Overview of Media Theories Prepared by Prof. Sondra M. Rubenstein

I. Identify the role of the media from the perspectives of - a) Media themselves b) Government, military, policy makers, and the political opposition c) Other newsmakers and those seeking media attention (including: NGOs, prominent people, single-issue political groups, extremist groups, terrorists, religious leaders, etc.) d) Attentive public e) General public

Question for your consideration: Generally, what are the responsibilities of a free press in a democratic society? Do these responsibilities change during a war or other crises? Do these responsibilities differ in non-democratic societies or in developing countries?

II. Theoretical perspectives of Mass Media and the State: This group of theories emphasizes the media in relation to government. Within this group:

• Two theories -- Authoritarian and Libertarian -- are mutually contradictory. • Two theories -- Social Responsibility and Soviet/Totalitarian -- are

modifications of the above two theories. • The fifth theory, Mobilization Theory or Developmental Journalism describes

a function of the media commonly found in new nation-states. • The sixth theory includes Peace-building and Conflict-Resolving Media

and Peace Journalism• The seventh theory deals with the Alternative Press, which now includes:

Citizen Journalists, Bloggers, and the Social Media. In democratic countries, the “alternative press” is often called the non-establishment press, while in non-democratic countries the term could refer to the underground press (which in the former Soviet Union was called Samizdat).

All of these theories reflect the evolutionary process of change. They are theories about

the press, rather than theories about mass communication.

In some way, these theories may also be theories about persuasion, convincing someone to

do something, to buy into some concept, or to support the “establishment,” to mobilize the

citizenry to help the government make the difficult decisions required to defuse anincreasingly intense situation, or to support a compromise solution.

(1) Authoritarianism -- Earliest press-state theory, characterized by: a) Licensing only to those of proven loyalty, b) Severe penalties for infraction, c) Specific prohibition of certain title,

Updated for: 2012For use in: Media in Peace & Conflict Management

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d) Other forms of prior censorship (fees, taxes, intimidation, etc.).

Relevant brief history - King's Star Chamber - In 1529, King Henry VIII perverted the original purpose of the Star Chamber, which was to serve the people, using it instead against his enemies and the enemies of the newly established Church of England.) In 1593, Queen Elizabeth ordered the Star Chamber to restructure the Stationers' Company (a printers' guild), thereby creating a private monopoly that assured a select group of master printers a good income and power over their apprentices and journeymen printers. By this, the Queen ensured an obedient and supportive press.

Authoritarian theory: a) Recognizes the adversarial relationship between government and media and places

little faith in the rationality of the people. b) Fears the perceived powerful influence of the press. However, so long as what is

expressed is not in opposition to government policy, it can be permitted. c) Ensures control, but to do this, the press can only remain `free' in the private hands

of licensed loyal printers whose work must not oppose the government.

Can Authoritarianism be considered a theory of persuasion? If so, in what way?

(2) Libertarianism -- The reaction to the controls demanded by the Authoritarian theory.

Relevant brief history - Stemmed from the Age of Reason (or Enlightenment) in the 17th century, during which scholars perceived order to the universe and saw humans as rational beings. a) Understanding the social order was intertwined with communications; many came

to believe in free expression. b) The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is a manifestation of belief in the

individual's inherent ability to: act rationally, choose correctly from the marketplace of ideas, and strive to increase his/her opportunities for a better society.

Despite libertarian belief in absolute press freedom, some controls were seen to be in the public interest.

• Thus, obscenity, pornography, libel, invasion of privacy, plagiarism and copyright infringement are among those areas that many believe do not fall within the protected sphere of expression.

• Problems occur in the search for an uncontested definition of obscenity, pornography, etc.

• It is extremely difficult to find a consensus (general agreement) on what these terms mean; yet, libertarians generally oppose any limitations on the press.

Early libertarian thinkers: a) John Milton - Areopagitica (1644) - a forceful plea against licensing.

b) John Locke - Two Treatises on Government (1690) - refutes the divine right to rule; argues that ordinary people, provided with available information, were rational and could be trusted to choose those who would rule over them and by their leave.

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c) John Stuart Mill - On Liberty (1859) - proclaimed: We can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion, and if we were sure, stifling it would still be an evil.

d) Jeremy Bentham on Utilitarianism - stressed the greatest good for the greatest number. A free press served the people, informing them and enabling them to make decisions that are necessary in selecting those who govern.

(3) Social Responsibility - Can be considered in two ways: • As an extension of libertarianism because it seeks to protect free expression,

and • As a reaction to the extreme abuses that occurred under libertarianism,

particularly seen on the U.S. during the 1890's era of yellow journalism. (Some would add, also seen during the era of muckraking in the U.S. in the early 20th century).

Question: What conditions gave rise to the social responsibility theory?

Relevant brief history - a) As print/electronic media became concentrated in fewer hands, concern about corporate power involved in chain ownership rose.

b) In 1942, Henry R. Luce (of Time, Inc.) funded Hutchins Commission (headed by Robert M. Hutchins, University of Chicago president). To the dismay of Luce, the Commission's report (1947) was based on a public-service perspective.

The report called attention to three dangers of corporate control of the media:

(1) The development of chain ownership of the press (which greatly decreased the proportion of people able to express their opinions and ideas through the press).

(2) The few with access to the press do not provided a service adequate to the needs of society.

(3) Those who direct the machinery of the press have engaged in practices condemned by society and which, if continued, will inevitably be regulated.

Social responsibility theory, shifts emphasis from press freedom to press responsibility to:

• Report accurately and truthfully, • Monitor ads to ensure against false claims, and • Engage in self-censorship, when society's well-being or national security is at

risk.

The libertarian, however, argues that self-imposed restrictions (meaning self-censorship to head off governmental action, is still a form of state control. The on-going controversy in the democratic world regarding political correctness and self-censorship is relevant because it involves the issue of excessive media portrayals of religious-, ethnic-, and race-based violence.

Examples: a) Social responsibility was called for after 9/11 as a reaction to an increase in violence and discrimination against members of the American-Islamic community.

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b) Social responsibility calls upon the media to refrain from excessive speculation as to the evidence, guilt or innocence of involvement in attacks against citizens, believed to have been orchestrated by extremist factions (on the left and the right), or agents (or satellite countries) of hostile governments.Questions: a) As far as you know, do journalists generally practice their profession in a socially responsible manner?

b) From what you have observed of media coverage here and abroad (including CNN, SKY News, FOX News, and the BBC and Al Jazeera (either in Arabic or in English), did the media behave in a socially responsible way in its coverage of:

• Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack (Preceded English Al Jazeera)• Wars in Afghanistan (2001-Present) and in Iraq (2003-Present)• China’s SARS health scare: In early 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome

spread to 29 countries, killing nearly 10 percent of the people it infected• Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004 • London bombings on July 7, 2005• Israel's War in Lebanon and in its north (Summer 2006)• Israel’s War in Gaza (Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009)• The "Arab Spring" revolts (2011)• The Anti-Assad forces being crushed by the Syrian Army (ongoing at the time

of this time)

Finally, before leaving our discussion of social responsibility, please consider the work of the photojournalist, who often must confront ethical issues, as well as the danger of his/her work.

Consider the ethical issues and social responsibility as they relate to the following two cases:

1. ONE HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND - YouTube 1. ONE HUNDREDTH OF A SECOND - YouTube

► 5:20

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxnBM4IlyP89 Feb 2011 - 5 min - Uploaded by paggeososYou need Adobe Flash Player to watch this video. Download it from Adobe. ... Standard YouTube License ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxnBM4IlyP8&list=FLdR6uFrPAlEqIav9lbpMahA&index=16 2. The following excerpt is from an article entitled: Tribeca's Harrowing Film About War Photographers, written by Marlow Stern, the assistant culture editor of Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Stern holds a master's from the Columbia University Graduate School of

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Journalism. The author called the photo below “an indelible portrait of African despair.”

. . . The image below became a symbol of African suffering, but it also emerged as one of the most controversial in the history of photojournalism, addressing issues of complicity. By Kevin Carter’s own admission, he waited 20 minutes, focusing and refocusing his lens on the scene, hoping the vulture would spread its wings. When it didn’t, Carter snapped the photograph and chased the bird away, but did not help the girl. The St. Petersburg Times went so far as to say, “the photographer adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene.” Afterward, Carter retreated to the shade of a tree, lit a cigarette, spoke to God, and cried. "He was depressed afterward," fellow photographer João Silva told Time. "He kept saying he wanted to hug his daughter.

"Wanting a meal"-- image by Kevin Carter (1960-1994). The war does not determine who is right, the war determine who is left.

Bertrand Russell(18 May 1872 – 2 Feb 1970)

Note: Marlow Stern did not include this photo in his article. I inserted it because I felt it was important to see it in the context of this discussion.

(4) The Totalitarian Application of the Authoritarian Theory -- This theory goes beyond authoritarianism, which perceived the press as a potential threat in need of control.

Relevant brief history - Whereas, authoritarian theory permitted private (but licensed and regulated) ownership of the press, a) Soviet/totalitarian theory saw the media as too dangerous to be left in private

hands. b) Beginning under Lenin (shortly after the Bolsheviks seized power from the Czar),

the media became an agency of the state, an institution of state control. c) Students were selected to become journalists.

• Were trained at State institutions, worked under tight supervision, ordered to follow the party line and interpretation of all events.

• Editors received daily communiqué’s from the government propaganda ministry telling them how to report the latest happenings.

d) Socialist Realism (Major guideline for publication).

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• Meant reporters were free to write about the reality of socialism, as set forth by Communist Party leaders, who remained true to Marxist ideology.

• Their task was to transmit social policy pronouncements, to report on any perversion of government policies.

• They were to be the State's eyes/ears and were to help mold people into good citizens (defined as obedient subjects of the communist system).

e) TASS (Soviet news agency). • Had color-coded system of news bulletins, ranging from a `your-eyes-only'

designation (for Communist Party members on the highest levels), to a designation for distribution to the general public, which often bore no relationship to the actual truth.

Questions: a) With the demise of Soviet system, what has happened to totalitarian theory?

• Despite disintegration of the Soviet system, the theory lives on in new forms, as well as in its original construction. New forms are found in some former Soviet Republics, where libel laws usually place formidable barriers to investigative reporting. These laws leave little space for journalistic speculation, analysis, or opinion.

b) What is being done to counter these obstacles to a free, democratic press? • The Center for International Journalism created/funded by U.S. government

and various non-governmental organizations. The Center has branches in most former Soviet Republics.

• The Committee for the Protection of Journalists is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the global defense of press freedom. Ann Cooper is presently the Executive Director of the CPJ. See: http://www.cpj.org

For Table of Cases of Attacks on the Press (2004),1 as cited by the CPJ, see: http://www.cpj.org/cases04/cases04_TOC.html

• Email questions to: info@cpj.org • Western journalism professors/professionals, travel to Eastern Europe to work

with journalism students/newspaper editors, encouraging them to understand role of press in free society.

c) What problems exist for the emerging press in some of the former Soviet Republics?

• Journalists have been warned--officially and unofficially--and scared away from

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1 Also see: Journalists Killed since 1992cpj.org/killed/ Committee to Protect Journalists.

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investigating government corruption that has, in some cases, bankrupted the country. See below:

47 Journalists Killed in 2011/Motive Confirmed

Source: http://cpj.org/killed/2011/

Job *Job *21% Broadcast reporter23% Camera Operator15% Columnist / Commentator13% Editor17% Photographer13% Internet reporter/writer19% Print reporter/writer13% Publisher/Owner

Local / ForeignLocal / Foreign15% Foreign

Murder VictimsMurder Victims27% Taken Captive82% Threatened18% Tortured

Type of DeathType of Death15% Crossfire/Combat38% Dangerous Assignment47% Murder

All figures are rounded to the nearest full percentage point. * May add up to more than 100 percent because more than one category applies in some cases.

Deadliest Countries in 2011

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1. Pakistan: 7

2. Iraq: 5

3. Libya: 5

4. Brazil: 3

5. Mexico: 3

6. Somalia: 2

7. Egypt: 2

8. Philippines: 2

9. Syria: 2

10. Yemen: 2

11. Bahrain: 2

12. Afghanistan: 2

13. Russia: 1

14. Nigeria: 1

15. Azerbaijan: 1

16. Thailand: 1

17. Peru: 1

18. Vietnam: 1

19. Tunisia: 1

20. Dominican Republic: 1

d) Where can the old forms of the theory still be seen? Answer: Wherever dictators remain in power.

(5) Mobilization Theory/Development Journalism - This describes a function of media commonly found in new nation-states:

• Media are utilized to mobilize citizenry to gain their support/cooperation. • On the positive side, this type of journalism can support the national

development/educational goals set by government. • On the negative side, as illustrated by the Rwandan case, the media were used

by the government to mobilize the public to engage in genocide.

These goals can be accomplished through: a) Direct control (i.e., ownership), of media, b) Indirect control (i.e., censorship--either mandated or voluntary), or c) Both direct and indirect methods.

• Imperatives of national security (e.g., in Israel), often dictate a close government/press working relationship.

• In some developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, mobilization theory has been taken to the extreme, where conditions are used to justify limitations on a free press.

(6) Peace-Building; Conflict-Resolving Media, and Peace Journalism – Please note: the following material has been adapted from: Conflict Resolution Network (online at: www.crnhq.org, which focuses on “the vital role the media plays in Conflict Resolution and Peace Making globally, nationally and locally.”

Four major steps for the media person who wants to go beyond just delivering facts, who desires to discover within him/herself “conflict-resolving talent.”

1. Clarify: facts, players, positions, and issues

2. Explore options: developed by all actors and the journalists who have been covering this conflict, as they “unfold the whole picture” and come to an understanding of what and why these events have occurred.

3. Find and move to the positive: Ask questions like:"What would it take to solve this problem?""What is it that you do want?"

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"What would make it better?""What would make you willing?" 4. Return to legitimate needs and concerns: Ask: "What do you need?" "Why is that important to you?" or "Tell me why that seems the best option to you?"What would you need to hear and have to “do it for you?""Are you meaning here that you need.....?" (use this question to test your assumption)"Are there alternatives that would also satisfy you?"

There are two great scarcities in the media: time and space. Therefore: You must decide your Conflict Resolution priorities early.

From the tools discussed below, choose those that are most relevant for your story.

Where to start? Start from where you stand right now, in your own area of professional expertise and interest. This isn’t going to be “a breeze,” and it “might be tough.”

