Ch 3 Concepts and models for mass communication The third chapter of the book initially gives to the reader

a deeper insight into how different terms used in discussions on mass communication have emerged and what is meant by one or another concept. Later on focus of the chapter shifts towards two main research approaches that are typically used in order to investigate this subject. Finally, the chapter ends with four different models representing different ways in which mass communication could be approached.

At the very beginning of the chapter author briefly outlines the historical perspective behind the concept of mass media and communication by identifying three areas of interest that discussions regarding mass media were initially concerned. First aspect described here is the power of changing public opinion that mass media has always possessed. Several examples given in the book include propaganda used by Nazis or communistic ideals that shaped public opinion in Soviet Union. It is also mentioned that currently the power of mass media has diminished as people are becoming rather critical towards certain communicative tools, such as advertising or public relations.

The second area of interest is communication and social integration role that mass media has played in society. This role of mass communication, according to the author, has developed with increasing urbanisation and life-pace. Mass communication has given an opportunity to individuals to be connected to society through updated knowledge that it provides but also an interpretation of events and decisions made by, for example, authorities but concerning every member of society.

The third and the last role of mass media discussed in this book is education. Universities, public libraries, popular periodicals have always been an important tools for spreading information and values. Given the speed to which it can access large audiences and the amount of information most of mass communication tools can provide it can provide, one of mass medias roles has been to educate society and to some extent establish rights and ideals in the public and expose those who violate that.

After the discussion on these three areas of interest, the author moves into the conceptual aspects of mass media and communication. The first concept that is covered is the concept of

mass. Mass here is described as an amorphous collection of individuals usually in a very large numbers and without any composition or structure. This concept might reflect an undifferentiated audience of media.

Mass communication, on the other hand, is a communicative process designed for large-scale distribution and reception of content by the mass. Message in mass communication is normally standardised and used over and over again. As mass communication is designed to access undifferentiated masses the communicative relationship between sender and receiver is considered to be impersonal and asymmetric where skilled professionals would generating the content that should subsequently reach the wide public.

This wide public could be another name for the subsequently described term - mass audience. Collectivity according to Blumer was thought to be in three different levels. The first level, a group, involved members that were familiar to each other and were aware of common membership. The crowd was something that consisted of a large amount of people sharing same identity and mood. Finally, the public was thought to be a relatively wide and disperse group that tend to form around some particular issue and comprised the largest level. However, according to the author there is a fourth level of collectivity which is the audience - a widely dispersed group that is managed or manipulated by the media with the members mostly unknown to each other.

The next step in the chapter is a short discussion on a mass media institution is. Production and publication are noted to be the two key activities that media institutions develop around. These institutions might be very different in type (e.g. print, film, local, national organisations) but most of them can be defined by several aspects. They are institutions that are self regulated within accepted limits if society, politically free and independent, and with acquired public functions that are supervised by the institution.

The other conceptual discussion that the author includes in this chapter is about the role and understanding of what mass culture is in public. Typically, mass culture is considered to be very differently from the traditional culture. It is seen as a combination of tastes, preferences and manners of a wider mass which are mass produced, commercionalised and suitable for mass consumption only. However the author also notes that mass culture is an inseparable part of popular or standardised culture both of which contributes heavily to any culture and its identity.

The further focus of the book falls on the research paradigms and approaches used when phenomena associated with mass communication are investigated. The first of the two paradigms is the dominant paradigm. It is grounded in the linear understanding of communication. Here it is assumed that the message is transmitted linearly like a signal over communication channel from sender to receiver. The other assumption of dominant paradigms is that observed society is democratic, liberal, socially integrated and fair with initialised political parties that compete with each other allowing fulfil the demands of normality. The tools of this paradigm are based in the scientific research methods, such as surveys or behavioural experiments. Quite the opposite approach is described by the alternative model. This paradigm assumes that the society is comprised of critical individuals who evaluate the message that they receive. The outcome of the communicative intent here is not fixed and cannot be simply predicted by investigating causal relationships. This approach uses qualitative research methods, such as discourse analyses in order to get a grasp on the contextual situation and historical perspective in which receivers acquire the sent messages. At the very end of the chapter the author describes four different models of communication. The first and probably, the most common in the book so far model is a transmission model. The central assumption of this model is that communication is a transmission of a fixed quantity of information. There are two different versions of the model one of which involves the simple linear relationship between sender, message channel and receiver or receivers. The other version, on the other hand, starts not with a sender who generates but rather with events and voices in society that are later on reflected by the sender and send to the receiver. The major limitation of linear model is directionality and causal ambiguity of the senderreceiver effect. The ritual or expressive model is quite a contrary approach. It states that communication is not linear and that it does not need a reason to happen. Communication can simply be used as pleasurable activity and without any particular intention with which the message has been send. Such approach does not allow us to explore the context and the medium that the message is inevitably dependent on. Communication might be focused and not only by the informative value of the message but also by the need to simply gain an attention from the public. This, publicity model, focuses on materially driven aspects of media institutions where not the message but rather public

attention is being sold to for example advertisers. In this example it is not important what is being communicated as long as the audience maintains its attention. The model described the last is the reception model. This model focuses on the way message is received by the receiver. It assumes that the acquired meaning of the message can be very different from receiver to receiver and that the only way to gain an insight into it is to analyse the context in which the message has been received and also the personal history of the receiver himself.

A summary of 'Chapter 4: Theory and Society' by Ioanna Archontaki In chapter 4: Theory and Society, Denis McQuail focuses on the interactive relation of interference and influence between the Media, society and culture as well as the governing themes of theories that connect the media with society. Finally, he proceeds to account and individually analyze prominent media-society theories. The Media are intertwined with both society and culture since the institution is a part of the social and economic structure on the one hand but draws heavily upon culture as a way to complete their purpose on the other. According to the way we perceive the media we get four options of media influence. If we consider the media as an aspect of society, we're presented with the option of materialism which maintains that culture can be controlled and limited accordingly to the wishes of those controlling the media. If we consider the media as an aspect of culture, then we have the option of idealism. This option credits the media with significant influence but assumes their content (ideas & values) more important as the main cause for social change, regardless of who owns and controls the media. There are two more options, interdependence and autonomy, which lack the theoretical development of the above. The former implies the existence of a constant bidirectional relation of influence and interference between the media and society while the latter supports the notion of independence of society and the media, up to a point. The emphasis is put on the degree in which the Media interpose between the person and their 'wider' environment, shaping their perception of society and the world, and the 'media culture' which binds members of the same society together. This mediation of the Media is a relationship that acts out in a two-stage process: first, through the dissemination of events and secondly by the efforts of contact by individuals and institutions. This media role is expressed through metaphors and communication images than can range from neutral information to attempts of manipulation used by the Media. The influence that the media have in forming the perception of the public is a rather complicated matter, since the media themselves are not free of control and "reality will always be to some extent selected and constructed and there will be certain consisted biases". Moreover, it is implied that the media do not monopolize this role of mediation as there are diverse sources of information such as social institutions along with the possibility of direct personal experience.

Debate on the media-society theories is basically themed on the aspects of power, social integration and identity, social change and development and the relation of space/time. In regards to power, the Media are seen as instruments that have the ability to shape and influence public opinion in order to maintain the social status quo. The media are divided in two models: the dominant model which has the media exerting power as stated above and the pluralist model which allows for diversion of context according to the demands of the audience. Theories themed on social integration and identity tend to attribute the media with effects (positive and negative) on social cohesion such as social dislocation, the urbanization and crime rates on the one hand and integrating immigrants and setting a common standard of values and ideas on the other. Furthermore, social change and development generate theories that suggest a role in social change according to the Media's content. An example of these theories is the USA's investments in the Third World during the Cold-War era, where the media assisted in those countries' resistance to communism. Lastly, theories have taken under consideration the fact that, through technology, communication is possible at great distances and great speed as the transmission reaches many different locations at the same time. In addition, with the need to lower cost and the ability of electronic transmission, communication is finally delocalized and minimized in regards to the time required. Portrayed below are the six theories which move within these frames:

Mass society is characterized by its largess of scale, its remoteness of institutions, its isolation of individuals and its lack of strong integration practices. Its a society controlled centrally, where the media are most likely to be acting on the interests of the political and financial power-wielders. Marxist and revisionist versions of Marxist theories approach the media as an instrument of those owning the economic power to disseminate messages in order to validate the class society, in the case of the former, or as an instrument which, in a peaceful way, legalizes the dominance of the ruling class and thus enabling the capitalist state to survive without resorting to violence in the case of the latter. The Political-Economic theory, on the other hand, stresses the link between the political system, the wider economic structure (of which the media are part of) and the media industries. These links point out the dependence of the media and their sources to the largest markets as proven by their profit-centered policy and ideological context. Functionalism perceives that each institution in a society serves a cause or a social need and, therefore, make an essential contribution to the stability of the society. In regards to Media, this theory suggests that their contribution is primarily a positive one, if unintended, "by responding to the demands of individuals and institutions in a consistent way". Any sideeffects of the media are described as mysfunctions of the system which will be corrected due course by the media themselves. Lastly, in this theory the media are "self-directing" institutions. The theory of social constructionism is a very abstract term in social sciences which maintains that reality is socially constructed by the actions of human actors, and being thus, can only be made or be given meaning at society's will. Accordingly, this theory suggests that even though the media are promoting some selected meanings, these can be negotiated or rejected. The theory of communication technology determinism is looking for a connection between

technology and social change, in the way that evolution in the former produces change and development in society and according to the socio-cultural context of the media. The first important advocate of this theory was H. M. Innis who founded the Toronto School, after World-War II. However, there is reluctance in believing that there's a mechanistic connection between social change and the single factor of technological advance. The term "information society", is accepted as an objective description of our emerging society, based on the technological advance and the overwhelming supply of information seen in recent years, while pointing out the high degree of dependence on the idea of "interconnectedness". This theory focuses on the processes of communication and the changes in society in regards to quality, but downplays the purpose and the content of this social change. Lastly, the information society idea is believed to be an ideological crutch for the neo-liberal economic projects that stand to benefit the most from dependence on "interconnectivity". However, none of the above mentioned theories is complete without a media investigation from the perspective of culture.

Chapter 5 Mass Communication and Culture Social life is more than power and trade it also includes the sharing of aesthetic experiences, religious ideas, personal values and sentiments, and intellectual notions a ritual order (Carey, 1988: 34) Definition of culture Culture is a complex phenomenon and therefore a precise definition cannot be given. McQuail gives a list of characteristics, though, that can be found in various usages of the term culture: Culture is collective and shared with others (not individual) Culture expresses itself through symbols (whether intentionally or not) Culture has to some degree an evaluative dimension (pattern, order or regularity) Culture is dynamic and open for changes Culture depends on communication Culture can be found when looking at humans, things (artifacts) and human practices

Themes of media-cultural theory 1. The quality of mass culture made possible by mass communication 2. The popular culture as a vital new branch of cultural creativity and enjoyment 3. New communication technologies as potential consequences for cultural experiences 4. Media as an industry that commodified and sells culture 5. Globalization of culture 6. Culture identity as a result of communication 7. Gender or subcultures as bases for cultural identity formation 8. Ideology and hegemony embedded in cultural forms

The Beginning: the Frankfurt School and Critical Cultural Theory Critical concerns about mass culture started in the mid-nineteenth century. Initial reasons for the expressed critique was to speak up for working-class consumers of mass culture as they were often being blamed for the low quality of mass culture. The origin of the critical theory can be found by a small group of scholars from the Marxist School of Applied Social Research in Frankfurt, the Frankfurt School. Critical cultural theory points Mainly, mass culture was criticized for its : Uniformity Worship of technique Monotony Escapism and production of false needs Its reduction of individuals to customers Its removal of all ideological choice

The Redemption of the Popular Popular culture is basically the same as mass culture, only with more positive connotations it is popular and much enjoyed by many people. Further, popular culture has to meet various interests of the people (to consume it)and also those of the producers (to distribute it). The (semiotic) power of the people Based on the decoding theory (of Hall), a culture can receive different contents from one message. The delivered content depends on the decoding the context linked interpretation of a message. This bears the potential for less social control. Limitations of Media Culture Media production underlies a commercial logic rather than aiming at informing people or enriching their cultural lives. Media content is often: Variously Repetitive Undemanding Thematically limited and conformist Ideologically tendentious Nasty Positively anti-intellectual

Gender and the Mass Media Studies of media audience and their way of media usage and reception have shown that there is a large gender related difference in the manner of use of media. It has been researched that media content are associated with expressions of common identity based on the gender, which show significant differences. For a very long time, media selection and production was mostly carried out by men and therefore news mainly addressed men. Only in the late 20th century, media producers started to specify content to genders. Beside aspects such as a

general under-representation of women in the media, the stereotyping and sex-role socialization or issues of pornographic media content, the emerging new feminist media research generally addressed the following questions: How are discourses of gender encoded in media texts? How do audiences use and interpret gendered media texts? How does audience reception contribute to the construction of gender at the level of individual identity?

Commercialization Commercialism of media can be linked to different more or less positive aspects. It refers to free market arrangements but at the same time, it has great influence on the type of media content presented to this free market. Besides, commercialism has changes the relationship between the provider and the consumer of media. In order to stay competitive on a large market, media content has to reach the many. To do so, the focus of media shifts away from information to entertainment a new term is introduced: Infotainment. In that process, media content becomes more amusing, entertaining, superficial, undemanding and conformist, derivative and standardized. Communication Technology and Culture Media can be seen as an extensions of the human senses (McLuhan, 1964) and therefore new media lead to an indirect experience of the world. Depending on the technology, boundaries of experience vary ne media can shift / push boundaries. The number of senses involved in an experience determine the depth of the experience. Theories of communication technologies medium theorie One theory, coming from the Toronto School, implies that a medium represents a vehicle that transports content. The meaning of this content depends on several characteristics of that vehicle such as form, manner of use, means of encoding or social definition. Other theories imply that changing technologies can influence media culture or better that change actually depends on the invention or improvement of old media. The figure below (McQuail, 2010, p.127) shows the interactive sequence of communication and technological and cultural change. Technologies are unlikely to affect cultural practices directly, rather their impact depends on a medium (the mass media).

Mass Media and Postmodern Culture The term modern has its roots back in the fifteenth century. Since then, its meaning has been changing. Today it usually refers to features of society of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Modern can be seen as originally a western (European) notion. The term postmodern implies several interpretations. Its political implication is that the Enlightment project has reached its historic conclusion. Referring to the term literally, the postmodern era can be seen as late stage of the modern era which was characterized by aspects such as rapid social change, industrialization and capitalism. Postmodernism main propositions The rational-linear modern era is passing There are no longer organizing and explanatory ideas about culture Traditions are rejected People search for novelty, invention, momentary enjoyment, nostalgia, playfulness and inconsistency Commercialism and postmodern culture are linked

CHAPTER 6 NEW MEDIA NEW THEORY? Mass media theory has to be continually reassessed due to evolution, mass media have change, new media have appeared and the audience is not the same either. The assumption is that a medium is not just the technology used to transmit content and link participants; it also has a set of social relations interacting with the new technology. NEW MEDIA AND MASS COMMUNICATION Mass media have changed from unidirectional flow of communication to an undifferentiated mass and, in addition, there is a rise of a new kind of society which is immerse in more complex interactive networks of communications. WHAT IS NEW ABOUT THE NEW MEDIA? Their digitalization and the convergence of all the existing media forms (organization, distribution, reception and regulation). The new media is a separated set of communication technologies sharing features (made possible by digitalization) and widely available for personal use. The distinction between personal media and mass media is not clear since the same technologies are being used. Differences from old media (Poster,1999:15): -many to many conversations -Simultaneous reception, alteration, distribution of cultural objects. Instantaneous global contact. -Dislocation of the communicative action.

- Networked. The institutional aspect it is being affected too compared to traditional media institution: -Authors: Increased opportunities, difficulties maintaining copyright, change of status. -Publishers: Open alternatives - Audience: More autonomy, equality relation between sources and suppliers. MAIN THEMES NEW THEORY Power: Not clearly identified. Authorities and government do not control them as the old media (Collins,2008). Integration and identity: There is a debate about its force of integration or fragmentation; it is still too soon to make an assessment. Social change: Participating media are more likely to produce change being more involving. Space-time: Besides its lack of frontiers, it is still limited by national and linguistic boundaries. Better speed transmission and the ability to send a message to anyone, anytime, anywhere. APPLYING MEDIUM THEORY TO THE NEW MEDIA Categories of new media identified: -Interpersonal communication media (telephone, email) - Interactive lay media (video games) -Information search media (Internet) -Collective participatory media (Social networks) -Substitutions of broadcast media (Receive and download content) The new media are regarded by the audience as more interactive, rich, playful, personalized, and their use allow them to have more autonomy, privacy and social presence Main point of the new media: Their potential for sociability and interactivity. NEW PATTERNS OF INFORMATION TRAFFIC: Bordewijk and van Kaam (1986) developed a model to investigate the changes under way. Allocution: center sends simultaneous information to many receivers, there is limited feedback, time and place chosen by the sender. Conversation and exchange: Direct interaction between individuals. Parties are equal. Consultation: Individuals look up for information. Registration: Center request and receives information from individuals. Integrated: patterns overlap each other.

The new patterns of information can be related in terms of two main variables: Central versus Individual control of information, time and choice of subject. COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNITY FORMATION: Virtual community: It has some similarities with the real ones, although it is easier to enter to a virtual community. Often the identity of people is a false one or is not revealed (Rheingold, 1994). POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: NEW MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY Although recreating the ideal of public sphere as an open arena for public conversation, debate and exchange of ideas. It is demonstrated that the new media are mainly used by the small minority that is already interested in politics (Davis, 1999; Norris, 2000). TECHNOLOGIES OF FREEDOM?

Internet does remain free and unregulated, but it is increasing as a medium of commerce and hence needs financial security and as the internet penetrates to more homes, the demand of decency also increases. New means of control? Police and intelligence service are paying more attention to the need of surveillance (cyber crime) and they have already implemented some restrictions. Future vision: There is still a debate between control and freedom. NEW EQUALIZER OR DRIVER? The cost of technology and its use continue to favor the same already privileged beneficiaries, as does the investment in infrastructure and management systems. The way new communications have developed seems to favor especially western values and cultural forms including their individualism and personal freedom. CONCLUSION: There is a need to review the theory.

