Mediums and Messages is a resource site for the study of communication and media studies curated and maintained by the students of Washington College.
The Communication and Media Studies program at Washington College prepares students to become discerning media consumers, critical thinkers, skilled writers, and creative storytellers. This site is maintained by Washington College students to provide critical resources to their peers in order to advance the study of communications and media studies.
To the right there is a list of topics, ideas, and concepts germane to the study of communication and media. Each entry is researched, created, and written by students. Click on the link for the concept you’d like to learn more about.
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The Marlboro brand has notably used the association principle to enhance the image of its brand. Transforming to a man’s cigarette in the 1960s, Marlboro often associated its product with strong, masculine images (Campbell, 2017). The product was usually dominated with images of nature, displaying a “lone cowboy roping calf, building a fence, or riding over a snow-covered landscape” (Campbell, 2017). Advertisements do more than just demand attention. Ads curate and push the social and cultural trends that infiltrate the consumer’s mind (Savan, 1995).
been portrayed as sex objects where the women in the ad are usually dressed in revealing clothing. Another controversial use of the association principle is to state that products are “real” and “natural”, especially when advertising cosmetic products (Campbell, 2017). Beauty products that are being advertised usually assures the target audience (women) that the product will make them look and feel more natural. Using these adjectives and associating them with the product, makes the product more appealing.
Each year during the last week of September, libraries and communities work to celebrate Banned Books Week. This week embraces books that have been banned or challenged over the years. “Banned” refers to the selection being taken off the shelf while “challenged” means that someone such as a parent or patron have requested to have the book removed (Petrilli, 2009). This is more common than banning books and happens across the United States. In 1982, Banned Books Week was celebrated for the first time. This was in response to a rise in challenged books across communities (Ballard, 2015). It took off and became an annual event each year.
A list is created each year of the most challenged book. The top ten list from 2007’s included, And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, TTYL by Lauren Myracle, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Petrilli, 2009). Many of these books are popular titles yet have all been deemed not worthy or inappropriate for public consumption by someone or a group in the community. The most popular reasons for challenges include being sexually explicit, containing offensive language, LGBT themes, religious viewpoint and violence (American Library Association, 2013). These are subject claims that people use to justify their value claims.
During this week libraries across the United States work hard to celebrate these books. They are supported by the American Library Association and the Freedom to Read Foundation. Some ways they do this is by creating book displays with the challenged books showcased. There are promotions of it on social media platforms such as Facebook. Communities also hold discussions or readings of these challenged book (Ballard, 2015). Community members are encouraged to read these challenged books through these events to from their own opinion.
the work of fiction meets all three criteria, the Bechdel Test gives it an “A for Approved” rating. The Bechdel Test is often applied to film, but it can also be applied to literature, comics, TV shows and some podcasts. Even day-to-day interactions between everyday people can pass or fail the Bechdel Test (Selisker 2015).
However, the main approach of the Centre was to look at reconstructing the theory of pop culture into one that stated that pop culture is a way of resistance for the marginalized groups of society. Other approaches to investigating cultural studies included ideas from Antonio Gramsci, a leader for Mussolini’s Communist party who was later jailed by the Fascists and in jail, wrote a book called The Prison Notebooks (1948). In this book he describes the way elites maintain power over society using domination and power to create a sense of obedience and consent among the people. Better known as hegemony, this became another main course of study for the CCCS as it turned the focus of study towards mass media and pop culture to study the domination effect that it truly has on society (Sebastian 2017).
By 1973, there were 39 students, the Centre was financially backed by the University, and it began to focus more on its famous “sub-group” model of research. In the academic year of 1975-76, cultural studies was first offered as a M.A. and had over 50 students involved with the Centre. Cultural studies, however, was often misunderstood due to the fact that many of the subject areas were initially regarded by higher ranking colleges of the school and other institutions as irrelevant and unimportant (Connell 2015).
The first American academic institution to open a sociology department was the University of Chicago. The university itself was established in 1892, during the progressive Era. Robert E. Park was a very influential figure in the Chicago school, providing it with new perspectives and urban themes. Other key players were Ernest W. Burgess and Louis Wirth, both interested in the exploration of urban research and sociology (Lutters & Ackerman, 1996).
of our love for our spouse. However, it is not a natural human concept if not for the advertising that we have created that has taught us that “a diamond is forever.” He highlights the transition from an agrarian society to industrialization which has encouraged the transition in advertising to a commodity image system (Jhally 1990). This transition has created the commodity image system in which we are surrounded by images of our potential future and dreams which can be achieved by buying the products advertised.
Franklin D. Roosevelt. The means of this Act was for the Government to regulate telephone, telegraph, radio and other broadcasting forms for the public. Through this Act, the United States Government demanded that those licensed to broadcast do so with the intent of, “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” coming directly from the Act (M.G.F 1935). The Communications Act of 1934 also created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which replaced the Federal Radio Commission.