Remember: “Media people, by their very inquiry, clarify and influence. They become a player, a member of the cast, not just the audience.” They need a Conflict-Resolution toolkit. With it they can often be an agent for positive change. Note: When you will analyze the coverage of your conflict choice, consider looking to see whether the media coverage you are analyzing includes any of the items that follow below:

(a)Win/Win Approach• Where's the conflict story? What's really wrong? Don't just report

positions. Go back to underlying needs and concerns.• What information will you need to be even-handed in your treatment

of each side's case?

Ask yourself "Can I turn these opponents into partners?"

(b)The Creative Response• Encourage the search for positive outcomes.• Journalist's questions to protagonists can be in themselves tools for

positive change.

Ask: "What would it look like if this problem were fixed?" can set protagonists thinking in fruitful directions.

• Can you expose the opportunities for positive change that arise out of the present situation?

(c)Empathy

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• Avoid simplistic representations of baddies and goodies.• Where possible provide enough information to create empathy for

all sides.• Expose where empathy breakdown is a cause of conflict.

Demonization, labeling, stereotyping or prejudice usually need to be addressed.

(d)Appropriate Assertiveness• Expose the abuse of ethical standards. Firmly steer towards the search

for solution.• Encourage protagonists to say how it seems to them personally rather

than prescribing how things should be for everyone.• Don't encourage or sensationalize personal attacks. Help individuals

show the best not the worst of themselves.• Seek to report people's real problems clearly, going beyond their fight

stance or fear of speaking out.

Let your story be hard on the problems and respectful towards the people. Your method of enquiry can take them towards the preferred approach of problem-solving.

(e)Co-operative Power -- Level the playing field by giving the powerless a voice.Present your media piece so that it says "no" to the misuse of power, injustice, ignorance and the mishandling of conflict.

Asking: "Tell me why you see that as fair?" helps fairness. Don't let power be the yardstick by which a solution is chosen.

• Can you encourage some co-operative problem-solving and report it?

Without denying the problems, the genuine struggle towards answers is the stuff of any good novel. Happy endings sell well too.

(f)Managing Emotions• Exposing how each party feels can be helpful. Each party needs to be

heard, and the media coverage should not inflame the situation.• Therefore, treat the emotions as symptoms. They are guides to where

the real problems lie. Examine the clashes of values, needs, scarce resources, etc., that are causing the emotional response.

Anger is the person's fire for change. Ask what they want changed? How do they need it to be?

• There is a difference between exposing injustice, or prejudice and pinning the person so they squirm. Attack the problem, not the person.

(g)Willingness to Resolve• Challenge embittered positions in others where they are unwilling to

resolve or to involve themselves in the processes of resolution.

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• Include in the story whatever openness to fixing the problem actually exists.

• Issues that personally make you very angry tell you something about yourself. At those times, be particularly careful to ensure your objectivity.

Stand shoulder-to-shoulder while you design a way forward.

(h)Mapping the Conflict• Report and explain fully and fairly for all parties their conflict "map",

i.e.: 1. needs2. fears and concerns3. values4. objectives5. limitations (personal, financial, situational)6. prevailing attitudes

Preferably let each side be exposed to the other's map, as well as helping you draw out their own. Then look for and encourage the parties to look for:

• new perspectives and insights• common ground• special concerns• hidden agendas.

(i)The Development of Options• Encourage the parties to brainstorm a wider range of solution that

they have presently thought of. Draw out their creativity before evaluating.

Ask: "Are there some alternatives that work for you and would also give the other person more of what they need?" "What would it take to solve this problem?"

• Don't ignore temporary solutions that address a part of the problem. This is good conflict management while the larger issues are being worked on.

Having done your overview, you may be in the best position to see a solution that has not yet occurred to the parties. Can you offer it?

(j)Negotiation Skills• Build the overall picture with "ands" not "buts." Objections need to be

included not dismissed.• Make the problem the "enemy" rather than the people.• Report areas of agreement as well as disagreement. This encourages

the problem-solving process to continue.• Representatives of an organisation will need to return to their

"constituency" with a win. If your reporting over-emphasizes the loss, the representative may be unable to sell a fair (or the only available) plan for solution.

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Always point out the wins for both sides, even where small. Your search for these wins may unfold some useful concessions valuable to receive and easy to give.

(k)Broadening Perspectives• The media person is often in a unique position to see a broader

overview of the situation than any individual party.• The media person can validate each party's needs and point up where

greed or bias limit a party's ability to see the whole picture.• The media person may be able to increase awareness of the

interdependence between nations, organizations or individuals, and the importance, therefore, of building solutions that recognize the long-term relationship: e.g. employers and unions; no one particular claim will be the last one.

(l)The Third Party Mediator• Recognize the role the media can play as mediator. The journalist and

the mediator ask the same questions.• Like the mediator, the journalist can provide a forum for all sides to

be fairly represented, and their needs and rights legitimized.• The media person acts as mediator when they have the good of the

whole at heart and place realistic limits on the need for the sensational story.

NOTE: MORE WILL BE INCLUDED ON PEACE JOURNALISM LATER IN THIS PACKET (see page, 49, Section X111.(7) Alternative Journalism - [See Alternative Press Collection on the web.] Michael Albert, attempting to define "alternative media," has identified certain characteristics (qualifying his list with "to the extent possible given its circumstances"). Thus, Albert states alternative media institutions:

• Do not try to maximize profits • Do not primarily sell their audiences to advertisers for revenues • Seek broad, socially relevant and non-elite audiences (and do not think of

them as potential consumers who are attractive to advertisers) • Treat their audiences with respect and promote the same values that are

internally pursued, including openness, dialogue, and full communication • Ignore typical hierarchies, believing that circumstances of work and training

should empower all participants • Encourage the idea that each participant has the information, confidence, time,

and security to develop their opinions, present them, and effectively champion them

• Actively support other like-motivated projects that seek to advance alternative media

Albert, who works for Z Magazine, is critical of what he calls "mainstream media," which he believes will be honest only after "the basic institutions of society are

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transformed so the word 'mainstream' no longer means capitalist, sexist, racist, anti-democratic, oligarchic, and hypocritical."

For more information, you can search the web by typing in "Alternative Press" or "Alternative Media."

(8) Also consider Civic/Public and Advocacy journalism: What do establishment journalists criticize about these other types of journalism?

(9) ON PUBLIC OPINION --- Almond and Key

a) Gabriel A. Almond studied foreign-affairs awareness level in the U.S. He created a 4-category hierarchy:• Elected/appointed leaders and policy makers• Polity and opinion elites• The attentive public• The general public

According to Almond’s theory of the attentive public: • They appear to be educated, with a good income.• They are interested in and knowledgeable about foreign policy. And, the attentive public as able to offset the "mood" swings of the lower classes.

b) V.O. Key also wrote about the political relevance of the attentive public. He said they:• Monitor government, • Let their judgments be known, and• Play a critical role in assuring a degree of responsiveness of the government to non-governmental opinion.

III. Miscellaneous Theoretical Perspectives: Mass Communication and Society -- (1) Contagion Effect - Argues, as result of media's role in presentation (called “modeling”) and teaching of deviance, there tends to be imitation/emulation. This is referred to as a “contagion,” which occurs in various forms of crime, violence, and social disturbances. Examples:

• During 1960s, race riots in U.S. showed a similar pattern of contagion--moving from city to city, within hours of the televised images being broadcast nationwide.

• Over the years, there have been copycat acts of terrorism, including skyjackings and kidnappings, designed to attract media attention. In July 2008, there were two bulldozer attacks in Jerusalem. The second was considered a copycat act of terrorism.

In Weimann and Winn's The Theater of Terror, the authors argue:

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a) Thanks to the penny press and the telegraph upon which its existence depended, extraordinary criminal and other behaviors could become known to an exceptionally wide audience capable of replication.

b) Sociologists gradually became less comfortable with the idea of genetic inheritance as an explanation for crime, preferring instead the concept of imitative behavior.

(2) The Mirror Theory -- related to Contagion effect. The theory states media reflect and can manipulate our cultural symbols (the dominant social norms and values) and persuade us to behave in the manner they wish.

• Marxists believe media reflect those forces that determine economic conditions and operate in accordance with economic philosophy of a capitalist society.

• Marxists also believe in conspiracy theory, namely that those elites who control media use them to persuade us to consume and accept dominant social paradigm/values.

On Albert Bandura's Modeling Premise:THE SPREAD OF TV VIOLENCE THROUGH MODELING

Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura's major premise is that we can learn by observing others. He considers vicarious experience to be the typical way that human beings change. He uses the term modeling to describe Northwestern psychologist Donald Campbell's two midrange processes of response acquisition (observation of another's response and modeling), and he claims that modeling can have as much impact as direct experience.

Social learning theory is a general theory of human behavior, but Bandura and people concerned with mass communication have used it specifically to explain media effects. Bandura warned that children and adults acquire attitudes, emotional responses, and new styles of conduct through filmed and televised modeling."37

George Gerbner was concerned that television violence would create a false climate of fear. Albert Bandura cautioned that TV might create a violent reality that was worth fearing.

Bandura's warning struck a responsive chord in parents and educators who feared that escalating violence on TV would transform children into bullies. Although he doesn't think this will happen without the tacit approval of those who supervise the children, Bandura regards anxiety over televised violence as legitimate. That stance caused him to be blackballed by network officials from taking part in the 1972 Surgeon General's Report on Violence.

It is doubtful whether TV sets will ever bear an inscription similar to that on packs of cigarettes: "Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that TV violence may turn your child into an insensitive brute." But if Bandura had been picked as a member of

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the research team, the report would have been more definitive in pointing out the causal link between television violence and aggressive behavior.

* * *Social learning theory postulates three necessary stages in the causal link between television violence and actual physical harm to another: attention, retention, and motivation.

To Bandura, televised violence will grab a child’s attention because it is simple, distinctive, prevalent, useful, and depicted positively.

1. Simple. There's nothing very subtle about punching someone in the face. Drawn out negotiations and attempts at reconciliation are complicated, but even a child can understand a quick right to the jaw. In order to avoid confusion on TV programs, the good guys wear white hats.

2. Distinctive. The characters on the screen take risks that don't fit the ordered pattern of the average child’s life. That's why Action Jackson pays his own way on commercial stations, while Mr. Rogers' ten-minute sweater change requires a subsidy on public television. Prosocial behavior (like sharing, sympathy, control of anger, and delayed gratification) appears dull when compared to violent action sequences.

3. Prevalent. Bandura cites Gerbner's index of violence to show that television portrays "the big hurt." Over 80 percent of prime-time programs contain violent acts. That figure rises to over 90 percent for weekend cartoon shows. With Nintendo sweeping America and half of the nation's families owning a VCR, violence on demand is easy to arrange.

4. Useful. Social critics decry the gratuitous violence on television, but Bandura denies that aggression is unrelated to the story line. The scenes of physical force are especially compelling because they suggest that violence is a preferred solution to human problems. Violence is presented as a strategy for life.

5. Positive. On every type of program, television draws in viewers by placing attractive people in front of the camera. There are very few overweight bodies or pimply faces on TV. When the winsome star roughs up a few hoods to help the lovely young woman, aggression is given a positive cast.

Using violence in the race for ratings not only draws an attentive audience, it transmits responses that we, as viewers, might never have considered before. The media expand our repertoire of behavioral options far beyond what we would discover by trial and error and in ways more varied than we would observe in people we know. The unthinkable no longer is.

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(From the First Edition of A First Look at Communication Theory by Em Griffin, 1991, McGraw-Hill, Inc. The full article (with footnotes) can be found at: www.afirstlook.com. A facsimile of the original article is also available in PDF format.). (3) Profit Theory -- The Power of the People Theory, also called the “make-a-buck,” or the “give-'em-what-they-want” theory.

• Profit theory is a part of the Mirror Theory that claims our media reflect our society.

• Profit theory acknowledges circularity of the communications process in American society and the commercial influence on media products.

• Here, too, the consumer is supposedly the “producer.” • Thus, successful mass media cater directly to specific audiences. • If it does not satisfy its audience, it loses that audience. • The successful newspaper, book, film, radio or TV program is successful only

if it appeals to the mass audience. • Marxists would point out media raise false consciousness, making people feel

they have more influence/control than they actually do.

Accordingly, as in the case of mirror theory, the media are merely re-active. • In the U.S. (and elsewhere in the world where the first concern of the media

business is making a profit), they are reacting to audience ratings (by such organizations as Nielsen and Arbitron), box office sales, circulation figures, advertising placement figures, etc., supposedly giving their audiences what they want.

(4) Stimulus-Response/Conditioning -- Called a Power-of-the-Press Theory, it is also a persuasion theory. This theory (born in 1890s) and was based on the notion of conditioning (meaning that the press has the power to “condition” the public to -- for example -- accept certain policies (including high-risk and confrontational military operations), behaviors, actions of the government and/or military, societal elites, etc.).

• Conditioning was illustrated through Pavlov's experiments with dogs -- ring a bell when dog is fed; eventually dog learns to associate bell with eating and salivates on hearing the bell. Pavlov's research captured public imagination the way Darwin's theory of natural selection (popularized as survival of the fittest) had captured the American mind a generation earlier.

• While Darwin's theory provided philosophical justification to laissez-faire economics and exploitation of working class, Pavlov's research introduced the social stimulus concept.

• Pulitzer, Hearst, Scripps, and others soon learned their rapidly growing press empires could provide a “social stimulus,” which would translate itself into increased newspaper sales.

Five historical case studies of media behavior during conflicts:

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1. Spanish-American War 1898: Publisher William R. Hearst was accused of stoking American war fever and conditioning the public to accept the “need” to go to war. Hearst allegedly wired Frederic Remington (artist/photographer): “You furnish pictures, I'll provide the war.”

2. WW II: From mid-1930s, till end of Third Reich, Hitler's propaganda machine, headed by Dr. Goebbels, spewed forth master race theory, fanning racial hatred into a worldwide conflagration.

3. 1991 Gulf War: During 40-day Persian Gulf War (beginning January 16, 1991), U.S. government tried to stage-manage news delivery so as to condition the people to accept the administrations reasons for going to war. TV networks generally cooperated, primarily because of enduring taint left over from Vietnam era. Approval rating of President Bush reached all-time high of 95%.