CHAPTER 6 NEW MEDIA NEW THEORY? New media is factored by the digitalization that facilitates a wide availability of content, more media diversity, and raising a notion of demassification, creates a specialized audience (global yet categorized) New media is easy to create and reach, but for the new media to gain the popularity and trustworthiness, it has still require the same effort as what an old media takes. However, there is still a people who looks for a specific information from a specific media (preference or loyalty towards media) Therefore, new media tend to more to be the addition of the existing spectrum (old media) rather than a replacement. Internet transgresses the limits of print and broadcasting models by, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Enabling so many conversation Simultaneous reception, alteration and redistribution of cultural objects Dislocating communicative action from the posts of the nation (?) Instant global contact Subject become a networked machine apparatus.

The implication of new media penetration : 1. Authorship has more space, though the public recognition and esteem may not changed (Its not easy to get famous in internet) 2. Publishers, which usually as a gatekeeper. Apparently not every new media has this gatekeeper team, thus causing an abundance and diversed content. 3. Audience, from mass reception to personal oriented preference. As people gets more modern, they have to frequently access the media and the information since there are too many media with a different agenda day by day. For people who dont have

a capacity to reach the media, they will find some obstacles knowing what has been exactly going on. We are no longer at the era where people talks the same thing to everyone as what they were told by the definitive sources (church, for instance) The Main Themes of New Media Theory (in relation to) 1. Power and inequality : new media is no longer meant to be controlled by the government like the earlier models of media and providing greater access for every party of communication process 2. Integrity : Technology re-embed the individual after the disembedding effect of modernization 3. Social change : The continuing material barriers define the media deployment. Media should has been known widely to be able to influence people and attaining a global attention. 4. Space and time : definitely wider but we cant resist the fact that each area has its own unique frontiers (US and English-speaking country use English on their website and the implementation of their own district law in their cyber coverage) 4 categories of new media : 1. Interpersonal communication media (email, telephone) 2. Interactive play media (video games) 3. Information search media (WWW google, or mobile phone as a teletext broadcasting) 4. Collective participatory media (Computer-mediated personal relationship) Key medium characteristic : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Interactivity, feedback ratio towards the sourse Social presence, the sense of personal contact with others Media richness, how many feature that media can serve to public? Autonomy, feeling of possesing your own content Playfulness, entertainment Privacy Personalization, content and uses are personally unique.

5 dimensions of interactivity (Downes and McMillan) : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The direction of communication Time flexibility and roles exchange Having a sense of place in the communication environment Level of control (less control tend to be more interactive) Orientation

4 indicators of interactivity (Kiousis, 2001) : 1. Proximity, how close people feel towards the communicated issue 2. Sensory activation, the more it is controlled, the less interactive people could be

3. Perceived speed (?) 4. Telepresence (?) Computer-mediated communication is different from other media use because it is transient, multimodal, less governed, high degree of end-user manipulation of content. Through internet, people can be connected whilst there are a solitary behaviour, individualistic choices and responses, and frequent anonymity, thus the relationship established from this new communicating machines are often transient, shallow and less commitment. New Patterns of Information Traffic (which are overlaping to each other and differentiated according to the information supply and schedulling control.) 1. Allocution : content and timing is decided from sender, feedback limited (Lecture, church service or concert, or broadcasting) 2. Conversation and exchange : Individual communication through email, etc. 3. Consultation : People looks for an information from a centred source (Library) but the timing is defined by the receiver him self. 4. Registration : People individually give an information to the centre as he was requested (for instance filling the questionary for the purpose of audience-meter) Computer-Mediated Community Formation (CMC) It raises a notion of a wired community or a wired city, and a virtual community, where people is connected each other through TV cable or internet connection and sharing their similar interest. People can broadcast their own local show with less expenses, people can even have more channels with an affordable cost. Nevertheless, CMC does offer a new opportunities to cross social and cultural boundaries but it can also reinforce the same frontiers. Those who want to belong to the community in cyberspace have to conform to its norms and rules in order to be recognized and accepted. New media provide more access and room for feedback, government control are unlikely to occur but also not impossible. This new media character overcome the earlier mass media negative effects (The dominance of channels by few voices / usually businessman or politician, the predominance of a vertical flow typically top-down politics, the heightened commercialism of the media market, and neglecting the essence of democracies itself. ) Benefits of the Internet for democratic politics 1. Interactivity as opposed to an one-way flow, people has more space to communicate and feel connected. 2. Equality, vertical-horizon communication, everyone can attain the same information and reach the same sources 3. Disintermediation, an opportunity for a direct communication(i.e. politician to citizen without the role of journalism) 4. Speed greater than with traditional media 5. Absence of boundaries

Nowadays, Internet has been more regulated, in the sense of intellectual property, libel, privacy with a more structured market, a pressure also put on some service providers to be responsible for what broadcast on their service, though the control is haphazard and there is also a chance for people to ditch the rules technically. Technology provides more space to share the information through internet, and in the early days of mass media, people believed that internet will bridge the gap in society and economic development and eliminate the stratification, but It turns out different in reality. In fact, the more technology you have, the better knowledge you can attain, eventually the gap between the have regions is still obvious compared to the poorer and less technology penetrated area.

Chapter 7 Normative Theory of Media & Society Besides having an effect on society, mass media also has a purpose to serve within the society. This purpose can be expressing different voices and views, helping public opinion to form as well entertainment. Normative theory refers to the right and responsibility that come with the expectations of individuals and society towards the media. Sources or Normative Obligation Media usually are not run by government or society, their formal responsibilities therefore pretty much lie in their own interest. Even though they are required to do no harm, they are free to choose their content. Nevertheless, there are a lot of sources of normative expectations towards media. Social and political expectations Professionalism and practice of journalism Claims by the general public Public as audience The media market Independence of media defined by state and agents of government Economic, cultural and social aspects of society that are influenced by mass media

The Media and the Public Interest Public interest means that the media carry out a number of important, even essential, tasks in a contemporary society. The media system should operate according to the same basic principles governing the rest of society. Media should not cause social problems or extreme offence. Main public interest criteria for media structure and content are listed on page 165 but will also reappear in the next paragraph (Main Issues for Social Theory of Media).

Main Issues for Social Theory of the Media 1. Structure of a media system and the condition of operation Freedom of publication the media is able to express and report freely and independently and meet the need of their audience Plurality of ownership media system should not be dominated by a few controlling interests Universality of provision communication network of a society should reach all citizens equally Diversity of channels and forms Citizens should have access to media that reflect their ideas and meet their interests and needs Discovery of information, opinion and cultural content media systems should reflect the diversity of society 2. Expected services within the public interest Support for maintaining public order and the security of the state Quality of cultural provision media are expected to respect or even support the dominant values and moral standards of their own society Support for the democratic process contribution of mass media to the working of political and other social institutions Meeting international human rights obligations 3. Media are expected to do no harm Respecting the rights of individuals most common: personal reputation, rights to privacy and personal dignity, property rights and rights to anonymity Harm to society welfare or vulnerable groups or encouragement to behavior considered antisocial Harm to individuals for e.g. harm caused by provocation or harmful acts of others (imitation) Early Approaches to Theory: the Press as Fourth Estate The term fourth estate was introduced in the late-eighteenth century. It referred to the political power possessed by the press. The first three powers were Lords, Church and Commons. The power of press came from its informative capacity suddenly it was possible to inform about topics such as deliberations, assemblies and acts of governments. The 1947 Commission on Freedom of the Press and the Social Theory of Responsibility The Commission on Freedom of the press was set up as a private commission in 1942 and reported in 1947. Reasons to set up this commission were based on the criticism of the American newspaper press including sensationalism, commercialism, political imbalance and monopoly tendencies. The concept of the commission consisted of a diverse, objective, informative and independent press institution which would avoid causing offence or encouraging crime, violence or disorder. Social responsibility should be reached by selfcontrol, rather than government intervention.

Social responsibility theory main propositions The media have obligations to society, and media ownership is a public trust News media should be accurate, truthful, fair, objective and relevant The media should be free, but self-regulated The media should follow agreed codes of ethic and professional conduct Under some circumstances, government may need to intervene to safeguard the public interest Professionalism and Media Ethics Professionalism of Journalism was another response to the commercialism and lack of political independence that the mass newspaper press encountered in the early twentieth century. This development included for e.g. the founding of associations, the formation of press councils and the drawing up of codes of practice and ethics. Press councils were usually voluntary bodies that mediated between the public and the mass media. A journalistic code of ethics refers to a set of principles of professional conduct that are adapted and controlled by journalists themselves. These codes were introduced in the mid-twentieth century (USA and Europe). Even though codes differ between nations, most codes concentrate on: The provision of reliable information Avoiding distortion Suppression Bias Sensationalism Invasion of privacy

The most frequently found principles in journalistic codes are: Truthfulness of information, clarity of information, defence of the publics rights, responsibilities in forming public opinion, standards of gathering and presenting information and respecting the integrity of sources. Four Theories of the Press Soviet Theory Purpose was to contribute to the success and continuance of the Soviet socialist system, and especially to the dictatorship of the party. The ownership of the press was public. Authoritarian Theory supports and advances the policies of the government in power and can be either owned privately or by the public Libertarian Theory purpose is to inform, entertain, sell as well as discover the truth and check on government. The ownership of the press is mainly private. Social Responsibility purpose is to inform, entertain, sell, but also to raise conflict to the plane of discussion. The ownership of the press is private. The Public Service Broadcasting Alternative Public broadcasting has first been intervened by a government back in the 1920s, primarily in order to regulate the use of limited transmission wavelengths, in the interest of both the

industry and consumers. In America a system of licensing was then introduced that did not only cover technical matters but also some social and political ones. These include for e.g. the need to provide relevant information, balance and fairness on controversial political issues and diversity. In the United States, public broadcasting generally refers to a minority network, financed by voluntary listeners. Many other countries have public service broadcasting that is set up by law and financed by public funds. There has never been a generally accepted theory of public service broadcasting but a list of recurring goals can be defined: Universality of geographic coverage Diversity in providing for all main tastes, interests and needs as well as matching the full range of opinions and beliefs Providing for special minorities Having concern for the national culture, language and identity Serving the need of the political system Providing balanced an impartial information on issues of conflict Having a specific concern for quality, as defined in different ways Putting public interest before financial objectives

Further an effective system for serving the public interest needs to meet the following structural conditions: A founding character or mission Public financing to some degree Independence from government Mechanisms of accountability to the society and general public Mechanism of accountability to the audience

Mass Media, Civil Society and the Public Sphere The term public sphere refers to some kind of space which provides a more or less autonomous and open platform for public debate. Access to this space is free, and freedom of assembly, association and expression are guaranteed. This space lies between the basis (private sphere of the life of an individual) and the top (public life) of society. The new media is considered to be an enrichment to the public sphere. Ways in which media support the public sphere are listed below: Enlarge the space for debate Circulate information and ideas as a basis for public opinion Interconnecting citizens and governments Providing mobilizing information Challenging the monopoly of government over politics Extending freedom and the diversity of publication

Response to the Discontents of the Public Sphere Public journalism is a response to ills of the public sphere such as civic privatism and a mood of anti-politics. The purpose of public journalism is to improve the quality of civic life by fostering participation and debate. A main idea of public journalism is the shift from a

journalism of information to a journalism of conversation. The public is supposed to not only be informed but also invited into discussions. This public journalism movement has not found a wide acceptance. Normative Media Theory: Four Models A liberal-pluralist or market model Based on the free press (libertarian) theory Press freedom is identified with the own personal freedom Means of publication can be operated without permission from the state Emphasis lies on the individual needs Public interest is defined by what interests the public A social responsibility or public interest model Freedom of publication brings obligations serving the interest of the wider society Media is responsible and will maintain a high standards by self-regulation Government may intervene if necessary A professional model Media focuses on the interest of the public The primary concern is to serv the publics need for information Provide platforms for expression of diverse views Institutional and professional autonomy of journalism guarantees that those in power are adequately watched An alternative media model A range of non-mainstream media Different aims and origins Some shared values such as the emphasis on smallness of scale, participation and community, shared goals between producers and audiences Rejection of an universial rationality as well as ideals of bureaucratic-professional competence and efficiency Emphasis on subcultures with particularistic values

CHAPTER 8 MEDIA STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE : PRINCIPLES AND ACCOUNTABILITY Market criteria is likely to be the same reference to measure the normative or expected aspect of media, for instance money value, consumer choice, employment, efficiency, profitability, reliable alternative availability, fair competition and unbiased information. Media values : Freedom, equality, diversity, truth and information quality, social order and solidarity. Whilst the level of media operation where each value can be examined are : 1. Structure : media system, organization, finance, ownership, regulation, infrastructure, etc

2. Conduct : manner of the operation, method of production, editorial, market policy, etc 3. Performance : content package and delivery. Freedom What public gets from media freedom : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A trustworthy watchdog Stimulated democratic system and social life Opportunities for more perspective, idea and beliefs expression A well developed community More aspect of living to be freed

The main structural condition for effective media freedom are : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Absence of censorship The equal right for everyone to access the expression and publication channels Independence from owners who usually are businessman or politician Competitiveness of the system (fair recruitment of human resources) Freedom of obtain any information from any relevant sources.

But those condition left many issues unresolved, for instance, there are finally always a room for conflict interest either from government or powerful society, different perspective of media freedom from the owner and the workers (journalist, etc), a freedom of speech which not yet enough in answering everybodys concern. However, the structural conditions (independence, access, diversity) define the level of media performance (reliable, critical, original, relevant) Equality Where media as a fair market business and also an accountable information source. The character that indicates the equality value of media is possibly as an open-source with a proportional access, reachable diversity, neutral and interest-free.

Diversity More channels, more access, wider audience. It benefits public since its giving a space for the marginal voices, bridging the minority to another society, limiting social conflict. The good level of structure is when diversity offers more different channels for more various interest, absorbing more independent and value-free firms. Speaking about the media performance, diversity norm requires media to be relevant in reflecting the reality of society, equal access for everyone, served as a forum for any kind of interest, adjusting to the various need of society.

Truth and Information Quality When a good media is able to ensure people for their free access to the reality, developing a better democracy, and resistant towards propaganda, objective, fair and non discriminatory, relevant, balanced and neutral. Social Order and Solidarity Media can be useful to bridge the lost connected society if media runs in the right track of norm. Media should obey or respect the local regulation, socially involved in any level of society, not encouraging a crime, possibly to be limited according to the national interest, moral consideration regarding an explicit content depends on the local perspective. Cultural Order Media contents should reflect and express culture attribute (language, life style) of the people where media serve geographically, priority given for educational purposes, cultural creativity shall be encouraged, and however ought to be open to the possibilities and demands of popular culture (acculturation) Accountability Where we can find how honest and responsible the media is by examining their feedback. Media should respect the free publication rights, preventing or limiting harm that endanger people either as their contributor or audience, and more positive aspect promoted. Accountability has 2 major models : 1. Liability, for something potentially harmful brings a situation that put more into a legal basis (law suit) 2. Answerability which is more to a social and moral basis (apology letter to the reader from a newspaper). Out of those two, media has to keep its balance by staying on the laws of supply and demand of producers and their consumers, but however its hard to ditch the ownership influence out of the agenda setting and media businessman ( owner ) tend to make a media as their gold mining, so media will lack of content quality and become too commercialized. Another form of accountability is when media accommodate the opinions of their customers and last but not least the code of conduct within the professional media workers. But eventually, what comes as a best accountability with a long term effect is when media plays honest, transparent, relevant, and morally integrated with society rather than play hard through legal force or any other external control that only causing more a social friction.

Summary of Chapter 8, McQuail Basic values concerning public communication: freedom, equality, diversity truth and information quality, social order, and solidarity. Public benefits of media freedom: Public scrutiny of those in power Stimulation of democratic lifestyle Opportunities for expression Increase in the amount and variety of freedom

(Ideal) Structural conditions of freedom of communication (although often these are not feasible due to limitations): Absence of censorship Access to channels of expression and publication (for senders and receivers) Independence from outside interests Competition within the media (prevention of monopolization) Freedom to obtain info from relevant sources

Performance values of freedom that are sought after include reliability, critical stance, originality, choice, change, and relevance. Structural conditions for the equality of communication: Access (open and proportional) Diversity Objectivity

Expected public benefits of diversity: Possibility of beneficial social and cultural change A check on the misuse of freedom More access to communication for minorities Increasing understanding between different groups Maximizing the free marketplace of ideas

Structural requirements for diversity are much the same as the requirements for equality. External diversity separate channels for different interests Internal diversity different voices represented within the same channel Media diversity (ideal) performance requirements (often not entirely possible): Reflect various social, economic, and cultural realities of society in a more or less proportional way

Serve as a platform and provide equal access to the voices of minorities within the society Offer relevant choices at an appropriate point in time and a variety of choices overall, corresponding to the interests of society

The objectivity concept: News should be factual (truthful, relevant) and impartial (neutral). Achieving objectivity has limitations, e.g. amount and weight of news vs. diversity of news. Social order perspectives From above (societal level, watchdog): social compliance and cultural conformity From below (individual level, citizen): social solidarity and cultural identity Media guidelines for social order: Provide channels of intercommunication and support Pay attention to socially disadvantaged groups Dont undermine forces of law or threaten national security Moral decency should be matched with public norms (Achieving social order may be a compromise on freedom of communication)

Cultural order should also be preserved, paying attention to language, way of life, education and information for the societies cultural values Media accountability the voluntary or involuntary processes by which the media answer directly or indirectly to the society and those immediately affected for the quality and consequences of publication. Publication should limit harm to individuals and society, be transparent, and promote positive aspects of publication Accountability can be described as answerability (on a moral/social basis) or liability (on a legal basis). In any case, the media may have to answer to any of their stakeholders (e.g. audience, regulators, clients) Different frames of media accountability also exist (i.e. the extent of accountability): Law and regulation (strict legal restrictions with measurable punishment) Market frame (supply and demand encourages good media performance) Public responsibility (beyond profit, to respect public opinion) Professional responsibility (ethics of the practices of journalists, owners, etc.)

Chapter Nine Media Economics and Governance

In previous chapters the book dealt with the media as an institution, rather than as an industry. However, due to the free-market environment, they are embedded in a framework which allows for the business-like nature of the media. The sources of influence in this framework: Economics Politics Technology

Some Economic Principles of Media Structure

What are the different media markets and sources of income? There are different sources of funding for a particular media system1. Apart from the advertising market (ads), or the consumer market (media products and services you can buy), the media are funded by sponsorships, private backers, public money, etc. There are many more online revenue systems, such as online ads, subscriptions, and so on...

