Lecture 7 The media of mass
communications
Objectives:
Get to know the various approaches to
and theories on the media in mass
communications;
Evaluate the relevance of these theories;
Think about the applicability of these
theories in our country;
Try to test these theories in reality.
Broad approaches to the study of
the media
Media structure
Media performance
Media institution
Main issues for media theories
Power and inequality
Social integration and identity
Social changes
Approaches to the study of the
media
Political
Economic
Political economy
Social
Cultural
Journalism
Media technology
Activity 1 Brainstorming
Try to think about what each approach covers.
Example,political approach is about
ownership,regulation,control,media policy
including media laws,censorship,
government-media relationship and so on.
Example,economical approach is about the
ownership,competition and concentration,
the economics of the media industry,media
conglomerates,and so forth.
Marxist theory of the media
Mass media owned by bourgeois class
Media operated in their class interest
Media promote working-class false
consciousness
Media access denied to political
opposition
Functionalist theory of the media
Mass media are essential to society for,
Integration and co-operation
Order,control and stability
Adaptation to change
Mobilization
Management of tension
Continuity of culture and values
Critical political-economic
theory of the media
Economic control and logic is determinant
Media structure tends toward concentration
Global integration of media develops
Contents and audiences are commodified
Diversity decreased
Opposition and alternative voices are
marginalized
Public interest in communication is
subordinated to private interests
Media technological determinism
(pre-new technology)
Communication technology is fundamental to
society
Each technology has a bias to particular
communication forms,contents and uses
The sequence of invention and application of
communication technology influences social
change
Communication revolution lead to social
revolutions
Information society theory
New media technology leads to an
information society,characterized by:
Predominance of information work
Great volume of information flow
Interactivity of relations
Integration and convergence of activities
Growth and interconnection of networks
Globalizing tendencies
Postmodern culture
Normative theories of the media
and society
,Fourth estate”
Freedom of the press
Theory of social responsibility
Media ethics
Four theories of the press
Mass media,civil society and public
sphere
Theories on the Assessment of
media performance
Media freedom
Media equality
Media diversity
Social order and solidarity
Accountability
Activity 2 Assessing the theories
of assessment
Are the theories on the assessment of
the media performance helpful for us?
Are they suitable to the media structure
in our country?
Assignment
Think about all the theories and issues raised
today,especially if they are suitable to and
good for our country.
Prepare the following questions for the
seminar next week:
1,Whom do the media serve in market
economies? (Clues,the political parties,
advertisers,interest groups,the public,the
people,the government,the owners of the
media,the state,etc.)
2,Should the media take on social
responsibilities? Why? If they should,what
social responsibilities?