Why is it important to study the media, rather than simply consume it?
Modern life without the media would be unimaginable for even the most reclusive. They are both so intertwined that any attempt to extricate one from the other would require herculean efforts. And yet, the history of the media is a short one; its evolution into a powerful tool had been swift and unpredictable (Bazalgette, 2000, p. 2). It is not surprising, then, for the media to be regarded with suspicion, and even fear, as society struggles with this rapidly changing construct (Bazalgette, 2000, p. 2). However, what is surprising is the lack of study on a subject which is as ubiquitous as it is significant.
Media studies as an academic subject, as with much of its theoretical framework, has only surfaced in recent decades (Bazalgette, 2000, p. 2). Despite growing interests in the field, media studies is still fraught with controversies and its fair share of detractors (Bazalgette, 2000, p. 3). Nevertheless, it is clear that a closer inspection of the media is crucial to becoming a more informed consumer of it. Specifically, how studying the media will empower its audiences and help develop more sophisticated readings of media texts; how the media pertains to the ‘conception of the self’ (Thompson, 1995, p. 22); and how useful it is to be a student of media studies.
Our worldview is constructed using information that is filtered to us through various forms of media. To study the media is to then investigate these filters. Bazalgette (2000, p. 2) suggested that politicians and industry leaders who were born in the early twentieth century were likely unfamiliar with new technology. Their decisions and opinions would thus have been inevitably influenced by their...
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...creasing significance on our individuality and sense of self, it is obvious that everyone should be studying the media.
Reference List
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MCKEE, A. 2001. “A Beginner's Guide to Textual Analysis”. in: S. COOPER (ed.) ATS 1277 Media Studies Reader. Churchill. Monash Print & Design Gippsland. pp.55-64.
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When discussing the media, we must search back to its primal state the News Paper. For it was the News paper and its writers that forged ahead and allowed freedoms for today’s journalism on all fronts, from the Twitter accounts to the daily gazettes all must mark a single event in the evolution of media in respects to politics and all things shaping. Moving on in media history, we began to see a rapid expansion around 1990. With more than 50% of all American homes having cable TV access, newspapers in every city and town with major newspaper centers reaching far more than ever before. Then the introduction of the Internet; nothing would ever be the same.
Joseph STRAUBHAAR and Robert LaROSE (2001). Media Now. Communications Media in the Information Age. 3rd Edition. Belmont, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
The media play an indispensable role in modern life, and are considered amongst the most powerful and inaccurate sources of social information, education and entertainment. Our mass media is an electronic (TV, film, video, videogames, internet) visually dominated media with print (newspaper, magazine)...
Hartley, John (2002), Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts, London, Routledge, pp. 19-21.
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Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, Bettina Fabos, and Richard Campbell. Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. Print.
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· James Curran & Michael Gurevitch: (2000): Arnold Publishers “Mass Media And Society: Third Edition”
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As media culture continues to help construct our world views and identities, we should be critical of what we consume and who the person/entity behind it
Campbell, Richard. Media & Culture: an introduction to mass communication. Bedford/St. Martin?s: Boston, N.Y. 2005.
The media is an inescapable constant in the daily lives of people today in most parts of the world; in Europe for instance people are spending, on average, seven hours a day on various forms of media outlets NEED REFERENCE. The media, being an all-encompassing aspect of today’s society, inevitably has the power to influence the way we perceive things thus contributing to the development of our personal identity and self-definition. The media informs, educates and entertains at a faster rate than ever before. Considering this, it is important to realise the consequences that the media has on society - it can be complex and it can manipulate ones’ personal identity and self-definition in both a positive and a negative way. Personal identity can
Hence, the power of media has touched its apex in today’s age. Its societal, political and economic functions reflect its unparallel capacity to affect the human life in all spheres.
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