Chapter 6: Media in Everyday Life

Chapter 6 focuses on the uses of media in everyday life. We don't normally think about it, but media consumes every minute of everyday. Even when we don't realize it, we are using media. I know that from the very minute I wake up to my alarm clock on my cell phone, until the minute before I go to bed while I am watching television, that I am using media. Where would we be today without the high usage of media? I don't think anybody really knows the answer to this, because media has become an important part of our lives many decades ago. When we are using media, it is usually with other people. When you talk on the phone, e-mail a friend, or listen to the radio, you are interacting with other people. We are recipients and authors of messages that are conveyed through the variety of media. Not only are we linked to different people and media, but different media forms are linked to one another. When you plug your Ipod into your computer, two medias are working together and becoming dependent on one another. Media always refer to and comment on other media forms. Media has played a very important role throughout the twentieth century, which is further discussed in this chapter.
The "masses" described changes in the structure of societies undergoing industrialization and the emergence of the working class. Mass media came into play post World War II, due to the increased industrialization and mechanization of modern society. During this time period, newspapers, radio and television broadcast were on the rise. Mass media is a term that denotes media forms designed to reach large audiences perceived to have shared interests. The primary traditional mass media forms of the 20th century were radio, network and cable television, the cinema and the press. Electronic and digital media (internet, cell phones, wireless devices) didn't come into play until the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and are still being reinvented today. Today, consumers have the ability to choose between and interact with different types of media, which wasn't an option years ago.
Medium is a means of communication. Radio, television, a megaphone, the Internet, and our own voice are examples of mediums. Media is the plural form of medium, which refers to a group of communication technologies that produce and spread news, entertainment, and information together. Media is not as specific as a medium; such as all radio stations, the Web, and films. Media has a major impact on the meaning it conveys. The message of the television is that it is a medium of distraction, with its ongoing rhythm of commercials and switching channels. The message that the Internet portrays is its speed, global scope and instant information gathering.
Mass broadcasting reaches a large national audience conveying the same meaning and ideas. A form of mass media that emerged prior to World War II was propaganda. When we think of the word propaganda, we instantly think of the Holocaust and the different forms of propaganda that Hitler posted about the Nazis. This was successful because Hitler seemed to brainwash people to believe that Nazism was the best form of government. Television emerged during this era as a nationalized industry of mass persuasion and strong ideology. Crowds of people would gather around a public television on the streets and watch Hitler speak. In the twentieth century, the terms "hypodermic needle" and "magic bullet" were used to understand media effects. I had never heard of these terms before. The hypodermic needle model proposed that the media have a direct and immediate effect on the audience--they were "drugged" and the texts were "injected" into their minds. This relates to Hitler and Nazism because the Germans were instantly "drugged" and brainwashed by Hitler's words and ideas.
The text also gives an example of when the Payne Fund did a study on children and the effects that television has on them in 1930. It concluded that children who were deeply influenced by the content of movies and the children who watched movies regularly, did poorly in school compared to the students that didn't watch a lot of television. I find this ironic, because so many parents and teachers don't want children to watch television because they say it just makes them lazy, but many television shows today are educational and help children learn. I remember back to the shows I would watch. Some were for pure entertainment, such as Saturday morning cartoons, but some helped us to learn the alphabet, counting, and other important things.
An example of the media's potential to foster diversity or expression is community-based or public-access cable television. Community based television is produced at a low cost by members of a community and is geared toward a local audience. It allows the audience to view local events that are going on in their community, that other audiences wouldn't be able to watch. The local channels in my town are channels 15-22. They are helpful because they show the weather or local events and advertisements. Another example is guerrilla television, where citizens express themselves more freely and defy the power of the mass media. Examples of this are when Nixon was running for another term for president, and the interviews and conventions were accessed to a national audience. The concept of media fostering democratic potential is also seen by the Web, and second generation websites such as blogs, wikis, social networking sites, economic exchange sites (eBay), and media sites (YouTube). Web users can retrieve information from these sites, post information, and share information with others. This is a huge shift in media.
The section Media and the Public Sphere talks about public media. A "public" is a relation among strangers, in which public speech is both personal and impersonal. It is the exchange and circulation of ideas. The instantanity of the Web allows for public exchange. A public sphere is a space; physical place, social setting, or media arena; in which citizens come together to debate and discuss issues of society. Citizens are able to debate public issues, regardless of their social status, race or beliefs. Traditional broadcast media creates a sense of public dialogue through town meetings on television, call in talk shows, and group debates. Most publics communicate in mediated ways, such as in discussion groups, newsletters, journals, conferences, festivals, websites, text messaging, blogging, and much more.
The main goal of media is to feel a connectedness with the audience. Broadcasting connects communities across vast distances nationally. Television is the best form of media to reach large audiences and plays a primary role in national identity. The fact that television can be transmitted instantly across a great distance helps to create a sense of global or national connectedness with viewers across different locations. One of the most global media events is the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many people captured the attacks on tape without even knowing it was going to happen. After the first plane hit, people began to investigate more, and got the second plane crashing on more media types. The footage was posted immediately across television sets nationally. It's amazing how quickly media can be viewed by a large audience. Media also played an important role for the people inside the planes or towers, who were able to contact loved ones via cell phones or e-mail to let them know what was happening. In the after weeks and months, photography was an important medium. Flyers and photographs were posted of missing family members, in hopes that they would soon be found.
A part of this reading that I found quite interesting was how media coverage is restricted in the U.S. from war zones since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Between 2003 and March of 2006, 216 media reporters were killed in the Iraq War for doing their job. This is sickening to even think about. The use of black rectangles or blurs were used to block the content or image of the faces of these soldiers' identities. I didn't realize that footage from the war was not allowed, but am glad it cannot be exposed due to how hard it must be for the families of war victims.
In conclusion, this chapter focused on the different types of media that we use in our everyday lives; from television to newspaper to the Web. The chapter gave specific examples such as Kennedy's death, 9/11, and Daniel Pearl's beheading, and how the media made an impact on these important yet tragic events. Without media, who knows where we would be today, it has become a very important part of our daily lives and is what people rely on.