1. COMMUNICATION THEORY &
NEWS VALUES
ENG 55.1-Print Media
Ann Catherine Acenas
English Dept, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
2. The Purpose of Communication
• Schramm, W. – media messages must gain public’s attention
- language must be commonly understood
- message must arouse needs and present ways to meet them
3. Challenges to Communication
• Perpetual distortion – tendency to introduce inaccuracies in perceiving messages
• In newswriting, the communicator’s message is less important than what the
audience receives and perceives
• Theory of denotative and connotative meanings in communication research
• Theory of cognitive dissonance – people can tolerate only so much emotional upset
and when information received is different from that which is acceptable or
comfortable, the mind seeks a balance by rejecting or modifying the dissonant
information
4. Physical noise and semantic noise
- Physical noise is anything that distorts the reception of the message
- Semantic noise is confusion caused by using words or phrases that the
audience cannot understand or might misinterpret
5. Media Research and Theory
• Media research shows that audiences are very interactive.
• Several theories have been developed to explain differences and similarities in
media habits.
6. 1. Individual Differences Theory
• People are unique in the way they approach media messages.
• Demographics and experiences shape audience perceptions of
communicators and their transmissions
• Credibility of sources and the way issues-oriented messages are viewed can
change from person to person
7. 2. Social Categories Theory
• People who share similar demographic characteristics will respond similarly
to a message.
8. 3. Theory of Social Influence
• Members of a group can construct an artificial reality for themselves, strong
enough even to reject appealing mass-media messages or portrayals.
9. 4. Selective Processes Theory
• People’s media behaviors are influenced by the so-called selective processes -
selective attention or exposure, selective perception, selective retention, selective
recall
• Although exposure to some media messages may be accidental, for the most part
audience members choose whether to pay attention.
• People selectively expose themselves to messages they feel will be of interest or help
to them, and interpret them according to their biases.
• Only information deemed important is retained. What is retained is subject to
distortion of selective recall.
10. 5. Stereotypes
• A filtering process takes place as readers, listeners, and viewers interpret
facts, statements and events.
• People rely on stereotypes – the mental images of people use as a simplified
representation of reality
• (Walter Lippman) “Whatever we believe to a be a true picture, we treat as if
it were the environment itself….”
• People use stereotypes on stories about race, gender, age, politics or
international relations
11. 6. Theory of Wants and Needs Gratification
• Maintains that an audience will not pay attention to a media message unless
the message or the medium fulfills some perceived want or need.
• All media behavior is based on the expectation of a reward
12. 7. (Two-step flow of Communication) Opinion
Leaders
• Media messages travel to influential community members (Opinion Leaders)
who then explain the significance of the messages to those who look to
them for guidance.
13. 8. Narcotizing Dysfunction
• Seen among people who pay close attention to news and public affairs issues
without acting on that knowledge.
• Overexposure to media messages confuses them; they do not make
decisions; become unmoved by media
14. 9. Cultivation Theory
• Postulates that mass media, especially television, “cultivate” a perception of
reality.
• People’s values and worldviews are related to their media exposure.
15. 10. Theory of Acculturation
• Suggests that news reporters adopt the attitudes and behaviors of those they
cover.
• Reporters have become socialized into adopting the mindset of their
environment – often without their conscious knowledge – and they pass
these values to the audience
16. 11. Spiral of Silence Theory
• Fear of isolation or separation from those around them prevents people
from expressing their opinions when they perceive themselves to be in the
minority.
• Because the media combine to present a common view of the world and
imply that it is accepted by most people, those who disagree with that
perception often remain silent for fear of being considered out of step.
• Minority views are expressed only when “legitimized” by media.
• The minority are powerless.
17. 12. Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• It proposes that inconsistencies among people’s beliefs, attitudes, knowledge,
and/or behavior can give rise to the uncomfortable feeling of cognitive
dissonance by changing one's attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors.
18. Implications for Media Writers
• It is a reminder that communication is not simple and carries no guarantee
of success.
• Media can serve as a powerful educational mechanism in the diffusion of
new ideas or creation of new attitudes
• The challenge to media writers is to write and report stories in a way that
avoids creating cognitive dissonance and slips through the selective process
filters to be retained