4. The Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (supposedly now winding down): Both wars began in the aftermath of 9/11. Both were stoked by the Bush

Administration’s conditioning the American public by arousing their fears.

Regarding the war in Iraq, various Bush lies about Saddam’s links to Al Qaeda and his

WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) were uncovered. (See website below.)

Iraq: The War Card - The Center for Public Integrity23 Jan 2008 ... President Bush, for example, made 232 false statements about weapons of mass ... The other was an Al Qaeda detainee, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, ... projects.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/

5. Israel's summer 2006 war. Many Israelis seemed to think that the framing used by various foreign media focused on conditioning the international public to believe that Israel was engaging in “disproportionate responses” to the constant barrage of rockets launched from Lebanon that fell on our communities in the north.

Some questions to think about:a) Was the foreign press biased? b) Is there some other explanation that would shed light on the different framing used by Fox News and, say, CNN or BBC or SKY News? c) Did anything change (from the time of 2006 war) either on the part of Israel or on the part of the foreign journalists covering War in Gaza in Dec.-Jan. 2008-2009?

Questions about these case studies: a) Does the press have such power that it can be a positive or negative force in motivating and mobilizing the public? b) Is there a single, vast, homogeneous (almost monolithic) public waiting to be persuaded by the media, to do their bidding? c) Will Stimulus-Response theory still hold up if—as indicated by recent research—there is no single public, but rather many publics, with differing views/interests getting their information from a wide variety of sources?

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d) Also, social psychologists now claim it is difficult if not impossible to make an individual do something he does not already have a predisposition (consciously or subconsciously) toward doing. Do you agree? Why?

Considering existence of diverse publics—even back in the late 1890s and during time of Hitler's reign, 1933-1945—and considering need for a predisposition to exist to motivate people, what conclusion(s) can you draw regarding the above five historical cases?

Critique of Stimulus-Response (S-R, a theory of conditioning): While media have real power to influence and persuade, that power is not total. Media influence can only be effective if it (intentionally or accidentally) strikes a popular chord.

As for the above cases, consider the following:

1. Hearst’s framing struck a popular chord in his newspaper when he played the three notes of: Manifest Destiny, American Empire, and Spanish brutality toward exploited Cuba. Americans were spoiling for a war they could easily win, as a way of flexing U.S. muscle.

• Hearst and the others who stoked the war fever apparently sensed the general mood and tapped into a predisposition toward action (under noble guise of liberating Cuba from Spanish cruelty).

• One writer put it, “America did not salivate because newspaper empires rang a bell; it was drooling already.”

2. Hitler’s framing played on confusion and disappointment in Germany following defeat in WW I, on the weaknesses of the Allied-imposed Weimar government, and on the centuries' old hatred of Jews and others who were different. Under the guise of Aryan superiority and non-Aryan inferiority and subversiveness the Nazi-controlled media tapped into a predisposition, uniting major segments of public opinion and isolating and destroying those groups who challenged the Reich.

In both the above examples (relating to Hearst and Hitler), the media used and built upon what already existed in the general public, a predisposition—a leaning toward, a yearning—for something that had not yet been openly articulated.

3. Gulf War #1: After the Vietnam War, Americans yearned for a winnable war. Saddam Hussein appeared to be an enemy--and, with a cooperative press, he could even be demonized, made to look like Hitler (as Newsweek did by changing Saddam's mustache).

• So, winning the war against Iraq in 40 days made Americans feel good. Yet, when the smoke cleared and the economic reality across the country set in, Bush senior’s approval rating began to plummet

• Once victory was assured, the effect of patriotic conditioning quickly wore off.

4. The War on Terrorism: Richard Keeble [see Chapter One in Secret State, Silent Press, Luton, UK: U. of Lutton Press, 1997] sees the ongoing war on terrorism as part

of

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his theory of neo-militarism, in which the stimulus derives from economic and political

ambitions of the military-industrial complex in capitalist countries.

Keeble, Noam Chomsky, and other spokespersons of the political left argue that the mainstream (establishment) media are engaged in some sort of conspiratorial silence.

They also cite President Bush's use of fear to unite public opinion, through media coverage

of the war in Iraq and various terrorist attacks around the world.

Consider the advent of Cyber war and the bloggers. Has the Internet became a tool for conditioning public opinion?

5. Israel's summer 2006 war. The public saw an incredible amount of Photoshop manipulation of images, Hezbollah-stage management of CNN's reporters, and

effective anti-Israel propaganda.

Critics of S-R say: It is not a question of the power of the press to influence or persuade. It is more a matter of the predisposition of an individual. Critics say the public will only react (be persuade) if it so wishes.

(5) The Mass Society Concept -- Considered a theory of persuasion. Also called: a) The Maximum (or Powerful) Effects Model b) The Hypodermic Needle Theory c) The Magic (or Silver) Bullet Theory

Relevant brief history — During `30s and `40s, studies were undertaken in the U.S. to examine the degree of media Influence. The American Payne Fund studies of the early 1930s reported children and adolescents patterned their behavior on that of the people they saw on screen. That study, along with the public's reaction (on Halloween evening in 1938) to the Mercury Theater of the Air’s narration by Orson Welles of a Martian landing, aroused fear and concern about the power of the media (especially film and radio) to influence and persuade.

During WW I and WW II, the U.S. government was concerned about enemy propaganda. It launched massive propaganda efforts. Consider the work of the WW I George Creel Commission and of the WW II Elmer Davis Office of War Information and the Frank Capra Why We Fight film series.

The Mass Society Concept is an extension of the S-R Conditioning Theory, with which it has been confused. The concept became popular during the 1950s and 1960s. Then, as now, some social scientists were troubled by what they felt was a low level of popular culture, characterized by increasing violence, social inequity, racial and sexual bias and the LCD (lowest common denominator) offered by TV.

• Among those who blamed the media for the ugly behavior they saw in society, there was the belief that the media intentionally fed base appetites.

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• Mass Society theory assumes there is only one undifferentiated mass of people waiting to be shaped (influenced, persuaded, injected, shot) by the media.

• The ordinary person is given no credit for being able to think, analyze, and form an opinion on his/her own.

MS theory comes close to Soviet/Totalitarian theory in the belief that mass communications (for information or entertainment) can serve a social and political (ideological or government-designated) purpose.

• In U.S., MS theory helped focus attention on shortcomings of the mass media and its make-a-buck practices. It hastened development of social responsibility, seen as a worthy alternative to make-a-buck practices.

(6) Two-Step Theory -- The People's Choice Studies on the formation of public opinion and the power of the press to shape it was undertaken in Erie County, Ohio, in 1940. Researchers Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet studied media impact during that year's presidential election campaign.

• The 1940's PCS studies led to the two-step theory of opinion formation and to Berelson's conclusion: "The less informed people are on an issue, the more susceptible they are to opinion conversion through the influence of the communication media."

Many SR studies (such as the Pavlovian conditioning of animal behavior) had been conducted in the past. What was new in this study was that research was tied to an election campaign. Erie was deemed a typical American community because it had voted as the nation had in every previous presidential election since the turn of the century.

Today there are many more influences (stimuli) on public opinion, BUT in the years before television, campaign-stimulus materials came from print, radio and bulletin boards.

• The research design called for a panel study consisting of a random sample of 600 residents.

• They were interviewed privately, in their homes, each month for several months, so that the researchers could study the effects of the stimulus material.

There were three types of effects:

1. Obvious effects: Asking people for their opinions, stimulated/motivated them to: a) Seek information about the candidates and the issues b) Formulate opinions and decisions on how to vote c) Actually vote on Election Day

2. Less obvious effects: Researchers found: a) Where people had a latent predisposition to vote for a particular candidate, a process of crystallization of opinion occurred. Meaning: At some point during the campaign their opinions formed, and they were activated, motivated to vote.

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b) Respondents who were early decision-makers unwittingly reinforced their decisions by continuously selecting partisan (slanted, one-sided) material from the media. c) Key variables that determined interests and whether or not early or late decisions were made, included: Social category memberships, such as socio-economic status, residence, education, age and sex.

3. Unanticipated effects: a) Informal social relations and primary-group ties played a far greater role in the formation of public opinion than did the media. Respondents more frequently mentioned political discussions among friends/acquaintances than exposure to print/radio when they were asked to report on any sort of campaign-related communications.

b) When researchers became aware of this factor of interpersonal communication as an opinion-forming variable, they were about half way through their study. In the remaining interviews, they learned there was actually a two-step process. Many respondents obtained most of their campaign information from others who had gotten it firsthand from the media.

Called "The Two-Step Flow," this pre-television, opinion-formation theory challenged maximum-effects theory and led to limited-effects theory. It can be described as follows:

The Mass Media — at that time, meant radio/print media. They collect, interpret, and disseminate information.

{Step 1.

Opinion Leaders—act as conduits for media-generated information. They: • Filter out undesirable data • Select what to pass on • Supply their own interpretations • Use their personal influence • Activate individuals to examine issues and vote.

{ Step 2.

Individuals—with less exposure to media, they depend on others for their info. If their source of information appears informed/trustworthy (and if there are more or less similar values), the source is perceived as, and becomes, an opinion leader.

Prof. Todd Gitlin studied the impact on public opinion of TV coverage of the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement, and the Chicago police beating anti-war demonstrators on the street, while the Democratic Convention was in progress.

Gitlin raised people's consciousness and questions about TV effects on opinion formation. His book, The Whole World is Watching, also challenged the Two-Step Theory and gave rise to renewed interest in the Maximum (Powerful) Effects Theory.

Questions:

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a) If we now consider this Two-Step Theory of indirect media influence to encompass television, cable, computers, electronic mail, the Social Media, and other new technologies, does the theory remain relevant to explain how public opinion is formed?

b) Have these technologies, with their multiplicity of channels to disseminate information, overtaken the role of the "guy next door" (the "local") opinion leaders by reaching directly to individuals?

c) Or, consistent with the theory, have the opinion leaders retained their traditional role of information processors, and has that role actually been enhanced?

d) And, what of the role of the Internet in influencing public opinion? Consider the myriad of information and opinion sites one can access on almost any subject.

e) And, what about the influence of Bloggers and those who are now called Citizen Journalists?

f) What role can any of the above “new media” play in terms of peace journalism?

The Debate: A. Critics of the 2-step theory say it:

• Discredits/diminishes the original and direct influence of the mass media. • Is no longer relevant because of TV, the decrease in newspaper and other

reading, and expansion of mass media choices (including: the internet, cable, VCRs, etc.), all of which have led to audience fragmentation.

• Expanded media choices have led to an exponential increase in exposure to the media, resulting in an increase in the media's influence.

B. Those who still find relevance in it say: • Even with audience fragmentation, the decrease in newspaper and other

reading, and the increase in mass media choices, people still turn to public opinion leaders and experts for analysis and clarification of important issues.

• Therefore, opinion leaders have become increasingly important conduits. • They have the difficult task of accessing information from diverse sources,

analyzing the bits and pieces, formulating cogent arguments, and conveying their opinions.

• Many believe the two-step theory is still relevant when we talk about interpersonal communication, between the opinion leader and the individual.

However, there remains the nagging question of what happens when an "opinion leader"

appears on a popular television program. Who gets "credit" for influencing your opinion or persuading you to change your attitude? Is it the television medium, the network or station which carried the program, the program's producer ("gatekeeper"), the sponsor for supporting the program, the guest personality, or you for not changing the channel?

More questions: What do you think? a) Is the two-step theory merely a historical footnote as some claim?

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b) When you consider the massive technological changes since the theory's publication, can you design a more relevant, up-to-date flow chart to describe the formation of public opinion, keeping in mind our focus on Peace-Building and Conflict-Resolving Media?

(7) Marshall McLuhan’s “Probes” – McLuhan reasoned that the mass media reflect society, and they also affect society in more ways than had previously been thought.

A. The medium is the message. By this McLuhan did not mean that the content, the message itself, was not important. Rather, he was telling us to think about and study the changes and effects brought by new technologies. He wrote in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man that any technology gradually creates a totally new human environment.

In terms of the electronic age, the medium is the message means that a “totally new environment has been created.” It is the medium that shapes/controls the scale and form of human association and action. McLuhan believed print created individualism and nationalism in the sixteenth century. Program and content offer no clues to the magic of these media or to their subliminal charge.

B. HOT & COOL MEDIA -- This theory once deserved real consideration when

choosing which medium to access for purposes of disseminating your messages.

One can argue that the theory still deserves consideration, as we use the high-

tech social media purposes of peace and conflict resolution).

In this age, it is easy to see that the social media are “cool,” in that they engage us and

enable us to simultaneously reach out to huge numbers of people. So, as you read what

McLuhan was thinking about, consider applying this to your analysis of how the Internet

and the social media can play a positive role in this field.

HOT Media do not leave much for the audience to fill in. They are therefore low in participation

COOL Media are high in participation orcompletion by the audience (viewers/ listeners)

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Print culture/high literacy culture. It led to de-tribalization, as people went off to read alone. “Print is a hot medium. It projects the author to the public as the movie did.”

Members of tribes told their stories around the fire, which brought everyone together.

Oral culture/low literacy culture

That Hitler came into political existence at all “is owing to radio and public-address systems.”

TV rejects sharp personalities. “Had TV come first, there would have been no Hitler at all.” [Today, would you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Movies “assume a high level of literacy in their users and prove baffling to the non-literate….” Initially, if someone disappeared off the side of the film, the African wanted to knowwhat had happened to him

TV is cool, involving; it can lead to “re-tribalization.” Initially, when some families had only one TV set, they invited the neigh-bors in to gather around the TV set and watch together.

Film is the rival of the book. TV is the rival of magazines because like books, it offers an inward world of fantasyand dreams. As more people got TV sets, magazine subscriptions fell off and many magazines went out of business.

The book: was “impersonal” with “uniform patterns, fast lineal move-ment.” Reading is a lone activity.

Dialogue is involving

Lecturing discourages participation…

The Seminar encourages participation…

Hot and intensely filled in cities…

BUT, casually structured towns, are more involving, drawing local citizens in, to participate

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NOTE: Consider the impact of the social media in “retribalizing” our society by bringing together diverse people and communities to mobilize them for social protest movements and/or political demonstrations.

McLuhan: TV is cool, partly because of the electronic composition of the video picture.

The TV image: is visually low in data. . . .[and] offers some three million dots per second to the receiver. From these, viewers accept “only a few dozen each instant, from which to make an image.” Viewers of the TV mosaic. . . unconsciously reconfigure the dots into an abstract work of art. . . .

