Quiz 1 (Chapters 1 and 2) Flashcards
Interpersonal Communication
Two people communicating face to face, or through texting or skype (technology)
Group Communication
Involves more than two people in person or through group chat. A larger group in which one person or a few people dominate the process of communicating ideas.
Mass communication
Technology assisted communication that involves sending messages to large and heterogenous (& eclectic) faraway audiences. Lacks immediate feedback - feedback delayed.
Feedback
Response to a message
Harold Lasswell Model
Pick any media message. Ask these four questions: Who says what? In which channel? To whom? With what effect?
Levels of Communication
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Group/Public
Mass
Intrapersonal Communication
Communication with ourselves.
Motivation for mass communication is
Economic or political
4 types of mass media
Print media/technology
Chemical media/technology (celluloid film - cinema)
Electronic media/technology (TV and radio)
Digital media/technology (internet)
Singular of media
Medium
Two key terms of the mass communication process
Redundancy and Entropy
Redundancy
Repeating. Redundancy of content (advertising) and form/format (TV show, graphics, genre)
Entropy
Creation of something new. Risky. If entropic idea works, it eventually becomes redundant (copied)
Simplest form of communication
1 to 1 communication
Shannon Weaver Model of Interpersonal communication
- Stimulation (stimulated to communicate)
- Encoding (choose the words)
- Transmission (say the words)
- Reception (hearing the words)
- Decoding (Know what the words are)
- Internalization (personal understanding of the message)
Limitation of models
Too simple to fully represent reality - Zillions of messages.
The Concentric Circle Model illustrates what?
The obstacles that a mass communicated message has to go through to reach the audience.
Essential components of Concentric Circle Model
Gatekeepers, Regulators, Gatekeeper-Regulator hybrid, Media Amplification
Gatekeepers
Media people who control what message the audience gets. Due to limited space and time.
Regulators
Non-media people
Official regulatory bodies and their committees.
Influence what we hear and see.
CRTC
Canadian Broadcasting Regulator
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
Gatekeeper-regulator hybrid
Self-regulatory bodies and their committees.
Why Canada has Gatekeeper-regulator hybrids
We don’t like too much gov regulation in Canada. Corporations ask the government to have few regulations, and instead self-regulate.
Examples of gatekeeper-regulator hybrids
CAB/CBSC (Canadian Broadcast standards council), Press councils, Advertising Standards Canada
Media Amplification
Media coverage increases exposure/legitimacy of individuals, issues, etc. Media can amplify a message to a large audience. (made possible by technology)
Two types of Communication Impediments
In-process impediments (noise) and deciphering impediments (filters)
Noise
Transmission interference
Types of Noise
Semantic
Channel
Environmental
Semantic Noise
Not expressed properly, misspoken
Channel Noise
Transmission is broken up in some way, usually due to technology.
Environmental Noise
Distraction from environment
Filter
Receiver Interference
Types of Filters
Informational
Physical
Psychological
Informational Filter
lack of knowledge impedes decoding of the message (ie not knowing English)
Physical filter
Physical ability impedes deciphering message (hearing impediment)
Psychological filter
emotional or ideological state impedes deciphering of the message (different political view). Relationship that you have with the receiver important.
Points Model Situations
Linear Communication, Mass Communication, Web Communication (internet)
Linear communication
A to B (like telegraph). Sender controls the message.
Mass Communication
Message from centralized A sent to many Bs. Sender controls the message.
Problem with mass communication points model
There should be a few As (centers) instead of one. And a lot more Bs.
Web communication
Every point in the network can send and receive messages. The recipient has access to every point and can control what is received.
Founders of the Toronto School or Canadian School of Communication
Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan.
Common thing between Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan
They were both determinists
Determinists
Believed that the physical form of the communication determined its psychological and social effects.
Marshall McLuhan famous phrase (and adaptation)
The medium is the message, the medium is the massage
Hot media
Fully engages your attention - print media and cinema
Explain the medium is the massage
When someone gives you a massage, they want to bring your defenses down. The media seduces us with the prettiness (to take advantage of in advertising)
How did rulers stay in power according to Harold Innis?
Through their “monopolies of knowledge”
Communication Bias
Harold Innis’ theory that a dominant media can influence a society for a time and space.
Harold Innis said that the shift from oral to literate communication changed what?
Changed the control of information, how societies expanded, etc.
Media Ubiquity
We are constantly exposed to media today
Mass Media
The vehicles which are used to transmit a message to a mass audience.
CRTC role
Ensures that Canadians are seen and heard on Canadian Media
Average number of hours that we are involved in media activity per day
5 hours (indicated by Ball state study)
Ball state data included what type of information?
Technology-assisted interpersonal communication and mass communication.
concurrent media usage
Media multitasking - individuals using different media at the same time.
John Milton
Wrote Areopagitica - in favor of free expression (marketplace of ideas).
Reasons we need media
Personal dependence (like the weather), information (news), entertainment (drama), persuasion (public debate/advertising)
marketplace of ideas
Exchange of ideas leads to a better consensus.
