MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY:
Foundations, Ferment, and Future
Seventh Edition
by
STANLEY J. BARAN and DENNIS K. DAVIS
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Assignment Ideas 3
Thought Pieces
Case Studies
Literature Reviews
Field Research
Abstracts of Books, Journal Articles,
Material in Mass Media
Debates and Discussions about Media Effects
Newspaper Combing
Book Reviews
Diaries
Report on Disruption of Media Use
Culture Representation
Syllabus Preparation 9
Course Objectives
Scheduling of Course Content
Term Papers or Group Projects
Recommended Reading
Sample Syllabus 11
Chapter-by-Chapter Test Questions and Suggestions for Audiovisual Materials
and Other Discussion Aids
Chapter 1 UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING MASS
COMMUNICATION THEORY 14
Chapter 2 ESTABLISHING THE TERMS OF THE DEBATE OVER MEDIA:
THE FIRST TREND IN MEDIA THEORY—
MASS SOCIETY AND PROPAGANDA THEORIES 18
Chapter 3 NORMATIVE THEORIES OF MASS
COMMUNICATION 22
Chapter 4 THE MEDIA-EFFECTS TREND 26
Chapter 5 THE EMERGENCE OF THE CRITICAL CULTURAL
TREND IN NORTH AMERICA 31
Chapter 6 THEORIES OF MEDIA AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT:
CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS 35
Chapter 7 AUDIENCE THEORIES: USES AND RECEPTION 39
Chapter 8 THEORIES OF MEDIA COGNITION AND
INFORMATION PROCESSING 43
Chapter 9 THEORIES OF THE EFFECT OF MEDIA ON SOCIETY 46
Chapter 10 MEDIA AND CULTURE THEORIES: MEANING-MAKING
IN THE SOCIAL WORLD 51
Chapter 11 THE FUTURE OF MEDIA THEORY AND RESEARCH 55
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INTRODUCTION
items and suggestions for using many of the text’s special features). But it also ignores many of the things
faculty have come to expect in an instructor’s guide. We offer no glossary; no chapter outlines, objectives
or summaries; no significant readings; and no important terms. This is because all of these are found
inside the text itself. As the book’s first chapter makes clear, we see mass communication theory as a
living, changing, almost volatile thing. We argue that mass communication has been and is now a product
of its time, shaped by technological advances, efforts at control, and the demands of diversity, pluralism,
and democracy. This means that mass communication theory is a human construction, and as such, it is
very often personal and subjective. Therefore, we felt compelled to include these features designed to
generate thought, discussion, and argument in the body of each chapter to help students make the
various theories relevant and, where they wish, their own. We do, however, offer several discussion
questions for each chapter that go beyond those in the text itself. The discussion questions in the text lean
toward the student-centered; that is, they are along the lines of “What would you do? Or “What was your
designed to generate wide-reaching class discussion and debate.
examples and discussion of what exam questions have worked for others, how the “boxes” can be best
utilized or augmented, and what audiovisual materials might be available to demonstrate and enliven the
offered theories.
We recognize, though, that mass communication theory is taught under a variety of titles, in a
number of different academic departments, with varying objectives, to graduate students and undergrads
at the lower and upper divisions, by faculty trained in numerous methodologies and theoretical
perspectives. This is our personal professional experience, and we know it to be true of the disciplines
generally represented by the name “mass communication.” So we readily and happily recognize that one
successful course in mass communication theory can have a much different look from another.
There are, however, a few principles of pedagogy we believe are constant across these many
approaches. First, it is more important to achieve comprehension than complete coverage of all the
theories. This text is not only exhaustive in its survey of mass communication theory, but it is deep in
evaluation, both positive and negative, of these ideas. And because this material is presented in such a
way as to generate discussion and stir debate, it is the rare teacher who can achieve both student
understanding and full completion of all 11 chapters. It may be helpful, then, to determine those sections
of the book that you wish to emphasize and stress as important or necessary for student competency in
mass communication theory.
If this textbook is used in a media and society course, you will want to place a different emphasis
on its content than a course focusing on media theory. You may want to stress how the same questions
about the role of media keep recurring despite ongoing changes in society and in media technology. You
may want to devote more attention to the evolving structure of the media industries, professionalization,
normative theories, and audience use and effects. Major issues from past eras (threat of propaganda,
yellow journalism, violence in comic books and movies) can be linked to contemporary controversies.
Challenges posed by new media can be contrasted with challenges posed by radio, movies, and
television.