C. Global Village -- Television (and other new technologies) will bring the world closer together. As we see and learn more about each other, a “global re-tribalization will occur.”

D. Perceptual Numbing -- De-sensitizing can occur as we are exposed to repeated violence on TV and in the movies.

E. Depth Experience/Involvement/Perception -- Our sense of reality is affected by extensive viewing; we internalize what we see on TV. McLuhan cites a Hollywood hotel proprietor who said tourists wanted to see television characters Perry Mason and Wyatt Earp. They did not want to see the actors who played those roles: Raymond Burr and Hugh O’Brien. (This is called mediated reality.)

Important Point: Mediated Reality for the purposes of this Seminar dealing with

Peace-Building Journalism, ought to be taken seriously and examined with deep

concern. For example, see the video below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_embedded&v=T_Dx9LjnQOY

F. Humans as the servomechanisms of their machines -- In the 1960s, McLuhan predicted we were entering a period where we would become little more than servomechanisms of our machines (robots), meaning: We would create them and keep them running. They would do the rest. The end product of the electronic revolution: displaced humanity (large numbers of unemployed).

McLuhan wrote: “Hence, the specter of joblessness and property-lessness in the electric age. . . . The electric age of servomechanisms suddenly releases men from the mechanical and specialist servitude of the preceding machine age. . . . [In other words: they lose their jobs.] We are . . . threatened with a liberation that taxes our inner resources of

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Never mind journalistic honesty or integrity, just a ... - YouTube Never mind journalistic honesty or integrity, just a ... - YouTubewww.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Dx9LjnQOY27 Sep 2011 - 9 min - Uploaded by leoncheetahHe who pays the fiddler, calls the tune Watch the remarkable work of a ... http:// www.planetnext.net/2011/09 ...

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self-employment and imaginative participation in society.” [An upbeat way of looking at unemployment!]

G. The medium is the massage -- Years after his first writings, McLuhan reconsidered the impact of television and voiced concern for those who were habitual viewers. He came to believe that TV distracts and lulls us, massaging us into a passive state.

(8) Peter Crown's Electronic Fireplace -- Dividing media into high-effort and low-effort, some scientists discovered that alpha waves dominate brain-wave activity while one watches TV. They concluded that viewing TV is such a low-effort non-involving task that the individual slips into an unfocused, passive, semi-hypnotic state “similar to staring into a campfire.” This would be consistent with McLuhan's “the medium is the massage,” but it raises questions about his hot/cool differentiation.

Commercial network executives became interested in ongoing brain-wave research. They hired scientists, market researchers, and social scientists to conduct further research. Much attention was drawn to the "campfire" notion, prompting Peter Crown to label TV the “electronic fireplace.

(9) Diffusion of Information Perspective - This is specifically useful for those managing campaigns. This perspective acknowledges the importance of interpersonal communication in the dissemination of information. However, this perspective argues that:

a) Under certain conditions the transmission of information by the media will have a direct impact on individuals. b) It can produce changes in their knowledge. c) It can even lead to changes in their behavior. d) Interpersonal communication occurs as a reaction to the media reports, as people hearing the news through the media then tell others.

Example: The events of 9/11/01 - people phoned family, friends, colleagues, who promptly turned on their TVs to see what was happening.

Diffusion theory (useful in campaigns) is generally concerned with understanding the conditions that mediate the flow of information involving candidate positions, political campaign and public issues; the spread and adoption of new ideas/innovations; how people become aware of issues, and what factors contribute to the acceptance/rejection of political ideas.

Everett Rogers (Diffusion of Innovations, 1961) identified four stages of diffusion:

1) Information or knowledge 2) Persuasion 3) Decision or adoption 4) Confirmation or reevaluation

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During the 1970s, researchers were primarily interested in studying the extent and flow of information, focusing more on the first stage of attention arousal rather than on the persuasion stages, which came later in the process.

(10) Uses & Gratifications Theories - These theories assume that individuals who use the media do so to fulfill various personal needs, including the obvious needs for information, entertainment, and companionship and the less obvious needs to see authority figures deflated, to be distracted, to appear informed and to feel part of the social community. (See Jay G. Blumler and Denis McQuail, Television in Politics, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969). Question: What are the implications of this theory as applied to the work of a journalist, particularly in the field of peace and conflict resolution.

(11) Agenda-Setting, gate-keeping, priming, framing and agenda-building - In 1963, Bernard C. Cohen argued that the press may not tell its readers what to think, but they have been successful in "telling its readers what to think about."

Cohen wrote: "The editor may believe he is only printing the things that people want to read, but he is thereby putting a claim on their attention, powerfully determining what they will be thinking about, and talking about until the next wave laps their shore."

In 1972, Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw analyzed the 1968 U.S. presidential campaign, hypothesizing that "the mass media set the agenda for each political campaign, influencing the salience of attitudes toward the political issues."

In addition to "agenda-setting" and "gate-keeping," two other theoretical terms have come into wide usage by those who study the media impacts and effects: priming and framing.

Priming - refers to the "play" given by the media to particular stories. When journalists focus on a story and that story appears in the press day after day, drawing the attention of an increasing number of readers, we can say that the readers have been primed to concentrate on that issue.

Framing - An example of this was the way in which the conflict with Saddam Hussein was framed as the next step in the war against terrorism. Saddam had been demonized and presented to the world as a major threat to world peace. The essential "war aim" was presented as "a necessary regime change." (See: Shanto Iyengar, Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues, 1972.)

Priming and Framing are seen as elements of gate keeping, agenda setting, and agenda building. More will be said about this in class and in Section X. Framing Analysis, which begins on p. 43 of this packet.

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(12) Stephenson's Play and Convergent Selectivity Theories -British Psychologist William Stephenson developed a mass communication theory based on the concepts

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of pain and pleasure, work and play. He argued that audiences will use the media to serve their own needs. His work falls under Uses and Gratifications theory.

Stephenson: We read newspapers mostly for pleasure, rather than just for information. We read things we already know about. For example, the previous night's soccer game; the latest terrorist attack we heard about on TV all day; government hearings that we spent hours watching, etc. Supposedly, we'll arrange our free time around prime-time programs and movies that provide painless and pleasurable adventures. He calls this communication play.

We have more time to play due to greater affluence and advanced/sophisticated technologies that have made our chores easier/faster to complete. Given a choice between play and work (defined as purposeful viewing and reading, such as viewing an assigned documentary or reading a text), we'll choose play, something light, entertaining/relaxing. Purposeful activities are those we must do; they cause pain, remind us of work/social control (both unpleasant). Diversion is “necessary” in all societies; diversions of “communication play” provide a psychological outlet for anxiety and a non-threatening release for pent-up hostilities.

Play theory has been useful to advertisers, political media consultants (spin doctors who guide and groom candidates), and even those concerned with improving the physical appearance of the print media. Why?

Critique of Play Theory: Critics see Stephenson as “an apologist for the media status quo.” For those who want to reform the media and raise popular taste, Stephenson is seen as giving too much support to the media status quo, which critics see as catering to the LCD, the lowest common denominator.

Tied to the play theory is the theory of convergent selectivity. Stephenson identifies two different types of persuasion.

(1) Social Control - Here, persuasion is associated with politics and public opinion. This type of persuasion must confront one's deepest beliefs and attitudes, which are difficult to change.

(2) Convergent Selectivity - This deals with individual selectivity, the perception of individuals within audiences of persuasive messages, where nothing of substance is at stake. If messages are perceived as inconsequential, trivial, purposeless, with no basic threat or important principle involved, individuals can indulge themselves (pay attention to the message, participate, buy the product). If, however, the perception is that the message clashes with closely held values, the result is rejection. Stephenson claims: This phenomenon is responsible for the success of modern advertising and the failure of certain political candidates to change attitudes. Awareness of this principle has led advertisers and candidates to avoid taking strong positions that might offend.

(13) George Gerbner’s Cultivation Analysis: C.A. says that television “cultivates” or constructs a reality of the world that (although possibly inaccurate), becomes accepted, simply because we as a culture believe it to be true. Then, based on this cultivated reality produced by television, we make decisions and act upon those

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decisions. See: Stanley J. Baran’s Intro. to Mass Comm.: Media Literacy & Culture, pp. 333-337).

Cultivation analysis is based on five assumptions:1) TV is different from other mass media.2) TV is the “central cultural arm” of U.S. society. It is a “primary storyteller.”3) Realities cultivated by TV are not necessarily specific attitudes and opinions but basic assumptions about the “facts” of life.4) The major cultural function of TV is to stabilize social patterns.5) The actual observable, measurable, independent contributions of TV to the culture are relatively small.

Some interesting points:• European scholarship has been a major influence on modern mass

communication theory. • Critical cultural theory is “openly political” and is rooted in neo-Marxist

theory.• CC theory encompasses different conceptions of the media-culture

relationship, but share these characteristics:a) Tend to be ”macroscopic” in scope, examining “broad, culture wide media effects.”b) Openly political, based on neo-Marxism, and their orientation is from the political left.c) The goal is to instigate change in government-media policies. CC theory assumes the superstructure favors those in power and must be changed.d) The investigate and explain how elites use media to maintain their privileges and power.

Two major CC perspectives include:1. The Frankfurt School -- Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer (who escaped Hitler’s Germany) saw the consumption of art (literature, symphonic music, and theater) as a means to elevate all people to a better life. They wrote “typical media fare--popular music, slapstick, radio and movie comedies, soft news in dominant press--all pacified ordinary people, “while assisting in their repression."

Adorno – On: Instrumental vs. Fundamental criticism – During a war or crisis, media coverage of an event that criticizes military or government handling of the action (or operation) is seen as instrumental criticism. However, when the media criticize a policy (for example, the decision to go to war), that is considered fundamental criticism, which is seen by government (and the military) as more damaging.

Adorno saw the culture industry as an arena in which critical tendencies or potentialities were eliminated. He argued that the culture industry, which produced and circulated cultural commodities through the mass media, manipulated the population. Popular culture was identified as a reason why people become passive;

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the easy pleasures available through consumption of popular culture made people docile and content, no matter how terrible their economic circumstances.

The differences among cultural goods make them appear different, but they are in fact just variations on the same theme. He wrote that "the same thing is offered to everybody by the standardized production of consumption goods" but this is concealed under "the manipulation of taste and the official culture's pretense of individualism." Adorno conceptualized this phenomenon as pseudo-individualization and the always-the-same.

Adorno's analysis allowed for a critique of mass culture from the left which balanced the critique of popular culture from the right. From both perspectives — left and right — the nature of cultural production was felt to be at the root of social and moral problems resulting from the consumption of culture. However, while the critique from the right emphasized moral degeneracy ascribed to sexual and racial influences within popular culture, Adorno located the problem not with the content, but with the objective realities of the production of mass culture and its effects, e.g. as a form of reverse psychology. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_W._Adorno

NEGATIVE DIALECTICS: Adorno believes that the standard mode of human understanding is identity thinking, which means that a particular object is understood in terms of a universal concept. The meaning of an object is grasped when it has been categorized, subsumed under a general concept heading. In opposition to identity thinking, Adorno posits negative dialectics, or non-identity thinking. He seeks to reveal the falseness of claims of identity thinking by enacting a critical consciousness which perceives that a concept cannot identify its true object. The critic will "assess the relation between concept and the object, between the set of properties implied by the concept and the object's actuality" (Held 215). The consciousness of non-identity thinking reconciles particular and universal without reducing qualities to categories. See: http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Adorno.html

2. British Cultural Theory -- Post WW II saw rise in class tension in England. During 1950s and 1960s, working class Brits (who had fought in WW II) no longer related to traditional British notions of nobility and privilege, which supported class distinctions and divisions. Stuart Hall (1980) first developed the idea of media as a “public forum,” where “various forces fight to shape perceptions of everyday reality. Hall and his followers argued that the “loudest voice” belonged to those who were “well entrenched in the power structure.”

(14) "The CNN effect" - Given the current security crisis in Israel (and elsewhere in the free world), concerns and frustration with the media have multiplied. The "CNN effect" was defined by Margaret H. Belknap as the "collective impact of all real-time news coverage." (See Richard Keeble, Secret State, Silent Press: New militarism, the Gulf and the modern image of warfare, London: University of Luton, 1997.)

[Please note: If there is general interest in the "CNN effect," and if someone raises the issue, more can be said about this concept in class.]

(15) Cognitive psychologists:

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• Call our mental configurations schemata or scripts. • See creation of schemata by viewers as their individual effort to

organize, understand and assimilate new information. • Believe people tend to understand breaking news stories by applying

their schemata. • Think that if the stories match or fit the individual's framework of

analysis, they are more easily stored in the person's memory. • Explain that the new information merely becomes another example

of a concept that is familiar to the individual.

Example: • Marxists talk about economic forces that shape our perspectives. Some

analyzed the racial rioting in the U.S. in the late 1960s as signaling a proletarian uprising.

• But, most Americans viewed stories about the riots as stories about Afro-American protests against racial injustice and its consequences.

(16) The knowledge-gap hypothesis: Studies that have analyzed what and how much different groups of people know and understand have shown: a. Political elites and other well-informed people have developed many more schemata that b. Allow them to absorb stories generally beyond the reach of the poorly informed.

V. On gate keeping decision-making. Doris Graber: Suggests using a levels-of-analysis approach. Three perspectives to identify important variables that ought to be taken into consideration: a) Personality theory - examines the individual's personality profile, values, ethics, perspective, worldview, etc. b) Organizational theory - looks at the goals, values c) Role theory - considers the self-perceived roles of the gatekeepers

At each of the above levels of analysis, there are particular constraints.

Graber's 5 steps involving change and the media role: a) Awareness b) Understanding and willingness c) Evaluation d) Trial e) Adoption

VI. Tropes: Based on: A Violent World: TV News Images of Middle Eastern Terror and War by Nitzan Ben-Shaul (Maryland: Roman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006, pp. 69-70).

TROPES -- The figurative use of a word; a figure of speech. Less well known: a short distinguishing cadence inserted in (to change) Gregorian melodies.] By analyzing recurring "tropes" one can gain a greater sense of meaning. Three types of recurring tropes:

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a) Established historical, generic2, or specific intertextual references either through the use of archival material or through formal allusions.

