Introduction to Media & Entertainment Management
CHAPTER 1 “MEDIA & CULTURE”
1. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Distinguish between mass communication and mass media
Define culture
Pose questions that will be explored in the rest of the text
Mass communication = Communication transmitted to large segments of the
population
Media = Means of communication and transmission as the plural of medium, a
means of communication and transmission, media refers to a number of such means,
such as print, digital and electronic media
Mass media = those means of transmission that are designed to reach a wide
audience, some examples are:
Radio
Newspapers
Magazines
Books
Videogames
Internet
Culture = the expressed and shared values, attitudes, beliefs and practices of a
social group, organisation or institution
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Mass communication refers to a message transmitted to a large audience.
The means of transmission is known as mass media. Many different kinds of
mass media exist and have existed for centuries. Both have an effect on
culture, which is shared and expressed collection of behaviours, practices,
beliefs and values that are particular to a group organization, or institution.
Culture and media exert influence on each other in subtle, complex ways
The 1960 election is an example of how changes in media technology have
had a major impact on culture. But the influence goes both ways, and culture
shapes media in important ways, even how media evolve
2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Discuss events that impacted the adaptation of mass media
Explain how different technological transitions have shaped media industries
Identify four roles the media perform in our society
Public forum = A social space that is open to all, and that serves as a place for
discussion of important issues. A public forum is not always a physical space.
For example: A newspaper can be considered a public forum
‘The medium is the best message’ = A phrase coined by media theorist Marshall
McLuhan asserting that every medium delivers information in a different way, and
that content is fundamentally shaped by the medium of transmission
,KEY TAKEAWAYS
Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press enabled the mass production of
media, which was then industrialized by Friedrich Koenig in the early 1800s.
These innovations enabled the daily newspaper, which united the urbanized
industrialized populations of the 19th century
In the 20th century, radio allowed advertisers to reach a mass audience and
helped spur the consumerism of the 1920s - and the Great Depression of the
1930s. After World War II, television boomed in the United States and abroad,
though its concentration in the hand of three major networks led to
accusations of conformity. The spread of cable and subsequent deregulation
in 1980s and 1990s led to more channels, but not necessarily more diverse
ownership
Technical transitions have also great effect on the media industry, although it
is difficult to say whether technology caused a cultural shift or rather resulted
from it. The ability to make technology small and affordable enough to fit into
the home is an important aspect of the popularization of new technologies
Media fulfil several roles in culture, including the following:
Entertaining and providing an outlet for the imagination
Educating and informing
Serving as a public forum for the discussion of important issues
Action as a watchdog for government, business, and other institutions
3. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define cultural period, and give examples of recent cultural periods
Discuss particular characteristics of the modern era, and explain how it was
shaped by the industrial Revolution
Explain the ways that the postmodern era differs from the modern era
Cultural period = A time marked by a particular way of understanding the world
through culture an technology
Modern age = The post-Medieval era: A wide span of time marked in part by
technological innovations, urbanization, scientific discoveries, and globalization. It
is also refined to as modernity. You can split it up in two parts, like ‘Early modern
periods’ and ‘Late modern periods’.
Modernism = An artistic movement of late-19th and early 20th centuries that arose
out of the widespread changes that swept the world during that period, and that
questioned the limitations of “Traditional” forms of art and culture
Postmodern era = A cultural period that began during the second half of the 20 th
century and was marked by:
Scepticism
Self-consciousness
Celebration of difference
The reappraisal of modern conventions
Grand narratives = Large-scale theories that attempt to explain the totality of
human experience
,KEY TAKEAWAYS
A cultural period is a time marked by a particular way of understanding the
world through culture and technology. Changes in cultural periods are marked
by fundamental changes in the way we perceive and understand the world.
The modern era began after the Middle Ages and lasted through the early
decades of the 20th century, when the postmodern era began
The modern era was marked by Enlightenment philosophy, which focused on
the individual and placed a high value on rational decision making. This
period saw the wide expansion of:
Capitalism
Colonialism
Democracy
Science-based rationalism
The Renaissance the Protestant Reformation, the American and French
Revolutions, and World War I are all significant events that look place during
the modern era. One of the most significant, however, was the Industrial
Revolution: Its emphasis on routinization and effiency helped society
restructure itself along those terms as well
Postmodernity differed form modernity in its questioning of reason, rejection
of grand narratives, and emphasis on subcultures. Rather than searching for
one ultimate truth that could explain all of history, the postmodernists focused
on contingency, context and diversity
4. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define convergence and discuss examples of it in contemporary life
Name the five types of convergence identified by Henry Jenkins
Examine how convergence is affecting culture and society
Media convergence = the process by which previously distinct technologies come to
share content tasks and resources
Participatory culture = A culture in which media consumers are able to annotate
comment on remix, and otherwise respond to culture
Cultural imperialism = the theory that certain cultures are attracted or pressured
into shaping social institutions to correspond to, or even promote, the values and
structures of a different culture, one that generally wield more economic power
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Twenty-first century media culture is increasingly marked by convergence, or
the coming together of previously distinct technologies, as in a cell phone that
also allows users to take video and check email
Media theorist Henny Jenkins identifies the five kinds of convergence as
following:
Economic convergence, when a single company has interests across
many kinds of media
Organic convergence is multimedia multitasking, or the ‘Natural’
outcome of a diverse media world
Cultural convergence, when stories flow across several kinds of media
platforms, and when readers or viewers can comment on, alter, or
otherwise talk back to culture
, Technological convergence, in which different kinds of technology
merge. The most extreme example of technical convergence would be
the as-yet hypothetical “black box” one machine that controlled every
media function
The jury is still out on how these different types of convergence will affect
people on an individual and cultural level. Some theorists believe that
convergence and new media technologies make people smarter by requiring
them to make decisions and interact with the media they’re consuming: others
fear that the digital age is giving us access to more information but leaving us
shallower
5. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Name and discuss two limitations on free speech that are based on cultural
values
Identify examples of propaganda in mass media
Define gatekeeper, and explain the role of the gatekeeper in mass media
Obscenity = Indecency that goes against public morals and exerts a corrupting
influence. Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment
Copyright law = Law that regulates the exclusive right given to the creator of a work
Propaganda = Communication that intentionally attempts to persuade its audience
for ideological, political or commercial purpose
Gatekeepers = The people who help determine which stories make it to the public
including reporters who decide what sources to use and editors who pick what gets
reported on, and which stories make it to the front page
KEY TAKEAWAYS
American culture puts a high value on free speech; however, other cultural
values sometimes take precedence. Shifting ideas about what constitutes
obscenity, a kind of speech that is not legally protected by the Fist
Amendment, is good example of how cultural values impact mass
communication – and of how those values change over time. Copyright law,
another restriction put on free speech, has had a similar evolution over the
nation’s history
Propaganda is a message that attempts to persuade its audience for
ideological, political, or social purposes. Some propaganda is obvious,
explicit, and manipulative, however, advertising and public relations also are
persuasive strategies that try to influence audiences
Gatekeepers influence culture by deciding what stories are considered
newsworthy; Gatekeepers can promote cultural values either consciously or
unconsciously. The digital age has lessened the power of gatekeepers
somewhat, as the Internet allows for nearly unlimited space to cover any
number of events and stories
6. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Define tastemakers, and give examples of their influence in traditional media
Examine the ways the digital age is undermining the traditional role of
tastemakers
Analyse how Internet culture now allows creators to bypass gatekeepers, and
discuss the potential effects of this