Second, students should know the facts of mass communication theory—the names, the schools
of thought, the dates. But what is equally, if not more, important is that they develop a solid and, yes,
personal understanding. The text is written to emphasize the analysis, comparison, and examination of
ideas in a way that will allow students to apply what they‘ve learned to their own experience with the
media, society, and culture. Not every one of our students will assume careers in the media industries,
but every one will live a lifetime of media consumption and interaction. Class discussion should enable
students to learn from each other’s experience with media. This should be especially useful in classes
where students come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
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Finally, time, resources, and class size may dictate straight lecture or other passive learning
formats, but actively involving students in the examination and understanding of mass communication
theory is demonstrably superior. We warn you, though, that the real problem may be keeping the course
on schedule. Students are usually eager to discuss the media, their attitudes toward them, their feelings
about their personal roles in the society, and their place in and comfort with contemporary culture.
Generating student involvement may be as simple as directing their natural interest to the discussion of
the theories under consideration. We’ll suggest some ways to do this that are specific to individual issues
and chapters, as well as some general strategies in the next section.
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ASSIGNMENT IDEAS
Naturally, different student assignments are effective in different situations, but here are several
general strategies that have been successfully employed in undergraduate and graduate mass
communication theory courses.
Thought Pieces
These can be either written or oral, but in either case the objective is to confront the student with a
conceptual problem, offer a solution, and defend it. The Critical Thinking Questions and Thinking about
Theory boxes in each chapter can be used in this way, as can the Critical Thinking Questions
are less general and more current. For example, most students now spend large parts of their day using
social networking websites and they make routine use of iPods. Many view these as entertaining activities
that have no important consequences. They rarely consider the broader implications of what they are
doing. Why, for example, do they choose to present themselves in problematic ways on the Internet? Do
they risk social isolation when they walk around campus using an iPod or with their faces buried in a
smartphone’s glow? What makes use of the Internet and iPods so meaningful that they return to them day
after day? Could there be consequences that they have not considered? Which mass communication
theories could be used to gain insight into these uses and possible consequences?
Of course, there is no right or wrong answer here. Research on social networking websites and
iPod use is in its relative infancy. But students should be able to correctly and properly integrate and use
material from the course, to extrapolate from the theoretical to the actual issue at hand, and to offer a
cogent and intellectually defensible response. The value in this form of exercise is that it requires
students to use theory in a way we hope they will use it throughout their lives. Ideally, they should learn to
systematically question what they are doing with media and challenge simplistic assertions about
entertainment.
Case Studies
Another useful way of getting students to apply theory is the case study. Again, these can be oral
or written, and they can be individual or group exercises. Typically realistic and drawn from events of the
day, students are asked to systematically observe their own use of media or that of others. Or students
can be asked to stage problematic situations involving media. The purpose of either exercise is to
generate observations that can be assessed using one or more of the media theories under consideration.
Again there are no right or wrong answers, and the same evaluation criteria mentioned earlier can be
applied. Here is an example of a group case study that has worked for the authors. When discussing
normative theories, a three-student team is created. One assumes the role of local TV reporter, one the
station’s news director, and one, its general manager. The reporter takes a call from a man promising to
set himself afire in protest against (fill in the blank with an issue from the headlines). He offers the
reporter an exclusive if he or she agrees to videotape the immolation. What does the reporter do? How
does the news director evaluate that decision? How does the GM judge both subordinates? Are the
actual decisions made in this case consistent with prevailing normative theory? If not, why?
Another possibility would be to have some students role-play members of a group, agency, or
organization that might seek (or avoid) news coverage. These could include (a) members of social
movements such as ecofeminism, Earth First, or Green Peace; (b) members of ethnic, cultural, or
religious groups such as the NAACP, Korean American Association, or Church Women United; (c)
members of volunteer, public service groups such as a Parent Teachers Association or League of Women
Voters; and (d) public relations staffers for a large company. Set up a hypothetical situation in which
group members have to decide how to relate to journalists. They might be actively seeking news
coverage that is useful to them or trying to avoid coverage that threatens them. They might plan an event
designed to attract favorable coverage. Other students could role-play journalists who must decide how to
cover the event. The journalists can be asked to write news stories. Then both groups can discuss the
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stories. To what extent do the stories provide the coverage that was intended by event planners? Have
journalists avoided being “manipulated”? Was the coverage “socially responsible”?
Literature Reviews
As thorough as the text is, at best it offers masterworks and illustrative examples of the literature
underpinning the various theories. Even if the book‘s survey of the literature was exhaustive, new material
is always being published. Students can be asked to do a literature review of a given theory for a given
period. Most of the theories in this textbook are now listed on Wikipedia. Students can use the Wikipedia
listing as a starting point for their reviews. They should be required to read, summarize and report on the
materials they find. Undergraduate students might require some assistance, but all students should
benefit from the bibliographic and information retrieval skills needed to complete this exercise. Lower-
level students can be given a form to be completed by filling in essential information. It’s possible to
integrate instruction on plagiarism into this task. Students can be shown how to create reviews of theories
that properly cite the literature. This assignment can be enhanced by a scheduled class visit to the library
where a professional librarian offers a “short course” in accessing mass communication resources.
