Critical Literature Review

In this critical literature review, you must discuss the bibliography you have already read, studied, and described in your annotated bibliography (Attached is my bibliography, please use articles in that file). It is important that you follow some guidelines when critically elaborating a discussion about the subject you have chosen and want to deepen your knowledge.

So, let’s pay attention to what is fundamental in this assignment:

Original text

A critical literature review brings one author – you!! – discussing what other authors and rese archers wrote, also presenting your take on the specific knowledge. I expect to learn about your critical and reflexive position regarding the chosen subject based on the bibliography researched and in the light of communication theories we studied this semester. Remember to signalize well when the concept or the text is not yours following APA’s format.

Bring one or two communication theories

You can explain the communication processes related to your subject using one or two theories we studied this semester, or you can propose an application of the theory to the chosen subject. For example, if you are studying beverage ads and how they are being created, you can use the Theory of Uses and Gratification to explain why some ads portray very pleasant scenes like parties and reunions when aiming to sell specific beverages.

You are going to use the articles/papers you presented in your annotated bibliography, but you do not need to use all of them. You will select among them those that can contribute to your argument.

Writing

Your critical literature review should have a maximum of six pages, excluding the reference list. The text must be in the third person and present your ideas in an objective and concise style.

You will invite the other authors you have already read to collaborate and build on the discussion about the specific subject. Invite the authors to have a “conversation.” For example: Brown (2017) affirms social media can be racist if racist people develop the algorithms, but Harrys (2014) understands that this type of thinking is part of a conspiracy theory from specific social movements.

What is the meaning of “critical” here?

A critical literature review is not just giving the voice to the authors you read. This review has a position (your critical position) and discusses aspects of the subject that are important to you.

1
Digital Communication and Self-Esteem: Annotated Bibliography
Andreassen, C. S., Pallesen, S., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The relationship between addictive
use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey.
Addictive Behaviors, 64, 287–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.006
Andreassen et al. (2017) examines the relationship between social media addiction,
narcissism, and self-esteem by using specific addiction criteria. The result shows that
self-esteem has nothing to do with social media addiction, but low self-esteem people
have a preference to use social media; narcissism is highly correlated with social media
addiction. Throughout the whole study, demographic factors also matter since young
people, single women, and lower income groups are more prone to social media
addiction. I find this article is useful because it provides both addiction criteria and
narcissistic criteria for a better interpretation and understanding.
Barry, C. T., Doucette, H., Loflin, D. C., Rivera-Hudson, N., & Herrington, L. L. (2017). “Let
me take a selfie”: Associations between self-photography, narcissism, and self-esteem.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 6(1), 48–60. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000089
This article investigates whether a person’s propensity for posting selfies on social media
reflects the prevalence of narcissistic traits or indicates that they have a stronger sense of
self-worth (Barry et al., 2017). The finding shows that there is no relationship between
self-esteem and posts of selfies; selfies posted on social media by people with low
self-esteem may be shared by those with higher self-esteem as well (Barry et al., 2017).
The authors narrow the scope of the study based on the type of selfies taken by the
participants and the number of followers, making it more specific.
2
Burrow, A. L., & Rainone, N. (2017). How many likes did I get?: Purpose moderates links
between positive social media feedback and self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 69, 232–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.09.005
Burrow & Rainone (2017) tests the extent to which people’s perceptions of themselves
are influenced by virtual likes. The study classifies participant’s purpose in life into low
purpose and high purpose, and the result shows individuals’ like counts had a stronger
correlation with those who have low self-esteem, but nothing to do with people who have
high self-esteem (Burrow & Rainone, 2017). In addition, participants with a high sense of
purpose in life would have lower self-esteem increases from obtaining plenty of likes
(Burrow & Rainone, 2017). Through the investigation on people’s sense of purpose, I feel
it is an unexpected independent variable to dig into.
Gonzales, A. L. (2014). Text-based communication influences self-esteem more than
face-to-face or cellphone communication. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 197–203.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.026
Gonzales (2014) discusses the impact of text-based communication on self-esteem,
self-worth, and self-disclosure by categorizing meaningless interpersonal communication
and meaningful interpersonal communication. The finding shows that contrary to
face-to-face or mobile conversation, texting encourages greater disclosure which can be
beneficial for self-esteem, and people with low self-esteem are more likely to use digital
communication tools (Gonzales, 2014). I found this article helpful because it tests various
independent variables such as participants’ daily jobs and their mental and physical
well-being.
3
Gonzales, A. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2011). Mirror, mirror on my facebook wall: Effects of
exposure to facebook on self-esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking,
14(1-2), 79–83. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2009.0411
The authors use the mirror as a traditional objective self-awareness stimulus to compare
to Facebook, and the aim is to test whether Facebook has the same negative impact on
one’s self-esteem that non-digital information (e.g. mirror) does (Gonzale & Hancock,
2011). The result reveals that compared to a conventional objective self-awareness
stimulus, Facebook does have a favorable impact on one’s self-esteem, but demographic
factors such as gender and age do not show differences (Gonzale & Hancock, 2011).
Since the personal image and profile on Facebook are editable and different from the
mirror, this study contributes a lot to comparing digital and traditional objectives when
talking about self-esteem and self-exposure.
Jan, M., Soomro, S. A., & Ahmad, N. (2017). Impact of social media on self-esteem. European
Scientific Journal, ESJ, 13(23), 329. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2017.v13n23p329
Jan & Ahmad (2017) examines the impact of social media on self-esteem by testing
participants’ level of social comparison, and their major finding shows there is a strong
correlation between self-esteem and the usage of social media. To be specific, the
majority of Facebook users are engaging in upward social comparisons, so the more time
they spend on Facebook, the lower self-esteem they have (Jan & Ahmad, 2017). I think
this study is really close to our daily life since digital communication is developing
transparently, and we will make social comparisons when we see rich and handsome
4
people. When we notice that too many people have a better life than us, we will lose
self-esteem unconsciously.
Lee, E., Choi, T. R., Lee, T. (D., & Sung, Y. (2019). Using Instagram while “in a relationship.”
Journal of Individual Differences, 40(2), 111–117.
https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000282
This study is designed to investigate whether levels of narcissism and self-esteem have an
impact on people’s attitudes toward potential and current romantic relationships on social
networks. According to Lee et al. (2019), narcissists have favorable opinions regarding
engaging with possible romantic partners on Instagram while individuals with high levels
of self-esteem show hostility in interacting with possible romantic partners. In addition,
when talking about the current romantic relationship, researchers find narcissists are more
inclined to post information about their current romantic partners on Instagram while
individuals with high self-esteem frequently exclusively upload couple photos to indicate
that they are in a relationship (Lee et al., 2019). This study, compared to others, is
focusing on Instagram rather than Facebook and all social media platforms, thus it is
more up-to-date since Instagram is the most dominant social media among young people.
March, E., & McBean, T. (2018). New evidence shows self-esteem moderates the relationship
between narcissism and Selfies. Personality and Individual Differences, 130, 107–111.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.03.053
March & McBean (2018) classifies three subtypes of narcissism includes
Leadership/Authority, Grandiose Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness, then
explore the usefulness of narcissistic personality types (LA, GE, and EE), personal
5
self-esteem, and relationships between narcissistic personality types and self-esteem in
predicting selfie posting. Results partially corroborated the hypothesis that the narcissistic
subtypes of LA, GE, and EE would each independently explain considerable variation
when predicting posting selfies (March & McBean, 2018). When conducting this
research, researchers are using the 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory to test
participants’ level of narcissism. I think doing this makes the sample more convincing
since it reduces bias.
Reagle, J. M. (2015). Shaped: “Aw Shit, I Have to Update My Twitter.” The MIT Press.
https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10116.001.0001
Reagle (2015) starts with a video called “Am I Ugly”, then extends to self-esteem and
self confidence. Reagle compares real life to the stage and social media to the backstage,
and people are playing different roles in these two stages. The article suggests that the
more time users spend on social media, the less confidence they have, thus the lower
self-esteem. He interviews Triana Lavey who is a frequent user of social media. The
conclusion is that people didn’t think their faces were weird or ugly before, but when
social media made people’s aesthetics change (the emergence of plastic surgery), they felt
bad and were ashamed to show previous photos on their profiles, thus lowering
self-esteem. I think the real-life interview helps to understand why self-esteem is related
to the usage of social media, and how pharmaceutical and surgical interventions affect
people’s self-awareness and self-esteem.
