RESEARCH IN YOUR LIFE

What do you think about the media? What do you know about its effects on you?

Often people think they know how mass media affects them. They make comment such as "I never buy a product because it's advertised on television." Or, "I already know who I'm going to vote for. I don't care how candidates advertise themselves on television." Here is a list of ways the media might influence you. By clicking on the highlighted words you can learn more about what mass media research has to say about each item.

These are the kinds of issues that mass media researchers have looked into. Many of their findings are presented in chapter 16 of The Media In Your Life. Has the results of this research made you reconsider or change your mind about how media affects you? Here is a chance to register your opinions on this controversial subject:


Advertising
The overall impact of media on someone's decisions about commercial products or social issues depends on their background and other experiences that does not pass through the media. Thus, the famous American "couch potato" may depend greatly on TV and other media for play and social orientation. The couch potato lacks of personal experience--for example--to judge whether one kind of pasta sauce tastes better than another. As long as this couch potato does not have outside experience, he or she will rely on the media to determine what brand of pasta sauce to buy. However, if the couch potato gets tired of watching movie reruns and goes to several spaghetti suppers, thereby learning more about pasta sauces, then the influence of pasta sauce ads will be less effective. (For more information, see page 503 in The Media In Your Life.)

Political Candidates and Media Influence
Research on the media and political decisions during the 1940s in Ohio and New York concluded that the media had complex but limited effects. Audiences reacted not only to political messages in the media, but also to the filtering influence of "opinion leaders" in their communities. An example of this complex process is a person who reads an article about a political ad, decides not to pay attention to the ad, and explains the decision to a friend--that person has delivered a message from the media. The friend who decides not to pay attention to the political ad is reacting to interpersonal influence, but also is reacting indirectly to the media. (For more information, see page 492 in The Media In Your Life.)

Gatekeeping
Since the 1940s, researcher have examined how the media's coverage of different issues is shaped by editors, producers and reporters collectively known as "gatekeepers." How are gatekeepers' decisions shaped? Producers and editors accept certain stories, based partly on personal bias and partly on their experience about what audiences want. Reporters learn indirectly what stories their supervisors will accept. Reporters' perceptions are also indirectly shaped by the viewpoint of the sources they rely on for information. For example, reporters covering police or political sources are continually susceptible to official influences that they may not even recognize. (For more information, see pages 493-494 in The Media In Your Life.)

Influence of Media Stars
There are at least two dimensions to the influence that media stars have on behavior: the extent of the influence and the intensity of the influence. The actions of a media star may have a big effect on the personal behavior of a few people, or the star's actions may have a mild effect on a large group. However, research indicates the influence that a stars has is contingent on many outside factors. In other words, how much influence a star has also depends on the background of the people viewing the star, their social situation, and other factors. (For more information, see page 505 in The Media In Your Life.)


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