2. The Big Picture
Communication is a battleground of powe
r
Historically, allied with state or business
corporations ( & now entertainment corp
orations)
Central to institutions of democracy and c
apitalism
130 outlines how media work, how they a
re shaped by and shaping the economic, p
olitical and social worlds around us
Do the Media create critical citizens or co
nsumers?
3. Key Concepts
Media & Communication defined
Mass Communication defined
Model of the Communication Proce
ss
Mapping the Flow
4. The Definition of Media
Broadly, what enables communication t
o take place
May be interpersonal and one on one( s
peech, writing, facial gesture) which is
beyond scope of CMNS 130
May be technical/broader in scale
Specifically, a technological developmen
t that extends the channel, range of spe
ed of communication among large grou
ps of people
5. Media of “Mass” Communi
cation
Print
Newspapers
Magazines
Books
Audio
Radio
Music/Sound Recording
Visual
Film
TV
Videogames
Digital
Internet
6. The Definition of Comm
unication
From Latin Communicare
Verb: to share, impart, to make
meaning common
To give or receive information, sig
nals, messages in any way
Using talk, gestures, writing or oth
er means
Definition: Fleras page 36
“ a meaningful exchange of informati
7. Origins of Communication
Part of human search to transcend t
ime and space
One of the oldest of human practice
s:
Essential for social survival, economic organization
Formal study rooted in classical politics from times o
f Ancient Greece and Rome under a different title: rh
etoric, literary criticism, persuasion (humanities)
Development of the study of Mass Communication al
lied with rise of social sciences and mass marketing
WW2
8. Mass Communication
Communication from one person, g
roup or institution through a trans
mission system or medium to large
audiences or markets
From one ( or few) to many
Implies concept of gatekeeper: controller of transmissio
n/message design
Implies concept of effectiveness and efficiency: is messa
ging achieving what it intended?
9. Transmission Model of Comm
unication
Sender….Message….Receiver
Based on Harold Lasswell’s model (
1948)
Helps identify the stages through
which communication passes so ea
ch one can be properly studied
Modern models recognize networks are
more complex, no longer one way and t
here is more interaction and feedback b
etween sender and receiver
10. Transmission Model II
Central Questions:
Who says what to whom with
what effect? ( transmission model)
Useful in early study of propaganda, and ad
vertising ( stimulus response assumption)
Sees mass communication as a process of t
ransmitting intentional messages for the pu
rpose of social control, or marketing
Implies the study of state or government po
licies, economic processes of advertising an
d commodification of popular culture
11. Characteristics of Mass Com
munication
1. Message produced in complex organizations
2. Message fixed in some form with information an
d symbolic content ( either in digital bits or com
modity form)
3. Message is sent/transmitted or diffused widely
via a technological medium
Newspaper, magazine, CD or videocassette, radio, televi
sion, satellite or Internet
4. Message is delivered rapidly over great space
5. Message reaches large groups of different people
simultaneously or within a short period of time
6. Message is primarily one-way, not two way
12. Transformation of ‘Mass’
Communication
Arrival of computers and switched two-
way interactive technology …digitization
Internet
From one to one, … from many to many
--almost infinitely
Rise of transactional media ( pay per
bit)
Resistance of media piracy:swapping an
d downloading
13. Nature of the Mass Comm
unicator/Sender
Mass communication is produced in
complex formal organizations
With multiple gatekeepers
Using a great deal of money
Increasingly in private sector instit
utions in the West
Existing to make a profit
In a highly competitive market, wor
king to reduce risk by merging and
oligopoly
14. 7 Trends in Communicatio
n
1. Compression of space and time
• Larger and larger territories covered: networks of net
works emerging (www)
• Mobile, wireless untethered access: ubiquity
• Communication across borders virtually instantaneous
ly
2. Commodification
• Spread of private and not public enterprise, interpene
tration of marketing, consumption and media
• Widespread ideology of consumption/consumer “sover
eignty”
3. Deregulation and Concentration and Conglome
ration
• Withdrawal of public sector, less regulation, more role
for market
15. 7 Trends Cont’d
4. Globalization :
• Growth in international trade in cultural products, rise of 6 or 8 main compan
ies dominating markets and merging industries
• AOL Time Warner;Disney;Vivendi, Viacom, Sony, News, Bertelesmann
5. Digitization and Convergence
Conversion of sound pictures and text into computer readable formats by rep
resenting them as strings of zeros and ones
Now, telecommunication providers involved in TV and cable
Digitization enables the production, circulation, manipulation and re-purposin
g or storage of information on unprecedented scale
6. Specialization ( part of “demassification”)
Narrowly “casting’ or “targeting” communication to particular interests… shri
nking share of general interest TV
7. Personalization
The “daily me”: personal tailoring of media diet/media products
Ideal type: MP3 downloading of custom music
16. A Different Approach: the Cul
tural Model
Encode meaning-----decode meaning
Involves Creation of the Text, design of
the sign. symbol or codes and significati
on or interpretation
Fleras, p. 36:
Communication is much more than messag
e exchange.. The enrichment that communi
cation brings in terms of culture, cohesion a
nd connectedness is widely acknowledged.
17. Cultural Model II
Central Question:
How does communication construct a map of meanin
g for people in everyday life? (cultural model)
How do people negotiate common meaning and are
bound by it
Starts from the assumption that:
Any attempt to understand the power of the media requir
es us first to understand how these products are locate
d within and work to construct meaning in everyday life
(Grossberg et al, p. 237).
Embraces ideology/belief systems and ritual: mass
communication is the representation of shared belief
s where ‘reality’ is produced maintained, repaired an
d transformed