Steinsbekk, S., Wichstrøm, L., Stenseng, F., Nesi, J., Hygen, B. W., & Skalická, V. (2021). The
impact of social media use on appearance self-esteem from childhood to adolescence – a
6
3-wave community study. Computers in Human Behavior, 114, 106528.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106528
According to Steinbekk et al. (2021), there are two types of usage of social media, which
are self-oriented and other-oriented, and this study aims to explore the impacts of two
types of social media use on participants’ self-esteem. The study predicts that the use of
self-oriented social media will conceivably forecast higher self-esteem for appearance,
and young people with increased physical self-esteem show more self-directed social
media use over time (Steinbekk et al., 2021). The result shows that the usage of
self-centered social media had no significant impact on self-esteem for physical look,
although use of other-oriented media did; from childhood until adolescence, being
other-oriented severely impacts one’s perception of one’s attractiveness (Steinbekk et al.,
2021). This study is a four year longitudinal investigation, and I think it is helpful in
pointing out the shift in people’s self-esteem about their appearance from childhood to
adolescence.
Mass Communication Theories
The second edition of this innovative textbook provides a comprehensive overview of mass
communication theories, as well as their origins and empirical supports in psychology,
sociology, political science, and philosophy.
Each chapter presents a specific theory, describing its basic structure in simple formal
terms and providing an accessible summary of the research studies and scholarly writings
from which it developed. It breaks each complex theory down into five or six interlinked
basic propositions, making them easily digestible for students. This new edition includes
up-to-date research; improved coverage of all theories presented; expanded treatments of
theories such as cultivation theory, the spiral of silence, and framing; contemporary and
social media examples; chapter discussion questions; and informative charts and figures.
This textbook serves as an accessible core text for undergraduate and graduate Mass
Communication, Communication Theory, and Communication and Society courses.
Melvin L. DeFleur held the title of Distinguished Professor at the Manship School of Mass
Communication at Louisiana State University. Previously, he was Director of the School of
Mass Communication at Boston University and held the John Ben Snow endowed Chair at
Syracuse University. He served on the faculties of eight universities and was responsible for
the development and administration of several Ph.D. programs. Melvin DeFleur is one of
the most recognized scholars in the field of mass communication. He wrote numerous articles and books, including Milestones in Mass Communication Research, many of which have
been translated into several languages.
Margaret H. DeFleur is Professor Emerita at Louisiana State University. She served as Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the Manship School of
Mass Communication. Previously, she was the director of a graduate program in the College
of Communication at Boston University and also taught at Syracuse University. She is the
author or co-author of a number of articles and books, including Fundamentals of Human
Communication: Social Science in Everyday Life.
Mass Communication Theories
Explaining Origins, Processes, and Effects
Second Edition
Melvin L. DeFleur
Margaret H. DeFleur
Cover image: © blackred/Getty Images
Second edition published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Melvin DeFleur and Margaret DeFleur
The right of Margaret H. DeFleur and Melvin L. DeFleur to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 9780367538392 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780367533533 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003083467 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083467
Typeset in Times New Roman
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
For
Michael Kubecka and Maria Dulmage
Contents
Prefaceix
Introduction
1
1 Shaping the American Mass Media: An Overview
3
2 Introduction to the Origins, Nature, and Uses of Theories
21
PART I
The Intellectual Foundations of Media Studies
41
3 The Scientific Method and the Social Construction of Reality: The
Contributions of Philosophy
43
4 Public Opinion as Shaped by the Press: The Contribution
of Political Science
63
5 Cognitive Processing: The Contribution of Psychology
78
6 The Concept of Mass Society: The Contribution of Sociology
93
PART II
The Beginnings: Early Theories of Mass Communication
109
7 James Bryce’s 19th Century Theory of Public Opinion and the Press
111
8 Walter Lippmann’s 1920s Theory of Unintentional News Distortion:
Implications for the Nature of Public Opinion and Public Policy
126
9 The “Magic Bullet” Theory of Uniform Effects
140
PART III
Theories of Mass Communication Processes and Effects
153
10 The Selective and Limited Influences Theory
155
11 The Two-Step Flow of Communication Theory
172
viii
Contents
12 Gatekeeping Theory187
13 Agenda-Setting Theory201
14 Framing Theory216
PART IV
Theories of Influences on Individuals
225
15 Uses and Gratifications Theory227
16 Modeling Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory242
17 Social Expectations Theory257
PART V
Theories of Influences on Society and Culture
271
18 Media-Influenced Diffusion of Innovation Theory273
19 A Theory of Audience and Media Dependency on Popular Culture290
20 Cultivation Theory306
21 Critical Cultural Perspectives: Interpretations of Media Influences on
Individuals and Society316
22 Additional Theories and Concepts329
Index
346
Preface
The first edition of Mass Communication Theories: Explaining Origins, Processes and
Effects was the last book written by Melvin DeFleur. He hoped that this book, along with
all of the books he wrote during his long and distinguished career, would promote the
teaching and understanding of theory at all levels, including the undergraduate level, and
make the study of theory more accessible. For these reasons, he emphasized a select set
of theories and explained them in detail. He also believed it was important to trace the
foundations and development of theory, forged first through the contributions of the social
sciences, to the unique contributions of scholars in the newer discipline of mass communication. The second edition follows this path.
To Those Using This Book
This book has four objectives: (1) It will discuss the role of the social sciences that contributed over time to the development of mass communication theory; (2) It will present the
background of each theory described in the book, explaining its origins; (3) It will discuss
and clarify the basic ideas of each of the theories presented; (4) It will provide a summary
of each of the theories, presented as a set of simplified statements of their basic assumptions and predictions.
Early theories of mass communication were based on beliefs about the nature of the
American society—the way in which it is organized and the manner in which people relate
to and communicate with each other. These concepts have changed over time with the continuing development of the social sciences. For example, in earlier times, scholars believed
that people in modern societies were made up of a mix of unlike people who had few ties
to each other. Thus, it was thought that they lacked interpersonal channels of communication and were essentially a “lonely crowd” of unlike individuals. This implied that each
individual could be influenced in similar and powerful ways by the existing mass media.
Later, as the social and behavioral sciences developed, research in those fields showed
that this concept was naive. It became clear that people in modern societies communicated regularly and interpersonally with friends, neighbors, and relatives. That process
limited the influence of the media. In other words, these different interpretations of society at various points in history influenced thinking about the process and effects of mass
communication.
Previous scholarly understanding about the nature of human psychological organization
and cognitive functioning also influenced the development of several mass communication
theories. Such psychological issues as the nature of perception, as well as the processes of
individual learning and remembering, played a part in the ways in which scholars viewed
the nature and influences of mass communications.
x
Preface
In more recent times, a (relatively) new academic discipline emerged. Mass communication is composed of scholars who specialize in the study of the mass media that exist
today—print, broadcasting, film, and digital systems. These scholars have made profound
contributions to our current understanding of mass communication. Every year, they continue to provide a substantial flow of research findings concerning how the media function,
the nature of their audiences and the influences that mass communications have on individuals, their societies, and their cultures. The background understandings about human
nature have influenced the theories that contemporary media scholars have produced and
that are discussed in the chapters that follow.
The second objective is to explain the origins of each of the theories presented in the
chapters. As discussed in the text, many theories emerged from specific research studies
that encouraged their authors to develop a new explanation of the processes or the effects
of the mass media than were available at the time. The nature of those founding studies
will be explained in detail.
The third objective of the book is to clarify the basic ideas of each of the theories discussed. These are complex issues, and the aim of the book is to make each theory understandable without making use of elaborate or technical jargon. The ways in which they
are described are intended to enable each student to grasp where the theory came from,
what issues it addresses, and how it explains some process or effect of the various media
to which it applies.
A fourth objective is to set forth a set of interrelated propositions. These simplified statements of the basic assumptions and predictions of each of the theories are placed at the end
of each corresponding chapter. Not only does the presentation of theories in this manner
help clarify them, but it also aims to “formalize” them in a manner similar to how theories
are presented in other scientific disciplines. However, as research continues to accumulate
in mass communication studies, aimed at testing these various theories, some of these
statements and theories will undoubtedly need to be revised.
New studies related to the assessment of specific mass communication theories are published regularly by media researchers and scholars—and they accumulate rapidly year by
year. The purpose of this book is to present a limited selection of these in detail for student
understanding and application.
There are several changes to the second edition. Most importantly, all chapters have
been revised and updated, with contemporary examples and findings from recent studies
added. A few chapters from the first edition have been removed or integrated into other
chapters in order to give a more prominent placement and focus to theories that are receiving more attention from scholars in their research.
It was a pleasure to prepare the second edition, which builds on the first, and is intended
to provide useful knowledge for students who take a course in mass communication theory, or a course that integrates theory into its subject matter. I thank the reviewers who
generously gave their time and suggestions and assisted with the development of this second edition, including Dr. David Nelson, Dr. Mary Jackson Pitts, Dr. Susan Currie Sivek
and the other anonymous reviewers. A special thanks to Brian Eschrich, Editor, and to the
entire Taylor & Francis team who made this edition possible.
I hope, as Mel would, that this book serves you well.
Margaret H. DeFleur
Introduction
1
Shaping the American Mass Media
An Overview
To understand the origins of both our contemporary mass media as well as the theories
that explain their processes and their influences on their audiences, it is necessary to
look back at where they came from and how they developed. It does not take any great
flight of imagination to realize that the mass communication system we have today
is quite different from what we have had in the past. Similarly, it is obvious that our
system will continue to develop, and what we have in the future will not be the same as
what we now have. For that reason, we begin with a historical overview of how our mass
communication system developed within an ever-changing society to produce what we
have today.
