revisiting mass communication.pdf

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1、1THEDONALDMCGANNONCOMMUNICATIONRESEARCHCENTERWORKINGPAPERREVISITING“MASSCOMMUNICATION”ANDTHE“WORK”OFTHEAUDIENCEINTHENEWMEDIAENVIRONMENTPhilipM.NapoliDirectorDonaldMcGannonCommunicationResearchCenterDecember,2008TheDonaldMcGannonCommunicationResearchCenterthFacultyMemorialHall,4fl.FordhamUniversityBr

2、onx,NY10458718.817.4195www.fordham.edu/mcgannonmcgctr@fordham.edu2Revisiting‘MassCommunication’andthe‘Work’oftheAudienceintheNewMediaEnvironmentAbstractThispaperrevisitstheconceptofmasscommunication,whichhasfacedpersistentchallengestoitscontinuedrelevanceinlightofchangesthathavetakenplaceinthemediae

3、nvironment.Thispaperoffersacounterpointtoclaimsoftheterm’sdiminishedrelevance,aswellastosomerecenteffortstorepositiontheterm,byputtingforthaninterpretiveapproachthatisnotexclusivetothe“institutionalcommunicator”andthatallowstheterm“mass”toextendtoboththesendersandreceiversofmessages.Thispaperarguest

4、hatthisinterpretiveapproachisinkeepingwithsomeearlyinterpretationsoftheconcept’smeaning,andthatsuchaninterpretationisviableinlightofthedefinitionalambiguitythathasalwayssurroundedtheterm.Thispaperthenconsidershowthenotionofthe“work”oftheaudienceisreconfiguredinthisnewmasscommunicationenvironment.Ast

5、hispaperillustrates,theclaimoftheaudienceengagingin‘watchingasworking’meritsextensioninanenvironmentofinteractivemediaanduser-generatedcontent.3Revisiting‘MassCommunication’andthe‘Work’oftheAudienceintheNewMediaEnvironmentIntroduction‘Masscommunication’longhasbeenanembattledterm.Asthemediaenvironmen

6、thasevolved,argumentshavepersistedthatthetermhasoutliveditsusefulness,thatitfailstocapturethedynamicsofthecontemporarymediasystem.Yet,thoughdiminished,thetermhasendured.Changesnowtakingplaceinthemediaenvironmentwouldseemtowarrantanotherroundofre-examinationofthetermanditscontinuedrelevanceincommunic

7、ationsscholarship.Therehave,however,beensurprisinglyfeweffortstoreassessmasscommunicationasaconceptinlightofthechangesthattheInternetandothernewmediatechnologieshaveimposeduponthemedia1environment(for