MEDIA STUDIES

NAME: Gugu Mtshali

STUDENT NUMBER:md.2022.j0x9b6

LECTURE:Channel Reteif

MODULE CODE: ACMSB1-22

The media is one of the greatest communication tools. It can help promote the right things at the right
time and bring a realistic and powerful view to the world as to what is right or wrong. It also
demonstrates how we can store and deliver views. Media is a part of our lives and has a huge impact on
our society. The importance of media is increasing every day due to strong global connectivity.
Therefore, each of us must be aware of the power of the media. This allows us to take care of all the
information we receive on a daily basis. It is important to note that the media are not only
communicating but giving their views on everything that is going on. Our role is to analyze the
information we receive and draw conclusions. As one planet, we come from the different historical
events that have shaped who we are today. The media has proven to be a tool of self-disclosure to
society. Media affects people in different ways, some positive, some negative. Mass communication as
a worldview has become part of a global family connected through mass communication. No society
can function or host a purpose without mass communication.

The media is important in our society as it determines our position in the world. The media has a great
impact on society. They let people know what's going on. It permeates people's lives by creating its
standards and opinions. In this way, the media pushes the masses up and spawns various social
movements. Each member of society, in turn, announces future changes. The media can show
constructive information. You can increase your self-esteem, increase your interest in a particular topic,
and encourage it. The medium is the entrance to an unknown strange place that knows what is
happening around us without being physically present in that particular place. The media also helps us
connect with others around the world and gain a more open understanding of different cultures and
opinions. Media and culture are interrelated: Communication media is the norm of traditional values
and culture, and culture is traditional media content. Due to the heavy use and high value of
communication media today, culture and media can no longer be separated from each other. As a
media producer and consumer, it is important to ask questions about media as a society. Questions
such as: 1. Does the media have a mirror and reflect our own culture and beliefs? 2. Do we see
ourselves when consuming media, or are we forced to look beyond normal space? 3. Do we change
depending on what we see in the media? 4.4. Does the public disclosure of the media change our way
of thinking? Public opinion is essential to society, and it is the thoughts and attitudes shared by a
significant number of people that are influenced by family, peers, religion, environment, and beliefs. The
mass media can have a variety of impacts on humankind and play an important role in the functioning
and transformation of all societies. The mass media represents a powerful and pervasive force in our
lives as we are exposed to the barrage of media messages. Most of the information we receive about
communities, states, countries and the world reaches through newspapers, magazines, radio, television
and the Internet. The information and views conveyed through these media have a great impact on our
attitudes towards people, life events, and the problems we face in our lives. The mass media has
significantly increased the range and amount of information available to the public.

The ability to understand the feelings, needs and concerns of others, solve emotional problems, feel
socially comfortable, and recognize power dynamics within a group or organization, is called social
conscience. Social awareness is important for better understanding to improve our society. Society
wants to feel heard, valued, respected and recognized. Always consider the development of sensitivity
to the needs of others. Learn about social issues and differences. In general, we are a naturally afferent
species, and educating yourself about issues outside of yourself can help you become more aware of
what others may be feeling and thinking because of you. problems they are facing that you don't know
about. Commitment to social awareness. Don't keep things to yourself and serve your community by
sharing and receiving information that is important and beneficial to others. Ideology is an important
concept in the media. An ideology is a worldview, a system of values, attitudes, and beliefs that an
individual, group, or society considers true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about
how that society will function. Dominant ideology An ideology that is repeated to us by important social
institutions such as church, law, education, government, and media is called a dominant ideology.
Dominant ideologies are the ideologies or beliefs that we live by in our daily lives and often without
question – they have become “natural and common” things to do. This effectively prevents people from
revolting against these beliefs and maintains a sense of social stability. The dominant ideologies include
beliefs about gender roles, the economy, and social institutions. Media texts always reflect certain
values or ideologies, even if we sometimes don't realize it. An example might be in some texts, such as
an action movie like Die Hard or the Deadly Weapons series, the use of force to solve a problem is seen
as an acceptable value. and reflect a certain ideology.

