University of Delaware: COMM 370

Audience as Market

+Audience is the product-not the content +Audience is vehicle for sales +Audience is characterized as consumers +Audience is viewed as somewhat active +Audience expresses activity in preferences for content

Causes of Knowledge Gap

+Communication skills and social skills +Prior education or knowledge +Selective exposure; choose not to take part or expose themselves

Political propaganda:

+Employment by government and pressure +Aims-to change behavior of the public +Distinguished from advertising which has economical goals +Strategic, long term

Audience as Mass can be defined by the following:

+Large, widely dispersed +Unknown to each other +Reactive audience, not reactive +Subject to manipulation +Propaganda

Cultivation Theory

+Long term TV viewing: has long term effects +Different on light vs. heavy users +Looks at how TV watching shapes people's perceptions and views of the world'

Some of the more common Effects of Pornography are....

+Males play a greater role in society +Women aren't as superior +Sexuality stereotyping +Ready-for-sex-whenever-they-want-it +Generates serious stereotypes

Sociological propaganda

+More common +Aims-integration and unity to a group ideal +Propagation and adoption of an ideology

Influences on Media Dependency

+Number of needs one can meet +Number of sources available +Familiarity

Digital Divide is discussed in socioeconomic groups. What are some examples of these?

+Rich/ Poor +Race (white/ non-white) +Geographical divide (urban/ rural)

Ritualistic television viewing

+Soap Operas -> trust in others +Night time dramas -> political efficacy +Action adventures -> personal safety

By refining knowledge gaps what do you accomplish?

+Widens in a pluralistic community (Many information sources) +Reduces a homogeneous community (Few sources shared by all)

Stages of Innovation Decision Process include 5 steps. What are these steps?

1. Knowledge 2. Persuasion 3. Decision 4. Implication 5. Confirmation

Change Agent

A professional person who manufactures, sales agent

What is the difference between active audience and dependency?

Active audiences become independent on the media, whereas in dependency media is important to the individual; media have much more influence and power and media becomes extremely influential.

Elitist phenomenon is:

Anyone with power has access to the media and access to translate these messages (propaganda)

First order beliefs are:

Beliefs about the world, facts, real things

According to knowledge gaps. education levels lead to:

Better educated -> gain knowledge faster Learned how to learn There is a huge gap with groups of a different educational background

Match definition to the term that explains why the media has powerful effects on public opinion. A unified picture of an event or issue is presented across media.

Consonance

The teaching of common worldwide values and attitudes as a whole and how we view the world is called....

Cultivation

When something is know and spreads through a society it is ___________________.

Diffusion

Resonance

Effects of TV viewing will be boosted for certain members of the audience

Examples of Audience as Aggregate

Examples: +Billboards +Polls +Book reviews +Best sellers

True or False: According to Spiral of Silence theory, a fear of isolation from others is the driving force behind why the vocal minority does not discuss their opinions and attitudes about an issue.

False

Second order beliefs are:

From facts to general expectations, opinions, beliefs

Stereotyping

Generalized towards a generation or population

Homophily is defined as...

How people are alike

Heterophily is defined as...

How people are different (dissimilar)

Intensity of Media Dependency is dependent on...

How well people perceive that the media is reaching their goals

Jacqueline decides to Skype with her friend Kat who is studying abroad this semester in Norway. Jacqueline tells Kat about her relationship with her boyfriend, about the classes she's taking this semester, and about her recent car troubles. Unfortunately throughout the chat the video freezes, forcing Kat to reload the program and in turn missing pieces of the conversation. Jacqueline can visibly see Kat's frustration with the technology and decides to try their chat another time, hopefully when Skype is working properly and both have stronger WiFi signals. Which of the following five theories best explains the situation described?

Information Theory

A new idea, practice, or product is ___________________.

Innovation

Innovation that Spread Quickly were not just technologies. Some examples are:

Medications and behaviors

One of the chief dysfunctions of the surveillance function of media in society is that the presentation of too much information may force them into a state of apathy or passivity. What is this effect also known as?

Narcotizing

Unintended effect shows...

One group of the population will know more about a segment then the rest of the population Ex: economy, politics, etc.

The two types of propaganda are:

Political and sociological

What are some reasons for the knowledge gap?

Reasons: +Education +Social Backgrounds +Less media exposure

Characteristics of Innovations

Relative Advantage Compatibility Complexity Trial Ability Observe ability

Mass communication theory is based on...

Science

Typically critical theorists view the media as a ______ to society and the world.

Screen

Perceived ambiguity

Someone is faced with a new social situation and do not know what is going on

Opinion Leader

Someone who gets their info from the internet

Mainstreaming

TV might influence people's perspectives that stern from other social influences

Sesame Street was a TV show that targeted younger generations for more than entertainment. What was the target audience, and what was the purpose?

Targeted under privileged inner-city children ; so they were educated before they went to school with kids who had a better knowledge

What is Digital Divide?

The gap between those with access to technology and those who don't

What is the knowledge gap model represent?

The higher the socioeconomic status the more knowledge Ex: Man landed on the moon in 1969 Someone's level of knowledge will also reflect their knowledge or their health

By overcoming the Knowledge Gap, we have something called the ceiling effect. What is that?

There's a limit to how much you can learn compared to someone else

(True or False) Audience is dependent on media to resolve this ambiguity.

True

Match definition to the term that explains why the media has powerful effects on public opinion. A widespread presence of the media because it is everywhere and there are few locations we can go where it is not present.

Ubiquity

Focused ambiguity

Unable to determine appropriate actions within a known situation; do not know what to do.

Ambiguity is:

Uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language