Little did I know, when I got my B.A. degree in Communication Theory
at a major American University, many, many, years ago --
little did I know then, that those studies might actually
come in handy some day!
(At the time it was just the 'easiest degree' I could accomplish,
in the least amount time. LOL, the 'true calling' of many an undergrad, these days)
Turns out many of those "Theories on 'Mass Media'" I studied,
which were investigated and confirmed over much the 20th Century,
are still quite relevant today, here in the 21th Century.
And perhaps even more relevant, as we transition
to the next Information Age of "Distributed-Interactive Media"
Though some the labels have changed, most of the concepts
practiced by the 'Mass Media' (think MSM) still remain the same.
[ NOTE: what was routinely called 'Mass Media'
in the Age of Radio & TV, has morphed into the new term
Mainstream Media (MSM) in this new Wired Age, of the 21st Century. ]
If as interactive bloggers we hope to either
{ support, verify, contradict, go-around, or replace }
the standard Information Flows of the Main-Stream Media,
we would do well, to at least be aware of
the basic Communication Theories,
that the Media takes for granted, and routinely use
as just "Tools of their Trade" ...
Here is a basic intro to those "Tools of Mass Media",
from Answers.com. Even though the focus here
is how the Media directly impacts common perceptions
of "Public Health" issues, it is still a good 'case study'
in how the MSM can shape and filter 'what most people think':
Mass Media
Mass media are tools for the transfer of information,
concepts, and ideas to both general and specific audiences.
...
Using mass media can be counterproductive if
the channels used are not audience-appropriate,
or if the message being delivered is too emotional,
fear arousing, or controversial.
Undesirable side effects usually can be avoided
through proper formative research,
knowledge of the audience,
experience in linking media channels to audiences,
and message testing.
...
The mass media are capable of facilitating short-term,
intermediate-term, and long-term effects on audiences.
...
Mass media performs three key functions:
educating, shaping public relations,
and advocating for a particular policy
or point of view.
...
Media Effects
Decades of studies on the consequences of mass media exposure
demonstrate that effects are varied and reciprocal ...
Agenda Setting: The selective nature of what
members of the media choose for public consumption
influences how people think about health issues,
and what they think about them.
When Rudolph Giuliani, the mayor of New York City,
publicly disclosed he had prostate cancer prior
to the 2000 New York senatorial election,
many news media reported the risks of prostate cancer,
prompting greater public awareness ...
----
Cultivation of Perceptions: Cultivation is the extent
to which media exposure, over time,
shapes audience perceptions.
Television is a common experience,
especially in the United States,
and it serves as what S. W. Littlejohn calls
a "homogenizing agent."
... Prolonged exposure to TV or movie violence
may affect the extent to which people think
community violence is a problem ...
----
The Knowledge Gap: Health knowledge is
differentially distributed in the population,
resulting in knowledge gaps.
...public health media campaigns are more effective
when structural factors that impede
the distribution of knowledge are addressed.
----
http://www.answers.com/...
-------------------------
OK, that's well and good, as far as it goes ...
But it was short on Theory, or at least the Theories
that form the foundation of what most
Communications degree-holders, like myself,
just assume are always at play, in Media Content production.
SO, Here's one University's perspective on
the important topics at work in Mass Communication:
More Communication Studies
at the University of Twente -- The Netherlands:
[ NOTE: Many Universities will have similar Schools of Communications --
However this Netherlands University's on-line site seem particularly
well organized and comprehensive, to me.]
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
And I put together some "Cliff Notes" from
some of the more interesting and Communication Theories,
that in my opinion, are still very much are work
in much of the News Content, produced by the MSM today:
The following 'Mass Media' Theory Notes are citing
the studies referenced at the University of Twente -- The Netherlands
Knowledge Gap
increasing gap between higher and lower educated people
... the increase of information in society is not
evenly acquired by every member of society:
people with higher socioeconomic status tend to
have better ability to acquire information.
This leads to a division of two groups:
a group of better-educated people
who know more about most things,
and those with low education
who know less.
Lower socio-economic status people,
defined partly by educational level,
have little or no knowledge about
public affairs issues,
are disconnected from news events
and important new discoveries, and
usually aren’t concerned about their lack of knowledge.
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Spiral of Silence
formation of public opinion
The phrase "spiral of silence" actually
refers to how people tend to remain silent
when they feel that their views
are in the minority.
[ anyone remember the Patriotic "chilling effect"
so pervasive in the run up to the Iraq War? ]
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Cultivation Theory
television shapes concepts of social reality
Cultivation theory in its most basic form,
suggests that television is responsible for
shaping, or ‘cultivating’ viewers’ conceptions
of social reality.
