Does The Media AffectYour MindYour Mind

?

Does the media cause violence?

DOES IT MAKE INNOCENT TEENAGERS WANT TO

HAVE SEX?

DO MEDIA CAUSE MORAL DECAY?

THEORY NUMBER ONE

The Modeling Theory

Do Media “Stars” serve as role models for the public (particularly children?

John “Duke” Wayne

• Minorities

• Native Americans

• African Americans

• Latinos

• Do we form our opinion of people and cultures based on the way they are depicted in the media? Even in the news?

The IMAGE Theory

Are They Finally Showing The Real American Male?

Outside Perception TheoryWe understand other cultures,

societies, countries, the world in general by the way we see it in

mass media.

Perceptions of other countries.

•Dangers in the world.

The Arousal Theory

• Are Crazy People Inspired by Media Images to Commit Crimes?

The Agenda Setting Theory

• What is an agenda?

• What is a gatekeeper?

Rupert Murdoch-

Benetton Advertisement

When Did Aids Become a Newsworthy Issue?

Aids? News? When?

• Aids infects male homosexuals – San Francisco, 1982 (brought to US via France)

• Aids became a raging epidemic but the mainstream media ignored it.

• Until the death of a famous American actor – Rock Hudson – due to aids October 22, 1985.

Hudson’s death and the spread of Aids to the heterosexual population changed the media’s agenda.

What drives the agenda?

• Size of disasters.• Potential impact on nearby communities.• Famous people, sex, violence• Personal and political views of media

owners• Cultural sensitivity of editors and

publishers.• Political biases (social liberals, economic

conservatives?)

The Bottom Line Theory

Money is the bottom line

• Film – box office receipts

• TV and Radio – Ratings

• Print – Circulation and Ad Sales

• Public TV and Radio – viewer donations, underwriting and some government money

• Music – CD sales

Bottom Line – Bigger is Better

• Huge corporations taking over media

• Profit is the major factor

• The Lowest Common Denominator

Act-React TheoryWhat is the cause? What is the effect?

• Which is cause – media or society?• Did sexual revolution lead to more sex on

TV or did more sex on TV lead to the sexual revolution?

• From Ozzie and Harriet (who couldn’t sleep in the same bed-on TV-even though they were married). . .

• To Seinfeld’s “Master of Your Domain” episode

Socialization Theory

• Media helps socialize us?

• Southerners losing their accents … media are making Americans alike.

• Fashions, trends all influence, perhaps dictated, by media

I say, Grand Mama, I

believe we do not

speak in the same

manner as we did in

times past. What might

be your ideas on

the subject?

Experiment. On left, man who has never watched television. On right, same man after watching 182 consecutive hours of watching television. And who do you think is the happiest?

Vast Wasteland Theory“When television is good, nothing--not the theater, not the magazines or

newspapers--nothing is better.But when television is bad, nothing is worse.I invite you to sit down in front of your tele-

vision set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you--and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe avast wasteland.”

Newton Minow - 1961

Is Television Better?

• Documentaries – Zero

• Were there reality shows in 1961 – No.

• Is there more sex on television? Yes.

• Is the sex irresponsible? Yes.

• Does television tackle tough issues with in depth reports and analysis? No.

• Does television cave in to pressures from the powerful. Yes.