1. Variables of Persuasion

2. Media Influences on Persuasion

3. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Understand the various components of the modern media industry 2. Identify the impact and influence of media on persuasion 3. Describe the influence entertainment media and news media have on our culture

4. Key Terms Media source Media channel Medium Media content News media News Entertainment media Entertainment programming Media audience Media Social media Convergence

5. Defining Media The product of the interaction between media sources, channels, content, and audience The term media describes a variety of people, structures, and technologies

6. Media Sources Specific person or group of people who produce messages for audiences News Advertising Entertainment programming Media sources are traditionally organizational and impersonal (Jamieson & Campbell) Large organizations responsible for production of today’s media content, e.g., Time Warner

7. Media Sources Megamergers reduce number of voices heard in media and raise questions about fair competition Media sources are impersonal Consolidation of radio stations means local disc jockey no longer selects songs to play News and weather reporting generated from non-local sources

8. Media Sources Technology offers potential for more voices to be heard and known by the public Any individual can establish presence on World Wide Web and disseminate information to a large audience This new type of journalism can be difficult to discern from reporting that is put through a series of checks and meets editorial/publishing standards

9. Host Matt Lauer Talking with the Today Show Audience Chatting with the audience lets Lauer and the other Today hosts give the illusion that they are familiar with the audience

10. Media Channels Media channel or medium – refers to means used to transmit a message U.S. more influenced by electronic media than direct oral communication Medium of a message does more than simply transmit the message Changes content that is carried and produced Changes the people who send and receive messages Changes the culture in which transmission takes place

11. Media Content Media content – refers to the programming carried by a media channel and produced by media source or organization News media – type of organization concerned with reporting current events, or news Entertainment media – organizations concerned with producing entertainment programming such as movies, talk shows, dramas, sitcoms, reality TV, and game shows

12. Media Audiences The group of people who potentially can receive media content Potentially large Anonymous Heterogeneous – includes people with different beliefs, attitudes and values Can circumvent the persuasive messages of producers and advertisers

13. Assumptions About Media Media persuade us Media sources, channels, and content present us with mediated realities Media sources are profit-making businesses Media sources persuade us by creating knowledge about products and people and their place in our culture Present us with mediated realities – pictures of reality, not reality itself The profit orientation of media sources affects virtually every decision media companies make

14. How Media Persuade Us As channel – the form of media content persuades us to adopt a particular way of seeing that content As gatekeeper – messages are interpreted in some way Editors determine which events receive attention Journalists produce message in a way that gives meaning to content Entertainment programming created to attract audiences to sell advertising As advocate – editorials present persuasive arguments for or against an issue

15. The Sensory Experience of Media Visual symbols – Messaris (1997) Images are persuasive because they seem realistic Images serve as proof for arguments Images suggest arguments to audiences Internet/computer technology has created new ways of appealing to an audience Broadcasts are multimedia – both audio and video Sensory experience extended over time and space – can view any event at any time

16. The Sensory Experience of Media Music and auditory symbols – Sellnow (1996) Musical score related to emotion Intensity and release patterns of a musical score related to tensions and releases we feel in everyday life Woodward (2003) – music is translated into visual terms that reflect prior experiences Persuaders use music to associate product/service with a previous positive or negative experience

17. MediaChannels Media Channels Internet/Web Social media Television Radio Print media Digital convergence

18. Internet/Web 1960s – began as a way for military leaders to communicate during crises 1990s – commercialization allowed and Internet use exploded 2012 78% of all Americans use the Internet 94% of those 18–29 use Internet Information searches and E-mail most popular Online shopping, social networking, banking follows

19. Internet/Web Four features influence study of persuasion 1. Internet has erased time and space boundaries 2. Use of hypertext links gives users more control over how information is processed 3. Technology allows for interactivity 4. Persuaders able to identify and target specific audiences by tracking user Web navigation history and habits

20. Social Media Web 1.0 – includes static Web pages written and controlled by businesses/organizations/media sources Web 2.0 – includes elements of Web controlled by users Blogs – Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr Photo/video sharing – Instagram, YouTube Social sites – Facebook, Twitter Location-based social media – Foursquare Social news – Digg, Flipboard

21. Social Media Users can control public discussion of an issue, event, or organization Equalizes communication possibilities in that everyday people can become powerful persuasive sources

22. Television Dominant medium in the U.S. – 96.7% of households have at least one television Technological advances Persuaders have more opportunities to reach narrowly defined audiences through themed cable stations Lifelike imaging technology – Hi-def and 3-D TV images may be sharper and more lifelike than event itself Cable Direct broadcast satellite Digital video recorders

23. Television Cable television Market segmentation increased Persuaders easily target specific audience defined by viewing preferences Direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) – satellite dish receives programming beamed directly from a communication satellite 2015 estimated subscribers – 33.5 million Americans Gives more control to viewers – access pay-per-view programs, commercial-free shows

