Case Study 2: Media Institutions
From pages 144-161, it talks about the way social media effects our mind and behavior of its audiences. The section discussed the different theories on how the media has such an effect its consumers. For example, the “uses and gratifications “model, the encoding/decoding model and ethnography. They show how social media can alter the way you think, for example when you watch a political broadcast, and now have the urge to vote for them. It’s the control and power it has over us.
Section two talks about the factors in things like movies and shows that attract and maintain focus of an audience. Abundance: news-gathering equipment. Energy: handheld cameras; the pace of a series of short clips. Intensity: emphasis on certain events including crimes and breaking news. Community, assumptions of consensus: the planet is made as a global village. These details all come together and manipulate the audience.
The last part talks about Stuart Hall’s idea that media sends specific messages, but viewers determine how they take it in. This also brings up the question of why do different generations have such a vast interpretation of the same text. Things that make us like our social class, race, and gender may have an effect on how we take things. Considering audiences social background brings one to ethnography, the most recent branch of audience research to gain followers.