Inescapable symbiosis
Media needs audience, audience needs media.
8 dimensions in the range of communication influence
Social, Political, Economic, Educational, Cultural, Technological, Familial, Individual
What determined the dimensions in the range of communication influence
UNESCO report
Society
People living in a common territory with a common culture that interact and connect with each other.
Social Dimension
Mass communication fulfills a social need (unification). Mass media conveys a sense of connectivity by telling stories in a specific perspective and linking people.
Political Dimension
Mass communication is a political instrument. Politicians carefully use media to get their message out. More powerful politicians have greater control over their message in the media. News media have, to a certain degree, influence over the political process.
Economic Dimension
Economic Forces dominate mass communication. Business interests dominate everything that media companies do (Disney)
Why Canadian TV shows suck compared to American ones
Economic factors. Canadian TV shows can not make a profit - not enough money to produce good shows. Canadian radio and tv channels can maximize profits by showing as much American content as possible.
Educational Dimension
Mass communication has educational potential. This potential may not be realized.
Examples of educational programming
Sesame Street, Discovery Channel
Problem with Sesame Street
Slowed down attention span development of kids, as it was made for the attention span of kids of a specific age, with its relatively fast and short segments.
Cultural dimension
Mass communication can serve as both an impulse (drive) and threat to culture.
Technological Dimension
Mass communication involves a technological dilemma.
Technological Dilemma
Mass communication develops so quickly that it is difficult for society to catch up in terms of developing new technologies. Another problem: Cultural lag. Society takes time to adapt to new technologies and understand their consequences.
Cultural Lag
The delay between the implementation of a new change in the society’s culture to the rest of society catching up.
Familial Dimension
(or primary group) - Mass communication changes the dynamics of the family (or primary group). Every time a new form of mass communication enters the house, it brings a family closer or further apart (changes how we interact). Mass communication affects the power and influence that families have - it has become a very powerful agent of socialization.
Individual Dimension
Mass communication aids and constrains the development of individual identity. Mass media is an agent of socialization that tells us not to behave in certain ways (constraint). Mass media also presents stereotypes, making us see others and the world in the same way (what is attractive, etc.)
event that happened in 1927
Diamond Jubilee - Radio broadcast Canada
Moral Consensus
What society considers as acceptable or inexcusable.
What contributes to moral consensus?
The media
Melding
Distinctions between media are becoming blurred as a result of digitization of content. Reading a book vs reading a Kindle.
Mass media trends
Melding, demassification, and creation of new media
Demassification
Shift away from general masses to specialized/segmented audiences. Narrowcasting. Multiple delivery methods for same content (pay per view)
Narrowcasting
Targeting niche audiences. Advertisers spend less money on a single large channel.
Development of new media challenges…
Mainstream media (MSM)
How do book publishers earn money?
Readers, Movie rights
How do movies earn money?
Advertising and product placement.
Revenue Streams
Ways of making money
Types of revenue streams
Circulation and Advertising revenue, and government subsidies.
Circulation Revenue
Revenue from audience: Donations, subscriptions, etc.
Newspapers care about this
Circulation numbers, not revenue, because of advertising, which is where they earn most of their income, as distribution is expensive.
Government subsidies
Media is subsidized by Canadian government to help them better compete in external markets. + Public broadcasting.
Government subsidies have been doing this over the past few years.
Decreasing.
Revenue sharing process between subsidiary and large corporation
Before a small subsidiary can get enough circulation to get enough advertising revenue, the parent corporation agrees to allow it to operate in the red (at a loss) until they build their audience.
Corporate Structures
Conglomeration and Convergence
Consolidation of Media chains
A small number of independent groups get bought out or get together to form a larger group - become a more powerful player.
Another term for conglomeration
Concentration of Ownership
Conglomeration
horizontal integration/chain ownership. A whole type of media owned by a single group
Postmedia News Chain
Collection of newspapers across Canada, including the Montreal Gazette and the National Post.
Benefits of the Gazette being part of the Postmedia News Chain?
The Gazette doesn’t have to worry about reporting something on the other side of Canada. Can use other newspapers’ resources.
Convergence
Vertical integration of media conglomerates. Grouping of many different types of media.
Examples of Convergence
Rogers Media (Sportsnet, MacLean’s), Shaw, Bell Media (CTV, CHUM Radio), Quebecor (Sun Media)
A big reason for media consolidation
Companies want to control content providers and content distributors, so that they can offer consumers access to their content everywhere, anytime, and on any device.
Critic of media consolidation
Ben Bagdikian
Ben Bagdikian’s criticisms
Consolidation of media allows companies to control the entire process: from manuscript to the film on our screens. Hinders diversity of mass media messages.
Digital technology
Digital technology codes messages into 1s and 0s for transmission, and then decodes them into their original appearance.
Media Convergence
Melding of print, electronic, and photographic media into electronic form.
Media Convergence process
Distribution, Devices, Distinctions, Production, Democratization
