978-1305580985 Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Social and Political Issues:

Shaping the Arguments

Chapter Outline

• Early Mass Media Studies Assess Impact

• Scholars Look for Patterns

The Payne Fund Studies

The Cantril Study

The Lasswell Model

• How TV Affects Children’s Behavior

Television in the Lives of Children

Television and Social Behavior

The Early Window

Television Advertising to Children

Linking TV to School Performance

• Do the Mass Media Cause Violence?

• National Political Campaigns Depend on Mass Media

The Fireside Chats

The People’s Choice

The Unseeing Eye

Election Campaigns on Television

• Cost of Political Advertising Skyrockets

• Voters and Campaigns Use the Internet and Social Media

• Mass Media Reflect Social Values

Silencing Opposing Viewpoints

Losing a Sense of Place

Stereotyping

• Mass Media Slow to Reflect Ethnic Diversity

• Mass Media Face Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues

• How to Analyze Media Effects

Suggested Activities, Discussions, and Exercises

1. Invite an elected public official to class to discuss the ways media affect

not only elections but also how the public views politicians. Have the

students brainstorm questions to ask the speaker, either individually or in

groups.

2. Ask students to pick a news topic of interest and consider whom they turn

to as an opinion leader in a two-step or multi-step flow of information on

that subject. Ask them also to consider whether they themselves serve as

an opinion leader for someone else on some topic. Ask them to discuss

these issues in class or to write a paper about their opinion-leader

experiences.

3. Have students apply Neil Postman’s media analysis questions to the

Internet as a medium of news and entertainment. Ask students to write a

brief paper and be prepared to discuss their ideas in class.

4. Ask each student to select three primetime entertainment shows, view an

episode, and assess whether

a. minorities—including African Americans, Latinos, Asians and

Native Americans—are fairly portrayed;

b. women are fairly portrayed.

Ask students to write a brief paper or to discuss their findings in class or in

an online discussion forum.

5. Ask students to go to YouTube to examine political videos. Have students,

working in groups of two or three, select a political video to show on

YouTube in class. Watch several of the students’ choices in class, and

discuss what made the videos especially effective. Then, for the next class

period, have the students write a brief paper discussing the impact of the

video.

Activity Pages

Use the following activity pages as class handouts for exercises and to

accompany some of the classroom Ideas described above.

Stereotypes in Advertisements

Find five examples of advertisements from newspapers, magazines, or the

Internet that present a variety of stereotypes—of women, men, older people,

ethnic groups, and so on. Then find five examples of ads that you think do not

stereotype groups of people. For each ad, indicate where it ran, the date on which

it ran, and why it does or does not present a stereotype. Attach this sheet to your

ads; use the back of the page or more paper, if necessary. Bring all of the ads to

class and be prepared to discuss what you found.

1. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s stereotypical:

————————————————-

2. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s stereotypical:

————————————————-

3. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s stereotypical:

————————————————-

4. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s stereotypical:

————————————————-

5. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s stereotypical:

6. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s not stereotypical:

————————————————-

7. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s not stereotypical:

————————————————-

8. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s not stereotypical:

————————————————-

9. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s not stereotypical:

————————————————-

10. Brief description of ad:

Where it ran:

Date:

Why it’s not stereotypical:

Doing an Informal Mass Media Study

To see how people in your area feel about the mass media, interview at least five

people in your community of differing ages, ethnic backgrounds and genders.

(You may wish to record and later transcribe the answers.) Ask each person you

interview two sets of questions—start with Group A and follow with Group B.

Questions about different media in Group B (see following page) may be assigned

to different class members working either as groups or as individuals. Make sure

you ask everyone you interview the questions in Group A first. (Be sure your

interviewees realize they can choose “Decline to State” as their answer on any of

the questions.) Assemble the answers to the questions as directed by your

instructor.

Group A Questions

(must be asked of every participant first)

• Gender: Male ______ Female _____

• How old are you?

• What is your ethnic background?

