All lecture notes from the course Media & Communication theory @EUR Rotterdam, course code CM0004. All lectures are based on the book media / society from Croteau.
Based on all eight lectures from 2019.
Mass media is involved in all lives today
mass media = reaching multiple receivers
interpersonal vs mass communication
A theory Is a systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life (Babbie).
There is not 1 theory which explains the perfect media & communication
Media & society is changing all the time. Constantly change the theories because media & society changes
all the time.
Why do we learn media & communication we consume a lot of media
Single tasking 1 media
Multitasking different things at the same time, using media and listening to the radio and ironing
media multitasking with another main activity listening to the radio while reading the newspaper
People often talk about media in the media for example talk shows
Popular assumptions about the effects of media
- Playing videogames is reason for violence for example
You got to test those examples to see if they are true
Media = dominant social institution in our society = important in our social life.
For example politicians, using media to get their message across
Mass media are powerful socializing agent
Socialization = the process whereby we learn and internalize the value, beliefs,, and norms of our culture
and, in so doing, develop a sense of self.
Media is playing a big role in explaining / sharing personal value.
Also your family / parents / educational settings are playing a big role in this.
We need media & communication theories to understand this process.
Social construction of reality = the process of shaping reality through social interaction. While reality
exists, we must negotiate the meaning of that reality.
Example Walmart girls with dolls, boys violence toys, this is stereotype for what a boy and girl should
look like. Media is playing a role in sharing those ideas. These ideas become part of social construction of
reality.
A focus on social relationship we looking at the different forces that have influence on media. Not
interesting in 1 journalist.
- Between the media and other social instructions
- Within the media industry
- Between the media and the public
,Agency (independent action) = what choices were based purely on your autonomous decisions, actions
and reality. Independent action, international and undetermined human action.
Agency with Netflix you can chose what you want when you want. Also shows recommended for you
but this is also partly structure.
Structure (constrains) = what choices were influenced or constrained by other things and thus not so
autonomous (e.g. patterns, taken for granted, ways of doing things)
structure with Netflix genres, others shows in Spain than US. Automatically played the next episode.
Agency = the capacity of acting and willing subjects within existing societal and social structures to
exercise choice
Structure = any recurring pattern of social behavior.
Social structure = any recurring pattern of social behavior
Agency = intentional and undetermined human action
Connected with each other
Human agency personal style, creative decisions, personal preferences
Structural constraints economic considerations, genres, routines, music history
Agency & structure influence each other, never 1 thing. Or a tug of war.
Studying the production, contents and influencer / reception of mass media
1. There is (infinite) tension between structure and agency
2. Structure is partially shaped by agency
3. One can be more shaping than the other
The tension between commerce and creativity in the media industries =
Structural constrains (commerce) vs Human agency (creativity)
A short history of the media
100 – papermaking is developed in China
600 – printing using carved blocks of wood begins in China
800 – first books are printed in China, using a single wood block for an entire page of text
1000 – movable clay type – with one piece of type for each character – used in China
1200 – Movable metal type developed in Korea
1450 – modern, hand operated printing press with movable type is developed in Germany
1600 – first newspapers appear in Germany, France and Belgium
Recreated Gutenberg press at the international printing museum, Carson, California
Newspaper being packed for delivery, Paris 1848. Newspaper
was a movement to freedom.
, Early 20th century mass media was invented
Advent of mass communication and mass media
- Large scale
- One way flow of content
- A known sender and an anonymous audience
A vintage Fox movie tone motion picture camera. Same time as mass
media (cinema’s).
Because of television the cinema attendance dropped.
Radio en television were domestic media, also highly relocated by the government. Government
really tried to control how radio evolved.
Important change = digitization, the conversion of an analog signal to digital signal
It is more difficult to distinguish because of digitization.
Traditional media -> audience anonymous
Now the audience have more tools to create content themselves.
Media became more interactive. Media want to involve their audiences.
Despite all developments, media rarely disappear.
Reading and note-taking strategies
Which media product is handy in which moment?
Reading strategies
- Find the organizational pattern of the text
- Identify key terms and arguments
- Distinguish theories and concepts from examples
- Take notes
- Review your notes
- Evaluate understanding
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