What difference does it make if a medium is primarily funded by the Advertising or the Consumer revenue? It is commonly thought that if advertising is the primary source of funding, the less independent the content is of the interest of stakeholders and business in general.

Media market reach and diversity / competition for advertising revenue? Ads-dependant media will usually homogenize the conent and sacrifice diversity, in pursuit of a more homogeneous (interesting for advertisers to the masses) audience. This does not apply to the internet, where it is known exactly what you are interested in, so the goal is to get as many people as possible, and then flash personalized ads. Thus the content is generally more diverse.

Media system refers to the actual set of all mass media in a given national society.

Media cost structure? There are Fixed costs(building, printer) and Variable costs (paper, labour). Traditional media have very high fixed costs, whereas the 'weightless' media (blog) have almost none. Ownership and Control (or how Berslusconi remains in power) The contents of the media always reflect the interests of those who finance them

Freedom of the press supports the rights of owners to decide on content Liberal theory, ofcourse, posits that owners deal only with macro-decisions, whereas the micro-decisions about reporting are left to (free) editors Multiplicity of ownership and free competition are the best defence against the misuse of powers of ownership There are usually checks and balances within the system to limit undesireable owner influence

Competition and Concentration Even though Free market should lead to diversity by multiplicity of ownership, capitalist system allows (leads to?) monopoly or oligopoly which ultimately leads to uniformity.

Competition can be Intermedia competition (TV news vs. Newspaper) Intramedium competition (Newspaper from your country1 vs. Newspaper from your country2) Interfirm competition (CNN vs. BBC)

Concentration (progressively fewer individuals or organizations controlling an increasing share) can be Horizontal (when two major newspapers merge) Vertical (when a film studio owns a cinema chain)

Concentration can also be observed by level at which occurs within an organization. There are: Ownership Editorial Audience levels

The degree of concentration refers to the extent to which the largest companies have control. It is considered excessive when three or four firms control more than 50% of the market.

Globalization and the linking of markets and distribution systems in search of profit (synergy) lead to higher concentration. Higher concentration can yield benefits (better content due to more money in organization), allthough that is usually not the case. Instead you get loss of diversity, higher prices and restricted access to the media.

Concentration can be combated by regulation.

Mass media governance See Figure 9.2, p.234

Different media need different forms of governance Control is more justifiable for mass media than for small-scale media (because of the scale of the effect) Control can be applied more legitimately to structure than to content Neither prepublication censorship nor punishment for publication alone are consistent with freedom and democracy Self-regulation is generally preferable to external or hierarchichal control Alternative Models to the Regulation of Mass Media

The free press model Complete freedom from governmentally imposed regulations. Allthough it sounds good, usually due to the trend of concentration some regulations are imposed. These usually bring legal protection to the press, and some economic benefits.

The broadcasting model Due to monopoly control and spectrum scarcity, broadcasting has usually been subject to high regulatory levels. Deeply institutional due to the public service function. Recently this model slightly declined due to privatization and commercialization.

The common carrier model Think of the telefone line. The infrastructure is highly controlled, content very little. This model is in decline.

The hybrid status of the internet Internet is de facto free of any control, but also of all legal protection. Its relationship with other models is still unclear. See Figure 9.2, p.238 the internet fits in all of them, depending on the nature of the content/usage.

Media Policy Paradigm Shift (three phases)

Emerging communication industry policy (incoherent, response to the availability and developmnet of telephony, cable, wireless telegraphy, etc) untill WW2 Public service (recognition of a need to legislate broadcasting, along with the awareness of the social component of the media and the need to minimise harm to society) peak in the 70's New paradigm (Economic goals take precedence over social and political ones shift to freedom, universal access, plus accountability, mainly defined as media self regulation with minimum outside control)

Media Systems and Political Systems The press always takes on the form and coloration of the social and political structures within which it operates. Especially, it reflects the system of social control where the relations of individuals and institutions are adjusted

Models of the media-political system relationship: Liberal Democratic corporatist Polarized pluralist (See figure 9.8, p.242)

Indexation theory says that news media will generally accept the discourse put forward by the government officials and general concensus.

In conclusion? It seems this chapter is about finding the balance between freedom and regulation, each with its own benefits and problems.

CHAPTER 10 Global Mass Communication Introduction Globalization is hardly a new concept today, still, with such a predominant societal factor, it bears the need to be better understood when seen under the communication & media perspective.

Globalization Driving Forces While technology has inarguably been a strong driving force pulling globalization into an achievable goal, economy is the carriage that it sits on. The cost decrease of transmission technologies made possible by developments in broadcasting, television & other technologies allowed global communications to happen. Economically speaking, the rise of immigration (war, colonization, travel accessibility) increased demand for international communication, news became a commodity, globalization of product markets provided advertising agencies international relevance, exportation and importation of entertainment media (specially from the USA to outside), and the appearance of privatized telecommunication infrastructures and business (Hills, 2002) to supply demand. All of this provided a reason for global communications to happen. And as a deterrent of globalization, it is culture that comes into effect. Global Media Structures The way communication is exchanged between nations develops certain patterns, where this nations characteristics shape this overall pattern. Such characteristics can be; Territory & population size Level of economic development Language Political System Culture

Economic development is the main factor determining dominance in the overall set of relationships.

Language & Culture encourage flows between countries with the same similarities, and these 2 factors and political ideologies also set what is possible regarding exchange.

Territory wise, media is stratified by region, top to bottom, global level to nation state to national region to locality, as pointed by Tunstall (2007:330). Of this, a centre-peripheral pattern of relations between nations (Mowlana, 1985) emerges, both in relation to geographical positioning, also to economic factors nations with more developed media, wealthier and larger in population in comparison will have larger outward flows of communication than smaller nations. Nations similar in such aspects will show a more balanced exchange of information. E.g. USA, Russia, China, Brazil, others. In general, the wealthier the country, the more chance it has to afford its media autonomy. In extreme cases, media dependency can also show itself, where production, distribution and reception are spatially organized, from weak to strong nation. Multinational Media Ownership & Control Another aspect is multinational media ownership; media concentration is now a phenomenon in effect, where the world media industry is dominated by a small number of very large media firms (Chalaby, 2003). News is now bought and traded as a commodity by such media firms, where importation of content is easier than its gathering or production. Amusement such as music & film are also subjects of internationalization, being a market dominated by a handful of corporations, film and music. Advertising production and creation has become another commodity, being produced and held under umbrella groups (e.g. WPP, Publicis, Omnicom). This global mass communication is taking a variety of forms, such as; Direct transmission from one international audience to another, Specifically international media (e.g. MTVEurope, CNN International, Al-Jazeera), Imported content (e.g. Film, music, series, journalistic items), International news about other countries, Format & genres of foreign origin that are adapted, Thru the World Wide Web in many forms.

This content no longer has a sharp dividing line between what is global and national, and entry is controlled by audience demand for their own media content in their own language. This also shows foreign content passes thru several gates when using traditional media, from producer to intended audience; some gates include country of audience editing, cultural adaptation of contents, dubbing and translations, technology available and management by the importing party. Free market encourages imports, so the biggest mechanism of control will tend to be audience demand for their own media content in their own language. In general, the wealthier the country, the more chance it will have to afford its media autonomy., where otherwise the media will become dependant of other countries exports. This is referred to as International Media Dependency.

Cultural Imperialism Point This relates to the media content flood from one dominant culture to others, in forms of print, film, music, television programmes and such. This effect was propelled not in a forced way, but by willing request of the mass audience for popular culture. Media firms however provided push, by choosing as request, for economic reasons rather than ideological (freemarket principle). However unplanned as an outcome of political, cultural and technological changes, critics of this imperialism argue the undermining of cultural autonomy and development this causes, the hindering of national identities, cultural homogenization, and cultural dominance from one nation to another. Counter-point On the other hand, such views of attempted dominance are countered by the fact this is not forced down as imperialism, but is self-chosen as the demands of the audience, a voluntary request. This becomes even more positive, when taken into account that the opposite many of times translate into xenophobia, nationalism & ethnocentrism. While local culture can be diluted, it does not mean the destruction of one for the other; audiences can tolerate several different and inconsistent worlds of cultural experience, even adapt the content to local culture, merge and re-interpret (e.g. MTVEurope). This also leads to creative, idea & cultural development and understanding. Deterrents typically include language barrier, relevance to national culture and personal circumstances. International News Flow 3 types of flow exist in the internationalization of TV: National foreign & national content is distributed in the national media system. Bilateral content intended for one country is received in a neighbouring country (e.g. Dutch TV being received in Belgium). Most common when 2 or more countries have common grounds in terms of culture, experience and, usually, language. Multilateral content is produced or disseminated without a specific national audience in mind. Growing importance due to internet usage growth.

<page 260> This news flow is also much determined by the content itself, and the characteristics it may have. The more relevance to the country and to the audience, coupled with how much these news events might affect, the more worthwhile the content will be. As always, the ultimate arbiters of what news make it home will be the average news consumer.

Affecting factors for the selection for news will be: Occurrence of events abroad with home relevance or interests Timing of events and news cycles Reporting & transmitting resources available Operation of international, news agencies Journalistic news values Dramatic & emotional values Geographic distance from events happening Cultural affinity between countries

Global Media Culture Global Trade Post WW2, enormous expansion of media content production and transmission has happened outside the USA. Development of third world countries gave rise to new production centres and commercial relations (e.g. India, Bollywood). Stabilization of Europe post-war provided for a new market for many nations, and in itself for the continents countries. This has been driven by expansion of markets, the mentioned privatization of media control, political advances towards unified Europe (EU) and the wish to reduce large trade deficits in media products. Arising from cultural differences however, it is fact that in any given country, the most popular content are nearly always home produced, even if based on international formats. This has lead many media groups to learn to adapt content and format to cope with local requirements, culturally speaking and also technologically speaking. Moorti (2003) calls this more of commodification of content rather than real multiculturalism. Critics of this new Global Media Culture point out potential effects: Synchronization of culture Undermining national, regional and local cultures Commodification of cultural symbols Increased multiculturalism Hybridization and evolution of cultural forms Rise of a global media culture Deterritorialization of culture

Media Governance There are organizations that have some degree of control on global media governance (e.g. WTO, World Intellectual Property Organization, International Telecommunications Union), but these concern things that are not just exclusive to global media, and generally concern with property rights, general trade, administration of technology and culture that extends beyond media. These tend to represent various industry interests, including those of publishers, journalists and producers.

There is also international treaties that vie to protect groups and individuals against the misuse of communication. However, important to note is the paradigm shift towards deregulation and privatization, coupled with the communication revolution of computerization & telecommunication and freedom brought this path of control to a halt. Chapter 10 Summary, McQuail In this chapter, McQuail stresses that globalization undermines and may prevent the growth of different cultures and heterogenity. He uses several paragraphs and text boxes to get across this same message, so dont be confused if you couldnt tell the difference between them. Origins of globalization: International telegraph system Hollywood film International media used for propaganda Recorded music (American popular songs) Television Internet

Causes of media globalization: Technological advancement Commercial enterprise and advertising Improved diplomatic relations and trade Colonization and imperialism (past and present) Expansion of telecommunications

The world media industry is being increasingly dominated by a small number of very large media firms (e.g. the world news duopoly of US Associated Press and British-owned Reuters, the music industry in the hands of the big five) One-off media (e.g. films, music) are much easier to globalize than cash flow media (e.g. newspapers, television stations) Varieties of global mass media: Direct transmission (e.g. satellite TV channels, books) in their original form Specifically international media (e.g. MTV Europe, CNN International), edited or remade in some way for international compatibility Imported content items (films, music, TV programmes, journalistic items etc.) these can also be adapted to suit domestic audiences International news items Miscellaneous content (e.g. sporting events, advertising) with a foreign origin The World Wide Web

the meanings of media globalization: Increasing ownership by global media firms Homogenization of media systems and culture across the world Increased international choice for audiences Less importance on location and culture of experienced media Decreased national communication sovereignty and more free flow of communication

Self-sufficiency (at a national level) in media terms is virtually impossible, but there can be extreme degrees of insufficiency, and it is never possible to truly catch up. Media imperialism and its main propositions: Global media promote relations of dependency rather than economic growth Imbalances of mass media flow undermine cultural autonomy, and encourages worldwide westernization

However, much like the mass culture/popular culture redemption, globalization does not have to be seen in such a negative light, it can create cultural hybrids and is arguably better for countries than nationalism and xenophobia (dislike of people from other countries) 3 types of flow exist in the internationalization of TV: National foreign content is distributed in the national TV system Bilateral content intended for one country is received in a neighbouring country (e.g. Dutch TV being received in Belgium) Multilateral content is produced or disseminated without a specific national audience in mind In any given country, the most popular TV programmes are almost always home-produced There are organizations that have some degree of control on global media governance (e.g. WTO, World Intellectual Property Organization, International Telecommunications Union), but these concern things that are not just exclusive to global media, for example they may concern property rights, general trade, and culture that extends beyond media). Otherwise international communication is not subject to any central or consistent system of control

Summary chapter 11: The media organisation: pressures and demands This chapter looks at the main kind of influences (internal & external) in the production and processing phase of mass communication. Main Issues 1. Degree of freedom of media organisation in relation to the wider society and within the organisation.

2. How do routines and procedures (selecting/ processing) influence what is produced?

Levels of analysis To identify different phases in media work and significant relations between media and the world. Individual Organisation/ Medium, Industry, Institution Society International (see fig. 11.1; society-centric perspective).

The Media Organisation in a Field of Social Forces The media organisation is influenced by many internal forces (management, technique and professionals) and many external forces: societal; Economic pressures (competitors, owners, unions, advertisers, agencies), Social and political pressures (control, pressure groups, institutions) as well as Audience (interest and demand) and Sources. In liberal-democratic societies, de media are free to operate within the limits of the law, but Conflicts occur in relation with government/ institutions. Ambiguity of Media Organisational Goals Basis for classification of goals: Utilitarian organisation: produce and provide material goods or services for financial ends or Normative organisation: advance some value or archive a valued condition (needs and interest of the audience. - Revenue goals (financial: profit: income from consumers and advertisement) vs. nonrevenue goals (not financial: gaining prestige, gaining influence, serving the public interest/normative goals). - Type of beneficiary. According to normative theory the media should meet the needs and interest of the audience first and interests of clients and state secondary. The Journalists Role: Engagement vs. Neutrality Neutral: informer, interpreter and instrument of government (as a channel or mirror). Most preferred. Participant: representative of the public (investigation of information; dissiminator), critical of government, (advocate of policy/ general watchdog/ educator). But there is a plurality of role conceptions (adversary role, interpretative role, informative role) and the role depends on the political landscape as well. For instance, in countries where democracy is weaker, there is less emphasis on the watchdog role.

journalism as a Profession Since journalists is a profession you have to account for economic motives of the journalist (economic theory of journalism). But journalist scan also be more ideological (cq public service, objectivity, autonomy, immediacy & ethical). Online Journalism Bloggers make journalism less journalist-centred and more user-centred. Audience blogs (by members of the public) can serve as a watchdog of the watchdogs. Advantages of online content: More space available, range of sources, easy to provide external links, popular.There is a complementary relationship between traditional media and citizen bloggers and it can improve relations with the audience but threatens the ownership of the news by journalists. External: Relations with Pressure and Interest Groups Informal groups (often organized) that influence directly content of the media, mostly by setting limits to what is published (social pressure for positive treatment for minorities). Pressure groups can stimulate some crisis situations. Relations with Owners en Clients (for example Advertisers) Since media is market based owners have influence on media content. Diminishes degree of freedom for journalists, producers etc. (for example by censoring content) Advertisers can shape content when they sponsor programmes/ magazines etc.: sometimes can slant news in their favour but more often suppress news they dont like. Are mostly edgy about controversy and can lead to self-censorship. Without advertisement most media cant survive the competition market model reducing the costs and maximising the outcome. Market Model: The probability of an events becoming news has to do with: (1) potential harm to investors/ sponsors; (2) the costs of covering the event and (3) the expected breadth of appeal to audiences that are wiling to pay for it. They say online media are likely to follow the market-driven model. Relations with the Audience There is a cynical view of the audience as stupid, incompetent and unappreciative. This can lead to a tension between professionalism of the communicator and the meeting of audience needs (and need of good ratings). The magnitude of audience influence has to do with (among other things) the differences in communicators: Pragmatic communicators are happy with ratings which satisfy the organisation. Craft-oriented communicators are content with the judgments of fellow journalists. Those that commit to the goals of the organisation.

Those that wish to influence society. Audience participates in the making of (for example) a movie because theyre always in the mind of the communicator. Internal: Internal Structure and Dynamics Diversity of purpose (mixed goals): depends on different work cultures: news-oriented & politically-oriented (more normative) and economically oriented & technically oriented (more utilitarian). Influence of Personal Characteristics Those who work in media are a cross-section of society, have certain values and beliefs. There are two pathways. Here described as a and b (fig. 11.4): A: Communicator characteristics, personal background and experiences (like: gender, income, religion, class etc.) personal backgrounds and experiences professional roles and ethics effects on media content. B Communicator characteristics, personal background and experiences personal attitudes and beliefs power within the organisation effects on media content. Having status or power in an organisation permits the communicator to express their personal beliefs and values in public communication. Example of Marxism: those in charge of mass communication tend to come from the same social strata as those in control of the economic and political systems. Woman in News Organisations Gender: male bias. Relation sexes and news content. Role Conflicts and Dilemmas Status or power: conflict based on hierarchy. Example: management want a saleable, risk free product, while the writers want to convey a worthwhile message. Active participatory versus neutral and informational Creative and independent versus bureaucratic and routine Communicative purpose versus meeting consumer demand Personal inclination versus job requirement Co-operation versus conflict Production of Media Culture Gatekeeping & Selection

Metaphor to describe the process by which selections are made in media work, it can apply to content distributed, to the work of literary agents and publishers and to many kinds of editorial and production work in print and television. In a wider sense it refers to the power to give or withhold access to different voices in society. This tends to be an over simplification however. Shoemaker (1991) Model: Gatekeeping under this model involves multiple and successive acts of selection over the period of news production. There is no one gate of control. The model of control also changes according to media, content and parties involved, which can range from advertisers, public relations, pressure groups, media moguls, journalists, sources, and others. Organizational & Ideological: This refers to systematic influences on content selection. Organizational refers primarily to bureaucratic routines. Ideological mainly to values and cultural influences which are not purely individual and personal but which stem also from the social setting of news activity. News Value: News gathered or that can be gathered can have certain attributes that contribute to their increase in value, and make media agencies partial to their distribution, allowing to predict what might be covered in foreign news. Such attributes are; Scale of events (geographical, spanning, etc) Proximity to home Short time scale of occurrence (how soon has it happened?) Relevance to the audience Consonance with past events (tied with relevance to the audience, no divergence of information) Potential for personification Drama & Action in the narrative Economic benefits (audience, sponsors, etc)

News that fit the time frame and the machinery of selection and retransmission will also be prime for selection. News may arrive from several different forms, sought out or ordered in advance, systematically planned, or at times it has to be internally manufactured or constructed. Other Influences: People, Location & Time People: western-like media tends to choose news events that involve personal actions, and to personalize abstract topics to make them more concrete and interesting to the audience. News often are reports of what prominent people say about events rather than reports of the events themselves. Power, status or fame of individuals involved is a factor. Personal contacts of reporters.