Virtually all college and university libraries offer such a service, most often provided by a staff librarian with
specific expertise in a given discipline, in this case of course, mass communication.
Field Research
Students can be assigned out-of-class research assignments. The sophistication of the project
will of course vary with that of the students. Here the team approach may work best because students
can combine skills and resources. Students should be asked to design the method of their observation
based on the course content, collect the appropriate data, analyze them, and make a report, either written
or oral. This assignment tends to demand some greater level of instructor involvement or supervision, but
its benefits in terms of introducing students to how research actually supports theory are great. For
example, when discussing mass society theory, limited effects, social cognition, cultural analysis, media
literacy, or critical cultural theory, a research team may want to conduct interviews with grammar school
and junior high students.
You can assign several teams of students to study the same theory using similar data collection
strategies. Once the data have been collected and summarized, the teams can meet to discuss
similarities and differences in their findings. If serious differences exist, you can discuss why they were
found. Were they due, for example, to variations in questions asked, the people studied, or researcher
bias? This can lead to the conclusion that for research findings to be comparable, methods of data
collection and analysis should be standardized. Students can be sensitized to the subtle ways that bias
can affect research.
When undertaking this type of research it’s important to check with your local human subjects
committee to determine what rules will apply. On most campuses, it’s possible for this type of research to
be conducted as long as it’s solely for instructional purposes and there is no intent to publish the findings.
Even so, instructors should be careful to monitor the research that students plan to do especially if it
involves research on children or controversial forms of media content such as pornography.
Abstracts of Books, Journal Articles, Material in Mass Media
Instructors sometimes find it useful for students to regularly search for, read, and then abstract
books, book chapters, journal articles, and material in mass media (including movies, television programs,
magazine or newspaper articles that deal with topics relevant to the course). Students should be provided
with a form that can be filled in with relevant information.
Abstracts can be most useful when instructors believe that students need to develop library use
skills or the ability to paraphrase and summarize what they read. On most campuses, students can now
access most media research using electronic databases provided by the library. This assignment can
serve to instruct them in how to make use of these databases. This should be less necessary for juniors
and seniors. If outside reading is frequently assigned, abstracts can provide evidence that these
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assignments have been completed. One strategy for assigning abstracts is to have every student locate
at least one or two research articles on a particular theory or media effect. They can use the textbook
references as a starting point for their search but aren’t permitted to abstract them. Thus, the reference
list tells them that Jay Blumler has done research on uses and gratifications. They could do a literature
search in the library to find other research on this topic by Blumler. Abstracting can make younger
students more aware of the structure of research articles and help them learn to quickly identify the most
important parts of articles.
Debates and Discussions about Media Effects
Divide the class into groups that regularly (once a week) debate and discuss various media
effects over the course of the quarter or semester. Effects could include the influence of (a) televised
sports, violence, or sex; (b) various types of advertising, including image advertising and political
advertising; (c) newspaper editorials; (d) news coverage of crises or celebrities; (e) pornography; (f)
tabloid television, including “real-life” cop shows and so-called reality TV; (g) video games; (h)
propaganda; (i) romance novels; (j) media coverage of the military in times of war or during political
campaigns; (k) coverage of terrorism; or (l) soap operas. We’ve found that debates about the effects of
ultrathin media representations of women have proved quite useful in illustrating a number of theories
including framing theory, uses and gratifications, and social cognitive theory. Individual groups can be
required to turn in summaries of their debates and discussions. At several points during the term, groups
can be required to make class presentations that summarize conclusions.
Initially, these debates will be based on common sense, gossip, news coverage, and so on. As
the term goes on, students should be encouraged to draw on various theories and research findings to
argue for or against various effects. For example, early in the semester students might be asked to
debate the CNN effect or the CSI Effect. Ample material for this debate can be found through simple
Internet searches using the keywords “CNN effect” or “CSI effect.” Instructors should take notes on these
early debates and then refer to them later in the semester when these topics are debated again. On most
topics, groups will contain some individuals who believe that certain effects exist and others who are
skeptical. But it can be useful to encourage students to take and argue positions contrary to their own
views. Groups should be encouraged to relate current concerns about effects to past controversies over
similar effects (for example, current concerns about televised violence or video game violence can be
related to concerns about gangster movies in the 1930s or violent comic books in the 1950s). Students
should become increasingly aware that it is difficult to reach agreement about the existence and nature of
effects. Assignment of responsibility for effects is also problematic. Students should become more aware
that in our society considerable responsibility for limiting bad effects is placed on individual media
consumers and parents rather than on the media industries. Debates and discussions should become
increasingly substantive and data-based as the course goes on.