(African American, white, Asian

American, Latino, Native American, and

so on)

• What is your religious preference, if

any? (Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist,

Muslim, other)

• What is your political party affiliation?

• Are you single or married?

• Do you have children? If so, how

many?

• What do you do for a living?

• How long have you done this job?

• Did you attend college? Public or

private?

• If you did attend college, what was

your major?

• Do you have a bachelor’s degree? If

so, in what?

• Do you read a major newspaper every

day? If so, which one(s)? How much

time do you spend reading the

paper(s)?

• Do you watch a major television news

broadcast every day? If so, which

one(s)?

How much time do you spend watching

the show(s)?

• Which television news programs do

you prefer? Why?

• Do you listen to radio news every day?

If so, which station? How much time do

you spend listening?

• Which magazines do you read? How

much time do you spend reading them?

• How much time do you spend on the

Internet?

• What are your favorite sites on the

Internet to visit for news? List five.

(Continue with Group B questions on the next page)

Doing an Informal Mass Media Study: Group B Questions

After your interviewees answer the Group A questions, ask them the Group B

questions with the following possible responses—if they: a. agree totally; b. agree

somewhat; c. disagree somewhat; d. disagree totally; or e. don’t know. Ask why

and take notes about their reactions.

• Americans are bombarded by the mass

media.

• By and large, people believe what they

see, hear, and read in the mass media.

• Televised violence has a direct relationship

to violence in society.

• Televised violence makes aggressive

people more aggressive.

• Children watch too much TV.

• Young children do not know the difference

between TV programs and TV commercials.

• Children who watch “pro social” programs,

such as Sesame Street, are more likely to

act responsibly.

• Children who watch less TV score higher

on academic achievement tests.

• Adults watch too much television.

• Too much television is harmful to people.

• Children spend too much time playing

videogames.

• Advertising has a useful function.

• Advertising has no social goals and no

social responsibility for its influences.

• Better–educated people are more likely to

be more critical of the media and to

determine when media are biased.

• Political TV commercials reinforce people’s

beliefs.

• The Internet has very little influence on

people’s voting habits.

• Family and friends have more influence on

people’s political choices than TV does.

• Politicians spend too much money on

political advertising.

•Political ads on TV help me make up my

mind on important issues.

• Reporters are only interested in getting a

good story; they are not responsible.

• The mass media tell people what people

want to hear.

• The mass media reflect the prevailing

climate of opinion—they do not challenge

conventional wisdom.

• The American mass media are doing a

good job and giving me the information I

need to be a responsible citizen.

• The American mass media are biased.

• The mass media persist in delivering anti–

feminist, racist stereotypes and ignore

people of color altogether.

• I trust the American mass media to tell me

the truth.

• The Internet is a wonderful new media tool.

• I trust traditional media (newspapers,

radio, television) more than the Internet to

deliver reliable news.

• If I want the truth, I primarily use the

Internet to find the information I want.

• The Internet has made it too confusing to

find out what the facts are on a particular

issue, so I avoid using it

Chapter 13 Quiz

Multiple Choice

1. _____ analyzes how people use information they receive from the media.

a. The theory of selective perception

b. Media effects research

c. The magic bullet theory

d. The media behavior theory

2. Marshall McLuhan is best remembered for which concept?

a. Advertising fulfills an economic function.

b. The medium is the message.

c. Television is too violent.

d. Children are greatly influenced by the movies they see.

3. Studies by media scholar Carolyn Martindale concluded:

a. that non-white groups are visible “only in glimpses” in the media.

b. that Latinos are often portrayed as successful professionals on television.

c. that a climate of bi-racial coexistence is present in America’s newsrooms.

d. that non-white groups are presented as an integral part of American society.

4. The 1971 study of violence and TV (Television and Social Behavior),

conducted by George Gerbner, found that:

a. there was no connection between TV programming and aggressive behavior.

b. TV violence affected some children who were already predisposed to violence.

c. only two of ten prime-time TV programs could be called “violent.”

d. TV violence had a “magic bullet” effect, leading to violent behavior among a

majority of children.

