media final

media in a free society final

theory

a useful simplification of reality



* It’s not something abstract and impenetrable!
* There is nothing as useful as a good theory

Theories to explain…

* Media content
* Public opinion
* Where people get news
* How people process the news
* How media affect society as a whole

what are theories about media used for

* Researchers in academia and business want to know how media affect citizens/consumers
* They conduct all kinds of research to explain how media serve (or don’t serve) society

how else can we study entertainment (in terms of theories)?

through considering aspects of framing

* like SVU and chicago pd

theories are developed to explain…

public opinion --- what effect media content can have on the way people form opinions

theories are developed to explain

* how people process the news (what do they understand)?

* do people believe everything in “the news”
* do they understand the details of story or just the main idea

theories are developed to explain (views)

* How media affect society as a whole (patterns of media use)
* Do people seek out stories that conflict with their worldview?
* Or do they stick with stories that reinforce their worldview?

the magic bullet theory

* Media are very powerful
* Individuals understand the news in similar ways
* Individuals respond to the news in similar ways

what are the effects on thought within the magic bullet theory

* effects on thought and behavior are direct, immediate, uniform and powerful
* this has been discredited

selected and limited effects theory

* The psychological makeup of individuals varies considerably from person to person
* There are many groups in society with their own subcultures
* Different subcultures have different beliefs, attitudes and values

selected and limited effects theory

* role of people + power of media

* People exist in social networks
* People are selective in what they pay attention to, and in how they interpret news
* **The power of media is limited (= limited effects)**

the two step flow of communication theory

* Some people don’t pay much attention to the news
* Others pay a lot of attention to the news, and become the information “go-to” persons in their social networks

the two step flow of communication theory

* why are they go - to people?

* These “go-to” persons become opinion leaders because others trust them and rely on them for news

two step flow of communication theory (step one and two)

1. from media to opinion leaders
2. opinion leaders to others in their social networks

framing

´To frame is to **select** some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more **salient** in a communicating text…

framing -- how does it make the perceived reality more salient

* …in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition,
* causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation
* for the item described.

how is the problem defined in framing?

“Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine” or

“Russia’s effort to protect its borders”

* what caused the problem (or issue) at hand?
* is the action in the story moral or immoral
* is there a recommendation to handle the situation

harry and meghan example of framing

each media outlet framed the situation of the harry/meghan oprah interview in a different light

* Prince Charles is ‘in a state of despair’ after Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s Oprah interview

fox news website

* Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview Draws 17.1 Million Viewers

\

wall street journal

* Britain Braces for Fallout as Meghan and Harry’s Interview Airs: Live Updates

the new york times

Meghan and Harry interview has Britain abuzz; critics howl in outrage

WAPO

What questions are associated with Laswell?

who says what to whom in which channel with what effect

Appalachian culture and reality tv: the ethical dilemma of stereotyping others

stereotype

* a fixed mental image of a group that is frequently applied to all its members
* often exaggerates (mostly negative) characteristics of a few within the group and apply them to the whole group
* \

effects of stereotyping

* may have positive consequences --- helps us deal with an overwhelming amount of information
* ignores the richness of a subculture and the realities from which the images come

ethics of stereotyping

* creators of both fiction and nonfiction works have an ethical duty to the individuals they portray

\

ethics of stereotyping

* aristotle
* what did he believe

the golden mean as a measure of moral behavior: the midpoint between two extremes

ethics of stereotyping

* kant
* what did he believe

act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only

ethics of stereotyping

* levinas
* what did he believe

* producers should give the person represented a say in their representation
* we cannot define another person (or persons), so trying to do so is wrong

what is an example of levinas beliefs about the ethics of stereotyping

casting for *the real beverly hillbillies*

public opinion

the distribution of opinions and attitudes held by the public

what are the two types of public opinions

* media report
* media affect

what are the three aspects of public opinions?

* stability
* intensity
* trends

who are the two people that studied public opinion

* james bryce
* walter lippmann

what influenced and limited media and public opinon in the late 19th/early 20th century

* newspapers
* the voting box

BRYCE

* how do media influence public opinion?

* they report and comment on individually held opinions
* these opinions may conflict with each other

LIPPMANN

* how do media influence public opinion

* by creating “images in people’s heads” that may or may not correspond to reality
* the messages/information received through social media are filtered through people’s biases

BRYCE

* how is public opinion formed and expressed?

