Chapter 1: Living in a Media World

Communication

social interaction through messages

Intrapersonal communication

communication within the self; how we think and assign meaning to messages and events

Interpersonal communication

the transmission of information through verbal/non-verbal message systems to another human

Group communication

when network of people communicate with each other

Mass communication

society-wide communication process in which individual/institution uses technology to send messages to large, mixed audience

Media literacy

people’s understanding of what the media are, how they operate, what messages they deliver, their roles in society, how audience members respond to media messages

Four basic dimensions of media literacy

cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, moral

Cognitive dimension of media literacy

understanding of information communicated by the media

Emotional dimension of media literacy

the feelings created by media messages

Aesthetic dimension of media literacy

interpreting media content from artistic/critical POV

Moral dimension of media literacy

examining the values of the medium/message

Stages of developing media literacy

1. discover communication with other people exists

2. acquiring language

3. understanding of narrative

4. skepticism

5. curiosity, complex thought

6. experiential exploration; broaden likes and interests

7. critical appreciation

8. social responsibility

Mass media

the technological tools used to transmit messages of mass communication

4 types of mass communication models

transmission, ritual, publicity, reception

Transmission model

a dated model still useful in identifying the players in mass communication process

SMCR

sender message channel receiver

Sender

source of messages

Message

content

Encoding

the process of turning sender’s ideas into a message and preparing message for transmission

Channel

medium used to transmit message

Receiver

audience of messages

Decoding

the process of translating signal from mass media into form that receiver understands and interpreting the meaning of message

Noise

interference w/ transmission of messages

Semantic noise

receiver doesn’t understand meaning of message

Mechanical noise

channel has trouble transmitting message

Environmental noise

action and sounds surrounding receiver interfers w/ reception of message

Ritual model

looks at how and why receivers consume media messages

Publicity model

looks at how media attention can make a person, concept, thing important regardless of what’s being said about it

Reception model

looks at how audience members derive and create meaning out of media content

Technological determinism

the theory that technology is the central causal element in processes of social change

Materiality

inanimate objects/intangibles have impact and influence

Autonomous technology

general label for all conceptions and observations to the effect that technology is somehow out of control by human agency (Winner, 1977)

Technological momentum

a technology’s influence changes over time (Hughes, 1983)

Medium theory

AKA media ecology; the theory that emphasizes media environments and the potential impact of technology on society

McLuhan’s medium theory

focused on the influence of media on the individual’s perception of the world; “the medium is the message”

Postman’s medium theory

the rise of TV as a technology leads citizens to think less about social and political issues and more about entertainment

Boorstin’s medium theory

the pervasiveness of visual images was changing the meaning of reality

Social constructionism

the theory that emphasizes the social construction of technology, focusing on the role of active human agents in determining how technology is developed and used

Domestication theory

users “appropriate” technology by bringing it into their homes and lives; the domestication of technology

Digitization

the shift from analog to digital media

Convergence

the blurring of boundaries of types of media