INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA STUDIES

WHAT IS MEDIA?

What is Media? Collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver

information or data

Channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio or television

Media' is the plural of medium (of communication), and the main media are

Television Pop Music Newspapers Internet Advertising Film Radio

Wide Audience

Mass production

Technologically driven

Information driven

What is Media Studies? Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with

the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media

Media Studies involves the close analysis of the images, sounds and text that we experience via the media

It is the study of individual media texts such as films, TV shows, magazines, websites

Media Studies also involves practical work, where you learn the techniques involved for the production of your own media text

Why is it important? As we progress into the 21st century, communications are

becoming faster and faster

Think of the millions of different media images you are bombarded with every day

It is as important now to be able to read and make sense of those images, as it has been to be able to read ordinary text

You also need to have a good idea of how those messages are made, and who is making them, so that you may quickly become aware if someone (or some corporation!) is trying to manipulate your thoughts and feelings

Media Studies in Contemporary Times

Technological capabilities and features of the Internet and World Wide Web have prompted concerns about the variety of online information, the credibility of new media and the new responsibilities placed on media consumers

Filters and control mechanisms which formerly served to validate and endorse a rather limited number of information outlets, may not be as effective in this new media environment

One distinctive feature of the Internet is its relative lack of professional gatekeepers

Newspapers, magazine, books, television all undergo certain levels of factual verification, analysis of content and editorial review

But web based information is not always subject to the same level of scrutiny

Another distinctive feature of the Web is its convergence of genres of information, particularly the blending of advertising and informational content

Media environment in the contemporary time has helped in the development of appropriate information literacy or the ability to analyse and evaluate information from media sources

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF MEDIA STUDIES

HISTORY OF MEDIA

Late 1400’s The development of printing in China which spreads

to Europe

The first newspaper was printed in the 1600’s, an the first magazine in the 1700’s

Late 1800’s Media develops through the rise of technology Creation of photography Creation of the telephone Creation of cinematography First advertising agency

Early 1900’s The first forms of modern media developed The first feature film Radio is invented and radio stations emerge

Mid 1900’s First television is broadcast and colour

TV goes to the mass market in the US Advertising

Late 1900’s The introduction of the computer The rise of the internet, and portable computers Videos and DVD’s The rise of computer games The introduction of cable and satellite TV Compact Disk is developed

Early 2000’s Newspaper and advertising in newspaper

sales fall Interactive media develops particularly the

internet The rise of digital film and TV Advancement of electronic music, films etc.

FOUR ERAS OF MEDIA THEORY Era of mass society theory (1850-1940)Era of scientific perspective on mass media (1940-1950)Era of limited effects (1950-60s)Era of cultural criticism (1960s-1980s)

WHAT IS A THEORY?

A set of assumptions, propositions, or accepted facts that attempts to provide a plausible or rational explanation of cause-and-effect (causal) relationships among a group of observed phenomenon. The word's origin (from the Greek thorós, a spectator), stresses the fact that all theories are mental models of the perceived reality

Era of mass society theory (1850-1940)

These theories begins with a review of some of the earliest notions about media

These ideas were initially developed in the later half of the 19th century as new media technologies were invented and popularized

Although some theorists were optimistic about new technology, most were extremely pessimistic

They blamed new industrial technology for disrupting peaceful, rural communities and forcing people to live in urban areas merely to serve as a convenient workforce in large factories, mines or bureaucracies

Important theories under this era

Magic Bullet Theory or Hypodermic Needle Theory

Propaganda Theory

Era of scientific perspective on mass media (1940-1950) During the 1930’s, world events seemed to continually confirm the truth of mass

media society ideas

In Europe, reactionary and revolutionary political movements used media in their struggles for political power

German Nazis introduced propaganda techniques that ruthlessly exploited the power of new media technology like motion pictures and radio

All across Europe, leaders like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini rose to political power and were able to exercise seemingly total control over vast populations

Private ownership of media, especially broadcast media, was replaced by direct government control in most European nations

The purpose was to use media for the service of the society

But the unintended outcome in most cases was to place enormous power in the hands of ruthless leaders who were convinced that they personally embodied what as best for all their citizens

Paul Lazarsfeld (1941), an Austrian researcher and scientist, argues that it wasn`t enough to merely speculate about the influence of media on society

Instead he proposed conducting carefully designed, elaborate field experiments in which he would be able to observe media influence and measure its magnitude

It was not enough to assume that political propaganda is powerful – hard evidence was needed to prove the existence of such effects (Lazarsfeld, Berelson, and Gaudet, 1944)

Lazersfeld’s most famous efforts, the “Voter Studies”, actually began as an attempt to demonstrate the media’s power, yet they proved, at least to him and his colleagues, just the opposite

By the early 1950’s, Lazarfeld work had generated an enormous amount of data based on which he concluded that media were not nearly as powerful as had been previously imagined

Instead, he found that people had numerous ways of resisting media influence and were influenced by many competing factors

He found little evidence to support the worst of fears of mass society theorists

Though Lazarsfeld never labeled his theory, it is now referred as Limited-effects perspective

These view media as playing a very limited role in the lives of individuals and larger society

Important theories under this era

Two Step flow theory

Lasswell’s Model

Persuasion Theory

Limited Effect Theory

Era of limited effects (1950-60s)

During the 1950’s, limited-effects notions about media continued to gain acceptance within academia

Several importance clashes occurred between their adherents and those who supported mass society ideas (Bauer and Bauer, 1960)

In 1960, several classic studies of media effects provided apparently definitive support for the limited-effects notions

However, by the mid-1960’s the debate between mass society and limited-effects notions appeared to be over-at least within the mass communication research community

Important theories under this era

Uses & Gratification Theory

Agenda Setting Theory

Dependency Theory

Dissonance Theory

Era of Cultural Criticism (1960s-1980s) Mass society notions continued to flourish in Europe. Both left wing and right wing

concerns about the power of media, learning from the trauma of the WW II

During the 1960s, neomarxist in Britain developed a school of social theory widely referred to as British cultural studies

Neomarxist: Social theorists asserting that media enable dominant social elites to maintain power

In North America, there was an attempt to create an “American culture studies” (Innis and McLuhan, for example).

Important theory under this era

Cultivation Theory

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