The American society essentially began in September of 1620, when 102 passengers,
along with 44 crew members and a number of chickens, goats, and pigs, left Plymouth,
England, on the Mayflower. Nearly two months later, they landed on Cape Cod, where
they spent another eight weeks before moving to the mainland. There they quickly laid
out a road from the shore and began constructing shelters. Within two years, they had a
small village of simple homes that they named New Plymouth. The houses they built were
small and compactly arranged close together on each side of the road, each with its own
garden plot.1
The people in the new community worked hard all day, tending gardens and animals,
but had very little to do after sunset other than talk with their families and friends. There
were religious services on the Sabbath and daily family prayers, but the strict codes of the
Pilgrims did not permit frivolous activities. Aside from the family bible, there was nothing to read in most of the houses. Even if there had been, the majority could neither read
nor write. Even for the few who could, it was difficult. After dark, tallow candles, crude
lamps, and the fireplace provided barely enough light to move around inside. Thus, by
comparison with today, the citizens of New Plymouth led a life almost free of any form of
communication other than talking.2
The contrast between the availability of mass communications to the people of New
Plymouth in the early 1600s and their counterparts in any community in the United
States now is startling, to say the least. Today, any of us can select from an almost
bewildering set of choices among media. Information and news, entertainment, and
other content can be delivered instantly via coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, microwave
link, wireless 5G mobile networks, and satellite transmissions from space. A typical
citizen has available, 24 hours a day, virtually any form of communication content
from spectator sports to music and serious political analysis. He or she can read a book
or a magazine, peruse the news online, check out a sitcom on television, listen to a
podcast, go to the movies, stream content on Hulu, Sling, or other streaming services,
view content on a cell phone, play games on a computer, exchange text messages and
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083467-2
4
Introduction
videos, or connect on social media with people from all parts of the world. Thus, an
almost incredible spectrum of mass communication content is instantly available from
intensely competing media.
The Relationship Between Mass Media and Society
The American system of mass communication today—its media, those who pay its costs,
and the audiences it serves—is embedded in a larger context. It is part of the American
society as a whole. That society, as is perfectly obvious, has constantly undergone change.
Nowhere is this change more obvious and visible than in the case of our means of communicating. As our opening section indicated, the earliest English colonists in our New
World society had virtually nothing we would classify as mass communication. In contrast, today, we live in a sea of mediated messages.
This incredible change from what we were to what we are raises a critical question for
anyone wanting to understand our contemporary system of mass communication in the
United States: How did we get here from there? That is, why do we have the kind of mass
communication system that we do—the most complex in the world? What social and cultural factors within the society shaped its nature? How did the media come to be based on
such market concepts as free enterprise, competition, the profit motive, and private ownership? Moreover, why is it that our government has such limited control over the content of
the media? Other societies do not have identical mass communication systems. Some are
similar, but many are very different indeed.
The answer, of course, is that each society’s mass communication system is a product
of its history and has been shaped by the culture developed by its people over many generations. To be sure, each system at any point in time has been influenced in important
ways by existing technologies. However, these technologies are essentially the same from
one society to the next. For example, printing presses or television sets operating in, say,
China, Cuba, Iceland, Iran, or the United States all use similar physical principles. The
differences between those mass media systems and the one in the United States have come
about because each nation has developed uses and controls over the process of mass communication in different ways—within its own set of values, political system, economic
institution, and other cultural factors. Therefore, to gain a clear understanding of a specific society’s media system, just knowing the technology is not enough. It is essential to
understand the social, political, economic, and cultural context within which each nation’s
media developed and now function.
Essentially, the critical factors that have most influenced the media system in the United
States have been the country’s basic cultural values. It is these values that have shaped
its political and economic systems along with its moral norms and laws. These values are
products of our past, and they continue to define our contemporary way of life—including
the nature of our mass communication system. In the future, these values will continue to
determine the characteristics of the system’s content, controls, operations, patterns of use,
and influences on audiences. For that reason, it is essential to understand them, including
where they came from. Our system of mass communication will influence your work, your
leisure, your ideas, and even your children in the decades ahead.
The basic values of a society are, in turn, a product of its collective historical experience. Clearly, the events of our past, such as the founding of the original colonies, the
American Revolution, expansion of the frontier, the Industrial Revolution, population
growth, complex patterns of immigration, various wars, legislation, and the development
of technology have all had significant influences on each new medium as it was introduced
and widely adopted. In a very real sense, then, the development of mass communication
Shaping the American Mass Media 5
in the United States has been profoundly influenced by what took place in the American
society in years past.
But there is another side to the coin. While the mass media in the United States have
been shaped by social and cultural factors, they have, in turn, had a powerful influence
on all of us, both individually and socially. There is little doubt that the numbers of people who receive and are influenced in some way by mass-communicated information on
a daily basis are simply staggering. In fact, the recipients and users of media-provided
information include virtually every American, excluding perhaps only those too young or
too ill to attend. Their purchasing decisions are shaped in significant ways by a vast advertising industry that supports the media financially. Those decisions, in turn, shape what
the manufacturing and service industries can successfully produce and market. In a very
real sense, then, the work that Americans perform and the health of their economy are
intimately linked to mass communications. Moreover, most forms of recreation enjoyed
by citizens are linked to print, film, broadcasting, or digital media in some way. The same
is true of political participation. Patterns of voting are shaped to a considerable degree by
mass-communicated news and mediated political campaigns. Therefore, the relationship
between media and society is a very complex and reciprocal one.
The bottom line is that understanding our contemporary mass media and how they were
shaped into their present form is no idle academic enterprise. It is a key to understanding
life in our time and how it will undoubtedly be shaped in the future. Against the background
provided by the present chapter, additional ones will provide summaries of various theories
that have been advanced to explain their origins, as well as the processes and effects of mass
communications as they influence both individuals and society. Without first understanding
this background, however, there is no way in which their nature can truly be appreciated.
The purpose of the remainder of the present chapter, then, is to summarize in a general
way, the circumstances that shaped our mass communication system into its present form
during a span of about four hundred years. The chapter not only provides an answer to the
question of how we got here from there, but also it provides a foundation for understanding
basic aspects of the structure and functioning of our contemporary mass media today, how
they are likely to develop in the future and the impact on individuals and audiences. Thus,
the overview that follows focuses less on specific media than on features of the American
experience that have had consequences for our entire media system.
The Legacy of the Early Period: The 1600s
Few media scholars write about the influence of the earliest settlements in North America
on our mass communication system today. In many ways, that connection may seem
remote. Nevertheless, there is a relationship between the shared values and beliefs that
developed in the earliest American colonies and the nature of our contemporary mass
communication system. The unique lifestyle that quickly came to characterize those early
communities provided the beginnings of the general American culture that we know now. It
was within the limits of that culture, as it was developed over succeeding generations that
our present mass media came into existence. Therefore, it is important to understand the
origins of the central features of American shared beliefs and values that are relevant to
understanding how our modern mass communications system developed.
The first task in looking briefly at the American colonial experience is to understand the
underlying values of our economic system. The second will be to examine the political values that came to characterize Americans as they moved toward separation from England.
A third is to understand the very early role played by newspapers and other forms of print
in the process of achieving independence.
6
Introduction
Mercantilism: The Importance of Private Enterprise
The early 1600s were an age of mercantilism—a concept that is still with us. It is based on
the idea of trade—the ancient idea of buying and selling goods and products to make a
profit. A related idea is industrialization—using machines to produce goods to sell. That
would come later, beginning about the end of the 1700s. More recently, providing services
for fees has also become increasingly important. Together they are the basis of modern
capitalism. Thus, capitalism refers to an economic system designed to make profits for
those who invest in the means by which goods and services are produced and distributed—
or by which some resource is “exploited” (used to produce products to sell).
While traders have been a part of human life for many centuries, the era of mercantilism
began to expand and mature about the time of Columbus. European merchants had begun
routinely to send ships to foreign lands (mainly India and China) to buy goods that they could
sell for a profit when they returned. They bought products that were in high demand, such as
spices and silk, that they could easily sell to European markets. Thus, exploration of routes
to places where such goods could be bought was critical. Thus, the profit motive was a major
factor that motivated Columbus and other early explorers to set sail for the New World.
The first successful English settlement in the New World was in Bermuda. It was followed in 1607 by a colony at Jamestown in what is now Virginia. A third was the one established in 1620 at New Plymouth in what later became Massachusetts. Within a decade, a
number of others were authorized and settled in both Massachusetts and Maryland. By
the middle of the 1600s, English settlements were in place all up and down the Atlantic
seaboard. Thus, by the end of the seventeenth century, with substantial immigration from
England, these became the thirteen original colonies.
As noted, each of the thirteen English colonies started as a commercial undertaking.
