ucla comm 10 suman final (lecture)

content function

function of the media is tied to the content of what you are watching

ex: weather channel influences what we wear to school that day

medium function

related to the use of the media

ex: mating function: movies provide a place for people to get to know each other but the content is unimportant

manifest

obvious, intended functions

ex: listening to news to become informed

latent

subconscious functions

ex: watching the news to avoid your relationship problems

societal functions of mass media

1. status conferral

2. passes on and enforces traditions, norms, values, etc

3. narcotizing

4. services the political system

5. services the economy

6. community cohesion

1. status conferral

media legitimizes ideas about people and things and issues

ex: global warming is talked about on the news, so it must be important

2. passes on and enforces traditions, norms, and values

socializes us to be members of society; tells us what is right and wrong

ex: in america, democracy is important and defines us as americans

3. narcotizing function

blocks your senses and distorts them; makes you feel good and blurs everything together; opposite of substance media

ex: you can believe anything your told and companies can persuade you to buy their products

4. services the political system

uses mass media to communicate to the public

ex: presidential debates on TV

5. services the economy

ex: ads sell products which creates jobs

6. community cohesion

provides a base of common knowledge and interest

ex: everyone knew what was happening on 9/11 if they heard the news; people had common knowledge to discuss

individual functions of mass media:

1. guides our behavior

2. guides our understanding

3. develop a self-concept

4. professional tool

5. facilitate social interaction

6. substitute for social interaction

7. aids emotional release

8. structures our lives

1. guides our behavior

consciously and unconsciously

ex: tells us what movies to see, whether we need an umbrella or not

2. guides our understanding

gives us a grasp of the world and what's happening

ex: what a good or a bad person does can be seen on the news --> bad person shoots people, good person saves people

mean world syndrom

the mass media is filled with violence and teaches people to be scared

ex: more likely to buy a gun after watching violence on the news

3. develop a self concept

allows us to understand ourselves and identify with people; we can create concepts of ourselves and who we might be and how we fit in in the world

ex: role models in the media can influence how you see yourself

4. professional tool

helps us in our careers and to keep up in our fields

ex: farmers can read weather past reports to know how their crops will do this upcoming year

5. facilitate social interaction

gives you something to talk about ex: can talk about stuff on the news or a TV show you both watch

6. substitute for social interaction

can watch TV instead of talking to the person next to you

ex: can watch TV to not feel alone at home

can watch porn instead of having actual sex with a person

7. aids emotional release

when we want to move from one emotional state to another

ex: you can watch TV to relax when you're stressed

8. ritualize/order our lives

can give your life structure and organization

ex: wake up everyday and listen to the radio at breakfast

storage issues of media

1. longevity

2. capacity

3. portability

4. accessibility

5. reproducibility

1. longevity

how long will it last?

ex: cave paintings have lasted for 1000s of years

2. capacity

how much can it store?

ex: books contain a lot more information than petrographs (but don't last as long)

3. portability

how easy is it to move around?

ex: cave paintings are unmovable; stone tablets were heavy; papyrus paper = very movable and a huge improvement

4. accessibility

how easy is it to get to the content:

ex: TV and computers need a source of power and with that power its very easy

5. reproducibility

how easily and accurately you can make copies

ex: used to be hard work to copy books by hand for the scribes, but now with digital copies are easier

agenda setting

refers to deciding what is important enough to make it into the news

gatekeeper

people involved in the selection process of agenda setting

ex: writers, editors, cameramen

marketplace of ideas

rationale for freedom of expression based on analogy to the economic concept of free market. holds that the best ideas and ultimately the truth will beat out the competition of various thoughts in a free and open debate

yellow journalism

the era of sensational newspaper stories; based on crude exaggeration

muckraking

journalism that searches for misconduct in peoples' lives

ex: (muckraker) passing anti-trust laws, regulations of food and medicine safety

wire service

collects and provides news pieces to individual papers

inverted pyramid style

the most important elements are placed in the first paragraph, and so on

syndicated features

content produced and provided by external organizations

ex: entertainment and opinion material like cross words, advice columns, comic strips

syndication: playing an old TV show from another network on your network

mirror analogy

no bias; reports are a reflection of what happened

penny press significance

first true mass circulation medium; inexpensive papers hawked on streets by newsboys, creating lots of sales

factors influencing selection in the news

1. newspeople

2. organizational pressures

3. technology

4. factors within the story

5. audience

1. newspeople

humans are not objective machines; we hold beliefs and ideas

ex: who is writing the story gets to pick what they write about to a certain extent

subcultural bias

most people in news media learned the same stuff in college so they believe the same on what constitutes to a good news story

2. organizational pressures

a. pack journalism

b. beat pressures

c. regularized phenomenon

d. deadlines

a. pack journalism

journalists tend to follow and collab on a story; lead journalists covers story and the other publications will follow

ex: will ellaborate a story someone may have already covered

b. beat pressures

news media has limited resources so they have to predict where the news will occur and assign reports to that place

ex: will cover the news that occurs where their reporters are

c. regularized phenomenon

news media has to get together a package of news everyday, filling the same amount of time and space

ex: will cover the news that will fit

d. deadlines

stories have to be submitted on time to allow for editing and proofreading

ex: will cover the story they can finish in time

3. technology

changed the news business in selection and distribution; now easier than it used to be; can get stories we would not have been able to get in the past

