AICE Sociology Media Study Guide

Negotiated codes

although an audience broadly shares the author's views, they modify their interpretation in the light of their own particular feelings, beliefs or attitudes

Oppositional codes

an audience is antagonistic towards the author and therefore rejects or attempts to challenge the message

Moral panic

heightened sense of fear of behavior seen as a threat or challenge to the moral order in society; 'terrorism,' for example, may be considered a contemporary form of moral panic in Western societies

Folk devils

individuals and groups singled out for special attention and blame because they are seen to represent a challenge or threat to the existing moral order

Hegemony

leadership with the consent (real or implied) of those who are led

Interactive media

media, such as video games, that allow the user to influence the direction and flow of debates, actions and outcomes

Audience reception

media-effects theory based on the idea that media messages always have a range of possible meanings and interpretations, some intended by the sender and others read into the message by the audience

Hypodermic syringe

media-effects theory that argues that media messages are like a drug injected directly into the audience's mind in ways that change their behavior

Discourse analysis

method of media analysis that examines how language shapes the way people think about something

Normative model

model of media effects that argues that they key to understanding how mass audiences respond to media messages is through a knowledge of how messages are filtered through informal, interpersonal relationships

Describe the cycle of deviance amplification.

1. Primary deviance 2.

What are news values and why does media have them according to Pluralists and Marxists?

Chibnall (1977) defines news values as 'the criteria of relevance which guide reporters' choice and construction of newsworthy stories, learnt through a process of informal professional socialization.' For PLURALISTS, news values are evidence of consumer choice and diversity because they reflect the demands of the audience. For MARXISTS, news values are evidence of how audiences are shaped and manipulated--they learn to want whatever the media decides is newsworthy. From this perspective, news values are shaped by the ideological demands of owners.

Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)

Marxist concept that argues that institutions such as the media propagate values favorable to the interests of a ruling class in capitalist societies

Media vs. New Media

Media: channels of mass communication through which information is sent and received New Media: contemporary channels of communication characterized by their interactivity, individualization and network capabilities

Metanarrative

a 'big story' that attempts to explain 'everything about something' or, in the case of religious and scientific metanarratives, 'everything about everything'

How does money affect media selection?

-Media portrays what consumers want to see and hear because they have the most money so companies can make maximum profit.

Characteristics of mass culture

-Too diverse to be manipulated by the elite -New technology allows ANYONE to produce media -Joins together mass society because it provides the 'things in common,' such as values and beliefs, that socially isolated individuals share. However, because mass culture is created through the media it can be manipulated to reflect the interests of a ruling class.

What are qualities of "new" media?

-Variety of ways of communicating including one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. -New media cannot exist without the appropriate (computer) technology. -Information can be personalized; individualized messages tailored to the particular needs of those receiving them can be simultaneously delivered to large numbers of people. -Collective control means that each person in a network can share, shape and change the content of the information being exchanged. -Can also be truly global in scope an reach. -Websites and social networks are global in intent. (creation and exchange of information) -Ability to create and share text, images, videos and other content without being hindered by physical borders. -Higher levels of interactivity between consumers and in terms of how users relate to different forms of media technology.

How might media directly affect one's behavior? Indirectly?

Directly: Negative, Hypodermic Syringe; Messages injected into our mind to change our behavior → passive consumers Results do not have to be immediate but cumulative Ex. violents video games & violent tendencies Transmission methods can change the messages and how they are received Direct vs. indirect sources Speech vs. quotes from a speech "Noise" and interference - messes with the purity of a message Media selection, gossip Problems: "People are uncritical individuals, easily influenced by everything they read, hear, or see." → "Vulnerable audiences" Indirectly: Once you consume media long enough it becomes part of your life. Promote and police cultural values Certain mediums (aka TV) promotes distinct values Ex. Crime is constant on TV → people increasingly aware that crime happens all the time MEDIA TRIES TO SEND US MESSAGES... Agenda Setting: some things are up for discussion; some ARE NOT Framing: setting the viewer up for how something SHOULD be interpreted Myth Making: media has set up a world that ISN'T real (ex. Believing crime is more prevalent than it actually is) Coding → Decoding BUT audience chooses whether to accept a message or not Hegemonic Codes Negotiated Codes Oppositional Codes Messages are consumed and spread by people themselves. Direct → Indirect message spreading Ex. State of the Union Address → Memes Two-step flow: Media → opinion formers → others MEDIA IS WARPED BECAUSE PEOPLE FORM OPINIONS AND SIMPLIFY IT Mass communication doesn't have a super recognizable effect Perception - we notice some things and not others Exposure - people choose media based on their beliefs Expression - people listen to those whom they value Retention - we remember things that align with what we believe in Social groups affect our beliefs In fact, we use media to make ourselves feel better Entertainment: diversion from everyday life Social Solidarity: shared experiences through movies, games, tv shows Identity: Using media, or new media, to enforce/maintain an idea of ourselves Surveillance: Providing news and information on the world

Why does the New Right believe government ownership of media is bad?

