1. mMEDIA UNITt YOUR FAMILY ON THE TUBEe

2. KEY CONCEPTSw 1. All media are constructions 2. The media construct reality 3. Audiences negotiate meaning in media 4. Media have commercial implications 5. Media contain ideological and value messages 6. Media have social and political implications

3. 1 ALL MEDIA ARE CONSTUCTIONS The media do not present simple reflections of external reality: they present productions which have specific purposes. Although television media appears to be natural, TV programming is in fact a carefully crafted construction Our task in this unit is to expose the complexities of media texts and thereby make the seams visible.

4. 2 THE MEDIA CONSTUCT REALITY All of us have a construct, a picture, that we have built up (based on our observations and experiences) in our heads about what the world is and how it works. When a major part of our observations and experiences come to us pre-constructed by the media, then the media rather than we ourselves, are constructing reality

5. 3 AUDIENCES NEGOTIATE MEANING IN MEDIAk When we look at any media text, each of us finds meaning through a wide variety of factors: Personal needs and anxieties The pleasures or troubles of the day racial and sexual attitudes Family and cultural background Each of us negotiates meaning in different ways.

6. 4 MEDIA HAVE COMMERCIAL IMPLICATIONSk In mass media, economics impinges upon content, techniques, and distribution. Media production is a business and must make a profit All programs—must be judged by the size of the audience the generate. Audience sampling and rating services provide advertisers with detailed demographic breakdowns of audiences

7. 5 MEDIA CONTAIN IDEOLOGICAL AND VALUE MESSAGES Ik All media products are advertising in some sense—for themselves, but also for values or ways of life. They usually affirm the existing social system The ideological messages contained in a typical Hollywood television show are almost invisible to North American audiences.

8. 5 MEDIA CONTAIN IDEOLOGICAL AND VALUE MESSAGES IIk Typical implicit and explicit messages can include: The nature of the good life and the role of affluence in it. The virtues of consumerism The proper role of women, gender, and sexuality The acceptance of authority Unquestioning patriotism

9. 6 MEDIA HAVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONSk An important dimension of media literacy is understanding how Media effects the changing nature of family life and the use of leisure time Mass media serve to legitimize and reinforce values and attitudes.