Transcript Five Eras of Media Theory

Five Eras of Media Theories
Baran & Davis
Chapter 2
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At the end of this lesson you should be able
to learn the following topics:
Five eras of media theories.
The Mass Society Theory
Mass Culture Theory
Scientific Perspectives on Mass
Communication
Limited Effects Paradigm
Cultural Criticism
Moderate Effects Perspective
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Society ------------ Media
Mass Society ----- Rise of Media
Theory
Industries
A. Mass Society & Mass
Culture
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That the new industrial technology disrupt peaceful
rural communities forcing people to live in urban
areas merely to serve the workforce in large
factories / bureaucracies etc.
Mass media symbolized everything that was wrong
with 19th century urban life.
Mass media is responsible for changing the cultural
norms – the old social order based on landed
aristocracy was crumbling so as its cultures &
politics.
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The dominant perspective during this
period is the Mass Society Theory.
Mass society theory deals with ideas
that held strong appeal for any social
elites whose power was threatened by
change. E.g. the ‘Penny Press’ were a
convenient target for elites’ criticism.
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The essential argument of mass society theory is
that media undermining the traditional social order.
They favored all forms of technological
development including that of mass media.
Technology was good. It facilitate control over the
physical environment, expand human productivity
& generate new form of material wealth.
While on one hand this is encouraging but
industrialization brought about other
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other problems such as exploitation of
workers, pollution & social unrest
(These arguments is captured in chpt.
3,4,5).
B. Scientific Perspective
of mass Communication
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This is the view that the media is not as powerful
as previously imagined. But rather audience had
numerous ways resisting media influence.
This perspective view that media is reinforcing
existing social trends & strengthening rather than
threatening the status quo.
Lazarsfeld, Berelson, Gaudet (1940’s)
C. Limited Effects
Paradigm
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The mass society theories was again under
attack as ‘unscientific’ or ‘irrational’.
Mass communication scholars stopped at
looking at the powerful media effects but
rather look into the ‘limited effects theories.’
Such as the ‘elite pluralism theories – that
the theory asserting that the media use by
sophisticated audiences enriches the
process of democracy.
D. Cultural Criticism
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This is the notion that the media
enable the dominant social elites to
secure their power. Media provide the
ruling elite with a convenient, subtle,
yet highly effective means of
promoting worldviews favorable to
their interest.
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e.g. The British cultural studies focus
heavily on mass media in their role
promoting a hegemonic (dominant
ideas that is imposed on society)
worldview and dominant culture
among various subgroups in the
society.
E. Moderate Effects
Perspective
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The moderate media effects
perspectives support the idea of
communication science, social
semiotics & media literacy.
That is research that integrates all
research approaches grounded in
qualitative, empirical & behavioral
research methods.
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Social Semiotics theory attempted to
integrate communication science, critical &
cultural studies focusing on audience
activity to understand how audience
members make sense of media messages.
Media literacy is the ability to access,
analyze evaluate & communicate media
messages.
PART I
The Mass Society Theory
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Background:
That the new industrial technology disrupt peaceful rural
communities forcing people to live in urban areas merely to serve
the workforce in large factories / bureaucracies etc.
Mass society theory deals with a review about the media in
particular the roles of newspapers.
For many social thinkers at that time (19th century- 1840’s-1850’s)
mass media symbolized everything that was wrong in the 19th
century urban life.
Media was singled out for providing severe criticism and was
charged with supporting the lower class taste, instigating political
unrest, or violating important cultural norms of that time.
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The social order at that time were
controlled by landed aristocracy (land
owners) who were experiencing decay
& crumbling including their culture
and their politics.
That dominant thinking emerged
during this period is referred to as the
Mass Society Theory
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The social order present at that time was
that the aristocracy is crumbling including
their culture & politics.
The monarchy at that time wanted to
maintain the old political order by which the
monarch controls the society. But the
revolutionaries wanted to impose radical
changes & reject the control by monarchy.
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The mass society ideas held strong
appeal for any social elites whose
power was threatened by new change
of the social order in the society.
Media industries like the Penny Press
(1840s & 1850s) were the target for
elite's criticism. The press were
supporting the revolutionary's
movement and not the elite.
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Note:
1. Elite referred to people occupying
or in the privileged positions in a social
system whose power was based on
the industrial revolution.
2. Penny Press (1840 & 1850) is the
newspaper that sold for one penny
(cent) & earned sale through the sale
increased numbers of readers to
advertisers.
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yellow journalism (the use of
sensationalism 1880’s & 1890’s).
This is the era where newspapers
were monopolistic and employed
unethical practices like sensationalism
to instigate mass audience (readers)
to sell newspapers.
The Theory:
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The argument of Mass Society Theory
is based on the idea that the media
undermine the traditional social order
(aristocracy) of the time.
Proponents of this theory supports the
drastic social order of change must
takes place. The debate - who should
do these changes was an interesting
one? The aristocrats or the urban
elites?
