This document provides an overview of two approaches to analyzing mass communication: the functional approach and the critical/cultural approach. The functional approach examines how audiences use media to fulfill needs and what benefits they receive. The critical/cultural approach examines underlying power relationships in media and how audiences interpret and make meanings from media content. Key concepts of the critical approach include ideology, culture, hegemony, and how media representations maintain dominant social values.

1. Chapter 2
Perspectives on Mass Communication

2. Key terms
Paradigm: a model or pattern that a person uses to analyze
something
1. Functional approach: emphasizes the way that audiences
use mass communication and the benefits that people
receive from media consumption
2. Critical/cultural approach: examines the underlying
power relationships in media exposure and stresses the
many meanings and interpretations that the audience
members find in media content
3. Empirical approach: uses the techniques of the social
sciences, such as experiments and surveys, to investigate
the cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of mass
communication*
*the empirical approach is covered later on in the semester. We will only be discussing the functional and critical/cultural approach in this chapter

3. Example: The Apprentice
The functional approach would ask why
people watch this show. What about the
show appeals to men, or women? Does
the audience learn anything? Do people
like to play along? Do they talk about
the show with their friends?
The critical/cultural approach would
investigate the role editing and casting
plays in creating a reality experience,
how does the show portray capitalism?
Does it suggest wealth is an important
value? Does it glorify competition over
cooperation?

4. Functional analysis
Asks, “why?”
•Why do you watch TV?
•Why do you go to the movies?
•Why do you use Facebook?

5. Mass communication in society
•
•
•
•
Mass media is pervasive
Different people use different media for different purposes
Society requires communication
Function/dysfunction
Two types of analyses:
1. Macroanalysis: take the perspective of a sociologist and look
through a wide- angle lens to consider the functions performed
by the mass media for the entire society
2. Microanalysis: look through a close- up lens at the individual
receivers of the content, the audience, and ask them to report
on how they use mass media

6. Functions of Mass Communication for
Society
•
•
•
Surveillance: the news and information
role of the media*. The media as sentinels
and lookouts. On any given day, about 60
million Americans are exposed to masscommunicated news
Beware surveillance: when the
news/information media warn the public
about something. i.e. weather alerts,
terrorism warnings, global warming
Instrumental surveillance: information that
is useful in an everyday manner. e.g. stock
prices, movie listings, “lifestyle” articles
*Not all types of surveillance come from the traditional news
media. For example, HBO’s Sex and the City performed a
surveillance function for fashions and designer footwear.

7. Consequences of relying on the media
surveillance function
• With electronic media, news travels
FAST
It took months for the news of the end of the
War of 1812 to travel across the Atlantic. In
contrast, more than 90% of the U. S.
population knew about the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, within 2 hours of the
events.
• Sometimes speed leads to inaccuracy
In 2011, NPR erroneously reported that
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had died
following a shooting incident in Tucson,
Arizona.
• The media shows us more than we can
personally verify
Credibility is what makes news believable,
reliable. According to the news, the Mars rover
is collecting data. Can you personally verify
this?

8. Dysfunctions of the media
• Media can cause panic
and anxiety
In 2004, many reports
concluded bird flu would kill
150 million people worldwide
(this never happened)
• The media decides
what/who “matters”
status conferral: media
attention raises prominence

9. Interpretation
• The mass media do not supply just
facts and data, they also provide
information on the ultimate
meaning and significance of events
• Media gatekeepers decide what
makes it into the
newscast/newspaper/magazine
and what doesn’t
• Editorials, TV news specials, cable
news roundtable shows, reviews,
political cartoons
Consequences: many opinions are
presented, there is no guarantee that
opinions by experts are accurate and
valid, people might let the media do their
thinking for them

10. Linkage
• Mass media are able to join
different elements of society
that are not directly connected
Advertising links the needs of buyers
with the products of sellers
• When geographically separated
groups share a common interest
and are linked by the media.
Example: Social Networking sites,
eBay, Craigslist
Consequences: In 2011 it was
estimated that there were more than
1,000 “hate” terrorist-related sites on
the Internet; children bullying each
other via social networks; pro-ana
“thinspo” websites

11. Transmission of Values
• Also called the socialization function: the ways
an individual comes to adopt the behavior and
values of a group
• By watching the media, we learn how people
are supposed to act and what values are
important
• Consequences:
•
Media stereotypes
What do you think some of those are?
How does the media portray the American family over the years?

