Media System Dependency Theory

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Media system dependency is a theory that predicts people in society will use media for interpersonal needs and goals. It is researched as a system that allows people to meet these goals through sources of information found in different media forms (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). While media does help us understand who we are, and possibly what we may be becoming, it can also give us insight to the outside world. Media gives the consumer what is desired, and often that is the intense, hostile, and sometimes hopeless views of the world around us. For example, we watch the news and believe that a particular place isn’t safe because that is what media portrays. With all of these notions media gives us, and our dependency on media, it may be one big cycle of information that gets filtered and changed as the society and culture changes as well. Media dependency is also a concept and will continue to evolve as technology advances and new avenues of media consumption are explored. Researchers have noticed for as long as the media system dependency theory has been studied that, what people hear, see, and read inflicts an experience on the consumer. It affects their thoughts about the information they have just taken in and allows for judgments to be formed as well as a relationship to the media source itself (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). We have decided on a qualitative design that will allow us to understand more in depth implications media places on society when devastation hits a country. As a group of researchers we are going to base our research off the exploratory descriptive research. This will allow us to pick and choose which we feel is the best way to attain information we need from media consumers about the event... ... middle of paper ... ...oen, G., & Sahin, V. (2007). No Joke: A Comparison of Substance in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Broadcast Television Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(2), 213-227. Jackob, N. G. E. (201). No Alternatives? The Relationship between Perceived Media Dependency, Use of Alternative Information Sources, and General Trust in Mass Media. International Journal of Communication.4(1), 589-606. Lowrey, W. (2004). Media Dependency During a Large-Scale Social Disruption: The Case of September 11. Mass Communication & Society, 7, 3, 339-357. Shapiro, M., & Chock, M. (2004). Media dependency and perceived reality of fiction and news . Journal of Broadcasting & electronic media, 48(4), 675-695. Salwen, M. B. (1987). Mass Media Issue Dependency and Agenda Setting. Communication Research Reports, 4(1), 26-31.

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