Groups of “merchant adventurers” sold shares in the enterprise and recruited people to
establish a new “plantation.” They obtained a charter from a supervising government
agency to locate a community in a particular area approved by the Crown. The goal of
such a settlement (“plantation”) was to exploit some sort of local resource in order to ship
products back to England to be sold at a profit. These commodities could be crops, such as
tobacco or grain, or whatever was available. In more northern areas, dried and salted fish
were particularly profitable. Thus, the practice of risking capital in private enterprises for
potential gain was very much a part of our cultural inheritance from England.
Today, we live in a society characterized by controlled capitalism. It is not the totally
unfettered, sink-or-swim capitalism first described in 1776 by Adam Smith in his famous
book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It has long been
one in which both local and national governments—whether British or American—have
played parts in regulating economic activities. An important lesson is that, from the very
beginning, economic considerations have been a primary factor in the movement of populations from the old world to the new. Another important lesson is that the main values
underlying our contemporary American economic system began with the very first settlements in our part of the New World.
A Commitment to Local and Autonomous Government
Shifting from economic considerations to political factors, it is important to note that a
critical early development that would influence our media was the establishment of local
systems of laws to provide stable government within each new plantation. It is not difficult
to see this situation as laying the foundation for resentment of outside controls. That would
develop at a later date—resentment of the faraway government of England. For example,
Shaping the American Mass Media 7
the Mayflower colonists designed their own system of local self-government even before
they sighted land. They were supposed to have landed much farther south and be bound
by the prior agreements of the Virginia colony. However, during their voyage, ocean currents swept them north to Cape Cod. To avoid anarchy, they decided to design their own
rules for living together, and they drafted the Mayflower Compact while still at sea. It set
forth rules for orderly collective living.
As early as 1639, three small communities in Massachusetts banded together and prepared a document of Fundamental Orders, which served as a constitution for a Public
State or Commonwealth.3 It made no reference to England whatsoever, and it incorporated
almost all of the provisions that would eventually become part of the U.S. Constitution.
Thus, the idea of local autonomy, and freedom from big government that was far away,
became a part of the colonial culture very early. Later, that idea would play a critical role
in shaping our nation’s press.
Separating Church and State
While the plantations were funded and organized for a return on investment, those that
were initially established in the Massachusetts area had a second important purpose for
their members. Those who came to New Plymouth on the Mayflower called themselves
“Pilgrims”—which even today means “people who journey to alien lands in search of
truth.” They saw themselves as seeking religious truth. From the standpoint of the Crown,
however, they were little more than troublesome religious radicals. The Crown saw them
as “separatists” who had split from the official (Anglican) Church of England. Like many
religious sects today, the Pilgrims had rejected the established Church in favor of their
own sectarian beliefs. Indeed, because of religious persecution in England, they had fled
to Holland earlier and then on to the New World. Many in England said “good riddance.”
Others, who were also religious dissidents, but still living in England, soon followed to
establish a second settlement—the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Boston). These settlers believed themselves to be “Puritans” because they were intent upon “purifying” the
beliefs of the Anglican Church. The main point is that these early New England colonists
were determined to be free from religious interference by the state. This concept—the
separation of Church and state—prevailed through subsequent generations and became a
critical part of the political culture of the new nation that would emerge.
Individualism: The Frontier Mentality
Other factors shaped the emerging fundamental cultural values of the colonists. For one
thing, they were by no means environmentalists! In front of them was a sea rich with
resources and at their backs was a vast continent with unlimited land, forests, minerals,
and wild animals. Almost immediately, they set about to exploit those assets. They set up
fishing and whaling industries. Acre by acre, they hacked their way into the forests. They
killed the deer and sent the skins to England, along with the furs of other animals that they
could trap or obtain in trade from Native Americans. They mined small deposits of iron
for export. They burned down the trees to clear fields on which to grow crops. When these
lands were exhausted, they simply moved farther inland. It was an economy of exploitation.
More and more people arrived from England. Indeed, the population doubled every
generation right up until the time of the American Revolution. As this happened, the pace
of destructive activities increased. By the time the United States was established as a new
nation with its own Constitution (1787), the deer, furs, and fish from the rivers and streams
were greatly diminished in most of the areas east of the Mississippi. As the population had
8
Introduction
moved westward, the land was denuded. By the mid-1800s, just before the Civil War, there
was little virgin forest left from the Atlantic clear to the Missouri River.
This economic system, based on exploitable resources, land exhaustion, and relocation,
produced a set of shared cultural beliefs that has often been called a frontier mentality. It
was a set of shared beliefs that saw “rugged individuals” pitted against nature—with a
justifiable right to subjugate the environment for their own uses. Such individuals not only
saw no need for controls by a powerful government but also resented attempts by rulers
far away to regulate any aspect of their lives. In other societies, the activities of the individual remained under collective control. But in the emerging America, an emphasis on
individuality, personal responsibility, and freedom from government interference became an
important part of the national culture from the beginning. Such values continue to shape
the thinking of many Americans, and they clearly played a part in shaping our contemporary mass communication system as it developed.
In the American colonies, freedom from government interference was an important part of the
culture from the beginning. Values such as this played a role in the development of our mass communication system, and continue to influence the thinking of many Americans, as illustrated in this
protest against COVID-19 stay at home orders in 2020.
Another feature of life in the American colonies was that it lacked the aristocratic
system that prevailed in Europe. That was particularly true in the north. In the southern colonies, large landholdings, along with abundant cheap labor, were needed by
plantation owners to grow such crops as rice, cotton, and tobacco. Slaves provided
agricultural labor in such settings and a kind of unofficial aristocracy developed based
on ownership of both land and slaves. Even so, the majority of the population in southern colonies were poor subsistence farmers who worked the land themselves. In New
England, and later elsewhere, most people established small farms or ranches and
worked them as a family team.
Shaping the American Mass Media 9
Generally, then, in the New World, there was more democracy and fewer social distinctions between haves and have nots. There were social class levels, of course, but the rigid
and inherited class structure that characterized England never took root in the colonies.
This yielded the shared belief that each citizen was just as good as the next and each should
have the same rights as the next. These beliefs provided a strong foundation for a sense of
equality that would shape the nation’s political values during the centuries ahead.
Overall, and in many ways, these emphases from the period of early settlement still
define some of the most basic values of Americans. We continue to believe in the importance of individual responsibility, political equality, limited government, and local autonomy. Americans still approve of private ownership, the legitimacy of a pursuit of profits,
and a separation between government and religion. It was on this cultural foundation that
the mass communication system of the nation would eventually develop, and it continues
to shape its contemporary nature in important ways.
Influences of the Later Colonial Era: The 1700s
Between the end of the 1600s and the late 1700s, the settlements and inhabited areas along
the eastern seaboard developed rapidly into thirteen prosperous and successful English
colonies with specific geographical boundaries. While there were many similarities among
the colonies in their separate governments, there was no overall federation—no central
assembly or national legislature that brought the separate colonies together into a single
political system. That concept would develop during the 1700s.
Basically, during the 1700s, each colony was politically controlled by the English king
and Parliament through a governor. This administrator was sometimes locally elected but
always had to be confirmed by the king. Each colony had a local legislative body whose
members were chosen by the “freemen.” Local towns (townships) elected “selectmen”—
which they still do today in many communities in New England. Those allowed to vote
were white male property owners. Those who were elected sometimes appointed other officials, such as assistants to the governor as well as judges. Thus, the basic three-part form
of government, executive, legislative, and judicial, was in some respects already a familiar
idea by the time that a refined version would be built into the U.S. Constitution of 1787.
By the mid-1700s, the American colonies had become of critical economic importance
to England. Each colony was required to send back to England whatever products they
could produce for their merchants to sell. In return, English craftsmen and merchants
supplied the colonies with processed goods, such as cloth, shoes, tools, or whatever was
being produced in the home country. For many years it was a system within which each
party prospered. The abundant resources of the American colonies yielded wealth for
many locals, while the processed goods from England sold into the colonial market created wealth for the English entrepreneurs. In addition, the colonies benefitted because the
powerful English navy and armed forces kept out potential invaders.
Deep Distrust of Big Government
As the 1700s wore on, however, many dissatisfactions with the system developed. Great
Britain continued rigidly to control the pattern of commerce between its colonies and the
homeland. By the 1760s, a number of serious problems became evident. For one thing,
there was a substantial negative balance of trade between England and the colonies. In some
ways, it was just like our current relationship with countries such as China. The colonists
bought goods from England, costing far more in total value than what was earned from
the products they sold to the mother country. This created a lopsided flow of money from
10 Introduction
the colonies to England. This began to produce economic difficulties and great resentment
in the colonies. However, England would not change the rules. It was soon widely believed
among the colonists that the far-distant government in London was not sensitive to their
needs, was exploiting them economically, and was ruling them with a heavy hand. A particularly sensitive issue was “representation.” There were no elected representatives from
the colonies in the English Parliament.
