Chapter 1: Understanding Mass

Media, Convergence, and the

Importance of Media Literacy

ADV 1101-002 - Intro to Media & Society

Week 1 – Monday, August 25
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
 Zachary Rzicznek
Doctoral Candidate of Media & Communication
Klein College of Media & Communication
Medina, Ohio
Just for some
additional context…
my childhood home
is in this photo,
surrounded by
cornfields
 Bowling Green State University
• BA in Sound
Engineering
• MA in Media &
Communication
Tips for Success in this Class

•#1 Do all the work - you can earn

points from simply attempting
assignments, so submitting
something is always better than
nothing
Tips for Success in this Class
•#2 Do your work on time – I don’t accept
late work unless there is a truly extenuating
circumstance
• Due dates are on Canvas and visible to you
weeks in advance
• Each module is organized in steps by week and
due date
• Almost all assignments are due at 11:59pm on
Fridays
Tips for Success in this Class

•#3 Pay attention to the “Modules” tab

on Canvas – each week has everything
due that week listed for you in order
•Your job is to work through that material
each week, mostly outside of class and
individually
Tips for Success in this Class

•#4 Show up to class, especially when

we have in-class activities – these are
easy points, and skipping them can
negatively impact your grade (and your
attendance)
Tips for Success in this Class

•#5 Ask me if and when you have

questions! I’m always here to help
when needed – in person, via email, or
over Zoom
How Classes Will Typically Go
• Most days in class are a combination of four things
1. Lectures
2. Discussions
3. Watching/listening to media examples (I don’t screen
movies/documentaries in class)
4. Ungraded activities
• Once per week, you have a graded in-class activity
 CHAPTER 1
Understanding Mass Media, Convergence,
and the Importance of Media Literacy
Medium
 Spiritualism and “Talking to the Other Side”

A medium was someone on the earthly plane who

could communicate with spirits simply by speaking
into the air
These ideas laid the foundation for broadcast
mass media technologies that send signals
through the air, allowing people to
communicate with “disembodied” voices over
great distance
Dictionary Definition of Medium
• A means of effecting or conveying something, such as
• A channel or system of communication, information, or
entertainment
• A publication or broadcast that carries advertising
• A mode of artistic expression or communication
• Something on which information may be stored
Dictionary Definition of Medium
• A means of effecting or conveying something, such as
• A channel or system of communication, information, or
entertainment
• A publication or broadcast that carries advertising
• A mode of artistic expression or communication
• Something on which information may be stored
Definition Soup
A Medium Is……..
• Something you communicate through
 If a medium is something you communicate
through, then what type of medium allows you to
communicate to many people all at once?
 MASS MEDIUM
Technological instrument through which
mass communication takes place
 MASS MEDIA (pl.)
Technological instruments through which
mass communication takes place
 MASS COMMUNICATION
The industrialized production and multiple
distribution of messages through
technological devices
 MASS COMMUNICATION
The industrialized production and multiple
distribution of messages through technological
devices

Think of mass communication like a factory –

there’s a corporation rolling out messages
through different media to generate revenue

Mass communication in the digital age is more

complex than this, but it’s a good place to start!
The Mass Media Technologies We’ll Cover in
This Class (in order) Are…
1. Books 6. Film/Movies
2. Newspapers/News 7. Television/Streaming
3. Magazines 8. Video Games
4. Recording/Music 9. The Internet
5. Radio/Audio/Podcasts
MASS MEDIA OUTLETS
Organizations that send out
messages via mass media
What is an example of a mass media outlet?
What is an example of a mass media outlet?
Chapter 1: Understanding Mass
Media, Convergence, and the
Importance of Media Literacy

ADV 1101-002 - Intro to Media & Society

Week 1 – Wednesday, August 27
Brief Review
 MASS MEDIUM
Technological instrument through which
mass communication takes place
 MASS COMMUNICATION
The industrialized production and multiple
distribution of messages through
technological devices
MASS MEDIA OUTLETS
Organizations that send out
messages via mass media
Old and New Mass Media
The Mass Media Distinction – Old vs. New

Let’s brainstorm:

• What’s “old” or “traditional” media?

• What would we consider “new” media?

