Communication Theories - Notes

8/11/2019 Communication Theories - Notes

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Index

1. Mass Society Theory

2. Propaganda Theory

3. Limited Effects Theory

4. Attitde !hange Theory

". !atharsis

#. $ses and %ratification Theory

&. !'ti(ation Ana'ysis

). Marsha'' McLhan * Techno'ogica' +eterminism

,. The -no'edge %ap

1/. Agenda Setting

11. Spira' of Si'ence

12. Media and Adiences

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13. MASS S0!IET TE0

The mass society theory attributes an influential yet negative role to the media.

Media is viewed to profoundly shape our perceptions of the social world.It manipulates our actions in subtle but highly effective ways.

The theory assumes that media influence must be controlled.

Beginning of the Mass Society Theory:

18!" #illiam $andolph %earst" a newspaper publisher produced the concept of

&ellow 'ournalism with his fa(e story on the war in Spain. This triggered a harsh

critical response.

The first theories of mass media developed as a result of these e)cesses in a rapidly

maturing" highly competitive media industry.

*ew technology was driving the need for new media. By the mid and late 1th century

popular demand for cheap media drove the devlp of several new media li(e the

penny press" nic(el maga+ine and dime novel.

#ith the high speed printing press" it led to &ellow 'ournalism" which is a

sensational often irresponsible form of ,ournalism.

-i(e most yellow ,ournalists" %earst had no respect for reporting accuracy. vents

were routinely over dramati+ed.

#henever new media appears on the scene" it destabili+es e)isting media industries

forcing large scale and rapid restructuring. -arge corporations relying on oldtechnology face a decline and are forced into cut throat competition for new

technology. This process is called functional displacement. The functional

displacement theory argues that for a media to survive" it must find functions that it

can serve better than any of the new media can.

The success of new media is often met with criticism" especially when the media

adopts dubious competitive strategies to attract consumers. *ew media industries do

specialise in giving people what they want / even if the impact can be negative.

0ssumptions of the Mass Society Theory:

Scenario: mass society theory appeared in the late 1th century as elites struggled to

ma(e sense of the disruptive effects of moderni+ation. The mass media became

symbolic of all that was going wrong with society. Mass newspapers and yellow

,ournalism were viewed as monopolistic enterprises that employed unethical

practices.

The rise of the mass press after 182 was a direct threat to established political and

business establishment.

3olitical newspapers were swept aside by the 3enny 3ress of 182452" and &ellow

'ournalism of 188242.

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%earst was a man behind the yellow ,ournalism scenario. %e was a man in pursuit of

popularity" and a real threat to politicians and business men.

nvy" discontent and fear lead the mass society theory. It feared the emergence of a

new type of social order / a mass society / that would fundamentally and tragically

transform the social world. To prevent this" changes in media must be stopped.

Mass Society Theory made some assumptions:

• The media are a malignant" cancerous force in society and must be purged or

totally restructured: most e)treme critics wanted to dismantle all media

industries" but some proposed turning them over to the elites. This won out in

urope in 1627s and control was handed over to the government.

• The media has the ability to reach out and directly influence the minds of the

average person. This is also (nown as the irect ffects assumption 9which

has been hotly debated since 12. There are different versions in the masssociety theory regarding the type of influence the media will have but the

common thread is that they all believe that the impact will be negative.

0verage citi+ens are portrayed as helpless before the manipulative power of

the media.

• ;nce the media corrupts people7s minds" all sorts of bad" long term

conse<uences result / not only bringing ruin to individual people7s lives but

also creating social problems on a large scale. #hile there are many problems

li(e drug abuse" teenage promiscuity etc that can be attributed in some way to

media" the media is not the only factor involved.• 0verage people are vulnerable to the media because they have been cut off

from traditional social institutions that previously protected them from

manipulation. The argument is compelling because of the notion that once

traditional community is removed" the media becomes the source of trusted

and valued messages regarding politics" religion" entertainment etc.

• The social chaos initiated by the media will inevitably be resolved by the

establishment of a totalitarian social order. Mass society is envisioned to be a

chaotic" highly unstable form of social order that will inevitably collapse and

be replaced by totalitarianism.

