mass communications final

fourth estate

the fourth branch of government or fourth pillar of democracy

straw donor

limits on individual donors are jokes --> lots of people who have lots of money give "gifts" with the understanding that the person receive will give to a candidate

political action committee

committee that gets together and can raise unlimited funds for a candidate

trial balloons

a candidate or politician having someone that is connected to them talk to the press in a casual way and state an opinion on a current issue; depending on the public's reaction to the position, the candidate will state their own position; planned and authorized

leaks

info that is supposed to be confidential somehow gets out into the public; unofficial

stonewalling

a candidate or politician refusing to speak to members of the press about specific subjects or issues that are potentially embarrassing or damaging to their character

news blackout

in the us: not publishing information that might harm active troop actions
in authoritarian countries: it can mean restricting access to information to control people

communications act of 1934

section 312 and 315 are apart of this regulatory act

section 312

radio and tv stations allow candidates to purchase "reasonable amount of time" for ads

section 315

news must sell time to all parties for about the same price and about the same time of day; stations cannot censor ads

tornillo opinion

print publications do not have to provide equal time to all candidates in news coverage, but they do in advertising; newspapers must only provide equal access

citizens united v. federal election committee

supreme court decisions that said PACs can raise as much money as they want and corporations can donate as much as they want because it is free speech

527 financing

regulation that allows political action committees to raise unlimited funds; independent groups raise unlimited funds

fairness doctrine

a regulation for broadcast media that said both opposing points of view must each get their time on news programs; shut down in the 80s

major criticisms of media coverage

issues, agenda, pseudo-events, interpretation, inside coverage, polling, depth, instant feedback

federal trade commission

_________ does not regulate the content of political ads; they are not fact-checked and cannot be prosecuted for lying

tv ads and political process

media ads are most effective on not getting people to vote; does not sway our opinion that much on which candidate to vote for

powerful effects model

theory that the media has an immediate, direct influence on audiences; a lot of early media theory was concerned with this

people are not given enough credit for their agency, direct effects have never been proven

problem with media effects

users of media effects

not media scholars!!!, people with low levels of media literacy, people who want to exploit the fears of those with low levels of media literacy

orson welles war of worlds

fake radio broadcast that the US was being invaded by aliens, people actually believed that we were being invaded

two-step flow model

created by paul lazarsfield; voted are motivated by opinion leaders rather than the media, personal contact is more important than media content

walter lippman

pulitzer prize wininng journalist; founders of US media studies, 1922 book Public Opinion that said the american public is a "bewildered herd" that needs careful shepherding by an intelligent elite

harold lasswell

model of communication in 1948; criticized for being too simple; can be used a s model or definition of communication

who --> says what --> in which channel --> to whom --> with what effect

maxwell mccombs and donald show

wrote a paper on agenda setting

george gerbner

uses cultivation analysis; mean world syndrome is one of the things that can happen under the umbrella of cultivation analysis

elisabeth noelle-neumann

scholar with came up with the spiral of silence; controversial because she was a nazi journalist

agenda setting

the news doesn't tell us what to think, but what to think about and how much importance to put on each topic

cultivation analysis

theory that claims television cultivates in audiences a view of reality similar to the world portrayed in tv; watching a lot of television, over a long period of time, can have effects; a good metaphor can be the process of creating sedimentary rock

mean world syndrome

people with low media literacy who watch a lot of television may think the world is a scarier place than it is

cumulative effects theory

media effects are not direct, but are powerful over time

spiral of silence

when you are in a group of people and you believe that your political point of view is not the majority around that group of people, you do not bring it up; criticized for not leaving room for people's agency

third-person effect

theorized by w. phillips davison; one person overestimating the effects of media messages on other people, generally one perceives as less than oneself

narcoticizing dysfunction

one example of indirect media effect that has been observed occurring, potentially strongest media effect of all; feeling of being overwhelmed by information about world problems, so we feel we can do nothing to help

uses and gratifications theory

jay g. blumler and elihu katz; people are active consumers of the media for specific purposes or pleasures --> usually entertainment, a substitute for personal connections, personal identity, and surveillance

lifestyle effects

socialization especially, subtle not direct effects that take a long time to occur, constantly negotiating with them

attitude effects

role modeling; public opinion is shifted not on the individual level, but on a larger level; we worry more about these effects than we actually need to

stereotyping

efficient package to transmit generally negative cultural ideas about people

status conferral

the way the media builds some people up to be important

cultural effects

american media is so dominant worldwide that we are using our media to export american values and systems; at the same time we are squashing local media in other countries

catalytic theory

media violence can be among other factors that cause violence, but other influences include: whether media violence is rewarded, whether media exposure is heavy, whether the violent person fits other profiles

cathartic effect, social effects

possible positive effects of violence in the media

aggressive stimulation theory

possible negative effects of violence in the media

bobo doll studies

little kids watched the adults beating the doll, little kids modeled the behavior and hit the doll; little kids want to please the grown up by doing the thing

intellectual property

creative works or ideas embodied in a from that can be shared or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them

asset

intellectual property is considered an _______, even though it may not be a physical object

patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets

four ways to protect intellectual property

trademark

lasts forever, as long as you protect it; if someone else uses this, you must tell them to stop and sue them if they don't

copyright

limited time for authors and inventors the rights to their own work before it enters the public domain

copyright term extension act of 1998

individuals are granted copyright for the life of
- the author plus 70 years
- 120 years after creation
- 95 years after publication

digital millenium copyright act

moved copyright from an issue of civil law to an issue of criminal law

public domain

work whose copyright has expired, been forfeited, or never existed

fair use

using copyrighted work without permission, for commentary, news, education, search engines, parody, satire, research

corp v ohio

court case that decided films do not have 1st amendment protection because they're a business, not an art; this allowed states and cities to censor film

joseph burstyn inc vs. wilson

court case that gave film some 1st amendment protections --> film is art, film can be political

print

only ________ media enjoys the full 1st amendment protections in the US

1st amendment

protects freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly

tv

the news portion has 1st amendment protections, but the entertainment portion is not necessarily constitutionally protected

internet

while regular typed text is treated like print and given full protection, hyperlinks are treated as acts and not always covered under the 1st amendment

schenck v. us

shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, overturned in favor of imminent lawless action" test 50 years later

libel

a defamtory statement, published, which the speaker / writer knew was false and causes injury to the person's reputation or business

zenger 1735

set the defense of truth standard --> must prove "reckless disregard of the truth" or "reckless lack of research"

new york times v. sullivan

set the actual malice standard --> must prove reckless disregard of the truth or reckless lack of research

public figures

there are different standards for public figures and private individuals, where libel is harder to prove for ___________ ______________

obscenity

average person using local community standards find the work appeals to prurient interest, depicts sexual or excretory content offensively, and lacks serious value in literature, art, politics, or science

indecent speech

language or material that depicts or describes in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities

fcc v. pacific foundation

re-established that the FCC has the power to regulate indecent speech in broadcast media

federal communications commission

electromagnetic spectrum allocation, common carrier regulation, broadcast media content are all regulated by this

federal trade commission regulations

false and deceptive advertising (but not for political ads), privacy on the internet

morals

religious or philosophical codes of behavior that may or may not be based in reason

ethics

rational ways of deciding what is good for individual or society, ethics provide a way to choose between competing moral principles and help people decide when there's not clear cut right or wrong answer

deontological ethics

virtue ethics involve doing the right thing for the right reason; say that if you follow good rules then everything will be fine

golden mean

aristotle; avoid extremes and seek moderation -- be balanced a fair

golden rule

judeo-christian ethic; do unto others as you'd have them do unto you

categorical imperative

duty ethics by immanuel kant; act as if your actions were going to become a party of universal law; take your goals out of the equation

discourse ethics

jurgen habermas; when we communicate without bias or coercion, it becomes an ethical act; when deciding upon the way to act, all parties communicate and come to consensus

teloegical ethics

rather than being concerned with actions, these ethics are concerned with consequences; possible problems include the fact that we can't always foresee the results of our actions and the guiding principle of action

pragmatics

john dewey; if the results of the action are good, then the action is good; ethics are based in the situation so different actions are good in different situations

utilitarinism

john stuart mill; act in ways that maximize happiness and minimize suffering for the greatest number of people; can lead to tyranny of majority

veil of ignorance

john rawls; specific to journalism; doing the right things require that we ignore the possible rewards or the responsibilities this decision will place upon the us; we have to act based on how our action will affect society as a whole

definition, values, principle, loyalty

four steps to potter's box: a way to decide which ethical system to use

major ethical issues in journalism

privacy v right to know, working undercover, misrepresentations, fabricating news, plagiarism, sponsored stories

pedagogical

we learn from the media, some media is deliberately created for us to learn stuff

for profit businesses

most US media companies are ...

media literacy

the process of critically analyzing media content by considering its particular presentation, its underlying political or social messages, and its media ownership or regulation that may affect the type of content we receive

cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, moral

four dimensions of media literacy

advertising

goal is to create quick sales, non-dialogic, non-management role, messages included in paid-for media time

convergence

the coming together of computing, telecommunications, and media in a digital environment

correlation

the ways events and issues are interpreted and given meaning; persuasive function of media

entertainment

the fun component of media; content designed specifically and exclusively to entertain, this is what people think of the media

surveillance

primarily the journalism function of mass communication, which provides information about processes, issues, events, and other developments in society

cultural transmission

the way culture is maintained and passed on through media; tends to favor the dominant culture but can include subcultures, all media participate in this

economic convergence

merging of internet or telecommunications companies with traditional media; fewer and fewer companies are owning more and more of the media we are consuming

cultural convergence

occurs through the globalization of media content, with digital media its easier to access international television and movies

technological convergence

rise of digital media and online communication networks

public relations

long term strategy of establishing trust with your consumers

performance-based advertising

any form of online ad buying in which an advertiser pays for results rather than for the size of the publishers audience or the CPM

search-engine marketing

paying for certain keywords to show up high in rankings in a search engine

CPM

stands for cost per 1000 impressions; standard unit for measuring advertising rates for publications based on circulation

viral advertising, product placement, infomercials, spam

four kinds of non-traditional ads