Hurwitz (1991) describes just how important the Communications Act of 1934 really is for America. He claims that the Act stayed around through the entire technology revolution, mostly in part to its flexibility. The Act gives power to the Federal Communications Commission, but in very loose terms. For example, the quote, “public interest, convenience, and necessity” has a very broad meaning, which allows them to expand on it, under reasonable terms. Not having a clear definition of this phrase caused courts and other officials to argue that it would be unconstitutional for the government to use its licensing power without a clearly defined definition (Brotman, 2017). This also means that the Act is not constricted in any way, which allowed the document to be amended if need. Creating this Act gave the government a basic outline for later acts to come such as the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
reporter Andrea Peterson when discussing Beyoncé’s powerful effect on the Black Lives Matter movement (Peterson 2016). Beyoncé’s online presence has incredible results. Her Instagram account has 77 million followers and she uses the social media platform to address constant dilemmas with racial inequalities in America. (Peterson 2016). One of her latest music videos titled “Formation” was filled with inspirational messages and themes that deal with overcoming racial discriminations (Wortham Morris Caramanica 2016). New York Times titled their review of the music video “Beyoncé in ‘Formation’: Entertainer, Activist, Both?” (2016).
Similarly, in a manner influenced by the fields sociological history, Cultural Studies can also encompass broader analysis of media trends. An example of this kind of Cultural Studies can be seen in Dick Hebdige’s Subculture: The Meaning of Style. In Subculture, Hebdige (1979) presents ways for looking at the political power of youth subcultures in England by observing communities like Black immigrants and white working-class punks, contextualizing their relationships within Marxist and sociological frameworks.
horrendous and a blemish to the beautiful skyline of their city. The Eiffel Tower has evolved to become a symbol of France, being widely accepted as beautiful and timeless by not only all of Paris, but by the whole world.
Minstrel performances date back to the early 19th century when performers would “blacken” themselves to play black caricatures, exaggerating behavior, facial features, and expressions as a form of entertainment (BBC News, 2017). While minstrel performance is associated with a distant past, variations of minstrelsy continue to evolve on social media, television, and film. Internet minstrelsy relies on the anonymity and deregulation of the internet to embody blackness without consequence, often taking the form of unauthentic profile photos and grammatically incorrect African American Vernacular English (AAVE) rather than physical alterations (Jackson, 2014).
giving a side-eye, and various others that rely on the physical reaction to situations through facial expressions and behavior. While GIFs and memes are used for entertainment, it is significant that black images are overwhelmingly popular when searching for emotional and behavioral reactions. Reminiscent of the minstrel performances of the 19th century, digital blackface perpetuates cultural stereotypes of excessiveness.
The encoding/decoding model of communication is a system that describes how media messages are produced, circulated, and consumed by people in society. The model was developed by Stuart Hall, a cultural studies scholar and theorist, in 1973. Hall was an influential member of the Birmingham School and his creation of encoding and decoding has made a major impact on media studies. The main idea of encoding and decoding is that there is a break between the production of a message (encoding) and its reception by a person or a group (decoding). The model is represented by a circuit in which the producer or encoder frames (encodes) the meaning of the message in a certain way. Then, the readers or decoders, receive this message and understand (decode) it according to their culture, positionality (the specific conditions that help create and mold an individual’s position on any matter of topic, whether social, political, cultural, economic, etc.), and/or frame of perception.
Feminist media arguably began with the start of the twentieth century and the women’s suffrage movement. Early feminists such as Alice Paul and Lucy Stone published magazines, including the Suffragist and the Woman Citizen to spread and advocate for the women’s rights movement of the 1910s and 1920s. (Kitch, 200, p.76). Media, primarily in the form of these magazines, played a crucial part in the women’s suffrage movement, using rhetorical techniques to gather support.
nd increased awareness of women in leadership roles coming to be reflected in media. Film, television, and books now portray women as badass warriors and confident intellectuals. Characters like Black Widow and Katniss Everdeen “…demonstrate how action heroines question notions of conventional gender roles…” (Inness, 2004, p.8).
and eventually change again into grindhouses in the 1970s. These new theaters focused mainly on exhibiting exploitation films, and would not last very long. Today, we mostly have mall theaters (began around 1980s) and megaplexes (1990s to mid 2000’s). AMC is one of the largest megaplex chains in the united states (Lieberman, 2016).
In contemporary media, screen technology is proving itself to be an enduring and critical piece of communications and media studies. The fourth screen has been recognized as a more accessible compilation of each of the earlier screening technologies. Therefore, to fully explain fourth screens, we must begin by identifying first, second, and third screens.
Today, fourth screen technologies, such as mobile phones, tablets, iPads, Kindles, Smartphones, and mobile gaming devices have added another dimension to all of this. These mobile devices combine first, second, and third screens into one, unexpectedly smaller device. Fourth screens are distinguishable from earlier screen devices because of both their mobility and their accessibility. Smartphones and tablets are normally very thin and lightweight – something that is very easy to carry with you everywhere. Additionally, these devices provide every screening service in one – movie and television streaming, internet access, mobile applications, video and photography production (Castillo-Pomeda, 2016, p. 1-5). This added connectivity forms a new social culture, coined by Stephen Groening as, “connected isolation” (2008, p.1).
late 1920s and early 30s. It was at this time that Max Horkheimer was the director of the institute and set the groundwork for this school of thought. Many philosophers, economists, and psychoanalysts worked in collaboration on this school and its values, including Theodor W. Adorno, Friedrich Pollock, and Walter Benjamin. These gentleman were largely inspired by theories of Karl Marx (pictured right), and relied heavily on his piece of writing Critique of Political Economy in outlining their values (Wellmer 2014).