=or defenders of mass culture" mass society represented a corrosive force within

society. In Britain" the government assumed responsibility for giving the people info

on the media that would advance culture and provide public service content. Media

was supposed to give people what they needed" not what they wanted.

>emeinschaft and >esellschaft: 0mong the originators of the mass society theory was >erman sociologist" =erninand

Tonnies. %e tried to e)plain the difference between earlier forms of social

organisation" and what e)isted in the 1th century. %e proposed 6 branches:

>emeinschaft / a fol( community 9people were bound together by strong familialties" rigid social roles / basic social institutions were very normal.

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>esellschaft / modern industrial society 9people are bound by wea( social

institutions bound by rational choice rather than tradition. Social relationships are

more formal and impersonal.;ver the years" media has been accused of brea(ing down fol( community

9gemeinschaft and encouraging the development of amoral" wea( social institutions

9>esellschaft

Mechanical and ;rganic Solidarity:

=rench sociologist mile ur(heim offered a similar dichotomy. 3eople are bound by

a consensus to each other li(e parts of a great engine / mechanical solidarity.

ur(heim compared modern social orders to animals rather than engines.

%e said that as animals go through life" growing in a process of development"

similarly modern social orders go through changes" and the people that e)ist within

them change along with the society 9modern society. ur(heim views this as an

organic solidarity. #hen ur(heim spea(s of mechanical solidarity he is spea(ing of fol( culture.

Mass society theory in contemporary times: 0lthough the theory has very little support from contemporary researchers" the basic

assumptions of a corrupting media and helpless audience have never really

disappeared.

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P0PA%A+A53ropaganda refers to the no4holds4barred use of communication to propagate

specific beliefs and e)pectations. The ultimate goal of propaganda is to change the

way people act and leave them believing that those actions are voluntary" that the

newly adopted behaviours and opinions underlying them are their own.3ropaganda theorists specifically analy+ed media content and speculated about its

influence. They wanted to understand and e)plain the ability of messages to

persuade and convert thousands or millions of individuals to e)treme viewpoints.Initially people were optimistic that citi+ens could be educated to resist propaganda.

%owever" as the world wars and depression commenced there needed to be a fast

solution and educating citi+ens would simply ta(e too long.It became necessary to harness the power of propaganda to promote good ideals to

build a better social order. This is what came to be called #hite 3ropaganda / a

strategy that used benign propaganda techni<ues to fight ?bad propaganda7

Blac( propaganda involves the deliberate and strategic transmission of lies.

>ray propaganda involves the transmission of ideas or information that may or may

not be false.

Most of the propaganda theories that developed in the 1@27s were strongly

influenced by two theories:

Behaviourism: 'ohn B. #atson said that all human action is a conditioned response

to e)ternal environmental stimuli. This theory is (nown as behaviourism.

They re,ected theories that a higher mental process governs actions and that it comes

down to e)ternal stimuli from the environment producing certain behaviour.In the conte)t of media" the theorists saw the media as providing the e)ternal stimuli

that triggered an immediate response.

=reudianism: Sigmund =reud developed the concept of the self being divided into:

Id / the egocentric pleasure see(ing part of the mind

go / The rational mind

Superego / Internali+ed set of cultural rules

3ropaganda theorists believed that if the go could be overwhelmed and the Id was

appealed to" the propaganda would be effective.

M0>IA B--T T%;$&:By the 1@27s Behaviorism and =reudianism were combined to produce a simplistic

propaganda theory. %ere the media stimuli was seen to act as magic bullets that

penetrated peoples lives and created associations between strong emotions and

specific concepts. By carefully controlling these magic bullets propagandists believed

that they could condition people to feel and believe a certain way.Magic bullet theory believed what behaviourism was unable to ade<uately

demonstrate. )ternal stimuli li(e the media can condition people to behave in any

way that the propagandist wants. $egardless of social standing etc" all people are

powerless against manipulation is the belief.