Location: The nearer the location of news events to the geographical location of the intended audience, the more likely it is to be noticed and relayed. Other factor is the importance of the event country (ties it may have to the country/city/sphere of the audience. The news net has a very tight weave in places where power is concentrated because of this. Time: enormous factor, it is used as a factor of novelty and relevance, both highly prized qualities in news. They can be divided in, Routine pre-planned and make up for the lion share of the news. Accidents Scandals Chance events

Key Event concept: news events that have all the qualities of powerful news, but also resonate with the public in such a way it increases its significance and may symbolize some deeper public crisis or anxiety. Media Hype concept: media generated news wave, triggered by one specific event and expanded by the self-reinforcing processes within the news production of the media (Vasterman, 2005: 515). Criteria are sudden and unexpected appearance, lack of correspondence with frequency of actual events, tendency to provoke reactions from social actors to generate more news. Media & Society Issue built around the media access to society, and more importantly, society to the media and influence over content. This access society->media tends to be restricted, even in democratic societies, and generally only available to the social and political top. Defined as a continuum, at one extreme the media is totally penetrated by, or assimilated to, outside interests; at the other end, the media are totally free to exclude or admit, as they will. Under normal conditions, neither extreme is found. <see page 320> Media Sources & Influence News sources have a very powerful influence on news, but these have also vested interests in the media. Media tends to use more dependable sources, and this tends to be provided by established authority and conventional wisdom. This is especially true when foreign events are involved, and tend to lead to news bias in terms of the framing of issues and events, with news reflecting government views. News Supply Planning: There is a matter of high degree of planning and predictability that goes with any large-scale continuous media production operation. This creates a market for news sourcing, fed by third party media agencies, press releases, press conferences, public relations and so on.

This reveals inconsistencies with the notion of neutral media, with news that are more readily available being more distributed. Also contributing to this inconsistency is imbalance of power between information supplies and media takers, and the question of vested interests between source and media (e.g. politicians, officials, police). Usage of Public Relations: news can be created and controlled by source in such a way, usually in the form of press releases and conferences as mentioned above. Corporation, states and institutions can claim habitual access to journalists, use their powers to disrupt routine access of others and create pseudo-events of their own to gain media attention. This process to which used to influence news has evolved, and is extensively used in the present by all forms of organization, groups and states. Spin-doctors: profession whose task is to maximize the favourable presentation of policy and action. Standardization of Processes & Organization Typically very hierarchical, content production tend to follow a sequence from ideas considered (1), narrowing down according to news judgement and to material acquired from sources (2) to format, design & presentation decision taking (3). <see page 327> Music industry offers a different model; song writing to publishing, demo tape to recording, recording to manufacturing & marketing, distribution to consumption. <see page 328> Content produced and chosen for distribution subjected to organizational routines can be affected by selection bias, accounted for the wish to maximize output according to a tried and trusted product image. In other words, media organizations will tend to favour content that suits their goal criteria, and while they can indeed be professional or craft criteria, more weight will be given to what sells most or gets highest ratings. The 3 main factors of influence will be: Economical; not just what sells most here, but also what is most cost efficient in production. Technological; content is produced based on technology already available that provides an ease of creation, but it also means technology also pressures content to adapt to itself. New technology will lead to attempts to maximize their use, and alter audiences expectations. Cultural; what is more popular and gets more ratings will be give priority. Other models of decision-making leading to content production Assembly line: media and content production compared to factory, produced with the use of procedural rules. Because content have to be marginally different from each other, this results in overproduction at each stage.

Craft and entrepreneurship: content produced overseen by powerful, with established reputations in their field, manage all creatives, production, engineers, etc. Common in film industries. Convention and formula: content comes from agreement of a recipe by members of a relevant world, a sort of code of conduct that tells workers how to combine elements to produce works in the particular genre. Audience image and conflict: creative production process subordinated to what audience will/should/may like. Product image: content is shaped according to what is most likely to be accepted by decision makers at the next link in the chain. This model support itself on the idea that professionals know best. Media Logic Relating to process and cultural standardization out of economic reasons, and with many elements coming from the publicity model, media logic describes the systematic nature of pre-existing definitions of what a given type of content should be like. Overlooks how material is organized, the style in which it is presented and the emphasis of media communication (Altheid and Snow 1991:10). This concept is especially useful for identifying the predilection of media producer for factors that they believe will increase audience attention and satisfaction in content in general. This is generally content with one or more of the following characteristics; Novelty Immedicy High Tempo (fast developing) Personalization (emotional connectivity) Brevity Conflict Dramatization Celebrity orientation

Convergence Culture The concept of convergence culture has gained wide currency, a concept borne of the participation of audiences in production, which leads to blurring of the line between professional and amateur and the breakdown of the line between producer and consumer. Technological aspects and cultural sweeps such as YouTube, social network websites and advent of blogging facilitate this. Nonetheless, while a challenge for traditional media structures and professionals, there is still a demand for quality production and reliable editorial selection. This form of consumer production, pending it meeting criteria for such, then tends to be normalized and commercialized coming a certain point of its life cycle.

Chapter 12 summary Media organizational activities: Gatekeeping and selection Gatekeeping refers to the power to give or withhold access to different voices in society and is often a locus of conflict, i.e. the kind of representation and amount of access given to minorities. However there are some critiques: 1) The concept implies that there is just one (initial) gate area and one main set of selection criteria and this is not true, 2) It is a simple view of the supply of news and 3) There is a tendency to individualize decision-making. Ideological vs organizational factors Ideological influence refers primarily to bureaucratic routines. Organizational influence refers to values and cultural influence, which are not purely individual and personal but also stem from social (and national) settings of news publicity. News media follow a predictable pattern and different organizations behave in a similar way of they are confronted by the same events and under equivalent conditions, because of the limited diversity within the media system as a whole and the news value. News value is an attribute of a news event that transforms it into an interesting story for an audience. Three main factors which influence selection: 1 Organizational: more universal and least escapable and have some ideological consequences. Events are favored which are near the reporting facilities and with credible sources 2 genre related: preference on news events which fit the audience expectations and which can be readily placed within a familiar interpretative frame 3 Socio-cultural: focus on individuals and involve an interest in elite people and also negative, violent or dramatic happenings. There is a mixed support for the view that news selection is based on what the audience would interest. Influences on news selection Myth structure of journalism: news is a naturally occurring product of the political environment and the visible content of events. Construction is not random and subjective (the same goes for selection). Construction is influenced by the following factors (usually somehow combined): 1 People: (western view) personal actions personalizing abstract topics well known people (politicians or celebrities). World event are described as heroes and villains. Gathering news is based around dependable people. News is sometimes a result of chance encounters or informal communication networks developed by people in the media. But often its the result of a deliberate search for access by sources with their own agenda. Place: events are likelier to get noticed if they are near the city/region or nation of the intended audience. Could be overridden by a factor of other considerations (like power or intrinsic character of the event). Two elements are of importance: the importance of the event country and the proximity to the home media Events should be observable, evidence of location and timing. News media are linked to a net that covers the globe (news net). Advance planning of news coverage in spatial

terms involves a set of presuppositions about where news is likely to happen, which will have a self fulfilling tendency. Time and selection: essential element is novelty and relevance. There are 4 types of news: hard news (immediate events), soft news (background or time free news), spot news (very new, immediate, just breaking news) and continuing news. News could be prescheduled (diary events, known in advance, planned coverage largest amount of the news), unscheduled (unexpected events, immediate dissemination), unexpected (usually soft news, not time limited, can be shared and released when the organization want it to) or non scheduled.

Key event: real happenings, large scale, unexpected, dramatic quality, unusual degree of public resonance, significance in symbolizing some deeper public crisis or anxiety. Media hype: a media generated wall to wall news wave triggered by one specific events and expanded by the self reinforcing processes within the news production on the media. (i.e. 2009: feared pandemic swine flu). Struggle over access between media and society Access for society means not only giving a platform for opinions information etc, but also relates to the manner in which media portray what passes for the reality of society. The larger the scope of control by the media themselves (scope of production), the more limited direct access by the society. There are novel forms of access for aspects of reality that were previously kept hidden (i.e. sensational talk show). There is a third voice to be heard alongside the media professional and officials or expert voices of society: voice of ordinary people. Influence of sources on the news Relations with news sources are essential to news media and often constitute a very two-way process. The fact that they validate the news by particular dependenable sources leads to an unintended bias in mainstream news media (but can also lead to a consistent ideological bias). The three main types of sources are institutional spokespersons, experts and other journalists. There is a high degree of interrelation between a limited set of sources (symbiosis between media and their sources). There is also a bias in times of national crisis/conflicts with foreign events involved). Media news production goes along with a high degree of planning and predictability. There is an imbalance between information suppliers and mediators of information. And there is assimilation when there is a mutual interest on the part of media and would be external communicators (advocates/sources). PR and news management News management (& PR agencies) play an increasing role third force in the news making. The practice of strategic communication is carried out by paid experts on behalf of well resource institutions, lobbies and interests. They use all forms of intelligence gathering and techniques of influence as well as mass media and are often operating outside the sphere of publicity.

Media organizational activity: processing and presentation Media processing and presentation is usually hierarchical, but within particular production units the following applies: everything starts with ideas for news, but ideas can lead to story development line or to sources line (reactive or routine vs proactive or enterprise). There are 3 chains in documentary production 1 2 3 subject chain: concerned with assembling programme ideas for the series contact chain: connecting producer, director and researcher with their contacts and sources presentation chain: in which realities of time slot and budget were related to customary ideas for effective presentation

Alternative model of organizational selection Basically the same as described as above but processing takes place on basis of a prediction about what the next gatekeeper in the chain will think, the key being the overall product image. Bias a result of internal processing: Media organizations tend to reproduce selectively according to criteria that suit their own goals and interests. They can have a bias in favoring products which are both easily to reproduce and popular with audiences, but it also differentially reinforces certain elements of the media culture and increases conformity with organizational policy. Standardization and organizational logics Standardization relates in the first instance to multiple reproduction and distribution. Initial diverse and unique content items/ideas are fitted to forms that are both familiar to media producers and thought to be familiar to audiences. Most suitable for efficient production according to specifications (economical, technical and cultural) laid down by the organization. Logic of media culture: systematic nature of pre-existing definitions of what a given type of content should be like. The operation of a media logic implies the existence of a media grammar which governs how time should be used how items of content should be sequenced and what devices of verbal and non-verbal should be used. It refers to the influence of media on real world events as well as on their portrayal and constitution (i.e. staged media event or pseudo event). The processing of media raw material requires a form of cultural standardization. Media follow standard formats. Main principles of media logic are novelty, immediacy, high tempo, personalization, brevity, conflict, dramatization, celebrity orientation. Alternative models of decision making 1 The assembly line: compares media production processes to the factory; with all skills and decisions built into the machinery with clear procedural rules.

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Craft and entrepreneurship: powerful figures with established reputations for judging talent, raiding finance and putting things together, manage all the creative inputs of artist, musicians and the like in innovative ways Convention and formula; members of a relevant art world agree on a recipe, a set of widely held principles which tell workers how to combine elements to produce works in the particular genre. Audience image and conflict: the creative production process is seen as a matter of fitting production to an image of what the audience will like. Product image: shaping a piece of work so that it is most likely to be accepted by decision makers at the next link in the chain. The most common way of doing this is to produce works that are much like the products that have most recently passed through all the links in the decision chain to become successful. There is not a consensus among all involved, entrepreneurs or agreed audience. Closest to professionalism (special knowledge of what a good piece of media work in contrast to the prediction of what will succeed commercially).

The coming of convergence culture: consumers as producers Convergence culture refers to a range of related phenomena that follows on from and seem to be caused by purely technological convergence: 1 participating of the audience in production 2 blurring of the line between professionals and amateurs 3 Breakdown of the line between producer and consumer (prosumer/produser). However, much prosumerism is also encouraged and managed by big media for their own purposes and many such activities that began as innovative and grassroots in character have become normalized and commercialized. Conclusion: At the core of many media organizations, there are contrary tendencies which are often in contradiction. The transmission model captures one image of the media organizations as a system for efficiently turning events into comprehensive information/ideas into familiar cultural packages The ritual model implies a private world in which routines are followed largely for the benefit of participants and their clients. The publicity model helps to remind us that mass communication is often primarily a business. Its roots are as much in the theatre and the showground as in politics, art or education.

Chapter 13 Media content: Issues, Concepts and Methods of Analysis The distinction between a message and its meaning is significant. A message is more than just its physical appearance. Its also has meaning which can be ambiguous and interpreted in many ways. Content as information Content as hidden meaning (semiology)

Traditional quantitative content analysis

Why study media content? an interest in the potential effects of mass communication a wish to understand the appeal of content for the audience

Previous research based on the idea that the meaning could literally be interpreted from its message and its receivers would understand directly what was intended by its sender. Over the years it has become apparent that analyzing context and meaning is more complicated. (p. 341 provide the nine motives that have guided the study of media content.) Critical Perspectives on Content Marxist approach: Decoding a text is seen as problematic and texts are seen not just as mediating reality but actually constructing experience and shaping identity. Critique of advertising and commercialism: With the active cooperation of the reader the ideological work of advertising is accomplished by transferring significant meanings and ideas from experience to commercial products. Via these products we aim to achieve a desired social state and to be the person wed like to be, ending up with an imaginary sense of our real selves. Cultural quality: Three cultural standard, being aesthetic, ethical and ecstatic. Quality of messages has been measured through different criteria (e.g. originality, authenticity) but assessments are bound by subjectivity. Violence in mass media: Much researched topic in analyzing content. Gender-based: Initially concerned with stereotyping, neglect and marginalization of women. Now more on how the female subject is positioned and how the content contributes to the definition of femininity in collaboration with the reader. Two questions: How can the entertainment intended for women (e.g. soap operas) be liberating when following the patriarchal principle and what is the degree in which new mass media can have an empowering effect for women. Both can be answered by how texts are received by their audience.

Structuralism and semiology Structuralism refers to the way meaning is constructed in texts, the term applying to certain structures of language, consisting of signs, narrative or myths. Semiology is a more specific approach and can be seen as a general science of signs. Can be useful in identifying underlying meaning of texts. Not just looking at the verbal language but also with any sign system that has any language like properties. It furthermore not only looks at the sign system or language itself but at the meaning of texts in the light of the specific culture from which the text originates. The concept signification is build up out of three essentials (see figure13.1; p. 346). The first sign is the basic physical vehicle of meaning in a language, it is any sound image the refers to some object or aspect , known as the referent. The second is the physical elements (word,

image, sound) named the signifier and the last the signified, which refers to the mental concept invoked by the physical sign. Denotation is the literal meaning of a sign. Connotation refers to the associated meaning that may be conjured up by the object signified. Myths are pre-existing and value-laden sets of ideas derived from the culture and transmitted by communication. Visual images are ambiguous and polysemic but can also have greater denotative power than words and have the capacity to become icons. Media Content as Information Information theory measures the information quantity through a series of questions. The number of questions required to solve a problem of meaning equals the number of items of information. The theory can be used when measuring the informativeness, readability, diversity and information flow of a text. Media performance discourse The role of media in society. Examples of testable expectations about the quality of media provision which are implied in various performance principles. Media content should embody the spirit of free expression, should be diverse, should be objective (factual, accurate and complete) and unbiased. How well does the content provide a reflection of reality or more so should the media content really be as close a reflection of the real world as possible? Questions of Research Method Quantitative and qualitative methods for analyzing media content (comparison box 13.4; p. 365) Where is the meaning of a message located, does it coincide with the intention of the sender, is it embedded in the language or is it really the interpretation of the receiver. It is impossible to extract the meaning from a media context without making assumptions which itself will shape the meaning. Dominant vs. alternative paradigm Quantitative objective research technique, assuming that the meaning of a text is fairly unambiguous and can be expressed in quantitative terms. (see p. 362 for the way in which technique should be applied) Qualitative opposite, saying the concealed or latent meanings are the most significant and these cannot be directly read from the data. Be aware of the particular discourse in which text is encoded, the conventions and codes of genre.

Summary chapter 13: Media Content: Issues, Concepts and Methods of Analysis

This chapter focuses on the distinction between message and meaning. 3 Aspects of content analyses: (1) content as information, (2) content as hidden meaning (semiology) & (3) quantitative content analyses. Why: to study the potential effects of media and to understand the appeal of content. Critical perspectives on content - Marxist approach: - Frankfurt School: concerned with false consciousness; cultural meaning promoted by a dominance of the ruling class. It masks aspects of reality (for example by ignoring the exploitative nature of class society). It also produces a fragmentation of interests and imposes an imaginary unity or coherence. - Critique of advertising and commercialism: masking real exploitation and fragmenting solidarity, an ideological work of advertisement is an illusion and diversionary (critical theory). - Cultural quality: the cultural standards: aesthetic (there are many dimensions), ethical (values, integrity, intended meaning) and ecstatic (popularity, consumption). Is there a mass culture, do specific cultures diminish? - Violence: aggressive media can cause negative externalizing and internalizing behaviour (studies are contradicting) - Gender based critique: male bias. Gender stereotyping can lead to more or less automatic transfer of gender positioning (false consciousness model). Structuralism and Semiology Structuralism: the way meaning is constructed in texts (structure of language; for example by signs, narrative or myths). Requires a constant and ordered relation of elements. Semiology: signs have two elements: physical (signifier) and associated meaning (signified). These to elements accomplish the process of signification which leads to the referent (external reality). Relation by the signifier and signified is governed by the rules of culture (Saussure; fig. 13.1). This leads to the concern with connotative (second order of signification; associated or connoted meaning; culture-related and subjective) and denotative meaning (referring to the first order relationship between de signifier and signified; literal meaning; universal and objective). Also the concept of a myth: pre-existing and value-laden sets of ideas derived from the culture. Visual images are inevitably ambiguous and polysemic but they also have advantages: capacity to become icons, clarity, wide recognition, great impact (for example Abu Ghraib pics), can acquire a range of known meanings.