In addition, this school of thought recognizes and promotes the idea that in order to obtain such a society there is a necessity for struggle and trials which must be overcome. The main journal of this institute is titled Studies in Philosophy and Social Science (Wellmer 2014).
The Golden Age of Hollywood emerged in part out of the studio system that developed during the early 20th century. Hollywood’s studio system allowed for film to become a major industry and the dominant mass medium of its time. Hollywood’s studio system established the vertical integration of the film making process and turned the film industry into an oligopoly. Subsequently, the film industry became dominated by a small number of studios known as the Big Five. These studios included Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox and RKO. Three other studios known as the Little Three were able to maintain relevance but did not maintain a vertical integration model of operation. These studios were Columbia, Universal and United Artists (Campbell).
Actors and actresses became influential figures during the Golden Age of Hollywood. For example, Mary Pickford was an actress that acted in numerous films and eventually earned herself the reputation of “Americas Sweetheart” (Campbell) and people began to invest their own interest in in her personal life and waited on lines to see her films. Her influence and fame grew so extensively that she even earned higher wages for acting in films. Other influential actors and actresses of this time included Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Greta Gable Chico Marx and Harpo Marx (Salem). These people began to acquire fame at both national and international levels.
There was a growing dependency on and popularity of radio during the Golden Age of Radio as it became a mainstream mass medium. Radios were made accessible to a large number of people from various different socio-economic backgrounds.
Harold Dwight Lasswell Was born on February 13, 1902 and died December 18, 1978. Over the course of his life “he authored more than 30 books and 250 scholarly articles” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica) and made major contributions to disciplines such as Political Science, Legal Education, and Communications.
During the second wave in the 1970s, feminists closed in on what could possibly be the source of women’s oppression (Ingraham, 2017). Chrys Ingraham elaborated on the theory feminists proposed during this time to what is the central fountainhead of women’s oppression :heteronormativity. Ingraham summarizes what most feminists during this time period understood heteronormativity. She states, “They maintain that heterosexuality is really a normalized power arrangement that limits options and privileges men over women and reinforces and naturalizes male dominance” (Ingraham, 2017). Meaning, heteronormativity is a force that reinforces stereotypes about women essentially aiding the fallacy superiority of men over women in all social aspects of life. Heteronormativity forces society to believe that heterosexual behavior is ‘right’ or ‘normal’ behavior and anything other should not be accepted.
the lives of those who identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Many notions of being non-heterosexual as deviant had been moving throughout our social systems for generations. Globally, many ritual practices were passed down from our collective ancestors and are still practiced today. Weddings are ritual practices viewed as a contributor to the furthering oppression amongst both women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The roles used in weddings comes with gender specific aspects that hold people to specific standards if they wish to practice the ritual. For example, the husband must be a man and the wife must be a woman, and both parties have to follow cis-gendered norms. These norms include wearing a suite for the man and wearing a bridal dress for the woman. One article by the name of “Remaking the White Wedding? Same-Sex Wedding Photographs’ Challenge to Symbolic Heteronormativity” talks about how a photographer uses their photographs to juxtapose the dress wear of a non-heteronormative wedding versus a traditional wedding with participants following cis-gender roles (Katrina, 2012). These expectation often in-closes people into a box in which not all people may feel they belong. The very idea of the participants of a wedding having to follow the heterosexual structure automatically discriminates against people who are not a part of such category.
film industry to declare their loyalty and patriotism to the American government as well as to share the names of their colleagues who are suspected of “having politically unfriendly tendencies.” Many film executives, directors, producers, and actors were happy to comply with HUAC and gave up the names of colleagues easily and readily. Amongst these famous names that were friendly with HUAC was Jack L. Warner of Warner Brothers, actors Gary Cooper and Ronald Reagan, director Elia Kazan, and producer Walt Disney (Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. 2017). According to Campbell, Martin, and Fabos (2017), Jack L. Warner even went out of his way to suggest that when film makers poke fun of America’s wealthy, make fun of the political system, or if their movies were compassionate towards minorities then these were signs of communist propaganda.
Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007), was hyperreality and simulacra’s main theorist. Baudrillard was a French sociologist and philosopher from the greater part of the 20th century. His theories were descendant of Marxist theories, although they broke away in an attempt to describe postmodern society. The goal of this departure is to account for postmodern consumer and media culture. In which its images have become more real than physical reality (hyperreality) and its simulations of reality have replaced their originals (simulacra) (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2007). According to Baudrillard, there is an excessive amount of these media images and they have ushered society into a new age, an age of third order simulation. Third order simulation is simulation where signs do not represent the real, but only hide the absence of reality. Connection does not exist between reality and its representations, therefore hyperreality is produced (Laughey, 2007). Baudrillard believed that postmodern America had escaped meaning therefore ushering it into a new age of the hyperreal. Baudrillard claims an extermination of meaning within this hyperreal America. There is no hidden or deeper meaning behind signs anymore, Baudrillard considers these signs without referents. Value judgements are rendered pointless by Baudrillard in postmodern America because any value assigned to them has no meaning in the American hyperreality. This brings a worry of an empty future, one with no real meaning and no real direction. This empty future will only create a continuation of hyperreality as meaning continues to persist as meaningless (Laughey, 2007).
