Understanding Media and Culture What is culture? “A particular way of life and how that life is acted out each day in works, practices and activities”

Defining culture “The expressed and shared values, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of a social group, organization or institution”

Marshall McLuhan “The medium is the message” 1950s to 1980 Media themselves are more important than any content they carry

Marshall McLuhan Media influence how the brain works and processes information, creating new patterns of thought and behavior Dominant media shape society

The evolution of media Gutenberg’s 15 th century invention of the printing press made the mass production of print media possible.

Newspapers As the United States developed, print newspapers helped give expression to developing American culture. Helped create an “imagined community”

Radio and rise of television 17,000 TVs in 1946; within 7 years, in 1 of 3 U.S. households Cable television spreads in 1980s and 1990s

What do media do for us? Inform and entertain Serve as public forum Monitor government and institutions Watergate N.J. bridge scandal: Bergen Record

Convergence Process by which previously distinct technologies come to share content, tasks and resources Smartphones; news stories appearing on multiple platforms

Jenkins: Types of convergence Economic Organic Cultural Global Technological

Media shape culture and vice versa Free speech, obscenity, copyright law Persuasion and propaganda Gatekeepers

Mass media and popular culture Pop culture: The media products and attitudes that are part of the mainstream of a culture and the everyday life of common people Tastemakers and crowdsourcing

Media Literacy The ability to access, analyze, and communicate information. Skeptically examine the media messages we receive.

5 core concepts of media literacy Messages constructed Using own language Different experiences Embedded values/viewpoint Organized to gain profit/power