The combined effect of massive television exposure
by viewers over time subtly shapes the perception
of social reality for individuals and, ultimately,
for our culture as a whole.
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Gatekeeping
regulate the flow of information
The gatekeeper decides which information
will go forward, and which will not.
In other words a gatekeeper in a social system
decides which of a certain commodity –
materials, goods, and information –
may enter the system.
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Agenda-Setting Theory
the creation of what the public thinks is important
Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence
of the media – the ability to tell us what issues are important.
...
Two basis assumptions underlie
most research on agenda-setting:
(1) the press and the media do not reflect reality;
they filter and shape it;
(2) media concentration on a few issues and subjects
leads the public to perceive those issues
as more important than other issues.
Statement: Bernard Cohen stated:
"The press may not be successful much of the time
in telling people what to think, but it is
stunningly successful in telling its readers
what to think about."
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Priming
Priming refers to enhancing the effects of the media
by offering the audience a prior context –
a context that will be used to
interpret subsequent communication.
...
Agenda-setting refers mainly to the importance of an issue;
Priming tells us whether something is good or bad,
whether it is communicated effectively, etc.
The media have primed the audience about
what a news program looks like,
what a credible person looks like, etc.
[ sounds much like "spin" to me ]
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
----
Framing
The basis of framing theory is that
the media focuses attention on certain events
and then places them within a field of meaning.
... a Frame refers to the way
media and media gatekeepers organize and present
the events and issues they cover,
and the way audiences interpret
what they are provided.
Frames are abstract notions that serve to organize
or structure social meanings.
Frames influence the perception of the news
of the audience, this form of agenda-setting
not only tells what to think about,
but also how to think about it.
http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/...
-------------------------
Given the fact, that these "communication techniques"
are routinely used to steer, shape, and "frame"
public opinions, how should "interactive bloggers"
see our role in the context of this New Media domain,
called the Internet?
-- Should bloggers adopt the same techniques of the MSM?
[ Here is a case for doing just that --
where I argue it's time to beat the MSM at their own game
of "Framing the Debate" by jamess:
http://www.dailykos.com/... ]
----
-- Should bloggers invent "new techniques"
which will be even more effective at "opinion formation"
than "old school techniques" used by the MSM?
OR
-- Should bloggers realize that there is
a larger Communications Transition underway,
one in which both the MSM and the Blogisphere
can co-exist together, and even possibly benefit each other?
Historically the "Free Press" as been referred to
as the "Fourth Estate". This is a reference to
the important role the Media [the Free Press]
was intended to play in our Constitutional form of Government.
In a sense, the Founders of the Constitution
intended the Free Press to serve as an independent
Branch of Government, in addition to, and
to some degree outside of, the other 3 official branches:
of Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
The "4th Estate" of the Free Press was to act as
the "Watchdog" on all the others,
as a "honesty check" on the three Agents of exceeding Power.
And when the Press is indeed "Free",
(ie. widely distributed and representative
of a wide diversity of opinions)
it HAS often filled its "Watchdog role" quite well.
However once the majority of Media Outlets
become consolidated under the rule of
a few Corporate Boardrooms (as is becoming
the case more so every year, in the USA)
THEN this wide diversity of opinions can fade into the rabble.
AND then, the considerable "agenda setting" powers
of the MSM Media only strengthen.
Homogenized bland storylines are the inevitable result
when only a few corporate agendas set
the information production goals.
In short, the Mainstream Media are ever more frequently
becoming that "Watchdog who forgot to Bark"!
THIS IS WHERE Bloggers have the prime opportunity
to step up and step into this "Watchdog" role,
becoming increasingly shunned by the Corporate MSM,
who frankly, care more about making Profits,
than keeping their Government honest, in most cases.
Indeed the term "Fifth Estate" has shown up
more frequently, of late, to describe the role
that many Bloggers have been just assuming,
as part of their own personal "civic duty".
In fact, it may be way past time for
those "Communication Studies" Researchers
to factor in this New Form of 'Distributed' Media
(as opposed to 'Mass' Media)
-- called the Internet and the Blogisphere,
and start RE-WRITING the book on Communications Theory.
This New Interactive Media, IS SO different,
(in that, it is indeed free, and diverse, and immediate, and interactive)
that the old-school "Tools of the Trade" of the MSM,
may be waning in effectiveness,
in proportion to the rise of Bloggers own use
of similar "Agenda Setting" and "Framing" techniques.
