SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Computer-Mediated Communication, Mass Media, Operationalization
soc lec 5 10/14/2015 6:03:00 PM
Operationalization: A popular culture example
• what is the best movie of the last ten years?
• how will this be determined? How will this be defined and measured?
• on the basis of critics? money grossed? Awards won? Viewer’s reviews?
Number of downloads?
• let's say we choose awards…
• what awards will count? Oscars? Golden globes? Film critics? Screen
guild? Peoples choice? MTV? Various film festivals?
• which awards will count? Will every award be given the same value?
• offering precision on these questions on how “best movie of the last
ten years” will be measured/determined is what operationalization
is about
• end result → having a coding scheme, very specific set of criteria
Mass Media
• helps us forge our very identities, notions of gender, our sense of class,
of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality
• helps shape our vision of the world, our values, how we think, how we
feel, what we believe, what we fear, how we should behave
• major purveyor of normalization
• establishing particular kinds of ideas as "normal"
•
Clicker Quiz
which term refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create
media in a variety of forms?
• Media Literacy
Mass Media Defined
• mass media – refers to print, radio, television, and other computer-
mediated communication technologies
• “mass” implies the media reach many people
• media – speaks to the fact that we are not dealing with face to face
interactions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• communication via traditional mass media – usually one-way, or at least
one-sided (although internet and social media are an example of two-way
communication)
Why the Mass media Grew
• Protestant Reformation promoted literacy
• democratic movements promoted mass involvement
• capitalist industrialization promoted the search for profit
Mass Media as Social Institution
• performs important functions including the following:
• surveillance – what is happening in the world
• interpretation - selection of stories and tell us how we should
respond
• act as agent of socialization
• provide entertainment
Conflict/Critical Perspective
• holds that:
• institutions (such as the news media) and processes (such as
socialization and social control) cannot be understood from
viewpoint of a society as a whole
Political Economy
• mass media favor interests of dominant classes and political groups
• are two ways in which dominant classes and political groups benefit
disproportionately from mass media:
• 1. Mass media broadcast beliefs, values, and ideas that create
widespread acceptance of basic structure of society, including its
injustices and inequalities (dominant ideology and hegemony)
• 2. ownership of mass media is highly concentrated in hands of
small number of people and is highly profitable for them
(CTVGlobeMedia, Rogers, Shaw)
Television: Economy, Culture, and Identity
• Canadian television – largely dominated by American television industry
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Clicker quiz which term refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms: media literacy. Mass media defined: mass media refers to print, radio, television, and other computer- mediated communication technologies. Why the mass media grew: protestant reformation promoted literacy, democratic movements promoted mass involvement, capitalist industrialization promoted the search for profit. Mass media as social institution: performs important functions including the following, surveillance what is happening in the world interpretation - selection of stories and tell us how we should respond, act as agent of socialization, provide entertainment. Conflict/critical perspective: holds that: institutions (such as the news media) and processes (such as socialization and social control) cannot be understood from viewpoint of a society as a whole. Political economy: mass media favor interests of dominant classes and political groups, are two ways in which dominant classes and political groups benefit disproportionately from mass media, 1.
