•           Communication
130

 

Professor Joseph Turow

•              Aim of this class:

•           Media literacy

•           The meaning of “audience”

•           The major genres of content

 

•           Media

•           Tell people what and who counts and why.

•           Tell people what others think of them and what people “like themselves” think of others.

•           Social currency; water cooler conversation

 

 

•         Media Literacy– applying critical thinking skills

6 principles:

•           Media materials are constructed.

•           Media materials are created and distributed within a political environment.

•           Media materials are created and distributed within a commercial environment.

•           Mass media present ideas through primary genres.

•           People are active recipients of media messages.

•           Media representations play a role in the way society understands its reality.

•           Media literacy skills

•            An understanding of the commercial forces and political influences behind media materials

•            An ability to examine media content

•            An ability to think about ethical implications

•            Ability to understand research

•            Awareness of ways public can influence media

 

•           Major themes of the course

 

•           1. The primary activities of media industries are production, distribution and exhibition.

 

•           2. Governmental regulation & financial support from business are crucial to shaping different patterns of production, distribution and exhibition in different industries.

•           3. Audience segmentation lies at the heart of contemporary media industries.

 

•           4. New media technologies change the relationships that exist among older media.

 

•           5. The best way to understand media  industries is to see them as interrelated.

 

•           6. Media conglomerates play a large role in shaping the way media industries relate to each other.

 

•           7. These major players have global interests.

 

 

 

 

•           Audience

•           What does it mean?

•         The meaning and role of audience         

•           3 questions media practitioners must answer:

ό How should we define our audience?

ό Will our material for that audience generate adequate revenues?

ό Were the targeted people in fact attracted—and why or why not?

 

 

•            Media practitioners must continually think about how to choose or produce appropriate content.  They often think in terms of genres.

•           The primary genres

•           Genre:  a category of artistic composition … marked by a distinctive style, form or content.

•           Genre categories are not fixed.

•           Primary categories media practitioners discuss: entertainment, news, information, education, advertising.

•           Let’s start with entertainment

•           Examples

 

•           Gauntlet

 

•           Doctor shows