12. Mass media & social values
Sometimes, the media
consciously tries to instill
values and behavior in the
audience, and/or enforce
social norms
•
•
•
•
newspapers reporting
whether or not a car
accident victim was
wearing a seatbelt
smoking on TV
anti-drug ads
Jonas Brothers purity
pledge

13. Entertainment
• By 2011 more than 50 million
people in the United States had seen
Avatar at a theater.
• About 110 million people watched
the 2011 Super Bowl on the Fox
Network.
• The video game Call of Duty: Black
Ops sold more than 5 million copies
the first day it was on sale.
The emergence of mobile media and
the internet have increased the
entertainment function of the mass
media

14. Consequences of the entertainment
function
Consequences: entertainment that is carried
by the mass media must appeal to a mass
audience. As a result, media content is
designed to appeal to the lowest common
denominator of taste. More programs that
resemble Survivor and Jerry Springer will find
their way to TV than will opera performances.
•We are more apt to see sequels such as Star
Trek VIII than we are to see Much Ado About
Nothing II and More King Lear.
•Rock radio stations outnumber classical
stations 20 to 1.
•Critics have charged that the mass media will
turn Americans into a nation of watchers and
listeners instead of doers.

15. How people use the mass media
(microanalysis)
Functional approach is a uses-and-gratifications
model, that states audiences have needs and desires
that are satisfied by media and non-media sources.
Six category system:
1.Cognition
2.Diversion
3.Social Utility
4.Affiliation
5.Expression
6.Withdrawal

16. 1. Cognition
The act of coming to KNOW
something
•Using the media to learn
something
•Example: current events,
news
•People use the media in a
cognitive way when they
want to understand the
world

17. 2. Diversion
Using the media to take our attention
elsewhere. Three major forms of diversion:
1.Stimulation: seeking relief from boredom or
the routine activities of everyday life (I watch
TV because I am bored, this special on the
History Channel interests me)
2.Relaxation escape from the pressures and
problems of day- to- day existence (Had a
really stressful day at school, I relax by
watching Honey Boo Boo or reading TMZ) The
content is not the defining factor, since
virtually any media material might be used
for relaxation by some audience members.
3.Emotional release: Media consumption as
catharsis - a release of pent-up emotion or
energy. (horror movies, tearjerkers)

18. 3. Social Utility
Social Utility describes the human need
to strengthen contact with family
members, friends, our entire social
group
•Conversational currency: using media as
common ground for connecting with
others
Did you see The Avengers?
What did you think of the Superbowl
commercials?
•Parasocial relationship: the
phenomenon where people develop
(one-sided) relationships with media
characters.
Example: fans of fictional characters, fans
of a band, people who have favorite
American Idol contestants, etc.

19. 4. Affiliation
Affiliation refers to a person’s
desire to feel a sense of
belonging or involvement
within a social group
•The Internet is the primary
medium that fulfills this
function for many people.
•
•
Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin
Others include: online
gaming, instant messaging,
dating and matchmaking
Web sites, and text
messaging

20. 5. Expression
Self-expression refers to individuals’ need to
express their inner thoughts, feelings, and
opinions.
•The first examples of the need for selfexpression are the cave drawings done by early
human beings
•Since that time, the need for self-expression has
been fulfilled primarily by creative and artistic
activities such as music, painting, writing, dance,
and sculpture
•The Internet has opened up new vistas for selfexpression
•
•
•
Blogs, commenting on articles
YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud
Facebook pages can be personalized to express
a person’s individuality
Expression is an important function for the
individual

21. 6. Withdrawal
Withdrawal describes using the media to create
a barrier between themselves and other people
•“I’ll do that after I’m done watching my
show.”
Here, attending to mass media content is defined as a
socially appropriate behavior that should not be
interrupted.
•People also use the media to create a buffer
zone between themselves and others.
•When you are riding a bus or sitting in a public place
and do not want to be disturbed, you bury your head
in a book, magazine, or newspaper.
•If you are on an airplane, you might pop in your iPod
ear buds and tune everybody out.
•Television can perform this same function at home by
isolating adults from children (“ Don’t disturb Daddy;
he’s watching the game”) or children from adults (“
Don’t bother me now; go into the other room and
watch Sesame Street ”).

