Chapter 1 Mass media literacy Media Ubiquity We swim in an ocean of mass communication exposed 68 8 of our waking hours to media messages So immersed are we in these messages that we often are unmindful of their existence let alone their influences Media Exposure Mass media Concurrent Media Usage Multitasking Mass communication Inescapable Symbiosis o Personal dependence o Media dependence Symbiosis 1 Take a day or two to track your own media usage How closely do your results match those of the Ball State University study 2 How does media multitasking affect the way messages are presented 3 What is the impact of the interdependence of mass media and audience on our society Mediated Communication Mass communication is a process that targets technologically amplified messages to massive audiences Other forms of communication pale in comparison in their ability to reach great numbers of people Ancient communication Interpersonal communication Group communication Communication Through Mass Media o Audience o Distance o Feedback Feedback Industrial communication Communication Through Social Media Social media o Reach o Ownership o Access 1 Compare the effectiveness of interpersonal communication group communication and mass communication 2 What characteristics of social media distinguish it from industrial communication 3 If you see yourself eventually as a communicator with information and ideas to change the world would you choose to hone your skills now for a career in mass media or social media Literacy for Media Consumers Basic components of media literacy are writing and reading skills But as visuals have become more important in mass communication visual literacy is needed too This involves reading still and moving images Linguistic Literacy Linguistic literacy Visual Literacy Visual literacy John Debes Scott McCloud Film Literacy Film literacy 1 How do you explain the rough correlation between literary literacy and prosperity 2 Going as far back as you can remember trace the development of your own visual literacy 3 Film literacy has multiple layers of sophistication What does the use of white and black hats to represent good guys and villains say to you Assessing Media Messages Media Literacy is the application of knowledge and critical thinking processes Fundamentals include recognizing message forms not confusing messages and messengers understanding the possibilities and limitations of various media and platforms and placing media in a framework of history and traditions Media literacy also requires continued questioning of conventional wisdom Fundamentals of Media Literacy Media Literacy Case Study Eclipse of the Novel Now after a run of 300 or 400 years the novel as we know it may be at a crossroads The question is whether technology which gave birth to the novel as a high form of literary art may be its comeuppance Competing technology newer media technology has created potent storytelling forms that encroach on the novel s once exclusive province TV has too much potential for serious literary expression Ease of Access technology has made access easier to electronic based and digital based media Time constraints the process of consuming long form literature involves the slow and laborious intellectual process of reading With easier access to more compact media communication it seems that people either have shorter attention spans or less patience Will the novel disappear Not overnight but some see the sun setting New media forms are attracting creative people who in earlier times might have chosen the form of the novel for their artistic explorations and expression Episodic deliver in chunks exists in TV series and to a greater degree in the edited breakdowns of shows into mini segments for downloading and consumption on the run o Message form o Message vs Messenger o Motivation Awareness o Media Limitations o Traditions o Media Myth Media Counterpoints Literacy and the Internet POINT With the superficial engagement of the Internet we are losing our ability to pay attention This devaluation of contemplative thought solitary thought and concentration is a loss not only for us as individuals but also for our culture COUNTERPOINT The risk of losing our culture and our abilities to reason are overblown There are things that traditional linear and literary approaches can do that hyper attention cannot do And vice versa Spheres of Media Literacy 1 How do you expect your media literacy to deepen as you proceed through this semester Think in terms of the preconceptions you bring to the course Is news biased Can advertising be trusted Are media depictions of aberrant behavior contagious Think in terms of your own media usage Mostly for information Mostly for amusement 2 About which kind of media messages are you most expert at this point Music Political News Video production techniques Movie genres Celebrity news Purposeful Mass Communication Unless anyone is interested in babble mass communication has purpose One purpose is informational so people can make intelligent decisions in their daily lives and in their participation in society Persuasion can be a purpose of mass communication Indeed media are essential in making most purchases and even embracing points of view Another purpose is amusement To Inform Media People Wael Ghonim Freed from jail in the final hours of the Egyptian revolution the revolution s media hero addressed thousands of triumphant protestors Wael Ghonim diverted the enthusiasm from himself This is not the time for individuals or parties or movements It s a time for all of us to say just one thing Egypt above all Ghonim s web activism had been a key in organizing millions of protestors nationwide against a 30 year autocratic reign and in moving the country to democracy To Persuade Marketplace of ideas To Amuse To Enlighten 1 A joker once remarked that the most important item in the news is the weather forecast What do you think 2 How do you distinguish advertising and public relations as persuasive communication 3 How do you rank the importance of the informational persuasive and amusement functions of mass communication 4 Explain life changing media experiences you have had perhaps challenges to personal values Media and Society Today the mass audience of yore is fragmenting Media companies cater increasingly to niches not the whole Unifying Influence Moral Consensus Fragmentation Demassification Sub mass audience Accelerating Demassification What has