Jour/EMC/RI 1020 Introduction to Media & Entertainment Dr. Larry L. Burriss B.A., M.A., M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Lt. Col., USAF (ret.) lburriss@mtsu.edu http://capone.mtsu.edu/lburriss Basic Assumptions 1. Perceived Reality IS Reality 2. When Perception Becomes Reality, Reality Becomes Irrelevant 3. You Cannot Not Communicate 4. Ideas Have Impact What is Communication? The transfer of information in an attempt to influence other human beings The fundamental problem of communication is that of reproducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message selected at another point. . . . These semantic aspects of communication are irrelevant to the engineering problem. Claude Shannon (1948) What is Information? Any content that reduces uncertainty or reduces the number of possibilities in a given situation. Functions of Communication A. Functions of the sender 1. Inform 2. Teach 3. Please 4. Propose or persuade B. Functions of the receiver 1. Understand 2. Learn 3. Enjoy 4. Dispose or decide The Nature of Language Meaning does not exist in the message or in the signal, but in people. Meaning is dependent on Context Feelings and Attitudes Meaning Exists in People, Not in the Signal You may think you have done enough if you write so that you can be understood. Well, you haven't. You must write so that you can't be misunderstood. The Nature of Language Language is Arbitrary Situational Tyrannical The Importance of Code World War II: 'Unconditional' surrender Cold War: Missiles in Europe Cold War: 'Delivery vehicles' Saddam Hussein Communications Models A. Background B. Parts 1. Sender Communication Models Shannon-Weaver Norbert Wiener Wilbur Schramm Perception and Communication The Perceptual Process Distal Stimulus External Environment Context Sensory Receptors Internal Mediating Conditions Mind Percept What Do We Really Perceive '[W]e . . . never see pure phenomena with our eyes, since much depends instead upon our own state of mind, on the state of the organ itself at the moment, on light, air, weather, bodies, treatment, and a thousand other things.' Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Scientific Studies, Volume 12'3. Perception and Communication The Perceptual Process Distal Stimulus Environmental Arc Noise Sensory Receptors Internal Mediating Conditions Mind Percept Perception and Communication Coorientation The message exists in the minds of the sender and receiver Is the sender's message the same as the receiver's message? Levels of Communication Psychological Evocative - Here and Now Cognitive - Thoughtful Reflection Ideological - Language of the Culture Conversational Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Structural-Functional Intrapersonal Process of Perception Interpersonal Definition: Transactions that allow all parties an approximately equal opportunity to send overt messages Interviews Conversations Committee Meetings Group discussions Nature of Interpersonal Communication Episodic Impulsive Fragmented Interpersonal Communication Channels Verbal Non-Verbal Public Examples Nature of Public Communication Public vs. Interpersonal Mass Communication Characteristics a. Output/Input Ratio b. Organization c. Feedback d. Gatekeeper Functions Theories of Selectivity n Levels of Communication - Structural/Functional D. Mass Communication 1. Characteristics a. Output/Input Ratio b. Organization c. Feedback d. Gatekeeper 2. Functions 3. Theories of Selectivity a. Consistency b. Utility c. Passive Audience Psychological Dynamics of Mass Comumnication 1. People tend to construct their own image of reality 2. People acquire a set of beliefs and images about the world as they mature 3. This construction is highly selective 4. People tend to see what they expect to see 5. People assimilate information according to their pre-existing beliefs 6. People need to maintain cognitive consistency (ie., balance between beliefs and perception) A. Twist, distort, misinterpret, ignore data B. Gather more information and revise beliefs Violence in Media Historical Concerns Qualitative and Quantitative Problems Theoretical Issues Theoretical Issues Stanley Milgram and Obedience to Authority (1962) Jane Elliott: Blue-Eyed, Brown-Eyed (1968) Phillip Zimbardo and the Stanford Prison Study (1971) Violence in Media - Theories Catharsis Aggressive Cues Observational Learning Reinforcement Cultivation Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Media & Society Problem of Knowledge Problem of Conduct Problem of Government Basic Assumptions A. Ideas represent a real force in determining human events B. Things don't 'just happen' 1. Determinism 2. Free Will C. Myth Complexes Perspectives