! Flashcards
THEORY
Organized set of concepts, explanations, and principles of some aspect of human experience.
GRAND THEORIES
Explains entire media system and their role in society.
NARROW FOCUSED THEORIES
Specific uses of effects of certain types of media.
A MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY
Better understands large scale social media use and explains / predictions to phenomena trying to mass communicate.
CASUALTY
Science of cause and effect. Things influence other things.
CASUAL RELATIONSHIP
If we can manipulate an independent variable and produce the same effect under the same condition every time.
MARKETPLACE OF ATTENTION
The way large scale social media/ legacy media operates. They’re trying to gain and hold more attention of audience.
FOUR REASONS DIFFICULT TO STUDY HUMAN BEHAVIOR
- Most of the significant/interesting human behaviors are difficult to measure.
- Human behavior is complex.
- Humans have goals and are self-reflective – we don’t always behave in response to what happened.
- The simple notation of causality is sometimes troubling when it’s applied to us.
FOUR TRENDS IN MEDIA THEORY
- The mass society and mass culture trend – increased popularity of mass media, innovative forms of propaganda, elites with a powerful tool.
- The media effects trend – studied using new science research methods, propaganda studied, media effects were limited.
- Critical cultural trend – questions about possible powers of media.
- Meaning making theory – quantitative, qualitative approaches, more advanced research methods.
NATURAL VS SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social science is sometimes controversial as it suggests casual relationships between things in social world and people’s attitudes, beliefs, values.
In natural sciences causality is easier to see/measure as human behaviours are more complex.
MEDIATED COMMIINICATION
Between few or many people who uses technology as a medium.
INTERPERSONAL COMMIINICATION
Face2face communication.
NORMATIVE THEORY
How media system structures/operates to have a set of ideological/social values. Media must give voice to all, be open and be able to foster communities. They describe not reality but ideal way for a media system to be structured.
MASS SOCIETY THEORY
With industrialization, people have become more isolated. Focuses on negative role to media and influential social attributes.
DETERMINISTIC ASSUMPTATIONS
Assumptions that media have powerful effects.
EMPIRICAL CYCLE
Scientific research is structured by this cycle: Observation-Induction-Deduction-Testing-Evaluation
COMMUNICATION
Messages, creation of messages, interpretation.
A COMMUNICATION MODEL
Sender -> message <- receiver.
FILTER BUBBLE
Communication universises in which we only hear and see only what we choose, comforts us and is in line with our persisting attitudes and beliefs. The idea that online personalisation tools and algorithms make people less open to different/opposing POVs by exposing them to only the news and info which they already agree/enjoy.
SPHERE OF CONSENSUS
Thing on which everybody is thought to agree. “Journalists feel free to invoke a generalized “we” and tell general values or assumptions.”
SPHERE OF LEGITIMATE DEBATE
“Real, normal, everyday terrain”. Objective and balanced point on political debates.
SPHERE OF DEVIANCE
Unacceptable, radical. It marks out and defends the limits of acceptable political conduct.
DISINTERMEDIATION
Delated step in supply chain of communication.
PREHISTORY (three steps)
- The empirical turn – using experiments, surveys to understand working of news media.
- The sociological turn – focus on critical engagement of media like framing & storytelling.
- The international-comparative tool – increased globalisation
CHALLENGES TO JOURNALISM
- “Many still love the idea of journalism but not willing to pay for it.”
- Journalistic labor.
- More “ordinary people” engaged in making context, news.
MODELLING CONTEMPORARY GATEKEEPING
The rise of individuals, algorithms, and platforms in digital news dissemination.
GATEKEEPERS
To be a gatekeeper means to exercise control over what info reaches society.
It was more associated with journalists, news agencies but in recent years it’s mostly done by platforms/algorithms.
Gatekeeping flow is changed, as now individuals take part in publishing news. Are still gatekeepers guarding the gates?
CENTRALISED VS DECENTRALISED GATEKEEPING
Centralized - Traditional notion of central authorities exercising control over information.
Decentralised – consists of microlevel interactions between individuals and are formed socially from user to user.
4 GATEKEEPERS
- Journalists - centralized
- Individual amateurs - decentralized
- Strategic professionals - decentralized
- Algorithms -centralized
SECONDARY GATEKEEPERS
When individual/organization selectively filter information after it passed through internal gatekeepers.
GATEWATCHING
Monitoring of gatekeepers and uncover hidden bias.
HIERARCHY OF INFLUENCES MODEL
describes the various factors that affect news content, organized on a continuum from a micro level to a macro level.
