Page 1 of 7MMC2000ProffittSummer 2011Exam 1 Study GuideBook & Lecture NotesChapter 1: Mass Communication, Culture, and Media LiteracyMedia and CultureMedia’s role in democracy:Inform citizens for purposes of self-governmentServe as a watchdog on gov’t and businessProvide diversity of viewpoints & serve as a site of creativityMedia:Central force in shaping culture & democracy help bring understanding to events that affect us allRelect and sustain values & traditionsMedia gone too far: Charlie Sheen, Balloon Boy; Reality TV started out of writer’s strike and cheaper programmingNote: California video game ban; age related & violenceWhat is Mass Communication: Communication: transmission of a message from a source to a receiverCommunication is reciprocal and ongoingMass Medium: Technology that carries messages to a large number of peopleMass Comm: process of creating shared meaning btwn mass media and their audiences“Gate Keepers” decide what’s produced & messagesSMCR: Sender Message Receiver ModelLasswell: Who? Says What? Through Which channel? To Whom? With What Effect?A source sends a message through a medium to a receiver producing some effectMissing feedbackInterpersonal Communication: comm.. between two or a few peopleEncoding: Transformation into an understandable sign and symbol systemEx. Speaking, printing, filmingCarried through a medium (means of sending information)Decoding: Signs and symbols are interpretedEx. Listening, reading, watchingOsgood-Schramm Model: Sources Encodes Signal Decodes DestinationNo source no receiver no feedbackMissing NoiseInferential feedback: indirect feedback, e.g. tv ratingsGoal of Communication Models: Creating shared meaningWhat is Culture:Culture: Learned behavior of members of a given social groupSymbols of expression ppl, grps and societies use to make sense of daily life & articulate valuesCommunication as producing, maintaining, repairing, & transforming cultureTwo ways to understand our opportunities and responsibilities in the mass communication process: To view the mass media as our cultural storytellers and conceptualize mass communication as a cultural forumRole of technology: Shape economic and cultural changePage 2 of 7Technological determinism: idea that machines and their development that drives economic and cultural changeRole of money: Shifts the balance of power, makes audiences products rather than consumersOral (PreLiterate) Culture: WOM, generations, knowledge passed down orally specific and local meaningMemory is crucialMyth and history intertwinedWords are space bound and time bound Griots: “Talking chiefs that provide oral historyInvention of Writing: Ideogrammatic alphabet: picture-based alphabetSyllable alphabet: alphabet with sequence of vowels and consonants (Sumerians)Post Alphabet: 1st alphabet is the Greek PhoneticElitism: only certain could read, created a divide Roman Catholic church scribes: write out entire bibles; to know what bible said, you had to listen to the priestLow literacy ratesMessages sent out to other places and creating cities and migrationChanges writing brought:Meaning and language became more uniformCommunication occurred over long distances and long periods of timePrint Communication: Gutenberg’s printing press/ moveable typeMass production, replacement of scribes, rapid production, cheaper prices due to multiple copiesBroke monopoly of knowledge for priests, spread literacy and distribution of ideasIndustrial Revolution: machines and technological advanceRise of working class, newspapers, and scientific method, individual over group, factual informationElectronic/Digital Communication:Telegraph: separates communication and transportation (wired)Easier to coordinate military and commercial operationsPrecursor to fax machine and cell phoneFilm & Radio: changed way people were entertained & informedTV and visual imagery (encode and decode images/sounds) advertisers could SHOWBroadcast: free channels like NBC FOX ABC are FCC regulated for indecencyCable: paid channels not regulated for indecencyAge of Convergence: Appearance of older media forms on new media outletsEx. Kindle for reading, laptops for TV showsComm. Era reinvented in age of Internet: talk through computersTriple threat: co. wanting to provide phone cable and Internet in 11996: Cable and phone business began to mergeElements of media literacy: Media Literacy: ability to effectively and efficiently comprehend and use any form of mediated communication1. Critical thinking skill2. Understanding of the process of mass comm..3. Awareness of the impact of media4. Strategies for analyzing and discussing media messages5. Understanding of media content as a text providing insight6. Ability to enjoy, understand, and appreciate mediaChapter 2: The Evolving Mass Communication ProcessPage 3 of 7Increased reliance on technology: improved ways to get info, tech makes us less productive and dumberIncreased need for big $: must have money for access, control, & power, profit dictates production (sequels, books into movies, remakes, etc.Ownership concentration: fewer & fewer handsConglomerates: ownership of media outlets by larger companiesDominating Conglomerates dominate what we see and hear; 5 major co:Disney, NewsCorp, Time Warner, Viacom/CBS, Comcast/GEHorizontal integration: buying several of the same industryCould rise anti-trust issues due to monopolizationEx. Google advertising own adsVertical integration: production, distribution, exhibition dominated by 1 co. Synergy: using all of own outlets to promote own products = DisneyEconomies of scale: cost of output decreases as size of endeavor increases, advantage due to expansionOligopoly: industry dominated by a small number of sellersGlobalization: transcending cultural boundaries through violence, actionImpacts: diversity of expression, values and cultured disrespectedAudience Fragmentation: segments more narrowly defined, less of a mass audienceAs a result: narrowcasting, niche marketing, or targeting for specific groups that have commonalitiesHypercommercialism: ads are everywhere we lookBugs/Obnoxicons: commercials that run across bottom 3rd of screenProduct placement: integration for a fee of specific branded products into media contentsBranded Entertainment: when brands are essential and part of the program Payola: Radio stations accepting money from record promoters to play a song; used to be illegalMedia Convergence: erosion of distinctions among mediaFueled by
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