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%0$;- -0SS#--7S 3$;30>0*0 T%;$&:

This theory combines Behaviorism and =reudianism into a pessimistic vision of

media and their role. The power of the propaganda is not so much in the substance

or appeal of the message" but in the vulnerable frame of mind of the recipient.

-asswell argued that economic depression and escalating political conflicts had made

people e)posed to even crude forms of propaganda.

%e re,ected the Magic Bullet theory. %e believed propaganda was more than using

the media to lie to people in order to control them. %e said that people had to be

prepared to accept radically different ideas and actions. Aampaigners need a well

developed" long term strategy" in which new ideas are carefully introduced and

cultivated. Symbols must be created and people must be gradually taught to associate

specific emotions with the symbols.

*oam Ahoms(y and dward %erman developed 5 filters through which they believe

that propaganda passes: ;wnership" 0dvertising" Source" =lac(" 0nti communism.

0SSI>*M*T T0I-I*> *;0M A%;MSC& 0* #0$ %$M0*7S

3$;30>0*0 M;-:

3ropaganda refers to particular doctrines or principles deliberately spread widely by

an organi+ation or a movement.

0ny form of propaganda has some inherent characteristics. These are over

simplification of the message" repetition of the message" use of covert means to

spread the propaganda" orchestration of communication and an understanding that

the end ,ustifies the means.In order to study this concept of 3ropaganda" several theories have been developed.

;ne such theory is the propaganda model as developed by *oam Ahoms(y and

dward %erman. In their boo( Manufacturing Aonsent: The 3olitical conomy of

Mass Media" written in 188" they say Dthe private media business is the sale of

readers and audiences to other businesses 90dvertisers and not the sale of <uality

news to the public.E

*oam Ahoms(y and dward %erman put forward the following five filters as part of

this theory: ;wnership" 0dvertising" Source" =la( and 0nti Aommunism.

0n e)cellent e)ample of the use of propaganda is the nited States war against Ira<"

which has been e)amined below in the conte)t of the five filters of the propaganda

model

0nership5 0ccording to the theory" many media houses and outlets are part of

large corporations. These media houses will lend their loyalty to these conglomerates

and avoid e)posing any sensitive information that they do not want shared with the

public. Therefore" these media houses face a great deal of restriction and censorship

over news that might be damaging to the owning corporations.

In the case of the war against Ira<" while the government did not e)plicitly own the

media houses" the nited States government had a great deal of control over the

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media" and the (ind of news that was portrayed.

#hen the government was planning to go to war against Ira<" they were aware of the

fact that they were doing it in the light of news channels" some of which could be pro

government and could be utilised in their communication strategy with the world.

0side from this" the government developed a website called Ira<: 0 ecade of

eception and efiance. This acted as a media face through which the government

could control the information being sent out about the war.

#hen the reporters were in the conflict +one" they were dependent on the S soldiers

for their protection" thereby lending an e)tremely s(ewed perception to their

reporting.

Ad(ertising5 0ccording to the theory" in order to maintain their cost of production"

without increasing the price of their newspaper" media houses are heavily dependent

on advertisers. Therefore" stories that conflict with the consumer7s ?buying mood7 or

the mood the advertiser wants to set will not be run.In this case" the mood the advertiser 9the .S. government wants to set is a pro war

mood.

In order to mobilise public support for the war on Ira<" the government used the

media to sto(e the sentiments of the already worried people by insinuating a

relationship between Saddam %ussein and 0l Faeda" painting a picture of immediate

victory etc.

The communication activities of the government were managed through a public

relations firm headed by leanor Benador" and she would aggressively pitch to have

members of the government ma(e appearances on news channels in the time before

the war began.

In 622@" a study by =airness and 0ccuracy In $eporting showed that !G of total

news reports were pro4war" while only 12G was anti4war. In the S only @G was anti4

war.

The study showed that a viewer was si) times more li(ely to see a pro4war news

source than an anti war source.

The media presented the first few days of the .S. bombing and invasion of Ira< as a

?military spectacle7 inspiring awe to the public.

onald $umsfeld claimed that the bombings were e)tremely precise" and were aimed

at military groups. This was captured by the .S media" but the 0rab and other global

news networ(s captured the civilian casualties.