LOW - Individuals-routine practices-media organizations-social institutions-social systems – HIGH
AGENDA SETTING, PROS/CONS
What to think about.
Process in which only few issues are prioritized when even more important ones are ignored.
* Strengths: explains how news media can have important effects, empirically demonstrates links between media exposure and perception on importance of public topics.
* Weakness: difficult to demonstrate that news media cause agenda-setting effects.
CHAPEL HILL STUDY
The same as agenda-setting. strong correlation between what is in the media and what is in the public’s mind.
AGENDA BUILDING
The process in which media, government, etc. influence each other. By that process some issues are becoming more important.
INTERMEDIA AGENDA BUILDING
When online sites and legacy media shapes each other’s news coverage.
AGENDA CHASING
News outlets’ use user’s internet behavior to determine their coverage.
PRIMING
There is weight assigned to certain issues in news and that comes into consideration when making pollical decisions.
FRAME
The way we think about.
Specific set of expectations used to make a sense of a social situation at given point of time.
Framing consists of three levels:
1. Government officials, executive brach officials
2. Policy experts
3. The press
FRAME ANALYSIS + pro con
Developed to provide systematic account of how we develop and use expectations to make sense of everyday life/situations.
* Strengths: focus on individuals, flexible, open-minded.
* Weakness: casual explanations only possible when there’s narrow focus.
DOWNSHIFTING /UPSHIFTING
When we move from one set of frames to other.
Downshifting - moving our set of frames if a scene gets dangerous.
Upshifting - When a scene gets less dangerous or a lot happier.
SOCIAL CUES
Info in an environment that signals shift to change.
HYPER RITUALIZED REPRESENTATIONS
Advertisements use social cues, like a sexy woman to appeal men, to get attention and using stereotypes in ad.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
- Social/political context in which news-framing happens.
- How journalists develop frames.
- How readers apply frames to make sense of news.
- Long term consequences of news media frames.
ISSUE-SPECIFIC FRAME
frames focused on specific events
GENERIC FRAME
frames focusing on general topics or events
EPISODIC FRAME
present an issue by offering a specific example or study.
THEMATIC FRAME
places current issues in a broader context
GAIN FRAME
focus on a desirable outcome – use sunscreen for healthy skin.
LOSS FRAME
focus on a undesirable outcome – use sunscreen to avoid skin cancer.
CASCADING ACTIVATION MODEL
How elite frames dominated journalism framing.
POSTPOSITIVIST APPROACH ON FRAMING THEORY
Useful way to understand and predict media and specific frames’ effects.
CRITICAL CULTURAL APPPOACH ON FRAMING THEORY
Reject narrow focus and has other negative attitudes.
SENSATIONALISM, PROS,CONS
Uses content features and format features to attract the attitude of the audience. Usually used in market-driven journalism. Rise of it – increasing competition on the news market. Started with Penny press/ Yellow journalism.
* Drawbacks: pushes important and objective information away, Reduced news recall – they won’t remember the news later, distracts viewers’ attention, cognitive overload, Interesting > informative stories.
* Pros: can improve the cognitive processing of information in a story, because of significant and sensational features.
EMBEDDED SENSATIONALISM
they talk about a no sensational topics ‘politics’ but they frame it in a way that is becomes sensational, like adding personal drama to gain more viewers. It’s more recent trend – traditional was content like sex, death, fire…
LIMITED CAPACITY MODEL OF MEDIATED MESSAGE PROCESSING
Used to investigate the way in which mediated messages like TV content is processed.
Two major assumptions:
* Viewers are info processors.
* Viewers ability to process information is limited, as they have only limited pool of mental resources.
VALIDITY OF SENSATIONALISM
Sensationalism can be measured by focusing on content and production news features.
* Construct validity – researchers investigate if their construct fits into theoretical framework, if yes, its valid.
* Social validity – what is judged as sensational by the public is also considered as sensational in academic cycle.
TRENDS IN SENSATIONALISM
- Increase in sensational stories in American newscasts, with a decrease in hard news.
- EU also saw increase in sensationalism.
MISINFORMATION
Initially presented as truth but later found to be false – not intended to harm.
Damaging effects: false beliefs with misinformation are often held with strong belief with it, it’s hard to correct in people’s mind.
DISINFORMATION
Initially intended to hurt.
SOURCES OF FAKE INFO
Rumors, myths, fiction, blogs social media, etc.
AGNOTOLOGY
.Study of culturally produced ignorance and misinformation-driven manufactured doubt.
