CMST 1A03 Chapter 1.2: Readings 1.2 – Ch 1 Media and Society

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Communication Studies
• Course: CMST 1A03
• Professor: Dilyana Mincheva

Document Summary

Readings 1 chapter 1: media and society. Emphasizes the social and media-related variables that inform the process of communication. The larger social environment within which message formulation takes place is termed the encoding context; at the other end is the decoding context. From this perspective, successful communication always relies upon the sender and receiver sharing a common idea or notion of the subject. Sees communication as both structure by and contingent on some shared social element or space. Communication = a cultural form / social practice intimately woven into a larger set of ideas about the world. Univers of understanding within which sender forms communication: encoded content: Selection of actual text, symbols and context for communication: medium. Choice of medium (ie: telephone) and choice of form within medium (ie: storytelling: decoding context. Universe of understanding within which receiver understands communication: decoded content: Selection of framework for and achieved understanding of communication.