Growing Dissatisfaction with England’s Controls
As dissatisfaction grew, a number of men joined political groups with names like the Sons of
Liberty or quasi-military militia such as the Minute Men (who pledged to be ready to fight
with a minute’s notice). These militias thought of themselves as patriots and felt that some day
it might be necessary to resist the English government by force of arms. They stockpiled arms
and ammunition—which was against the law. Their members met regularly in taverns and
other places to discuss ways to resist the government, and they developed networks of spies
and messengers to keep themselves informed about the activities of the British armed forces.
The single most galling issue was taxes. England had been almost constantly at war with
other European countries, especially with France. These protracted conflicts drained the
English treasury, and great debts piled up. Ways had to be found to pay them off. King
George and the English Parliament decided that money should be raised by taxing the people
in the American colonies. After all, they had protected the colonies for many decades. Thus,
a Stamp Act was passed in 1765, requiring a small fee (about a nickel in current terms) for
a little imprinted stamp on every official document produced in the colonies. The colonials
were outraged, not so much by the size of the fee but by the principle. It was “taxation without
representation.” Because of the outcry, the Stamp Act was repealed by the British a year later.
Meanwhile, in 1765 the first step was taken that would lead to a federation of colonies.
Nine colonies sent representatives to the American Union—a group that met in New York.
There the participants drew up resolutions concerning such issues as inalienable rights,
personal liberties, and freedom from taxation (by Britain) without having elected representatives in Parliament. The Parliament back in England, however, insisted that it was in total
control and then went on to impose a new series of import taxes on the colonies. One such
tax was levied on tea. Hotheads in the colonies—especially in Boston—saw these impositions as a total outrage (again, taxation without representation). Dressed like Native
Americans, a small band boarded and burned several ships and threw 26,000 pounds of
tea packaged in lead boxes into the bay.
By 1774, a group of self-appointed colonial leaders would form the Continental Congress.
That group would unite and guide the colonies through the eight years of war that would
soon start. On July 4, 1776, that Congress formally and publicly announced political separation from England with the Declaration of Independence. It was a critical step, and the
newspapers of the time played a key role in making the document known to the public.
The Role of Newspapers in the Independence Movement
The importance of these various developments for shaping our current media system was
that distrust of powerful government became an important element in shaping the role of
the press in the American society. It laid the foundation for the role of contemporary
journalists as the “watchdogs” of society—calling attention to the transgressions of those
in positions of power.4 Many of the early newspaper publishers risked going to jail by
speaking out against the Crown. As England tightened its grip to make sure that the colonies remained under its control, a number of very able writers prepared public statements
Shaping the American Mass Media 11
advocating separation from England, and they did go to jail! It is important to understand
that the colonial press became the medium that carried those messages to an increasingly enthusiastic audience. Using not only newspapers but also other printed tracts and
pamphlets, those who spoke out strongly made a convincing case for total independence
from England. Their essays and other appeals were widely read. These media played an
important part in shaping the thinking of those who saw English rule as repressive. The
print media of the time, then, were an important factor in shaping the popular support for
political separation from the mother country.
Overall, then, the 1700s saw not only the remarkable American Revolution and the
establishment of the United States as a new and independent nation but also the beginnings of a mass communication system that was a product of the emerging American culture. These features of the mass media of the time were added to the accepted concept of
private ownership and the emphasis on the profit motive that were brought forward from
the previous century.
Mass Media in an Expanding Nation: The 1800s
By any measure, the 1600s and the 1700s were periods of slow but steady change, punctuated
with dramatic events, such as the American struggle for independence. In contrast, the 1800s
saw constant and often rapid change. The term “Industrial Revolution” is used to characterize the transformations of society that began early in the 1800s. However, the people of the
time did not realize how rapidly their way of life was being altered. We think of the last half
of the 1900s and the early years of the 2000s as a period of social and technological change.
Indeed, that is the case, but in many ways, the first half of the 1800s was even more dramatic.5
As the 1800s began, travel was still a matter of either walking, riding a horse, or bumping along in a wagon or carriage pulled by horses or mules. Sending a message to a loved
one, or for business purposes, took weeks or even months—depending on the distance
the letter had to be carried. Just five decades later, by mid-century, people were riding on
trains that could get up to the astonishing speed of 45 miles an hour. Messages sent by
telegraph, along copper wires that connected many distant towns and cities, traveled at a
mind-boggling 186,000 miles per second!
Early in the nineteenth century, the boundaries of what is now the United States (mainland) were greatly expanded by the acquisition of vast territories from the French as well as
from Mexico. Other areas were acquired as well by various means to establish the boundaries of what is now the continental United States. For the most part, those areas were
occupied by a few Europeans and by tribes of native people. These Native Americans, in
particular, were seen mainly as barriers to the advance of civilization. Consequently, they
were systematically killed or rounded up and moved to be confined to reservations.
American leaders of the time developed policies favoring immigration, especially from
Europe. The new country needed people—and they came in great waves. To protect against
potential foreign incursion, the huge middle and the far western reaches of the country had
to have people. It was a land of great natural resources—minerals, forests, and farmland.
Continuing the frontier mentality of the first two centuries, the shared belief was that the
wilderness had to be tamed and its resources brought under control for economic gain.
The Industrial Revolution and Its Consequences
It was a combination of a new source of brute power, the inventive genius of vigorous people, and the prospect of great economic rewards that drove the ever-increasing pace of the
Industrial Revolution. It began when the steam engine became a reality.
12
Introduction
Steam as a New Source of Power
It is difficult today to understand fully what took place after the steam engine arrived. Until
that happened, power was something obtained from wind, water, or muscles—human or
animal. Steam engines came into the picture early in the 1800s. By the 1830s, steam was
driving early railroads, ships, riverboats, and machinery in factories.
Coupling a steam engine to a printing press was only one of many such applications,
but it revolutionized the business of publication. It had a profound effect on the nature of
newspapers. By 1830, a cylinder-type press became available. It had two big rotors about
three feet long and a foot and a half in diameter. The rotors were turned by the steam
engine. A cast lead “stereotype” was placed over the roller. It contained all the letters
and characters for the passages that were to be printed on single big sheets of paper. Such
sheets were fed into the rollers. Several pages of a book or magazine could be printed at
one time, to be folded and cut after printing.
The power press was a godsend for book publishing, but it was also quickly adapted
for newspapers. By 1834, a new kind of newspaper—the “penny” press—would come into
existence in New York City. It was the forerunner of the modern mass newspaper. It would
never have been possible without the advertising brought by the Industrial Revolution, the
power of the steam engine, and the efficiency of the rotary press. The financial format and
content of the penny press were quickly and widely adopted in communities throughout
the United States. Within a very short time, the “daily newspaper” became a very different
type of publication than those of the colonial press that had preceded it.6
Literacy
Another factor that would make it possible for newspapers to serve much larger audiences
was a historic change in public education that began during the early 1800s. Horace Mann,
an educator and politician in Massachusetts, persuaded the Commonwealth’s legislature
to establish an innovative system of compulsory (and tax-based) education to ensure that
children would be able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. These skills were seen as
important in a democracy and in a part of the nation in which industrial work was becoming more and more important. As public schools became common, increasing levels of
literacy greatly expanded the potential market for newspapers.
Advertising
In addition, as industrialization continued, the flow of goods produced in factories produced
a growing need for advertising. Newspapers were able to take advantage of steadily increasing revenues from both advertising and subscriptions, which increased their profitability. All
of these factors worked together, and the result was a surge of growth in both the number
of daily papers published and the proportion of the population that was able to subscribe
to and read them. In fact, as the nation continued to expand, both in terms of territory and
population, both the number of newspapers and the size of their audiences increased rapidly.
Revolutions in Transportation
Railroads would not be widely established until the 1840s, and it would be 1874 before the
two coasts were linked by rail. Meanwhile, another form of transportation played a key
role in the developing nation, and it had a very clear effect on the mass communication
industries that would come in the future. At a time before steam, canals were a relatively
efficient way to move goods and even people. Because no roads linked regions, boats on
Shaping the American Mass Media 13
rivers and other waterways were the most efficient and most comfortable way to travel.
However, rivers and lakes were not conveniently located in places where they were needed,
so canals linking them had to be dug to serve as an alternative.
One of the most remarkable construction projects ever undertaken in the early 1800s
was the Erie Canal. It was a 363-mile system of ditches and locks, connecting several lakes
and rivers, between Albany on the Hudson River on the eastern border of New York and
Buffalo and Lake Erie at the western end. Long barges pulled slowly by horses or mules
walking on a path beside the waterways could float heavy cargoes and passengers across
the entire state. Its importance was that it connected much of what is now the Midwest
with New York City and the Atlantic Ocean.
This great new waterway opened the entire Great Lakes area to commerce and settlement. Agricultural products came across the state by the canal and then down the Hudson
to be shipped from the docks of New York City to foreign markets. Many kinds of finished
goods were taken back up the waterways to supply the new communities in the new states
surrounding the Great Lakes. Because of the canal, the entire Northwest Territory (Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota) became a kind of vast “inland empire,” producing products that were sold worldwide. New York City became the economic beneficiary of this bounty, and New York State came to call itself the “empire state.” Because
of its economic dominance and its large population, New York City became the center of
America’s emerging media industries.
