Mass Communication, A Critical Approach ch.1

There were many key technological breakthroughs that accompanied the transition to the print and electronic era. The first big invention was the moveable metallic type and the printing press, which helped to lead into the modern print era. This was significant because for the first time, starting in Europe, publications were able to spread rapidly and inexpensive to everyone, not just the wealthy. Because of this, books became the first mass-produced product allowing culture to spread, changed political outreaches, nationalism, and individualism. With the invention of the telegraph, the electronic era developed. The telegraph helped by making media messages instantaneous, making news a valuable product, making it easier to coordinate commercial and military operations, and lastly it led to future technological developments like the radio, fax machine, and cell phone. The arrival of the television changed daily life and changing the relationship to media and culture.

Today, the newer and emerging forms of media seem to threaten status quo values, as opposed to looking at history. Audiences actively affirm, interpret, refashion, or reject messages and stories that flow through various media channels. This can be somewhat based off diverse factors such as gender, age, education level, ethnicity, as well as occupation. Recently new shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians and Jersey Shore are giving people the ideas of what the new status quo is and how they ‘should’ be acting. When television was first emerging, reality shows didn’t exist. People were shown the ‘normal’ status quos, and not threatening the

The five steps in the critical process are description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. Description is paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study. Analysis is discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage. Interpretation is asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about ones findings. Evaluation means arriving at a judgment about weather something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages. Lastly, engagement is taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question or media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment. Interpretation is the most difficult because it demands an answer to the “so what?” question.

The critical process is so important because to be able to become literate about media involves striking a balance between developing knowledgeable interpretations and judgments and being able to appreciate the distinctive variety of cultural products and processes. It also gives us a way to develop an informed critical perspective. Becoming media literate allow us to participate in a debate as media culture as a force for both democracy and consumerism.