Tomorrow’s lecture will serve as a transition of sorts to discussions of how media and communications technologies affect the world in which we live. The reading will be the second half of Domic Boyer’s Understanding Media. While reading, watch out for the three ways in which he discusses media. What does he mean when he says “media make culture but media, in turn, are cultural means, vehicles of cultural expression.” How should we study media according to Boyer?
In today’s class we watched a good deal of Network (1976) in order to work through some of the concepts of Hallin’s article. Here are some things to think about:
Max Schumacher (Holden), Diana Christiansen (Dunaway), and Frank Hackett (Duvall) each represent competing ideals in the media business. What are they and how are these ideals enacted?
What are the reasons for the push away from news to “reality-based programming” according to both Hallin and Christiansen?
Make sure you’re able to discuss the concept of autonomy in the news division. How would Hallin explain Schumacher’s desire to keep the news division independent?
One final reminder, here are the instructions for the blog assignment, and here are some links for information on using WordPress.