Linear Theory: Meaning Exists in a Text and Is Waiting to Be Uncovered

4. CONTROL OF 1. MEDIA PRODUCTS Media Influence which have been said to have MEDIA influenced people. We have notes INFLUENCE on 4 such products. key knowledge at a glance THROUGH REGULATION OF MEDIA NEGATIVE CONTENT: INFLUENCE BY 2. RESEARCH INTO 3. THEORIES OF O.F.L.C. A MEDIA MEDIA INFLUENCE MEDIA INFLUENCE PROTECTION OF PRODUCT THE SUSCEPTIBLE Jud Suss and AUDIENCE The Eternal Jew CLASSIFICATION made in the 40s BOBO DOLLS • Bullet/ SYSTEM by German NAZI POSITIVE EXPERIMENT Hyperdermic party to try and INFLUENCE Professors Bandura, Needle Theory influence people BY A against the Jews. Ross and Ross 1963 PRODUCT • Uses and newspaper and news reports Gratification NEGATIVE on Kylie theory INFLUENCE BY A Minogue's Nortel Elks Canada: PRODUCT breast cancer The 1938 radio Tannis MacBeth Williams • Klapper’s resulted in a broadcast of War 1973-1976 Reinforcement rise in women Of The Worlds by being Theory Orson Welles . It screened. is said that it type of text: caused mass • Agenda Setting newspaper & panic. However Effect of Violent Video function theory television news only a proportion Games: Kevin Kieffer, stories. of people co researcher Jessica • Post Modern panicked. Nicoll, Saint Leo theory. type of text: radio University, Florida 2005 POSITIVE INFLUENCE BY A PRODUCT The TAC television commercials reducing the road toll and accidents in Victoria. type of text: television commercial.

THE THEORIES OF MEDIA INFLUENCE

No theory is correct it is a lens or binoculars through which we look at the impact and influence of the media. Reception Theories: what the audience does with the Cultural Effects Theories: what the media do to media people -media not powerful -audience is active -media is powerful The following theories we have studied are reception -audience is passive theories- The following theories we have studied are cultural Uses and Gratification Theory and Joseph Klapper’s effects theories- Reinforcement theory Bullet/Hypodermic Needle theory and Agenda Setting theory

Postmodern theory belongs to neither of the above categories. IT IS NOT a reception theory or a cultural effects theory. Post modern theories ‘sit on the fence’ in the middle.

Linear theory: Meaning exists in a text and is waiting to be uncovered Semiotics theory: Meaning arises from the interaction of a text with a reader

Nature of Media Influence : How is the audience affected by the media? By what method? Extent of Media Influence: How much is the audience affected by the media? To a large or small degree?

1. BULLET /HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY 1920s-1940s (cultural effects) Originated in USA during 1920s and 1930s Popular in the 1940s Media very powerful Media texts: CLOSED Audience: PASSIVE The media is highly influential and audiences are seen as ‘sponges that absorb the media without interference. • Linear Model (Sender => Message => Receiver)

2. Uses and Gratification Theory: 1940s to 1960s (reception theory) Media not powerful Media texts: OPEN Audience: Active Originated in USA in 1940s It’s what the people do with the media – rather than what the media does to people – that counts. The public uses the media to gratify desires – whether they desire entertainment, relaxation, information, etc. -own choice of media, audience select and omit • Linear Model but message not necessarily received 3. Joseph Klapper’s Reinforcement Theory: 1970s (reception theory)

