Download Study Guide for Exam #1: Mass Communication and Media Effects - Prof. D. Shipka and more Study notes Communication in PDF only on Docsity! Study Guide for Exam #1 MC 2000 Chapter 1. Mass Communication - Be able to understand and explain: 1. Media Literacy: What it is and the 5 steps to understanding media a. Description - identify the programs, articles, strategies, subjexts, identify the contents b. Analysis - isolate patterns that call for closer attention c. Interpretation - determine the meanings of the patterns you analyzed d. Evaluation - making an informal judgment, your not a critic but judge e. Engagement - determine if the program actively best serves democracy The model and steps of two-way communication f. Linear Model i. Sender ii. Message iii. Channel iv. Receiver v. Feedback vi. Shared experience The difference and examples of high-culture and low-culture g. High - “good taste”, higher education, and support by wealthy patrons and corporate donors i. Symphony, ballet, art museums and classic lit. h. Low -“questionable” tastes of the “masses”, enjoys commercial “junk” circulated by mass media i. Soap operas, games, VH1, rokc/rap music Shifting values in previous cultural periods ii. Chapter 14: The Culture of Journalism - Be able to understand and explain: 2. Newsworthiness: The criteria of it a. Info most worthy of transformation into news stories i. Timeliness ii. Proximity iii. Prominence iv. Human interest v. Usefulness vi. Novelty vii. Deviance The values of American Journalism b. Neutrality c. Individualism - focus on people not organizations i. Most prominent value d. Ethnocentrism -reporters judge other countries /cultures on the basis of how they live up to or imitate the U.S. Ethical problems journalism faces e. Absolutist - every decision is either ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ f. Existentialist - decisions are based on immediate practical choice g. Situationalist - decisions based on which would cause the least harm(most good) h. Deploying deception i. Invading privacy j. Conflict of interest All the reporting rituals k. Getting a good story l. Getting a story first i. Herd journalism- when reports follow a story in such large groups that the profession comes under fire m. Relying on experts n. Balancing story conflicts o. Acting as adversaries How journalism is different in the age of television p. It has to justify the expense even when there is no story q. Must make a visual show for audience r. Relies on the viewers trust with reporters whereas print relies on objectivity s. Visual language and Critical Times Chapter 15: Media Effects 3. Be able to understand and explain: a. History of media effects i. Assumption of media’s direct influence comes from assumed success of WW1 propaganda campaigns 1. Gov. sells bonds to finance the war 2. Gov. creates support for the war among skeptical public b. Differing theories of media effects i. Agenda Setting - media determine prominent social issues by the stories they decide to cover. Media tells us what to think about 1. Complicated by TV channel availability ii. Cultivation Theory - heavy media consumption may develop perceptions about reality 1. Most influenced people are uneducated, poor and those who have no prior views or exposure iii. Spiral of Silence Theory - we keep our views to ourselves for fear of isolation iv. Social Learning Theory - we imitate acts of violence or aggression as presented in the media c. The scientific method: What it is and its steps i. Scientific Method- a “blueprint” long used by scientists and scholars to study phenomena in systematic stages 1. Identifying the Research Problem 2. Reviewing existing research and theories related to the problem 3. Developing working hypothesis or predictions about what the study might find 4. Determining an appropriate method or design 5. Collecting info or relevant data 6. Analyzing results to see if the hypotheses have been verified\ 7. Interpreting the implications of the study to determine whether they explain or predict the problem d. Culture Studies: what is it? i. Cultural Studies- how people make meaning, apprehend reality and order experience through cultural symbols in print and visual media
