Download Media Influence Introduction

Media Influence Introduction
Introductory Activity 1: Do you know this?
Introductory Activity 1: Do you know this?
Introductory Activity 2 –
some questions to think about
 If nobody believes the ads, why do we have them?
 If the media makes us violent, why aren’t you?
 If the TAC ads really do work, why do bloody idiots still drink and
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drive?
If cigarette advertising is banned, how do cigarette companies tell us
about their product?
How come you can still sing the Sesame Street theme and why does it
make you smile?
How come Muslims get such bad press?
Why are so many old people scared of teenagers, even if they are
grandparents to some?
Why are people so scared to walk down a dark street late at night?
Why do we know more about some celebrities than we do about many
people in our own communities?
From the Study Design…
 This area of study focuses on an analysis of media
influence. Students explore the complexity of the
relationship between the media, its audiences and
the wider community in terms of the nature and
extent of the media’s influence.
 Students examine arguments and evidence arising
from a range of historical and contemporary
developments, including a range of media texts from
different periods of time.
Key knowledge & skills
Key knowledge:
• communication theories and models and their application to media forms and texts
• theories of audience, their relationship with communication theories and models,
and application to media forms and texts
• arguments and evidence about media influence on audiences and the broader society
• arguments surrounding the rationale for and regulation of the media
• appropriate media language and terminology.
Key skills:
• identify, compare and contrast communication theories and models
• apply communication theories and models to media forms and texts
• substantiate arguments about media influence
• discuss the relationship between audiences and media forms and texts
• analyse the rationale for and arguments about the regulation of the media
• use and apply appropriate media language and terminology.
What is ‘communication’ and ‘mass media’?
 Read ‘Communication and Mass Media’ pg 224 of
Heinemann Media and complete activities 1– 4
Task: In your own words, define the term ‘mass
media’. Provide examples of mass media in
contemporary society
Communication models & theories
 Just as you read the letters, words and sentences in a
paragraph to make meaning, when you watch a
media product you put the pieces together to make
meaning.
 You view images, sounds and/or text to make this
meaning
 You also use things like prior knowledge and cultural
understanding to also help you get the meaning of
something.
Add to glossary
 Communication: the means by which a message is
relayed or transmitted from a sender to a receiver.
Modes of communication include TV, film, radio,
print, the internet and other new media.
 Communication models: ways of thinking about the
process of communication.
 Communication theories: theories devised to help
people understand the complex relationship between
the media and audiences.
 Communication theories are ideas that have been
devised to help us understand the possible effects
the media can have on audiences
 When studying communication models & theories,
its important to remember that not one model or
theory is totally ‘correct’.
 You’ll see that some theories have similarities, but
there will be differences too.
 Therefore you need to understand each theory
separately, and know what their strengths and
weaknesses are.
Communication theories and models
 Read ‘Communication Theories and Models’ from pg
226 from Heinemann Media
 Complete the 5 Learning Activities on pg 226
 Read ‘Early Communication Models’ from pgs 226-7
of Heinemann Media
 Complete the 3 Learning Activities on pg 227
Media influence theories and
communication models
 There are THREE different academic approaches to
media influence theories and communication
models:
1) The effects tradition
2) Cultural studies model
3) Political economy model
We will spend time looking at each of these, and the
different communication theories that come under
each branch
The effects tradition
 Says that media forms and content have strong
effects on individuals and society.
 This model sees the media as powerful agents of
change
 Read: pg 225 from Heinemann Media for more
information
Cultural studies model
 Says that it is culture – which includes the political
economy and the media – that explains the
individuals’ relationship with the media.
 The media serve as the communicative space within
which cultures and other forces in society can
interact
Political economy model
 Says that the media are simply part of an economic
system where power and control reside in political
and economic institutions.
 Under this model, the media transmit the messages
these institutions determine.