Media not powerful Media texts: OPEN Audience: Active

In Klapper’s opinion-audience doesn’t have as much power as family, peer group, etc. According to this theory, the media is seen as having little power to shape public opinion. Other factors (referred to as ‘socialising influences’) play a greater role in shaping people’s beliefs and attitudes such as the influence of family and peer groups, religion, social class, education, occupation, etc. Sociologist Joseph Klapper basically agreed with the Uses and Gratification Theory in that the media is not seen as being all-powerful and that the meanings in texts are open to interpretation by the audience. However, Klapper’s theory differs in one important way: Klapper considered a range of influences upon audiences, of which the media was only one. Klapper argued that these socialising influences were responsible for a person’s beliefs and behaviour, and that the media can only play a role by ‘reinforcing’ these beliefs and attitudes. The audience will simply ignore messages that contradict their view of the world. Klapper introduced a new concept to the media communication debate: he argued that the influence of the media can be much greater when the media explores issues that have not been talked about before. In these circumstances, there is no pre-existing value or belief in the audience. Only on these rare occasions can the media slightly influence the public for a short time, until other sources of influence in society become aware of the issue. At that point, Klapper argued, the network of social factors will again become the dominant influence shaping public opinion. As a result of his research, Klapper generalised that mass communication cannot be considered in isolation but must be seen as an influence working amid other influences. ‘New’ media messages will eventually be adopted or rejected by more conventional influencing elements (such as peer group and family), which will then become the dominant factors in personal beliefs.

• Semiotic model as meaning arises depending on interaction with reader and their particular set of socialising agents

4. AGENDA SETTING THEORY 1970s (cultural effects theory)

Media is powerful Media texts: OPEN Audience: ACTIVE (but passive towards the agenda that is set for them)

The media cannot tell us what to think but it can tell us what to think about. This theory is defined as the process whereby the mass media determine what we think and talk about. In other words, the media can ‘set agendas’ or terms of reference of any discussion be it social, political or economical. -“gatekeeping”-selection and omission of information.

• 4 Levels of reading dependant on both text and audience: • 1st - Dominant Preferred - audience receive intended message • 2nd - Oppositional - audiences views stop or block intended message • 3rd - Negotiated - audience see both sides (intended & oppositional) & debate within themselves • 4th - Aberrant - Audience don’t understand - no message received

• Semiotic model - as meaning arises from interaction with audience and the way they interpret “signs” used by the Media

5. POST MODERN THEORY 1970s to today Developed in France during the 1970s and 1980s. Postmodernism reflected the social values of the 1980s-every individual has his or her own way of reading a media product. Everyone’s response is unique. Postmodernists argue:  There is no single meaning in the text itself.  The meaning of the text resides in the viewer  Everyone’s opinion of a text is equally valid  Can’t talk about a particular media product having a major influence over everybody because everyone has their own unique way of interpreting it.  There is no such thing as a dominant/preferred reading. Readings are more often negotiated or oppositional- audiences make their own meanings. (eg: Last year while watching Australian Idol-there was a joke involving the 24 television series- 24 joke-split screens and a clock-I laugh at it because it’s sending up “24”-my 6 year old has never seen 24 and so she makes meaning in a different way. Another example is Shrek2 when Puss in Boots is in Shrek’s jumper and is trying to get out-I laugh because it is a joke about Aliens-my 6 year old laughs because the cat looks funny but has never seen “Alien” (I’m not that bad with my kids and the media)

Some examples of post modernist media influence theories: Reception Analysis Reception Theory was developed by Stuart Hall, British media theorist: The meaning of the text lies somewhere between that framed or encoded by the producer of the text and that decoded by the audience. Meaning is negotiated by the audience and the audience either chooses to accept all or part of the meaning intended by the media producer. Alternatively the audience may set up an oppositional reading to the text. Readings vary depending on the social and cultural background of the audience. Media has neutral power Texts are open Audiences are active

SUMMARY OF MAJOR MEDIA INFLUENCE THEORIES 2007 written by the class

HYPERDERMIC NEEDLE/ BULLET THEORY  mass media inject their messages straight into the viewer’s head.  passive viewers are immediately influenced by the messages.  there is only one way for an audience to read a particular media text.  emerged from Marxist Frankfurt school of intellectuals in the 1930s to explain the rise of Nazism in Germany.  mass media in the 40s and 50s was perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change.  the hyperdermic needle model is a model of communications also refered to as the ‘magic bullet ‘ perspective. Essentially this model holds that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver (audience member)

WEAKNESSES OF THE THEORY  the fatal flaw of the bullet theory is that it ignores matters such as interpretation which are crucial aspects of the communication process.

