mass-communication-theory

40 Section 1 Introduction to Mass Communication Theory
to guide their investigation of media’s influence.
This shift to empirical research discredited naive
mass society theories as “unscientific.” They
were replaced with limited-effects theories that
argued that because people could resist media’s
power and were influenced by competing factors
such as friends and family, mass communication
most often served to reinforce existing social
trends and strengthen rather than threaten the
status quo. Elite pluralism is an example of a
limited-effects theory. It says that democratic society
is made up of interlocking pluralistic groups
led by opinion leaders who rely on media for
information about politics and the social world.
These opinion leaders are well informed, even
though their followers are apathetic and ignorant.
As a result, democracy works well.
But the idea that media could indeed have
large-scale cultural influence was not dead. In
this third era, mass communication theory turned
toward critical and cultural studies, driven primarily
by the cultural theorists of Europe who held to
neo-Marxist assumptions about the wielding of
power by economic and media elites. British cultural
studies, focusing on mass media’s role in promoting
a hegemonic worldview and a dominant
Critical Thinking Questions
1. How has convergence changed the way you
interact with or use mass media? Can you
identify “effects” that have occurred because
of that use? Do you typically media multitask,
that is, consume two or more media at
the same time? If so, how do you think this
influences the presence or absence of possible
effects? Can you offer any possible negative
effects to balance any positive effects
that might have occurred from any of your
media use?
2. Do you accept that mass communication
significantly influences our society and
culture, is an example of the critical cultural theories
spawned during this era.
We are in the fourth era of mass communication
theory, the emergence of meaning-making
perspectives. This era recognizes that mass communication
can indeed be powerful, or somewhat
powerful, or not powerful at all, because active
audience members can (and often do) use media
content to create meaningful experiences for
themselves. Framing theory, asserting that people
use expectations of the social world to make
sense of that world, and the media literacy movement,
calling for improvement in people’s ability
to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate
media messages, are two examples of recent
meaning-making theory.
This process of mass communication theory’s
development has not been orderly, as you’ll see,
nor have all issues been settled. One continuing
source of disagreement among media researchers
resides in the matter of levels of analysis, where
researchers focus their attention in the search for
effects. Those who operate at the microscopic level
search for effects on individuals. Those who work
at the macroscopic level expect media’s influence to
manifest itself on larger social and cultural levels.
culture? How do you reconcile your answer
with Paul Lazarsfeld’s call for increased attention
to what he labeled critical research?
Once you reach the end of this text, revisit
this question to see if your thinking has
changed.
3. How skilled are you at making meaning
from media content? How media literate do
you think you are? Do you often make
meaning from content that is markedly different
from that of your friends? If so, why
do you suppose this happens?
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.