* in stages
* the individual reacts to information and forms an opinion about it

BRYCE

* how is public opinion formed and expressed?
* what do people do with their opinions

* opinions are widely circulated in the media + disagreement/controversy becomes evident
* people adjust their opinions accordingly
* people express their opinions by voting

LIPPMANN

* how is public opinion formed and expressed

* by the news
* by creating “images in people’s heads” that may not correspond to reality

Lippmann identified steps in the process of news production

* monitoring
* gatekeeping
* selection

what impact do the process affect the way people understand events (lippmann)

* pictures in their heads --- “pseudo-reality”
* flawed public opinion leads to flawed public policy

contemporary scholars who have built on lippmann’s ideas

* herbert gans “deciding what’s news”
* michale schudson “the sociology of news”

how do journalists write

they write for other journalists

* they value the opinionb

how do newsmakers try to influence public opinion by “controlling” journalists.

* staging events
* cultivating an image (w/ professional communicators)
* granting access
* controlling the release of information

what has changed about public opinion in the modern media environment ?

* instantaneous communication
* differences in access to information
* anyone can “create” news

two concepts that affect the formation of public opinion in the modern media environment?

1. information overload
2. bounded rationality

how do people receive information and pov/ develop a public opinion in modern media?

people have the option to listen to one POV consistently; more information but less informed

political scientists interested in public opinion of issues, government, and politicians

they pull data from:

* opinion polls
* research on attitudes
* research on campaigns

what is culture?

* relationships people cultivate with the world (nature, ideas, etc) and how they express these relationships (art, language, living spaces)

different types of culture

* high culture
* folk culture
* popular culture

what is an important aspect of popular culture

* entertainment

critics of popular culture say

1. debases elite art
2. ignores real heroes
3. profit motive increases consumer costs
4. gives models of deviant or destructive behavior

motion picture association of america (mpaa)

* gives ratings to movies
* using a panel of parents
* secretive

culture of organizations

* the set of shared, taken for granted, implicit assumptions that a group holds and which determine how it perceives, thinks about and reacts to its various environments

how do media represent american culture?

think about tv shows

* parks and rec -- local small town government
* office -- very corporate work life
* gossip girl -- wealthy culture
* white lotus -- tourism culture

popular culture ignores real heroes -- why?

* there are real heroes in life that don’t wear capes
* this says that you should make characters who do superhuman things but still have some flaws
* people accuse tv shows of having heros that are not good people

law and order s23 e1

* shows a group of police that are morally upstanding to show an office of people who are trying to do right
* the show can get away with valorizing the police because they are dealing with such important topics

what does robert entman say framing involves “framing: toward clarification of a fractured paradigm”

* selection and salience

\

what is salience

makes a peice of information more noticeable to audiences

what does increased salience do

* increases probability the receivers will perceive the info and process/store it in memory

why were there strikes in france

\
* The transportation and refinery workers are on strike because the government increased the age for retirement pensions from 62 to 64
* Its impacting the industries of their workers that the metros are closed

trump indictment

* indicted for business fraud
* on fox news website you have to be looking for it

selected and limited effects theory SIMPLIFIED

* selected: people select what they pay attention to
* limited: even if media does have an effect on people, it is very minimal/limited

Appalachian culture and reality tv: the ethical dilemma of stereotyping others

\
* what depictions of Appalachians did they show?

* Appalachian white as ignorant, lazy, barefoot and pregnant, toothless
* economic, social, and health issue they confront

what was the name of the show that perpetuated Appalachian stereotypes?

the beverly hillbillies

america ferrera ted talk

* our systems have to stop resisting the world we actually live in in order to reflect it
* she was in ugly betty and there and there wouldnt be another tv show led by a latina

