Mass Media Flashcards
Define mass media
All means of communication, for example
- Newspapers
- News apps
- All social networking sites
- Blogs
Difference between print, broadcast and electronic media
Print = newspapers, things you can physically read in paper form Broadcast = news television shows, for example BBC / ITV news Electronic = news apps, news that is displayed on phones
Why has there been a decline in newspaper readership in the last 25 years?
- New tech
- Less people going out to buy newspaper when you can have it on the TV / apps
Digital divide
WC people may not have access to electronic / broadcast news meaning that they are not educated, or cannot get to the information that middle / upper class people could get
Hypodermic Syringe
Media injecting something into the viewers
Uses + Gratifications approach
Approach to understanding why people seek out certain media
Decoding approach
How media messages are developed / interpreted
Moral panics
The media making society go into a frenzy because of exaggerated crime stories
Folk devils
Person / group who are portrayed to society by the media as deviant and are blamed for certain events
EG = ‘All Muslims are terrorists’
What is the pluralist approach to media ownership and content?
That people will choose what media they want to view, media has no true influence over people
What is the conflict approach to media ownership and content?
Media has a huge influence over people, owned by rich white older men, who have traditional views
= NEW RIGHT VIEWS
What is agenda setting?
Ability to influence the importance placed on topics of public agenda
What is gatekeeping?
People that control what goes into the news, for example the editors
What is norm referencing?
Ability of media to portray some views, behaviour, groups negatively / positively, thereby shaping public opinion
Political Socialisation
Process in which we gain our political beliefs, views and preferences
What influence does mass media have on voting behaviour?
- Choose which stories to cover about politicians
- Bad stories about politicians
COTTLE CASE STUDY
News reporting in 1960s and 1970s hid real problems of racism in Britain
BAKER CASE STUDY
Internet is an important democratic / voting tool as it increases people’s capacity to participate, communicate and circulate lots of different information
Amplification
Making deviant behaviour seem exaggerated
Bias
Prejudice for or against one person or group
Broadsheet
Largest newspaper format, 2 vertical columns
Censorship
Suppression of speech, public communication that may be sensitive or harmful
Content Analysis
Studying a form of communication to understand underlying content
Semiology
Study of how many times a word is used to describe something
Spin doctor
Politician employed to take a spin on news stories