Weltanschauung Major thinkers Karl Marx Emil Durkheim Lev Vygotsky Media & Society: Four Theories of the Press Theories A. Authoritarian B. Libertarian C. Neo-Liberal / Social Responsibility D. Soviet Totalitarian Four Theories of the Press - Authoritarian Plato - The Republic Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince Thomas Hobbes - Leviathan Four Theories of the Press - Authoritarian Plato The Republic The Philosopher King The Royal Lie Machiavelli The Prince Thomas Hobbes Leviathan State of Nature Social Contract Four Theories of the Press - Authoritarian Relationships 1. The nature of the individual 2. The nature of the state 3. The nature of knowledge 4 Theories of the Press - Authoritarian Means of Control Licensing of Printing Licensing of Individual Works Prosecution Seditious Libel Treason Kept Press Government Political Taxation Censorship / Prior Restraint Four Theories of the Press - Libertarian Philosophical Background Sir Isaac Newton The Individual and Society Functions of the Media Proponents Four Theories of the Press - Libertarian Sir Isaac Newton Newtonian Physics and the Media The Newtonian World Machine John Milton Areopagitica Free and Open Marketplace of Ideas John Stuart Mill On Liberty Silencing the truth The value of wrong opinions Beliefs need to be rational Ideas and vitality John Locke An Essay Concerning Human Understanding The Social Contract Life, Liberty, Property Means of Control ? ? ? ? ? Neo-Liberal / Social Responsibility What is Truth? Four Theories of the Press - Neoliberal Philosophical Background Charles Darwin - The Process of Change Albert Einstein - Everything is Relative Werner Heisenberg - Observation Relevance to Mass Media 4 Theories of the Press - Soviet Totalitarian Philosophical Background Frederich Hegel and the Dialectic Karl Marx and Economic Determinism Media in the Soviet System Used as instruments of the party Owned by the state Close integration with other elements Soviet vs. Other Totalitarian Systems Ownership Profit motive How is the role of the media defined The process of change Source of authority Neo-Liberal / Social Responsibility: Freedom and Responsibility Alexis de Tocqueville Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press John Dewey Neo-Liberal / Social Responsibility: Who Controls the Media The Media Themselves The Public The Government Media Control - Accountability Accountability and Sanctions A. Employers B. Audiences C. Courts D. Media Critics E. Ombudsmen F. News Councils G. Peers H. Ourselves Media Control Control by the Media Codes of Ethics Control by the Public The process Monitor the media Find an applicable rule Negotiate a solution Action Groups Control by the Government: An Introduction to Mass Media Law & Regulation First Amendment Time, Place Manner Broadcast Defamation Invasion of Privacy Pornography & Obscenity Records & Meetings Media & National Security Internet Free Press / Fair trial Advertising Copyright xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Media Business & Economics Elements of Business Structure Ownership Patterns Centralization & Concentration Advertising Media As a Social System Ownership Patterns Monopoly Cross-Ownership Chains and Groups Conglomerates Affiliation Agreements Corporate Structure Industries Businesses Centralization & Concentration A. Importance of Standardization B. Impact on Content Advertising Connections and Philosophical Background Connections Anti-trust & unfair competition Consumer information Communication law Technology Intellectual property law Philosophical Background Mass Production Distribution Marketing Advertising American Advertising Federation Advertising Code of American Business Advertising and the FTC Development of regulation Deregulation Development of Regulation Laissez-faire capitalism Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) Federal Trade Commission (1914) Wheeler-Lea Amendment (1938) False, Deceptive and Unfair Ads Major Criticisms of Advertising Persuades us to buy goods we don't need Appeals to emotion rather than intellect Biased Conflicting claims Repetitious Vulgar Subliminal advertising Media as a Social System Audiences Financial Backers Market Analysts Production Distribution Official Regulatory Bodies Legislative Bodies Voluntary Associations Media as a Social System - Audiences A. Behavioral Categories Social Categories Theory Social Relationships Theory Cultural Norms Theory B. Content Categories Lowbrow Middlebrow Highbrow C. Impact Categories Magic Bullet / Hypodermic Agenda Setting Audiences: Basic Idea: Find what the audience wants and give it to them Attraction: Don't Drive Them Away Loyalty Competition Research