Media and the Social World
Module 1
WHAT IS THE “MASS MEDIA”?
The term “mass media” refers to print and electronic means of mass communication that
carry messages to widespread audiences.
Media and the Social World - Croteau and Hoynes
Every day we are bombarded with messages from mass media –television, radio,
newspapers, and the internet.
In fact, in modern society, most of our knowledge, understanding, and interpretations of
the world are mediated through mass media.
These media have profound cognitive, emotional, and interactional effects on individuals,
institutions, and societies.
At the same time, individuals and institutions are instrumental in shaping the nature and
character of the mass media.
With the pervasiveness of the media, communication scholars have conducted numerous
studies to examine the effects of media on audience and society.
At the same time, individuals and institutions are instrumental in shaping the nature and
character of the mass media.
With the pervasiveness of the media, communication scholars have conducted numerous
studies to examine the effects of media on audience and society.
Functionalist Perspective of the Media
According to this perspective the mass media performs FOUR FUNCTIONS in society:
1. Surveillance of the environment: through the provision of news and information.
2. Correlation: correlating response to news and information (editorial function); the media
coordinate and correlate information that is valuable to the culture.
3. Surveillance of the environment: through the provision of news and information.
4. Correlation: correlating response to news and information (editorial function); the media
coordinate and correlate information that is valuable to the culture.
Rise of Mass Media
Social Construction of Reality
While reality exists, media users negotiate the meaning of that reality
The same media product may mean very different things to different people
Example: A music video may elicit different responses from a 15-year old fan and a
parent concerned about sexist stereotypes that may be present in the video.
Printing technology began in the 15th century
Invention of the printing press promoted literacy in Europe
Early 17th century – first newspapers in Europe
19th century invention of telegraph and telephone allowed instantaneous
communication over long distances
In the early 20th century radio became the first broadcast media , followed by TV in the
1940s and 50s
The development of broadcasting fundamentally altered life – communicators could
cast their messages broadly to the masses in their homes
The media experience became largely privatized and individualized even as people
were becoming “massified” by mass mediated homogenized messages about beauty
and even identity itself.
Rise of Internet and New Technologies
Recent technologies resulted in a move away from the mass broadcast audience toward
smaller, more specialized niche populations
Narrowcasting
– The distinction between separate media forms is now blurred
– Increased interactivity between media users and contents
Media and Society
The commercial mass media serve as a powerful socialization agent
It aims particularly at children and youth
It’s messages often contradict the parent
It normalizes a way of life based on privatization, individualism, capitalist
materialism, hedonism, ageism, sexism, and status-conscious consumerism
It introduces us to new and creative messages and perspectives
It asks people to accept the “normalcy” of constant rapid social change
Media in Social Relations
Media are bound up with the process of social relations
Media affect how we learn about our world and interact with each other
Example: Our political system is now mass-mediated by a commercial media that charges
hefty fees for political messages.
The result is a bias toward the political viewpoints of the rich and their well-financed
politicians.
Media products are connected to the ways we interact with others.
Structural Constraint and Human Agency
Structure
Any recurring pattern of social behavior
Example: family structure
Structure limits human agency
Agency
Intentional and undetermined human action
Example: children in the family
Structure limits agency, but agency can reproduce or change the structure
Structure and Agency in Media
Relationships Between Media & Other Institutions
– Other social institutions set limits on the media
Relationships Within the Media Industry
– Internal workings of mass media – social roles and practices
Relationships Between the Media and the Public
– Media content affects public perceptions