Media content as Information Information Theory: All the processes that convey information are basically selection processes. Communication as the transfer of information from sender to individual receiver (transmission model). Media texts are bodies of information. The essence of information is to reduce uncertainty Information quality and the informativeness of texts are measureable (for example the information value index: density (number of relevant points) x breadth (number of different points). The evaluative direction of information is measureable (uncover networks of semantically associated attitude objects) Media Performance Discourse Research about mass media content according to a number of normative criteria. Based on some conception of public interest. freedom and independence can be recognized in content. Editorial vigour: refers to (mobilizing) information which helps people to act on their opinions. The most free media are likely to deviate from conformity in matters of taste and be willing to be unpopular with audiences as well as with authorities. Thus; not likely to remain mass media. Content diversity: wide range of choice for audiences; many and different opportunities for access; a true and sufficient reflection in media of the varied reality of experience in society.

Objectivity and its measurement Definition is difficult: referred to as factuality, in journalistic terms (who, what, where, when, why), accuracy (conformity to independent records of events), completeness, impartiality, relevance (interesting and useful), impartiality/ neutrality. Tendency is towards what is significant in the longer perspective of history and what contributes to the working of society. Journalist have professional criteria, longer term significance with what they think the public is interested in. But: there is always a distorting bias in reality reflection (for example nationalistic and ethnocentric bias, class bias, concentrations on richer, nearer and more powerful nations etc.). Critique of reality reflection norm: The relationship between media and society neglects the active participation of the audience in making of meaning.

Reasons why media content should not normally be expected to reflect reality in any literal way: Functionalist theory of media as agents of social control (media content over-represents the dominant social and economic values of the society. Reality cannot be treated as equal of reality (because of dominance of key events and framing of the news). Questions of Research Method Where is meaning? questions the location of meaning (in the transmission model; senders reality or message itself) Dominant versus alternative paradigms: dominant paradigm assumes that the surface meaning is fairly unambiguous; media content is encoded according to the same language as the reality to witch it refers. Alternative: concealed or latent meanings are the most significant (cannot be read directly). Non-verbal communication: difficulty lies in the conventions of visual symbolism.

Traditional content analyses Two main assumptions: link between the external object of reference and the reference to it in the text will be reasonably clear and unambiguous. And (2) the frequency of occurrence of chosen references will validity express the predominant meaning of the text in an objective way. Limitation: Interpretation is neglected. Digitization has opened new possibilities for quantitative analysis (large numbers of material). Quantitative and qualitative analysis: differences Message content analysis Quantitative Fragmentary Systematic Generalizing, extensive Manifest meaning Objective Mixed methods Combining quantitative analysis of industrial news with an attempt to unpack the deeper cultural meaning. Analysis of narrative structure and study of content functions. Normative Theory? Here we are talking about what media ought to be like, in order to serve public interest. Whats good and whats bad. The media dont like to hear about this: Structural analysis of texts Qualitative Holistic Selective Illustrative, specific Latent meaning Relative to reader

Sources of Normative Obligation? Since the way of pursuing positive ends is open for interpretation, there are many ways to serve public interest. Biggest influences on the practice are: Historical evolution of media brings the most fundamental expectation of the media to be the link between the government and the people a.k.a. Social and political theory on the press Professional theory and practice The public as citizens (public opinion) The public as audience (consumers) The media market The state and its agencies Interested parties in the society affected by the media

The Media and the Public Interest The concept of public interest is a tricky one, as it is clearly justified in some form (public control of roads, waterways, defense, measurements) but can be abused and the limits are hard to draw. Since media are expected to serve public interest, but arent institutionalized as such but rather as businesses, the problem of conflict of interest becomes clear. In the freemedia society, this problem is (theoretically) overcome by the media responding (with content) to the interest of the public - which are then equated with public interest. This is at least debatable. Main Issues for Social Theory of the Media: STRUCTURE: Freedom of publication Plurality of Ownership Universality of Provision (reach) Diversity of channels and forms (access to different media, as senders and receivers, including separate control for different media) Diversity of information, opinion and culture (with regards to religion, ethnicity, politics, culture) CONTENT: Supportive of public order and the law (The media are expected to maintain public order, and the security of the state) High Quality of information and cultural provision Supportive of the democratic political system Respectful of international obligations and human rights AVOIDING HARM: Respecting the rights of individuals things like rights to privacy, anonymity, dignity and reputation Harm to society control of violent content and promiscuous, drinking, drug-related or other behaviour

Harm to individuals where media have the power stimulate harm or suicide. Violent pornography and imitated terrorist acts fall under this heading

There are numerous other things like tobacco advertising, judicial matters, and publication of public opinion polls The Fourth Estate This term comes from England, where there are the houses of 1.Lords, 2.Church, 3. Commons and ta-daaa - 4. The Media. The media earned this flattering title because of the power it held in informing the citizens about what the government is doing, but also the potential for the call for revolution. This potential is defended by many democratic constitutions, like the First Amendment (free speech & press) in the US. The first major intervention of government into the working of the press after the freedom of the press was attained in the US was the 1947 Commission on Freedom of the Press. It was a reaction to criticism of the American newspaper press, due to its sensationalism and commercialism. The Commission basically coined the term social responsibility and concluded that it is to be achieved by self-control, not governmental regulations. Even though thats not to exclude either, in times of need. Social responsibility theory Things to keep in mind The media have obligations to society and media ownership is a public trust News media should be truthful, accurate, fair, objective and relevant The media should be free, but self regulated The media should follow agreed codes of ethics and professional conduct Under some circumstances, government may need to intervene to safeguard the public interest (whatever that is - so government decides? :S )

This theory didnt really translate to practice in the US, where it originates, but more so in Western Europe. Professionalism and Media Ethics Press councils formed as mediators between the public and the mass media. For their functioning, some guidelines or principles had to be written down. An overview from 31 European journalistic codes reveals the following frequently found principles: Truthfulness of information Clarity of information Defense of the publics rights Responsibilities in forming public opinion Standards of gathering and presenting information Respecting the integrity of the sources

Four theories of the press Soviet Theory Not in use anymore, really. Its goal is to promote the powers that be in that particular regime (perhaps North Korea today?) Authoritarian Theory Every society has a right to preserve public peace and order, and therefore has a good right to prohibit the propagation of opinions which have a dangerous tendency Libertarian Theory a.k.a. Free press theory Social Responsibility as discussed above

Public Service Broadcasting Due to the limited nature of the wavelength spectrum suitable for broadcasting, and fueled by the idea that universal access, balanced view, relevant information and diversity are worth preserving in a media system this public form of media ownership is present in one form or the other, around the world. It protects the audience and the content from the market forces, which may result in a country-wide MTV-like media. Main goals Universality (geographical) (both of transmission and reception) Diversity in providing for all tastes, interests, and needs Providing for special minorities Having concern for national culture, language and identity Serving the needs of the political system Providing balanced and impartial information on conflict-issues Quality Public interest stands before the financial objectives Main organizing principles A mission statement Public financing (at least a part) Independence from government Mechanisms of accountability to the society and general public Mechanisms of accountability to the audience

Mass Media, Civil Society and the Public Sphere Public Sphere refers to the space for public debate, a sort of forum or platform with one main goal in mind: keeping check on the government by way of an informed and influential public opinion. Obviously, New media massively contributed to this concept. Ways in which media support the public sphere: Enlarging the space for debate Circulating information and ideas as a basis for public opinion Interconnecting citizens and governments Providing mobilizing information

Challenging the monopoly of government over politics Extending freedom and the diversity of publication

Public Journalism? Public Journalism is the trend towards involvement of citizens with the affairs that affect them, in the form of encouragement of debates and conversation. The thing is that even though Public Journalism was supposed to bring conversation to the people, as opposed to bringing information from Journalist professionals it seems that the structure of the media (@ the moment) is such that it does not allow for this notion to fully bloom. The New media bring an optimistic view on the topic, but the results are still to be seen and evaluated. Alternative visions Dissatisfaction with the established media found an expression in entirely new forms of the media: Emancipatory Media theory Participation, interaction, locatedness, small scale, cultural autonomy, variety, emancipation and self help these are all characteristics of the communication which falls under this heading. The emphasis is on communicating rather than the content. This really only can take place in a well-off, media saturated environment. The internet is the temple of this line of thought. A recent example would be the overthrow of the Tunisian president, which was organized and fueled though new media channels (twitter, facebook, Wikileaks) and manner which fit this theory. Communitarian theory and the media This theory stands in contrast to the modern liberal-individualism. It calls for more partnership, as opposed to self-interest (point of debate). The news media should seek to engender a likeminded philosophy among the public. This is pretty radical, as its outcome really depends on who has the power. The Four models of Normative Media Theory (in which all of the above should loosely fit) Liberal-pluralist (market) model Free press, libertarian, individualistic, free marketplace of ideas, minimal self regulation, minimal state interference Social Responsibility Obligations of the media go beyond self-interest, high self-regulation, government can interfere if it wants to, public service broadcasting fits within this model Professional model The standards of the profession are posited by the professional theory of journalism.

Alternative media model Small scale, grass-roots communication. Shared goals of producers and audience, a kind of in the governments face politics, designed to serve the people and challenge the government if necessary. Promotes a sense of community. CHAPTER 14 QUESTONS OF GENRE Genre simply means a kind or type and it is often loosely applied to any distinctive category of cultural product. An emphasis on the genre tends to credit the value of a work to a cultural tradition rather than to an individual artist. Genre can refer to any category of content that has the following characteristics: -Its collective identity is recognized more or less equally by its producers (the media) and its consumers (media audiences) -This identity (or definition) relates to purposes (such as information, entertainment), form (length, structure, language, etc) and meaning (reality reference). -The identity has been established over time and observes familiar conventions; cultural forms are preserves, although this can also change and develop within the framework of the original genre. - A particular genre will follow an expected structure of narrative or sequence of action, draw on a predictable stock of images and have a repertoire of variants of basic themes. The genre may be considered as practial device for helping any mass medium to produce consistenly and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its audience. Since it helps individual media users to plan their choices, it can also be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between producers and consumers. There is a good deal of evidence of audience recognition and uso of genre categories in discourse about media. Genre examples The particular strength of the western genre is that it can generate many variant forms that can also be readily understood in relation to the original basic form (psychological western, parody western, the spaghetti western, the comedy western and the soap opera western). The formula is the typical "narrative logic", is a subcategory or genre and involves the conventions of that genre, with particular reference to time, place, plots, costumes, types of hero, heroine and villain, and so on. White hats identifying good guys, and the music that heralds the approaching cavalry. There are familiar television genres, a noteworthy example is the attention paid to soap operas where we find the preference for dialogue over action, and attention to the values o extended families and the role of mothers and housewives. One of the strengths of the genre idea is tis capacity to adapt and extend to cope with dynamic developments. This is well represented in the even more recent rise of the "Talk show" genre, which began as entertainment interviews with celebrities and as a "breakfast television" format and has expanded in manifestations that range from the sensationalist knockabout to very serious occasions for political participation. The genre of reality television similarly moved from modest beginnings in which real-life scenes from a variety o sources were repackaged thematically as entertainment and then into news forms to produce "life" experience for the audience. A typology of genres All television output can be classified according to four basic types, produced by two dimensions:

-Degree of emotionality -Degree of objectivity Types: Contest are programmes with competition involving real players, including game shows, quizzes and sports. Actualities include all news, documentary and reality programming. Persuasions reflects an intention by the sender to persuade. Dramas cover almost all fictional storytelling and a wide range of genres. New and mixes genres are continually being created, examples, docudrama or infoainment. While genre is a useful concept or finding one's way in the abundance of media output and for helping to describe and categorize content, it is not a very powerful tool of analysis. Media format There is a mode o analysis o media content which employs the terms media logic and media format. Media logic refers to rules and norms that govern how content should be processed and presented in order to take most advantage of the characteristics of a given medium. Sees content as tailored to fit media formats, and formats as tailored to fit listener/viewer preferences. Formats are essentially sub-routines for dealing with specific themes within a genre. "Formats for crisis" in television news, transcends the particularities of events and gives a common shape to the handling of different news stories. The main conditions: Accessibility, visual quality, drama and action, relevance to the audience and thematic unity. Genres can, in principle, cut across the conventional content categories of media output, including the divide between fiction and non-fiction. GENRE AND THE INTERNET Observations; The Internet is a multimedia platform providing a vehicle for all existing genres. Secondly, certain forms and formats at least have already developed on the basis of the special features of the Internet (forums, social networking sites, blogs, selling and buying sites and the "search engine". There is usually an agreed definition or perception as between producers and users, with established expectations about purposes and the rules or guidelines to be followed. The search engine as a new media form There are some fundamental innovations of the Internet that require new ways of thinking. The two most important features are; -The vastly expanded scope for consultation and search at the will of the user -The greatly enhanced provision of connectivity. The "search engine" is a new and very influential presence in the sphere of public communication. There has been nothing like it before and it has a potential, as yet unknown, for affecting existing genres. Is essentially and index to. or catalogue of, content on the Web. In many cases it provides the main entry point to the world of cyberspace. Its importance is comparable in many ways to that of the news. Certainly, it is also similar to a genre in showing a tendency to differentiate into a number of sub-genres, especially by topic or type of user or the nature of content searched. In reference to the "performance" research, we can give some features: -The impression that all public knowledge can be accessed is misleading since the capacity to search the whole Web does not exist. -The form has a natural tendency to monopoly and there is already a very high level of concentration on two or three services, much beyond the level that is tolerated for other

media. -Search engines are financed almost entirely by advertising or by payments for inclusion, inevitably affecting the order of the display of items. There is very limited transparency about the criteria for the ordering of presentation. -Advertising and other information are not clearly distinguished, as is conventionally the case with other mass media. -The search engine has been partly assimilated with journalism, with potentially negative consequences for new quality. -The ease of use is misleading, with many possibilities or search errors. There are large amounts of useless and decontextualized "information" in circulation. -The editing and updating process eliminates much information that was valid at an earlier point, thus tending to rewrite history. NEWS GENRE "News" is the central ingredient of the newspaper. News merits special attention in a discussion of media content just because it is one o the few original contributions by the mass media to the range of cultural forms of expression. It is also the core activity according to which a large part of the journalistic (and thus media) occupation defines itself. News provides the component that distinguishes something called a newspaper rom other kinds of print media and often earns it a special status or protection in society, allowing it to express opinion in the name o the public. Media institutions can barley exist without news, and news cannot exist without media institutions. Unlike almost all other forms of authorship or cultural creation, news-making cannot be done privately or even individually. This feature has been undermined by the rise of blogging. Certainly, there is no longer a monopoly on news publication. Blogging is now recognized as a genre that is different from traditional news, they encourage audience participation, personalization, have fragmented story forms and are interdependent with other websites. What is news? News is timely: it is about very recent or recurrent events. News is unsystematic; it deals with discrete events and happenings, and the world seen through news alone consist of unrelated happenings. News is perishable: it lives only when the events themselves are current, and for purposes off record and later reference other forms of knowledge will replace news. Events reported as news should be unusual or at leas unexpected, qualities that are more important than their "real significance" Apart from unexpectedness, news event are characterized by other "news values" that are always relative and involve subjective judgements about likely audience interest. News is predictable. News are actually olds. The facticity of news Many aspects of news forms are clearly related to the pursuit of objectivity in the sense of facticity or factualness. The language of news is "linear", elaborating an event report along a single dimension with added information, quotation and discussion. A key element of facticity is attribution to very credible or positively verified sources. News and human interest News versus human interest. News has to do with serious information, and human interest with something else perhaps entertaining, personalized or sensational. In practice it is hard to separate the two, and both have been elements in the newspaper since its earliest

appearance. As with other genres, there are several variants that depend on the central code of the news (ex, gossip concerning media stars). The conventions and codes of the news genre can also be used in advertising or in satirical media performances, totally inverted. So-called "tabloid television"- sensational, gossipy, weird information- is another example of the stretching of the genre. The news genre is also capable of adaptation. The "happy news format" of television news (with presenters interacting informally). THE STRUCTURE OF NEWS: BIAS AND FRAMING How news information is presented or "framed". A frame is needed to organize otherwise fragmentary items of experience or information. In a journalistic context, stories are given meaning by reference to some particular "news value" that connects one event with other similar ones. The content frame has to be compared with the frame of reference in the mind of an audience member. Framing is a way of giving some overall interpretation to isolated items of fact. It is almost unavoidable for journalists to do this and doing so to depart from pure "objectivity" and introduce some (unintended) bias. Distinction between: -Deliberate falsification or omission. -Content bias, where the reality of the news seems to favour one side over another in a conflict situation. -Decision making bias, where the motivation and mindset of journalists are unintentionally influential. It is in the second two instances that framing comes into play. Inevitably, framing reflects both the sources that are chosen and the national context in which news is produced, thus also the foreign policies of countries concerned. The manner of reporting, in words, tone and problematizing, constituted different frames in the sense under discussion. Framing also undergoes changes that reflect the goals of sources as well as changing realities. Framing analysis offers an apparently convincing impression of underlying meanings and assumptions, remind us that the most powerful frame may well be invisible or so transparently obvious that it is taken for granted. The form of the news report The news form is posited on the normality and predictability of the world of events. The news form provides indication of the relative significance off events and of types of content. Significance is mainly indicated by the sequency of content and by the relative amount of space or time allocated. First-appearing items in television news are most "important" and that, generally, items receiving more time are also more important. The regularities described characterize the dominant western news form. There are almost certainly significant and systematic differences between television news-giving in different societies. NEWS AS NARRATIVE Basic narrative forms span a wide range of types, including advertisements and news "stories" as well as the more obvious candidates of drama and fiction. In one way or another, most media content tell stories, which take rather patterned and predictable forms. The main function of narrative is to help make sense of reports of experience. Two main ways: -Linking actions and events in a logical, sequential or causal way -Providing the elements of people and places that have a fixed an recognizable (realistic) character. When news is considered as narrative, we can appreciate the way in which it draws on and

