Comm Midterm Study Guide
CHAPTER 1- MASS COMMUNICATION: A CRITICAL APPROACH
-Communication: the creation and use of symbol systems that convey information and meaning (for example, languages, Morse code, motion pictures, and one-zero binary computer codes)
-Culture: The symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate values; a system of knowledge.
-Mass Media: the cultural industries- channels of communication (many)- that produce and distribute songs, novels, newspapers, movies, Internet services, and other cultural products to large numbers of people.
-Mass Communication: the process of designing (developing) cultural messages and stories and delivering (distributing) them to large and diverse audiences through media channels as old as the printed book and as new as the Internet. -Importance of the printing press: invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s; made books less expensive, more available to the general public (not just wealthy and powerful people), reduced size as well. More books were made in a shorter period of time. Books became the first mass-marketed products in history. Could spread information and ideas faster and farther so people could express their views that possibly contradicted traditional beliefs that could lead to social and cultural change. Eventually led to more mass production of goods.
- Media Convergence: two meanings, 1) refers to the technological merging of content in different mass media, for example: magazine articles and radio programs are available on the Internet and songs, TV shows, and movies are available on iPods and cell phones. 2) Also called Cross Platform by media marketers describes a business model that involves consolidating various media holdings such as cable connections, phone services, television transmissions, and Internet access, under one corporate umbrella; the goal is not to offer consumers more choice in media options but rather to better manage resources and maximize products. For example: a company that owns TV stations, radio outlets, and newspapers in multiple markets or the same city can deploy a reporter to create multiple versions of the same story for different outlets. Fewer choices are ultimately generated.
- Linear Model of Mass Communication: mass communication is conceptualized as a linear process of producing and delivering messages to large audiences. Senders (authors, producers, and organizations) transmit messages (programs, texts,
which citizens and consumers have the option of returning messages to senders or gatekeepers through letters, phone calls, emails, web postings, or talk shows. - Criticisms of the Linear Model: Problem with the model is that in reality media messages do not usually move smoothly from the sender to the receiver. Words and images spill into each other in everyday life. Media messages and stories are
encoded and sent in written and visual forms but senders have little control over how their intended messages are decoded or whether their messages are ignore or misread by readers and viewers.
- Culture as a skyscraper: a hierarchy of culture placing supposedly superior products at the top and inferior ones at the bottom (like a modern skyscraper). The top floors house high culture, like ballet, the symphony, art museums, and classic literature. The bottom floors and basement house popular or low culture like soap operas, rock music, radio shock jocks, and video games. High Culture is associated with “good taste”, higher education, and support by wealthy patrons and corporate donors and can be associated with “fine art”. Low culture is associated with the “questionable” tastes of the “masses” that enjoy the commercial “junk” circulated by the mass media.
- Tendencies in “postmodern” culture: the changes occurring in the postmodern period (from roughly the mid-20th century to today) are identified by a confusing
array of examples: music videos, remote controls, Nike ads, shopping malls, TRL, hip-hop, and reality TV. Some say postmodern culture represents a way of seeing, a new condition of the human spirit. Controversial postmodern values are playing important roles in our daily lives. Postmodern culture celebrates populism (tries to appeal to ordinary people by highlighting or setting up a conflict between “the people” and “the elite”), it is diversifying and recycling culture (emphasizes diversity and fragmentation, including the wild juxtaposition of old and new cultural styles), questioning science and reversing nostalgia (raise doubts about scientific reasoning and reject rational thought as “the answer” to every social problem), and
acknowledging paradox (integrating retro styles with current beliefs). CHAPTER 2- MEDIA EFFECTS & CULTURAL APPROACHES TO RESEARCH
- Hypodermic-Needle Model: one of the earliest theories attributed powerful effects to the mass media. This is the idea of powerful media affecting weak audiences, also known as the magic bullet theory or the direct effects model. It suggests the media shoot their potent effects directly into unsuspecting victims. - Selective Exposure/ Selective Retention: People expose themselves to the media messages that are most familiar to them and they retain the messages that confirm the values and attitudes they already hold. In most cases mass media reinforce existing behaviors and attitudes rather than change them. This is part of the
- Uses and Gratifications Model: is a response to the minimal-effects theory, was proposed to contest the notion of a passive media audience. Researchers studied the ways in which people used the media to satisfy various emotional or intellectual needs. This addressed the functions of the mass media for individuals, it did not address important questions related to the impact of media on society. It never became a dominant or enduring theory in media research.