They used various newspapers as mediums through which to spread their

propaganda. 0n e)ample is below:

=ollowing the two presentations of Bush at the State of the nion address" and Aolin

3owell to the *" the #ashington 3ost ran an editorial titled ?Irrefutable7 saying DIt7s

hard to imagine how anyone could doubt that Ira< possesses weapons of mass

destruction.E

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Sorce5 The media is dependent on their sources for a steady supply of fresh news.

0s a result" their e)ecution of their duties may be biased for fear of ,eopardi+ing a

valued relationship.

In the conte)t of the Ira< war" the media was highly dependent on the .S.

government for information and the Ira<i dissidents and e)iles" who had their own

agendas" while the Ira<i media was under a great deal of control by the Ira<i

government.

The president7s top advisers would appear on the media as a source of information

on the war. ;n 8th September" ic( Aheney" Aondolee++a $ice" Aolin 3owell and

$umsfeld all appeared on Sunday morning tal( shows" all spreading the same

propaganda message.

6'a75 This refers to the negative lash bac( to a media statement" or even to the

media7s coverage.

In the conte)t of the war" media critic Michael Massing found consistent e)amples of biased" distorted reporting with regard to the war. %e believed that this could have

been due to their reluctance to ,eopardi+e their relationship with their sources" their

relationships with the Ira<i dissidents and finally" their feelings of patriotism post

H11.

0 September 622@ poll showed that 82G of =; *ews viewers believed there was a

lin( between Saddam %ussein and the H11 attac(s. Ted Turner" the founder of A**

accused $upert Murdoch of utilising =; *ews to promote the invasion.

Anti !ommnism5 0t the time this theory was developed" the focus was on anti

communism" and since the media has the ability to influence people7s thoughts" ideasand opinions" they were not allowed to propagate communism in any way.

In the conte)t of the war" anti communism was not practiced" but pro capitalism was.

The whole war was a money ma(ing scheme" with profits involved. Therefore" the

concept of 3ro Aapitalism was adopted.

Many common aspects of propaganda li(e repetition" consistency and orchestration

of communication can be seen throughout the process of selling the war to the

0merican public and to the world. Some other theories of propaganda can be seen as

well.

In the post invasion evidence it can be seen that much information was distorted orselectively disclosed to the public" thereby molding their perceptions. This is an

e)ample of the cancerous effects media has on society according to the mass

society theory .

%owever" in contrast" it is unclear whether the ne)t pre emptive war will be able to

utilise these strategies to garner public support. Therefore" as time passes and

e)periences change" these have less impact. This is an e)ample of the 'imited

effects paradigm.

Therefore" the Ira< war serves as an e)cellent e)ample of the use of propaganda in its

various forms.

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eferences5

• #i(ipedia.com

Spectacle and Media 3ropaganda in the #ar on Ira<: 0 Ariti<ue of .S. Broadcasting

*etwor(s / ouglas Cellner

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http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/papers/mediapropaganda.htm






LIMITE+ E66E!TS TE05

Stated that people who were easily influenced by propaganda and the effect of the

media were those who showed the following characteristics:

motional insecurity 3hobic personality

lac( of self confidence

=atalism

9#ell structured shift 9something that has a pattern to follow from mass society

theory: By around the 1!27s" the media began to be seen as something not so

threatening" it was seen as a more benign force with the potential to do a lot of social

good. The media7s power over the people was seen as limited / to the e)tent that they

said that there was no need for government supervision of media content.

It was believed that only a small group of people carried the traits that made themsusceptible to influence by the media" and that the media did not have the power to

shape people7s perceptions in light of stronger factors li(e individual differences and

group memberships.

3aul -a+arsfeld pioneered the use of sophisticated research to measure the media

influence on how people thought and behaved. These surveys provided definite

evidence that the media rarely had the power to directly influence individuals.

The effects of the media were limited in scope" affecting only a few people or affecting

only trivial thoughts and actions.

These findings eventually led to a perspective on media called the limited effectsperspective.

