Richard E. CaplanThe University of Akron

1. Mass Media & Everyday Life

Christopher BurnettCalifornia State, Long Beach

Mass Media in Our Lives

• Average time spent using media each year– More than half of our waking

lives

– More time than we sleep

– Impacts every area of life

• Mass media and American life– Greater influence

– Bigger business

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Average Media Use

Illustration 1.1

Media Earnings Percentages

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Mass Media Today

• The Past: Wired– Needed an electrical outlet

– Limited mobility

• Today: Wireless– WiFi: Wireless Fidelity

– Total mobility

– More choices

• Converged Media– Complex network of media

– Global system

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The Communication Process

• Intrapersonal– Communication within one person

• Interpersonal– Direct sharing of experience between two people

• Mass Communication– Communication from one person or group of persons

through a transmitting device (a medium) to large audiences or markets

Elements of Mass Communication

Illustration 1.3

Mass Media Industries

• Book Publishing– 40,000 titles a year

– Audio books & e-books

• Newspaper– 1500 dailies

• Magazine– 15,000 published a year

– Declining

• Recordings– People over 25 buy CDs

– People under 25 download

• Radio– 13,000 radio stations– Satellite and Internet radio

• Movies– 30,000 theaters, 400 films a

year– DVDs, downloads, overseas

• Television– 1600 TV stations– Subscription TV (cable and

satellite)

• Internet– Newest media– Ad earnings growing

Media are Profit-Centered

• Who Owns the Media?• Concentration of Ownership

– Chains, Broadcast Networks

• Cross-Media Ownership– News Corporation– Owns multiple media formats

• Conglomerates– Corp. that owns more than just media

– General Electric

• Vertical Integration– Controlling related media– Time Warner

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Concentrated Media Ownership

• Media Industry and Acquisitions• Public ownership of media companies: stockholders• Convergence

– Melding of communication, computer and electronics industries

• Deregulation– Since 1980, ownership limitations have been decreasing

Newspaper & Broadcast Properties

• Attractive Investments– 10% profits a year, double the average for manufacturing

company

• Scarce Commodities– Limited number makes them more valuable

• Family Ownership– Selling off inherited media companies

• Easier to buy than to create– Expensive to start up

Pros & Cons of Concentrated Ownership

• Advantages– Employee training

– Higher wages

– Better working conditions

– Greater resources

• Disadvantages– Limits diversity of opinion

– Loss of message pluralism

– Authoritarian corporate culture

Paying the Bills

• Advertising & Consumers– Ads are primary income

for newspapers, radio and television

– Consumers pay indirectly– Magazines receive over

half of income from ads, the rest from subscribers

– Movies, recordings and books profit from direct consumer sales

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The Changing Technologies

• 1st Information Revolution– Pictographs, 3500 B.C.– Phonetic writing, 1000 B.C– Parchment, 200 B.C.

• 2nd Information Revolution – Printing, 1455– Spread of knowledge

• Storability, portability, accessibility

• 3rd Information Revolution– Computer technology– Satellite broadcasts, digital

recordings, global network

• Media History Link

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Time on the Internet

Illustration 1.4

Digital Delivery

• One-Way vs. Two-Way– Classic model of mass communication

• One-way

– New model of mass communication • Instantaneous feedback

• Interactive

• “Dumb” vs. “Smart”– TVs, VCRS = “dumb”– Telephone = “smart”

• Digital communication– Information Bits– Storable information

Digital Network

Illustration 1.5

Mass Media Audiences & Effects

• Mass Media influence– Political institutions

– Social institutions

– Cultural institutions

– Selective Perception• Different people perceive

messages differently

• Few people share identical mass media environments

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Click image to play video

TWPS #1- Why don’t people share identical Mass Media environments?

Critical Discussion

1. In spite of the wonderful advantages created by the Internet, what might be some of the drawbacks?

2. How is digital delivery changing the communications industry? Give examples of how digital delivery is changing consumers’ habits.