mdst1010.files.wordpress.com · author: s jeppesen created date: 10/8/2013 12:31:12 pm
TRANSCRIPT
MDST 1010 AN INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA STUDIES I
Professor Jeppesen
Chapter 3: Media: History, Culture, and
Politics
The greatest power of the media is the power to ignore.
— Sam Smith
The European Roots of Media and Western Society
• Middle Ages: feudal society and the dominance of the Church
• Renaissance: – Return to the classical teachings of ancient Greece and Rome, the emergence of humanism
– Marked by the development of Gutenberg’s prinGng press (1454)
Gutenberg Press • PrinGng press
disseminated ideas and spread literacy among the masses
• New ideas from other regions could lead to social change or even destabilizaGon of states
PrinGng press tension
control • state & church: desire to
control informaGon and maintain elites in power
free speech • the public: desire for
development of voices represenGng different interests, new ideas
The European Roots of Media and Western Society, cont’d.
• ReformaGon: MarGn Luther criGcized the Catholic Church and advocated a more individual relaGonship with God – PrinGng made Bible more accessible, weakening power of Church
• Counter-‐ReformaGon: re-‐establishment of power of Church and state; state control and censorship of prinGng and publishing – John Milton’s anG-‐censorship essay Areopagi)ca (1644)
The European Roots of Media and Western Society, cont’d.
• Age of Reason/the Enlightenment: return to humanism and scienGfic approach – Philosophers: Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Adam Smith – Expanding elite class: the bourgeoisie – Spread of ideas through printed tracts allowed people to challenge aristocracy
The Industrial Revolution, Communication, and Social Form
• Industrial RevoluGon led to development of ciGes and need for improved communicaGon
• Social changes: – shi\ to nuclear family – disGncGon between work and leisure Gme
• The telegraph and telephone ‘shrank space through Gme’
The Industrial RevoluGon, CommunicaGon, and Social Form
• The commodificaGon of communicaGon and informaGon: – a key factor in economic growth and – a divide between ‘haves’ and ‘have-‐nots’
• How does it change the way we interact and organize our social lives?
Photography • Created connecGons to
people and events in far-‐away places
Film • MoGon picture industry found
a niche among urban workers with newfound leisure Gme and disposable income
• A Brief History of Film
Beginnings of Modern Press
– Progression of ownership: a) aligned with (or owned by)
poliGcal parGes b) owned by corporaGons
• Newspapers as communicaGons hub: a) between individuals b) between industry and
individuals
Press = news media; sector of mass media that presents current news to the public
Modern Press cont’d.
• Newspapers shi\ away from poliGcal alliances as: a) readership expands b) adverGsing becomes major source of revenue
• As newspaper readership increases, journalism shi\s from parGsan to ‘objecGve’ reporGng.
• Abempt to abract more readership through photos, headlines, entertainment
Modern Press cont’d. • 3 models of press ownership:
1. private corporaGons • e.g. CTV, Globe and Mail
2. public or state-‐owned • e.g. CBC/ Radio Canada
3. independent media • e.g. the Media Co-‐op, campus radio staGons, etc.
CompeGng interests
Publishers • desired to pursue
profitability, free from state restricGons
Journalists • desired to pursue unbiased
reportage
PerspecGves on the Press
• The press is the ‘fourth estate’: poliGcal watchdog to guard ciGzen rights
• Freedom of the press: in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the US ConsGtuGon, and the UN Universal DeclaraGon of Human Rights
• Is the press becoming dominated by corporate interests?
Perspectives on the Press • Social and poliGcal role of the press – Liberal theory: The role of mass media is to preserve liberal democracy by disseminaGng informaGon.
– Marxist theory: Mass media promote the interests of the dominant class to maintain exisGng poliGcal systems (i.e. capitalism).
– CriDcal theory: Media can be biased or self-‐interested, but generally provide mulGple perspecGves on issues and events.
Who owns & controls media?
• who owns and controls the media in Canada?
• what are some of the possible problems with certain sectors of society owning media?