Theorists

Theorists: 

Stuart Hall: (Reception Theory) Audience views 
Preferred reading: how the creator wants the audience to view the media text 
Opposition reading: where the intended meaning of he text is totally opposed by the reader 
Negotiated reading: legitimacy of the encoders message is acknowledged although it is adapted to the individuality of the person

George Gerbner: (Cultivation theory) this is the idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them (i.e cultivating particular views and opinions). The idea that cultivation reinforces mainstream values (dominate ideologies)

The  media messages aren't directly injected into the passive media audience but they are built up by a series of repetition and enforcing the message. 




Albert Badura: Has the theory that the media can implant ideas in the ind of the audience directly. It is the idea that audiences acquire attitudes, emotional responses and new styles of conduct through modeling. The idea that media, representations of the transgressive  behavior, such as violence or physical aggression, can lead audience members to imitate those forms of behavior. 

Hypodermic Needle: The Hypodermic Model refers to the idea that the media is like a drug that is addicted to. On an October in 1938, millions of people were listening to the radio. This night, however, would prove to be unique. Listeners tuned in to hear an announcement that Martians had landed in New Jersey and were viciously attacking humans. Although the announcement was part of a radio adaptation of H. G. Wells’ famous novel War of the Worlds–and although listeners were warned that the broadcast was fictional–panic erupted within the population. Some people fled homes and cities, while others rushed to purchase emergency supplies and began stockpiling food. Thousands of frantic phone calls poured in to local police, firefighters and hospitals.

The incident, often referred to as the “Panic Broadcast,” was soon cited as an example of the Hypodermic Needle Theory of communication. Formed in response to the rise of mass communications and the emergence of propaganda techniques in the 1930s, Hypodermic Needle Theory implies that the media has the power to inject highly influential messages directly into passive and susceptible audiences. Since those audiences have no other sources of information by which to compare the media’s messages, they have no choice but to act on those messages.

Hypodermic Needle Theory promotes a few basic assumptions:

1. Humans react uniformly to stimuli.

 2. The media’s message is directly “injected” into the “bloodstream” of a population like fluid from a syringe.

 3. Messages are strategically created to achieve desired responses.

 4. The effects of the media’s messages are immediate and powerful, capable of causing significant behavioral change in humans.

 5. The public is powerless to escape the media’s influence.

Steve Neale: Genre is made up of repetition and difference - The idea that a genre has repeated elements so the viewer/audience can tell what genre is it but also has difference making the viewer/audience want to watch it.  

Curran and Seaton: - power and media Industries 
1) the media is controlled by a small umber of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power 
2) the idea that media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety

Moral Panics: Moral Panic occurs when someone or something is defined by the media as a threat to the values or interests of society. It is the feeling that the situation is out of control in some way, therefore represents a threat to the moral order.

The key moral panic theorist is Stanley Cohen. Cohen suggested in his 1972 book ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ that a moral panic occurs when “condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests”.

Stanley Cohen believes the media play an important role in enforcing moral panic, even by just reporting the news. In Cohen’s view the media overreact  aspects of behavior which challenge social norms. The media’s representation therefore then helps to define it, which can then lead to outsiders adopting and observing the behavior based on the model they see in the media.

In extreme cases moral panic creates mass hysteria within society. The general public start to believe whatever is being reported on is occurring everywhere in society.

Cohen defined his five stages of moral panic as:

1. Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests

2. This threat is depicted in an easily recognizable form by the media

3. There is a rapid build-up of public concern

4. There is a response from authorities or opinion makers

5. The panic recedes or results in social changes

Media effects theory relating to Marilyn Manson and Natural Born Killers: Media effect theory is how media can effect society and how society affects the media. Some negative implication s of this theory are when people do “copycat murders” or the copy of violent actions that cause harm. This theory helps explain Moral panic theory in relation to representations of; sex violence and deviant behavior and its supposed effects on the youth.The theory was firstly proposed by the Frankfurt School of social researchers in the 1920’s due to people reactions to Nazi propaganda. 

- Newspapers:

Clay Shirky (Video): 

• Printing press 
• Converational media
• Radio
• Media that creates conversation cannot create groups and media that creates groups can't create conversation (20th century)
• The internet has changed that, you can have a conversation  as well as create a group 
• Used to have various different places to get one type of media, now, all in one place therefore changing how people interact with media