24. Television Digital video recorders Pause live TV and resume as desired Fast-forward through commercials in recorded programs Record programs on a hard drive for later viewing Rewind show during recording to review earlier content Viewing habits tracked and information reported to service provider As viewers gain more control, persuaders must adapt ways to reach audiences

25. Television Cognitive effects Television has changed the way we view time and space; can view live events taking place far away Introduction of television to society changed the way we process info and see the world Created subcultures of people who perceive world differently than print/radio users Disproportionate amount of coverage given to dramatized crime events leads news viewers to perceive crime as more pervasive in society than in actual reality

26. Television Social implications Morgan-Signorielli (1990) – television has become the most common and constant learning environment Viewers persuaded to accept a view of the world as presented on the screen Selectively mirrors and leads society

27. Radio Next to television, second most popular media source 99% of households have radio 82% of Americans listen to radio Three types of radio 1. Talk radio – 1987 repeal of Fairness Doctrine that restricted blatantly ideological radio programming allowed talk radio to flourish 2. Internet radio – software enables reception of radio broadcasts from around the world 3. Satellite radio – subject-specific stations broadcast over wide area

28. Talk Radio Talk radio is most popular format 1. Fosters a sense of community for listeners 2. Gives audience opportunity to speak their minds 3. Considered by some as an anti-establishment medium

29. Print Media Readers of magazines and newspapers in decline Digital magazine readership increase has not offset losses by print counterparts Wire service use allows sharing of articles with smaller newspapers and homogenizes news coverage Powerful agenda-setting influence on newspaper coverage through wide use of wire service

30. Digital Convergence Convergence describes the integration of voice, video, and data technologies Users move seamlessly between phones, computers, and televisions to watch news, update personal information, communicate with friends Media sources use convergence to route users to other media channels Allows immediate access to vast libraries of information

31. Digital Convergence Allows for mass customization – product companies and media providers customize content for an individual consumer as determined by tracking of individual use habits Emphasizes symbolic, mediated nature of our environment Time and space are meaningless

32. News Ideally informs us of important events and helps us make informed decisions News programs widespread in the media Actually we know very little about the real world W. Lance Bennett (2009) – news is a product that is sold to the public Television news programs relatively inexpensive to produce News audience members attractive to advertisers – more attentive, affluent, and educated

33. What Is News? There is no standard definition of news News is a highly selective account of events, not a mirror held up to society News is a construct – a version of reality shaped in significant part by journalistic norms and conventions

34. Four Biases Affect News According to Bennett (2009): 1. Personalized Focuses on individuals in news events, not institutional factors Directs attention to scandals, careers, personal wins and losses, prestige and status Omits context necessary to fully understand situation Promotes egocentric world view in which no other perspective exists Tends to privilege views of featured individuals, typically upper-class Caucasian men, hides women and minorities

35. Four Biases Affect News 2. Dramatized Presented in the same way as a television program, movie, or theatrical production – follows conventional norms for dramatic presentations Tends to focus on conflict, personalities, and plot formulas Journalists color the story in a way that removes it from reality Dramatized news creates false impressions of severity of problems in society Democracy suffers because citizens are uninformed and misinformed

36. Four Biases Affect News 3. Fragmented Media focus on current events, current world crisis, latest violent act, or current political campaign Ignores long-term patterns and trends View of world is incomplete, see only small portion of it 4. Biased toward conflict News media formerly tended to normalize negative situations, now more likely to be negative and less reassuring Gets short-term attention of viewers but viewers see portrayals of situations as beyond control and unmanageable

37. News Decisions News media must constantly decide which stories to run Want to be first to report event and avoid being “scooped” Time and resource limitations Must have access to an event to cover it – events in distant places or occurring at undesirable times are not covered Cost constraints reduce foreign coverage Time and space constraints for stories limits coverage Competition and deadlines affects how and when coverage is presented

38. News Presentation Breaking news Reporters do not have chance to interview sources beforehand for credibility Difficult to check accuracy of information Anonymous sources – source cannot be questioned Possibility of bias – conservative or liberal leanings may affect the way news is presented

39. Audience Empowerment Be aware that economic, social and political forces constrain news media and affect news coverage Learn how to seek out credible news information – e.g., National Public Radio (NPR) Search for news from a variety of sources to determine significance

40. Entertainment Media Motion pictures Radio and television talk shows Television dramas Sitcoms Reality TV shows Game shows

41. Entertainment Media Fictional messages can influence audience beliefs about social groups and social issues Fictional messages provoke emotional investment and responses to story portrayed – viewers escape from reality and form beliefs and values based on fictional dramatic situations Contributes to stereotypes about other people Commodify products, services, or ideas of persuaders May contribute to change in cultural consciousness