EXAMPLES WHICH MAY BE THOUGHT TO BE LINKED TO THIS THEORY eg; 1938 War Of The Worlds- panic from some of the listeners. This became known as ‘the panic broadcast’ and changed broadcast history, social psychology, civil defense and set a standard for provocative entertainment. However the story of the panic induced by the broadcast was also a ‘beat up’ by the media of the day. Most of the American public who listened to the broadcast did not panic. This incident served as an example to reinforce the fears of media influence from Radio on the audiences of the day.

USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY 1940s-1960s  audience makes meaning  media has no power, can’t tell the audience what to do .  audience takes what they want from the text  some elements of the theory are still used to this day.  audience makes the choices on how long, when, how often they will engage with the media- and this is why it is the audience that determine the media content. (through example ratings)  factors that influence the audience are group membership and audience interest.  audience uses the media to gratify their own needs and purposes.  1940s-60s-media has no power over people’s attitudes and beliefs.  theory arose in the 40s and had a revival in the 70s & 80s through the work done by Blulmer and Katz Dependancy Theory.  this theory is concerned with what people do with the media rather than what the media does to the people  texts open to interpretations.  not all audience will buy into the message.  audience are active media users  people use the media to their advantage more often than the media uses them.  audiences’ gratification can from 3 sources: 1. media content 2. exposure to the media 3. social context (the way it is viewed in)  audience is perceived as goal oriented and attempt to achieve goals through the media.  the audience are aware of their choices and motives and can explain them.  gratifications can be obtained from a medium’s content , from familiarity with a genre within media from social context in which it is used.

 people’s needs influence how they use and respond to a medium.  Uses and Gratification focuses on why people use particular media- what people do with the media  audience are not passive and act as individuals  they consume text for different reasons and in different ways.  the same television program may gratify different needs for different individuals- different needs are associated with individual personalities, stages of maturation, backgrounds and social roles.

STRENGTHS OF THE THEORY  the strength of this theory is that it treats the audience as individuals.

WEAKNESS OF THE THEORY  it doesn’t support the media of having any influence.  If the media has no influence then how can the success of advertising be explained?  One main criticism is based on the idea that the audience is completely active, in many cases people turn to viewing the media as a result of habit-this factor is not mentioned in the users and gratification theory.

JOSEPH KLAPPER’S REINFORCEMENT THEORY • The media does not introduce new ideas only strengthens old beliefs • Media is seen as having little power to shape public opinion. • More than 1,000 studies used between 1940 – 1960 to find what effect published news media had on the public. • Emerging generalisations: 1. Mass communications not sufficient cause of audience effects, rather just a small factor. 2. Mass communications= contributing factor to media influence, on its own is little effect. 3. Mass communication is subject to change 4. Mass communication can affect the sub conscious 5. Mass communication having contributory or direct effect depends upon existing public opinion. • All 5 generalisations above are feasible but are purely subjective and effect every individual differently. The best features of the theory is that it gives a good understanding of processes and affect. • The 5 powerful socialising agents according to the theory are: family, peer group, schools, social class and occupation and are more influential than the media.

STRENGTHS OF THE THEORY The theory takes into consideration individual differences.

WEAKNESS OF THE THEORY It puts the onus on the individual rather than on the media. ( makes out the media is too weak)

AGENDA SETTING FUNCTION THEORY • 1970s- introduced in 1972 by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw, sparked by the study of the role of the media in the 1968 presidential campaign in America. • The media can not tell us what to think but it can tell us what to think about. • The majority of the public will accept the dominant or preferred reading of the text. • The media presents information in a certain context • No matter what other media outlet presents the same information, it is always thought of in the first context we saw it in. • The minority of the public will have an oppositional or negotiated reading of the text. • Agenda Setting Function theory has multiple components: Media agenda-issues discussed in the media Public agenda- issues discussed and personally relevant to members of the public Policy agenda-issues that policy makers (govt.)consider important Corporate agenda- issues that big business and corporations consider important.