New Communication Technologies
In 1844, Samuel F. B. Morse sent a telegraph message from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore
(a distance of about 35 miles). The message moved at the speed of lightning—an astounding
186,000 miles per second. Actually, Morse did not “invent” the telegraph. Other working
systems were already in use in Great Britain. However, they were of limited use, cumbersome, and rather unreliable. Morse’s system was simple, reliable, and quite easy to use. He
also developed a code using long and short signals keyed to letters of the alphabet. The
telegraph was so practical and effective that by the time of the Civil War, an undersea cable
was being laid across the Atlantic Ocean. Regular telegraph service with England began in
1866. It was the first step toward a high-speed global communication system.
The telegraph and the transatlantic cable truly opened a new era in communication.
Within a few years, newspapers and press associations would establish wire services that
would bring reports of important events in both Europe and the United States to many of
the nation’s newspapers within a much shorter time than had ever before been possible.
Other cables soon linked additional continents and countries. By 1874 the telephone would
follow, increasing once again the speed at which people could communicate over distance.
In 1839, five years before Morse demonstrated his telegraph, Louis Daguerre and Joseph
Niepce showed the world the first photograph. The science of chemistry had advanced to a
point where it was possible to make photographs on shining plates of metal with a process
that came to be called the “daguerreotype.” Although photography did not find its way into
newspapers and magazines for several decades, the daguerreotype provided the initial foundation upon which photojournalism and eventually a great movie industry would be built.
Territorial Expansion
The nation’s new boundaries were growing at an astonishing rate. In 1803, Napoleon
Bonaparte was having trouble financing his wars in Europe. Short of cash, he decided to
sell off “Le Louisiannne”—vast territories in North America (about a third of the territory
in the middle of current U.S. boundaries). This land was claimed and loosely controlled by
14 Introduction
France. He felt that the land was a drag on his budget and had no future in any case. Little
was known about what was there. Some even claimed that prehistoric animals roamed the
area. The Americans had proposed to buy only an area around New Orleans (as a means
of controlling access to the Mississippi River). But Napoleon said, “Take the whole territory or nothing.” The result was one of the most spectacular real estate deals in history.
The United States paid $15 million for Louisiana—a huge triangular area that stretched
west of the Mississippi clear to the Rocky Mountains and north from the Gulf of Mexico
to Canada. It cost just under four cents per acre.7
A short time later, disputes between Mexico and the United States brought about a war
(in 1846). At the time, Mexico was a formidable foe, with an army twice as big as that of
the Americans. Nevertheless, the leaders in Washington wanted to take over much of the
northern tier of Mexican territories and add them to what is now the continental United
States. As a result, President James Polk sent American troops under General Zachary
Taylor into Mexico and a force under General Winfield Scott to California. Scott had two
young officers with him—Captain Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant.
The war did not last long. In 1847, U.S. Marines entered Mexico City (The “Halls of
Montezuma”), and negotiations were commenced. The conflict was formally concluded in
1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and a payment of $15 million to
Mexico. The United States then took over what is now California, New Mexico, and Utah;
parts of Arizona, Texas, and Colorado; plus smaller sections of other states. Again, vast
territories came under the American flag for about three cents per acre. The continental
United States was now an enormous landmass that stretched from the Atlantic to the
Pacific and from the Rio Grande on the south to the long border with Canada to the north.
The Mexican war had a strong influence on American newspapers for two reasons. One
was that a huge new area eventually was settled, and many newspapers were established
to serve their growing populations. Another was in the way news was gathered at the
scene of an event and a report sent back to editors. Understandably, the American public
was deeply concerned about the battles in Mexico. Many papers had sent correspondents
(reporters) into the area to write about the engagements and their outcomes. These reports
were taken as quickly as possible to New Orleans, where the copper “lightening lines” were
used to transmit the stories by telegraph directly to newsrooms in most of the major cities
in the northeast. It was from this arrangement that the Associated Press, the first national
wire service, was developed.
Influence of the Civil War
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate cannons bombarded and all but
destroyed Fort Sumpter—which was located on a small island in the harbor of Charleston,
South Carolina. Although there was only one death (due to an accident), it was a momentous act, touching off a great conflict. The war raged on for four years until April 9, 1865,
when Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. More than 2.3 million men fought, and more than 600,000 (one out of every four) were killed or died of their
wounds or diseases. It remains the greatest number of war deaths ever experienced by the
nation in any conflict.8
The Civil War understandably created a great demand for news. The great technological
advances in steam-powered printing, electric communication, and swift distribution brought
about by the Industrial Revolution had made it possible for virtually every major city to have
one or more daily papers. Newspaper readership had increased greatly. During the war years,
about four families out of every ten in the nation subscribed to a daily paper. Almost all of
the larger papers had one or more reporters observing each battle. News from the conflict
Shaping the American Mass Media 15
was sent via telegraph wire to editors back home, and reports of the victories and losses were
provided to the public on a timely basis. Of special interest were the casualty lists for families
waiting anxiously at home to hear whether their loved ones had been killed or wounded.
Increased Pace of Urbanization
An important change in society was the growth of towns and cities. As the 1800s began,
the United States was a nation mainly of farmers and ranchers. Only a small proportion
of the population lived in cities and towns. However, factories and their related jobs began
to draw more and more people to urban communities. That process increased sharply in
the upper Midwest as great deposits of iron ore and coal were discovered and exploited
to establish iron and steel industries. As the century wore on, the nation was slowly transforming itself into a great industrial power. Large parts of the country remained rural,
and agriculture was their major industry. However, more and more people were moving to
towns and cities to find employment in the developing manufacturing industries.
The movement of people from farms to cities is called urbanization. This was a constant
and accelerating process all during the last half of the 1800s. Rural families moved to the
city, and many of those who arrived from abroad also settled there. Urbanization was important for the development of mass communications because it was far easier for a newspaper
or magazine to serve a population concentrated in a city than one thinly scattered on farms.
Consequences of Population Increases and Migrations
Of major significance for the development of newspapers and magazines were massive
population movements into and within the United States. As noted, immigration from
abroad was encouraged in order to settle the huge land masses acquired from France and
Mexico. The pace of immigration increased beginning in the late 1840s when waves of
migrants arrived from Ireland to escape the great potato famine. A factor that greatly
encouraged additional immigration was the first Homestead Act. President Lincoln signed
the legislation in 1862. It provided for 180 acres of free land for any American citizen—or
even a person who declared his or her intention of becoming a citizen—who would agree
to establish a farm. This was a remarkable opportunity for many Europeans. No country
had ever given away free land! Large numbers of Northern Europeans came to take up
farming in the Midwest and on the great plains. Later, millions would arrive from southern and eastern Europe to labor in the new industries. They hoped to escape political
turmoil, religious persecution, or grinding poverty in their mother lands.
In all of these areas, communities were established. Some were economic centers for
agriculture. Others served mining or industrial economies. Some that were located at
points where transportation brought rapidly increasing commerce grew and became cities. In each of these communities, daily and weekly newspapers were needed. The American
population was growing rapidly. Free and mandatory public education had been widely
adopted, and an increasing number of people could read and write. Conditions were very
favorable, in other words, for a considerable growth in newspaper and magazine readership. In 1870, five years after the end of the Civil War, there were 574 daily newspapers9 and
three out of every ten households in the United States subscribed to a daily newspaper. By
the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. Census reported that (on average) there was one
newspaper subscription for every household. Saturation had been achieved.
Immigration from abroad was not the only factor promoting growth in newspapers. There
was a great movement of population from east to west all during the last half of the 1800s.
Even during the 1840s, wagon trains streamed across the prairie, bound for the Oregon
16 Introduction
Territory. Many families stopped along the way and established farms and communities in
the Dakotas or in other parts of the mountain states. When gold was discovered in California
in 1848, more than 250,000 people descended on Northern California within a few months.
Meanwhile, as the century was coming to an end, the pace of immigration picked up.
Millions of people passed through the great immigration station at Ellis Island. Many stayed
in the cities along the eastern seaboard, but others traveled on to join relatives or earlier
migrants in the Midwest and elsewhere. At about the same time, in a real sense, the frontier
came to an end. Most of our states had already been admitted to the union. However, additional territories and populations came under American control just as the century was ending. In a war with Spain that lasted only ten weeks, Puerto Rico and the Philippines became
American overseas possessions. Hawaii and Alaska were added at about the same time.
New Media in an Urban-Industrial Society: The 1900s
The 1900s saw the rise of new media that could not possibly have been imagined by people
in the 1600s. All were products of the continuing Industrial Revolution and its scientific
counterpart. Black-and-white silent movies, along with home radio, came early in the century. Just after mid-century, television was available in virtually every American home. It
was soon followed by the VCR, the DVD, cable systems, direct broadcast satellites, cellular phones, and the computer-based Internet with all of its applications.