0nother person who propagated this school of thought was Aarl %ovland

The limited effects paradigm utilised an impressive array of empirical studies to

develop these conclusions. The reason that this theory caught on was because they

were able to conclusively prove through empirical research that media did not have

the impact that it was believed to" in contrast to the mass society theory" which was at

its base ,ust a belief.

-a+arsfeld conducted his research using peoples voting decisions. 0s people wereinterviewed each month" the choice of candidate was compared with the previous

month.uring the si) months several (inds of changes were possible.

-a+arsfeld had titles for each:

arly deciders / chose their candidates in May and did not change it for the entire

campaign

#averers / Ahose one candidate" then were undecided and changed to another

candidate" but eventually voted for the one they chose first

Aonverts / Ahose one candidate and then voted for his opponent

Arystalli+ers / had not chosen a candidate in May but had made a choice by

*ovember

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-a+arsfeld developed a detailed survey giving considerable e)posure to specific mass

media content. If the mass society theory was true" and people were swayed by the

media" then most people should have either been waverers or converts" and those

that showed the most change should have been the heaviest users of media.

%owever the research showed that only 15G were waverers and 8G were converts.

0nd the media usage of both those groups were below average and very few reported

being specifically influenced by the media message.

They said that they were influenced by other people"were politically apathetic" had

low interest etc

%owever what -a+arsfeld found was that the people who were the early deciders were

people who had the highest media usage. 0nd the people who were waverers or

converts had the lowest media usage and would rely on others for information.

-a+arsfeld reasoned that the people that the converts and waverers listened to were

the early deciders for their sophisticated (nowledge and well developed political views etc. So -a+arsfeld termed these people as ;pinion leaders.

ventually he found through further empirical research that opinion leaders tended

to influence people in a hori+ontal manner " rather than those above or below them

in the social order.

%owever" there were some limitations to -a+arsfeld7s model:

• Surveys cannot measure how people use the media on a daily basis

• Surveys are a very cumbersome and e)pensive method to analyse people7s use

of specific media content

• Surveys can be used to measure changes over time but they7re a relatively

crude techni<ue

• Surveys omit potentially important variables by focusing only on what can be

easily and reliably measured using e)isting techni<ues

The features of the limited effectsHindirect effects theory are as follows:

•

The media rarely directly influences the individuals 9They don7t believeeverything they hear in the media" they turn to family" friends and peer groups

for advice and critical interpretation

• There is a two step flow to media influence 9media will only influence on a

large scale if opinion leaders are influenced first. Because opinion leaders are

sophisticated" critical media users" they act as a barrier to media influence

• By the time most people become adults they have developed strong group

commitments li(e religious affiliations" or commitments to political parties etc

that the media finds difficult to overcome.

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• #hen media effects do occur they will be modest or isolated 9huge numbers

are not converted / it is only small poc(ets of people who will be influenced

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ATTIT$+E !A%E TE0IES5

0round the time of the world wars" there came a need to be able to influence the

attitude of people 9to recruit them for war etc. The research was led by Aarl

%ovland. They discovered that there are some important factors that lead to a

change in attitude:Time / it is over a gradual period of time that attitudes change and not as an

immediate result of propaganda as mass society theorists had assumed.

;ne Side / %ovland discovered that if people were e)posed to one side of an

argument" their attitude would shift mote perceptibly than if they were e)posed to

both sides.

;ne tenet of the attitude change theory that was widely accepted was that of

cognitive consistency / the concept that people either consciously or

unconsciously wor( to preserve their e)isting views" by avoiding messages that

challenged them.

%owever" it is -eon =estinger7s theory of cognitive dissonance that gathered more

interest. It is the belief that information that is inconsistent with a persons

already held attitude creates psychological discomfort or dissonance that must be

relieved.

If people (now things that are psychologically inconsistent with each other he will

find ways in order to ma(e them consistent. These ?ways7 are called selective

processes that act as a means to filter through data and ma(e it useful and

understandable to us.