• Gatekeeping-there is control over the selection of content discussed in the media. (what the audience know and care about is a product of gate-keeping. Gate keeping is a term that is symbolism for the media closing the gate on certain pieces of information and keeping it from the public. The 911 reporting was an example where gatekeeping was seen to be done from the point of view of violent images and also keeping from the American public the reasons behind the attack, not showing the American public the civilian devastation in Bagdad after it was bombed is another example of gate keeping. • Priming-prior context affects personal interpretation of information. • Framing-the process of selective control over media content or public communication. –Defines how a certain piece of media content is packaged so it will influence particular interpretations. • -media has the ability to tell us what is important. • Where is it used? Political advertising, political campaigns and debates, public relations and legal systems • Predictive power-if people are exposed to the same media, they will feel the same issues are important.

STRENGTHS OF THE THEORY • Numerous examples can be used as it covers a wider range of ideas.

WEAKNESS OF THE THEORY • People who have already made up their minds about something-agenda setting is less effective. • Claims that media is the one in control, not just the individual.

POST MODERN THEORY

• Texts are open to interpretation • Meaning is produced by the readere, so all interpretations are different • Media’s power over the audience is minimal, cannot influence the public. • Can influence the individual • It cannot be measured to what extent this influence on the individual is. • Developed in 70s and 80s in France, reflecting social values of the period ( people are self-interested in this period) • Everyone reads text in their own way. • Everyone’s response is unique, but can change over time • Texts don’t change opinions and interpretations do. • No single meaning in a text-meaning is interpreted by the viewer • There is no authority on an issue-everyone’s opinion is valid. • No dominant reading-audience makes their own meaning. • Post modernist theory does not group everybody’s response as the same they keep in mind that everyones response is unique and change over time.

SEMIOTIC CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY • Audience are active but texts are read according to social codes and conventions and signs • Semiotics-the study of signs and symbols in texts. We can deconstruct these signs to discover audience interpretation.Example of colour white-western society: purity, worn at weddings/ Eastern culture-mournign worn at funerals. • Accordingly texts are constructed to provoke certain audience responses. As such characteristics of foreign films might go right over the heads of Australian film watchers because they were not raised on the subtle cues embedded in the text. • Rather than explicitly depicting violence, directors such as Hitchcok used semiotic codes to convey the idea of violence without shedding blood on the screen. • The audience is active, they understand the signs or codes in a text based upon things that are normal in their culture. • The study of codes and conventions symbols and signs in visual texts is called Semiotics which picks them apart to see how the audience could interpret it. • Media texts are created by producers to provoke particular responses (emotions, etc) in audiences. These responses are a result of the culture of society. Eg: a black spot means nothing to us but in the pirate culture created in the reality show: “Pirate Master”-the black spot is a symbol of being eliminated ( and in olden days the black spot symbolised impending death for the pirate.)

AUDIENCE RECEPTION THEORY • Reception of the text depends on How the audience receives the text Whether the audience can be distracted while receiving the text. • Environment surrounding the text can change audience reception of the text (example a movie in a cinema can seem different to the audience member when they watch it again on a smaller screen on the t.v. in the kitchen) • Individual audience members’ interpretation of a media text depends on their inter textual references: • INTER TEXTUAL REFERENCES Real life experiences Other media texts Other understandings drawn from other sources • A particular audience members’ interpretation of a media text can be influenced by a variety of inter textual references • The audience reception theory is another way of saying that different individuals can interpret the same information, but be affected or understand it differently to another individual. • This theory basically states that just because the same information is shown to many individuals, doesn’t mean that these individuals will all be emotionally affected in the same way. Eg: If 2 people went to the cinemas to see “Superbad”, one could think that it’s low class humour, whereas the other person could think it’s derogatory social commentary.

