The document outlines the characteristics and influence of mass media, emphasizing its role in shaping public opinion and societal norms. It covers various media types, the processes of mass communication, and theoretical frameworks of media effects, such as agenda setting and framing. The session aims to encourage critical thinking about how media consumption affects beliefs and decision-making.

1. Chapter 1
Understanding Mass Media
Ms. Jagri0 Shankar
Course: Gender & Media
Department of Women’s Studies
Goa University

2. Objec0ve
The objec0ve of this session is to understand what is
mass media and how it works

3. Outline
• What is Mass Media
• Why we consume media
• How media works to influence our opinions

4. Mass Media & Mass Communica0on
v Mass Media is a diversified collec0on
of media technologies that reaches a large audience
via mass communica0on.
v Mass communica-on is the study of how people and
en00es relay informa0on through mass media to large
segments of the popula0on at the same 0me.
v The study of mass communica0on is chiefly concerned
with how the content of mass communica0on
persuades the behavior, aMtude, opinion,
or emo0on of the person or people receiving the
informa0on.
Source: Wikipedia

5. Classifica0on
• Print (books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines,
etc.) from the late 15th century
• Recordings (gramophone records,
magne0c tapes, casseTes, cartridges, CDs,
and DVDs) from the late 19th century
• Cinema from about 1900
• Radio from about 1910
• Television from about 1950
• Internet from about 1990
• Mobile phones from about 2000

6. Audio Media

7. Visual Media

8. Visual
Media

9. Audio- Visual
Media

10. New Media

11. Media is
everywhere
We are surrounded by Media

12. We Consume MEDIA All the Time……
Look & See
Hear &
Listen

13. It strengthens our exis0ng beliefs
Or
It creates new beliefs
Or
It opposes our beliefs
What happens when we consume a
piece of Informa-on?

14. Discussion: Media Creates Norms
“Media creates the world we live in. It tells us
what to eat, drink, wear, & think.”
Ø Do you agree?
Ø To what extent your decisions are influenced
by media?
Ø Can u give any examples?

15. Video - 1
Media Effects
-by CommGAP & World Bank Ins0tute
hTps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=qvgURfZMGoQ
Length – 3 Min

16. Communica0on Theory
Priming
Ø Media sets the stage for audience understanding.
Provides historical context, related news of the
past, opinions of experts.
Agenda SeHng
Ø Mass media are effec0ve in determining what
audiences see as newsworthy. By the issues they
cover, media can legi0mize a story or marginalize
either the en0re story or certain aspects of it.

17. Framing
Ø Rhetorical analysis/Repor0ng of an issue. How
the story should be presented. Audience is given
a par0cular point of view or frame of reference
and interpreta0on.
Cul-va-on Theory
Ø The more television an individual consumes, the
more likely that person is to believe the real
world is similar to what they have seen on
television.

18. Video-2
But Wait: How DOES The Media Tell You What
To Think?
-by PBS Channel
hTps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=F7SzwMJ3MZQ
Length-12.34 (0ll 10.30)

19. Magic Bullet/Hypodermic Needle Model
Ø It suggests that the media injects its messages
straight into the passive audience. This passive
audience is immediately affected by these
messages
Two Step Model
Ø Ideas flow from mass media to opinion
leaders, and from them to a wider popula0on

20. Media Theories
Uses/Gra-fica-on Theory
Ø People consume media because it gives certain
enjoyment. Different people prefer different media.
Ø People consume media as it helps to understand the
world around us.
Ø The more gra0fied we are with a certain media, we use
it more than others
Mere-Exposure Effect
Ø Principle of Adver0sing; By repeated exposure, viewers
gradually start to like the product without even having
tried it.

21. Discussion and Ques0ons

22. Recap
• Media creates Norms in the society
• Media uses complex techniques to reinforce
messages
• Media influences people’s behavior, aMtude,
opinions (to different degrees)

23. • hTp://communica0ontheory.org/agenda-
seMng-theory/
• hTp://faculty.buffalostate.edu/smithrd/PR/
Framing.htm
• Propaganda and Manipula0on: How mass
media engineers and distorts our percep0ons
hTps://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Pfo5gPG72KM