TAXONOMY
Taxonomically organized misinformation allows deeper exploration of root causes.
Flaws into:
* Cognitive
* Motivational/social
By taxonomically organizing provided consequences of each myth, recommended responses.
WHY PEOPLE DENY WELL SUPPOETED FACTS
Fake experts, cherry picking (ignoring significant position), conspiracy theories, unrealistic expectations, etc.
BACKFIRE EFFECT
I believe in something and when someone proving the opposite, I’m sure I’m right.
WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE MIS/DIS INFO
- Continued influence and repeating the same.
- To fill the knowledge gap.
- When explanation is too complex and prefer to believe simple misinformation.
CORRECTING METHODS
- Warn people before about possible occurrence.
- Repeated/strengthen real info.
- Provide alternative explanations.
REFUTIAL VS NONREFUTIAL LECTURES
Non-refutial – teach accurate information without making a reference to misconceptions.
Refutial – explain misconceptions, provide alternative definitions.
DISTORTIAN BIAS
- News about exceptional and extraordinary.
- Event driven.
- Episodic framing.
NEGATIVITY BIAS
- Negative events.
- Negativity is more attractive.
- Not highlighting positive news.
MEDIA BIAS
Consequences:
* news avoidance
intentional: news too negative, low trust, overload.
unintentional: algorithm personalization, increasing media sources.
* distorted worldview.
MALINFORMATION
Comes from the truth but often causes harm.
SPIRAL OF SILENCE (3 assumptions about the public) PROS/CONS
- People have a sense that allows them to know what society in general is thinking and viewing
- People fear to be isolated
- People don’t want to express their minority views, they’ll be less likely to speak out because they don’t want to be isolated from the group
* strengths: has explanatory power, is dynamic, raises important questions concerning the role and responsibility of news media.
* Weaknesses: pessimistic view on media, Ignores other, simpler explanations of silencing.
3 CHARACTERISTICS CAUSING SCARCITY OF PERSPECTIVE
- Ubiquity: everywhere in the world, the media is a source of information
- Cumulation: media repeat stories on different programs across time
- Consonance: the similar values held by journalists influences the content they all produce.
BANDWAGON EFFECT
people follow a trend just because everyone else is doing is, jump on the bandwagon, they want to be successful just like the people on the bandwagon.
COGNITIVE CONSISTENCY
People specifically seek out media messages that correlate with their views on a specific topic. And they avoid messages that challenge them.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Information not consistent with person’ values and beliefs will create dissonance – psychological discomfort.
SELECTIVE PROCESSES
The ways, people try to make information more consistent to them.
SELECTIVE EXPOSURE / RETENTION / PERCEPTION
- Selective exposure
people want to be exposed to media that confirms their views about a topic and they want to avoid media that will give them dissonance - Selective retention
people remember the information best when it is in line with their views about a topic. They maintain your interest and attention. - Selective perception
the mental rewording of a media message so it’s in line with a person’s views about a topic. This way objective messages can become subjective.
ATTITUDE-CHANGE THEORY PROS/CONS
- Strengths: Pays deep attention to process in which messages can and can’t have effects, provides insight into influence of individual differences and group affiliations in shaping media influence, Attention to selective processes helps clarify how individuals process information.
- Weaknesses: Experimental manipulation of variables overestimates their power and underestimates media’s, Uses attitude change as only measure of effects, ignoring reinforcement and more subtle forms of media influence.
HOSTILE MEDIA EFFECT
partisans (people who have a strong view about a specific topic) view media coverage about their topic as against towards their view and friendly towards the other view. They remember the more negative comments about their topic better. They feel this way specifically about the media because they reach a larger audience. So when a journalist covers a topic, partisans suddenly feel they are treated bad.
HOSTILE REPORTING
Critical/aggressive reporting.
RETRIEVAL FAILURE
What piece of news was wrong/right?
SELF-SELECTED PERSONALISATION
situations where people choose to encounter only like-minded opinions, Netflix askes your taste in movies and then provides content for it.
PRE-SELECTED PERSONALIZATION
personalization driven by the internet, adverts, algorithms without the user’s deliberate choice or knowledge.
HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY / BULLET THEORY
The audience is passive and receives whatever media message is presented to them, a message that is intended at the user will always be received, and this message can also change that person’s opinion.
REACTANCE
People don’t like to be told what to think
AFFECTIVE POLARIZATION
you feel more negative about people of an opposing view and feel more positive about members of your own view (political party)