- Social Learning Theory: 4-step process developed by Albert Bandura- 1)
Attention: the subject must attend to the media and witness the aggressive behavior. 2) Retention: the subject must retain the memory for later retrieval. 3) Motor
Reproduction: the subject must be able to physically imitate the behavior. 4) Motivation: there must be a social reward or reinforcement to encourage modeling of the behavior. This links the mass media and behavior. Critics say this makes TV, film, and other media scapegoats for larger social problems relating to violence. - Agenda Setting: the idea that when the mass media focus their attention on particular events or issues, they determine-meaning the agenda is set for- the major topics of discussions for individuals and society. The mass media do not so much tell us what to think as what to think about. The media “create pictures in our heads”. The more stories the news media do on a particular subject, the more importance the audiences attach to that subject.
- Cultivation Effect: suggests that heavy viewing of television leads individuals to perceive the world in ways that are consistent with television portrayals. This area of media effects research has pushed researchers past a focus on how the media affects individual behavior and toward a focus on larger ideas about the impact on perception. This suggests that the more time individuals spend viewing television and absorbing its viewpoints, the more likely their views of social reality will be “cultivated” by the images and portrayals they see on television. “Mean World” Syndrome that when viewers are exposed to a lot of TV violence they believe the external world is more violent, mean, and dangerous.
of rigidly enforced neutrality; 3) refused to place the phenomena of modern life in a historical and moral context. Cultural approaches were also necessary.
Textual Analysis: highlights the close reading and interpretation of cultural messages, including those found in books, movies, and TV programs. This looks at rituals, narratives, and meaning instead of how media effects looks with tools of modern science like replicability, objectivity, and data.
Audience Studies: also known as reader-response research is the cultural studies research that focuses on how people use and interpret cultural content. The subject being researched is the audience for the text, not the text itself.
Political Economy Studies: A focus on the production of popular culture and the forces behind it. It specifically examines interconnections among economic interests, political power, and how that power is used. A major concern is the increasing conglomeration of media ownership which means the production of media content is being controlled by fewer and fewer organizations, investing those companies with more and more power. Works best when combined with textual analysis and audience studies.
CHAPTER 8- NEWSPAPERS
- Colonial Papers and the Partisan Press: 1700s- early 1800s; writing about experience in new colonies and news about Europe- 2 types- 1) Political papers= partisan press= editorial mostly, pushed particular agenda. 2) Commercial papers= economic. These had small readerships (about 1500) of elites and the content was for elites because it cost 6 cents, which was very expensive.
- John Peter Zenger Trial: Zenger was the printer of the Journal, installed by the Popular Party, which was a political group that opposed British rule and ran articles that criticized the royal governor of New York. When a Popular party judge was dismissed from office, the Journal escalated its attack and when Zenger shielded the writers of the critical articles he was arrested in 1734 for seditious libel- defaming a public official’s character in print. Zenger ultimately won his case in 1735 because it was decided that newspapers had the right to criticize government leaders as long as the reports were true. After this case, the British never prosecuted another colonial printer and this decision later provided a key foundation- the right of a democratic press to criticize public officials- for the First Amendment to the Constitution.