Examples: Framing the 9/11 attack within the context of the Pearl Harbor attack; presenting the hunt after bin Laden as a wild west-styled hunt; showing a dead Palestinian in a cruciform posture.

b) Immanent references.3 For example, the recurring view of the Twin Towers collapse gathered a particular immanent meaning having to do with a unique, huge disaster.

c) Formal semiotic decoding. For example, the general meaning imparted by a close-up, which presents spatial proximity, may often create intimacy with the selected image, or may be used for symbolizing such, since it detaches it from its surroundings.

However, these initially attributed general meanings, which anchor a particular report, often shift within it, so that the meaning of the same figuration (view) may change or even be reversed within the context of a specific editing of a report (e.g., whereas one close-up among many long-shots may impart a feeling of intimacy, a report consisting of sequential close-ups with only one long shot inserted may impart a claustrophobic feeling).

Such general meanings were initially attributed to the following formal tropes:

1. Relative length of shots

2. Type of camera angle used (high angle, low angle, eye level, oblique angle)

3. Shot distance (long shot, medium shot, close-up)

4. Camera movements (static, panning, zooming, tracking, hand-held shooting)

5. Shot composition (balanced/imbalanced, orderly/chaotic)

6. Shot toning (e.g., bluish, greenish, reddish)

7. Day or night scene

8. Recurrence of shots within a report or across reports

9. Editing pace (slow, rapid, accelerating)

10. Type of transition (cut, dissolve, superimpositions, fades, etc.)

11. Type of graphics (e.g., maps, list, quotes)

12. Logic of shot sequencing (chronological, associational, verbal dependent, etc.)

13. Type of reporter intervention and positioning (voice-over, voice off, synchronized voice and image of reporter, reporting while standing or while walking, etc.)

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2 Generic - general, broad, common, basic

3 Immanent - inherent, intrinsic

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14. Type of interviewer-interviewee interaction (monological, dialogical)

15. Aural tone of the reporter (calm, agitated, dramatic, inciting, patronizing)

16. Format of the report (e.g., personal story, summary account)

17. Type of image selection and focus (e.g., groups, individuals; scenery; type of nature framing; etc.)

VII. On persuasion in mass communication - Language is an important tool of persuasion. Persuasion is the essence of politics: Political discussions involve efforts to persuade people as to how things should be done.

A. The Hugh Rank's Persuasion ModelPERSUASION CONTEXT

Source: http://www.uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/persuasion/rank.htmExplanation of Theory: Rank's model of persuasion states that persuaders use two major strategies to achieve their goals.  These strategies are nicely set into two main schemas known as (1) intensify, and (2) downplay. 

Theorist: Hugh Rank Date:  1976 Primary Article: Rank, H. (1976). Teaching about public persuasion. In D. Dietrich (Ed.), Teaching and Doublespeak. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Individual Interpretations: My interpretation to this theory is similar to what most other people would interpret from it.  It is a very simplistic and somewhat obvious assessment of techniques used in persuasion.  It states the obvious and does little to help explain whether we make such decisions consciously or subconsciously. 

Metatheoretical Assumptions: Rank's Model has mostly positivist qualities when analyzing the ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions. 

Ontological Assumptions: Rank's Model appears to have one main reality, one truth, and is laid out in a very simplistic manner, that we should all see things the same way when using the model. 

Epistemological Assumptions: Rank's Model seems to be independent in nature and allows researchers to be separate from what they are observing.

Axiological Assumptions: Rank's Model is value-free, and appears to be unbiased to those who adapt the model into practice. 

Critique: Rank's Model is a non-scientific model that is high in methodological rigor.  While the model appears to be quite simplistic on the exterior, it is also formulated quite precisely and has the ability to be applied carefully.  The model seems to make relative sense in communication practices and is easily applied. 

Ideas and Implications: The basic premise of the model stresses that people will either intensify or downplay certain aspects of their own product, candidate, or ideology, or those of their receiver's.  The persuader will do this in one of four methods. 1) Intensify their own strong points. 2) Intensify the weak points of the opposition. 3) Downplay their own weak points.

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4) Downplay the strong points of the opposition.  Example: While arguing about their favorite movies, Joe continues to insist to Matt that the Die Hard movies were much better than the Lethal Weapon movies.  Rank's Model contends that Joe will use one of four main strategies to argue his point to Matt.  Joe will either: 

1) Stress the stunning performances that were given by Die Hard lead actor Bruce Willis, while pointing out the acclaim that Willis received for the movies. OR 2) Stress what he believed was poor acting by Lethal Weapon lead actor Mel Gibson, while pointing out the negative reviews Gibson may have received for the movies. OR 3) Downplay the weak plotlines which were often criticized in the Die Hard movies. OR 4) Downplay the terrific performance by Lethal Weapon actor Danny Glover, as well as downplay the acclaim Glover received for the movies.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

B. Hugh Rank's Intensify/Downplay schemaHugh Rank has described a very simple model of persuasion where he describes the two basic (and opposite) patterns of intensification and downplay that are common to many persuasive situations.

Intensify: In Intensification, the persuader seeks to increase the significance of certain elements that they want the other person to take more seriously or see as particularly important.

Intensifying may be done by repetition, association and composition.

Repetition: Repetition of a word or visual pattern not only causes it to become remembered (which is persuasive in itself), it also leads people to accept what is being repeated as being true. Thus an advertiser of soap powder may focus on how wonderfully white clothes become by repeating the word 'whiteness'.

Association: Association links the item with an idea or something which already has emotional connotation, for example something desired or feared. The soap powder advertiser may thus use attractive people in wonderfully clean (but not too up-market) houses. It also is using the unspoken idea that cleanliness is desirable (and, by extension, extreme cleanliness is extremely desirable).

Composition: Intensification may also be enhanced through the overall composition of what is being presented, for example contrasting the message with an opposite. Thus the soap powder advertiser may start with a person wearing muddy clothes.

Downplay: Downplaying is the opposite of intensification and can be done using the same (but reversed) techniques. In addition, the following three methods can be used.

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Diversion: When we divert or distract a person from something we do not want them to attend to, and then we may succeed in reducing their attention to it. The soap powder advert may divert from concerns about damaging the environment by highlighting the small quantity of powder needed for each wash.

Omission: Another way of downplaying is simply to say nothing about the things that will counteract our arguments. Thus the soap powder manufacturer will not talk about the damaging effects of constant washing of clothes.

Confusion: Confusion may be used when the other person knows about an opposing argument. It may also be used to obfuscate weaknesses in one's own position. A typical way of doing this is by showering the other person with data, or perhaps asking them complex questions about their own position. Soap powder manufacturers may, for example, give a scientific argument about how their product works.

C. Amplification PrincipleRank, H. (1976). Teaching about Public Persuasion, In Daniel Dietrich (ed.), Teaching about Doublespeak, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English

The Principle: Making something appear more significant (or insignificant) than it really is.

How it works: Often, in persuasive situations, we seek to direct the attention of the other person towards points that support our argument and away from points that reduce our argument. We thus both amplify the supporting points and attenuate (the reverse of amplifying) other points.

Turning up and turning down the volume: Just as you can turn up and turn down the volume on your hi-fi, so also can you amplify or attenuate individual points to suit your purpose.

Amplifying may include such activities as:• Pointing out elements that play to the other person's needs, values and goals

and otherwise focusing their attention.• Showing evidence of how other people have benefited.• Contrasting the benefits of a proposition with alternative actions.• Using emphasis in language to stress key words, making them stand out.• Frequently repeating the message.• Providing confirming experiences.• Exaggerating the truth, framing small things as being bigger than they actually

are.

Attenuating may include activities such as:• Distracting the person away from these elements.• Decreasing the person's investment in alternatives.• Reframing the situation to exclude alternatives.

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• Closing off concerns, for example using objection-handling techniques.• Hurting the person when they see alternatives so you can then rescue them

with your proposition.• Trivializing those things that might count against our argument.• Mentioning something briefly in the middle of a long speech, letting it get lost

in the detail. • Framing yourself as an authority so you can criticize and trivialize non-

supporting elements.

Forced choice: A way of biasing options when offering or discussing a choice is to both amplify the choice you want the other person to make and to attenuate the choices that you do not want them to make.

A managed truth: Amplification and attenuation need not include deliberate lying, but they do manipulate the truth, hence the famous phrase about a politician being 'Economical with the truth.'

Contrast: We understand size and importance through contrast of related items. In this way, one thing can be made to seem bigger by reducing those things around it. This is one reason some people put down others in order to feel better about them-selves (when they actually feel inferior and unable to raise their real opinion of themselves).

So what? So first identify those things that support your argument and also those things that detract from it. Then find ways of amplifying the good points and attenuating the bad points. Aim to keep them both truthful and subtle - as with all methods, if the other person feels you are being less than honest they will not trust

See also: Attention principle, Availability Heuristic, Distraction principle, Using repetition, Intensifiers, Using emphasis, Slippery Slope, Generalization, Amplification

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VIII. On Tools of persuasion:(1) Arousal: A call to action. A type of persuasion designed to change people's behavior. The first goal of persuasion is the effort to persuade people something is not right and that they must mobilize take action to solve a problem. Obviously, media coverage of the WTC/Pentagon attacks had the immediate effect of arousing the public. Since 11 Sept., there have been many other examples, including the name of the effort: “The War on Terrorism.”

(2) Assurance: Meant to reinforce existing orientations, convictions, beliefs, etc., such as trying to persuade members of a political party to remain loyal to that party. The message is meant to assure/reassure that a problem is being or has been solved and things are all right.

Examples:

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a) Arousal: Following the WTC attack the government attempted to persuade people to become more vigilant, to report those who behaved in a suspicious manner. This meant changing people's behavior. Americans generally went about their business and did not pay attention to things that didn't directly affect them.

b) Assurance: On the other hand, the government attempted to persuade people that it was doing everything possible to ensure their safety and that they should continue with the day-to-day concerns of their lives.

Note: Persuasive communication that offers assurance to people comes in forms other than the use of words: Visual images and concrete activities carried by mass media are also used to assure people. In this regard, the most powerful tool is television.

Examples: a) Following WTC/Pentagon attacks, Pres. Bush was criticized for being unavailable during first few hours. Senators were angry when Karen Hughes, a White House aide, addressed the press and TV audience to assure everyone the president was safe. One Senator said: “We didn't need her to tell us he was all right. We needed him to tell us that we are all right. They missed the point.”

b) Members of Congress, aware of immense power of visual images to reassure the public, gathered in front of Capitol building to listen to their leaders tell the people that they will work with Bush to end terrorism. When the speeches were done, some began to sing God Bless America, and soon every one was singing. The result was a powerfully reassuring message.

(3) Euphemism: The substitution of a pleasant or non-threatening term or description for something people would normally see as negative or threatening.

Examples: a) Reagan named the MX missile system the “peacekeeper.” Experts argued the MX was an unnecessary addition to the arms race. But, the name “peacekeeper” was intended to assure people it was a benign, non-threatening development. Naming the MX system “peacekeeper” is an example of the “assurance technique” called euphemism.

b) Another example of a euphemism is referring to a tax increase as “revenue enhancement.” Reagan used this term to persuade people his policy of not accepting tax increases remained the same. Was also meant to assure people that economic policy was fine and “was on course.”

c) Two additional examples include: collateral damage (civilian casualties in a war-type situation) and "killed by friendly fire" (the soldier was killed by accident by his own side).

(4) Metaphor: Remember the “communist threat”? In the late 1960s and through to the end of the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s, there was the threat of the “domino effect.” The domino effect is a good example of another specific technique of persuasive communication: The metaphor. The metaphor of dominoes falling is an easy one for the general public to grasp. Less complex/ easier to explain than going through the whole history of French imperialism in Southeast Asia and the frustrated nationalist dreams of a far-away people.

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(5) Scapegoating: Another technique of persuasion, scapegoating is often used to generate or reinforce general support for a leader or a regime, to identify a group or category of people, or a nation outside one's own, and assigning blame to them for many of one's problems. Blacks, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, the Irish, the Italians, homosexuals and others at various points in history have been the target of scapegoating. Unfortunately, today in the U.S., some right-wing groups are targeting Muslims for scapegoating.

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IX. On Propaganda - See pp. 49-53, below (Excerpts from War, Propaganda & the Media by Anup Shah).

There are many techniques commonly used in the dissemination of propaganda. These include:

(a) Bandwagon - (As in "get on the bandwagon.") The propagandist encourages everyone to believe that "everyone is doing this, or everyone supports this person/cause, and so should you. This approach appeals to the conformist in all of us. No one wants to be left out of what is seen as a popular trend.

(b) Testimonial - This is the celebrity endorsement of a philosophy, movement, or candidate. In advertising, athletes are often paid millions of dollars to promote sports shoes, equipment and fast food. In political circles, movie stars, television personalities, rock stars and athletes lend a great deal of credibility and power to a political cause or candidate. Just a photograph of a movie star at a political rally can generate more interest in that particular issue/candidate or influence thousands and sometimes millions of people to become supporters.

(c) Plain Folks - Here the candidate or the cause is identified with common people from every day walks of life. The idea is to make the candidate or cause appear as coming from and supporting ordinary people. (As when President Ronald Reagan stopped at a small neighbor bar to have a beer with the "little people," as his Spin Doctor Richard Wirthlin expressed it.)

(d) Transfer - This uses symbols, quotes, or images of famous people to convey a message not necessarily associated with them. The candidate/speaker tries to persuade through the indirect use of something we respect. For example using a religious, or a patriotic, or other popular image to promote his or her ideas. Sometimes, a candidate may use a cute puppy or young child to soften his or her image with the public.

Example: In an attempt to prevent a highway from destroying the natural habitat of thousands of plant species, an environmentalist group produces a TV ad with a "scientist" wearing a white lab coat and explaining the dramatic consequences of altering the food chain by destroying this habitat.

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(e) Fear - The American people have seen a good deal of this tactic since 9/11/2001. The idea is to present a dreaded situation and follow it up with the kind of behavior "necessary" to prevent that type of horrible event.

Example: An organization such as the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) concerned about cuts to the Social Security Program, running a TV ad that shows an elderly couple living in poverty.