Government ownership cares about ruling elite and can manipulate the media.

Characteristics of "old" media

Impersonal: sender doesn't know the receivers Lack of Immediacy: audience has no involvement with creation of message One-way Distant: everyone receives the same message Organized: designated vehicle(?) which allows message to be received Large scale & simultaneous Commodified: have to pay to get it... one way or another.

How do representations of working class and middle class differ in media?

Working class: narrow view: historical (servitude, crime, poverty) and contemporary (socially problematic: welfare dependency, unemployment, violence and sexual promiscuity) Are dangerous (unpredictable), problematic (involved in illegal/immoral behaviors), dependent (on state and generosity of higher social classes) Middle class: broader: professional employment and cultural associations (music, fashion and art) Link with pop culture: represented as manufactured, artificial, superficial, disposable, undemanding and culturally valueless

Describe stereotypes of youth and elderly in their media representations.

Youth: Idea of power and control suggests that representations of young people are largely constructed through an 'adult gaze' Children are innocent ad uncorrupted in nature vs. unruly, lacking self-control and requiring adult discipline and guidance Children's perceived innocence combined with (adult) technological fears results in children being seen as victims of their own lack of control and discipline, through exposure to a variety of ideas and experiences that they are not equipped to deal with. MORAL PANICS Traits: rebellious, disrespectful, selfish, obsessed with self and sex -Male youth are delinquent and politically apathetic. Elderly: Are a burden to the aging population because they "increase costs of state pensions, hospital treatment and social care". Representation is largely unsympathetic because of images of senility, illness, unattractiveness. Shown on media as grumpy, stubborn, not interested in sex, silly and miserable

Media ownership

economic control of a media organization

Agenda setting

neo-Marxist concept that argues that decisions made by editors and owners about what and what not to report 'set the agenda' for how the general public receives and perceives news

Cultural effects model

neo-Marxist theory that argues that although media effects are strong in the long term, they are slow, cumulative and operate through the ability to become part of an audience's cultural background

Uses and gratification

normative model of media effects that argues that consumers pick and choose both media AND messages; the media are used by audiences to gratify their own particular uses and needs

Two-step flow model

normative model of media effects that argues that messages flow from the media to opinion formers, who then interpret such messages for people in their social network

Hyper-reality

postmodern concept that argues that the media creates realities that are 'more real' than the ones they purport to represent; our 'knowledge' of the American Wild West, for example, is filtered through the lens of Hollywood film, just as our knowledge of Africa may be filtered through media images of famine, war, corruption and poverty

Cross-media corporation

private or public company that owns different types of media, such as a newspaper, television channel and film production studio

Sensationalism

process whereby the media attempt to increase the dramatic content of an issue or story

Content analysis

research methods used for the systematic analysis of media texts and communications

Propaganda

selective, partial and one-sided forms of communication designed to influence the attitudes of an audience towards a particular point of view

Globalization

various processes--economic, political and cultural--that occur on a worldwide basis

Media manipulation

various ways in which the media attempts to influence and control how information is received and understood by an audience

Mass culture

the 'culture of the masses,' as opposed to the high culture of a ruling elite, characterized as simple, worthless, mass-produced and disposable

Gate-keeping

the ability to limit access to the media; an editor's gate-keeping role, for example, involves making decisions about what counts as 'news' as well as policing the news values of particular organizations

Hegemonic codes

the audience shares the assumptions and interpretations of the author and reads the message in the way it is intended

Censorship

the deliberate suppression of communication or information

Symbolization

the idea of conveying meaning through symbols

High culture

the idea that some cultural products and practices are SUPERIOR to others: 'the art, music and literature preferred by the well-educated elite'

Stereotype

the practice of assigning particular, one-sided, partial, characteristics to whole groups, regardless of their individual differences

Media regulation

the rules whereby governments attempt to control areas like media ownership and output

Semiotics

the study of signs, codes and symbols used in communication processes

Professional codes

the values used by editors and journalists to guide their assessment of media content and presentation

Political socialization

the various social processes involved in the teaching and learning of political ideas and practices

Selection/presentation of content

the various ways in which media content is chosen (selection) and given (presented) to an audience in order to influence their understanding of an issue, idea or group

Media representation

the various ways the media portray ideas, individuals and groups

Deviance Amplification

theory of deviance that argues that a range of social reactions, particularly those orchestrated through the media in terms of moral panics, have the effect of creating more serious forms of crime