Studied by 17 people
Chapter 1 Chapter 3
What is Media Literacy?
to become critical consumers of media products AND reflective users of media technologies by understanding how media construct meaning.
*Also understanding audience members; understanding of the media industry’s operation, the messages delivered by the media, and the roles media play in society.
What is Mass Communication?
When an individual or institution uses technology to send a message to a large mixed audience, most of them not being known to the sender
What is Mass Media?
the technological tools or channels used to transmit the messages of mass communication
*songs, video games, movies, novels, news, internet services, & other cultural products to a large number of people.
Why does culture matter?
forms and systems of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense of daily life, communicate with other people and articulate our values
How do we know if something is new (culturally)?
Is it new to you?
Is it something that you have not experienced before?
Have others experienced it?
Have you researched it?
Have you analyzed WHY you have not been exposed to it?
What is communication?
social interaction through messages and is how we socially interact at a number of levels through messages
What are the 4 levels of communication?
intrapersonal
interpersonal
public speaking
mass communicating
What are the steps of the critical process?
Description
Analysis
Interpretation
Evaluation
Engagement
What is the description stage of the critical process?
describing segments or articles
identifying their reporting strategies
who is interview subjects
Central characters
conflicts
topics
themes
What is the analysis stage of the critical process
isolate patterns that call for closer attention
HOW to focus the critique
reporters shown at medium distance, interview subjects are generally shot in close ups
What is the interpretation stage of the critical process?
try to determine the meanings of the patterns we have analyzed
Must answer the “so what?” question
visuals change the way the shot is interpreted
What is the evaluation stage of the critical process?
making an informed judgement
better able to evaluate the fairness of a group
can grasp the strengths & weaknesses of news media
Make critical judgements using own frames of reference
What is the engagement stage of the critical process?
writing a formal letter or email to offer a critical take on news narratives
participating in various productions
media literacy forums
learning to construct forms of media ourselves.
What are the 7 secrets about media?
the media are essential components to our lives
There are NO mainstream media (MSM)
Everything moves from the margin to the center
Nothing is New: Everything that happened in the past will happen again
All media are social
Online media are mobile media
There is NO they
Why are different affordances important when it comes to media technologies?
they are different features or capabilities of a technology that help establish how we use it
How is media measured?
Who has ownership?
Who is being influenced?
How is it being used?
Who is controlling media?
How much money is being brought in?
How much profit is being made?
How many audience members are being served?
How engaged is the audience?
What makes the US Media industry special
owned almost entirely privately
When did the Mayflower leave for the new world (Plymouth,Massachusetts)?
1620
How much time is in between the pilgrims and the first printing press in the colony?
18 years
How much time occured between the printing press and the salem witch trials?
54 years
What was the first book printed by the colonists?
The Whole Book of Psalms (Bay Psalm Book)
What is Globalization Media?
the worldwide integration of media (print, digital, and electronic means of communication) through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
Who are the major exporters of media content (besides the US)?
India, Nigeria, South Korea, Brazil
Why is media related to economics?
media economics is concerned with a range of issues including international trade, business strategy, pricing policies, competition, and industrial concentration as they affect media forms and industries
Why does the connection between media and economics lead to concerns?
enormous media conglomerates
Potential Negative impacts
Monopoly: one company dominates production and distribution
Oligopoly: Most Common Structure, a few firms dominate an industry
Limited Competition: (common in radio and newspaper industries) there are many producers and sellers but only a few products
What is a Conglomerate?
several different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities (EX: Amazon was originally just for books)
Examples of Legacy Conglomerates
Disney
News Corporation (FOX)
Warner Media
ViacomCBS, Paramount+
Bertelsmann
What is legacy Media?
traditional media, often owned by large corporations. May include: Newspapers, Magazines, Book Publishers, and Television networks
What is Synergy?
Where the combined strength of two items is greater than the sum of their individual strengths. In the media business, this means that a large company can use the strengths of various divisions to successfully market its content
What is the Long Tail?
The portion of a distribution curve where a number of people are interested in buying a lot of different products
Who wrote the long tail?
Chris Anderson
T/F Our Mass Communication is becoming less mass
True
What is the short head?
the portion of a distribution curve where a large number of people are interested in buying a limited number of products
T/F Big medias like to live in the short head?
TRUE
What is an example of Long Tail?
Being able to choose multiple cheap items at Taco Bell.
What is an example of Short Head?
Deciding to go to one fancy restaurant that costs more.
What are some key acts put into place (Antitrust Rules)?
1890 Sherman Antitrust Act
1914 Clayton Antitrust act
1950 Celler-Kefauver Act
What is the 1890 Sherman Antitrust act?
outlawed monopoly practices that often fixed prices
What is the 1914 Clayton Antitrust Act?
prohibited manufacturers from selling only to dealers and contractors who agreed to reject the products of business rivals
What is the 1950 Celler-Kefauver Act?
limited any corporate mergers and joint ventures that reduced competition
The Telecommunications Act of 1996
single company could now own many radio and TV Stations
phone companies could now own TV and Radio Stations
Cable Companies could now compete in the local telephone business
cable companies could freely raise rates
What was the affect of the Telecommunications act?
instead of lowering consumer prices, the prices raised significantly due to mergers and acquisitions occuring
What are the 5 eras of development within media and communication?
oral
written
electronic
digital
What is the oral and written era?
began about 3000 BCE
differed between cultures
What are some issues within the Written Era?
expensive
time-consuming
Allowed powerful & rich companies to gain centralized control over production and manuscripts
Re-enforced lack of balance of power between working class and rulers
What is the print era
replaced scribes doing hand-copied texts
allowed mass production
availability lowered the costs
Who shaped modern printing?
Johannes Gutenberg (15th century)
How did the printer era impact society?
resistance to authority (religion, people)
Literacy
Focus on individualism
What was culture like prior to the 1800s
people (Europe + America) lived in rural communities
Neighbors were likely to be similar to each other
Religion, Race, Ethnic backgrounds
Limited opportunities to change station in life
What caused the electronic era?
The industrial revolution
What did the Industrial Revolution do?
impacted Europe + US
In 1880s, 70% of Americans lived on farms and in small towns
By 1920s, more than 50% were living in urban areas
What did the industrial revolution lead to?
new media technologies
corporate control of media
widely shared media experiences
When did the Industrial Revolution occur?
1760- 1840
What was the fear?
People were leaving Mass Society and were reliant on Mass Media to learn about other belief systems
learned through newspapers, magazines, and paperback novels
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