A large part of what constitutes the simulacrum within hyperreality is nonevents. Jean Baudrillard applies this idea of nonevents to war in his book The Gulf War Did Not Take Place. He claims that “the gravity of the non-event in the Gulf is even greater than the event of war” (Baudrillard, 1995). Baudrillard transforms the postmodernist idea of a nonevent into the idea of non-war. He sees everyone as “hostages of media intoxication” (Baudrillard, 1995). We are bombarded by images of war on our screens day by day, and are trapped in this hyperreality as hostage. This directly applies to his overarching ideas of hyperreality and simulacra. Baudrillard also is concerned with the status, meaning, and future of war as it moves from having objective, to having to prove its very existence through its images, he considers this “empty war”. War of excess in which over equipped countries can expend their resources, even human. Baudrillard states that “By the force of the media, this war liberates an exponential mass of stupidity, not the particular stupidity of war, which is considerable, but the professional and functional stupidity of those who pontificate in perpetual commentary on the event” (Baudrillard, 1995). Stupidity therefore is the product of non-war and its media coverage. The elite powers controlling war need stupidity and misinformation to glaze over the entire populous in order for their actions and procedures to be widely accepted.
These of course are a simulated experience. The Rainforest Café is a restaurant that sells itself on its simulated rainforest experience, the dining area is draped in foliage, the Orlando location has a fake volcano and waterfall, and even animatronic animals. The Hard Rock Café is entirely centered on music history and culture, you are surrounded by paraphernalia and music videos through your entire meal. The Cracker Barrel restaurant prides itself on its southern theme and menu, and even has its own country store at every location. In fact, all three businesses have gift shops or stores attached to the corresponding restaurants. The unique experience associated with each business is really just ploy to have you pay for both an overpriced meal, and then spend more in their stores. The same way these businesses simulate alternate experiences during their meal to control our spending habits is a small example of how we and our realities overall are constantly controlled through simulations.
The National Observer contained stories of all topics such as cultural, social, economic, and political issues of the time, mentions Landers (2005), while also giving in-depth analysis and opinions on these problems. The National Observer was first released in February of 1962 and was well received by reviews and critics as a vital part of the interpretive type of journalism and separating it from the other journals at the time (Landers, 2005). There was also reproaches about the National Observer, states Landers (2005), that is still common for interpretive journalism, such as not giving serious stories or trying to persuade readers to have certain opinions on topics. Landers (2005) also discusses that the National Observer, being mainly a part of the 1960’s, is important in speaking about the turbulent times of this era by helping readers inform themselves on the opinions and activism that was defining the times. Helping increase activism of significant issues in society is one of the main reasons why interpretive journalism was created, so the National Observer being a dominant part of that help led to other papers being influenced by this journal.
The New York Times had already started with early forms of interpretive journalism with new reviews and weekly summary side sections beginning in the 1930’s (Landers, 2005). This review news that was a precursor to interpretive journalism was central in this time period because of the Great Depression, informing people of President Franklin Roosevelt’s plans and New Deal economics and learning about the rise of fascism and crisis internationally. Because most editors felt uncomfortable about the subjective process that interpretive journalism gave to journalists, this type of journalism did not become common until the 1960’s because of the issues of the time along with the National Observer (Landers, 2005). When John Denson became the editor of the New York Times in March 1961, he adapted the interpretive journalist style that he had practiced in other journals that he used to work for, Landers (2005) includes. This led to the interpretive style of stories being moved from the side and end of the newspapers to the front-page news stories. And because the New York Times is not only one of the most famous newspapers, but it is also still going on today unlike the National Observer, which went out of print in the 1970’s, it would be influential in the development of interpretive journalism to the modern day. It is important to recognize that interpretive journalism with it opinion and human based stories still holds a deep effect with us today and what we believe in society and vital issues.
Intersectionality can be defined as a way to bridge that gap between two or more identity positions. The article “On Black Feminist Thought: Thinking Oppression and Resistance Through Intersectional Paradigm” states:
multitude of social structures, i.e. power structures. For example the article “The Iconic Ghetto” speaks on how there is notion that the ghetto is known as a place where ‘black people live’ and how this thought has been normalized in our society. This idea is an oppressive notion intersecting both race and class which then generalizes all of those who belong to the race with taking in consideration of the class aspect as well.
materialized real-world example are the social network sites Facebook, and Twitter. These two sites have become the main source for most people, where they can communicate with other people, and receive information such as the global news, current events, entertainment, sports, etc. In the present-day, it is all about easy access to obtaining, and communicating information as quickly as possible, whether nonsense information or important information. It is all right at our finger tips.
He then transferred to Berkeley University and got a bachelor’s degree in journalism. After graduating from Berkeley, he joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and worked with the Austrian and Slovenian resistance groups during World War II. After the war, Gerbner went to University of Southern California where he received his master’s degree in education in 1951 and then completed his Ph.D. in communications in 1955 (Signorielli 2016).