0ttitude researchers studies three selective processes:Selective e)posure / people only e)pose themselves to messages that are

consistent with their e)isting attitudes and beliefs

Selective retention / people tend to remember best and longest only those

messages that are the most meaningful to them

Selective perception / people will alter the meaning of messages so they become

consistent with pre4e)istent attitudes and beliefs.

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!ATASIS5

Aatharsis 9also called sublimation is the idea that viewing mediated aggression

sates or reduces people7s natural aggressive drives. Aatharsis suggests that

television violence has a social utility" providing young people with an outlet for

pent up hostility and aggression.$esearch has shown that presentation of mediated violence and aggression can

reduce the li(elihood of subse<uent viewer aggression but not because of

catharsis but because viewers learn that violence may not be appropriate in a

given situation. Therefore their aggressive drive may not have been purged but

they7ve learnt that aggression is not acceptable.

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$SES A+ %ATI6I!ATI0 TE05

There were two revivals in the study of audience use of media and the

gratification it receives.

The reason for this revival of interest was due to the following:

• *ew research methods and data analysis techni<ues allowed the

development of new strategies for studying and interpreting audience uses

and gratification

• uring the J27s some researchers developed increasing awareness that

people7s active use of the media might be an important mediating aspect

that made effects more or less li(ely.

• $esearchers were e)pressing views that research was focusing too much on

the negative impact of media and not enough on the positive.

The benefits of the uses and gratification theory are:

• =ocuses attention on the individual in the mass communication process

• $espects intellect and the ability of media consumers

• 3rovides insightful analysis on how people e)perience media content

• ifferentiates active use of media from the passive

• Studies the use of media as part of everyday interaction

• 3rovides useful insight into the adoption of new media

The wea(nesses of the uses and gratification theory are:

• $eliance on functional analysis can create an orientation towards the

status <uo

• Aannot easily address the presence or absence of effects

• Measurements of (ey concepts is critici+ed

• Too oriented towards the micro level

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!$LTI8ATI0 AALSIS5

eveloped by >eorge >erbner and his colleagues" they state that the television

?cultivates7 or creates a world view that although possibly inaccurate becomes reality

because we as people believe it to be the reality and base our own ,udgements about

our own everyday worlds on that ?reality7

To scientifically demonstrate their view of television as a culturally influential

medium" cultivation researchers depended on a four step process:

• Message system analysis / detailed analysis of television programming to

assess recurring and consistent presentation of themes" images" values and

portrayals.

• =ormulation of <uestions about viewers social realities

• Survey the audience / posing the <uestions of step two to the members of

the audience and as(ing them about their amount of television

consumption.

• Aomparing the social realities of light and heavy viewers

To cultivation analysts" the term cultivation refers to television7s contribution to the

creation of a culture7s framewor( or (nowledge or underlying general concepts /

cultivated by e)posure to the total and organically related world of television" rather

than e)posure to individual programs and selections.This cultivation ta(es place in two ways:

• Mainstreaming / especially for heavy users" television symbols monopoli+e

and dominate other sources of information and ideas about the world.

3eople7s internali+ed social realities eventually move towards the

mainstream / ie towards a more culturally dominant reality that7s more

closely aligned to television7s reality than ob,ective reality.

• $esonance / #hen viewers see things on television that are congruent

with their own everyday realities. 3eople get a ?double dose7 of reality

because what they see on television resonates with their actual lives.

The strengths and wea(nesses of the cultivation analysis are:

Strengths:

• 3rovides a detailed analysis of television7s uni<ue role

• 0pplies empirical study to widely held humanistic assumptions

• $edefines KeffectK as more than observable behaviour change

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• 0pplies to a wide variety of effects issues

• 3rovides the basis for social change

#ea(nesses:

• It is methodologically troubling to many

• 0ssumes the homogeneity of television content

• =ocuses on heavy users of television

• It is difficult to apply to media used less heavily than television

>erbner devised the concept of the @ B7s of television. %e said that television 9'rs

the traditional distinction of people7s views of their world" it 9'ends their realities

into television7s mainstream and :ends that mainstream to the institutional

interests of television and its sponsors

;ne of the most controversial things about the cultivation theory was that there was

a focus on the heavy users of television without ta(ing into account the specific

programs they were watching.