(f) Logical fallacies - This occurs when one draws a mistaken conclusion from valid premises. See the list below and for explanations see:

http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html

The list of fallacies: • argumentum ad antiquitatem • argumentum ad hominem • argumentum ad ignorantiam • argumentum ad logicam • argumentum ad misericordiam • argumentum ad nauseam • argumentum ad numerum • argumentum ad populum • argumentum ad verecundiam • circulus in demonstrando • complex question • dicto simpliciter • naturalistic fallacy • nature, appeal to • non sequitur • petitio principii • post hoc ergo propter hoc • red herring • slippery slope • straw man • tu quoque

(g) Glittering Generalities - Closely related to Transfer. Here, a generally accepted virtue is used to stir up favorable emotions. The problem is that these words mean different things to different people and are often manipulated for the propagandists' use. The important thing is that in this technique, the propagandist uses these words in a positive sense. They often include words like: democracy, family values, rights, civilization, and even the word "American."

Example: An advertisement by a cigarette manufacturer proclaims to smokers: "Don't let them take your rights away!" "Rights" is a powerful word that easily stirs emotions, but few people on either side would agree on exactly what the "rights" of smokers are.

(h) Name-Calling - This is the opposite of the glittering-generalities approach. Name-calling ties a person or cause to a largely perceived negative image.

Example: In a campaign speech to a logging company, the Congressman referred to his environmentally conscious opponent as a "tree-hugger." Republicans have called

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their democratic opponents "Liberals," as if being one was a bad thing. They also called them "Big Spenders." Sometimes they simply referred to the "L word," as if "liberal" were a dirty word.

Sometimes, name-calling and labeling become almost the same thing, when the label attached to a person is negative (for example: terrorist, as opposed to moderate, or freedom fighter).

(j) Political Scientist Michael Parenti, in his book Inventing Reality, discusses “How to Discredit Protesters. He lists the following: Scanting of Content; Trivialization; Marginalization; False Balance; Undercounting; and Omission.

In Media Monopoly, he includes additional tactics to distort the truth. These include: Attack and destroy the target; labeling; preemptive assumption; face-value transmission; follow-up avoidance; and framing.

X. Doris Graber: On coverage of extraordinary natural or man-made events, as:

• Earthquake, tsunami (submarine earthquake), famine, tornado, etc. • Terrorist attacks, race riots, arson, plane crashes, etc.

A. CHARACTERISTICS 1) Supposedly, such events are rare. 2) Dramatic; rich in images/pictures. 3) Tug at human heart strings (emotional). 4) Salient in lives of media audience because-- 5) Such acts threaten shared values/peace of mind and 6) Threaten lives/property. 7) Receive extraordinary amount of coverage. 8) People expect media to inform them, and 9) Expect protection from government/appropriate agencies. 10) Rapidity of communication/news bulletins/steadily growing audience. 11) Some facts rehashed endlessly; steady stream of eyewitnesses being interviewed. 12) News of the event almost immediately replaces/blocks out other news. 13) In early stages rumors abound; number of dead and injured is frequently

inflated.

B. ROLES OF MEDIA Media (particularly radio and in recent years TV) --1) Have become an arm of the government and 2) Have become information collection centers.

Doris Graber: Argues that the media are the only institutions capable of collecting and

disseminating massive amounts of information quickly; people monitor a crisis around the clock though radio/TV. [We could argue that people also monitor the Internet during times of crisis.]

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The Media: 1) Announce what is happening or what just happened. 2) Summon police/military units; direct people to safe places; coordinate appeals for relief supplies (food/blankets/blood donations/medical equipment). 3) Select, shape/report news to people in/out of government. 4) Provide government with speedy access to the public--directly and indirectly

through media personnel. 5) Used to reassure public/calm the audience/interpret ongoing events. 6) Provide ongoing reports /guidance/advice during crisis, including:

a) Retreat to a shelter; b) Identify areas unsafe to enter; c) Missing-persons information d) If schools/government agencies, banks, etc. are open/closed e) Report on immediate steps taken by police/government to cope with crisis.

7) After the crisis, media report on official investigations and conduct their own investigation to expose any government mishandling of the crisis.

Consider two much-discussed mega-attacks (and others that took place since):

a) The World Trade Towers: September 11, 2001

b) The London Bombings July 7, 2005: A series of coordinated terrorist bomb blasts that hit London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. At 8:50 a.m., three bombs exploded within fifty seconds of each other on three London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded on a bus nearly an hour later at 9:47 a.m. in Tavistock Square.

The bombings killed 52 commuters and the four suicide bombers, injured 700, and caused a severe day-long disruption of the city's transport and mobile telecommunica-tions infrastructure.

C. GRABER'S THREE STAGES OF CRISIS COVERAGE

STAGE 1 - Crisis announced as having just struck or as impending -- Most important broadcasts at start of disaster: Messages describe what is happening, summoning police, directing people to places of safety.

• Media people, officials, rescue workers, fire/police persons, onlookers rush to the scene.

• Flood of uncoordinated messages transmitted, interrupting regularly scheduled programs with bulletins; or preempting programs for on-the-scene reports.

• Minutes after start of LA riots (April 1992), TV/radio broadcast live from scene. Showed buildings on fire/beating/looting, usually no police officer in sight.

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• Media later criticized for signaling rioters where they could loot with no fear of being caught. But, same reports also helped show police where they were needed.

• The day after the quake in southern California (January 1994), the L.A. Times ran a special report on “Coping with the Quake,” giving people information about temporary housing, health care, ways to deal with damage in their homes.

• Rumors/conflicting reports abound in this stage.

Examples: 1) Early information of Gulf War I was based on incorrect data. Network reports told

of chemical attacks on Israel and Israeli retaliation that had not occurred.

2) Oklahoma City bombing (April 1995) was called a “terrorist” attack and false rumors claimed that men of Middle Eastern backgrounds had been seen near bombing site; a Hamas connection was also reported.

3) Coverage of LA riots focused on a small section of the city, leading audience to believe the entire city was in ruin. • Pressure for fresh information often leads reporters to interview eyewitnesses

and others who can provide a local touch, but not necessarily clarify the situation.

• Pressure for news also encourages reporters and public officials to speculate, which often merely adds to the confusion.

When highly technical matters involved (explosions, technical failures, nuclear radiation disasters):

a) Government officials want to reassure public they are in charge/taking care of things. b) There is a tendency to minimize dangers. c) Reporters often lack knowledge to ask the right questions; don't understand the technical jargon. • Blaming is common.

Examples: -- LA riots: Democrats blamed Republican inattention to urban blight. Republicans blamed welfare programs of the liberal democratic administration. -- In the 1960s race riots, many blamed “outside” agitators (called them common criminals). Oklahoma bombing: “Middle Easterners” were blamed.

STAGE 2 - Media try to correct errors/put event into perspective. In this phase, moreinformation has become available and the dimensions of the crisis are understood.

Examples: Oklahoma City bombing, LA riots, South Cal. earthquake -- The extent of damage has been determined; names of most victims (dead/injured) known; repair and reconstruction plans begun.

• Print does a more thorough job than radio/TV in putting together coherent reports.

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• With larger staffs for investigation/more space for background details, print media now make event more understandable.

• NY Times and Washington Post -- studied causes of Gulf War hostilities, cost of human lives/property and ecological damage from oil well fires and provided extensive reports for their readers.

• In this stage, governments and their critics try to repair political damage and shape perspectives to support their policy preferences.

Example: Earlier coverage of Gulf War I -- had not represented “reality.” • TV's presentations of “precision bombings” with so-called “smart bombs” had

sanitized the war. • Based on Air Force admission that 70% of the bombs dropped actually missed

their targets, the media would now correct misimpressions. • Military censorship had prevented TV showing dead soldiers, body bags,

casualties; enemy losses were rarely shown. • Political leader (including the President) visited California and Oklahoma --

expressing sympathy/encouragement, announcing emergency aid and arrival of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel.

STAGE 3 - Media provide a long-range perspective to prepare people to cope with the aftermath. Media now focus on steps toward restoration of normal conditions.

• Politicians/government return to damaged areas to further assess rebuilding plans.

• Media announce restoration of suspended services (mail deliveries, bus transportation, start of clean-up efforts).

In the case of the earthquake, stories focused on: Communities and individuals, praising recovery efforts, discussing how hardest hit victims were coping; providing coverage of healing ceremonies, memorial church services.

Note: What happened in the U.S. when the Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005? Graber's analysis is not totally applicable because the Bush Administration's late response extended the "blame game" and few (if any) praised recovery efforts initiated by the government. However, there were many "local" heroes.

D. POSITIVE/NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF COVERAGE (Read down.)

Positive Negative Relieves uncertainty/ Coverage may have adverse effects/calms people frightening people

Makes them feel informed People may panic/ may lead to endangering effects/frightening

Watching/listening reassures/ Pictures of violence/terrorists acts keeps people occupied may lead to copycat acts.

Reassures people affected that Pack journalism may run rampant,

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their grief is shared produce irresponsible reporting/ spreading rumors.

Scenes of collapsing buildings or Crisis reporting usually attracts rioting seem less threatening if crowds to the site, impeding medical police/firefighters/ambulances personnel/rescue efforts. are shown on the scene.

Directions conveyed by media In the case of riots, some rioters seemed to

may save lives and property. “act/perform” for the cameras. (See video

Gloomy news/negative images can result in an economic crisis. Harm-producing coverage may become a political issue.

E. CRISIS COVERAGE Most media organizations have plans to cope with crisis coverage situations.

• In a study of radio/TV stations in 12 U.S. cities, researchers (Rodney Kuenerman and Joseph Wright) found:

1) 70% of the stations had plans for reporting natural disasters; 2) 73% had plans for reporting civil disturbances.

• The plans were generally more detailed for natural disasters than for civil disturbances. Why do you think this was so?

• Most stations are connected to the federal Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), a network for relaying news during emergencies.

• Two aspects of crisis coverage planning: 1) Preparing for crisis routines. 2) Deciding how to present ongoing events.

• Media have long been criticized -- (three ways of saying the same thing): 1) For neglecting preventive coverage. 2) For not having plans to forestall crises. 3) For not being attentive to issues that later erupted into a crisis.

Examples: 1) The 1968 Kerner Commission (investigating causes of race riots in mid-1960s) criticized the media for its silence about problems of African-Americans. (The Commission recommended that the media hire more African-Americans who would be sensitive to racial issues.) 2) The media were criticized for ignoring problems at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant prior to the 1979 accident and for having over-emphasized the safety of nuclear power. 3) After the 1992 L.A. race riots, media were criticized for their lack of attention to conditions of inner cities and their minority residents.

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Questions: a) Would media attention to U.S. support of Saddam's Iraqi government prior to the

first Gulf War have ended such support? b) Was it a mistake on the part of the U.S. media not to pay attention to U.S. support

for the Taliban during the Russo-Afghan War?

Natural Disasters: • Kueneman/Wright found that media plans were based on assumption that

people tend to panic or go into denial (called the “ostrich” inclination), and coverage must be designed to avoid panic.

• Another opinion: the warnings may lead to costly, unnecessary preventive measures if it turns out the warnings were false alarms.

Civil Disorders: • K/W learned most station personnel believed broadcasts about civil

disturbances would produce panic among the public and copycat effects. • Social scientists, by contrast, deny panic and contagion occur frequently. • Recommendation: Media personnel should expect these reactions/act

accordingly: Avoid inflammatory details/language in news reports.

Examples of words/terms to avoid: • Carnage, holocaust, mob action, massacre. • General rule: “When in doubt, leave it out.”

Problem of News Suppression: • K/W study reports: 80% of news people said they would temporarily withhold

information that might provoke troublesome reactions.

Two questions: 1) Which of the following makes the most sense to you?

a) Withhold live coverage entirely, particularly in civil disturbances because it may increase intensity/duration of the crisis. b) Delay live coverage until the situation is under control. c) Suppression of live coverage will result in rumors that may be more inciting than careful reporting of ongoing events.

2) Comment on “muted coverage” (refers to either ignoring the incident or “playing it down”) during civil disturbances and incidents of political terrorism. What do you think? Is it wise or unwise to do that?

F. COVERING PSEUDO-CRISES: Defined as situations that the press treats as extraordinary events/crises because they make for interesting news stories. These become front-page news for many days, crowding out more important stories.

Graber and others argue that titillating stories tempt news people to indulge in

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excessive coverage. What do you think? Can you think of examples from your own experience where pseudo-crises attracted undeserved attention in the media?

X. FRAMING ANALYSIS -- Miscellaneous Definitions of Framing: To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation.

Entman: Frames define problems - determine what a causal agent is doing with what costs and benefits, usually measured in terms of common cultural values; diagnose causes - identify the forces creating the problem; make moral judgments - evaluate causal agents and their effects; and suggest remedies - offer and justify treatments for the problems and predict their likely effects.

Entman: Frames are organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent over time, that work symbolically to meaningfully structure the social world.

Reese: A frame is a central organizing idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through the use of selection, emphasis, exclusion, and elaboration.

Tankard et al: Frames are persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation, of selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol-handlers routinely organize discourse.

Gitlin: Framing as a form of bias.a. Structural bias: These factors include: the need to maintain an audience by dramatization of stories; the excessively brief time period that even the most important story can be given; and biases that may be caused by political views held by individual news personnel or executives.

Richard Hofstetter --•Individual level •Routines level •Organizational level •Extra-media level

b. Ideological bias: Ideology is the symbolic mechanism that serves as a cohesive and integrating force in society.

Shoemaker and Reese: The media have the ability to `define situations' and label groups and individuals as `deviant.'

Stuart Hall: Central Framing Question What power relationships and institutional arrangements support certain routine and persistent ways of making sense of the social world, as found through specific and significant frames, influential information organizing principles that are manifested in identifiable moments of structured meaning, which are especially important to the extent they find their way into media discourse, that is then available to guide public life?

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Reese: Categories of Frames: Micro vs. Macro: Descriptions of objects can range from simple descriptions, such as a person's age and marital status, to complex descriptions and frames, such as the Cold War and ethnic autonomy. In other words, at the second level of agenda setting the attributes can range from discreet micro-descriptions to highly complex macro-descriptions.

McCombs and Ghanem: • Micro-frames are described as "relatively simple attributes, such as the images

of political candidates." In the past various simple frames have been measured. Among those, issue stands, personality, competency, partisan affiliation, education, perceptions of compassion and principled leadership were the most important.

• Macro-frames are complex frames, incorporating the element of dialogue, controversy and competing perspectives.

McCombs and Ghanem: Ghanem's list of Frames 1) Subtopics 2) Framing mechanisms 3) Affective elements 4) Cognitive elements.