The media is an effective vehicle for ideology because it reaches such a wide audience. Media studies
allow us to reflect on and question dominant ideologies and study the effects of different ideologies and
value systems. The initial thought is a misperception and distortion of a social issue of a particular class,
but its negative connotations gradually decrease over time. Then the ideology found a sociological
concept called the set of ideas of the masses about society. Ideology is a "system" with its own logic and
precision" representations (images, myths, ideas or concepts in any case) that exist in history and have
a specific role in a given society... The difference between ideology and science lies in a set of
representations; because ideologically, the practical social function is more important than the
theoretical one. Habermas, a German sociologist affiliated with the Frankfurt School of Criticism,
attempts to study the relationship between 20th-century popular culture and capitalism and
authoritarianism. According to him, in the public sphere, individuals interact with each other by
adhering to cognitive prerequisites, engaging in free dialogue when discussing social structures and
organizations, independent of public opinion created by political, economic or media control. Habermas
considers the formation of public opinion through rational free speech an important element of a
consultative democracy. This citizenship in which such discourse is held is based on open access,
freedom, equality, legitimacy and the participation of outstanding citizens. (Goodarzi, Fahimifar and
Shakeri Daryani, 2021) The concept of the public sector became the focus of media organizations and
created a forum for discussion to define how a country should be governed,” says Garnam. In the public
sphere, the ideas presented are the basis of political discourse, consensus, and democratic decision-
making. With democratic aspects of the public sphere, democracy needs informed citizens; therefore,
the media should provide them with news and sources of information needed to identify common
issues. On the other hand, this need raises many questions about the nature and direction of public
discourse in a fluid and homogeneous society. Following Habermas's description of the public sphere,
we can turn the public focus on modern media studies in the role of public information and education.
This requires media that is not dominated by the ruling class. For the early Marxists of, ideology was
originally a false and distorted perception of a particular class of social problems, but over time its
negative impact diminished. Later, ideology discovered a sociological concept. This is described as a set
of thoughts and ideas that the general public has about society (Inspires, 2020;). According to Habermas
(2008), the "public sphere" is a space where individuals can freely participate and raise awareness of the
structure and organization of society. Therefore, three phases of media content and text creation and
distribution are effective in determining whether a media is ideological. Want to know who manages the
media's production and distribution tools? Has this space become a space for deliberative democracy
with the addition of media interaction and the transition from a passive audience to an active audience?
And did these media’s ideological character disappear as a result? Or the reality is different. The term
modern or "citizen" refers to the institution and practice that is in the public domain, is open to all
citizens, and is characteristic of modern society. That is, museums, theaters, libraries, galleries, schools,
universities. Cafes, shops, stock exchanges (and general markets); courts, parliaments, city halls. Printed,
and more recently electronic media. It is a characteristic of citizens that all citizens enter the country
with equal rights, and communication and advice are guaranteed.

