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Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter Outlines
Chapter 1: Media/Society in a Digital World
Purpose and Goals of the Chapter
This chapter introduces the theoretical and practical approaches that underlies
Media/Society. The chapter notes the central role media play in our lives and present a
model for understanding the media by examining the social implications of mass media
and explores how a sociological approach to media is distinctive. It also provides students
with the historical perspective of media development, the pervasiveness of media in
contemporary society, data on media consumption and the trajectories of use in the digital
age. This chapter gives students a primer on sociological theories on media and gets
students thinking about the media, and its digital growth, as a social system.
Outline of Key Chapter Themes
• Mass media are pervasive. Media influence all aspects of contemporary society.
• An overview of the how media affects the communication process.
• Framing a sociological and communicative perspective of media as a sociology of media
that involves seeing media as a social process.
• One key sociological concern is the tension between structural constraint and human
agency.
• The “media and the social world” model highlights both the media as a process and the
relationships between various elements of this process. Social movements can be used to
map this model.
• A brief overview of the role media played during two civil rights moments in mid-20th
century and BLM.
Chapter Outline
• The Importance of Media
• Models of Communication Media
o Interpersonal and “Mass” Communication
o Variable Boundaries and Active Users
o Communication Today: A First Look
• A Sociology of Media
o The Sociological Perspective
o Structural Constraint and Human Agency
▪ Structure
▪ Agency
o Structure and Agency in the Media
▪ Relationships between the Media and Other Social Institutions
Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
▪ Relationships within the Media Industry
▪ Relationships between the Media and the Public
• A Model of Media and the Social World
• Applying the Model: Civil Rights in Two Media Eras
o Mid-20th Century Civil Rights Movement
o Black Lives Matter
• Conclusion
