Media/Society

by Croteau, David; Hoynes, William

• ISBN13: 9780761986379
• ISBN10: 0761986375
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Pine Forge Pr

Summary

The key theme of this textbook is the reciprocal interplay between media and society: media shapes society, and society shapes media; media creates individuals' reality, but individuals in turn shape the construction of the media.Illustrated throughout with charts, graphs and photographs, Media//Society examines issues such as: the economics of the media industry; political influence on media; social inequality and media representation; media audiences and the construction of meaning; and the future of media in a changing global culture.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvi
PART ONE Media/Society
Media and the Social World	3	(32)
The Importance of Media	4	(3)
The Rise of Mass Media	7	(6)
The Print Medium	8	(2)
Sound Recording and the Film Medium	10	(1)
Broadcast Media	11	(1)
``New'' Media	12	(1)
Media and Society	13	(4)
Mass Media in Socialization	14	(2)
Mass Media in Social Relations	16	(1)
A Sociology of Media	17	(8)
The Importance of Social Relations	19	(2)
Structural Constraint and Human Agency	21	(1)
Structure and Agency in the Media	22	(3)
A Model of Media and the Social World	25	(6)
Applying the Model: The Civil Rights Movement	28	(3)
Conclusion	31	(4)
PART TWO Production: The Media Industry and the Social World
The Economics of the Media Industry	35	(42)
Changing Patterns of Ownership	36	(10)
Concentration of Ownership	36	(2)
Conglomeration and Integration	38	(8)
Consequences of Conglomeration and Integration	46	(2)
Integration and Self-Promotion	46	(1)
The Impact of Conglomeration	47	(1)
The Effects of Concentration	48	(10)
Media Control and Political Power	48	(3)
Media Ownership and Content Diversity	51	(7)
Mass Media for Profit	58	(5)
Prime-Time Profits	59	(3)
Profit and the News Media	62	(1)
The Impact of Advertising	63	(12)
Advertising and the Press in the Nineteenth Century	66	(4)
Advertising and the Contemporary News Media	70	(2)
Advertising, MTV, and ``New'' Media	72	(3)
Conclusion	75	(2)
Political Influence on Media	77	(42)
The Case of ``Pirate Radio''	78	(2)
Common Features of Media Regulation Debates	80	(3)
The ``First Freedom''	83	(2)
The ``Public Interest'' and the Regulation Debate	85	(1)
Regulation in International Perspective	86	(2)
Regulating Ownership and Control	88	(9)
Regulating Ownership of Media Outlets	88	(3)
Regulating Ownership of Programming: The Case of ``Fin-Syn'' Rules	91	(3)
Regulating Ownership and Control of Technology	94	(3)
Regulating Media Content and Distribution	97	(17)
Regulating the Media Left and Right: Diversity Versus Property Rights	97	(1)
Regulating for Diversity: The Fairness Doctrine	98	(2)
Regulating for Morality	100	(10)
Regulating for Accuracy: Advertising	110	(2)
Regulating in the ``National Interest'': Media and the Military	112	(2)
Informal Political, Social, and Economic Pressure	114	(3)
Conclusion	117	(2)
Media Organizations and Professionals	119	(38)
The Limits of Economic and Political Constraints	119	(3)
Working Within Economic Constraints	120	(1)
Responding to Political Constraints	121	(1)
The Organization of Media Work	122	(11)
News Routines	123	(3)
Selecting Front-Page Stories	126	(2)
Objectivity	128	(5)
Occupational Roles and Professional Socialization	133	(14)
Photography	135	(6)
Editorial Decision Making	141	(6)
Emerging Norms on the Internet	147	(3)
Hits, Starts, and Decision Making	150	(4)
Conclusion	154	(3)
PART THREE Content: Media Representations of the Social World
Media and Ideology	157	(36)
What Is Ideology?	157	(5)
``Dominant Ideology'' Versus Cultural Contradictions	159	(2)
Ideology as Normalization	161	(1)
Theoretical Roots of Ideological Analysis	162	(4)
Early Marxist Origins	162	(1)
Hegemony	163	(3)
News Media and the Limits of Debate	166	(3)
Elites and Insiders	167	(1)
Economic News as Ideological Construct	168	(1)
Movies, the Military, and Masculinity	169	(5)
Action-Adventure Films	171	(1)
Vietnam Films	172	(2)
Television, Popularity, and Ideology	174	(5)
Television and Reality	175	(1)
Television and the Changing American Family	176	(3)
Rap Music as Ideological Critique?	179	(3)