Mass communication also performs many functions on which we depend and expect. Media performs
several general functions and many specific functions. In general, the mass media perform the functions
of information, interpretation, instruction, communication, and navigation. Translation function. The
media interprets the message more or less clearly and ethically. Newspaper editorials have long been
clear about what's happening now, but now cable TV and radio stations are providing social, cultural and
political commentary with subjective interpretation( Mœschler, 2000;). Some of them work in the
ethical gray area and use formats that resemble traditional news programs, but most are open about
their motives. In the given Article written by Rebecca Keegan to inform society about sensitive content
that may promote racism and inequality. Binding function. The media can bring people together, have a
binding function. For example, people with shared values and interests can come together in an online
forum to bring people together while watching news of tragic events like 9/11 and the outbreak. of the
deadly tornado . For the article, social injustice is one of the things that binds society together.
Regarding the boundary control function, the media decides whether it should transmit something to
the forwarded media channel. Most commercial media spaces are very limited and expensive, so almost
every message we receive is edited and inherently limited. A restricted message does not necessarily
mean that the message has gone bad or changed because it needs to be changed. However, many
forces can influence editing choices, including time constraints, pressure from advertisers, censorship,
and personal bias. Prejudice and self-interest are not necessarily bad unless the person making the
message claims to be objective. In fact, many people who choose to participate in media messages are
limited by their personal opinions and preferences. This type of restriction also gives you more control
over the multimedia messages you receive. For example, niche sites and cable channels allow you to
limit yourself to already restricted content, so you don't have to watch everything yourself. Gatekeeper
also has a message expansion feature. It is unethical for a Guardian to spread the message by forging
evidence or fabricating details to appear more believable or to mislead others. Gatekeepers have the
function of reinterpreting mass media messages. Reinterpretation is useful when the Guardian
translates a message from something so complex or unfamiliar that we cannot understand it into
something meaningful. The extremes of the late 20th century underscored a radical shift in media
optimism. An overview of some of the key theory will there understand this change. Media effects are
the expected or unintended consequences of what the media does Many of the major media theories
assume that the media influences the viewer. The scope and nature of the effect depend on theory. In
general, we tend to believe that media messages affect others more than we do, so we underestimate
the impact of the media on us. In fact, there is this concept The theory it is so common! The third-party
influence is the phenomenon just described, and people believe that it is less influenced by the media
than other media. Cultivation theory is a media effect theory developed by George Gerbner, whose
treatment of media, especially television, gives us a distorted view of the degree of global violence and
risk in our society. .. It says it will shape reality. Theory also suggests that viewers identify certain values
and identities that are presented as mainstream on television, even if they do not share those values or
identities in real life. Borrowing from agricultural practice in , Garbner turned the term into a powerful
metaphor, explaining how the media, especially television, is shaping our social reality. The theory of
social responsibility allows freedom of the press without any form of censorship, but at the same time
the content of the press should be discussed in public forums and the media should intervene publicly or
self-regulate through experts. Should. Commitments must be accepted through or both. This theory
gives complete media freedom on the one hand, but also external control on the other. The Medes
empire contributes to the "appearance" and the sad impact of racial integrity on our youth who grow
into adults who reject themselves and themselves, as well as our own appeal to celebrity cultural norms.
doing. Living in fear of being too far from the norms of what is perceived as beauty, they miserably
embrace sights, sounds and ideas that are far from their class, race and sexual orientation. (Sarual,
2020). In other words, those who live outside what are considered "norms" are forced to submit to
these false perceptions, which are harmful to society as a whole, especially to individuals. Undoubtedly,
change must be driven in all areas of society in order to empower and recognize the "reality" of people's
lives. Start with the image of men and women who encourage positive and supportive portrayals of
those who see and act. Like the people of our daily lives. All people should feel they are not inferior, as
they belong to a different race than what is depicted in modern mmedia.

The importance of the media is like requiring intense mental movement in a critical analysis. Every day
we receive a wealth of information on these very different topics. It is our duty as a society to
constructively criticize the information we receive and to prevent our minds from being manipulated to
promote the interests of others. This learning begins in childhood and lasts for a lifetime. Our language
is our media. Our media is our metaphor. Metaphors control the content of our culture. The mass media
are mediators, reflectors, and mediators of predominant values and attitudes in society that can
significantly influence the decisions of development planners, policy makers, and legislators who
influence development programs. Affect by acting as a strengthener. Media effect theory studies the
expected or unintended effects of what the media does. Theory claims great influence. In short, media
messages can have a direct and specific impact on the general public. They also claim to have less
impact. In other words, media messages have little power over the viewer. Nowadays, theory claims a
mediating effect. That is, media messages affect the viewer, but the viewer also has the ability to
identify, reject, or reinterpret the message. (Toth, 2009)
Biblography

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Inspires, K. (2020). Public Spheres in Contemporary Society. [online] Mysite. Available at:
https://www.kanalinspires.org/post/public-spheres-in-contemporary-society [Accessed 1 Jul.
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Mœschler, O. (2000). Jean FOLKERTS, Stephen LACY et Lucinda DAVENPORT (1998), The
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[Accessed 1 Jul. 2022].

Toth, C. (2009). Reviews: BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATION (8TH

ED.) Kitty O. Locker & Donna Kienzler. New York: McGraw-Hill/Ir win, 2008, 664 pages.
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