STUDY/RESEARCH (WHAT & WHO) NO.1 1. Bandura’s BoBo dolls: Professors Bandura, Ross and Ross 1963 Research done on preschool children. TYPE OF RESEARCH (HOW)

Type of research: EXPERIMENTAL/LABORATORY

FINDINGS

-kids mimicked the adult behaviour-they thought because the adults did it that it was the right way to behave. -children who saw the film of the adult attacking the bobo doll were more likely to be aggressive than the ones who didn’t see the film. -children copied the aggression when the adults in the film were rewarded for their behaviour.

MODELS/THEORIES SEEMS TO SUPPORT Hypodermic theory : Seemed to show that by watching the violent film the group of children immediately responded by being violent. Therefore the violent film caused their aggression. Agenda setting function theory: By setting up an agenda of violence towards the doll the children were affected.

DIFFICULTIES & FAULTS WITH RESEARCH -THIS WHOLE EXPERIMENT IS GREATLY FLAWED WITH MANY ERRORS WITHIN IT. IT DOES NOT PROVE VIOLENT FILM CAUSES VIOLENCE -criticism –reinforcement-the kids were violent before -variables that may have impacted on the research ie: violence in the home, programs their parents watch, the behaviour in the home may have impacted on the children.

-bobo doll is designed to be hit.

-the actual setting is not related to where the children feel comfortable and also artificial setting. -children are likely to give the response that adults want them to-to please the adults.

-violence isn’t usually rewarded and the kids were rewarded in this case.

-location wasn’t what the kids were used to and this could have manifested their behaviour.

2. Nortel Elks Canada: Tannis MacBeth Williams 1973-1976

TYPE OF RESEARCH (HOW) Type of research: LONGITUDINAL 1973-1976 The town was introduced to television at the beginning of her study and the focus of the study was to measure if there was a rise in aggression with the children.

FINDINGS Found increase in aggression in one Canadian community (introduced to TV) compared 2 other communities without tv. The community without television showed no increase in violence. Other findings: Increased aggression, Reduced sporting activity Drop in acquisition of literacy (kids slower to learn to read) Decreased creativity MODELS/THEORIES SEEMS TO SUPPORT

Cultivation theory (flack page369) -media has an affect overtime. DIFFICULTIES & FAULTS WITH RESEARCH

Uncontrolled variables-new highway had arrived in town-what effect did this have on the community. Eg: road rage, increased strangers in town, noise pollution. It is hard to know if the results are peculiar just to the town or can be generalized to the rest of Canada. -expensive research over a long period of time. -independent variables not able to be well controlled. Williams assessed the total amount of tv viewing, not the amount of media violence to which the children were being exposed.

3. Effect of Violent Video Games: Kevin Kieffer, co researcher Jessica Nicoll, Saint Leo University, Florida 2005

Type of research: META ANALYSIS ( looking at other people’s research into the area and coming up with a conclusion. Assess media influence by combining a large number of studies)

FINDINGS -discovered playing violent video games caused players to act more violent in the short term. Children were desensitised to violent content. High level of video game play resulted in children being more likely to be involved in aggression- they had a greater number of arguments with authority figures. -participants who played the games were more aggressive in the retaliation period of the study compared to kids who played non violent games. -another study found that children who indulged in violent video games were less helpful to other children at play time. -boys were more likely to play these games more often than girls. MODELS/THEORIES SEEMS TO SUPPORT Bullet theory-makes the player violent after playing the violent computer game Reinforcement theory-reinforces the violent tendency which was already present.

DIFFICULTIES & FAULTS WITH RESEARCH

-no control over the way original studies were carried out -there could be researcher bias attached to the studies they looked at. -short term study-no long term effects of violent computer games were studied. -highly selective, researchers ignored studies that contradicted their own views.

FOR DEFINITONS OF RESEARCH & OTHER STUDIES REFER TO FLACK PAGE 386-387. DO NOT FEEL RESTRICTED TO THESE 3 & THE KYLIE MINOGUE BREAST CANCER & THE TAC CAMPAIGN. RESEARCH THE INTERNET AND YOU WILL FIND 1,000 OF RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTS-CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND I WILL HELP YOU TO LINK IT TO THE THEORIES.