NETA PowerPoint® Slides

to accompany

Prepared by
Tami Bereska
MacEwan University

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 Chapter 6

Mass Media: Living in the Electronic Age

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 Overview
A. Mass media prevalence and forms
B. How the media shape our perceptions
C. Media literacy

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 (A) Media Prevalence and Forms
• Media = communications that target large audiences in print or
electronic format
• Media are integrated into almost every aspect of our lives
– e.g., Canadians spend 37 hours each month using the Internet (which
is only a small portion of all media forms)

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 Forms of Media
• Traditional media
– Books, newspapers, magazines, film, cinema, recordings, radio,
television
• New media
– Internet and electronic gadgets
• e.g., social networking, YouTube, augmented reality, second screening, apps

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Are new forms of media unique?
“The medium is the message”

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 Privacy and Regulation
• Most Canadians are both knowledgeable and concerned about
privacy issues
– As a response, people often limit the amount of personal information
shared online
• The CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications
Commission) regulates the industry
– e.g., net neutrality

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How Are Media Integrated into Our Lives?

Functi Confli
onalist ct
Theori Theori
es es

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 Functionalist Theories:
Manifest Functions of Media

Provide Information Socialization

• Local and global events • Connect us to people

• e.g., traffic reports, weather • e.g., interacting with others
warnings, news on social media

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 Conflict Theories

Concentrated Ownership Agenda Setting

• “Big Three” of music

• “Big Five” of television • Propaganda model
• “Big Five” media • Corporate elite
conglomerates

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(B) How the Media Shape Our Perceptions

Interactionist Theories Feminist Theories

Media Violence
Postmodern Theories
(multiple theories) Copyright © 2019 by Nelson Education Ltd. 11
 Interactionist Theories
• People make choices about their media consumption
• Consumerism is intertwined with media
– e.g., advertising of various products; in-app purchases
• Framing within the media

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 Interactionist Theories:
Media Framing

Sizing Agency

Identification Categorization
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 Feminist Theories:
Gender Stereotypes
Media Stereotypes of Women Media Stereotypes of Men
• Victims • Villains
• Overly feminized • Aggressors
• Sexualized • Perverts
• Nurturing • Philanderers
• Inscrutable

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 Media Violence
• Does media violence increase aggression in audience
members?
– Social learning theory
– Desensitization theory
– Cultivation theory

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 Media Violence:
Social Learning Theory

John T Takai/Shutterstock.com
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 Media Violence:
Desensitization Theory
• Repeated exposure to violence lessens the emotional (e.g.,
anxiety) and physiological (e.g., heart rate) impact
• Media producers must present increasingly sensationalized
violence in order to maintain audience interest

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 Media Violence:
Cultivation Theory
• Repeated exposure to violence causes changes in thinking
• Mean world syndrome
• People seek measures to protect themselves from the “mean
world”
– e.g., purchasing a gun for the home

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 Postmodern Theories
• Our lives change with each new media form
– e.g., YouTube, Facebook, augmented reality
• Think critically about media messages
• Think critically about media ownership
• Make informed choices

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 (C) Media Literacy

Media literacy = the ability to critically

assess and make informed choices about
messages contained in media forms

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Assumptions Underlying Media Literacy

All media are constructions

Audiences negotiate meaning

Media have commercial interests

Media have social and political implications

Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

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How are you media
literate?

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 Summary
 Traditional media forms and new media forms coexist
 Media socialize us and provide us with information
 Concentrated media ownership sets agendas
 Media shape our perceptions in a variety of ways
 Media literacy is an important skill in contemporary society

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