Advertising and Consumer Culture	182	(4)
Selling Consumerism in the Early Twentieth Century	184	(1)
Women's Magazines as Advertisements	185	(1)
Advertising and the Globalization of Culture	186	(4)
Conclusion	190	(3)
Social Inequality and Media Representation	193	(36)
Comparing Media Content and the ``Real'' World	194	(2)
The Significance of Content	196	(2)
Race and Media Content: Inclusion, Roles, and Control	198	(12)
Racial Diversity in Media Content	200	(2)
Race and Media Roles	202	(6)
Controlling Media Images of Race	208	(2)
Gender and Media Content	210	(4)
Women: Presence and Control in the Media	210	(1)
Changing Media Roles for Women . . . and Men	211	(3)
Class and the Media	214	(8)
``Some People Are More Valuable Than Others''	215	(1)
Class and Media Content	216	(6)
Sexual Orientation: Out of the Closet and Into the Media?	222	(3)
Conclusion	225	(4)
PART FOUR Audiences: Meaning and Influence
Media Influence and the Political World	229	(32)
Media and Political Elites	230	(7)
A Politics of Image	231	(4)
The Decline of Political Parties and Mediating Institutions	235	(1)
Politics as Spectator Sport	236	(1)
Media and Individual Citizens	237	(7)
Media Effects: From Influence to Interaction	237	(4)
The Gap Between Theory and Popular Perception	241	(3)
Lessons From the Research	244	(1)
Media and Social Movements	244	(2)
``New Media'' and the News	246	(3)
Politics and Entertainment Media	249	(6)
Television and Film	249	(3)
Music	252	(3)
Global Media, Global Politics	255	(5)
The Cultural Imperialism Thesis	256	(2)
The Politics of Media in Other Nations	258	(2)
Conclusion	260	(1)
Active Audiences and the Construction of Meaning	261	(34)
The Active Audience	262	(2)
Interpretation	263	(1)
The Social Context of Interpretation	263	(1)
Collective Action	264	(1)
Meanings: Agency and Structure	264	(5)
Agency and Polysemy	266	(2)
Structure and Interpretive Constraint	268	(1)
Decoding Media and Social Position	269	(10)
Class and ``Nationwide''	269	(4)
Gender, Class, and Television	273	(2)
Race, News, and Meaning Making	275	(1)
International Readings of American Television	276	(3)
The Social Context of Media Use	279	(5)
Romance Novels and the Act of Reading	280	(2)
Watching Television With the Family	282	(2)
Active Audiences and Interpretive ``Resistance''	284	(4)
Interpretive Resistance and Feminist Politics	286	(1)
Resistance and Identity	287	(1)
The Pleasures of Media	288	(5)
Pleasure and Fantasy	289	(1)
Celebrity Games	290	(2)
Pleasure and Resistance	292	(1)
Conclusion	293	(2)
Media Technology and Social Change	295	(34)
The Nature and Consequence of Media Technology	295	(7)
Differing Technological Capabilities	296	(2)
Mediating Communication	298	(2)
Rethinking Time and Space	300	(1)
Technological Determinism	301	(1)
Technology and the Media Environment	302	(8)
McLuhan's Message	303	(1)
Images and Public Life	304	(3)
Electronic Media and Social Identity	307	(1)
Medium Theory in a Computer Age	308	(2)
The Social Construction of Media Technologies	310	(7)
The Early Years of Radio	311	(4)
Introducing Television Into the Home	315	(2)
The Internet and the Future of Interactive Media	317	(7)
Taming the Wild Frontier: Corporate Control of Internet ``Portals''	320	(2)
Beyond Technological Determinism	322	(2)
Conclusion	324	(5)
PART FIVE Globalization and the Future
Media in a Changing Global Culture	329	(36)
What Is Globalization?	330	(5)
Crossing Limits of Time and Space	330	(2)
Crossing Cultural Boundaries	332	(2)
The Promise and Reality of Media Globalization	334	(1)
The Global Media Industry	335	(10)
Global Products, Centralized Ownership	335	(4)
The Case of Bertelsmann	339	(6)
Global Media Content	345	(12)
The Debate Over ``Cultural Imperialism''	346	(2)
The Fight to Preserve Local Cultures	348	(2)
The Imperialism Thesis: Some Complications	350	(4)
The Politics of Information Flow	354	(3)
Global Media Consumption: Limits of the ``Global Village''	357	(5)
Afterword: The Ubiquity of Change and the Future of Mass Media	362	(3)
Appendix: Selected Media-Related Internet Resources	365	(6)
General Directories	365	(1)
Media Education	365	(1)
Media Research, Policy, and Publications	366	(1)
Media Advocacy	367	(1)
Independent Media	367	(4)
References	371	(14)
Index	385