In 1973, he created a paradigm for understanding mass communication. The paradigm had three sections. They were institutional process analysis, message content analysis, and cultivation analysis or theory. He thought that television violence had influenced the public’s perception of violence in their lives and in society making them more fearful and helping them develop mean world syndrome (Signorielli 2016). Gerbner died on December 24th, 2005 in Philadelphia.
Myth analysis is one of the most important methods that can be implemented when analyzing advertisements and marketing campaigns. This is not, however, referring mythology and folklore—at least not in most cases. Rather, myth analysis refers to “a strategy for critiquing advertising that provides insights into how ads work on a cultural level; according to this strategy, ads are narratives with stories to tell and social conflicts to resolve.” (Campbell, Martin, and Fabos, 2017, p. G-7). Essentially, myth analysis is the process by which one analyzes the various narratives presented in advertisements.
According to the book Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication by Campbell, Martin and Fabos (2013), “nickelodeons are a form of movie theater whose name combines the admission price with the Greek word for theater” (p.192). The first nickelodeon was introduced in 1905 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania by Harry Davis and pioneered in America by John P. Harris. The nickelodeon set up the first cinema that the public could attend and watch a moving picture. (Campbell et al. 2013)
According to Thompson and Bordwell’s Film History (2009) “By 1905, films were showing in most of the available vaudeville houses, local theaters, and other venues” (p.26). The rapid multiplication of film theaters was the main trend in the American film industry from 1905-1907. Programs normally running fifteen to sixty minutes, normally using only one projector to showcase the film. (Thompson and Bordwell, 2009). According to Thompson and Bordwell (2009) “Movie going became less a novelty and more a regular entertainment” (p. 26). The front of the theaters were normally decorated with hand-made signs with the names of the films being shown that day and evening. While inside spectators usually sat on benches or in simple wooden seats. (Thompson and Bordwell, 2009)
Objective journalism is a model within the journalism world that revolves around hard facts, instead of opinion. This type of journalism is supposed to be unbiased, which discredits any opinion columns. These articles must include verified facts, and if they aren’t verified, you as the writer are held accountable. It follows the inverted-pyramid style of reporting (Campbell 2017). This model answers the most news-worthy questions at the top and then trickles down to the less significant details. The new reliance on this pyramid ultimately signaled journalism’s break away from partisan tradition (Campbell 2017).
Social media advertising is currently rising in popularity. With many different social media platforms and their worldwide usage, companies are coming up with innovative ways to advertise through social media. This type of online marketing is a “medium in which billions of dollars are spent in the U.S. and around the world” (Sconyers, 2017). In this case, the advertiser will pay the publisher, a celebrity, or social media influencer with a large media presence, to promote their products on the publishers platforms ranging from Facebook to YouTube.
Day’s plan for The New York Sun helped to usher in a business model, and market system, that made print newspapers viable for the new mass medium. In the editors notes of the sun Day said ‘‘The object of this paper is to lay before the public, at a price within the means of everyone, ALL THE NEWS OF THE DAY, and at the same time afford an advantageous medium for advertising’’. Day’s ability to apply these ideas to, and capitalize on, the unique qualities of news media were qualities that have become permanently associated to the modern daily newspaper. They are also the qualities that justify labeling the penny press as a mass medium. (Brazeal)
By 1452, Gutenberg had borrowed enough money to create the first mass-produced book: the Gutenberg Bible. His two-volume Bible allowed average people to read the word of God, thus beginning the Protestant Reformation. There were approximately 180 copies printed at the time and 48 are believed to be intact today. Each Bible was made carefully, beautifully, and expensively. The cost of one book was equivalent to the three times the yearly salary of a clerk at the time.
with how messages interact with the people that receive them. The semiotic school focuses on semiotics which is the science of signs and meanings as opposed to the process school which focuses on the efficiency of messages. The main study in the semiotics school is of text and culture (Fiske, 1982). The photo to the right describes the semiotics of social media and can aptly demonstrate the differences between a process school model and a semiotic school model. Another example of a model of communication that differs from the process school is the ritual view of communication. The ritual view of communication focuses on culture and the maintenance of society. Little focus is put on the transmission of messages but on how well messages can construct and maintain a culture. The ritual view is largely inspired from religion and highlights the activities such as the prayer, the chant, and the ceremony (Carey, 1982).
determine whether a reader will read the whole newspaper or not. Production studies enable individuals to understand new rules and regulations in the industry (Davies, 2018). The continuous changes in technology have highly impacted production studies. For example, newspapers are not read as much as they were read before. Through production studies, all these changes and how they impact the audiences are understood. Production studies analyze the rules for each type of media (Davies, 2018). For example, there are rules for television as well as newspapers. It is also important that journalists understand the type of audiences that they deal with and how they are impacted by the different forms of media. For example, children prefer the use of television as opposed to the use of newspapers.
production. Production studies can be analyzed at the organizational level (Whitney & Ettema, 2003). An organization must develop effective communication strategies that are aimed at doing away with factors such as biasness. For example, an editor must have the ability to choose the best articles that would be published on a newspaper. An organization must ensure that the production team performs highly so that the audience is impressed. Production studies can also be analyzed at the institution level (Whitney & Ettema, 2003). In this case, an institution can refer to a society or the economy. The work of production companies must be in line with the goals of the economy. It means that a production company cannot function effectively if its goals are against those that are set by the economy.
