Scribd
Upload
86 views

MODULE CHAPTER 1-Mass Communication

This document provides an overview of mass communication and its evolution over time. It discusses how culture influences mass media and how communication has changed from oral traditions to the current digital age. The linear model of mass communication is introduced along with a cultural model that accounts for audience influence. The power of media and shifting cultural values are also examined. The document advocates developing a critical perspective to thoughtfully engage with media.

Uploaded by

Neil Henessy Casuncad Cuare
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
86 views

MODULE CHAPTER 1-Mass Communication

This document provides an overview of mass communication and its evolution over time. It discusses how culture influences mass media and how communication has changed from oral traditions to the current digital age. The linear model of mass communication is introduced along with a cultural model that accounts for audience influence. The power of media and shifting cultural values are also examined. The document advocates developing a critical perspective to thoughtfully engage with media.

Uploaded by

Neil Henessy Casuncad Cuare
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

MODULE Introduction to Communication Media

CHAPTER 1: MASS COMMUNICATION: A Critical Approach

Objectives:

a.) Define mass communication and its approaches.


b.) Trace how mass communication evolves through the years.

Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication

Culture is broad category, including


fashion, sports, and architecture, education,
religion, science, and media products. Culture
links individuals to their society, providing shared
and contested values, and the mass media
distribute those values.

Oral and Written Eras in Communication


Written communication — a manuscript
culture—came into conflict with oral
communication tradition.

The Print Revolution


The printing press paved the way for major social and cultural changes by
transmitting knowledge across national boundaries and stimulating the rise of the
middle class.

The Electronic and Digital Eras


While the Industrial Age in America and Europe shifted the focus from farms to
cities, new technology shifted the way people learned about their new society.

The Electronic Age- Telegraph started transformation of communication…continued


by film, radio, and television.

The Digital Age- Ability to send words, pictures, and sound using a digital code
allowed for modern communication technology, including the Internet and cable TV
leading to emergence of e-mail, blogging, and social media.

Page 1
MODULE Introduction to Communication Media

Media Convergence in the Digital Era

Enabled various eras of


communication such as oral and print
communication, to be reinvented in the
Age of the Internet.

The Dual Roles of Media


Convergence involves merging of
content across different media
channels, such as newspaper articles
or songs appearing online. Also refers
to control of multiple media forms—like
cable systems, phone services, and
television stations — under one
corporate umbrella. (AKA cross platform).

Media Businesses in a Converged World Google is one example of how a


media enterprise adapts to convergence and the digital age to create a successful
business strategy.

Mass Media and the Process of Communication

The “media” are not a single entity. Media is the plural of medium, and each medium is
capable of producing worthy products or pandering to society’s worst side.

The Evolution of a New Mass Medium


Three key stages contribute to most mass media development: the novelty, or
development, stage, the entrepreneurial stage, and the mass medium stage.

The Linear Model of Mass Communication


In the linear model of mass communication, the sender transmits a message through
a channel to groups of receivers. In the process, gatekeepers filter the message and
occasionally allow for feedback.

A Cultural Model for Understanding Mass Communication

Moving beyond the linear model of mass communication, selective exposure


explains how audiences shape or bend messages accordingto their own viewpoints.

Stories: The Foundation of Media


Common denominator between entertainment and informationculture narrative.

Page 2
MODULE Introduction to Communication Media

The Power of Media in Everyday Life


Media’s impact on culture debated throughout history
 Surveying the Cultural Landscape- Most societies arrange culture in hierarchical
categories.
 Culture as a Skyscraper- Organization of culture in hierarchical terms of high, middle,
and low categories instead of thinking of culture as a social process.

Traditional arguments against popular culture:


 distracts people from serious literature, art, philosophy
 allows powerful and complex themes to become lost ortrivialized
 creates throw-away ethic because it’s so fleeting
 chokes out higher forms of culture and cheapens public life
 corrupts political discourse and blocks social change by inhibiting rational thought
and distracting audiences withpromise of commercial goods

Culture as a Map
Culture can also be interpreted as a map, which is a more flexible and
multidimensional way of imaginingculture than a high-low ranking.
 familiar stories: offer the security of repetition and common landmarks on the
cultural map.
 innovation and the attraction of newness: individuals sometimes feel the need
to explore new cultural places.
 range of messages: cultural products from Shakespeare to The Simpsons can
contain layers of messages, from the simple tothe complex.
 nostalgia: were the “good old days” really that good

Cultural Values of the Modern Period


The major values of the modern period were working efficiently, celebrating
the individual, believing in rational order, and rejecting tradition/embracing progress.

Shifting Values in Postmodern


Culture
The major values of the
postmodern period are celebrating
populism, recycling culture, questioning
science and revering nostalgia, and
acknowledging paradox.

Critiquing Media and Culture


Many forms of media and culture
are not easily represented by the high-
low (skyscraper) metaphor. Adjectives
like high, low, popular, and mass may
artificially force media forms into
predetermined categories.
Page 3
MODULE Introduction to Communication Media

Media Literacy and the Critical Process


We should instead look for a wide range of issues generated by culture and
move toward a critical perspective when considering the cultural landscape. There
are five steps in the critical process:
 Description: Describe programs and articles, and identify certain elements or
characteristics.
 Analysis: Look for any patterns that call for closer attention.
 Interpretation: Try to determine the meanings of the patterns.
 Evaluation: Make an informed judgment.
 Engagement: Take some action.

Benefits of a Critical Perspective


Developing an informed critical perspective allows us to participate in a debate
about media culture as a force for both democracy and consumerism. Democracy
requires the active participation of interested citizens. By becoming more critical
consumers and engaged citizens, we can better influence the relationship among
mass media, democratic participation, and the cultural landscape.

For More Knowledge:. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxTUC5I22LU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV6rp7RCZw8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RRyX9mI5Lw

Reference:
file:///C:/Users/Dean_04/Downloads/Chapter%201%20Mass%20Communication_%20A
%20Critical%20...%20-%20JoanMerriam.com.pdf

Campbell, R., Martin, C.R., and Fabos, B. (2016). Media Essentials: A Brief Introduction,
Third Edition. Boston: Bedford St. Martins. ISBN: 978-1-4576-9376-2. Available for
purchase or rental through the MSU Bookstore, Amazon, and other third-party
.booksellers.

Page 4

You might also like