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MASALL M!L$A * TE!0L0%I!AL +ETEMIISM5

Marshall Mc-uhan said that media is the message.. and the massage. %e meant to

say that different forms of media transform 9massage our e)perience of ourselves

and our society. This influence is ultimately more important than the content being

transmitted in the specific messages.

%e used the term global village to refer to the new form of social organi+ation that

will emerge as a result of the instantaneous electronic media tying the entire world

into one great social" political and cultural system.

%e proclaimed the media to be an e)tension of man. %e said that the media <uite

literally e)tended sight" hearing and touch through time and space. lectronic media

would open up new vistas for average people and enable us to be everywhere

instantaneously.

Mc-uhan7s ideas achieved enormous public popularity / he became one of the first

pop culture guru7s of the 1!27s.

%e believed that television was the ne)t big thing. So what if people did not read and

were illiterate. Boo(s were doomed anyway. Soon" people would be part of a global

village that cancelled the need for literacy.

%is greatest criticism came from members of the academia who found his ideas too

diverse and inconsistent.

mpirical researchers also found his theories to be nonsensical as it could not be

empirically proven.

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TE -0;LE+%E %AP5

There developed a theory that news media systematically informs some sections of

the population" particularly those of higher socioeconomic groups" better than they

do others. ;ver time" the difference between the better informed and less informedsegments tends to grow ie the (nowledge gap between them gets larger and larger.

The research showed that in larger social systems" the smaller rural communities

were dominated by large urban centres.

Most conflicts were not resolved through local negotiations.

Cnowledge gap research also shows that social institutions are constantly evolving.

Social institutions that manage conflicts can and do change.

The strengths of the Cnowledge gap theory are:

• It identifies potentially troublesome gaps between groups

• 3rovides ideas for overcoming the gaps

• 3resumes reciprocity and audience activity in communication

The wea(nesses of the theory are:

• 0ssumes the gap is dysfunctional 4 not all people agree

• -imits focus to gaps involving news and social conflicts

• Aant address the fundamental reasons for the gaps.

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A%E+A SETTI%5

Bernard Aohen is generally credited with refining #alter -ippman7s 3ublic ;pinion

theory into the theory of agenda setting. It is the concept that the media doesn7t tell

people what to thin(" but what to thin( about.

This theory was empirically confirmed through the research of Ma)well. . McAombs

and onald Shaw. 0ccording to them" DThe mass media may well determine the

important issues / that is" the media may set the ?agenda7 of the campaignE

But one drawbac( of the theory is that it may be that its not the media setting the

agenda" but the public sets the media7s agenda and then the media merely reinforces

it.

In research conducted by Iyengar and Cinder in 18J" they found that there is a

definite causality between the media and the audience ie they proved the e)istence of agenda setting.

They also established that the more vivid the presentation" the agenda setting power

of the media was damaged. This could be due to the fact that it focuses too much

attention on the individual rather than the issue at hand.

3osition of the story is also important. -ead stories show a greater agenda setting

effect. This could be due to the natural attention people pay to stories coming in early

without falling prey to household distractions etc. It is also because people respond

to the implicit suggestion that a lead story is the most newsworthy.

The concept of priming also goes hand in hand with agenda setting. It refers to theidea that the media draws the attention of the audience to some aspects of a story or

topic at the e)pense of others. It positions the perspective of the audience.

=raming that is part of the scenario is that the media will tell the audience how to

thin( about a topic. That subtle changes in words etc will change how an audience

interprets a situation

;n a macro level" agenda setting moves into the sphere or agenda building. This is a

collective process by which the media" government and citi+enry reciprocally

influence one another in matters of public policy.

0genda building presumes the e)istence of cognitive effects 9increase in (nowledge"

active audience and societal level effects. Its basic premise that the media can

profoundly affect how a society 9or nation or culture determines what is important"

and therefore can mobilise various institutions toward meeting them" is what has

allowed this line of in<uiry to flourish.

Strengths of the 0genda setting theory:

• =ocuses attention on audience interaction with the media

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• mpirically demonstrates lin(s between media e)posure" audience motivation

to see( orientation and audience perception of public issues.