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The media were viewed as having the
power to shape people’s perceptions of the
social world and to manipulate our actions
in subtle but effective ways. This theory
assumed that media influence must be
controlled.
This theory appear in the late 19th century
as various social elites are struggling to
make sense of the whole idea on
modernization. The monarchy, the clergy
and the upper class politicians lost power to
the revolutionaries.
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For the monarchy, clergy & upper class
politicians, considered the media as ‘symbolic’
of what was wrong with modern society. Mass
newspapers of yellow journalism (the use of
sensationalism 1880’s & 1890’s) era was
gigantic, monopolistic, that employed unethical
practices to instigate mass audience. E.g.
leaders in education and religion resented
media’s power using contents they considered
objectionable & sinful.
The rise of the mass press posed a direct threat
to the political & business establishment.
The perceptions of the
Media
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1. That the media is malignant for criticizing the
aristocracy & supporting the revolutionary
therefore it must be structured (Marcuse 1969,
1978)
2. Media have the power to reach out & directly
influence the minds of average people (Davis
1978). This was debated since 1940s. Average
citizen is helpless & can be manipulated by
media.
3. Once people’s mind were corrupted by the
media it creates social problems (Marcuse 1941)
Social problems often were link with the media.
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4. Average people are vulnerable to media
because they have been cut off from
traditional social institutions that previously
protect them from manipulation. The
theory idealized the past & romantic visions
of what life must be like in the medieval
Europe.
5. The social chaos initiated by the media
will inevitably resolved by establishing a
totalitarian order.
6. That mass media brings higher forms of
culture, bringing about general decline in
civilization.
Mass Society Theory in
Early Times
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Among the early originators of the Mass
Society Theory was Ferdinand Tonnies
(German sociologist)
He attempted to explain the critical
differences between social organization &
European society existed in the late 19th
century.
He proposed a simple dichotomy between
folk community & modern or industrial
society.
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In a folk community people were
bound together by institutions /
traditional folk cultures such as strong
family ties, traditions, marriage and
social roles.
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Norms are largely unwritten and individuals
were bound to one another as mutual
interdependence (Fukyyama,1999).
N the case of marriage were defined as
lifelong commitments that ended with the
death of spouses.
Marriage partners were chosen by heads of
the families using criteria determined by
tradition & family needs. If you violated the
marriage vows the couple will be ostracized
by the community.
They often find life in modern society to
troublesome and without meaning.
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Durkheim (French sociologist) offered the
same dichotomy like Tonnies with a different
interpretation of modern social order.
According to Durkheim folk community are
like machines forced by collective consensus
to perform traditional social roles. People
are bounded by this consensus known as
‘mechanical solidarity’.
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Durkheim compared modern society to animals
rather than machines. As they grow, animals
undergo profound changes in their physical
form. They begin life as babies and progress
through several developmental stages of
adulthood & old age.
In modern life people perform specialized tasks
for their personal survival and are capable of
using mental processes to anticipate threats &
cope with them known as ‘organic solidarity’
referring to culturally negotiated social ties that
bound modern social order together.
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Social orders in ‘organic solidarity’ are
characterized by specialization, division of
labor and interdependence.
With this Durkheim’s also introduce the
concept of ‘Information Superhighway’
referring to to the idea that worldwide are
connected with digital data network where
to certain extend people can directly able
to decide what they want government to do
for them.
Mass Social Theory in
Contemporary Times
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In our modern life the basic
assumptions that the corrupting media
& helpless audience have never
completely disappeared.
Attacks on pervasive, dysfunctional
power of the media have persisted as
long as the dominant elites find their
power being challenged by the media
& we see this every day in ‘news’.
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The ongoing concern of the erosion of
‘traditional values’ of the average people
comes from new communication
technologies.
First, rapid diffusion of Internet & World
Wide Web. New form of media means new
form of communication which means the
development of new relationship and the
creation of new centers of power & influence.
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Second, the media industries when
facing challenges from new
technologies the media undergo rapid
restructuring. E.g merger & acquisition
of media industries to ensure their
survival in competition like telephones,
cellular communication, cable TV &
internet markets. That the
concentration of ownerships are in the
as hands of the few as what happens in
US today.
Summary
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The dominant perspective during this
period (late 19th century) is the period
of Mass Society Theory. Mass society
ideas held strong appeal for any social
elites whose power was threatened by
change. E.g. the ‘Penny Press’ were a
convenient target for elites’ criticism.
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And that the media are corrupting the
influences that undermine the social
order through their influence over
‘defenseless average people’.
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The essential argument of mass
society theory is that media
undermining the traditional social
order.
They favored all forms of technological
development including that of mass
media. Technology was good. It
facilitate control over the physical
environment, expand human
productivity & generate new form of
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While on one hand this is encouraging
but industrialization brought about
other problems such as exploitation of
workers, pollution & social unrest
(These arguments is captured in chpt.
3,4,5).
