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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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artificial equality |
equal time given to news "stories" --> bite sized (lacking time to fully process) --> after X minutes, inevitable commercials --> remarginalize |
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loss of meaning |
the compilation of weather, disaster, sports, war, celebrity, suicide, rape, etc. has a numbing effect on the viewer --> everything becomes trivial |
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emotional neutrality |
the appearance of objectivity/credibility -overides Truth itself ("truthiness")- make it sound true -reality becomes entertainment, malleable -new scientists- try to appear objective |
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"The Banality of Evil" |
-Hannah Arendt -the great evils of history were not carried out by sociopaths or fanatics, but ordinary people (doing their job, participate in evil, don't fully grasp what they're doing) -systematized, not shocking |
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manifest functions |
the intended function of the institution ex: government maintaining democracy |
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latent functions |
the unintended function of the institution ex: government privileging corporations |
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The Unintended Functions of the Media |
- define what is happening and what is not - define what the world is and is not |
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What You Can Do As A News Consumer (8 Things) |
1. Separate out what is important 2. Understand that it is a show 3. Never underestimate commercials 4. Uncover the politics/economics of the companies 5. Pay attention to how language is used 6. Reduce news consumption 7. Reduce your opinions by 1/3 8. Support media education in schools |
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The (Social) Construction of News |
1. Deadlines (Eternal Present) 2. Resource Limitations (Time/Money) 3. Geographical Focus (Audience) 4. Commercialization and Marketing (Increase Profits) 5. Organizational Structures (Large vs. Small) 6. Ownership (C.O.I.) 7. Use of Sources (Which experts?) 8. Branding ("Trustiness") 9. Values (Anti-American) 10. Tribalism/hyperlocalism (Specialized) 11. Story Formula (A+B=C) |
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The Culture of Fear |
1. What makes a good headline? -From 1990-1998, the national homicide rate decreased by 33% while, over the same period, network news coverage of homicides increased 473%. 2. What are people talking about? -the construction of "common sense" (halloween, gangbangers, road rage, etc.) 3. Are you prepared for the worst? -natural disaster, pandemic, & crime preparations --> extremely lucrative industry |
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infotainment |
the conflation of news and entertainment brought about by market imperatives driving the media industry |
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infomercial |
a commercial advertisement that takes the form of another type of television programming proliferated first in 1984 when commercial broadcasting was deregulated by the FCC |
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video news release |
a form of public relations commonly submitted by corporations to TV news outlets in order to shape public opinion; the FCC has ruled that they do not need to be labeled as such -common in use in US news broadcasts due, in part, to cost-cutting pressures |
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folk devils |
scapegoats, typically deviants, within a society often blamed for social problems (witches, Jews, Catholics, unwed mothers, immigrants, etc.) |
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moral panics |
when a society adopts an inflated belief that a particular activity, group, or subculture is at the heart of social degradation (satanists, war on drugs, role playing games, obesity, crime rates) |
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censorship by substitution |
-a.k.a. lies of omission - a phenomenon which occurs when less important or trivial matters dominate a media landscape in a way that masks or sidelines more essential issues/topics |
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The 10 Values of Our Fantasy World |
1. material consumption satisfies 2. the world is dangerous 3. most people are wealthy/powerful 4. men are more powerful than women 5. a high status job is essential (self-confidence) 6. business people are untrustworthy 7. law enforcement is strong/right 8. the supernatural is real 9. self-interest is fundamental 10. heroes are amazing |
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privilege |
-involves power and dominant groups -invisible for the privileged -the flip side of discrimination -cannot exist in only one direction |
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discrimation |
-overt (individual) -institutional (collective)- invisible -can be held by anyone/ any group against any group |
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What makes it easy to kill human beings? |
1. Maximize power differential (size, destructive power, no retaliation, quick/easy, shock & awe, massive military superiority, far away) 2. Insignificant Loss/ Significant Gain (no purpose or negative/evil purpose, numbers, demonize the enemy, minimize meaning of individuals) 3. Maximum difference between you and subjects (ugly, alien, no relationship, major cultural/belief differences, few ties) 4. A Form of Justice (just punishment for crime/criminal potential, be/highlight the "victim" or highlight chronic criminal 5. No consequences/ positive (others consider is normal/good, little/no mess, demonstrate support, limit media coverage of war) |
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Long-Term Effects of Media Violence |
1. Training Behavior (necessary skills) 2. Physiological Habituation (fearless responses) 3. Narcoticizing (addiction to the high) 4. Desensitivation (increased tolerance) 5. Fear cultivation (dangerous world) 6. Reinforcing attitudes/beliefs (serving justice) 7. Learning social norms (acceptable levels of...) 8. Changing institutions (3 strikes, dogmatic morality, zero tolerance) |
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What makes it easy to kill non-humans? |
1. Maximize power differential (size, destructive power, no retaliation, quick/easy) 2. Insignificant Loss/ Significant Gain (no purpose or negative/evil purpose, numbers) 3. Maximum difference between you and subjects (ugly, alien, no relationship) 4. A Form of Justice (just punishment for crime/criminal potential) 5. No consequences/ positive (others consider is normal/good, little/no mess) |
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social distance |
the closer you are to an individual, the more "real" they are to you; the more distant you are from an individual, the less "real" they are to you -socially, geographically, culturally, physically, etc.) |
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white privilege |
"is like an invisible knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and bank checks" |
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ethnocentrism |
discrimination based on nationality/culture; the belief that one's own culture/country is inherently superior to others -behaviors, beliefs, customs, laws -historically, this is a commonly accepted belief of people belonging to large empires (Persia, China, Britain, US) -can lead to colonialism, imperialism, genocide |
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12 Techniques for Media Literacy |
1. Strengthen your personal locus 2. Focus on usefulness 3. Catalog your exposure 4. Broaden your knowledge 5. Understand the reality-fantasy spectrum 6. Examine your mental codes 7. Re-examine your opinions 8. Change your behavior 9. Do cross-channel comparisons 10. Carefully craft your own messages 11. Don't take privacy for granted 12. Take personal/social responsibility |
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culture jamming |
-direct response -means: active, confrontational -goal: raise consciousness, increase transparency -issues: legality, long-term sustainability, risk, damage to governments and corporations ex: Banksy |
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media alternatives |
-the middle response to media problems -means: choice-based, non-confrontational -goal: to change own consciousness -issues: avoidance, micro-level -traits: minimal/no advertising, underfunded, independent -form: radio, tv, internet, magazine -content: thoughtful, critical, educational, global |
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simple living movement |
-the indirect response to media problems -means: active, non-confrontational -goal: to live by example -issues: difficulty, long-term sustainability |
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Media Literacy: 5 Threats to Objectivity |
1. Fabrication 2. Bias (ignoring and writing) 3. Imbalance 4. Partial Story (stops getting covered) 5. Lack of Context |
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Media Literacy: 5 Strategies |
1. Analyze news perspective 2. Search for context 3. Develop alternative 4. Be skeptical about public opinion 5. Expose yourself to more news, not less |
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Media Literacy: Faulty Beliefs |
1. Too much violence 2. Focus on amount instead of context 3. Media violence harms other people, not me |
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Media Literacy: Producer's Faulty Beliefs |
1. Violence is necessary to storytelling 2. Blame others, not producers |