The following three assignments tend to work best toward the middle or end of the course.
Newspaper (or Online News) Combing
Students are asked to comb through the daily paper (or online news source) and cut out or
otherwise identify news stories that can be explained or understood in terms of mass communication
theory. You might want to lead up to this task by bringing in your own examples from recent papers.
Some items will be obvious, for example, a report on congressional hearings on regulating Internet
content. But it is those less obvious examples that can generate the most discussion, debate, and
therefore, understanding. For example, a news report on an unsubstantiated rumor about a politician or
celebrity might be discussed (social responsibility theory or media intrusion theory could be used in the
discussion). Again, groups seem to be valuable here because students can discuss and argue among
themselves before they present their “findings” to the class. A jury can be established to “judge” the
winning team, but it, too, must defend its decision based on proper (possibly imaginative) application of
the various theories.
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Book Reviews
Books can be assigned and students asked to write a review based on their understanding of the
prevailing or appropriate theory. We have successfully offered classes a long list of relatively current
books on the media and asked students to choose the one that seems of greatest interest. Here are
examples of a few we’ve used.
Alexander, J. and S. Seidman, Culture and Society: Contemporary Debates
Branscomb, A. From Privacy to Public Access
Brock, D. The Republican Noise Machine
Carey, J. Communication as Culture Essays on Media and Society
Chomsky, N. Necessary Illusions Thought Control in Democratic Societies
Dertouzos, A. How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives
Douglas, S. Where the Girls Are
Entman, R. Democracy Without Citizens
Foerstel, H. Free Expression and Censorship in America
Galtung, J. and R. Vincent Global Glasnost Toward a New World Information and Communication Order
Gerbner, G., H. Mowlana, and K. Nordenstreng, The Global Media Debate
Glassner, B. The Culture of Fear
Goldberg, B. Bias
Gordon, W. McLuhan for Beginners
Greenberg, B., J. Brown, and N. Buerkel-Rothfuss, Media, Sex, and the Adolescent.
Healy, J. Failure to Connect
Jamieson, K. and K. Campbell, The Interplay of Influence News, Advertising, Politics, and the Mass Media
Kenski, K., Hardy, B. W. and K. H. Jamieson, The Obama Victory: How Media, Money, and Message Shaped
the 2008 Election.
Klein, N. No Logo
Leeson, L. Clicking In Hot Links to a Digital Culture.
Linn, S. Consuming Kids
Mander, J. Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
McChesney, R. Rich Media, Poor Democracy
McGilligan, P. and P. Buhle, Tender Comrades
McKibben, B. The Age of Missing Information
Minow N. and C. Lamay, Abandoned in the Wasteland
Mitroff, I. and W. Bennis, Unreality Industry
Mowlana, H. et al., Triumph of the Image
O’Barr, M. Culture and the Ad Exploring Otherness in the World of Advertising
Parenti, M. Land of Idols
Parenti, M. Make Believe Media
Pariser, E. The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You
Postman, N. Amusing Ourselves to Death
Postman, N. Technopoly The Surrender of Culture to Technology
Postman, N. The Disappearance of Childhood
Postman, N. The End of Education
Pratkanis, A. and E. Aronson, Age of Propaganda
Real, M. Exploring Media Culture
Rushkoff, D. Coercion: Why We Listen to What “They” Say
Sanders, B. A is for Ox
Shenk, D. Data Smog Surviving the Information Glut
Slouka, M. War of the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality
Steinberg, S. R. Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood
Steinberg, S. and J. Kincheloe, Kinder-Culture
Tannen, D. The Argument Culture
Tyner, K. Literacy in a Digital World
Van Evra, J. Television and Child Development
Wolf, M. The Entertainment Economy
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Zaltman, G., How Customers Think
The assignment itself might read like this. Give an overview of the book you’ve chosen. Then
craft an essay that answers any or all of these questions: What is the author’s view of the power of the
audience? Of media? Does your book‘s basic premise support or counter any of the theories or
perspectives we’ve studied in class? Where do you agree or disagree with the arguments offered in your
book?
