Media CycleIn Four Acts•From cave paintings to Facebook, media systems influence people’s thoughts and actions.•Students and citizens need relatively simple approaches to explore and understand the process.MediaProductionMedia Cycle (0)Media is produced..Media Cycle (1)MediaProductionMediaProductSome type of “product” is the result.Media Cycle (2)MediaProductionMediaProductMediaInterpretationThe product is read, watched, used; meaning is attached to it...Media Cycle (3)MediaProductionMediaProductMediaInterpretationCulturePeople maintain and change their culture.Media Cycle (4)MediaProductionMediaProductMediaInterpretationCultureThe culture establishes conditions for media production.Using the Media Cycle1. Select a specific media context for analysis. 2. Proceed through the cycle addressing issues that are pertinent to your analysis.3. Each of the four stages has multiple considerations. (as we shall see)Media Cycle Use (1)•Policies, norms, motives, institutional structure, and behavior of producers (sometimes multiple types)• Funding (e.g. advertising based or foundation grants) • Facilities• Technological and other support • Skilled people (writers, etc.) and other resources• Access to distribution channelsMedia ProductionMedia Cycle Use (2)•The artifact itself, the content. (a play, book, song, tv show, etc)•The means of presenting the artifact; for example, on the stage (the theater, tickets, etc.) or in a book form•The physical (and other) forms it takes•Its "affordances" (what people are encouraged to do with it; what people can do with it.) •Ownership•Replicability•RepurposingMedia ProductMedia Cycle Use (3)•"User" (and non-user) demographics (who, when, where, why, and how) •Physical and other types of access•Language and cultural literacy•Social setting•Personality of user -- motivation, disposition •Social frames•Individual frames•Personal biases, interests and skills (e.g. cognitive ability)Media InterpretationMedia Cycle Use (4)•Social structure •Economic / political / legal structure•Social meanings (symbols, frames, what's sacred, profane, cool, funny, legitimate?)•Technological infrastructureCulture and SocietyObservations of the Media Cycle•Since it’s a cycle it has no beginning or end -- until those have been established.•As it stands, the cycle is abstract in form. The context, objectives, focus, etc. need to be determined first, then the model can be instantiated. •The cycle is useful when it can help promote meaningful analysis and communication. (Think about this before committing!) •The aspects that you consider will depend on your needs, resources, and context of the problem area. Advantages of the Media Cycle•Promotes systemic thinking•Shows concepts graphically•Simple and clear•Abstract, open-ended, and flexible•Helps with analysis and with research (for one thing, it helps raise questions) Disadvantages of the Media Cycle•The cycle only shows part of the picture•It doesn't describe mechanisms or causes•It doesn’t show decisions that could or should have been made. •It has no theory of time built in (nor does it depict time)•It doesn't differentiate between large and small (or other variable) factors. E.g. an individual says "That book changed my life " vs. a critic who writes “That book was boring.” •It doesn't show implications, opportunities, threats•It doesn't show hypotheses / assertions (but could, presumably) •It doesn't show how differences in access are important (but an instantiation of the cycle could / would)•It doesn’t show who "reads" various media (and in general what percentage of the "space" is taken up with some aspect. •It doesn’t show effects on "non-readers" -- i.e. indirect effects •Where do people get information? Now / then (e.g. in different epochs) (And even if they did come by some information orally, it could have been communicated via television at some stage of the game. Media CycleCultureMediaProductionMediaProductMediaInterpretationMediaProductionAnother