In 1964, German philosopher Jürgen Habermas defined the public sphere as “a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed” (Habermas, 1974, p. 51). Apart from this, he states that public sphere is the bridge that connects society and state (Soules, 2007). Because of the public sphere, individuals can congregate, decide what they need from the state, and then directly express the concerns to the state. The concept of the public sphere evolved in Europe during the 18th Century. During this time the bourgeois, which consisted of white males, was the creator of public opinion (Habermas, 1974, p. 51).
Another, more modern example of a counterpublic is the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter aspires to “build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes” (“About,” n.d.). The counterpublic was created in 2013 due to the acquittal of the murderer of a black, unarmed teenage boy (“Herstory,” n.d.). The movement is considered a counterpublic because the opinion of the public sphere is that there is not a problem in the way black citizens are treated by government forces. The counterpublic’s views, which oppose from those of the public sphere, are what make the Black Lives Matter movement so influential. Like the feminist counterpublic, the Black Lives Matter movement gives a minority group the opportunity to vocalize their needs to the state.
Another way a film may considered queer is if it is either written, directed, or produced by queer people or perhaps when they star lesbian, gay, or otherwise queer actors (Benshoff & Griffin 2006). In many cases queer filmmakers can and do inflect a queer sensibility into their work, even when gay and lesbian characters are not present (Benshoff & Griffin 2006). Thus, a supposedly “straight” film made by a queer filmmaker might be considered a queer film (Benshoff & Griffin 2006). An example of this would be the movie Hairspray which was created by John Waters, a gay man (pictured to the right) (MediaSmarts).
Commission (FRC), which was charged with regulating radio. In doing this, the act superseded the Radio Act of 1912, which had previously given the Secretary of Commerce and Labor regulatory powers over radio communication. The Radio Act of 1927 stands repealed now due to the Communications Act of 1934, which replaced the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
deny broadcasting licenses to anyone. For that reason, the radio waves went largely unregulated. Thus, radio frequencies were becoming increasingly crowded as unregulated stations attempted to be broadcasted on too few frequencies, which interfered with station reception. Therefore, the Radio Act of 1927 was passed to reinstitute order to the world of radio that had become so chaotic under the previous law.
This theory was originally established by Paul Lazarsfeld under the Bureau of Applied Social Research in the Columbia School. Lazarsfeld was an American sociologist who wrote The People’s Choice in 1948, a book on how voters determine their presidential candidate. Co-authored with Bernard Berelson, Lazarsfeld claimed that the media has little influence over the public’s opinion in voting (Danesi 2013). When a person views media content, only the ideas that fit preconceptions are entertained, while counter-claims are disregarded. Lazarsfeld’s and Elihu Katz’s research in 1955 focused on if and to what extent can a medium’s content about a candidate change the beliefs of a voter. In the end, it was discovered that viewers supported the political party information that fit their previously-held ideals. These results showed that a person’s interpretation of media content is based around the values of their social class or group (Danesi 2013).
One example is the stop sign. When approaching a stop sign, the driver comes to a full stop and proceeds to drive again when they have the right-of-way. People produce meaning out of this numerous times to the point where they unconsciously stop without even having to think twice.
Another example is the V sign. Numerous cultures give meaning to this simple hand gesture. Here in America, it is commonly seeing as a peace sign, a photography pose, or the number “2”. But in other countries, the meaning people give the V sign can be the total opposite compared to America’s intended interpretation. Countries such as Australia and South Africa give meaning to this v sign as an insult and disrespect if put up in public settings. In Ethiopia, holding up the V sign means you are supporting a certain political party called “Kinijit.”
This is a painting called “The Treachery of Images” painted by artist René Magritte. In the art piece, it shows a picture of a pipe followed by the words “This is not a pipe” in French. The audience has to decide of what meaning to make out of this painting. Should the audience go along with the text and believe that it is not a pipe? Or should the audience deny the text and instead give meaning to the painting by describing it as an accurate, realistic depiction of a pipe?
This diagram is intended to show where the male and female bathrooms are located. With just three shapes, people gave meaning to these signs to symbolize which gender was allowed to go to which restroom. No matter which part of the world you travel to, it is certain that most countries use the same figures regardless of the language and culture practiced in the region. If a certain gender enters the wrong bathroom, society would shame that person for not understanding the meaning and text of the bathroom figures.
The first steps to the modern MMOG were the Multiplayer-User Dungeon games (MUDs) being played on the Dreamcast. That later became Multi-User Dimension, then finally Multi-User Domain. These precursors to the Massively Multiplayer Online Games started to combine elements of players playing together and working together to achieve a task, at one time. Although, the games were consisted of codes instead of live feed video. (Muramastsu &Ackerman 1998)
The most popular style of MMOG are the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. Within this type of MMOG the avatar is controlled through a 3rd person point of view. The gamer directs his or her avatar through a virtual world that is already set up, and it is up to the gamer to decide the direction and paths to take within that already set up world. Some role-playing games are created like SIMS, where the gamer is an avatar in a world simulated pretty close to the real world, with jobs, businesses, buying houses and living a free virtual life. While others, such as World of Warcraft, are set in a completely made up world with potions and spells, and emphasizes on survival. Another addition to role-playing style gaming is interacting with multiple different avatars as ‘God’. Not playing as a specific avatar, but building and managing multiple singular non-player avatar. An example would be Clash of Clans, a game that gives the gamer full control of building the layout of buildings, and building armies to compete against other ‘Clans’.