- Wire Service/ AP: the associated press was founded in 1848 by 6 NY newspapers to form the first major news wire service. Wire Services began as commercial organizations that relayed news stories and information around the country and the world using telegraph lines and, later, radio waves and digital transmissions. With the AP, NY newspapers provided access to both their own stories and those from other papers. In the 1850s, papers began sending reporters to cover Washington D.C. and in the early 1860s, more than a hundred reporters from northern papers went south to cover the Civil War relaying reports back home through wire services. - Yellow Journalism/ The Yellow Kid: late 1800s, emphasized profitable papers carried exciting human-interest stories, crime news, large headlines, and more readable copy. Featured two major characteristics: 1) stories were overly dramatic- or sensational- stories about crimes, celebrities, disasters, scandals, and intrigue; 2) provided a legacy and roots for investigative journalism: news reports that hunted out and exposed corruption, particularly in business and government. / Created in 1895 by artist R. F. Outcault who worked for Thomas Edison; was a cartoon strip that Pulitzer and Hearst fought over during their battle for newspaper circulation. - Objective Journalism: 20th century onward; objectivity: an unattainable but
theoretically conceivable condition of un-bias however all news is views, be subjectively aware. This news seeks to distinguish factual reports from opinion column (“just the facts”) and seeks competing points of view and generally shows only two sides of a story. Inverted Pyramid Style- answered who, what, where, and when and less frequently the why and how at the top of the story and then
narrowed down to less significant details.
- Interpretive Journalism: aims to explain key issues or events and place them in a broader historical or social context. This was the result of papers beginning to re-explore the analytical function of news. Journalism took an analytic turn in a world grown more interconnected and complicated. Responsibilities (Walter Lippmann): 1) “to make a current record” 2) “to make a running analysis of it” 3) “on the basis of both, to suggest plans”. Editorial pages made a strong comeback and there was a growth of the political column.
- Literary Journalism: also called “new journalism” adapted fictional techniques such as descriptive details and settings and extensive character dialogue, to non-fiction material and in-depth reporting. Journalists began to demonstrate how writing about real events could achieve an artistry often associated only with fiction. - Consensus vs. Conflict-Oriented Journalism: Consensus- nondaily papers focus, carrying articles on local schools, social events, town government, property crimes, and zoning issues. Conflict- metro dailies practice, in which front-page news is often defined primarily as events, issues, or experiences that deviate from social norms. These papers offer competing perspectives on such issues as education,
- Newshole: is the space not taken up by ads- accounts to 35 to 50 percent of the content of daily newspapers, including front-page news reports, horoscopes, and advice columns.
- Joint Operating Agreement (JOA): in 1970 Congress passed the Newspaper Preservation Act, which enabled failing newspapers to continue operating through this. Under this, two competing papers keep separate news divisions while merging business and production operations for a period of years. Since the act, 28 cities have adopted these and in 2008 only 9 remained. They are sometimes the only way to preserve competition (Ex. Detroit News and Detroit Free Press)
Chapter 14- The Culture of Journalism
- News: the process of gathering information and making narrative reports- edited by individuals for news organizations- that offer selected frames of reference; within those frames, news helps the public make sense of prominent people, important events, and unusual happenings in everyday life.
- Standards of Newsworthiness: information most worthy of transformation into news stories. Standards: timeliness (select news that are timely or new), proximity (occur close by readers and viewers), conflict (a key ingredient in narrative writing), prominence (feature powerful or influential people), human interest (extraordinary incidents that happen to “ordinary” people), consequence (have to a majority of readers), usefulness, novelty, and deviance (what happens outside the routine of daily life).
- Values in the news (Gans): Ethnocentrism (in most news reporting, especially, foreign coverage, reporters judge other countries and cultures on the basis of how “they live up to American practices and values”), Responsible Capitalism (an underlying value, contending that journalists sometimes naively assume that
businesspeople compete with one another not primarily to maximize profits but “to create increased prosperity for all), Small-town Pastoralism (favoring the small over the large and the rural over the urban), and Individualism (most prominent value, many idealistic reporters are attracted to this profession because it rewards the rugged tenacity needed to confront and expose corruption).
- Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics: Seek the Truth, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, Be Accountable
-Herd Journalism: scoop behavior leads to this, also known as pack journalism, which occurs when reporters stake out a house, chase celebrities in packs, or follow a story in such herds that the entire profession comes under attack for invading people’s privacy and exploiting their personal problems.
broadcast even if the original planned broadcast doesn’t occur the reporter is still expected to cover something even if it is not significant. Print reporters just wait for the story to occur instead of covering something else, less significant. Print
reporters are supposed to be detached while TV news is comes from live on the spot reporting with imagery and the viewers need to trust the reporters.
CHAPTER 13- MEDIA ECONOMICS AND THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
- Monopoly: occurs when a single firm dominates production and distribution in a particular industry, either nationally or locally. One company dominates one industry.
- Oligopoly: A few firms or companies dominate an industry.
-Limited Competition: also called monopolistic competition, characterizes a media market with many producers and sellers but only a few products within a particular category (few differentiable products).
- Telecommunications Act of 1996- lifted (eliminated) most restrictions on ownership and ownership rules. The nationwide limits were completely lifted. The act also welcomed the seven powerful regional telephone companies (Baby Bells) into the cable business. Cable operators not only regained the right to raise cable rates with less oversight but also were authorized to compete in the local telephone business. Could have as many TV stations as you want as long as you don’t have more than 35% of the national audience and up to 8 stations in the same market. DEREGULATION.
-Deregulation: telecommunications act of 1996 is an example. Shift is a threat to democracy, fewer voices heard and ideas expressed. Powerful interests may not allow certain topics to be discussed or may push their own agendas. Homogenizing effect: loss of localism; distribute information all over in an economic sense.
Conglomerations are significantly influencing government agencies because they are so big and have so much money, which leads to a lot of lobbying.
- Hegemony: the acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to those who hold economic and political power. This is how a ruling class in society maintains its power. The ideology is when ideology obtains a position of profound authority gained through acceptance of consent, not coercion (i.e. media dissemination and education, not army and law).
- Rise Specialization and Synergy: the magazine, radio, and cable industries
levels. This term also refers to global companies like Sony buying up popular culture to play on its various electronic products and today Synergy is the default business mode of most media companies.
- Cultural Imperialism: American cultural expression dominating the global marketplace and shaping the cultures and identities of other nations; results in the erasure of culture difference, by exporting a generic brand to places where
American values, beliefs and styles are adopted.
- The effects of Media Consolidation on Democracy: one concern is the influence on large corporations on their news subsidiaries. These companies have the
capacity to use major news resources to promote their products and determine national coverage. Politicians have accepted millions of dollars from large media conglomerates and their lobbying groups to finance their campaigns and media conglomerates will try to create even more deregulation. Politicians also spend a lot of money getting TV advertisements during campaigns.
CHAPTER 16- LEGAL CONTROLS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
- Models of Expression: 1) Authoritarian Model- developed at about the time the printing press first arrived in 16th century England; it advocates held that the
general public, largely illiterate at the time, needed guidance from an elite, educated ruling class and government criticism and public dissent were not tolerated
especially if it undermined the common good- an idea that elites and rulers defined and controlled. 2) Communist or State Model- the press is controlled by the
government because state leaders believe the press should serve the goals of the state. 3) Social Responsibility Model- characterizes the ideals of mainstream journalism in the US; the concepts and assumptions behind it called for the development of press watchdog groups because the mass media had grown too powerful and needed to become more socially responsible. The press functions as a Fourth Estate meaning it is an unofficial branch of government that monitors the legislative, executive, and judicial branches for abuses of power. Private ownership keeps the media independent of government. 4) Libertarian Model- encourages vigorous government criticism and supports the highest degree of individual and press freedoms. There are no restrictions on the mass media or individual speech. - Prior Restraint: the power of the government to prevent the publication or broadcast of expression prior to its occurrence.
-The Progressive Magazine: The issue of prior restraint, an injunction was issued to block the publication of an article saying how to make a hydrogen bomb. The government won because an article about making a hydrogen bomb could put people at risk. In reality however, the article did not consist of any technical information that could allow someone to actually produce a hydrogen bomb.
