Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, and Future, 6th Edition (Wadsworth Series in Mass Communication and Journalism)

MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: FOUNDATIONS, FERMENT, AND FUTURE, Sixth Edition, introduces you to current and classical mass communication theories and explains the media literacy movement in terms you can understand. Plus, this mass communication textbook helps you develop a better understanding of media theory so you can play a role in the media industry's future. Written in an accessible writing style, the text is designed to help you perform well on exams and succeed in the course. Cover page......Page 1 MASS COMMUNICATION CHRONOLOGY......Page 3 Title Page ......Page 7 Front Matter......Page 8 Copyright Page......Page 9 Dedication Page ......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 19 A UNIQUE APPROACH......Page 21 NEW TO THIS EDITION......Page 22 THE USE OF TOPICS FOR CRITICAL THINKING......Page 23 THE SUPPORTING PHILOSOPHY OF THIS BOOK......Page 24 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 25 CONTENTS......Page 11 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY......Page 27 CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY......Page 29 Defining and Redefining Mass Communication......Page 31 Science and Human Behavior......Page 33 Defining Theory......Page 37 Postpositivist Theory......Page 38 Hermeneutic Theory......Page 39 Normative Theory......Page 40 Evaluating Theory......Page 42 Mass Communication Theory......Page 43 Summary......Page 45 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 47 CHAPTER 2: FOUR ERAS OF MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY......Page 48 Overview......Page 51 Four Eras of Media Theory......Page 52 The Era of Mass Society and Mass Culture......Page 53 A Scientific Perspective on Mass Communication Leads to the Emergence of the Limited-Effects Perspective......Page 55 Ferment in the Field: Competing Cultural Perspectives Challenge Limited-Effects Theory......Page 60 Emergence of Meaning-Making Perspectives on Media......Page 61 Ongoing Debate over Issues......Page 64 Summary......Page 65 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 66 SECTION 2: THE ERA OF MASS SOCIETY AND MASS CULTURE......Page 68 CHAPTER 3: THE RISE OF MEDIA INDUSTRIES AND MASS SOCIETY THEORY......Page 71 Overview......Page 72 The Beginnings......Page 73 Cycles of Mass Media Development and Decline......Page 75 Mass Society Critics and the Debate over Media......Page 78 Assumptions of Mass Society Theory......Page 81 Early Examples of Mass Society Theory......Page 89 Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft......Page 90 Mechanical and Organic Solidarity......Page 91 Mass Society Theory in Contemporary Times......Page 93 Summary......Page 96 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 97 CHAPTER 4: THE RISE OF MEDIA THEORY IN THE AGE OF PROPAGANDA......Page 99 Overview......Page 100 The Origin of Propaganda......Page 102 Propaganda Comes to the United States......Page 105 Behaviorism......Page 107 Freudianism......Page 108 Harold Lasswell’s Propaganda Theory......Page 109 Walter Lippmann’s Theory of Public Opinion Formation......Page 111 Reaction against Early Propaganda Theory......Page 112 The Institute for Propaganda Analysis......Page 114 Modern Propaganda Theory......Page 117 Libertarianism Reborn......Page 119 Summary......Page 120 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 121 CHAPTER 5: NORMATIVE THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION......Page 122 Overview......Page 125 The Origin of Normative Theories of Media......Page 126 The Origin of Libertarian Thought......Page 127 The Marketplace of Ideas: A New Form of Radical Libertarianism......Page 131 Government Regulation of Media......Page 134 Professionalization of Journalism......Page 135 Limitations of Professionalization......Page 137 Social Responsibility Theory of the Press: A Postwar Compromise......Page 140 The Cold War Tests Social Responsibility Theory......Page 142 Using Social Responsibility Theory to Guide Professional Practice......Page 143 Is There Still a Role for Social Responsibility Theory?......Page 145 The Public Interest in the Internet Era......Page 147 Other Normative Theories......Page 152 Summary......Page 155 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 156 SECTION 3: FROM LIMITED-EFFECTS TO CRITICAL CULTURAL THEORIES: FERMENT IN THE FIELD......Page 158 CHAPTER 6: THE RISE OF LIMITED-EFFECTS THEORY......Page 161 Overview......Page 162 The Development of Limited-Effects Theory......Page 164 The Two-Step Flow of Information and Influence......Page 168 Limitations in the Lazarsfeld Approach......Page 172 From Propaganda Research to Attitude-Change Theories......Page 174 Carl Hovland and the Experimental Section......Page 175 The Communication Research Program......Page 177 Mass Communication Research and the Focus on Media Effects......Page 179 The Selective Processes......Page 180 Limitations of the Experimental Persuasion Research......Page 183 Contemporary Selective Exposure: The Return of Minimal Effects......Page 186 Information-Flow Theory......Page 187 Joseph Klapper’s Phenomenistic Theory......Page 190 Elite Pluralism......Page 192 C. Wright Mills and The Power Elite......Page 194 A Summary of Limited-Effects Generalizations......Page 195 Drawbacks of the Limited-Effects Perspective......Page 196 Contributions of the Limited-Effects Perspective......Page 197 Summary......Page 198 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 199 Overview......Page 200 Theories of the Middle Range and the Functional Analysis Approach......Page 202 Systems Theories