Diaries
Students might be asked to maintain a diary of their media interaction for some specified period,
for example, five days. They can then write an essay on the personal application of mass communication
theory for them in the situations they find themselves in. This assignment has been successfully used in
this way: “For one five-day period, you must maintain a diary of your media interaction. This means not
only all of your consumption (intended and otherwise), but also the times you talk about what you’ve seen,
read, or listened to, and the times you find yourself using (intentionally and otherwise) what you’ve
received from the media; in other words, every time the media touch your life in that period. The diary can
be handwritten, but it must be readable and detailed (for example, Tuesday, 1030 to 1115 am, read
editorials in the NY Times. Brooks misses mark on immigration reform). Then, based on the information
in your journal, you must discuss the nature of your interaction with media during that time. Focus on the
applicability of various theories to your understanding of your involvement with media and their influence
on you, your environment, and others in it. When students keep a diary, they often find that usage levels
are greater than they expect — especially when they begin to add up the time spent on media multitasking
and all media related activities.
A variation of the media diary approach can be used to assess iPod use. Students can engage in
various types of activities with or without their iPod. At time listening to the device, at others not, they can
observe whether other people treat them differently when they do simple things like purchasing items in
stores or sitting in locations where their friends are likely to be passing by.
Report on Disruption of Media Use
Most students have well-developed media use habits. For this assignment, they are told to stop
using their preferred medium for a week or so. They maintain a diary in which they discuss how they cope
without a preferred medium. What is their emotional reaction to the disruption? Do they substitute
another medium? For example, if they regularly watch a particular television program, do they cope by
reading a book or going to a movie? Morning newspaper readers might turn on a morning television news
program and vice versa. If substitutions are made, students should report whether they are satisfied with
them. The exercise should help students better understand how routine media use becomes a part of
their daily lives. They should become more aware and critical of the purposes media serve for them.
A simplified version of this exercise would ask students to stop using television for a week. The
class can be divided into various groups based on their attitudes toward television. These might include
(a) the television dependent (frequent viewers of all types of programming who find many programs to be
quite satisfying; often “zone out” in front of the set); (b) abstainers (avoid television except for occasional
news viewing); (c) selective viewers (view several times a week but only specific programs; never “zone
out”); (d) fans of specific programs (very knowledgeable about specific programs and rarely miss them,
such as cable news or The Simpsons). After the week is over, the groups can meet to compare their
reactions and then report them to the class. Students should be encouraged to critically assess the role
that television plays in their lives. They should become aware that others experience and use television
differently.
Another possibility is to encourage students to stop using various forms of new media and then
observe the consequences. What happens when they stop checking their social networking websites or
sending text messages? How quickly do other people react? To what extent is student media use
supported or even compelled by the people around them?
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Finally, if students are reluctant to actually give up media, they can be asked to conduct a thought
experiment – or perhaps recall an actual experience when access to media was cut off. For example,
they might have lost a cell phone or broken a tablet computer. How did they react and what did they do?
Was the loss of access important? Why?
Culture Representation
The purpose of this assignment is to encourage students to critically assess the way culture is
portrayed on television. Students are made more aware of how television programs constantly portray
human relationships in stylized and limited ways. It should be most appropriate after students have been
introduced to the various cultural theories (Chapters 5 and 10). Choose a popular television program,
such as Gossip Girl, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, or Pretty Little Liars, that features actors who are about
the same age as many of your students and require all students to view it. The program or parts of it can
be shown during the class. Students can be given a coding sheet on which they record observations that
you want them to make. Do they find certain interactions unusual or problematic? What do people on the
program spend most of their time talking about? How are male-female relationships portrayed? After
viewing the program, students should discuss their observation of it. You may want to have small groups
discuss observations and then compare the conclusions reached by different groups. Encourage students
to consider what is not being presented as well as what is presented. Emphasize that television program
producers must package culture as a commodity in order to market it to large audiences. The packaging
process necessarily glamorizes and highlights certain aspects of culture and ignores or marginalizes other
aspects. You might choose to focus this assignment by having students center their attention on sex role
portrayals, the way problems are presented and solved, techniques used to encourage greater viewer
involvement in the program (what makes us care enough about the characters to keep viewing), or use of
sound or body movements and facial gestures to provide us with cues for how to anticipate or interpret
action. You might contrast a reality TV program with a scripted TV program. How is reality TV different in
the way it packages culture?
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SYLLABUS PREPARATION
Course Objectives
As discussed, this textbook can be used in a broad range of classes. Different types of classes
will necessarily have different objectives. Here we list some of the specific objectives that courses based
on this textbook could have
1. Develop awareness and basic understanding of a broad range of theories that deal with mass
communication.
2. Enable students to trace the historical development of media theories and link this development to
historically important societal, political, and technological events or issues such as the Great Depression,
rise of totalitarianism, World War II, the cold war, Civil Rights Movement, and development of various
media technologies.
