Analyzing Media
5/27/2001
Rationale
Much of the information we receive and act upon comes to us from television, radio, print materials, the Internet, and other sources we refer to as mass media, rather than through direct experience. Such information, whether it concerns people and places or pressing social issues, is literally mediated by the experiences and perceptions of those who interpret it, assemble it, and distribute it.
As these media, and the information technologies associated with them, grow and converge, fewer and fewer transnational media and technology companies play an increasingly critical role in shaping everyday life for millions of people, potentially threatening the diversity of opinion and perspective that marks humankind. Other trends, however, including affordability and accessibility, may have a democratizing effect, placing sophisticated media and information technologies in the hands of even the smallest non-profits and community-based organizations. These latter organizations function according to a different mission, different patterns of ownership, different values and content in their productions, and a different relationship to the commercial media/technology system.
Effectively making use of media and communication technologies has become a necessity in the pursuit of social goals. To do so, students should be able to analyze and critique the functioning and effects of media and communication technologies in relation to social issues, with a focus on the tension between centralized, profit-oriented patterns of ownership and new opportunities for meaningful access and democratic control.
Competency
Demonstrate a systematic knowledge of the workings of a selected range of media and communication technologies and critically analyze how they shape perceptions of social issues, public policies, and cultural groups.
Criteria
- Identify and describe specific elements, devices and techniques that are characteristic of a range of mass media.
- Analyze how products of mass media use such elements, devices and techniques to create meaning.
- Assess how effectively mass media use such elements, devices and techniques in the specific productions that were analyzed in #1 above.
- Identify, summarize and compare key points in some of the major models and/or theoretical frameworks regarding how mass media function.
- Selecting one of the models or theories from #4 above, utilize a range of appropriate research tools to locate and explore a current critical issue in mass media that relates to this particular model or theory.
- Analyze a media product across a spectrum of mass media ranging from mainstream to alternative, with particular attention to:
- the range and limits of ideological debate
- instances of systematic bias and/or exclusion
- accessibility of media for public interest or community use in relation to commercial goals or interests
- significance of functions of mass media in broader societal contexts
Standards
- Student should select an appropriate example, approved by the evaluator, from at least 2 of the following media categories: print, audio, video, music, film, Internet, convergent media, etc. Student should then accurately identify 3 main elements, devices or techniques that are used within the example from each medium and then clearly describe how these are used to achieve certain effects. Can be done via brief expository paper or via oral presentation using excerpts from the two selected examples. (For ex., a student chooses the film Casablanca as one of her two examples and identifies techniques such as use of flashback, music in the film, use of light and shadow in the cinematography, melodrama plot, etc.)
- Student should choose one of the examples used for #1, and write a brief analytic/interpretive paper 2-3 pages in length that discusses how this example of a particular medium uses elements, devices and techniques to achieve intended meanings. The elements, devices and techniques should be the same ones identified and described in Criterion and Standard #1.
- Using the other example chosen for Criterion #1, the student should present a detailed critical assessment of its effectiveness. This assessment should be based on meaningful criteria for evaluating the quality of a mass media product, such as appropriateness for intended audience, clarity and/or complexity of ideas presented, verisimilitude, impact of graphic elements, vitality of dialogue, etc. Student may choose an alternative example to the ones used for Criterion and Standard #1, but this requires prior approval of evaluator. Criterion #3 can be demonstrated through a brief evaluative paper written in the form of a critical review, or can be demonstrated through an oral presentation. If done orally, student must include excerpts from the example being evaluated.
- Student must identify, summarize, and compare three different models or theoretical frameworks (approved by the evaluator) for how the mass media function. Identification must be accurate and should be drawn from appropriate literature on mass communications. Summaries of one page each should be appropriate for a reader unfamiliar with the model/theory. Comparison (no more than 2 pages) should take into account the key elements of each model/theory, especially the effects of market orientation, profit motivation, and state regulation.
- Student should use conventional and electronic search tools to locate a current issue in mass media that relates to the selected theory or model. Based on this research, the student should develop a preliminary bibliography of 10-20 items, including electronic as well as print sources. Student should then write a brief essay of 3-5 pages explaining why the student selected this issue as significant and relating it to the theory with appropriate documentation.
- Select a topical issue, cultural product, or media campaign as it is represented in at least three different media, ranging from mainstream to alternative, and write a research paper (3-5 pages) which discusses the topic in relation to ideology, bias, and profit orientation, as outlined in Criterion 6. Student should place the discussion in any one of the following broader social contexts:
- economic, esp. the effects of patterns of ownership of mass media, including the concentration of ownership;
- political, esp. the impact of media lobbying interests, legislation, regulation, or major court cases on mass media;
- social, esp. representations of race, class, gender, sexual orientation in mass media;
- cultural, esp. the representation of practices or beliefs of cultural groups, interactions between cultural groups, etc. in mass media.
Examples of Demonstration
- A student may take a course on media analysis that contains the following elements:
- Models/theoretical frameworks of the mass media, including print, audio, video, music, film, Internet, with a particular emphasis on convergent multi-media.
- Critical analysis of models and theories which covers at a minimum the effects of market orientation, profit motivation, and state regulation.
- Coverage of specific elements, devices and techniques that are characteristic of the mass media outlined above.
- Concrete examples of topical issues, cultural products, or media campaigns, as they are affected by these elements, devices and techniques.
- An analysis of the ideology of, bias in, and public access to the mass media.
- A student interested in demonstrating this competency independently may work with a faculty evaluator to assemble an appropriate bibliography and use those readings to write a research paper that covers the topics outlined in Example #1, as they apply to the competency criteria.
- An example of demonstration of this competency from prior learning would be a student who has had the experience of being part of a production team working on a socially-relevant documentary film such as Eyes on the Prize. Such a person would be part of a team effort that discussed the specific elements, devices, and techniques characteristic of print, photography, film, and music in the process of making critical decisions regarding the production of the documentary. Such a person would be knowledgeable about the economics of media production, the aesthetic and political choices that impact production, and the other challenges that accompany getting a story told. Appropriate documentation would include meeting minutes showing an analysis of critical choice points, funding proposals, film treatments, and promotional materials that demonstrate a knowledge of the criteria and standards outlined in the competency statement.