of Communication Processes......Page 209 Modeling Systems......Page 210 Applying Systems Models to Human Communication......Page 211 Adoption of Systems Models by Mass Communication Theorists......Page 212 Functionalism’s Unfulfilled Promise......Page 214 Focus on Children and Violence......Page 215 Television Violence Theories......Page 218 Social Learning......Page 219 Social Cognition from Mass Media......Page 221 Aggressive Cues......Page 223 The Context of Mediated Violence......Page 226 Active Theory of Television Viewing......Page 227 The Developmental Perspective......Page 228 Video Games Reignite Interest in Media Violence......Page 229 Media and Children’s Socialization......Page 230 Summary......Page 232 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 234 CHAPTER 8: THE EMERGENCE OF CRITICAL AND CULTURAL THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION......Page 235 Overview......Page 236 Changing Times......Page 237 The Cultural Turn in Media Research......Page 238 Macroscopic versus Microscopic Theories......Page 239 Critical Theory......Page 240 Comparing Cultural Theories with Those Based on Empirical Research......Page 241 The Rise of Cultural Theories in Europe......Page 242 Marxist Theory......Page 243 Textual Analysis and Literary Criticism......Page 244 The Frankfurt School......Page 245 Development of Neo-Marxist Theory in Britain......Page 246 Political Economy Theory......Page 249 The Debate Between Cultural Studies and Political Economy Theorists......Page 250 Cultural Studies: Transmissional versus Ritual Perspectives......Page 253 Research on Popular Culture in the United States......Page 254 Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message and the Massage......Page 255 Harold Innis: The Bias of Communication......Page 256 McLuhan: Understanding Media......Page 257 Summary......Page 261 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 262 SECTION 4: CONTEMPORARY MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: FROM ACTIVE-AUDIENCE TO MEANING-MAKING THEORIES......Page 264 CHAPTER 9: AUDIENCE THEORIES: USES, RECEPTION, AND EFFECTS......Page 267 Overview......Page 269 Audience Theories: From Source-Dominated to Active-Audience Perspectives......Page 271 Limitations of Early Audience-Centered Research......Page 272 Confusion of Media Functions and Media Uses......Page 273 Revival of the Uses-and-Gratifications Approach......Page 275 The Active Audience Revisited......Page 277 Uses-and-Gratifications Research and Effects......Page 281 Development of Reception Studies: Decoding and Sensemaking......Page 283 Feminist Reception Studies......Page 286 New Directions in Audience Effects Research: The Rise of Moderate-Effects Theories......Page 288 Information-Processing Theory......Page 289 Processing Television News......Page 292 Elaboration Likelihood Model......Page 294 Entertainment Theory......Page 296 Summary ......Page 300 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 302 CHAPTER 10: MEDIA AND SOCIETY: THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE SOCIAL WORLD......Page 304 Overview......Page 306 Information (Innovation) Diffusion Theory......Page 307 Social Marketing Theory......Page 310 Media System Dependency Theory......Page 314 The Knowledge Gap......Page 317 Agenda-Setting......Page 319 The Spiral of Silence......Page 324 News Production Research......Page 329 Media Intrusion Theory......Page 333 Summary......Page 337 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 338 CHAPTER 11: MEDIA AND CULTURE THEORIES: MEANING-MAKING IN THE SOCIAL WORLD......Page 339 Overview......Page 341 Symbolic Interactionism......Page 342 Pragmatism and the Chicago School......Page 345 Current Applications of Symbolic Interactionism......Page 347 Social Constructionism......Page 349 Framing and Frame Analysis......Page 356 Recent Theories of Frames and Framing......Page 361 Framing and Objectivity......Page 362 Effects of Frames on News Audiences......Page 364 Reforming Journalism Based on Framing Theory......Page 365 Cultivation Analysis......Page 366 The Products of Cultivation Analysis......Page 369 The Mean World Index......Page 370 A Final Note on Cultivation......Page 371 Media as Culture Industries: The Commodification of Culture......Page 373 Advertising: The Ultimate Cultural Commodity......Page 376 The Media Literacy Movement......Page 377 Two Views of Media Literacy......Page 379 Summary......Page 380 Critical Thinking Questions......Page 381 CHAPTER 12: AFTERWORD: THE FUTURE OF MEDIA THEORY AND RESEARCH......Page 383 Challenges......Page 386 The End of Mass Communication Theory: The Rise of Media Theory......Page 388 REFERENCES......Page 390 C......Page 409 H......Page 411 M......Page 412 O......Page 414 S......Page 415 T......Page 416 Y......Page 418 "Mass Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, And Future, Sixth Edition, provides a comprehensive, historically based introduction to mass communication theory. Clearly written with examples, graphics, and other materials to illustrate key theories, the text traces the emergence of two main bodies of mass communication theory--social/behavioral and critical/cultural--and concludes with a discussion of how these two traditions support the media literacy movement and might be combined to produce a new theory of mediated communication. The authors emphasize that media theories are human creations typically intended to address specific problems or issues. MASS Communication Theory: Foundations, Ferment, And Future, Sixth Edition, helps students develop an understanding of theory so they can make better use of media and play a role in the development of new media industries."--Publisher's website