3. Encourage students to develop a personally meaningful and well-developed perspective on mass
media—a perspective that will enable them to make better use of media to achieve valued goals (such as
becoming critical consumers of media). This should include a critical understanding of new media so that
students can make effective use of new technology and media as they become available.
4. Develop understanding of the strengths and limitations of various types of media theories,
including normative, critical, and scientific theories. Ideally, they should form preferences for various
theories and be able to offer cogent reasons for these preferences.
5. Increase student awareness of recurring criticisms made of media and the limitations of these
criticisms. For example, the recurring debate over the effects of media portrayals of sex or violence.
6. Increase student awareness of how media professionalization developed, its grounding in normative
theory, its use in defending media industries from criticism and censorship, and its limitations.
7. Prepare some students for advanced coursework in communication theory and research that will
prepare them for careers as communication scholars. Prepare other students for advanced coursework in
ethics, law, and cultural diversity that will train them to become responsible media practitioners.
8. Increase student understanding of how conceptualizations of the role of media have changed over
the years and assess the advantages and limitations of these ideas. Consider how these
conceptualizations will change as new media evolve over the next decade.
9. Improve students’ media literacy skills.
Scheduling of Course Content
The textbook contains 11 chapters and is easily adapted to a 15- or 16-week semester schedule.
It is designed so that early chapters prepare students for the content in later chapters. Instructors should
be able to devote a week to each chapter even if there are one or two midterm examinations. Chapters 6
through 10 are somewhat longer than earlier chapters and cover more recent theories. Instructors who
prefer to focus on current theory may want to move more rapidly through the early chapters and schedule
more time to consider contemporary theories. In that case, the first five chapters might be covered in five
weeks or so with an exam scheduled during the sixth week. This would leave nine or ten weeks to cover
the six remaining chapters and schedule a second midterm exam.
As you develop your syllabus, you may want to give an indication of the topics, theories and
theorists, or concepts to be covered during each week. You can use the table of contents in the textbook
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or the important terms in the margins of each chapter as a source of these topics. List the terms in the
syllabus on which you prefer to focus.
Term Papers or Group Projects
We have offered a number of suggestions for group projects. Students should be informed of
these in the syllabus and told how much of their grade will be determined by them. Even though students
work in groups, they can be graded individually on their group participation, class presentations, and
reports on group activities.
Several brief or one long term paper can be assigned. The textbook provides students with many
possible term paper topics. The Thinking about Theory and Critical Thinking Questions sections of the
chapters are good sources. Reports can be done on individual theories or theorists, specific sets of
research findings, controversies over various effects, historical eras in which important ideas about media
developed, media professionalization and normative theories, and critical assessment of personal media
use.
Sample Syllabus
The next four pages present a sample syllabus that has proved successful in our theory classes,
given how we teach them. It may offer you an idea or two in preparing your own syllabi.
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SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Introduction
The purpose of this course is to provide a comprehensive grounding in mass communication
theory. We will review the historical development of media theory, consider the many issues and
problems created by the introduction of media, and then focus on contemporary conceptualizations of
media, ending with a discussion of media literacy. We live at a time when media technologies are
undergoing rapid change. New media industries are being created, and old ones are being restructured.
Movie studios are being bought by cable entrepreneurs, and cable companies are being absorbed into
telephone companies. These changes will undoubtedly have many consequences for our lives and the
society at large. Today’s media challenge us in many of the same ways that earlier media challenged our
grandparents and great-grandparents. We can learn from their experience and from the decisions that
they made about media. As individuals and as societies, we can use media wisely or foolishly. To guide
our use of media and our study of media, we need theories—theories that explain the role of media for us
as individuals and guide the development of media industries for our society at large. This course should
help you develop your understanding of theory so that you can make better use of media and play a role in
the development of new media industries.
Examinations and Grading
There will be three examinations — two midterms and a final. All exams will consist of 70%
multiple-choice questions and 30% short-answer essay questions. Two brief term papers will be required.
The due dates for these are listed on the class schedule. Finally, there will be a grade for class
participation. The following weights will be used to calculate the final grade: 2 midterms = 40%, final exam
= 35%, class participation = 5%, two term papers = 20%. Class attendance is expected, and your
participation grade will be lowered for numerous, unexcused absences, late assignments, or late
completion of examinations.
Textbook
Baran, S.J. and Davis, D.K., Mass Communication Theories: Foundations, Ferment, and Future, 7th
edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2015.
Class Schedule
Dates Topic Reading
Week 1 Introduction. Understanding and Chapter 1
Evaluating Mass Communication Theory.
Enduring questions about the role of media.