• How could we break down “old” media into two

categories?
The Mass Media Distinction
• ”Old Media” (Traditional)
• Print Media
• Broadcast Media
• “New Media”
• Digital Media
 SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO
KEEP IN MIND THIS SEMESTER
Media audiences used to be different before the internet
– those of you who don’t really remember I time before
that, things really were different for people
The “Traditional” Mass Audience
• Radio and newspapers limited geographically
• Only 3 national TV networks until the 1980s
(ABC, CBS, NBC)
• This meant people in the same areas typically
consumed the same media, even at the
national level
Media Convergence
What technology evolved, which led to
the transition from old to new media?
The Computer!
 CONVERGENCE
Takes place when content traditionally confined to
one medium appears on multiple media channels
CONVERGENCE IS
▪ Reshaping media boundaries and the overall
media landscape
▪ Changing our use of the media - interactivity
▪ Opening up additional revenue streams for
multi-national media conglomerates
 https://www.titlemax.com/media/every-company-disney-owns-13_pageversion.jpg

Link to image: https://www.titlemax.com/media/every-

company-disney-owns-13_pageversion.jpg
THE THREE C’S
▪ Content: Messages
▪ Corporations: The companies that interact to
create and distribute the content
▪ Computers: The tool corporations use to
disseminate (spread) content
 Discussion Question:

What happened to the traditional media audience

that used to receive all media content from only a
couple of sources?
What happened to the traditional media audience
that used to receive all media content from only a
couple of sources?

It has become fragmented.

AUDIENCE
FRAGMENTATION
The process of
dividing audience
members into
segments based on
background and
lifestyle in order to
send them
messages targeted
to their specific
characteristics
THE PROCESS OF MASS
COMMUNICATION
 MESSAGE
Set of symbols (usually language) that
appear purposefully organized to senders
and receivers
COMMUNICATION
When at least one party
understands the message
 Source
Encoding
Channel
Receiver
Decoding
Feedback
Noise
 Encoding
message

Source/Sender Receiver
 Encoding
message

Channel

Source/Sender Receiver
 Decoding
message

Channel

Source/Sender Receiver
 Feedback

Channel

Source/Sender Receiver
 Encoding
message

Noise

Channel

Source/Sender Receiver

Let’s say the sender is driving in a “dead zone” and doesn’t get cell service.
Anything that interrupts the communication process is “noise”
That was communication…
• Now let’s talk about mass communication
Remember!
• Mass communication is industrial.
• Meaning it’s mass produced
 Encoding
Mass Communication Decoding
message
message

Source/Sender
Channel Receiver

The mass communication process works theoretically the same

 Encoding
Mass Communication
message

Noise
Source/Sender
Channel Receiver

The mass communication process works theoretically the same

Chapter 1: Understanding Mass
Media, Convergence, and the
Importance of Media Literacy

ADV 1101-002 - Intro to Media & Society

Week 1 – Friday, August 29
 WHY DO WE EVEN
STUDY MASS MEDIA?
WHAT’S THE POINT?
We surround ourselves with media
constantly– we live in a media
environment
But do we really understand where
media messages come from?
 After all, mass media carries significant
value when it comes to social currency, or
in the value we perceive in talking about
certain things to one another (more on this
next week)
MASS MEDIA & CULTURE
CULTURE
▪ Ways of life that keep societies together
▪ Passed on to members of society over time,
through a variety of activities and social
functions
MEDIA INFLUENCE CULTURE
▪ Media identifies and discusses codes of
acceptable behavior
▪ Media shows us what and who counts in our world
– and why
▪ Media shares what others think of us – and what
people “like us” think of others
CRITICISMS OF MASS MEDIA:
▪ Historic and continued use of stereotypes
▪ Use of political ideologies
▪ Political and economic manipulation (who
should hold the greatest power within a
culture)
Media Literacy
Literacy is…
• P. 20 of your textbook –
• “the ability to effectively comprehend and use messages that are
expressed in written or printed symbols, such as letters”
Media Literacy
• Being able to effectively comprehend and critically think about the
media messages you receive on a daily basis, from advertising, to
news, to entertainment
MEDIA LITERACY
▪ Empowers you as a responsible media citizen
▪ Allows you to know and understand the forces
and motivations behind media messages
▪ Allows you to be a better judge of media
content and messages
▪ Friday we’ll talk about Turow’s 5 Tools of
Media Literacy
The goal for this course is to provide you
with critical media literacy skills that
will help you become a more informed
consumer, citizen, and communications
professional
(6) PRINCIPLES OF MEDIA LITERACY
1. Media materials are constructed
2. Media materials are created and distributed
within a commercial environment
3. Media materials are created and distributed
within a political environment
CONTINUED…
4. Mass media have the primary genres of
entertainment, news, information, education and
advertising
5. People are active recipients of media messages
6. Mass representations play a role in how society
understands its reality
How to become a
more Media
Literate individual