MACS 110 | Introduction to Mass Communication Theory translate
Week 6: Normative Theories of Communication -back to MACS 110 Home-
How did a 1940s edition of Life Magazine play a normative role in the times of its publication ?
What's your personal theory of the ideal media system ? Identify the most important things the media should and should not do in terms of the public interest.
Consider:
- radical libertarianism favours an unregulated media - what might advocates of technocratic control, such as Harold Laswell and Walter Lippmann, have to say about radical libertarianism ?
- what decisions might a technocrat have to make about censorship ?
- what are some key right wing and left wing arguments in favour of media regulation ?
- what tensions exist between economic theory interpretations of the media and democratic theory interpretations - in other words, between social responsibility and profitability
- what are some limitations of the professionalization of journalism ?
- are hate groups effectively taking advantage of new media to spread their messages - should they have the right to promote hatred ?
- what steps should be taken toward a socially responsible media system given the new media environment ?
- what are your views of the self-righting principle ?
In what ways do citizen journalism and blogs promote or hinder socially responsible media ?
MoveOn.org | Huffington Post | Daily Kos | Crooks and Liars | Daily Dish | Buzz Machine
Democratic-participant approaches to the media encourage cultural pluralism. What do you understand by cultural pluralism ? Are the media doing a good job as far as you're concerned ?
Free Press in the United States sees a lack of social responsibility owing to a lack of democratic participation in the media as a whole. What are some of its key concerns ? Is there a similar group in Canada ? If so, what are its key issues ? Is it effective ?