retells the recurrent and dominant myths of a society, inevitably with some "ideological" loading. The analysis of news narrative structure has been formalized in the "discourse analysis" tradition. TELEVISION VIOLENCE Such content does share certain features of purpose, style and meaning in a similar way to more overtly recognized genres, to the extend of their being various sub-genres. Contextual factors in the portrayal of violence: -The relative appeal of the perpetrator -The relative appeal of the victim -The reasons for violence -The weapons used -The extensiveness and graphicness of the depiction -The realism with which violence is portrayed -Rewards and punishments for acts -The consequences as shown in terms of pain and harm -Humour, its presence or absence. This variables were applied at three levels: to each violent incident, to each scene and to a programme as a whole. THE CULTURAL TEXT AND ITS MEANINGS The origins of cultural studies are somewhat mixed, including traditional literary and linguistic analysis o text, semiology and Marxist theory. The concept of text Text has two basic senses: -The physical message itself -the printed document, film, television programme or musical. -The meaningful outcome of the encounter between content and reader. It follows from this definition that the same television programme can produce many different texts in the sense o accomplished meanings. A programme is produce by the industry, a text by its readers. This is a central point in what is essentially a theory of media content looked at from the point of view of its reception, emphasize that the media text has many potential alternative meanings that can result in different readings. Mas media content is thus in principle polysemic. Multiplicity of textual meaning, codes of dress, physical appearance, class and occupation, etc. Differential encoding and decoding again Despite this polysemic character, the discourses of media content are often designed or inclined to control, confine or direct the taking of meaning, which may in turn be resisted by the reader. The model of encoding/decoding, according to which there is usually a preferred reading encoded in the text, preferred readings are identified by analysis of overt content and brings up the notion of the "inscribed reader". The process by which this works has also been called interpellation or appellation. This feature of discourse is widely exploited in advertising, where advertisements commonly construct and project their image of a model consumer. This is one aspect of the intertextuality of media. Intertextuality is not only an accomplishment of the reader, but also a feature of media themselves, which are continually cross-referencing from one medium to another, and the same message can be found in very different media forms and genres. Codes are systems of meaning whose rules and conventions are shared by member of a culture or by what has been called an "interpretative community". Codes help to provide the

links between media producers and media audiences by laying the foundations for interpretation. Particular gestures, expressions, forms of dress and images, for example. Open versus closed text An open text is one whose discourse does not try to constrain the reader to one particular meaning or interpretation. News reports are intended not to be open, while serials and soap operas lend themselves to varied readings. The distinction between open and closed text has a potential ideological significance. Open portrayal also leads to alternative viewpoints, while a closed portrayal tends to reinforce the dominant or consensual view. This suggests some form of ideological control (probably selfcensorship), with risks not being taken with a mass audience. Seriality There has been a revival of interest in narrative theory. The topic of seriality now has a place in narrative theory. Television series can, for instance, be clearly differentiated from serials, using narrative theory. The series consist of a set of discrete stories which are terminated in each episode. In the cases of serials, the story continues without end from one episode to the next. In series, the heroes and heroines (subjects) remain constant, while the villains (objects) differ from one episode to another. By contrast, with serials, the same cast of characters appears each time, and an illusion is fostered that they continue their life actively between episodes. They remain actively active. Another aspect of narrative is the difference between linear and parallel processing. In serials there is a transition from one storyline to the next, while in series there is a "meta-story" (concerning the permanent characters), with several different storylines as they encounter their new adventures week by week. The series organizes stories according to a principle of linearity, while serials (such soap operas) prefer parallel processing with a network of concurrent storylines involving different subgroups of the permanent cast of characters interacting in interweaving on varying time scales. Realism of media depends on a certain attitude that what is portrayed is "true to life", if not literally true in the sense of having actually occurred. There are a number of dimensions, six, to identify: plausibility, perceptual persuasiveness, typicality, catuality, emotional involvement and narrative consistency. Realism goes in the direction of "closure", since the more real the portrayal seems, the more difficult it is for the reader, who is likely to take the reality of the world for granted, to establish any alternative meanings. Gendered media text The concept of an inscribed or tenerpellated reader can be used to analyse the audience image sought by particular media, in terms of class, cultural taste, age or lifestyle. Characterizations, settings and dialogue, and the positioning of male and female roles. Studying the popular Study of popular mass entertainment, especially fictional and dramatic forms, which seek to involve the reader in fantasy but usually in realistic settings. The text employed for this purpose tend to be relatively open and do not have to work hard at the cognitive level. CONCLUSION Established genres have multiplied and mutated, casting doubt on genre analysis as a stable framework for describing media output. We still have to life with the puzzle that has always faced us to where meaning can be found; in the intention for the producer, the perception of the receiver or the text itself.

Chapter 14: Media Genres and Texts This chapter explores the concepts of media format, genre and text. Questions of genre The term genre means a kind or type and is applied to any distinctive category of cultural product. Genre can refer to any category of content that has the following characteristics. Its collective identity is recognized more or less equally by its producers (the media) and its consumers (media audiences). This identity (or definition) relates to purposes (information, entertainment or sub variants), form (length, pace, structure, language, etc.) and meaning (reality reference). The identity has been established over time and observes familiar conventions; cultural forms are preserved, although these can also change and develop within the framework of the original genre. A particular genre will follow an expected structure of narrative or sequence of action, draw on a predictable stock of images and have a repertoire of variants of basic themes.

It can generate many variant forms that can also be readily understood in relation to the original basic form (psychological western, parody western, comedy western, soap opera western). One of the strengths of the genre idea is its capacity to adapt and extend to cope with dynamic developments (soap opera, talk show, reality tv). All television output can be classified according to four basic types, produced by two dimensions: degree of emotionality and degree of objectivity. Contests are programmes with competition involving real players, including game shows, quizzes and sports. They are both real and emotionally involving (in intention). Actualities include all news, documentary and reality programming. They are objective and unemotional in principle. Persuasions are low on both dimensions and reflect an intention by the sender to persuade, especially by advertising or some form of advocacy or propaganda. Dramas cover almost all fictional storytelling and a wide range of genres.

(figure 14.1; page 373) Media logic refers to a set of implicit rules and norms that govern how content should be processed and presented in a order to take most advantage of the characteristics of a given medium (including fitting the needs of the media organization). Media formats are sub-routines for dealing with specific themes within a genre (eg. format for crisis in television news). Genre and the Internet The Internet is a multimedia platform providing a vehicle for all existing genres. Certain forms and formats have already developed on the basis of the special features of the Internet (forums, blogs, search engine etc.). Emerging perceptions of the Internet search engine as a media genre:

An accessible gateway to the universe of content in cyberspace. Primary purpose is informative. It is a neutral, unedited, uncensored and comprehensive source. It is freely and equally open to all senders and receivers. Its form allows the user to follow any of innumerable search paths and linkages. There are no indications of status or value, except as perceived by the searcher.

But there are already some critical notes. A few of them are: The impression that all public knowledge can be accessed is misleading since the capacity to search the whole Web does not exist. The form has a natural tendency to monopoly and there is already a very high level of concentration on two or three services, much beyond the level that is tolerated for other media. Advertising and other information are not clearly distinguished, as is conventionally the case with other mass media.

The news genre News is timely: it is about recent or recurrent events. News is unsystematic: it deals with discrete events and happenings, and the world seen through news alone consists of unrelated happenings. News is perishable: it lives only when the events themselves are current, and for purposes of record and later reference other forms of knowledge will replace news. Events reported as news should be unusual or at least unexpected, qualities that are more important than their real significance. Apart from unexpectedness, news events are characterized by other news values that are always relative and involve subjective judgements about likely audience interest. News is mainly for orientation and attention direction and not a substitute for knowledge. News is predictable.

The conventions and codes of the news genre can also be used in advertising, satirical media performances or in tabloid television. The news genre is also capable of adaptation and extension to new circumstances. News had to be in some degree reinvented for radio and television. The structure of news: bias and framing A frame is needed to organize otherwise fragmentary items of experience or information. The idea of a frame in relation to news has been widely and loosely used in place of terms such as frame of reference, context, theme, or even news angle. Framing is a way of giving some overall interpretation to isolated items of fact. It is almost unavoidable for journalists to do this and in so doing to depart from pure objectivity and to introduce some (unintended) bias. Content bias = seems to favour one side over another in a conflict situation Decision-making bias = the motivation and mindset of journalists are unintentionally influential. News as narrative The main function of narrative is to help make sense of reports of experience. It does this in two main ways: by linking actions and events in a logical, sequential or causal way; and by providing the elements of people and places that have a fixed and recognizable (realistic)

character. Narrative helps to provide the logic of human motive that makes sense of fragmentary observation, whether fictional or realistic. News accounts are typically cast in narrative form, with principal and minor actors, connected sequences, a beginning, middle and end. News also requires an abstract of the story at the start and also a sequence that reflects the varying news values of actors and events. Television violence Reasons for research: TV violence contributes to antisocial effects on viewers. There are three primary types of effects from viewing TV violence: learning aggressive attitudes and behaviour; desensitization to violence; increased fear of being victimized by violence. Not all violence poses the same degree of these harmful effects. Not all viewers are affected by violence in the same way.

Contextual factors in the portrayal of violence: The relative appeal of the perpetrator. The relative appeal of the victim. The reasons for violence. The weapons used. The extensiveness and graphicness of the depiction The realism with which violence is portrayed. Rewards and punishments for acts. The consequences as shown in terms of pain and harm. Humour, its presence or absence.

The cultural text and its meanings The term text refers to the physical message itself (printed document, film, television, etc.), but can also refer to the meaningful outcome of the encounter between content and reader. Media can thus be polysemic, which means that mass media content can have multiple potential meanings for its audience. Despite this polysemic character, media content are often designed or inclined to control, confine or direct the taking of meaning, which may in turn be resisted by the reader. There is usually a preferred reading encoded in the text (the meaning which the message producer would like the receiver to take). The inscribed reader is the kind of reader who is primarily addressed by a message. Interpellation refers to the way any use of discourse hails the addressee. This is often used in advertising, where readers get invited to recognize themselves in the images. Intertextuality means that the text as produced by the reader is not confined in its meaning by the boundaries that are set on the production side. Readers can combine the experience of the programme with that of advertisements inserted in it. Intertextuality also applies to crossing boundaries between media (film, books and radio). The media themselves are continually cross-referencing from one medium to another. Media content can be open or closed in its meanings. An open text does not try to constrain the reader to one particular meaning for example.

Seriality consists of a basic plot, but can differ in between genres. Series (Friends) for example consists of stories which are terminated in each episode, while in serials (As the World Turns) the story continues without end from one episode to the next. Realism of media depends on a certain attitude that what is portrayed is true to life, if not literally true in the sense of having actually occurred. Many kinds of media content are differentially gendered. They have a build-in bias towards the supposed characters of one or other gender, presumably for reasons of appealing to a chosen audience, or simply because many language codes are innately gendered. For example the soap opera as a genre is intrinsically gendered as female narrative, by way of its characterizations, settings and dialogue, and the positioning of male and female roles. The cultural text approach: Text are jointly produces with their readers Texts are differentially encoded Texts are polysemic, i.e. have many potential meanings Texts are related to other texts (intertextuality) Texts employ different narrative forms Texts are gendered Conclusion Generalization about the content of mass media has become more difficult as the media have expanded and diversified and multimedia forms have come to predominate.

Chapter 14 summary Genre can refer to any category of content with the following features: 1 2 3 4 Its collective identity is recognized more or less equally by the media and its audience. This identity relates to purposes, form and meaning. This identity is established over time and observes familiar conventions (i.e. cultural forms). It is adapt and can extend to cope with dynamic developments. It will follow an expected structure of narrative or sequence of action, draw on a predictable stock of images and have a repertoire of variants of basic themes.

Examples of genre: western, soap opera, reality TV, docudrama. Genre is better used in relation with books or films, because TV genres are hard to distinguish from each other (intertextuality of genres) and the correspondence of recognition and understanding by producers and audience is not easy to demonstrate. TV genres can be classified in four basic types: contest, actualities, persuasions and dramas. Genres can be used to analyze media content: Media logic refers to a set of implicit rules and norms that govern how content should be processed and presented in order to take most advantage of the characteristics of a given medium.

Media formats are essentially sub routines for dealing with specific themes within a genre, i.e. there is a format for crisis in TV news (a crisis should be accessible, have a visual quality, drama and action, relevance to the audience and a thematic unity). The internet is a multimedia platform providing a vehicle for all existing genres. And there are certain forms and formats developed on the basis of the special features of the Internet (i.e. forum, social networking sites etc). The search engine as a new media form: Two main differences between old media and the internet are: the vastly scope for consultation and search at will of the user The greatly enhanced provision of connectivity that existed only in limited ways up until recently. Important new feature of the Internet: Search engine, which is essentially an index to, or catalogue of, content on the Web, and as such clearly not entirely new in concept, even with enhanced features of searchability. Features of the search engine as a media genre: - An accessible gateway to the universe of content in cyberspace - Primary purpose is informative - It is a neutral, unedited, uncensored and comprehensive source - It is freely and equally open to all senders and receivers - Its form allows the user to follow any of innumerable search paths and linkages - There are no indications of status or value, except as perceived by the searcher However there are some critiques: there is no such thing as searching the entire internet the form has a tendency towards monopoly (google) little transparency about the criteria for the ordering of presentations or advertisements 4 unclear distinguishable advertisement and other information 5 exclusion and censorship are being practiced 6 assimilation with journalism could lead to a lower quality of news 7 misleading ease of use possibilities for search errors 8 possibilities for editing and rewriting of information which was valid at an earlier point could lead to a rewriting of history The news genre: Media institutions can barely exist without news and news cannot exist without media institutions. Arguable this is undermined with the rise of blogging (this is outside of control of the media). What is news? News is timely, unsystematic, perishable, is about unexpected or unusual events, characterized by other news values, predictable, for orientation and direction purposes and not a substitute for knowledge. News tries to be objective in the sense of facticity or factualness because without the credibility of being objective, it could not be distinguished from entertainment or propaganda. However theres no fundamentally non ideological, apolitical non partisan new gathering and reporting system. 1 2 3 1 2

Readers are more attracted to human interest stories than news about political, economical or society related news. However they take the form of the news (gossip, tabloid TV, satirical media performances or advertisements). Framing (or representing) of the news involves selection and salience. Frames define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments and suggest remedies. It is almost impossible for journalists to report news isolated items of a fact purely objective. With this they introduce some (unintended or intended) bias. Frames undergo changes that reflect the goals of sources as well as changing realities. Framing analysis is a good way to analyze the content of a text but the most powerful frame could be invisible or so transparently obviously that it is taken for granted, i.e. in the past homosexuality or more recent immigration. News form: western view in McQuail; could be different in other countries provides indications of the relative significance of events and of types of content posited on the normality and predictability of the world of events

News as a narrative: useful in understanding content help to make sense of report of experience by linking actions and event in a logical, sequential or causal way and by providing the elements of people and places that have a fixed and recognizable (realistic) character help to provide the logic of human motive that makes sense of fragmented observation (fictional or realistic)

TV violence: Primarily researched for protecting children from harmful influence and waging an antiviolence campaign. Contextual factors in the portal of violence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 the relative appeal of the perpetrator the relative appeal of the victim the reasons for violence the weapons used the extensiveness and graphicness of the depiction the realism with which violence is portrayed rewards and punishments for acts the consequences as shown in terms of pain and harm humour, its presence or absence

Cultural texts and its meaning: Text: could mean 2 things. One is the physical meaning of a message and the other is the meaningful outcome of the encounter between reader and the content.

Mass media content is polysemic (multiple meanings for its readers). Interpellation/appellation Inscribed reader is the primarily addressee of a message. Interpellation is the way any use of discourse hails the addressee. The discourse definition of us is accepted or the subject position proposed for us by the discourse is adopted. This is important for (and used in) advertising. Intertextuality Is a feature of the audience/reader and of the media themselves. A text as produced by the reader is not confined in its meaning by the boundaries that are set on the production side between programmes or between content categories. Texts are given meaning based on communicative codes and conventions. TV could be seen as the third level or intertextuality; the audience reproduces their media experience as they discuss it in conversations or write about it. Seriality Has a high degree of constancy and similarity of a basic plot. Is different with different genres i.e. TV series and soap operas. Realism: Realism of the media depends on a certain attitude that what us portrayed is true to life, if not literally true in the sense of having actually occurred. Different genres require different concept of realism. It naturalizes the status quo, it make it seem normal and therefore inevitable. Gendered media text Many kinds of media content following the same line of argument are differentially gendered. They have a build-in bias towards the supposed characters of one or other gender, presumably for reasons of appealing to a chosen audience, or simply because many language codes are innately gendered. Conclusion Meaning can be found in the intention of the producer, perception of the receiver of the text itself. The cultural text approach (these points are discussed above): 1 2 3 4 5 6 texts are jointly produced with their readers texts are differentially encoded texts are polysemic , i.e. have many other potential meanings texts are related to other texts (intertextuality) texts employ different narrative forms texts are gendered

Chapter 15 Audience Theory and Research Traditions Defining the audience as just a set of spectators attending public events is no longer sufficient for defining the current day mass media audience. Before mass audience was considered large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed, and its members did not and could not know each other. (Used to have negative connotation). Nowadays the audience is viewed in many different ways: As a group audiences consisting of many overlapping networks of social relations based on locality and common interests As market view from the media, treating an audience more so as a set of consumers. Audiences actually work for advertisers by giving their free time to watch media, with this labor packed and sold to advertisers by the media as commodity. Ratings necessary to keep track of audience. (box 15.2; p. 403)

Goals of Audience Research Media-centered goals/ Audience-centered goals (box 15.3; p.403). Research helps to construct, locate or identify an otherwise amorphous, shifting or unknowable social entity. Media seeks to manage audience behavior and people seek to satisfy their media needs. Alternative Traditions of Research Structural tradition define reach and social composition of audience, needed for media to sell adds. Behavioral tradition early research preoccupied with media effects, the audience conceptualized as exposed to influence or impact with the audience viewed as a passive recipient. Later more behavioral audience research, how is the media being used with the audience viewed more as active. Cultural tradition emphasizes media use as a reflection of a particular social-cultural context and as a process of giving meaning to cultural products and experiences in every day life. (main features to be found on p. 405)

Audience Issues of Public Concern Main issues and problems that have shaped thinking and research about mass media audiences. Media use as addiction excessive media contact viewed as harmful and unhealthy Mass audience and social automization Active participation is seen as good, passive reception of media as bad Manipulation or resistance earlier on just seen as obstinate audience open to all influences, now more aware of the social and cultural roots that protect them against unwanted influence Minority audience rights mass communication tends to work against the interests of minority groups

Implications of new media audience might become more fragmented and more active

Types of audience Either consider media as responding to the needs of a national society, local community, preexisting social group or some category of individuals that the media choose as their target group or consider audiences as primarily created by the media, often brought into begin by a new technology or channel, defined by its media source i.o. its shared characteristics. As a Group or Public demographically belonging to certain group, shared characteristics, relative homogeneity and stability of composition indicate group like qualities in the audience (e.g. locality or political preference). Condition of society might militate the forming of groups either by for instance a totalitarian government or a high level of commercially monopolized media The gratification Set audience formed on the basis of some media related interest, need or preference. The taste culture to describe the audience brought into being by the media based on a convergence of interest, rather than on shared locality or social background, an aggregate of similar content chosen by the same people The Medium defined by medium. Can be overlapping (more than one medium used) and important for media to know their audience (fight for them). Interesting for advertisers which medium to use when to reach which group of people Defined by Channel or Content particular book, author, film, television channel, etc.