The second most popular style of MMO gaming are the Massively-Multiplayer Online First-Person Shooter Games (MMOFPSGs). In which the player interacts with the avatar in the 1st person point of view. These games comprise of both altered-reality simulated virtual worlds, and the reality simulated such as the Call of Duty series. The Call of Duty series of games puts the gamer in both historical battle settings, all the way to futuristic dystopian battle settings. The series also allows the player to play independently on a predestined track outside of the MMOG platform, or go online and play with hundreds of others within the platform.
Like all advertising, social media advertising is to present and sell products as well as sales promotions, direct marketing, advertising, publicity, and create brand awareness (Mercadal 2013). Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram gather a huge amount of information from their users everyday, allowing advertisers to reach specific user by displaying ads for products related to those users’ unique preferences and behaviors (Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. 2017). Online marketing analytics systems allow organizations to view and assess, in real time, the impact of their social media messages. It also allows organizations to personalize and narrow messages for specific demographic segments in ways that mass media cannot (Zhang, J., & Mao, E. 2016). Social media is cost effect because it is completely free for companies to create profiles to gather followers and fans which they can share information or media pertaining for no cost at all. The ultimate success for a company advertising over social media is to go “viral”, meaning their content is continuously shared and disseminated over the internet (Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. 2017).
Dick Hebdige was the first to use this methodology to analyze youth subculture. Hebdige studied under Stuart Hall at the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham. Hebdige extended ideas on subculture from Hall in his book Subculture in which he studied the construction of youth fashion, particularly in 
white punk and reggae subcultures. To Hebdige, style was composed of clothing, make-up, music, and drugs. In both the punk and reggae subcultures he identified a common theme – the rejection of British national symbolism. Style, he determined, represented underlying principles of subcultures. Punk fashion, inspired by the reggae subculture, is composed of “leathers jackets…vivid socks…bum freezers and bovver boots” and “contained distorted reflections of all the major post-war subcultures” (Chavez 2009). Through the use of textual analysis, Hebdige was able to analyze a drastic shift in fashion for certain subcultures.
YouTube reigns as the most popular site for viewing content online such as television shows and movie snippets (and sometimes full-length episodes), as well as user-created content. Competitors like iTunes and Vimeo and streaming sites such as Hulu also offer users access to full-length episodes of professionally produced television shows (Campbell et al., 2017). Since these shows and movies are typically first offered on TV or in theaters, third screens are often used as catch-up services for consumers to view content that has previously aired. This unique ability of third screen viewing on the Internet can make television and theaters obsolete, especially for people who prefer the use of their computer as a viewing platform.
attention and gain the business of a large amount of consumers (Tanakinjal et al., 2017). This can be partially traced to the popular methods of media consumption on computers and mobile devices. Advertisements and marketing are now heavily focused on the Internet and mobile apps in order to tap into the consumers who frequent their computer, smartphone, and tablet screens for media consumption.
The Two-Step flow of communication was originally derived by Lazersfield and a group of sociologist in 1944 (Katz, 1957). Eleven years later Katz adapted the model (Katz, 1957). The original hypothesis of the Two-Step Flow of communication, described a verbal flow of communication. In which mass media flows to opinion leaders and then audience (opinion followers). The opinion followers are more or less disconnected about media landscapes, and therefore take in the information from the opinion holders. There is an interconnection of communication. Factors in this model include: the level of personal Influence, the flow of that personal influence, and the opinion leaders’ involvement with mass media (Katz,1957). The flow of personal influence describes where their certain interpersonal communication ranked higher than others (Katz,1957). Katz stresses that personal influence can be a stronger and more effective influencer than mass media.
degree of interpersonal communications was significantly higher amongst the white community members. This shows that interpersonal relations played a key role in the transmission of a message. In this example, it is more powerful than mass media itself. This directly relates to Katz modernization to the Two-Step flow of communication. Opinion leaders are not just famous nor recognizable people. Upon further studies and research Katz concluded that there are these “opinion leaders” on every level of society (Katz,1957). This is adaptation of the original model suggests that the communicatory process can be transitive.
The success of Yelp is built upon the difference between gratifications sought and obtained. Yelp, the online review site for restaurants and other service-based businesses enables consumers to either recommend or criticize a business based off the expected gratifications sought and the actual gratifications obtained. If a customer finds that their gratification obtained was lesser than the gratification sought, the customer can leave a negative review if the business. If the customer finds that the gratification they obtained superseded their gratification sought, the customer can leave a positive rating of the experience they had with the business.