As the twentieth century came to a close, the pace of change in new mass communication technologies became almost frantic. Some media were shrinking; others were expanding. Still others were converging. The pace was so fast that it became difficult to predict
in a detailed way what people would have available in the early decades of the twenty-first
century or, in some cases, even the next month. In spite of this pace, however, the new
mass media to come, like what came earlier, will be shaped by the same factors that have
operated in the past.
The United States Becomes a Mass Communication Society
One of the first major mass media developments of the 1900s was the rise of a new kind of
journalism within the magazine industry. Starting in 1900, an almost endless number of
articles were prepared to expose political, economic, and social problems in American life.
President Theodore Roosevelt called these writers “muckrakers.” He did so because they
concentrated on corruption in American politics, ruthlessness in business, and the plight
of the poor—rather than championing the remarkable achievements of the American society. However, by the time of World War I, the public was tired of such exposures, and the
muckraker era came to an end. Nevertheless, its lasting influence was to ensure the place
of investigative journalism in the American press.
The Golden Age of the Print Media
World War I was of great significance to the 92 million people in the United States when
it broke out in 1914. However, America did not enter the war actively until 1917. Before it
ended, in November of 1918, more than two million young men and a few hundred women
went to France. Of the young men who served in the trenches or in ships in the Atlantic,
130,000 lost their lives. The public was horrified—but eager to follow the war news from
France. During the period, subscriptions to daily newspapers rose to a historic high.
Newspapers were literally in a “golden age”—one that they would never see again. On
average, American families subscribed to more than 1.3 daily newspapers. Many families
Shaping the American Mass Media 17
had both a morning and evening paper delivered to their doors, or they bought them from
street vendors. The newspaper had a total monopoly on the news because it had no rivals.
Magazines also came into a kind of golden age during the first several decades of the
1900s and especially between 1920 and 1950. Beautifully printed general magazines with
slick paper and huge circulations rose to great prominence. They prospered because they
were an ideal vehicle for delivering advertising of nationally mass-marketed products. For
that purpose, they too had no serious rivals. Millions of subscribers in all parts of the
country received their magazines by mail. Such magazines as the Saturday Evening Post,
Colliers, or Cosmopolitan also served the entertainment function by providing collections
of short stories, serialized novels, simple analyses of public affairs, recipes, and humor.
American Movies Dominate the World Market
One of the major consequences of World War I for our contemporary media system had
to do with global markets for American entertainment products. With France, Germany,
and Britain locked in the Great War, motion picture production facilities in Europe were
essentially shut down after 1914. American filmmakers rushed to supply the world market. The silent black-and-white movies of the time used subtitles to tell the ongoing story.
Thus, the movies were a flexible product that sold well in every country that had even
primitive movie theaters. People in those countries, especially the young, adored them.
American films established a world dominance by this means, and they retain that dominance even to this day. Those global distribution systems have now been greatly expanded,
and American movies, TV programs, music, and other entertainment products are both
loved and criticized all over the world.
The motion picture industry matured greatly between the two World Wars. Going to
the movies became the recreation of choice for millions of American families as well as
for audiences in almost all other countries. The experience was cheap, wholesome, available, and fun. The movies were ideal for dating couples. American kids of the time loved
the Saturday matinees with cowboys, comics, and serialized adventures. Many movies
attracted the whole family. Attendance in the United States rose to record heights between
1930 and 1950 when more than two tickets were sold per family every week. However, that
golden age would soon go into serious decline as television became the dominant medium.
Radio as a New Mass Communication Technology
By the beginning of the 1920s, radio was transformed from a wireless dot-dash telegraph
used for commercial, navigational, and governmental purposes into a home medium.
Regularly scheduled broadcasts of music, drama, and comedians began early in the 1920s,
and in the United States, the medium quickly turned to advertising as a means of financial
support. That was the solution taken by the popular newspapers nearly a century earlier
and by magazines as they developed during the last half of the 1800s. It was the American
way—private ownership, profit-oriented, and minimal governmental interference in terms of
content. Radio did require certain technical regulations to avoid signal interference, but
(except for dirty words) the system essentially retained the freedom of speech that was a
deep-seated cultural value.
Television Challenges Other Mass Media
Television was about to become a mass medium in the United States when the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor. However, when the conflict was over, a number of stations quickly
18 Introduction
went on air, and wherever there was a signal to receive, television sets were snapped up by
a waiting public. The Federal Communications Commission restrained the growth of the
medium for four years while developing a plan to avoid signal overlap. Even so, the public
could not get enough of television broadcasts.
Television created significant displacements among the other media. It quickly attracted
advertising dollars from print and radio, and it took audiences away from the movies.
TV inherited radio’s financial structure, its relationship with the Federal Communication
Commission, much of its programming, and most of its audience. In addition, its advantages as an advertising medium drew dollars away from the general magazines, many of
which went out of business. Television’s advertising and its news services made inroads
into the financial health of newspapers.
New Technologies and Changing Mass Media Systems
After the middle of the twentieth century, the American mass communication system was
deeply established. By the late 1950s, television had become the medium to which most
Americans paid close attention. Books retained their niche as a specialized medium for
information, education, and entertainment. Movies remained popular, but the numbers
paying at the box office were clearly declining. Newspapers were losing readers steadily,
and many papers were either going bankrupt or being absorbed into chains to reduce
costs. Radio rebounded by turning to music, news, and talk-show programming after
being nearly put out of business by TV. However, still further changes were coming. They
would be based on both satellites and the digital technology of the computer.
The Increasing Importance of Computers
No one quite foresaw the truly remarkable role that computers would play in the media
industries. At first, the huge electronic computers, like the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical
Integrator and Computer), which was more than one hundred feet long and developed
for the military during and just after World War II, were seen by the public as scientific
curiosities. They were seen as little more than “electronic brains,” used by the military and
operated by scientists with thick glasses and nerd packs in the pockets of their white coats.
By comparison with today’s computers, the early machines were not only huge but
very slow. Moreover, they seemed to have little or no significance for ordinary citizens.
However, by the mid-1950s, it became clear to businesses and government agencies that
computers could be used for a great many practical purposes. The card-programmed,
mainframe computers of the time were soon in use in every large corporation, educational
institution, and government agency.10 Because of their efficiency, they soon helped to move
the United States into the information age.11 What that means is that, after the middle
of the century, more people were manipulating numbers and words than were producing
objects with hands and machines. By 1960, the age of the digital, electronic computer had
truly arrived, and it soon changed the lives of almost everyone.
The Constant Invention and Replacement of Media
During the 1960s and the 1970s, using a large mainframe computer was accomplished
only by highly-trained specialists using arcane commands and programming “languages.”
Early in the 1980s, however, the small “desktop” machines came onto the market. They
were quickly adopted and pressed into use for thousands of different applications. Within a
decade, the computer had literally transformed the ways in which business was conducted
Shaping the American Mass Media 19
in almost every walk of life. By 2019, 74% of American adults owned a desktop or laptop
computer.12 During the 2020–2021 pandemic, however, sales of personal and laptop computers surged to their highest level in a decade, due to the number of people working from
home and to remote learning.13
Overview of Factors Influencing Mass Media Development in the 1900s
As the twentieth century began, people could subscribe to a sophisticated morning and
afternoon daily newspaper or receive many kinds of magazines in the mail. The more affluent could call friends on the telephone (but long-distance was not well developed). People
could also send a telegram. However, there were no movie theaters to attend, no radio to
hear, and no television to view. Computer networks could not even be imagined. The population of the United States continued to expand rapidly in the early decades (slowing in
more recent times) and educational levels increased greatly. These trends provided a larger
and more literate market for print media. As a result, the early part of the century was the
“golden age” of print.
The change from agriculture to industry gave people more expendable income on average and more scheduled free time. The result was a corresponding interest and need for
diversion and amusement. Entertainment-oriented media developed to meet these needs—
the movies, radio, television, and its related systems—and more recently, the Internet. By
the mid-nineteenth century, and in more recent times, the newer media were growing while
the older traditional print media began a slow decline in audience share.
The pace of scientific and technological development was spurred by the increase in the
standard of living brought by the advance of the industrial revolution. The 1900s brought
not only dramatic increases in the accomplishments of science but also growth in average family income. People could afford the new gadgets and amusements that were being
produced. In addition, two World Wars spurred technology of many kinds. In particular, World War II and the following Cold War stimulated the development of computers.
Digital technology, now at the heart of the almost daily media modifications and advances,
is also bringing great changes in our media systems in the twenty-first century.
What Lies Ahead?
Digital technology, the foundation of computer operations, will continue to bring us new
forms of information, advertising, and entertainment. We now enjoy new systems for
delivering clearer television signals and content to our home sets and other devices. While
all are not technically mass media, constant innovations are bringing Americans and others many kinds of information, services, and entertainment on the Internet and its World
Wide Web as well as on hand-held devices, such as cell phones and iPads.