Strength & weaknesses of
Mass Society Theory
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STRENGTH
1. Speculates about important effects
of mass media
2. Newspapers were to highlights
important structural changes & conflicts
in modern cultures.
3.Draws attention to issues of media
ownership & ethics
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WEAKNESSES
1. Is unscientific
2.Is unsystematic
3. Concentrate on elites interest in
preserving power over society
4. Underestimate intelligence &
competence of the average people
(readers).
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5. Underestimate personal, social &
cultural barriers to direct media
influence.
PART 11
The Rise of Media
Industries
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For more than a century now, the role
of the media has been continuously
debated.
Both conservatives & liberals fear the
power of the media system into our
society of all sorts (e.g. freedom of
expression, advertising, ownerships,
new technology, protecting software,
impact, etc.)
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Controversy over media influence can have
far reaching consequences.
Mass Society Theory propagate the idea
that media are corrupting influences that
undermine the social order through their
influences over defenseless average people.
Media are viewed as having the power to
shape our perceptions of social world & to
manipulate our actions in subtle but highly
effective ways.
This the theory assumes that the media
influence must be controlled.
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Media entrepreneurs embraced the press
freedom as stated in the First Amendment
to the constitution of America as the road to
democracy.
First Amendment guarantees freedom of
speech, press, assembly & religion. This
amendment led an aggressive catalyst for
the development of mass media.
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This constitutional freedom they
argued is fundamental to democracy.
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BACKGROUND:
Media was among many technologies
that shaped the modern era.
An industrial social order needed fast
& efficient distribution for information.
During the 1860’s telegraph (wire
services) was badly needed for
sending information.
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In the middle & late 19th century popular
demand for cheap media content drove
the development of new media such as –
the Penny Press ( 1 cent), the Nickel
Magazine (5 cents) & the Dime novel (book
sold at 10 cents).
High speed printing press & Linotype
machines made it practical to mass produce
printing word at low cost.
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Urban newspapers boomed.
When war broke out –Yellow Journalism
(sensationalism often related to
irresponsible journalism) was created. This
was the irresponsible side of the penny
press.
By increasing accessibility through lower
prices, new mass newspapers were able to
serve the people who had never before
had easy access to print media.
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The rise of the Yellow Journalism causes
credibility problem for the media such as
reporting inaccuracy, over-dramatized,
stories were over coverage etc.
Sensationalism journalism (irresponsible)
widely used.
These papers were successful because they
attracted large numbers of readers in urban
areas & it is cheap.
Intense competition resulted in the growth
of many small-circulation newspapers and
more specialized print media were created.
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The rise of media industries also led to the
rise of capitalism which entrepreneurs had
the right to earn profits by producing &
distributing media content.
The most notable entrepreneur of them all
is Hearst – the press lord. He demonstrated
that news business could be as profitable as
railroads, steel or oil. Like most yellow
journalism Hearst had little respect for
reporting accuracy.
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The rise of mass media in 1900’s followed
by the industrial development in media
technology. Old technology is replacing by
new technology which is known as
functional displacement (e.g. analogue
replacing by digital) etc.
Functional displacement – means that when
the functions of the existing medium are
replaced by a newer technology, the older
medium finds new functions.
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The success of new media technology
often brings along strong criticism
(like expansive) especially when new
technology adopted uses questionable
competitive strategies to produce
media content , such as better quality
reproduction (2G,3G) out-class the old
reproduction methods of production.
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New media industries often do
specialize in giving people what they
want even if the long term
consequences might be negative. For
example new technology will in the
long run replace the old established
set up. Or reading habits were replace
by watching habits.
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As new technologies developed other
related industries grew around them
ensuring the stable supplies or support
system made available. E.g the
existence of cellular phones
encourages growth to the related
industries displacing earlier industries
& other forms of communication.
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Social roles and relationships were
seriously disrupted as people adjusted
to the new media and their content.
E.g. the existence of TV reduces
discussion as a means of social
interactions. TV sometimes known as
an anti-social box.
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As media industries grew -competition gives
away to oligopoly – that is the
concentration of increasing numbers of
media business in the hands of the few
large companies.
As the industries expand issues on morality
& ethical also grew. Censorship were
debated. Government control frequently
advocated. Industry code of ethics &
practices like self-censorship were proposed
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Computers, internet & World Wide
Web posed a threat to the survival of
news papers and broadcast media.
Old media habits break down & new
media habits emerge. People have
more choices of different media.
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Media ownership are concentrated in
few hands.
PART 111
Social Scientific Theory
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These theories are based on and
guided by empirical (based on
observations or experiments) research.
They permit statements (hypotheses)
about nature, working, and effects of
mass communications.
These statements are tested and their
results are confirmed.
Social Scientific Theory seek prediction
and control.
Limited Effects - Theories
/ Perspectives
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This is a view of media as reinforcing
existing social trends and
strengthening rather than threatening
the status quo
Cultural Criticism Theories
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These theories are concerned with
the conflict of interests in society and
the ways communication perspectives
domination of one group over another.