Questions of Audience Reach Media need to know their reach for reasons of finance or policy or for organization and planning. Different ways of defining the reach of a given medium or message. Six relevant concepts: Available Paying Attentive Internal Cumulative Target

The basic features of audience reach (see figure 15.3; p. 414). Outer band (message offered) represents the unlimited potential for the reception of broadcast messages. The second band (message receivable) indicates the realistic maximum limits restricted by either geography or for instance not having the necessary apparatus. The third (message received) is the actual audience reached by radio, tv, etc. The next band (message registered) relates to the quality of attention, degree of impact and potential effect of the message. Which leaves the message internalized band, a highly difficult to measure. Activity and selectivity

Division between habitual and frequent viewing and purposeful and selective way of viewing. Five different versions of audience activity: Selectivity Utilitarianism Intentionality Resistance to influence Involvement

Take into account that these versions not all relate to the same moment in the sequence of media exposure. There is advance expectations, activity during the experience or the postexperience situation.

Chapter 16 Audience Formation and Experience This chapter looks at the reasons why audiences form in the first place and looks at implications of changing media for the audience. The why of media use While there have already been different explanations for media use behavior, like the structural, the behavioural and the social-cultural approach, there has always been a disjunction between the general pattern of mass media use and what happens on a day-to-day basis. A structural approach to audience formation Figure 16.1; page 422 Specific choices of media and content are influenced by three main variables: The specific daily menu of content on offer and the form of presentation (media content). The circumstances of the moment, for instance amount of free time, availability to attend, range of alternative activities available (individuals circumstances). The social context of choice and use, for example the influence of family and friends.

When an individual is highly motivated to obtain specific gratifications (for instance, a particular item of sports news) he or she is less affected by media structure. Individuals with less interest in the media seem to be more influenced by specific contents or by content composition. The uses and gratifications approach The basic assumptions of the approach: Media and content choice is generally rational and directed towards certain specific goals and satisfactions. Audience members are conscious of the media-related needs which arise in personal and social circumstances and can voice these in terms of motivations.

Cultural and aesthetic features of content play much less part in attracting audiences than the satisfaction of various personal and social needs. All or most of the relevant factors for audience formation can, in principle, be measured.

A typology of media-person interactions (media satisfactions): Diversion: escape from routine or problems, emotional release Personal relationships: companionship, social utility Personal identity: self-reference, reality exploration, value reinforcement Surveillance (forms of information seeking)

Expectancy-value theory The model expresses the proposition that media use is accounted for by a combination of perception of benefits offered by the medium and the differential value of these benefits for the individual audience member. See figure 16.2; page 426 Media gratifications sought or obtained: Information and education Guidance and advice Diversion and relaxtion Social contact Value reinforcement Cultural satisfaction Emotional release Identity formation and confirmation Lifestyle expression Security Sexual arousal Filling time

An integrated model of audience choice The main entries in the model operate either on the audience side of the media-person interaction or on the media side. While described separately, the two sets of factors are not independent of each other but the result of a continuing process of mutual orientation and adjustment. See figure 16.3; page 428. Public and private spheres of media use The public type of audiencehood is typified by occasions of consciously motivated attention to reports of events which are of wide social significance (e.g. election results), or which involve the watching of major live sporting events on television or big entertainment events (e.g. live concerts). It normally involves some degree of identification with a wider social grouping. The private type of audience experience is constructed according to personal mood and circumstance and does not involve any reference to society or even to other people. It is likely to be concerned with self-comparison and matching with a media model, role or personality in the search for an acceptable identity for public self-presentation.

Subculture and audience High degree of social differentiation of the homogeneous mass audience. Media industries are trying to define and create new social and cultural subgroups, based on taste or lifestyle, with which potential media consumers might identify. Lifestyle The lifestyle concept is helpful for classifying consumers into various types in ways which assist the targeting and design of advertising. Lifestyle research involves studying a wide range of social positional variables, behaviours and attitudes, tastes and values. Gendered audiences The differentiation of media use according to sex has long been recognized, and certain types of media are specifically produced for female audiences, often by women, like certain magazines. The same happens with male audiences. Gendered differences are associated with different preferences and satisfactions (e.g. escapes). Sociability and uses of the media Social uses of the media: Managing relations with others Conversation and social exchange Social attachment and avoidance Social learning and identification with role models Having control of media choice Sharing activity Vicarious companionship Filling time Framing daily activity

Normative framing of media use High media use does not in itself have to be viewed as harmful, the most basic norm applied to the media has been that you can have too much, even of a good thing. Audience norms for content Audience norms for media conduct and content Too much media use, especially TV, is bad, especially for children. Childrens TV use should be protected and supervised. Different genres and media received different valuations. Audiences expect accuracy and impartiality in news. General audience content should not offend against dominant moral and social norms. Media should not be free to damage national interest or security.

The view from the audience Parasocial interaction refers to the degree to which audience members feel they interact with their favourite TV news persona. Types of audience orientation to media: Liking or affinity Involvement Parasocial interaction Interactivity

Attachment Identification Capture Fandom

Media fandom Fandom is often associated with immaturity and irrationality, an outcome of mass culture and an example of mass behaviour. The strongest version involves a high degree of emotional investment and activity centring on a media personality. The end of the audience? See figure 16.4; page 445. The unitary model implies a single audience more or less coextensive with the general public. The pluralism model is a pattern of limited internal diversification. The core-periphery model is one in which the multiplication of channels undermines the unity of the framework. The breakup model shows that there is no langer any centre, just very many and very diverse sets of media users. The escape of the audience Media changes affecting the audience: Multiplication of channels Conglomeration increasing some audience sizes Fragmentation of the mass audience Segmentation according to market characteristics Escape of the audience from management and measurement New types of audience emerge: interactive and consultative

The future of the audience It is too early to conclude that the mass audience will fade away. Traditional mass appeal network television still dominates media consumption in the United States. Change has been very gradual. The audience concept again The main dimensions of the audience: Degree of activity or passivity Degree of interactivity and interchangeability Size and duration Locatedness in space Group character (social/cultural identity) Simultaneity of contact with source Heterogeneity of composition Social relations between sender and receiver Message versus social/behavioural definition of situation Degree of perceived social presence Sociability of context of use

Chapter 17: Processes and Models of Media Effects

This chapter concentrates on the theory, research and models of media effects. Not surprisingly, it starts with the basic premise guiding the interest which is as simple as that: Media has got a significant effect on our personal and social lives There are several examples given that illustrate this insightful point, such as dressing in a certain way when rain is predicted by the forecast or dropping market share values of the company that was presented negatively in the media. Most of media research has always had tendency to assume that the effects of media are some kind of problem to the rest of society. However, it is always hard to distillate the actual effects of media from the mediating variables. Plus, we should also not forget that the effects are mostly determined by both sender and receiver. THE HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON MEDIA EFFECT The book proposes that the research and thinking about media effects can be divided into four separate stages. Stage 1: all-powerful media (1900-1930) Media was assumed to be a dominant and almighty force in terms of effects on public opinion, social attitudes and mass information. This notion was mainly based on the natural observations of press, film, radio and, also, propaganda outcomes in the dictatorial states rather than on any sort of scientific research. Stage 2: powerful media put to the test (1930-1960) At this stage media effects attained the interest of scientific research. The focus was mainly directed to the investigation of film effects on children and youth, their influence on attitudes, values and behaviour. Turning into1960s research also tends to focus on television effects on separate demographic groups characterised by age, sex or education. From this point audience is not considered to be mainly homogenous anymore with everybody being affected in the same manner. However, at the same time research on media effects received a lot of criticism. It was blamed for being vague and disillusioned about the scale of media effectiveness. Critics say that there is no one-to-one relation between media endeavour and the actual outcome of it. Media effects become considered to be rather mild and mostly determined by the nexus of mediating facto Stage 3: powerful media rediscovered (somewhere around 60s) Since most criticism on media research comes from the dissatisfaction of research methodologies which measured mostly short-term effects, such as attitudes or opinions in relation to the degree of exposure, scientific research takes new direction. Media scientists are now concerned mostly on the long-term effects concerning more generally the prolonged

change of opinion, definitions of social reality and ideology in one or another type of media users. Stage 4: negotiated media influence (70s and onwards) The birth of the interest in social constructivism which states that media affects us by offering a preferred view of social reality construction. First, media construct social formations and even history itself by framing images of reality in predictable and patterned ways. Secondly, people in audiences construct for themselves their own view of social reality and their place in it, in interaction with the symbolic constructions offered by media. Alternative classification (p. 461 fig 17.1) It offers not the historical overview but rather a four different models which in one way or another correspond to different historical research approaches. Models: 1. Direct effects - immediate, uniform, observable short term effects based on salience and arousal following the reception of the message (I saw I got affected It changed my opinion) 2. Conditional effects individualised, affective effects that are influenced by social variables like relationships and individual differences (I saw it was relevant to me it changed my opinion) 3. Cumulative - based on gradual long-term exposure (I saw and saw and saw it gradually change my opinion) 4. Cognitive-transactional immediate, one-shot exposure related to my goals and mood (I was looking for it I saw it changed my opinion) In the book it is not very explicitly explained. Thus, I cannot guarantee that this is the right way of thinking about it. Media research can vary with times Basically, this means that the social context in which research is conducted can affect the research itself. Media is naturally considered to be more affective in times of crisis than in the good times. The question is to what extent crisis are caused or stimulated by media? TYPES OF COMMUNICATIVE POWER Power can be defined in two ways: 1. Stimulus-response way. The probability of achieving some given outcome or how strong effect can be when elicited by a certain stimulus. 2. Chance of a man or a number of men to realize their will in a communal action against the resistance of others who are participating in action. Or, in other words, an ability to be more influential than others.

Power can be used in several ways: in order to inform, stimulate to action, direct attention, persuade, define situations and frame reality. Levels and kinds of effects: Media effectiveness is an efficiency of media in achieving a given aim and always implies intention or some planned communication goal. Media effects can occur at several different levels individual, societal, institutional or cultural. Main kinds of effects: Cause intended or unintended change (change of opinion or belief), cause minor change (change in form or intensity of cognition), facilitate change, reinforce what exists, and prevent change. Less frequent effects: Reciprocal effect (individual or institution becomes a part of event coverage in media); Boomerang effect (outcome is the opposite to what was expected), thirdparty effect (others rather than me are affected by media) TYPOLOGY OF PROCESSES OF MEDIA EFFECT: All of the process of media effect can be aligned onto two different axes. On one intended vs. unintended effects while on the other one short- vs. long-term effects (see Fig 17.2). The following provides four major types of effects that can be constructed: 1. Planned short-term (e.g. individual response effect characterised by the process by which individuals change or resist the change following exposure) 2. Unplanned short-term (e.g. policy effect: news coverage suddenly affects governments policy) 3. Planned long-term (e.g. diffusion of innovation effect: the process of takeup of technological innovations within the given population) 4. Unplanned long-term (e.g. socialization effect: learning of social norms and values) STIMULUS-RESPONSE MODEL This is a behavioural model representing the short-term effects of communication that can mostly be applied to individuals rather than groups. This is the way it goes: message -> individual receiver - > reaction From the previously mentioned effect types it fits the individual response and individual reaction. Stimulus-response model by itself is too simplistic to account for any type of real media effects. However, it might be extended by adding possible mediating variables to the model. For example, messages stemming from an authoritative and credible source will be more effective or the sources that are attractive, close or similar to receiver will have more impact. Research has indicated that the style (e.g. personalisation), types of appeal (e.g. emotional vs.

rational), order and balance of argument are related to the potential strength of media message effectiveness. SOURCE-RECEIVER RELATIONS AND EFFECT As mentioned in the examples above, the relation between the source and receiver can play a crucial role in the effectiveness of the message. McQuail identifies five forms of this relation. 1. Reward: a gratification for recipient from the message (e.g. amusement) . 2. Coercion: a negative consequence of non-compliance (e.g. kick in the face). 3. Referent: an attraction or prestige of sender so that that receiver identifies with him and is willing to take the message.

4. Legitimate: sender has a strong claim to expect to be followed. 5. Expert power based on superior knowledge. This distinction is based on proposition that influence through communication is a form of exercise of power that depends on certain assets or properties of the agent of influence (the communicator). THE CAMPAIGN There are many different types of media campaigns (for those who are very interested the list is on the p.471). They differ not only in terms of goals but also according to the norms and rules, the degree of social support they enjoy, the methods and strategies that are applied and also the relative significance of media contribution relative to other resources. Regardless of the vast differences between the campaigns, there might a number of features indentified that will fit the most: (1) originator is a collective party (political party, environmentalist organisation); (2) it is concerned with direction, reinforcement and activation of existing tendencies towards socially approved objectives (e.g. voting or raising money); (3) many messages are used trough several types of media in order to achieve that; (4) the aim is to redistribute a limited amount of public attention, action or money. Filter conditions Filter conditions are potential barriers that can facilitate or hinder the flow of messages. For example, attention which depends on the motives interest and relevance of the content; or perception message needs to be interpreted in a wanted way. Personal influence The main idea of this approach is that ideas often flow from radio and print to the opinion leaders and from them to the less active sections of the population. This assumption is based on two elements: (1) a notion of population stratified according to interest and activity in relation to media and to the topics dealt with by mass media and (2) that there is a not a direct but a two-step flow of message from the source to receiver.

Locus of interest The campaigns can differ according to their locus of benefit. Some can be directed towards the interest of the recipient (e.g. health or public information); the others on behalf of the sender (e.g. advertisings, propaganda) And thats the end of this chapter of models, forms, types and models again.

A summary of 'Chapter 18: Social-Cultural Effects' by Ioanna Archontaki

In 'Chapter 18: Social-Cultural Effects', Denis McQuail investigates the existing theories on the socio-cultural effects of the media influence, with a focus on television influence. A model of behavioural effect The Media, in principle, do not differ from other experiences, actions or observations which result to knowledge and learning for the individual, despite if that knowledge/learning is considered having positive or negative effect. In addition, in the case of television where influence is mainly unintended, the level of effect can vary from person to person. To prove that, McQuail analyzes the model of behavioural effect developed by Comstock (1978), which is a basic stimulus-response model, in relation to violence. According to the model, the ability of a television stimulus (called 'TV Act') to initiate the learning process is determined by the degree of excitement caused to the individual (called 'TV arousal'), its degree of repetition (called 'TV alternatives'), its portrayed consequences (called 'TV perceived consequences') and its degree of realism (called 'TV perceived reality'). The actual learning however is manifested only in the occasion when the individual is presented with an opportunity to act (see also fig. 18.1). The Media, Violence and Crime There has been much debate on the assumed link between the media, violence and crime on the belief that the former encourages or even outright causes violent/criminal behaviours. Hypotheses on media influence and violent effects follow three basic theoretical models. Firstly, the 'Social learning theory' of Albert Bandura maintains that children learn from their exposure to television the models of social behaviour and the subsequent reward/punishment of their imitating/rejecting that behaviour norm. Secondly, the 'Prime effects theory' by Berkovitz suggests that when people are exposed to violent contents, it cultivates a predisposition to use violence in their social interaction. Thirdly, 'Script Theory' by Huesmann holds that social behaviour is following certain patterns, called 'scripts', that influence people's responses to certain events. Therefore, exposure to violent content may lead to generating violence. In addition to these models, there's the general belief that violent content leads to a 'desensitization' towards violence, lowering inhibitions towards its use and increasing our tolerance. While the majority of research studies dealing with media influence on crime/violence rates have not come to agreement, a program of research for US Surgeon General carried out at the late 60s resulted to the following conclusions: Television content is heavily saturated with violence. Children are spending an increasing amount of time exposed to violent content. The evidence supports the hypothesis that violent entertainment increases the likelihood of

aggressive behaviour.

The above findings have often been confirmed by subsequent researches such as Wilson's and Smith's (2002), who found that programs targeting on a children audience contained more violence than other programs. In addition, the American Psychological Association (2003) decided that heavy viewers of television violence also demonstrated increased aggressive behaviour and attitudes. On the other hand, it has also been suggested that TV violence might have also positive effects since it allows a harmless release of emotion (catharsis, Aristotle's theory of drama). Inducement of fright Aside from violent content, television is also found to cause fear or emotional disturbance to viewers by broadcasting fright-inducing programs, which the viewers sometimes watch on their own volition as a way of entertainment. However, there are also unintended and so being, harmful consequences for some viewers, such as intense, long-term effects of fear. Media and Crime The Media have often been accused for fomenting criminal actions (not simply aggression/violence), even though there has not been any evidence to support that hypothesis. McQuail states that while the Media have often shed a glamorous light to the criminal lifestyle, 'the overwhelming message of the media has always been that crime does not pay and that criminals are not attractive people'. Far from causing criminal actions, the Media have exaggerated the incidence of crime and the probability of being a victim to a criminal action. Despite this fact, the writer maintains that the reasoning behind the link have been cases of apparently motiveless killing such as the Columbine school massacre (1999) or the killings at Erfurt (2002), in which cases there's an established link between the criminals and certain Media. Sexual content crime has also raised debate, with Perse concluding her research by stating that 'exposure to pornography seems to be associated with harmful consequences', which conclude to the desensitization towards violence against women. Finally, on a different scale, the Media themselves have often been accused of instigating violent outbreaks against targeted sub-groups or minorities such as ethnic minorities, alleged terrorists, migrants, sexual deviants etc. Media, Children and Young People The influence the Media, and especially the sway television holds over children and young people, as to its general use and the response to it has also troubled researches. The undesirable effects include social isolation, physic-psychological disorders such as anorexia, lack of exercise and depression tendencies among the audience, passivity, learning and concentration disorders and tendencies to an unhealthy diet. On the beneficial side, the Media are credited with providing a basis for social interaction, having educational effects as to the audience's wider environment and the social behaviours and norms, as well as developing the imagination. However, researchers stress the point that various factors can contribute to these effects even though the general consensus maintains that children are better kept off high exposure to television.