5. The two-step flow of communication is:

a. between TV advertisers and children.

b. from presidential candidates to the public.

c. the transmittal of information from mass media to opinion leaders and then to

friends.

d. the connection between TV programs and aggressive behavior.

ANS: C

6. After studying the 1972 presidential race (The Unseeing Eye),

researchers Thomas Patterson and Robert McClure concluded that political

advertising on television:

a. always worked to get voters to switch their support to any candidate.

b. affected the way a majority of people decided to vote.

c. was able to manipulate about 7 percent of voters.

d. is the least cost-effective method of reaching registered voters.

7. Researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann says the media discourage

people from expressing views that disagree with the prevailing point of

view. She calls this effect:

a. the spiral of silence.

b. the consensus factor.

c. media antipathy.

d. the magic bullet.

8. Children who watch a lot of television, according to a 1981 California

study:

a. have higher scores on math, reading and writing tests.

b. have lower scores on math, reading and writing tests.

c. do the same on math, reading, and writing tests.

d. are more likely to go to college than children who watch less TV.

9. Who was the first “media president”?

a. Franklin Roosevelt, with his Fireside Chats

b. Lyndon Johnson, sworn in on television

c. JFK, with his Cuban Missile Crisis address

d. Barack Obama, with his Internet presence

10. A recent study by Common Sense Media found that:

a. most toddlers don’t watch very much TV.

b. children who watch children’s programming, like Sesame Street, are smarter

than other children.

c. there is no direct correlation of viewing violence on television with aggressive

behavior.

d. Children under age 8 are spending more time than ever using mass media.

11. After Congress held hearings on violent content in television

programming in 1993, cable operators and network broadcasters agreed:

a. to develop violence ratings for TV programming.

b. to create a government commission to review programming for violent content.

c. that government had no business interfering in programming matters.

d. that cable operators should be allowed to air violent content but not the

networks.

12. Which medium first prompted scholars to widely expand their study

and analysis of the effects of media on society?

a. newspapers

b. books

c. radio

d. television

13. The cost of national and statewide political campaigns has:

a. dropped since the year 2000.

b. remained the same from 2000 to the 2008 election.

c. skyrocketed since the year 2000.

d. experienced gradual growth since the year 2000.

14. According to David M. Potter, in his book People of Plenty, when does

advertising begin “to fulfill a really essential economic function”?

a. in an economy of scarcity

b. when potential supply outstrips demand

c. when producers can sell as much as they produce

d. when demand exceeds supply

15. The first U.S. election where the Internet began to play a role in national

politics was:

a. the 2008 presidential election.

b. the 2004 presidential election.

c. the 2000 presidential election.

d. the 1996 presidential election.

True/False

1. Media scholar Marshall McLuhan argued that electronic media messages

essentially are no different from print messages.

2. The Television Advertising to Children study suggested that many young

children think of advertising as just another form of programming and don’t

distinguish between programs and ads.

ANS: T

3. According to a National Institute of Mental Health study, it is possible to predict

which children will behave aggressively after watching violence on television.

4. One legacy of John F. Kennedy’s use of TV in the 1960 presidential campaign

is that national political campaigns came to depend almost entirely on TV to

promote presidential candidates.

ANS: T

5. Syndicated newspaper comic strips have managed to avoid confronting gay

and lesbian issues.

Essay Questions

1. Identify the conclusions of the following studies:

a. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s “spiral of silence”

b. The California Assessment Program

c. Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-Produced Fantasies for Women by

Tania Modleski

2. How is the Internet transforming media consumption of political

campaigns?

3. Describe how cable operators and network broadcasters responded to

Congressional hearings on the subject of violent television programming

content.

4. Discuss how media content creators have addressed gay, lesbian, and

transgender issues. What has been the response by content distributors,

government, and the general public? How has this changed over the

years?

5. Discuss the study that established the original “magic bullet” theory of

media effects. Assess the validity of its methods and findings. Contrast its

findings with the Cantril study that examined the effect of Orson Welles’

1939 “War of the Worlds” broadcast.