\

latino representation on prime time television

* whats the relationship between media portrayals and outcomes

* significant associations between media portrayals and outcomes concerning competence, socioeconomic status, group status

latino stereotypes in media

* criminal, law enforcer, latin lover
* comic: heavy accent laziness, lack of intelligence

cultivation theory

long term exposure to televisions stable set of selective messages ultimately shifts viewers’ social perceptions toward the television version of reality

what is the new social media law in utah

it requires anyone under 18 to get parental consent to join social media platforms. It forces those platforms to give parents access to the children's posts and messages, and it sets a social media curfew for minors

what is the media article relating to ron de santis and libel

he wants to make it easier for people to sue in cases of libel

jon chu, director of crazy rich asians ted talk

* what did he say

he talked about how his family cried when he playd a video recording of them on the vcr bc they saw a fmaily who could fit in

jon chu, director of crazy rich asians ted talk

* how did he create crazy rich asians

* asian actors on twitter expressing frustrations with representation
* all asian cast

roundtable discussion with streaming heads

* how do bad movies come to be

* faulty script, rush for release date, availibility of actors, bad marketing

roundtable discussion with streaming heads

* every creative decision _____

is a financial decision, every financial decision is a creative one

roundtable discussion with streaming heads

* movies that defined themselves in the film making business that reminded people the power of cinema and storytelling

Moulin rouge, slumdog millionaire, united 93, mamma mia, This Is Us (tv show), when harry met sally, black panther

by public opinion, i mean (reading)

* what is a public

* it could be a group of individuals with common interests + and a formal organization

by public opinion, i mean (reading)

* how is opinion defined

* a verbal expression of attitude
* a view when held by an apparent majority of citizens

the tyranny of public opinion (reading)

* Scholars have signed a declaration urging college students to declare their independence 


* Discourages students from dissenting from prevailing news 
* Leads them to supposed that dominant views are so correct only a bigot could question it

the tyranny of public opinion (reading)

* college is meant for____

\
*  seeking truth and learning the skills + virtues necessary to be a life long truth seeker 

No Grand Pronouncements Here...: Reflections on Cancel Culture and Digital Media Participation (reading)

* message boards and comment threads foster what

long form engagement

No Grand Pronouncements Here...: Reflections on Cancel Culture and Digital Media Participation (reading)

* what does cancel culture show

\
* shows how content via social media creates fast responses to acts deemed problematic, empowering marginalized groups in the moment but highlights the death of debate. 

public opinion guest speaker

* why is he writing about pop culture and public opinion if people are already engaged

* writing to help their publications algorithm
* writing for the benefit of the publication

public opinion guest speaker

* what dictates his writing

* demand from the audience
* people want to hear about kanye and that is what engages the audience

no grand pronouncements (reading)

* what happened when an established figure came to a university to give a talk

* there would be protests from students saying they would not agree with this person and there would be physical altercations

media report

* they report what everybody is thinking
* a lot of people who watch fox take for granted what it is saying and think thats what people are thinking
* \

aspect of public opinion

* stability

how stable is the public opinion

aspect of public opinion

* intensity

* how intense is the opinion, they say ok for biden but it doesn’t mean he’s doing a great job

aspect of public opinion

* trends

* the media may not tell you what to think but they tell you what to think about

push pull rerun: television reruns and streaming media (reading)

* why are reruns dying

* Emergence of streaming outlets introduces new licensing revenue to television markets and undermines the pleasures of entertainment offered by reruns

what kind of entertainment is online tv?

Online tv is “pull” entertainment, individuals makes selections about what they want to watch/play hear

what kind of entertainment are reruns

Reruns are the ultimate form of “pushed content” , programmed into stripped schedules and marathons

how do reruns become a part of pull culture

With streaming platforms, reruns become a part of “pull” culture, a selection from a database that is largely the same as any other choice

Disruptions: The changing landscape of film production 2005-2018 by Udita Bhargava (reading)

* what technologically had a huge impact on the film industry

The coming of professional digital cameras had an immense impact of the the film industry

Disruptions: The changing landscape of film production 2005-2018 by Udita Bhargava (reading)

* why was new technology important for independent film makers?

\
* For independent filmmakers, the coming of new technology meant that they could really be “independent” in content and production 
* Independent films could now guarantee the same technical quality as their more commercial counterparts

what has increased number of streaming platforms done to cinemas

decreased number of cinema goers

Adaptation of Scripted Television Formats: Factors and Mechanisms of Cultural Identity in a Global World (reading)

* Three function of television fiction

* storytelling 
* familiarization with the social world
* maintenance of community, the latter being linked to the sociocultural representation that television fiction might depict

Adaptation of Scripted Television Formats: Factors and Mechanisms of Cultural Identity in a Global World (reading)

* national identity in fiction can be grouped into three aspects:

* realism
* aesthetic style
* genre