mass-communication-theory

360 Section 4 Contemporary Mass Communication Theory
CHALLENGES
We argued that historic disputes and misunderstandings between proponents
of these theories were fading and that there was growing likelihood that they could
develop complementary rather than competing or contradictory bodies of research.
We continue to see evidence that this trend is occurring in the United States. Postpositivist,
interpretive, and critical cultural researchers have all used framing theory
and cultivation theory to ground important lines of research. W. James Potter, a
leading postpositivist researcher, has recently published Arguing for a General
Framework for Mass Media Scholarship (2009) that, as the name suggests, makes
the case for a general framework for mass media scholarship that integrates many
of the approaches to theory and research discussed in this book.
But it is also increasingly important to take into account what is happening
worldwide. Here, too, there is some evidence of cooperation and reduced competition.
Although critical cultural and interpretive approaches remain dominant overseas,
the influence of postpositivism is expanding in Europe, with growing
programs at a number of universities and important institutions located at the University
of Amsterdam, the University of Munich, and the University of Munster.
Postpositivism has also gained wider acceptance in Asia and in some universities
in Australia, Africa, and Latin America, especially in programs focused on preparing
students for jobs in media-related industries. Critical cultural, hermeneutic,
and—as traditional media norms and practices are increasingly strained by economic
and technological upheaval—normative studies have continued to gain
ground in the United States, where their scholars enjoy growing influence within
major academic associations, including the National Communication Association,
the International Communication Association, and the Association for Education
in Journalism and Mass Communication.
We have reached a point in time where once disparate media researchers are
beginning to function as a global research community. This community increasingly
shares a common body of theories and research methods. European researchers
are very active in the U.S.-based International Communication Association, and
American participation is welcomed in the European-based International Association
for Mass Communication Research. Participation by scholars from other parts
of the world is also growing in both these associations. The Internet provides
global access to a common set of journals, and these journals publish articles written
by scholars located around the world. Cross-national and international research
projects are increasingly common.
One challenge facing the global media research community is the ongoing revolution
in communications technology. It is producing technologies and applications
filling every niche on the communication spectrum, ranging from the intrapersonal
and interpersonal communication we carry on with ourselves and with
others to powerful forms of mass communication capable of simultaneously sending
messages to every person on earth. Each of these new media can play different
roles in society and in our personal lives. Most will quickly disappear, but a handful
will succeed—often for unexpected reasons. Some older media will persist, but
their roles will be greatly altered or diminished. This is what happened to radio
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