MASS MEDIA ( THEORY CLUSTERS)

Mass media

1. Agenda setting Theory

History And Orientation

• ·       Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence of the media – the ability to tell us what issues are important.
• ·       In the research done in 1968 (McCombs & Shaw) they focused on two elements: awareness and information.

Core Assumption And Statements

CORE

•  Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media.
• ·Two basis assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting.

1.   the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it
2.  media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues

• ·      One of the most critical aspects in the concept of an agenda-setting role of mass communication is the time frame for this phenomenon.
• ·        Different media have different agenda-setting potential. 

STATMENTS

• ·      Bernard Cohen (1963) stated: “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.”

Favorite Methods

• ·        Content-analysis of media, interviews of audiences.

Scope And Application

• ·      -Just as McCombs and Shaw expanded their focus, other researchers have extended investigations of agenda setting to issues including history, advertising, foreign, and medical news.

2.  KNOWLEDGE GAP

INCREASING GAP BETWEEN HIGHER AND LOWER EDUCATED PEOPLE

History And Orientation

• ·    The knowledge gap theory was first proposed by Tichenor, Donohue and Olien at the University of Minnesota in the 70s
• ·    They believe that the increase of information in society is not evenly acquired by every member of society: people with higher socioeconomic status tend to have better ability to acquire information (Weng, S.C. 2000).
• ·         This leads to a division of two groups: a group of better-educated people who know more about most things, and those with low education who know less
• ·    Lower socio-economic status (SES) people, defined partly by educational level, have little or no knowledge about public affairs issues, are disconnected from news events and important new discoveries, and usually aren’t concerned about their lack of knowledge.

Core Assumptions and Statements

• The knowledge gap can result in an increased gap between people of lower and higher socioeconomic status. 
• Mass media might have the effect of increasing the difference gap between members of social classes

Tichenor, Donohue and Olien (1970) present five reasons for justifying the knowledge gap.

1. People of higher socioeconomic status have better communication skills, education, reading, comprehending and remembering information. 
2. People of higher socioeconomic status can store information more easily or remember the topic form background knowledge
3. People of higher socioeconomic status might have a more relevant social context.
4. People of higher socioeconomic status are better in selective exposure, acceptance and retention
5.  The nature of the mass media itself is that it is geared toward persons of higher socioeconomic status.

Favorite Methods

• ·         Surveys of mass media and tests of knowledge.