Post-positivist, Interpretive, Critical,
and Normative theory. Evaluating Theory.
Four Trends in Media Theory. Mass Society &
Mass Culture Limited Effects. Critical Cultural.
Cultural. Meaning-Making.
Week 2 The Debate Over Media. The First Trend in Chapter 2
Media theory – Mass Society and Propaganda
Theories. Mass Society Theory Today.
Propaganda and Propaganda Theory. Behaviorism.
Lasswell and Lippmann. Modern Propaganda
Propaganda Theory. Libertarianism Reborn.
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Week 3 Normative Theories of Mass Communication. Chapter 3
Origin of Normative Theories. Libertarian theory
To Social Responsibility theory.
Professionalization. Recent theories.
Public interest and the Internet.
Nonprofit journalism.
Week 4 The Media-Effects Trend. Chapter 4
Rise of Postpositivism and Effects Research.
Rejection of Mass Society theory.
Importance of Lazarsfeld and Hovland
research. Klapper’s Reinforcement
theory. Systems Theories. Functionalism.
Week 5 The Critical Cultural Theory Trend. Chapter 5
Macroscopic versus Microscopic Theories
Marxism and neo-Marxism.
Textual and literary analysis. The
Frankfurt School. Political Economy
theory. Critical Feminist Scholarship.
McLuhan and Innis.
Week 6 First Midterm Week. Review for Exam.
Exam.
Week 7 Theories of Media and Human Development. Chapter 6
Children and Media Violence. Social Learning.
Active Theory of TV Viewing. Developmental
Perspective. General Aggression Model.
Growing Up Connected.
Week 8 Audience Theories: Uses and Reception. Chapter 7
Active Audience. Uses and Gratifications.
Entertainment Theory. Reception Studies.
Feminist Reception Studies.
Week 9 Theories of Media Cognition and Information Chapter 8
Processing. Schema Theory. Hostile Media
Effect. Elaboration Likelihood Model. Narrative
Persuasion Theory. Neuroscience Perspective
Week 10 Theories of the Effect of Media on Society. Chapter 9
Agenda-setting, Spiral of Silence.
News Production, Media Intrusion.
Media Dependency, Knowledge Gap.
Cultivation. Media Literacy.
Week 11 Second Midterm Week. Review for Exam.
Exam.
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Week Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making Chapter 10
12/13 In the Social World. Symbolic Interactionism,
Pragmatism. Social Constructionism, Framing
Theory and Frame Analysis.
Effects of Frames, Commodification
of Culture.
Week 14 The Future of Media Theory and Research Chapter 11
New Media Theory and Research:
Challenges and Findings. Internet Addiction.
Health Communication. Journalism in
Transition. Reforming Journalism.
New Media Literacy.
Week 15 Summary and Final Examination.
List of Recommended Readings
If a list of recommended readings is considered desirable, it can be easily constructed by referring
to the books and articles referenced in the individual chapters.
TWO SHORT TERM PAPERS
Description Each term paper should be from five to seven double-spaced, typewritten pages in length. I
as a guide to citing sources, footnoting, and references. Copies should be available in the bookstore. If
you prefer to use the Modern Language Association guidelines, you are free to do so. Papers should
have from three to seven citations to either books or research articles.
Topics We will discuss possible paper topics in class. However, it is possible for you to base your papers
on any of the theories being covered in the textbook or lecture. Most papers will review the literature in
some area of media theory or effects. However, other topics are possible. Please discuss your ideas for
papers with me early in the semester. Television violence has again become a focus of attention. This
would be an appropriate topic for your second paper since we will cover the theories that deal with TV
violence after the midterm. Another possibility would be to focus on new media technologies or new
media industries. Consider the challenges posed by these technologies or industries. Choose a theory
that could be useful in investigating or understanding these challenges.
Due Date The first term paper is due just before the second midterm examination. The second term
paper is due on the last day of class.
Structure Give careful thought to the overall structure of your paper. Write the paper as though it were
intended to communicate to some informed peers who are interested in your topic. Include an
introduction that explains the significance of the topic and introduces the theme or issues that the paper
will explore and discuss. The body of the paper should systematically develop your points. The
conclusion should summarize key points and offer your perspective on them. Keep your readers in mind
as you write. Express yourself clearly.