Collective Reaction Effects Mass communication of news when transmitted incompletely, have been amplified or when the news are on purpose misleading can have collective reaction effects, often in the form of panic and civil disorder. This process is often self-generating and self-fulfilling, either because of the 'contagion' concept (where there's a physical gathering of people who spread the news amongst themselves) or by individuals who are dispersed and are in turn reached by the mass media. As a rule, mass media transmissions take the form of rumor which, when the right prerequisites have been met, may generate a panic\protest reaction or aid in suppressing one. Such cases of collective reaction effects have been the riots following the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in 2006 or the collective reaction to the bombing of Madrid in 2004 in the case of a panic/riot/protest reaction extracted by mass media and the reactions to 9/11's terrorist attack where a widespread panic reaction was avoided. The writer though points out that causes for such media use are often much deeper and that the media are simply the messenger; as McQuail writes 'much terrorist violence is either planned, threatened or carried out for political reasons, by people seeking, however indirectly, to use the media for their own purposes'. Civil Disorder The Media have been suggested to be able to create a riot dynamic climate as well as causing local disturbances, even provide the know-how on rioting. According to Singer (1970), the Media can contribute to such a climate by pinpointing occurrences of rioting, transmit warnings of likely riots or publicizing events that provoke public sentiment towards a riot. Other researchers have concluded to similar hypotheses like Kerner (1968) or Tumber (1982) who maintain that the Media can influence the timing of a riot breakout or its scale. Diffusion of innovation and knowledge Since the Second World War the Mass Media have often been used as agents of technological and social change and modernization by generally educating & aiding literacy, disseminating the technical know-how, encouraging the individual for personal change and mobility and strengthening consumer demand. This role of the media has inspired the development of various 'information diffusion' models. Everett Rogers in 1962 developed a model of the following four stages: information, persuasion, decision/adoption and confirmation. However, this model was later abandoned due to its weakness of manipulation by external parameters since only the spreading of information and the persuasion could be carried out by the Media themselves, and was instead replaced by an alternative 'convergence model' featuring a continuous communication and interpretation between the Media and the audience. However, McQuail quotes Defleur and Rogers who point out that even though this model has been advanced and practiced, 'it's itself an innovation which has to be diffused before it can play a part in the diffusion processes of the kind familiar in modern or developed societies'. The social distribution of knowledge The capability of the media to keep a society up-to-date with the latest socio-political and economic developments is one of their major effects in regards to research of social

distribution of knowledge. There has been much debate as to the distribution of knowledge amongst the social classes, due to the differentiation between press and broadcasting, on the general presumption that the favored classes (who prefer the print media for their information) are better informed than the basis which is relying almost exclusively on television. This 'knowledge gap hypothesis' as it's being called maintains that the poor are not left without information but instead they are lacking in the circulation of knowledge to their higher status counterparts. The hypothesis rotates on two axons: firstly, the general distribution of knowledge between the classes and secondly, the possible opening and closing of knowledge gaps due to media intervention (for purposes of learning and progress). The computer-based information has recently been added to the debate, on the belief that web information will lead to wider knowledge gaps where rich in information classes will move further ahead from the less informed strata. Social learning theory Bandura's Social Learning theory revolves around the idea that a person can learn behaviours or necessary knowledge from indirect sources such as the media. This model has four stages: attention, retention, production and motivation. On the first stage, the person directs attention to the media content he feels related to. During the second stage, the person adds what he has learnt to his pre-existing knowledge. During the third stage, production, the person puts to practice what he has assimilated which in turn leads to the fourth stage, motivation, which drives or hinters the person from furthering that path. This theory applies to everyday matters, social behaviors or trends as well as modes of interaction and personal consumption. Socialization The media are credited with having an important role in the socialization of adults and children, even though that belief is not backed up by proof due to the long-term nature of socialization and the existence of influence by other agencies of socialization. In general, the media socialization reinforces the influence of other acting agencies by providing their audience with images of lifestyle models, values, social norms and social interactions which they reinforce with a symbolic use of reward/ punishment. Studies on media socialization have shown that the media shape the expectations and aspirations of children as well as reveal a tendency to connect the media lessons with their own experiences. Social control and Consciousness formation There have been several theories supporting that the media are in fact acting as social control. The media by default are believed to be supporting the dominant themes in society while some theories have suggested that the media are de facto conservative in nature due to their dependency from the markets and their subordination to the interests of the state. Herman and Chomsky (1988) have developed a 'propaganda model' which essentially holds that the media are filtering the news according to their economic and political dependencies. On the greater scale, the media are in fact supporting the reigning social norms. The media often exaggerate the danger in order to create 'moral panics' while several sub-groups within the society are usually targeted as 'welfare scroungers', thus ostracizing sub-groups and subcultures as deviant or potentially dangerous to society.

Cultivation The cultivation hypothesis of Gerbner maintains that television, instead of acting as a window to the world, is in fact a world of its own. Substituting personal experience with beliefs and social norms manufactured by the systematic way the television portrays the surrounding environment, television is supplying its audience with a symbolic environment that covers a wide variety of social interactions and real-life situations. The research is then analyzed in two sections: firstly, the extent in which the television message has been distorted and secondly, the testing of the wide society's beliefs on social reality. The writer concludes that even though the theory is plausible, there's no way that one can separate where general socialization ends and where cultivation begins, especially because there are too many factors involved in the process such as audience behaviour, audience views and a variety of symbolic structures. Media and Long-term Social and Cultural Change The Media are believed to sway significant influence over society and culture. In spite of what beneficial or negative influences the Media are credited or accused with though, there has been little firm evidence to support the existence of a definite link. As McQuail stresses, the role of the Media on long term social and cultural change is dependent on the perspective of their assessor, without forgetting that there's a continuous interaction between the Media, society and culture. To the writer, the influence of the media and their observed effects on society and culture is more likely to be an indirect one. Entertainment Effects The greatest majority of the media are labeled as entertainment and that's the main reason behind their popularity. The entertaining the media provide serves as an effect in itself, allowing the audience to experience emotions, be amused, distracted and generally provide the audience with an opportunity to escape their reality. Conclusion The effects of the Media on society and culture, while often observable in short-term periods or individuals do not allow a precise assessment of the mass communication effects. Also, as McQuail points out, in modern societies these effects often contradict themselves and cancel each other out, further complicating the matter. The Media are unlikely to be the main driving forces behind social and cultural change even though their influence does play a role in the general scheme and should not be underestimated.

CHAPTER 19 NEWS, PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION Focus the attention on the effects from informational media content, especially news and various forms of political communication. Some effects are intended (election campaigning and propaganda), others are not (general news), but the line between the two is uncertain.

LEARNING FROM NEWS The overall purpose of news is informative and its content is usually judged by both sender and receiver according to some criteria of information value. Moreover, people do learn from the news and become more informed as a result. The extent to which news has effects depends on its reaching an audience that pays some attention to the content, understands it and is able to recall or recognize some of if after the event. The effect depends on sender, message and audience factors. However, the interest, relevance and concreteness of news aid comprehension, and prior knowledge and the habit of discussion of news topics with others are as well important factors in addition to favourable educational background. The general conclusion from (television) news reach is that the average level of learning is very low and what is learnt is fragmentary. Certainly, at moments of breaking news, the degree of learning is likely to be much higher. News schemata and news processing News is topically and thematically framed for easier understanding, and it is reasonable to suppose that audiences employ some of the same frames; however it has been found that actual schemata in peoples mind were very diverse, fragmentary and poorly organized (Graber).

Grabers model of the way news is processed: News learning can be conceived as the integration of new information into pre-existing schemata. This accounts the fact that prior knowledge is associated with greater learning capacity. An active process by the receiver is presumed, although it is also the case that information is usually presented in the form of pre-existing schemata that are simply taken by the receiver rather than being critically examined. Exemplification The use of exemplification is one form of framing. However, it can lead to misinformation or bias where the case is not in fact representative. Four possible effects: Greater influence when using concrete examples, when examples are emotionally arousing, when multiples examples of the same kind are given and where the presentation is vivid.

Differential reception Research of reception analysis has supported the view that actual interpretations of news are strongly influenced at the point of reception by the circumstances, outlook and prejudices of the individual audience member in a domestic and everyday life situation.

Four dimension in which audiences made sense of news (Jensen): 1. 2. 3. 4. Space: They decided if and how distant events might affect themselves. Power: They are likely to see news as concerning themselves as well as the powerful. Time: They see events in terms of their own past and future history. Identity: Audiences link or disassociate them with events, people and places in the news.

It is useful here to bear in mind the encoding/decoding model of reception according to the outlook of the receiver. News credibility

Trust is required for a news source to be effective. What matters is the quality of the source rather than the information. In some countries a clear distinction appears between more trusted public and less trusted private television and also there is evidence of public awareness of different degrees of credibility between newspapers. The issue of credibility has been revived with the appearance of the Internet as a news medium. There are difficulties to assess credibility if news is not coming from established media; however there is a general public expectation that the Internet can provide solutions of uncertainty.

NEWS DIFUSION The diffusion of news in the sense of its acceptance and incorporation into what people know is mainly a short or medium term matter. Four main variables play a role: The extent to which people know about the event. The relative importance of the event. The volume of information transmitted The extent to which knowledge comes first: from news media or from personal contacts.

Model of interaction between the four variables: J-curved relationship between the proportion of those aware of the event and the proportion of those who heard about it from an interpersonal source. J-shape expresses the following findings: -When an event is known about virtually everybody (F.Kennedy death or Princess Diana) high proportion of people were told by a personal contact. -Events known by decreasing proportions, the percentage of personal contacts falls and media sources arises. -Events known by small proportions (minorities) the proportion of knowledge from personal contacts grows in relation to media sources.

The pattern of news information diffusion can deviate from the normal S-curve (a slow start, then acceleration, then the upper limit is reached) and the J-curve is one important variant type. Theory about news diffusion has a bias of research towards certain events, especially hard news and in order to have a fuller picture we need more evidence about soft news. The fact noted is that word of mouth plays a key part in the dissemination of certain dramatic news despite the alleged decline of social contacts in modern society.

FRAMING EFFECTS Provides the hypothesis that an audience will be guided by journalistic frames in what it learns. News frames activate certain inferences, ideas and judgments.

There was a concern in asses if consistent framing of political news as either strategic (gain campaign advantages) or conflict oriented (not objectively reported) would contribute to greater public cynicism about politics and it was found an increased cynicism as media effect (Capella and Jameison).

Scheufele proposed a model that recognizes the interaction of three actors: -Sources and media organizations -Journalists (media) -Audiences

We are dealing with two kinds of frames: media and receiver frames. And the framing processes are: 1-. The construction and use of frames by journalists and other news organizations. 2-.The transmission of framed news reports to the audience. 3-.Acceptance of certain frames by members of the audience with consequences for their attitudes, outlook and behaviour.

The literature indicates the existence of at least three different paradigms (Dangelo, 2002):

Cognitivist model: The texts of journalists become embodied in the thoughts and words of those affected. Constructionist : Journalists provide interpretative packages of the position of sponsors of news. Critical paradigm: Sees frames as the outcome of news gathering routines and the values of elites. Despite the complexities, there is sufficient evidence, especially from political communication research, to demonstrate the occurrence of effects on audiences that are in line with news frames. AGENDA SETTING The core idea of the term Agenda Setting is that the news media indicate to the public what the main issues of the day are and this is reflected in what public perceives as the main issues.

According to Rogers and Dearing we need to distinguish between three different agendas: priorities of media, of public and those of policy. They wrote too that agenda setting is related to other kinds of effect like the spiral of silence, the diffusion news and media gatekeeping. It is likely that the media do contribute to a convergence of the three agendas, but this is different to a setting of any particular agenda. Generalizations: Media do tend to agree about the relative importance of issues. Media agendas do not closely match real world indicators. The position of an issue on the media agenda determines the importance of that issue in the public agenda. Priming Media priming effect is consider as a more specific aspect of agenda setting and states that the political issues that receive most attention also figure more prominently in public assessments of the performance for the political actors.

EFFECTS ON PUBLIC OPINION AND ATTITUDES Although attitudes and opinions are individual, they can be aggregated to form public attitudes and public opinion respectively. Public opinion acquires certain independence when it is embodied in media accounts. It becomes an objective social fact that has to be taken into account by political and other actors. Media are much less likely to influence attitudes than opinions; attitudes only change slowly and are resistant.

THE ELABORATION-LIKELIHOOD MODEL OF INFLUENCE The model is based in the assumption that people are motivated to hold correct attitudes, and that we put more effort in understanding and evaluating matters of personal interest and this is reflected in the way we process incoming information, either centrally or peripherally. The model reminds that the potential for learning without involvement may sometimes be greater than an active interaction between source and receiver. A related aspect is the distinction between online and memory-based approaches. The former assumes that the key information is all provided in the message as it is viewed or read. The second assumes that any message will tap into an existing store of information. In general, the more operation of memory-based, the more peripheral is the route and greater is the change of effects such as framing and priming.

THE SPIRAL OF SILENCE: THE FORMATION OF CLIMATES OF OPINION The theory proposes that in order to avoid isolation on important public issues, many people are guided by what they think to be the dominant or declining opinions in their environment. People are more willing to express their opinions if they think they are dominant. The result is that those views that are perceived to be dominant gain even more ground (spiralling effect). The spiral of silence involves a pessimistic view of the quality of social relations and remains in hypothetical form.

Third-party effects Is related to the spiral of silence theory and the key point of the idea is that many people seem to think that other people are affected by various kinds of media content, but not themselves. An interesting consequence of this idea is that of the theory of Second-Person Effect and refers to reactions of public actors to news stories.

STRUCTURING REALITY AND UNWITTING BIAS A tendency for mainstream media to take the side of the government of the day under conditions of war or emergency has often been observed. Journalists tend to index the voices and viewpoints according to that of the mainstream political debate and this tends to marginalize minority. The notion that media structure reality in a way which is often shaped by their own needs and interest has been demonstrated. While the media are often acting without any deliberated bias, but the potential to define reality is often exploited knowingly. The term pseudo-event has been used to refer to a category of even more or less manufacture to gain attention or create a particular impression.

THE COMMUNICATION OF RISK One of the functions attributed to mass media is warning the public of possible dangers or risks. This is one explanation of the attention in news to crime, violence, disaster, death and disease. There is a established tendency of media to portray the world as more dangerous than really is. There is a relative failure of the press to report genuine risks linked to scientific innovation, environmental threats and similar maters. And a third issue that relates to the tendency of the media to act as a conduit but not taking any editorial responsibility.

POLITICAL COMMUNICATION EFFECTS IN DEMOCRACIES In totalitarian or authoritarian societies, ruling elites use their control of the media, in democracies; the media have a complex relationship with sources of power and the political system. There is a third possibility where the state has effective power over normally free media (Italy under Berlusconi). The main forms of political communication: Periodic campaign for election. Continuous flow of news which reflect positively or negatively Political advertising.

The most studied communication form is the election campaign and the findings are that they have little effect on voting but they do have a potential teaching about issues and policies. Political communication reflects a continuous process of news management and competition and all significant actors are employed (spin doctors) to ensure success. Political advertising depends on having resources. The fact is that even though the chances of influencing the outcome of an election are quite small, it would be easy to lose and election by not campaigning.

EFFECTS ON THE POLITICAL INSTITUTION AND PROCESS There is a challenge to politics from the growing centrality of the mass media and the rise of media logic. Mass media gatekeepers are thought to have increased their power. Are they who set the agenda. trial by media have become a fact of public life in most countries to any politician touched in any way by scandal. The triumph of media logic over political logic finds its expression in the fact that election campaigns have been widely transformed into skillfully and professionally managed events more akin to advertising, public relations and marketing than traditional politics. The rise of the spin doctor has been interpreted as marking a new stage in the development of political communication. The term of mediatization has been widely used to describe the adaptation of politicians to the media criteria of success. The media become the dominant party in the media-politic relationship. The internet has not yet made any real difference.

MEDIA INFLUENCE ON EVENT OUTCOMES A good example is the Watergate affair and the downfall of President Nixon. The mass media may rarely initiate change independently, but they do provide the channels, the means and the arena for the playing out of events in which many actors and interest are involved. The primary object of influence may not be the general public but other organized interest groups, elites, influential minorities, etc. Characteristics of the events where media play an active part: -Having public collective character -Historic significance -A long time scale in which media and key actors interact with each other. Main international crises often meet these criteria. It has been given the name of CNN effect to the phenomenon of media exerting an influence on foreign policy. Another event deserves attention; this is the political scandal in which the media usually play a key role.

PROPAGANDA AN WAR The connotations of the term have generally been negative. It is the enemy who makes propaganda, while our side provides information, evidence and argument. Propaganda can be aggressive and coercive in manner, it is not objective, and it has little regard on truth (even if it is not false). Under conditions of information monopoly or severe ethnic conflicts, control of the media has often been used to mobilize population to violence. The mass media are now regarded as essential to successful war propaganda, since are the only channels guaranteed to reach the whole public and are regarded as trustworthy. The main conditions in support of propaganda: near monopoly of supply of information and images combined with a broad consensus on goals. An important condition is to maintain in the public mind a distinction between deserving and undeserving civilian victims. The one certain thing is that for propaganda to work it has to reach people and be accepted.

INTERNET NEWS EFFECTS In reference to the internet effects as a new medium, there is a potential for those who are so motivated to be better and more quickly informed. But it is still very uncertain what information needs are met by the internet and it suffers from uncertainty in terms of reliability and lack of trust.

CONCLUSION There are no simple black and white answers about causality in the matter of media effect. It is highly plausible that effects do occur but it is hard to see what eels other than mass media could have caused the effect.