Media in World Politics

2

Defining MASS MEDIA

Outline

Medium/Media? Group - Crowd - Public - Mass 4 Big Themes Macro-models Feedback

'medium'

medium |ˈmiːdɪəm|

noun (pl.media or mediums)

1 an agency or means of doing something: their primitive valuables acted as a medium of exchange.

• a means by which something is communicated or expressed: here the Welsh language is the medium of instruction.

2 the intervening substance through which sensory impressions are conveyed or physical forces are transmitted: radio communication needs no physical medium between the two stations.

• the substance in which an organism lives or is cultured. these cells are grown in a nutrient-rich medium.

• a liquid (e.g. oil or water) with which pigments are mixed, with a binder, to make paint.

3 the material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer: oil paint is the most popular medium for glazing.

From Latin medius – something in-between other things

What are the mass media 'in-between'?

'medium'

Elements of 'mass media'

People Technologies Companies Professional groups Audiences 'Texts' (all types of content)

Lasswell's Comm. Model

Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect? WHO says WHAT in which CHANNEL to WHOM what EFFECT

The Structure and Function of Communication in Society, 1948

Lasswell's Comm. Model

Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?

Lasswell's Comm. Model

Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?

WHO

Communicator

WHAT

message

CHANNEL

medium

WHOM

receiver

EFFECT

effect

Lasswell's Comm. Model

Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?

WHO

Communicator

WHAT

message

CHANNEL

medium

WHOM

receiver

EFFECT

effect

ControlAnalysis

ContentAnalysis

MediaAnalysis

AudienceAnalysis

EffectAnalysis

What is the 'mass'?

Of all the different types of communication media we distinguish between 'mass' media and others.

MASSmedia

OTHERmedia

Group, crowd, public, mass

Group: members know each other, share identity, stable relations over time

Crowd: shared locality, temporary, event- based

Public: larger, dispersed, enduring, issue-based

Mass: very large, widely dispersed, anonymous, passive, receptive, unstructured H.Blumer, 1939

Mass: political outlook

With positive implications... Genuinely 'popular' Solidarity Strength Cooperation

Mass: political outlook

With pejorative implications... Uneducated Ignorant Potentially irrational Unruly Perhaps even violent!

Mass Media/Communications A type of communication designed

specifically to reach a “mass” Professional / organisational “sender” Impersonal / distant relationship Senders have authority Communicational flow mainly in one

direction

Big Themes

Media Power Social Integration Mass Information Problem media

“The media is powerful”

Propaganda Entertainment Public opinion

Albert Speer on Hitler

“Hitler's dictatorship differed in one fundamental point from all its predecessors in history. His was the first dictatorship [...] which made the complete use of all technical means for domination of its own country. Through technical devices like the radio and loudspeaker, 80 million people were deprived of independent thought. It was thereby possible to subject them to the will of one man.” A. Speer, Minister for Armaments and War Production, Nuremberg Trials, 1946

V. I. Lenin

Iskra (Spark) 1900-1905

Pravda (Truth)

Lenin on newspapers

The necessity to concentrate all forces on establishing a regularly appearing and regularly delivered organ[newspaper] …

Learn, propagandise, organise – and the pivot of this activity can and must be only the organ of the party

V.I.Lenin, Our Immediate Task (Rabochaya Gazeta) 1899

“The media links people”

Industrialisation Urbanisation

1900: 13% 1950: 29% [2030: 60%]

Urbanisation

New problem, new solution

Crime and immorality Loneliness, alienation

New problem, new solution

Crime and immorality Loneliness, alienation Mass media it was thought would

contribute to.. A new type of social cohesion ('mass

culture') Supporting democratic mass politics

“Mass information”

Growth of popular education Spread of literacy / libraries Increasing enfranchisement

Gradual spread of adult male suffrage 1850s -1920s

Women's suffrage: NZ 1893, Norway 1913, UK 1928, Japan 1945

“Inform, educate, entertain” The BBC's mission: To enrich people's lives with

programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values/

“Inform, educate, entertain” The BBC's mission: To enrich people's lives with

programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values/

Approaches to mass media Transmission model

Process of passing in information. Behaviouristic: stimulus-response. Media effects.

Approaches to mass media Transmission model

Process of passing in information. Behaviouristic: stimulus-response. Media effects.

Ritual / Expressive model

Non-utilitarian. Sharing, participation, association, fellowship, emotional satisfaction.

Approaches to mass media Transmission model

Process of passing in information. Behaviouristic: stimulus-response. Media effects.

Ritual / Expressive model

Non-utilitarian. Sharing, participation, association, fellowship, emotional satisfaction.

Publicity model

Attention-getting (important commercially)

Approaches to mass media Transmission model

Process of passing in information. Behaviouristic: stimulus-response. Media effects.

Ritual / Expressive model

Non-utilitarian. Sharing, participation, association, fellowship, emotional satisfaction.

Publicity model

Attention-getting (important commercially) Reception model

Encoding/decoding. Mis-communication?

For next week...

Prepare to think about 'media effects' by reading: “Media Effects: Quantitative Traditions”

A Handbook of Media and Communication Research

Ed. Klaus Bruhn JENSEN

Routledge 2012