22. Key concepts: critical/cultural model
Culture: is a complex concept that refers to the common values,
beliefs, social practices, rules, and assumptions that bind a group
of people together
Text: is simply the object of analysis. Texts are broadly defined:
They can be traditional media content such as TV programs,
films, ads, and books, or they can be things that do not fit into
the traditional category, such as shopping malls, T-shirts, dolls,
video games, and beaches.
Meaning: the interpretations that audience members take away
with them from the text. In fact, texts have many meanings; they
are polysemic. Different members of the audience will have
different interpretations of the same text.

23. Key concepts: critical/cultural model
Ideology: a specific set of ideas or
beliefs, particularly regarding
social and political subjects. Mass
communication messages and
other objects of popular culture
have ideology embedded in
them.
Hegemony: has to do with power
relationships and dominance. In
the United States, for example,
those who own the channels of
mass communication possess
cultural hegemony over the rest
of us. Maintains the “status quo.”
How are gym teachers represented in our cultural products?

24. Development of the
critical/cultural model
The critical/cultural approach examines
such concepts as ideology, culture,
politics, social structure, and hegemony
as they relate to the role of media in
society
•Origins of the critical/cultural model
developed out of the Frankfurt School
during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Frankfurt School were committed to the
ideals rooted in
Marxism: the best way to
understand how a society worked was to
examine who controlled the means of
production that met the basic needs of the
population for food and shelter

25. Development of the
critical/cultural model
•They noted that, just as big firms
controlled the production of
economic goods, other big
companies controlled the
production of cultural goods
•The culture industry exploited the
masses just as capitalists did; they
published and broadcast products
based on standardized formulas that
appealed to the mass audience and
promoted & glorified capitalist
culture
•Media reinforces the status quo

26. Development of the
critical/cultural model
Great Britain (late 1950s and early 1960s)
Scholars at the Centre for Contemporary
Cultural Studies at Birmingham University
noted that members of the British working
class used the products of mass culture to
define their own identities through the way
they dressed, the music they listened to,
the hairstyles they favored, and so forth.
•The audience did not seem to be
manipulated by the media, as the Frankfurt
School argued; instead, the relationship
was more complicated.
•Audience members took the products of
mass culture, redefined their meaning, and
created new definitions of their selfimage.
•This emphasis on meaning was reinforced
by studies of film and television.

27. Development of the critical/cultural
model: British Cultural Theory
• A theory developed by
British film critics
suggested that cinematic
techniques (camera angle,
editing, imagery) subtly
but effectively impose on
the audience the
meanings preferred by the
filmmaker.
• However, audience
members were free to
resist and come up with
their own meanings.
Bansky’s Napalm (2004)

28. Critical/cultural approach
• Important to the cultural studies
group were the values that were
represented in the content.
• Marxists note that the values of
the ruling class became the
dominant values that were
depicted in mass media and other
cultural products.
• The dominant values that were
represented were those of white,
upper- class, Western males.
• The media worked to maintain
those values by presenting
versions of reality on TV and films
that represented this situation as
normal and natural, as the way
things should be (cultural norms)

29. Critical/cultural approach in the US
• This approach gained
prominence in the United
States during the 1970s and
1980s, and was adopted by
communication researchers
and scholars engaged in
feminist studies
• Examined the role of the
patriarchy in media and
cultural products
• How were women portrayed in
the 1980s on TV and in film?
How about now?

30. Critical/cultural approach in the US
• The audience is not passive in
this approach – they are free to
reject or accept cultural norms
encoded into cultural products
• Do you think audiences are
passive or active?
• This approach also includes
studying cultural myths
embodied in mass
communication
Example: Star Trek relies on the telling
of cultural myths of frontier expansion
and exploration