black voices participating - activists communities were major sources of information
Political Knowledge
Obama Care vs Affordable Care Act: - same thing (people view it differently) - equivalence frame: same thing Knowledge levels have increased over time: - TV is an equalizer for knowledge and differences Media coverage and type affect knowledge: - the more a topic is covered in media, the more likely you are to learn about it News coverage and congressional campaigns: - news coverage affects some things but not others - incumbent has a high advantage Why the difference? Covid coverage by source: - partisan coverage creates differences between bipartisan coverage - words were reflective (Fox vs CNN and Fox vs MSNBC)
Types of Modes Matter
Percent time reading news on site: - computer = largest - smartphone = middle - tablet = least - larger screen = more time
The Marketing Concept
Old model: - make product → figure out how to sell it New model: - developed since WWII - study consumers to identify needs → make or modify product to satisfy those needs - goal: understanding consumers Strategic communication: relative advantage - based on need satisfaction - real vs imagined needs - rational vs irrational needs
Social Media and Information Flow
Online social network use: all social media has increased in use of news; people are learning the most about news from Youtube. Statistics: social media pathway to news - 43% of adults use Facebook - 21% of adults use Youtube - overall, news has a place in social media
Partisanship and Social Media
People are more likely to use specific sources based on their political beliefs Statistics: partisanship of news from social media - Democrats use Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc - popular accounts might favor liberal beliefs - there is more information on Twitter for conservatives - range of news on social media is broad (mostly used for entertainment) - engagement goes beyond exposure Changing algorithms might positively affect polarization; seeing what people just posted decreases polarization. Taking away algorithms from SM reduces polarization, however it also reduces time spent on that platform (do not do this because there is no incentive for them) Statistics: Americans' political communication repertoires - Omnivores have higher social trust - Avoiders participate less - Conservatives have lower social trust - Liberals have more participation - #1 category: avoiders (42% of Americans) - Conservatives: watch a lot of conservative broadcast media, talk to republicans, express themselves politically online, less social trust - Liberals: watch more cable news, talk to democrats, post more often politically, more social trust - Omnivores: watch everything more, tend to have higher social trust Statistics: cultural tastes map onto the media ecology - left of map = liberal - right of map = conservative - top = higher economic standing - bottom = lower economic standing - "This is Us" is popular because it is watched by all kinds of people - vary by gender and generation - far more gender overlap in older generations - Gen X and millennial men have a group who have resources, but are more conservative (they all watch Joe Rogan podcast) Main points: - partisan differences in news use - WI more engaged than national average - age differences in news use - cultural tastes map onto news tastes - filter bubbles are not huge, and they are a bit asymmetrical
Media Landscapes
Powerful companies own a lot of offspring companies/brands; small number of companies own most of the content distributed. - distribution: AT&T, Comcast, Verizon - streaming: Netflix - content: Disney → ABC
Ownership and the Game Frame
Probability of game frame in campaign news stories by ownership type and level of electoral competition; large chains and corporations cover politics more like a game than smaller chains. - as the market of news gets more competitive, more game frame is done
Locus of Exchange
Selling to... - consumer - business-to-business - institutional: governments, schools - reseller: retailers
The Reach of Ownership Can Affect Nationwide Local Content
Sinclair Broadcasting Group "must carries." Sinclair made its journalists and hosts say specific things which were misinformation. - has a host that is a former Trump employee - creates fake facts - doesn't practice what they preach
What Is Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing = Form of internet marketing that uses social media websites and apps to marketing a company's products and services.
Graber's Four Functions of Journalism
Surveillance - makes you aware of things - newsworthiness (proximity, significance, conflict, interest, relevance) - required for agenda-setting Interpretation -defines what the news means; how you cover a story - required for framing - required for ideological bias Socialization - required for cultivation and mean world syndrome - how we think the world works vs how it actually works - usually two ways to think about things (liberal and conservative) Manipulation - required for investigative reporting - required for corporate/commercial bias
Objectivity and Its Problems
Tenets of objectivity = Actuality, balance and fairness, non-bias, independence, non-interpretation, and neutrality. Problems of objectivity: - tools of objectivity often advanced White reporters and sources - one dimensional - stereotyping
But That is Not What Past Studies of News Media Have Shown
There was less bias and less thought of biases in the past (90s); if there was a bias, it was about negative coverage. Advocacy outlets are different: - Republicans get more negative coverage on left leaning outlets - Democrats get more negative coverage on right leaning outlets This has not changed: - more negative coverage is more popular now - coverage was positive until watergate scandal, now coverage of politics is negative (has been for 40 years+) - president gets more coverage (incumbent gets more coverage ALWAYS) - Donald Trump gets the most attention
How to Use Social Media In Strategic Communications?
To build an online community - Ex: Patagonia To communicate key messages - Ex: Gillette and #metoo movement To create 2-way communication with engaging content - Ex: Overtime, a sports streaming company; funny interactive content To manage crisis communications - Ex: Southwest Airlines; quick alerts on situations, DM for 1:1 help As a customer service tool - Ex: Spotify; fast personalized response, extensive training on how to respond
Pragmatic or "Active" Objectivity
Uses deliberate methods that: - emphasize evidence (direct and not privileging traditional centers of power) - coherence with existing expertise - contextual framing of ideas (history and culture as evidence) - inclusion of varying perspectives (less indexing)
Cultivation: New Directions
Video games: People who play a lot of violent video games are more likely to say that violence is okay.
Social Media Marketing Facts
Which social medium is growing super fast among men? - Pinterest What is the most popular social medium among all adults? - Facebook What social medium is growing 30% faster than Instagram amongst Gen Z? - X (Twitter) What state was first to ban TikTok? - Montana
Chipotle: Social Media Marketing Campaign
Why Chipotle? - popular with younger audiences, brand uses a lot of social media, considered a trendsetter in this area, weathered crises What are social media marketing campaign steps? 1. determine your GOALS - drive rewards membership and store traffic 2. identify your audience - Gen Z and millennials 3. find the key Aperture moment: - Halloween 4. pick the right social mediums - Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Boo-rito 2023: $6 entrees, 3 pm to close... extended until midnight in 53 college towns, first 11: Tabasco Scorpion Sauce