Gregory (2017) writes about vertical integration within McDonald’s restaurant chain in his business management article written for the Panmore Institute. He shares the thought process behind McDonald’s strategic objective and firmly links it to the multitude of products and businesses in their own supply chain. The restaurant’s cost leadership program guarantees them a hefty market share in the low-cost fast food industry. For example, McDonald’s owns facilities that produce standardized mixtures of ingredients. Also, cost minimization is a financial strategic objective based on the cost leadership.
platform and international appeal. By owning and controlling most of its distribution stores, technology services and content providers, it controls the demand and market for the desired product. As well it controls the major, manufacturing houses and critical components of the production that are needed to make the products. This gives Apple Inc. an instrumental advantage over all other companies in the same industry. “In contrast, most other PC, smartphone and tablet vendors make the hardware (Dell, Toshiba, Motorola, Samsung, etc.), put someone else’s software on it (Windows and Android), add third party services (Google, carrier services, etc.) and then sell it through someone else’s store (Barjarin, 2011).”
Video games are played mostly in order to fulfill psychological needs, and in some instances, these psychological needs becoming fulfilled are what makes them addictive (Babbage, 2014). The most addictive types of games that have been found are Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG’s), such as World of Warcraft, and
Games that reward players for achievements are found to be more addictive, because they are psychologically rewarding to the players. Rewards are found to be even more rewarding if they are unpredictably given. Ultimately, this depends on the game player and their personality, but games are designed to keep their players playing. Games are also made addictive, and are keeping players engaged longer, by adding exclusive rewards to their games. Games such as Call of Duty offer incentives for playing their older games longer, and reward players for doing this by giving them exclusive offers in their newest released game. For example, the release of Black Ops 3 came with a
Video games were first created and popularized in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that video arcades were finally brought to life. An arcade game is a coin operated entertainment machine, and a video arcade therefore, is a public place with a collection of arcade games. This was the next step in gaming technology that had previously been consumed by pinball. Arcades became popular with younger generations by giving them a public place to cheaply play games and hang out. Video arcades created a new social medium between gamers when, for the first ever, players were able to compete with and against each other while standing side by side.
these two proved that the arcade business could be profitable which lead to ongoing efforts of companies to follow. During this era, there was a rapid spread of video arcades and gaming rooms (June, 2013). The most popular companies rose out of the golden era were Atari, Namco, and Sega. The release of Pac-Man in 1980 by Namco is widely considered the most popular arcade game ever released. The arcade business peaked due to the popularity of Pac-man and similar spin offs that eventually created a bubble for the industry.
to Roberts (2002), the six categories of ratings the ESRB created are:
Walter Benjamin was a prominent German cultural critic and philosopher of the Frankfurt School. Benjamin was born on July 15th, 1892 in Berlin, Germany to an upper-middle-class Jewish family. In his youth, Benjamin became interested in culture and anti-authoritarianism. He attended the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium, a prestigious secondary school, and later joined the German Youth Movement. After avoiding World War I by pretending to have a back injury, Benjamin went on to continue his studies around Germany. Benjamin’s studies took him to Bern, Switzerland where he studied philosophy. In Bern, Benjamin became interested in Zionism and fell under the influence of existential and Marxist philosophers Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch. In 1917, Benjamin married Dora Pollak, who gave birth to their only child later that year. Three years later, Benjamin completed his doctoral dissertation on the concept of art criticism in German Romanticism (Bland, 2013).
marriage led Benjamin to pursue a career as a freelance scholar. When the Nazis invaded Germany, Benjamin fled to Paris, France where he continued to write and publish his work. As the Nazis moved into France, Benjamin continued south, finding himself in Port Bau, Spain. Thinking the Nazis had discovered him, Benjamin committed suicide and died on September 26th, 1940.
War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by British author, Herbert George Wells otherwise known as, H. G. Wells (Hume, 1983). This book contains a fictional plotline of a war between mankind and the extraterrestrial race of Martians. H. G. Wells was born and raised in the city of Bromley, Kent, England in 1866 (Hume, 1983). His novel, War of the Worlds was written in the early years of his writing career where he also wrote many others considered to be scientific-novels such as, The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Under the Knife and The Invisible Man (Hume, 1983).
On October 31, 1938, Orson Welles produced and broadcasted War of the Worlds on the national radio. During this time, radios were the most popular medium as they were easily accessible and were more affordable for the average American family as compared to a television set. Orson Welles aired this adaptation of the late H. G. Wells’ scientific novel in the style of radio news (Campbell, Martin, Fabos, 2017: 153). An important note of the opening disclaimer was given prior to the airing of the radio play. However, many people that night missed this essential piece of information. In effect, this led to the mass chaos of people panicking in the whole eastern coast of the United States (Campbell, Martin, Fabos, 2017: 153). Some people reported to the major authorities about an extraterrestrial invasion that was currently taking place, while others hurried to nearby shelters in order to protect themselves of what they thought was to come.
As the “advancement of telegraphs and undersea cables [happened] the news wires expanded to South America in 1874” (Thomas Reuters, 2007). Following the electronic age, in 1923 the use of Reuters went on the radio and spread news rapidly. By “1892 the Western Associated Press split from the New York Associated Press and the Associated Press was formed in Chicago Illinois” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018). As a result of the Associated Press, news was able to travel rapidly, using newspapers and provided individuals with first-hand information surrounding personal stories and stories from other newspapers.