1. Subtopics or sub-issues: Breaking an issue or a topic into smaller attributes allows researchers to examine sub-issues or subtopics. (E.g.: The crime issue).

2. Framing Mechanisms: Keywords, stock phrases, stereotyped images headlines and subheads, frequency of a topic etc. (E.g.: The spin-doctor study).

3. Affective Frames: Narrative structures and dramatization; the story and the chronicle; the element of tone.

4. Cognitive Frames: Iyengar's thematic and episodic frames fall in this category. Episodic frames are event-oriented, though thematic frames provide the context within which an issue is discussed. Substantive attributes of political candidates, in most cases operationalized as the ideology, qualifications, issue position, professional experience and personality.

Framing and Agenda Setting • Object or issue Salience vs. Attribute Salience • Not only what people think about, but how they think about it -- McCombs • Attributes Measured: issue positions, political ideology, formal qualifications

and biographical data; personality; integrity.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Framing, by the way, does not have to be part of an agenda-setting process, Sheufele's model points to the phenomenon that framing can also be a product of unintended work-routines, individual norms or an organizational culture.

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[See Scheufele, D. "Framing as a theory of media effects" Journal of Communication, 49, 1999.]

_____________________________________________________________________

How the Media Frames Political Issues, By Scott LondonEPISODIC VS. THEMATIC FRAMING (an excerpt from London’s article)

In his book, Is Anyone Responsible? (1991), Shanto Iyengar evaluates the framing effects of television news on political issues. Through a series of laboratory experiments (reports of which constitute the core of the book), he finds that the framing of issues by television news shapes the way the public understands the causes of and the solutions to central political problems.

Since electoral accountability is the foundation of representative democracy, the public must be able to establish who is responsible for social problems, Iyengar argues. Yet the news media systematically filter the issues and deflect blame from the establishment by framing the news as "only a passing parade of specific events, a `context of no context.'"[4]

Television news is routinely reported in the form of specific events or particular cases - Iyengar calls this "episodic" news framing - which is counterpoised to "thematic" coverage which places political issues and events in some general context. "Episodic framing depicts concrete events that illustrate issues, while thematic framing presents collective or general evidence."[5] Iyengar found that subjects shown episodic reports were less likely to consider society responsible for the event, and subjects shown thematic reports were less likely to consider individuals responsible. In one of the clearest demonstrations of this phenomenon, subjects who viewed stories about poverty that featured homeless or unemployed people (episodic framing) were much more likely to blame poverty on individual failings, such as laziness or low education, than were those who instead watched stories about high national rates of unemployment or poverty (thematic framing). Viewers of the thematic frames were more likely to attribute the causes and solutions to governmental policies and other factors beyond the victim's control.

The preponderance of episodic frames in television news coverage provides a distorted portrayal of "recurring issues as unrelated events," according to Iyengar. This "prevents the public from cumulating the evidence toward any logical, ultimate consequence."[6] Moreover, this practice simplifies "complex issues to the level of anecdotal evidence" and "encourages reasoning by resemblance - people settle upon causes and treatments that `fit' the observed problems."[7]

1 James Britton. Learning and Language. (London: Penguin, 1970), p. 26. Quoted in Ben H. Bagdikian. The Media Monopoly. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1983), p. 176.2 Shanto Iyengar, "Television News and Citizens' Explanations of National Issues." American Political Science Review (September 1987), p. 828.3 Ibid., p. 163. There is a substantial body of research dealing with framing in general; the sociological tradition has focused for the most part on story lines, symbols and stereotypes of media presentations, while the psychological literature has dealt for the most part with ideological or value perspectives.

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4 Ibid. p. 140.5 Ibid. p. 14.6 Ibid. p. 143.7 Ibid. pp. 136-37.Source: http://www.scottlondon.com/reports/frames.html

XI. CONCEPTS AND IMAGES OF THE ENEMY (Or, How we frame our enemies):

The following material is based on Kurt R. Spillman and Kati Spillman's article, "Some Socio-biological & Psychological Aspects of images of the Enemy" in Enemy Images in American History, Ragnhild Fiebig-von Hase & Ursual Lehmkuhl, Eds. (NY: Berghan Books, 1997, pp. 43-64.

The Spillmans’ research has found: Images of the enemy are based on a perception of the unfamiliar, or strange, which is evaluated only negatively. Concepts of the enemy thus evoke feelings and reactions such as fear, aversion, aggression, and hate. These reactions may be described as a syndrome, with the following characteristics:

[Please note: When the authors refer to "the group," for our purposes I have substituted our group.]

1. Negative anticipation. All acts of the enemy in the past, present, and future are attributed to destructive intentions towards one's own group.

"Everything the enemy does is either bad or—when it appears reasonable—stems from dishonest motives." (Whatever the enemy undertakes, it is meant to harm us.)

2. Putting blame on the enemy. The enemy is suspected of being the source of any stress factors impinging upon [our] group.

"The enemy is guilty of causing the existing strain and current negative conditions."

3. Identification with evil. The system of values of the enemy represents the negation of one's own value system.

"The enemy embodies the opposite of that which we are and strive for; the enemy wishes to destroy our highest values and must therefore be destroyed."

4. Zero-sum thinking. "What is good for the enemy is bad for us," and vice versa.

5. Stereotyping and de-individualization. "Anyone who belongs to the enemy group is ipso facto our enemy."

6. Refusal to show empathy. There is a refusal to empathize with all members of the enemy group in their particular situation.

7. Consideration for one's fellow being is repressed through strong feelings of opposition.

"There are no things in common binding us with our enemies. There are no facts or information that could alter our perceptions. It is dangerous, self-destructive and out

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of place to have feelings of human consideration and ethical criteria with regard to our enemies."

Perceptual evaluations such as these are in their essence subjective and deeply rooted in the pre-rational realm. For this reason, we must - from the start - be prepared to accept that purely explanatory appeals for more empathy will not reach the real roots of concepts of the enemy and have little chance of success.

XII. Pseudo-events: Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-event - A pseudo-event is an event or activity that exists for the sole purpose of the media publicity and serves little to no other function in real life. Without the media, nothing meaningful actually occurs at the event, so pseudo-events are considered “real” only after they are viewed through news, advertisement, television or other types of media.

An extremely simple example is sitting for a family portrait: the event serves no purpose other than to be viewed through a photograph. Other examples include press conferences, advertisements, media spectacles, and many types of news.

The term was coined by the theorist and historian Daniel J. Boorstin in his 1962 book ‘’The Image: A guide to Pseudo-events in America’’: “The celebration is held, photographs are taken, the occasion is widely reported”. The term is closely related to idea of hyperreality and thus postmodernism, although Boorstin’s coinage predates by decades the latter two ideas and the related work of postmodern thinkers such as Jean Baudrillard.

A number of video artists have explored the concept of a pseudo event in their work. The group Ant Farm especially plays with pseudo events, though not so identified, in their works "Media Burn" (1975) and "The Eternal Frame" (1975)._____________________________________________________________________

Here are some characteristics of pseudo-events, which make them overshadow spontaneous events [Source: The Image by Daniel Boorstin (New York: Vintage, 1961):

(1) Pseudo-events are more dramatic. A television debate between candidates can be planned to be more suspenseful (for example, by reserving questions which are then popped suddenly) than a casual encounter or consecutive formal speeches planned by each separately.

(2) Pseudo-events, being planned for dissemination, are easier to disseminate and to make vivid. Participants are selected for their newsworthy and dramatic interest.

(3) Pseudo-events can be repeated at will, and thus their impression can be re-enforced.

(4) Pseudo-events cost money to create; hence somebody has an interest in disseminating, magnifying, advertising, and extolling them as events worth watching or worth believing. They are therefore advertised in advance, and rerun in order to get money's worth.

(5) Pseudo-events, being planned for intelligibility, are more intelligible and hence more reassuring. Even if we cannot discuss intelligently the qualifications of the candidates or the complicated issues, we can at least judge the effectiveness of a television performance. How comforting to have some political matter we can grasp!

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(6) Pseudo-events are more sociable, more conversable, and more convenient to witness. Their occurrence is planned for our convenience. The Sunday newspaper appears when we have a lazy morning for it. Television programs appear when we are ready with our glass of beer. In the office the next morning Jack Paar's (or any other star performer's) regular late-night show at the usual hour will overshadow in conversation a casual event that suddenly came up and had to find its way into the news.

(7) Knowledge of pseudo-events--of what has been reported, or what has been staged, and how--becomes the test of being "informed." News magazines provide us regularly with quiz questions concerning not what has happened but concerning "names m the news"--what has been reported in the news magazines. Pseudo-events begin to provide that "common discourse" which some of my old-fashioned friends have hoped to find in the Great Books.

(8) Finally, pseudo-events spawn other pseudo-events in geometric progression. They dominate our consciousness simply because there are more of them, and ever more.

By this new Gresham's law of American public life, counterfeit happenings tend to drive spontaneous happenings out of circulation.

XIII. Johan Galtung, the founder of peace studies: He discusses in his theories of war and peace journalism (Galtung 1992) the following 12 points that concerns the values of what he calls war journalism 1:

• A focus on violence as its own cause-thus decontexualizing violence, not looking at the reasons

• Dualism, always reduces to two parts, and hereof winners-losers which makes non-violent outcome ignored

• Manicheanism; the two parts consists of the contradictions good-evil,• Armageddon, violence is inevitable• Focus on individual, avoiding structural causes• Making confusion by only a focus on battlefield and visible effects, not on

underlying forces• Excluding and omitting the bereaved, thus never explaining why there are

actions of revenge/violence spirals• Failure to explore the causes of escalation and the impact of media coverage

itself• Failure to explore the goals of outside interventionists• Failure to explore peace proposals, and offer images of peaceful outcomes• Confusing cease-fires and negotiations with actual peace, peace is defined as

victory plus ceasefire• Omitting reconciliation; and conflicts tend to re-emerge if wounds are not

healed (Galtung 1992)

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Consider the war on terror; the underlying causes of terror have not been given attention. After 9/11, US president George W. Bush ignored the reasons of disrespect stated by al-Qaida, and claimed that the attack on the US was because al-Qaida hates the US values of peace, freedom and democracy; one international crime became a global war. This has a massive psychological impact, and politicians/media use this fear to gain advantage in elections and justification for a range of policies. The masses can be convinced that they are not sufficiently safe in peace or war, and thus are dependent of the guidance and protection of the leaders.

Responses to so-called terrorism may threaten nations more than actual acts of terror committed. Retaliation is counterproductive. Rather than the “terrorists,” it is politicians who define the severity and the impact that acts of terror have on a country. War, as part of the national psyche, is responsible for a higher scale of destruction than terror. Moreover it sows mistrust and reduces the ability for people to 'come together' or 'unite' in order to bring about change. As will be outlined below, this is also part of the script of the political agenda.

The Information Business The story of the violation of human needs and rights is the story of human interests. States are dependent on different types of power for survival. States remain as long as their foundations of verticality, monopolies and illicit powers are kept. War is prolonged political business; and information is the currency of the current age. Tactics for justification and consciousness formation are widely used in this special market place. The influence of power structures on the masses in the Western society has been widely portrayed, in everything from science fiction (The Matrix etc.) to literature. In his book “1984,” George Orwell described how politicians apply a mutation of the English language (called 'Newspeak') in order to shape and mold our consciousness, allowing them to justify violence and oppression.

For example, in Newspeak, words such as torture are referred to as “deep interroga-tion.” Mercenaries as “security people.” In addition to the misuse of words, you have the double language/manipulation of the mind for people to accept contradictions. Example in double thinking is the use of projection; where you project your own subconscious unacceptable, malicious desires on to others. Projection helps justify unacceptable behavior, distancing ourselves from our own dysfunction. One example is how “we” have weapons for purely defensive purposes, while “they” have expansionist motives and offensive weapons.

Another issue is that of how political forces shape events. Orwell notes that, instead of exercising the purpose of their profession (that is “the publishing of unbiased information” and hence constraining the ruling elite by informing the public), the media accepts the influence of the ruling elite and has in fact joined their ranks. One example of media manipulation and propaganda is the media empire of Rupert Murdoch and his support to different politicians he favors, for example in England. After being supportive of Thatcher and Major Murdoch switched his support to the Labour Party, and his secret meetings with Tony Blair came to be a political issue in

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Britain.

Murdoch owns the 'News Corporation,' based in New York. From newspapers, magazines and television stations in recent years he also has become a leading investor in satellite television, the film industry, and the Internet. His corporate owned TV-station Fox News has a strong conservative bias, and both Fox News and all of Murdoch’s 175 newspapers favoured the Iraqi war.

How the media presents conflict is one problem. The next is when conflicts are not presented at all. I want to highlight violations of human rights, which are not covered by the media. Why are some highlighted while others are not? What kind of criteria causes one news item to supersede another?

Occidental deep culture is reflected and reinforced by the media in the concept of hero/victory-defeat and linear time. Nothing attracts more attention than direct, uncensored violence. It is this violence that is a major criterion for determining the airing of the actual event. Rather than focus on the underlying contradictions, the media focuses on the attitudes and behaviours because they are more newsworthy, and thus psychologises conflict. At the end of it all stands a win-lose-discourse that leaves us unable to explore the of the situation root or to use dialogue to solve it.

Most likely the media fail to fulfill their intended mission, as war is more profitable (in monetary terms) than peace. Peace is more profitable for long-term investments, while war benefits the short-term investment of specific factions/stake holders. As mentioned these are values of the elite and politicians to remain in power. Still, manipulation by politicians and media is not the only important factor in these power structures. Power structures cannot be maintained without people acting them out (Nietzsche’s “performance of the masses”). Besides fascinating us, instills a sense of fear, keeping the 'plebs' docile. The forces that have reshaped US constitution since 9/11 can be mentioned in relation to this. The legitimacy provided by constituent power allowed President Bush to expand the power of the presidency far beyond its normal limits. Constitutional change can occur through either a legal (formal) or non-legal (informal) political process. Constitutional change in the United States has not typically happened in the former way. After 9/11, President George W. Bush’s administration asserted that the world had changed and the old rules no longer applied. But, President Bush enjoyed the immediate support of the American people, to wage war against al-Qaeda.

Additionally we have the marketing aspect; Violence sells. In a typology of the goals in use of violence, Galtung 2 mentions different purposes for violence, among them the purpose of entertainment. Here, profit through violence is not a modern phenomenon:

Historically speaking, this can be traced as far back as 2,000 – During Roman rule, violence meant revenue in relation to for example gladiators. A more contemporary example is that of the fight between the Spanish bullfighter and Toro. Both are

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examples of deep cultural values.

