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Media Theories. Critical Studies. Looks for relationships between The media Media content Audiences for media Culture. Political economy. Focus on interests-Karl Marx Power Advertising Commercial interests and ownership Hegemony Ideology. Hegemony.
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Critical Studies Looks for relationships between • The media • Media content • Audiences for media • Culture
Political economy • Focus on interests-Karl Marx • Power • Advertising • Commercial interests and ownership • Hegemony • Ideology
Hegemony • An underlying consensus of ideology that favors a system that serves the interests of a dominant social group • Economic system preserves the interests of the ruling classes • Mitigating factors: Consumer needs, laws of supply and demand
Setting the agenda • The ability of the media to determine what is important • Two-party elections • Elian Gonzales and Cuban-American diplomacy • Activism and media event creation
Gatekeeping and framing • Gatekeeping: deciding what will appear in the media • Does a media message make it through the gate? • Framing: writing to tell stories • What makes the story? What is left out?
Opinion leaders • People who try to influence media coverage • Diverse interests • Lobbying groups • Special interests, business constituencies • Ethics of media favoritism
Literary criticism • Electronic media as a new kind of literature • Apply tradition of literary or cultural criticism • Genre studies • Semiotic analyses
The active audience • The media and audiences are both powerful • Media creators have a preferred reading
Societal Functions of the Media • Functions of the mass media • Surveillance • interpretation • socialization • entertainment • Functions of new communications media • Interpersonal • virtual
Social Learning Theory • Explains media consumption behavior in terms of • Expectations • Modeling • Cognition • Reward
Uses & Gratifications • Information • Entertainment • Social Utility (this differs from your text)
Diffusion of Innovations • Explains the spreading of new ways of doing things in a social system • Innovators • Early adopters • Critical mass • Late adopters • Laggards
Diffusion of Innovations • Observability • Trialability • Utility • Compatability • Affordability
Diffusion • VCR • VHS vs. Beta • Internet • Email and WWW • HDTV • Format wars • MP3 • Systems and players