• Integrates a number of similar ideas including priming" story positioning and

story vividness

#ea(nesses of the theory:

• %as roots in the mass society theory

• Too situational to news and political campaigns

• irection of agenda setting is <uestioned by some

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TE SPIAL 06 SILE!E5

This can be regarded as a form of agenda setting but one that7s focused on more

macro level rather than micro level conse<uences.

It refers to the idea that people holding views that are contrary to those dominant inthe media are moved to (eep them to themselves for fear of re,ection.

0ccording to the theory there are 6 social processes ta(ing place simultaneously at

the macro and micro level to produce effects. 0udience members due to their desire

to be accepted remain silent on sub,ects where they e)pect to receive counter

opinion. *ewspeople also present a restricted selection of news" due to the dynamics

of their news gathering function" further forcing into silence those in the audience

that wish to avoid isolation.

The theory is criticised saying that the effect of the audience being silenced couldeasily be e)plained as the ?band wagon effect7 where everyone wants to ,oin the

winner" individual effects li(e the involvement of the persons ego in the issue etc

should be considered as well.

Strengths of the Spiral of silence theory:

• %as a macro and micro level e)planatory power

• Is dynamic

• 0ccounts for shifts in public opinion" especially during campaigns

• $aises important <uestions regarding the role and responsibility of the news

media

#ea(nesses of the theory include:

• %as an overly pessimistic view of the media

• Ignores rather simpler e)planations of silencing

• Ignores possible demographic and cultural differences in the silencing effect

• iscounts the power of the community to counteract the silencing effect

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ME+IA A+ A$+IE!ES5

3eople today have become very involved with the media / especially with the

popularity of the internet.

Media is available with people all the time" on the go.

0ctive audience theory does not analyse what the media does to people" but rather"

what people do with the media.

Therefore this theory is considered to be an audience4centred rather than a source4

dominated theory.

Some reasons why the early audience centred research was limited was due to:

They should have ideally replaced the limited effects theory" unfortunately the idea of

?effects7 was much easier measured than the media uses could be measured.

3eople also believed that cataloguing the e)planations of the conse<uences of mediause made more sense than trying to capture people7s sub,ective reasons for using the

media.

There was also a great deal of confusion over classifying what media uses were" as

opposed to media functions.

0udience activity can be defined in several ways /

tility 4 Media has uses for the people" and people put the media to those use

intentionality / Aonsumption by media content can be directed by peoples prior

motivation

Selectivity / 3eoples use of media might reflect their e)isting interests andpreferences imperviousness to influence / 0udiences are stubborn. They may not

want to be controlled by anything" even mass media. 0udience members actively

avoid certain types of media influences

But activity is a relative concept. Some are more active than others.

0udience theories:

%erta %er+og 9a colleague of -a+arsfeld is credited with the originator of the uses

and gratification theory which is an approach to media that focuses on the uses to

which people put the media and the gratification they see( from that use.

0uthor #ilbur Schramm" in his boo( ?The process and effects of mass

communication7 gave a graphic description of how individuals ma(e media and

content choices based on the e)pectation of reward and effort re<uired. It is :

)pectation of $eward

ffort $e<uired

$eception studies focuses on peoples abilities to ma(e sense of specific forms of

content. $eaders of media te)ts often apply their own meanings to the readings.

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=rame analysis assumes that people use their e)pectations of situations to ma(e

sense of them and determine their actions in them. The people use the cues inherent

in the situation to determine how to frame" or understand the situation. Media7s

contribution to this framing is in influencing people7s readings or e)pectations of

those cues.

Information processing theory describes how people process and ma(e sense of the

overwhelming amount of information present even in the simplest media message

and has been applied to the situation.

ach of the theories has met with criticism. The uses and gratification method is

based on surveys but how should the data be interpretedL ven the reception

analysis uses a <ualitative interview method that is difficult to properly analyse.

%owever" the audience centred theories place the audience at a more central role in

the understanding of mass communication.

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Documents

Communication Theories - Notes