- Schenk vs. US: Schenk distributed socialist leaflets to American men urging them to avoid the draft during WW1, in violation of the Espionage Act. The court sided with the government creating the “clear and present danger” criterion for
expression- limits the 1st amendment.
-Copyright and Public Domain: A copyright legally protects the rights of authors and producers to their published or unpublished writing, music, lyrics, TV
programs, movies, or graphic art designs. Public Domain is at the end of the
copyright period, the work enters this and it gives the public free access to the work. The idea was that a period of copyright control would give authors financial
incentive to create original works and that the public domain gives others incentive to create derivative works.
-Libel/ Slander: Libel refers to defamation of character in written or broadcast form. Slander is spoken language that defames a person’s character.
-NY times v. Sullivan: 1960, NY times published a full-page advertisement by the Committee to Defend MLK and the Struggle for Freedom in the South. Without naming names the ad criticized southern law enforcement tactics to break up civil rights demonstrations. The commissioner of Montgomery sued the Times for libel claiming he was indirectly defamed. The times won because the libel law from Alabama violated the Times’ first amendment rights.
-Obscenity: does not constitute a legitimate form of expression protected by the 1st
amendment. Current legal definition comes from the 1973 case of Miller v. California which stated obscenity needed to meet these criteria: 1) the average person,
applying contemporary community standards, would find the material as a whole appeals to prurient interest; 2) the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; 3) the material, as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
- Shield Laws: protects reporters from having to reveal their sources for
controversial information used in news stories. This favors the 1st amendment rights
of reporters.
infiltration of the radio and television industry.” The report named 151 performers, writers, and musicians who were “sympathetic” to communist or left wing causes. This was a low point for the first amendment.
-Section 315 of 1934 Communications Act and the Fairness Doctrine: this mandates that during elections, broadcast stations must provide equal
opportunities and response time for qualified political candidates. If broadcasters give or sell time to one candidate, the must give or sell the same opportunity to others.
CHAPTER 4- POPULAR RADIO AND THE ORIGINS OF BROADCASTING
-Radio Act of 1912: addressed the problem of amateur radio operators increasingly cramming the airwaves. Because radio waves crossed state and national borders, legislators determined that it was kind of an interstate commerce and therefore radio waves could not be owned, they were the collective property of all Americans like national parks. So transmitting on radio waves would require licensing in the same way driving a car requires a license.
-Network: a cost saving operation that links a group of broadcast stations that share programming produced at a central location.
-Affiliate Station: though independently owned, an affiliate station signs a contract to be a part of a network and receives money to carry out the network’s programs. -Radio Act of 1927: stated that licensees did not own their channels but could only license them as long as they operated to serve the “public interest, convenience, or necessity”
- Federal Communications act of 1934 and FCC: Because of this act the FRC became the FCC. Its jurisdiction covered not only radio but also telephone and the telegraph and later TV, cable, and the Internet. By this time Congress and the president had sided with the already powerful radio networks and acceded to a system of advertising supported commercial broadcasting as best serving those principles above.
-Importance of War of the Worlds: broadcasted on Halloween eve by Orson Welles and for people who missed the opening disclaimer it sounded like a real news repot and it created a panic that lasted for several hours and this led to the FCC calling for stricter warnings both before and during programs that imitated the style of radio news.
- Rise of Format Radio; Rotation: this system- management rather than deejays controlled programming each hour. The rotation is the idea of playing the top songs many times during the day.
-Nonprofit Radio and NPR: the 1934 telecommunications act set aside 25% of radio for a wide variety of nonprofit stations. Many however were sold to profit owners during the depression. NPR was created as a response to congress being sympathetic to the old idea of using the radio and television as educational tools. NPR was created with PBS and they were mandated to provide alternatives to commercial broadcasting. NPRs programs have 3 to 4 million listeners per day. -Payola and Pay for Play: Payola is the practice by which record promoters pay deejays to play particular records and was rampant during the 1950s and record companies sought to guarantee record sales. Pay-for-Play is a promotional strategy that typically involves up-front payments from record companies to radio stations to play a specific song a certain number of times.