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CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER TEST QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR
AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS AND OTHER DISCUSSION AIDS
CHAPTER 1
UNDERSTANDING AND EVALUATING MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY
Multiple Choice
1. Humans think about their behavior, values, beliefs, and attitudes. In other
words, they are
c) deduced
d) impossible to study scientifically
2. The type of mass communication theory that might be involved when studying
how well the mainstream American press serve democratic principles is
d) interpretive
3. There are several reasons why social science has difficulty providing definitive
answers to questions of human behavior. Which of the following is among those
listed in the text?
d) causality simply does not exist in human beings
4. The idea that others are affected by media but not ourselves is called the
___________.
a) laboratory effect
d) denial effect
5. ______________ theories are based on empirical research and adherence to
the scientific method.
a) Normative
b) Interpretive
6. Questions of the place of values in theory and research are issues of
_________.
c) epistemology
d) metatheory
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7. ________ occurs when a given factor influences another, even by way of an
intervening variable.
a) Connection
b) Theory
8. A hypothesis is best described as
c) a method for conducting an experiment
d) a tool used by scientists to make observations
9. The type of mass communication theory that seeks prediction and control is
a) critical theory
b) interpretive
10. The type of mass communication theory that seeks emancipation from and
change in a dominant social order is
c) normative theory
d) post-positivism
11. People who apply logic and observation to the understanding of the social
world are
c) philosophers
d) scientists
12. _______ is the consideration of how knowledge is created and expanded.
a) Ontology
13. Your friend tells you that she is immune from television violence’s effects, but
you are not. This is an example of
c) gloating
d) a hypothesis
14. Interpretive theorists who set aside their values when investigating a text are
said to be ___________.
a) scientific
b) ethical
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15. Post-positivist and hermeneutic theory are _________, that is, they are
articulations of existing realities. Critical theory is ____________. This means its
goal is to change reality.
c) passive/active
d) active/passive
16. Which was the first dominant perspective on mass media?
a) Media primacy theory
b) Limited effects theory
17. The man who did the most to challenge mass society theory and encourage
development of scientific theories of mass communication was
a) Harold Lasswell
18. British cultural studies, which focuses on media and their role in promoting
the interests of dominant elites at the expense of less powerful groups, is
based on __________ notions of mass communication.
a) limited effects
b) mass society
19. The meaning-making theory trend is focused on
c) average people using media for entertainment
d) average people using media for information
20. Since the development of meaning-making theories, media effects research
has
a) gone into decline due to the rise of new media
b) developed less complicated, easy to understand theories of persuasion
Essay
1. What difficulties exist in applying social science to the demonstration of causality? Why is the task
even more difficult when the media are the focus of study?
2. Which of the various definitions of the scientific method introduced in the text do you find most useful
for your own understanding of mass communication? Why?
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3. Compare the axiologies of post-positivist, interpretive, and critical theory. Which one do you favor?
4. Which of the various definitions of theory introduced in the text do you find most useful for your own
understanding of mass communication? Why?
5. Why does our society seem to have so much difficulty accepting the theories and findings of social
scientists? Do you share the culture’s distrust of their work? Why or why not?
6. What are the four general trends in mass communication theory described in the text? What is the
prevailing view of mass media’s role in the society and their influence on individuals that characterizes
each of these trends?
7. Trace the overall development of mass communication theory from 1900 to today. List important eras,
theories, and theorists.
8. What does it mean to say that mass communication theory is a human construction? Can scientific
theory be anything other than a human construction?
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Can you think of any examples of social science evidence from any field that you accept? Any that you
reject? Can you think of any evidence of media influence that you have either accepted or rejected? If you
are skeptical, can you explain why you are?
2. Can you develop your own definitions of the scientific method and theory that are more useful to you
than what we’ve suggested? In other words, what kinds of ideas and evidence supporting them satisfy
you?
3. Have you ever read or heard of any social scientific findings regarding media and aggressive behavior?
If you have, do you believe what social science has told you about this controversial issue? Why or why
not?
1. 4. Where do you stand on the fundamental issue of media impact? In other words, do you believe that
media influence individuals, society, and the culture, and if you do, to what extent do they do so?
5. We make some strong claims about the power of the new communication technologies to reshape not
only the media industries but also the world that relies on them. It is impossible to pick up a contemporary
newspaper or magazine without seeing the same theme echoed. Are people making too much of the
Internet and the World Wide Web? Are these technologies destined to become just “more TV” or another
way to see ads and do your shopping?
6. The United States is a country that permits, even celebrates, its various differences. At the same time,
it is a country with its own distinct culture—we know what it means when someone says he or she is
“typically American.” Do you see the fragmentation of the audience, as people search out and consume
ever more narrow forms of media content, enriching our diverse culture, or do you see it further dividing us
and insulating us from one another?
Discussion Aids
A good way to get students thinking about research is to ask them how they “research” a movie
choice, a music selection, or some similar activity. You can then identify such things as the method
employed (quantitative, qualitative, etc.) and elements such as respondents, independent variable, and
the like depending on student responses.