4. factors within the story

certain types of stories that news media is interested in

ex: one news channel may only cover the local news

a. unusual

b. timeliness

c. conflict

d. drama

e. events

f. proximity

g. good film

h. personalization

a. unsual

helpful if unpredictable events occur in predictable times/places

ex: a man bites a dog (vs a dog bites a man)

b. timeliness

if a story isn't picked up at first, it probably will never be picked up

c. conflict

identifiable opponents

ex: Obama vs. republicans

d. drama

story has a beginning middle and end

e. events

occur discretely and cause a large reaction

ex: terrorist attack or a robbery

pseudoevents: creating an event when there isn't one

f. proximity

closer it is the more likely it is to be covered

g. good film

seek stories that can maximize sound and picture

h. personalization

Engross, involve, interest the audience, provides for identification in the people involved in the story

5. audience

different news organizations perceive that they have different audiences

ex: MTV focuses more on music and Wall Street Journal focuses on economics

sweeps coverage

how many people are watching a certain time; broadcasts the most interesting stories when more people are watching

ex: covers a school shooting but not the school's educational issues

important ethical issues

1. privacy

2. basic obligations to fellow humans

3. conflict of interest

4. media + trials

5. gifts and payola

6. reporting on crime

7. stereotypes

8. accuracy of information

9. undercover reporting techniques

10. checkbook journalism

11. reporting on risks

12. ethics of war photos

13. taste

14. shows with threat of death

1.privacy

individuals have a right to privacy

ex: celebrity weddings

2. basic obligations to fellow humans

ex: video taping a man setting himself on fire rather than helping him

3. conflict of interest

you don't want advertisers to stop advertising because they don't like the news because you only cover what makes money

ex: Good Morning America - does reports on Disneyland because Disney owns ABC

4. media + trials

media coverage can interfere with someone getting a fair trial

ex: TV in a courtroom can influence the jury by only showing coverage that portrays culprit as looking guilty

5. gifts and payola

people will give gifts to encourage publishing of something they want

payola: bribing someone to use their influence to promote a particular product

ex: radio companies give radio DJs money to play their artists' songs

reverse payola: if an artist doesn't do a benefit concert, the radio station will stop playing their songs

6. reporting on crime

publishing crime details could produce a copy-cat criminal

ex: should rape victims' names be made public?

7. stereotypes

negative stereotypes portrayed through mass media

white washing: casting white people in ethnic roles

8. accuracy of info

journalists aren't supposed to make stuff up or manipulate photos

9. undercover reporting techniques

lying about your identity or using hidden cameras to get a story

10. checkbook journalism

paying for stories

ex: TMZ pays for stories --> non-credible source

11. reporting on risks

media making people afraid of the wrong things; media focues on big controversies that attract attention

ex: every plane crash is covered but not car crashes (more common)

12. ethics of war photos

should war photos be shown?

13. taste

some images/words should not be shown/said

ex: should boston marathon photos be shown?

14. shows with threat of death

big risks attract audience

ex: tightrope walker between two skyscrapers in Chicago --> attempted in Puerto Rico and man died

regulation of the meida

1. scarcity of spectrum space

2. accessibility of broadcast media to children

1. scarcity of spectrum space

only so much space can be used for broadcast purposes

ex: have to choose what's most important

2. accessibility of broadcast media to children

the stuff they cover can affect kids because it's so easy to see

deregulation

rules previously in place are now gone

ex: how many stations one company could own

self-regulation

all media industries have their own set of standards for sex, violence, language, and drugs

ex: internet regulates itself by restricting posts that advocate violence and aggressive acts (Google)

interest groups

advocate for a certain type of content

ex: more education, less sex and violence

liberal democracy

the us is democratic. people decide direction of country by voting. majority determines direction we go. certain rights can't be violated (10 amendments)

tyranny of the majority

first amendment protects this. you have rights that can't be taken away regardless of what majority thinks

ex: right to fair trial even if everyone thinks you are guilty

philosophical bias

ideas of first amendment come from Milton, Jefferson, and Mill

Milton's 3 pronged defense

1. if opinion is silenced, truth may be silenced as well

2. even a wrong opinion may contain some truth necessary to discover the whole truth

3. Even if commonly accepted opinion is the whole truth, people will not hold it rationality but with prejudice, if they have not had to defend it

(defend what you believe in, don't just believe what people tell you)

libertarianism

an extreme laissez-faire political philosophy advocating only minimal state intervention in lives of citizens

self-correcting mechanism

truth will rise to the top even though it might take a while

bed-rock principle

government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because its offensive to society

restrictions on speech

1. slander/libel

2. national security

3. privacy

4. contempt of court

5. public officals

6. copyright

7. false advertising

8. political statements

9. compelled speech

10. administration of justice

11. jurors

12. speech codes

13. threats and harassment

14. schools/censorship rights

1. slander/libel

can't falsely defame someone

slander = oral

libel = written

2. violation of national security

endangering safety of country; government has a right to keep some things a secret

ex: if you know where bombs are stored, you don't have the right to publish it

3. privacy

have the right to keep certain things private; you can't use someone's name without their permission

4. contempt of court

have to follow judge's instruction; judge has right to control the courtroom

5. public officials

public officials can't erase certain religions

ex: Mayor can't go to a school and tell them to believe in Jesus

6. copyright

have the right to do this so others can't copy; gives owner exclusive right

7. false advertising

can't lie in your ads or for your products

8. certain political statements

can call for an overthrow of government, but can't say specifically when and where and imply violent actions

9. compelled speech

can't force kids to say the pledge of allegiance

but government can force a witness to speak if they're the only witness and they can't get the information anywhere else

10. can't interfere with administration of justice

ex: prejudicing a jury, gag orders (can't discuss a judges order in public)

11. jurors

can't talk to publishers before trial is over

12. speech codes

on college campuses, prevent hate speech;

every speech code that has been challenged has been shot down

13. threats and harassment

can't send threatening mail or phone calls

14. schools/censorship rights

schools have censorship rights over students

ex: can ban swearing, gang clothing, censor school websites