Could it be the Blogisphere is ALREADY acting as a "counter check" and balance
to the pre-filtered News-mush that the MSM
tries to spoon-feed the Masses, on a daily basis?
Here are some excerpts from one such 21st Century
'Communications Study' that gives this New "5th Estate"
the respect it is due. This study focuses on
the effect that New Media have had, as it relates to
the News coverage of the Iraq War I (1991) vs
the Iraq War II (2003):
------
Introduction: War in Cyberspace
Ralph D. Berenger, Guest Editor
Journalism and Mass Communication
The American University in Cairo
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2006) 176–188
...
Bloggers acting as a "fifth estate"
by checking the accuracy of mainstream
media stories (Cooper, 2006)
...
Legacy media, in turn, often report stories
originating from the Web.
...
... An example is the Seattle-based contractor
whose .jpgs of flag-draped coffins in a cargo hold
provoked immediate outrage by United States government
officials, as a result of which she was removed
from Iraq for breach of a confidentiality agreement.
Digital photos posted online by guards at Abu Ghraib prison
and downloaded by newspapers and websites around the world
triggered an immediate outcry ...
The Internet is no respecter of national borders, of time, or, for that matter, unquestioned patriotism or nationalism. Charges can quickly be matched by counter charges; simple assertions can be stripped away by clicking on the next link. Cyberspace is both a vast reservoir of information—useful as well as trivial—and a babbling brook of streaming consciousness. All is there for the world to see and ponder, to ignore or absorb. In short, the new media offer users an unparalleled array of choices to become either passive or active consumers of information.
...
The characteristics of the "new media"
—usually defined as anything digital that
communicates to known and unknown audiences:
Convergence:
Nearly all new media use or
have the capability to use
a variety of different media that
converge or synthesize into
a new type of communication medium.
----
Ubiquity:
The exponential growth of cyberspace
and its asynchronous/synchronous nature
make information and analysis available
to more people than ever before.
----
Agenda Setting:
Mass communication scholars are fond of
saying that the media does not tell people
what to think, but what to think about (Lang & Lang, 1959).
Stories covered in cyberspace often set the agenda
for mainstream media, and monitoring websites and
blogs is an essential weapon in the arsenal of
contemporary reporters.
----
Credibility:
Puzzling to some scholars is how blogs seem to
have acquired instant credibility with a large audience,
even though they often mix analysis with interpretation
of news stories, and the bloggers themselves often
lack professional or academic credentials.
Blogs are credible because they are there,
in cyberspace for the world to see,
without mediation from journalism professionals,
and without the pressures of advertisers
and clients, elites, routine newsroom practices, and customs (Wall, 2005).
----
Interactivity:
The new media are interactive, and
this characteristic may be what sets them apart
from their predecessors more than anything else.
Anyone with access may express his or her views,
often without mediation or editing,
on topics raised by Internet sites or weblogs.
In contrast, traditional mass media still
struggle with the problem of feedback.
----
Transferability:
The cut-and-paste function of digital media
allows large blocks of information to be forwarded
as well as linked.
Material contained on websites can be cut and pasted
into emails and sent to other users who might
have missed the initial posting.
This snowball effect resulted in
an exponential dissemination of information
in a matter of hours, if not minutes ...
A less studied aspect of this transfer
of digital information is whether individual recipients
processed the information before passing it on to others,
or if any of the individuals in the multiple-step flow
bothered to fact-check the information they received
----
[ Pdf Format: ]
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/...
----
Here's to hoping the Blogisphere will come to understand
and continue to use its many New "Tools & Techniques"
effectively enough to serve as the "Ultimate Watchdog"
of both the Press and the Government.
Here's to hoping the Constitution will ultimately prevail,
under the watchful reporting of this new "Fifth Estate" --
whose most effective membership, will end up being those
more motived by "civic duty" than by a "profit-agenda".
(IMO, it is the "corporate chase for ever more profits"
which has directly led to the "dumbing down of the News".
Such "News Nuggets" are frequently passed along
as "Breaking News Alerts" by the MSM,
in hopes of luring as many viewers as possible [advertising eyeballs],
while expending the least amount of actual analysis work as possible.)
If we heed the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, it is only through
truly impartial, and honest oversight of a FREE PRESS,
that our Constitutional form of Government will ultimately thrive --
or else fade into obscurity ... as just another Footnote --
just another 'failed political experiment' called America --
a culture that did NOT heed, or even chose to ignore
its national conscience, otherwise known as
the Voice of "We the People" ...
[ personally, I hope America's fate is the 'shining light' of history,
and NOT history's footnote. ]