So in a sense, the media acts as a double-edges sword; profiteering through enacting control. As a result, in a battlefield, journalists can compete with each other in finding the most dramatic story.

Orwell describes the current situation where war is peace, ignorance is strength, and freedom is slavery.

Peace journalism --Countering the current culture of violence is a must. The current paradigm is self-defeating; in addition to morality arguments it simply will not work. Violence breeds violence. We must change from the current culture of violence to a culture of peace. We must take the profit out of violence and war. This must entail a change in personal and cultural values.

Coverage and resolutions of conflicts must take place at home as well as in the conflict area. Crucial prerequisites in the process of changing values and goals which make suffering is the awareness building of people, carried through in for example education and journalism. Non-violence has a female, cyclical time cosmology, which never ends but is a part of our life. This makes it unsuited for media reporting, as it contains no leader, defeat, or end. Still, media must stick to their mission; to report and inform. Maybe even more important we need journalists that care and thus incorporate values of peace journalism. Journalism is not necessarily objective. “Peace journalism” has clear values- of humanitarianism, truth, holism, and empowerment. It has its orientation on peace rather than war, on truth rather than propaganda, on people rather than elite, on solution and transformation rather than victory. Peace journalism is also proactive--and asks questions of why violent acts are committed-before they are. And a core value is having a voice for all parties.

Instead of competing with each other, journalists must build a structure of peace journalism to support each other, like the organizational power structures present in politics, military and large companies.

As it is evident that mass media technologies are one of the more fundamental forces shaping our lives--journalists have a responsibility.

In other words--what is needed in addition to information and knowledge--is wisdom.

Example on violations of human rights deemed “not news-worthy”: The “Osterode” refugee camp

There are countless examples of war journalism. The presentation of the war on Balkan is one example. With the recent detention of Radovan Karadzic the Balkan war is again daily present in media and people’s minds. The war on Balkan was one of the most violent in European history. Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Kosovans, Albanians

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and so on, which previously had been eating around the same table, were mobilized in ethnical and religious terms and played against each other under political interests. This with Karadzic as a central manipulator with ten thousands of people killed in genocide as result.

The arrest of Karadzic is an important part of a reconciliation process of victims of his inhumanities, as it also seem to make Serbia one step closer to EU-negotiations. But this is one side of the story. While the history of the mentioned ethnic groups has been widely covered in relation to the Balkan war, the same cannot be said about the Roma people’s situation. As an example, the name Osterode Refugee Camp did not have one match when I Googled it in Norwegian. It is time to make their silenced voice heard.

The Roma people has for years been living in a camp contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, after been driven away from their homes by Albanians during the Kosovo war. The refugee camp lies in a previous area of a mine company, which in itself was closed by the UN in 2000 for safety reasons. KFOR forces were in a similar camp for a short while, but moved because of the contaminated soil, air and water. Justified by the UN administration, 500 to 600 people are now living here, in an environment totally poisoned; lead levels up to 1200 times the legal level, even the highest level of lead contamination registered in human hair! Children are playing in the most contaminated river in Europe. Illnesses frequently occur; miscarriages, brain damage, nerve, kidney, and hearing disorders and so on. They get some medical treatment at the camp, though the doctors claim they will not get better without being removed from the camp. But there are no signs that they will be removed. Neither United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), responsible for the camps, nor WHO, are claiming responsibility.

The small amount of media coverage done of the situation of the Roma people has clearly simplified its complexity.

From a human rights’ perspective: After the Roma people were driven out from their homes in the 90’s, they are still subject to racial discrimination, crowded together in unacceptable conditions, and no attempts are being made for ensuring them a better future. I will leave you with some of the many questions present in my head; why hasn’t the UN administration in Kosovo responsible for the refugee camp, or WHO, taken action? Why are the Roma people denied sufficient medical help? What happens with the Roma people when UNMIK leaves the country? References1) Galtung, J. & Vincent, R. C. (1992) Global glasnost: Toward a new world information and communication order? Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press

2) Galtung, J. unpublished manuscript: “The TRANSCEND Approach to Simple Conflicts, C=1”

XIV. Phillip Knightley: Preparing the Nation for War – The Four Stages of Preparation:

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(1) Setting up the crisis: The reporting of a crisis which negotiations appear unable to resolve. Politicians, while calling for diplomacy, warn of military retaliation. The media reports this as “We’re on the brink of war”, or “War is inevitable”, etc.(2) Demonizing the enemy leader: Comparing the leader with Hitler is a good start because of the instant images that Hitler’s name provokes.(3) Demonizing the enemy as individuals: For example, to suggest the enemy is insane. (4) Portraying actual or made-up atrocities justifying action.4

Knightley discusses the dilemma that while some stories are known to have been fabrications and outright lies, others may be true. Knightley asks, “How can we tell?” The answer is less than reassuring: “The media demands that we trust it but too often that trust has been betrayed.” In a second article, the journalist hints about another difficulty that honest journalists face:

One difficulty is that the media have little or no memory. War correspondents have short working lives and there is no tradition or means for passing on their knowledge and experience. The military, on the other hand, is an institution and goes on forever. The military learned a lot from Vietnam and these days plans its media strategy with as much attention as its military strategy. — Phillip Knightley, Fighting dirty, The Guardian, March 20, 2000

[Updated: March 2012]

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````Excerpts from: War, Propaganda and the Media by Anup Shah

We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.

— Walter Lippmann

Probably every conflict is fought on at least two grounds: the battlefield and the minds of the people via propaganda. The “good guys” and the “bad guys” can often both be guilty of misleading their people with distortions, exaggerations, subjectivity, inaccuracy and even fabrications, in order to receive support and a sense of legitimacy.

Elements of PropagandaPropaganda can serve to rally people behind a cause, but often at the cost of exaggerating, misrepresenting, or even lying about the issues in order to gain that support.

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While the issue of propaganda often is discussed in the context of militarism, war and war-mongering, it is around us in all aspects of life.

As the various examples below will show, common tactics in propaganda often used by either side include:

• Using selective stories that come over as wide-covering and objective.• Partial facts, or historical context• Reinforcing reasons and motivations to act due to threats on the security of

the individual.• Narrow sources of “experts” to provide insights in to the situation. (For

example, the mainstream media typically interview retired military personnel for many conflict-related issues, or treat official government sources as fact, rather than just one perspective that needs to be verified and researched).

• Demonizing the “enemy” who does not fit the picture of what is “right”.• Using a narrow range of discourse, whereby judgments are often made while

the boundary of discourse itself, or the framework within which the opinions are formed, are often not discussed. The narrow focus then helps to serve the interests of the propagandists.

Some of the following sections look into how propaganda is used in various ways, expanding on the above list of tactics and devices.

Arthur Siegel, a social science professor at York University in Toronto, describes four levels of varieties of propaganda:

No matter how it is spread, propaganda comes in four basic varieties, said Arthur Siegel, social science professor at York University in Toronto, whose 1996 book Radio Canada International examines World War II and Cold War propaganda.

“The first level is the Big Lie, adapted by Hitler and Stalin. The state-controlled Egyptian press has been spreading a Big Lie, saying the World Trade Center was attacked by Israel to embarrass Arabs,” said Siegel.

“The second layer says, ‘It doesn’t have to be the truth, so long as it’s plausible.’

“The third strategy is to tell the truth but withhold the other side’s point of view.

“The fourth and most productive is to tell the truth, the good and the bad, the losses and the gains.

“Governments in Western society take the last three steps. They avoid the Big Lie, which nobody here will swallow,” Siegel said.

Propaganda when Preparing or Justifying WarIn preparing for or justifying war, additional techniques are often employed, knowingly or unknowingly:

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Ottosen identifies several key stages of a military campaign to “soften up” public opinion through the media in preparation for an armed intervention. These are:

The Preliminary Stage—during which the country concerned comes to the news, portrayed as a cause for “mounting concern” because of poverty/dictatorship/anarchy;

The Justification Stage—during which big news is produced to lend urgency to the case for armed intervention to bring about a rapid restitution of “normality”;

The Implementation Stage—when pooling and censorship provide control of coverage;

The Aftermath—during which normality is portrayed as returning to the region, before it once again drops down the news agenda.

---------------------------------------------------Danny Schechter on Several Strategies for effective “Information Operations,” a way of obscuring and sanitizing that negative-sounding term ‘propaganda’:

Overloading the Media -- This can be done by providing too much information! Schechter gives an example of the Kosovo War, where “briefers at NATO's headquarters in Belgium boasted that this was the key to information control. `They would gorge the media with information,' Beelman writes, quoting one as saying, `When you make the media happy, the media will not look for the rest of the story.'”

Ideological Appeals -- A common way to do this is to appeal to patriotism and safeguarding the often unarticulated “national interest”

Schechter describes how Condoleezza Rice and other Bush administration officials persuaded the networks to kill bin Laden videos and other Al-Jazeera work during the initial months after the September 11 2001 tragedy. This is nothing new, however, as he points out; “All administrations try to seduce and co-opt the media.” (and of course, this happens all around the world.)

Schechter describes the ramifications: “It is this ideological conformity and world view that makes it relatively easy for a well-oiled and sophisticated IO propaganda machine to keep the U.S. media in line, with the avid cooperation of the corporate sector, which owns and controls most media outlets. Some of those companies, such as NBC parent General Electric, have long been a core component of that nexus of shared interests that President Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex. As Noam Chomsky and others have argued, that complex has expanded into a military, industrial and MEDIA complex, in which IO is but one refinement.”

Spinning Information -- Press briefings by military institutions such as NATO, Pentagon etc, where journalist's questions are answered and information is presented is of course a form of spin. It is the spin that the military will put on it.

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Journalists no doubt expect this, but true to many media propaganda models, seldom are such “official” statements verified and followed up on, especially if from one's own nation, with whom there is often a lot of trust. A result of this is propaganda and spin becoming the official version.

Withholding Information -- Of course, the military can often hide behind this one!

Sometimes from a military operational perspective it can be understood why they don't want to give much (or any) real details. Looked in isolation from other issues, this seems like an understandable and acceptable military strategy. Yet, when combined with the other propaganda strategies, it is another way to withhold information.

Co-Option And Collusion -- As Danny Schechter asks on this issue, “why do we in the media go along with this approach time and again? We are not stupid. We are not robots. Too many of us have DIED trying to get this story (and other stories). Ask any journalists and they will tell you that no one tells them what to write or what to do. Yet there is a homogenized flavor and Pentagon echo to much coverage of this war that shames our profession. Why? Is it because reporters buy into the ideology of the mission? Because there are few visible war critics to provide dissenting takes? Or is it because information management has been so effective as to disallow any other legitimate approach? An uncritical stance is part of the problem. Disseminating misinformation often adds up to an inaccurate picture of where we are in this war.”

Stratfor, a global intelligence consultant comments on the war on terrorism saying that the media have become cheerleaders as “Coverage of the `war on terrorism' has reversed the traditional role between the press and the military.” The problem with this, as they continue, is that “The reversal of roles between media and military creates public expectations that can affect the prosecution of the war.” Or, more bluntly put, the media becomes an effective mouthpiece for propaganda.

Embedded Journalists: An Advantage for the Military -- During the short invasion of Iraq in 2003, journalists were “embedded” with various Coalition forces. This was an idea born from the public relations industry, and provided media outlets a detailed and fascinating view for their audiences.

For the military, however, it provided a means to control what large audiences would see, to some extent. Independent journalists would be looked upon more suspiciously. In a way, embedded journalists were unwittingly (sometimes knowingly) making a decision to be biased in their reporting, in favor of the Coalition troops. If an embedded journalist was to report unfavorably on coalition forces they were accompanying they would not get any cooperation.

So, in a sense allowing journalists to get closer meant the military had more chance to try and manage the message.

In U.K., the History Channel broadcasted a documentary on August 21, 2004, titled War Spin: Correspondent. This documentary looked at Coalition media management for the Iraq war and noted numerous things including the following:

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• Embedded journalists allowed the military to maximize imagery while providing minimal insight into the real issues;

• Central Command (where all those military press briefings were held) was the main center from which to:

--Filter, manage and drip-feed journalists with what they wanted to provide; --Gloss over set-backs, while dwelling on successes; --Limit the facts and context; --Even feed lies to journalists; --Use spin in various ways, such as making it seems as though reports are coming from troops on the ground, which Central Command can --then confirm, so as to appear real; --Carefully plan the range of topics that could be discussed with reporters, and what to avoid.

In summary then, the documentary concluded and implied that the media had successfully been designated a mostly controllable role by the military, which would no doubt improve in the future.

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The use of words is integral to propaganda techniques. Dr. Aaron Delwiche, at the School of Communications at the University of Washington, provides a web site discussing propaganda. Delwiche recounts how in 1937, in the United States, the Institute for Propaganda Analysis was created to educate the American public about the widespread nature of political propaganda. Made up of journalists and social scientists, the institute published numerous works. One of the main themes behind their work was defining seven basic propaganda devices. While there was appropriate criticism of the simplification in such classifications, these are commonly described in many university lectures on propaganda analysis, as Delwiche also points out. Delwiche further classifies these (and adds a couple of additional classifications) into the following:

Word GamesName-callingLabeling people, groups, institutions, etc in a negative mannerGlittering generalityLabeling people, groups, institutions, etc in a positive mannerEuphemismsWords that pacify the audience with blander meanings and connotationsFalse ConnectionsTransferUsing symbols and imagery of positive institutions etc to strengthen acceptanceTestimonialCiting individuals not qualified to make the claims madeSpecial AppealPlain FolksLeaders appealing to ordinary citizens by doing “ordinary” thingsBand Wagon

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The “everyone else is doing it” argumentFearHeightening, exploiting or arousing people’s fears to get supportive opinions and actions

A vivid example of such use of words is seen in the following quote:

Since war is particularly unpleasant, military discourse is full of euphemisms. In the 1940’s, America changed the name of the War Department to the Department of Defense. Under the Reagan Administration, the MX-Missile was renamed “The Peacekeeper.” During wartime, civilian casualties are referred to as “collateral damage,” and the word “liquidation” is used as a synonym for “murder.”

— Dr. Aaron Delwiche, Propaganda Analysis, Propaganda Critic Web site, School of Communications, Washington University, March 12, 1995

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