Press and Broadcasting

Press and Broadcasting

Outcome 1 - Explain features and trends in the mass media

Functions and scope of the media

Last week, we discussed what we meant by 'the mass media'. Trowler (1996) defines mass media as:

"the methods and organisations used by specialist social groups to convey messages to large, socially mixed and widely dispersed audiences."

Take a few minutes to think about what this means. Discuss it with the person sitting next to you. How does this relate to the BBC? To the Daily Record? Why does this mean that academic journals and graffiti are not part of the mass media?

Why do we use the media?

You should have an assessment of your own media consumption from last weeks' notes. Think again about why you use the media:

For entertainment? For news or information? For background noise?

What would you miss out on if you were to go without any media - no newspapers, magazines, TV, cinema, radio or internet - for a month? Write down some notes and then discuss your answers with a partner.

How does the media influence us?

Marx famously described religion as the 'opium of the masses'. He believed that organised religion acted as a drug that stopped working class people from rebelling against their exploitation. Some modern Marxists (e.g. Marcuse) have argued that today it is the mass media that is the 'opium of the masses'.

Is it as straightforward as this? Or is our relationship with the media a two-way affair? Do we consciously debate the messages being sent out by the media - or do we accept everything we're told?

Working in small groups, consider these questions in relation to the following:

The three Big Brother series'
September 11^th and the war on Afghanistan
The death of the Queen Mother
Any controversial soap opera storyline (you choose!)

Think about how you reacted to the media coverage. What about your friends, family, workmates? Did you discuss the events with them? Was their reaction similar to your own? Did their reaction influence your own?

How does your own background affect your interpretation of the information presented to you? Is there only one way of interpreting a message (monosemy) or may there be a multitude of possible interpretations (polysemy)?