MMC2000 Exam 1 Book Outline Chapters 1 2 14 4 I Chapter 1 Mass Communications Culture and Media Literacy A What is Mass Communication 1 Media is fully saturated into our every day lives defining us 2 and shaping our realities through mass communication Communication transmissions of a message from a source to a receiver a Answers these questions 1 Who 2 Says what 3 Through which channel 4 To whom 5 With what effect b A source sends a message through a medium to a receiver producing some effect c Communication requires response of others must be sharing of meaning for communication to occur Feedback response to a message also a message making the receiver a source Communication is a process of shared meaning Interpersonal communication communication between two or a few people shows there is no clearly identifiable source or receiver All participants in communication are working to create meaning by encoding and decoding messages a Encoding message is first transformed into understandable sign and symbol system includes speaking writing printing and filming b Decoding once the message is received signs and symbols are interpreted occurs with listening reading or watching Osgood Shramm model demonstrated the ongoing and reciprocal nature of communication process no source or receiver is identified because both participants are encoding and decoding messages no feedback because each message is presumed to be in reciprocation of other messages Noise anything that interferes with successful communication can be actual noise or biases that lead to incorrect decoding 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Medium means of sending information or messages 10 Mass medium when the medium is a technology that carries messages to a large number of people a Plural of medium is media b Includes radio TV books magazines newspapers movies sound recordings cell phones and computer networks c Each medium is the basis of a giant industry 11 Mass communication process of creating shared meaning 12 13 14 between mass media and their audiences Inferential feedback indirect feedback executives can only infer what audiences think about their program and what they must do to improve Interpersonal communication is more personalized and even daring whereas mass communication has a sort of conservatism in order to please the masses Cultural definition of communication communication is a symbolic process whereby reality is produced maintained repaired and transformed a Implies communication and reality are intertwined B What is Culture 1 Culture learned behavior of members of a given social group a Culture is the learned socially acquired traditions and lifestyles of members of a society b Culture lends significance to human experience by serving from and organizing it forms through which people make sense of their lives c Culture is a medium evolved by humans to survive d Culture is LEARNED e Creation and maintenance of common culture occurs through mass communication 2 Limiting effects of culture a Limits our options and provides useful guidelines for behavior b Provides information that helps us decide what s good or bad right or wrong etc c Prevents people from moving past patterned repetitive ways of thinking feeling or acting Although media can often effect culture negatively as in promoting the idea of a perfect body image their motives are strictly financial Dominant culture mainstream culture one that seems to hold sway with the majority of people that which is normative Bounded culture co culture groups with specific but not dominant cultures can be used to differentiate us from others ex Italian American a Can also lead to division such as American s singling out Muslim Americans after 9 11 3 4 5 6 1 THE definition of culture culture is the world made meaningful it is socially constructed and maintained through communication It limits as well as liberates us it differentiates and unites us It defines our realities and thereby shapes the ways we think feel and act C Mass Communication and Culture Together we allow mass communication to occur and contribute to the creation and maintenance of culture a For people in the media industries they must professionally and ethically create and transmit content b For people in audience they must behave as critical and thoughtful for consumers 2 Mass media acts as cultural storytellers serving as sites of observation about self and society a Audiences must question these stories and properly interpret them to shape culture in a positive way 3 Mass communication has become the primary forum for debate about our culture between industries and audiences D Scope and Nature of Mass Media 1 Majority of Americans although consumers do not trust the media Role of media 2 a Technological determinism belief that machines and their development drive economic and cultural change b Technology s influence is determined by how much power it is given by people and cultures that use it c At the very least technology changes the basis elements of communication 3 Role of money a Money alters communication by shifting balance of power makes audience products rather than consumers b When a newspaper selling advertising the process of mass communication has changed from audience and media creating meaning together to selling those readers to a third participant advertisers 1 Some people thought this made voices of advertisers more important than them 2 Others thought this expanded media broadening and deepening communication E Mass Communication Culture and Media Literacy 1 Media literacy ability to effectively and efficiently comprehend and use any form of mediated communication Literate culture culture that employs written language 2 a Transformed by the printing press 3 Oral or preliterate culture cultures without written language a Meaning of language is specific and local creates closeness and independence b Knowledge must be passed on orally giving certain people specific power and responsibility c Memory is crucial 1 Griots talking chiefs who provide oral histories of their people d Myth and history are intertwined 4 Alphabets began to be formed over 5000 years ago 5 6 7 a Ideogrammatic alphabet picture based required huge number of symbols to convey the simplest idea b Syllable alphabet alphabet employing sequence of vowels and consonants appeared around 1800 BCE to aid in overseas trade c Papyrus rolls of slice strips of reed pushed together used by Egyptians Greeks and Romans as paper d Parchment
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