chapt. 11 mass communication & social control. schramm: four theories of the press 1 、...
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Chapt. 11
Mass communication & social control
Schramm: Four Theories of the Press
1 、 Authoritarian
2 、 Libertarian
3 、 Social Responsibility
4 、 Communist
Authoritarian 16th, 17th century (printing-bourgeois revolution) Tudor and Stuart Monarchs
1902 《大清报律》:不得刊载“诋毁宫廷之语、混淆政体之语”。
Charter & Censorship
Criticize king/government?
Libertarian
1688—
Milton “ Areopagitica”, Mill “On Liberty”, “U.S. First
Amendment ”
Enlightenment Rationalism Natural right
- Media are not governing tools, but means to argue.
“free market of opinions”
Late 19th & early 20th century
Crisis of both theory and practice of libertarian :
- Monopolization - Sensationalism- Commercialism
Social responsibility
20th century
USA
TIME
“Hutchins Committee”/ “Press Freedom Committee”
Communist
Soviet Union, Nazi Germany
Marxism-Leninism
Media are owned by nation and exist only as an administrative tool.
Comments on Four Theories of the Press
1984 J▪ Altschull: Agents of Power
1. market pattern
2. communist pattern
3. development pattern
Criticism on cold war ideology
Conclusion of Altschull Media are spokesperson of those who own political
and economic power. Media content reflects financial supporters’ interests. All media systems use press freedom as foundation,
with various definitions. All media systems commit social responsibility. Other patterns are abnormal. Media practitioners communicate ideology and values.
Gate-keeper theory
Gatekeeper is information controller who select, summarize, modify, spruce up, distort that which passes through communicative gate in the process of information dissemination.
K▪Lewin
1947: Channels of group life in Human
Wright 1949 : newsletters 11910 – 1297
1950 : gate-keeping model in news selection process
1950:The Gatekeepers: A Case Study in the Selection of News
NN1
N2
N3
N4
N1 N4
N2`
N3` M
Gate keeper
Based on personal or social influences they let the information to the group.
Through this process the unwanted, sensible and controversial information is removed by the gate keeper which helps to control the society or a group and let them in a right path.
Influential elements 1. Political and legal2. Economic3. Social and cultural4. Information 5. Organization6. Audience7. Technology8. Communicator
9 elements that influence foreign news selection
Timespan Intensity or Threshold Value Clarity Cultural Proximity Consonance Unexpectedness Continuity Composition Sociacultural Values
Think about it
The development of capitalist communication system and concepts.
Use an example to explain gate-keeping behavior of mass communicators.