The basic principle that will prevail is that, in a technological society, there is a constant
invention, obsolescence, and replacement of media. In an economic system based on capitalism, new products capable of earning profits are constantly being invented, tried, and
developed. Many displace older systems that lose profitability. It is a pattern as old as the
Industrial Revolution.
It is difficult to specify the exact form of new mass communication systems that will
exist in the years ahead. The pace of invention is very fast. In addition to new technology, it
seems clear that the importance of social media will continue to increase. And what about
the role of artificial intelligence in the production of content in the years ahead? Finally,
consider the fact that the plans and ownership patterns among the major corporations
developing such systems undergo change and modification every day. Regardless of the
20
Introduction
changes that may take place in the years ahead, our mass communication systems will
continue to be influenced by our cultural values, our economic and political systems, and
other cultural factors. In turn, these factors will shape how we study the media and the
ways in which the media influence our everyday lives.
Questions for Discussion
1 A shared set of cultural beliefs often called a “frontier mentality” involved “rugged
individuals pitted against nature,” who saw no need for controls by a powerful government and who resented attempts to regulate any aspect of their lives. It emphasized individuality, personal responsibility, and freedom from government influence,
reflecting basic values from colonial times that continue today. Discuss how these values had an impact during the pandemic of 2020–2021 and the controversies that arose
regarding the wearing of masks, state and local regulations during the pandemic, and
decisions to follow, or not follow, advice from public health or government officials.
2 Discuss how these same values played a role in the presidential campaign of 2020.
Notes and References
1 Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (New York: Penguin
Group, 2006).
2 See John E. Pomfret, Founding the American Colonies: 1583–1660 (New York: Harper and
Row, 1970).
3 Vincent Wilson, Jr., ed., The Book of Great American Documents (Brookeville, MD: American
History Research Associates, 1993).
4 Timothy W. Gleason, The Watchdog Concept: The Press and the Courts in Nineteenth-Century
America (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1990).
5 J. C. Furnas, The Americans: A Social History of the United States, 1587–1914 (New York: G.P.
Putnam and Sons, 1969).
6 Edwin Emery and Michael Emery, The Press and America, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-­
Hall, 1978).
7 Joseph A. Harriss, “How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World,” Smithsonian Magazine, April 2003.
8 Shelby Foote, The Civil War: Fort Sumter to Perryville (New York: Vintage Books, 1986).
9 U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States:
Colonial Times to 1970 (White Plains, New York: Kraus Publications, 1989), p. 810.
10 Arthur W. Burks, “From ENIAC to the Stored-Program Computer: Two Revolutions in Computers,” in N. Metropolis, J. Howlett, and Gian-Carlo Rota, eds., A History of Computing in
the Twentieth Century (New York: Academic Press, 1980), pp. 311–344.
11 Wilson Dizard, The Coming Information Society (New York: Longman, 1990).
12 Thomas Alsop, “Desktop/Laptop Ownership among U.S. Adults 2008–2019,” Statista,
2020. Downloaded November, 2020 from: www.statista.com/statistics/756054/united-statesadults-desktop-laptop-ownership/
13 Tom Warren, “The PC Market Just Had Its First Big Growth in 10 Years,” The Verge, January 11,
2021. Downloaded August, 2020 from: https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/11/22225356/pc-salesshipments-2020-growth-idc-canalys-remote-work
2
Introduction to the Origins,
Nature, and Uses of Theories
Why should scholars specializing in the study of mass communication and their influences bother to develop theories about their origins, processes, and effects? Similarly, why
should students studying such fields as journalism, advertising, public relations, or other
media-based fields bother with the study of those issues? After all, aren’t theories just
guesses and speculations dreamed up by a bunch of professors sitting in their armchairs?
What do they have to do with the “real world” as its practical affairs are conducted in the
hard-driven community of profit and loss? Similarly, how can theories have any use or
importance for the success and failures of people pursuing media-related careers?
These are important questions, and they demand answers. This chapter focuses on those
issues. It discusses the nature of theories and where they come from. It also provides reasons why they are important in the day-to-day activities of professional communicators
and others. It explains how scholars, both in the past and more recently, have gone about
developing a number of explanations for the processes and effects of mass communication.
Finally, it summarizes briefly what theories are included in this book.
What Is a Theory?
In a very basic sense, a theory can be regarded as a description of how something works.
That “something” can be anything people are trying to study and understand. It may be a
physical phenomenon—like why substances burn. It may be a biological “something,” like
what causes a particular disease. Or it can be a psychological issue, such as how people
store experience in memory. In the same sense, it may be a question about mass communication—such as how mass media depictions of a behavior influence the way people think
about it. In other words, theories are an important kind of knowledge that is developed
in any field where a description is needed of how something works. Another way of saying
that is that theories provide explanations of what conditions or factors seem to bring about
some sort of consequence.
Concepts as Beginning Points for Theory Development
It is not possible to develop or even describe a theory without stating and defining its concepts. Concepts are the basic building blocks of a theory. In an analogous way, they can be
thought of as the bricks with which a wall will be made. Each brick is an important part.
If it were missing or seriously flawed, the resulting wall would be defective.
The basic nature of a concept is not particularly difficult to understand. It is just a
named condition, factor, or situation that exists in reality that plays some necessary part
in the process that the theory describes and explains. The phrase “exists in reality” is an
important one. Theories can get into trouble if they incorporate concepts that actually do
DOI: 10.4324/9781003083467-3
22
Introduction
not have such real existence. A classic example is an early theory of burning proposed by
Richard Kirwan in 1787; he maintained that things burn because of the release of a mysterious substance called “phlogiston.” Needless to say, that explanation did not survive.
Kirwan’s theory was replaced later by one developed by Joseph Priestly, the discoverer of
oxygen. Priestly was able to demonstrate that oxygen did actually exist in reality and was
essential to the burning process.
Examples of simple concepts founded in reality that are often involved in the study
of mass communication are age, income, and socioeconomic status (of the members of
an audience) or hours per day spent viewing (by persons attending to that medium). As
subsequent chapters will indicate, there are many other concepts involved in theories of
mass communication. Some are complex, but they all must share the requirement of real
existence, meaning that their concepts can be observed in some way by researchers and
theory-builders.
Concepts can vary. That is, they can take different numerical values. For example, age
obviously can be expressed quite conventionally as a particular number of years since
a person was born. Thus, age is a variable concept. Similarly, a family’s income can be
expressed as some (variable) amount of dollars earned per year. In quite the same way,
a person’s television behavior can be expressed as the number of hours per day spent
watching TV.
As these examples suggest, concepts can often be expressed in terms of some quantity
because they can take different numerical values. For that reason, procedures for their
measurement become very important in theory-building or testing research. And, because
such concepts can take varying numerical values, they are sometimes referred to simply as
variables. (But that really means “variable concepts.”)
Even concepts that do not seem to vary actually do so—in a limited sort of way. Take,
for example, the concept of “married” (which can be an important concept in some kinds
of research and theory development). Now, one cannot be “just a tiny bit” married, “somewhat married,” or “a lot married.” Technically (and legally), one is either married or not.
But is this a variable concept? Yes, it is. One can assign a value of unity (1) to the condition
of being married and a value of zero (0) to those who are not married. In that limited
sense, then, the factor (concept, variable) of “married” can be measured and quantified.
There are many variables like this—employed vs. unemployed, social media user vs. nonuser, magazine subscriber vs. non-subscriber, and so forth. This may seem like an obscure
technical point, but it can be important in assessing the ways that research observations
are made for the development of theories.
Some concepts are said to be “independent.” What this means is that they are not thought
to be a consequence of something else. For example, suppose that a person smokes three
packs of cigarettes every day. As a consequence, there is an increased likelihood that he or
she will eventually suffer from lung cancer. If that does indeed happen, cigarette smoking
is an independent condition (variable). That is, smoking is not caused by lung cancer—it’s
the other way around. The lung problem, then, is a dependent condition (variable) because
it is influenced, brought about, or caused by the independent action of smoking.
In developing theories in any science, careful distinctions are made between the independent and the dependent concepts that are included. In developing a mass communication theory, the logic is similar. If a child spends many hours every night playing
video games while avoiding homework, and if as a consequence his or her grades go
down, there is an obvious “independent” concept here (hours spent playing video games)
and another obvious “dependent” variable (grades). The propositions that make up a
theory, then, are formulated in such a way that these independent and dependent relationships are clear.
Origins, Nature, and Uses of Theories 23
Theories as Sets of Related Propositions
A theory is made up of a set of related statements of relationships between its concepts.
While some theories in advanced sciences may be “stated” in mathematical formulae, like
e = mc2, others are set forth in ordinary language, explaining what factors or conditions
bring about what consequences. For example, Charles Darwin stated his theory of evolution, explaining how distinct species developed through a process of natural selection.
He set forth his theory in a lengthy book using only descriptive prose.1 Another example
of a theory set forth in this way is that of Sigmund Freud, who described relationships
between various concepts of the human psyche (ego, superego, and id) and their consequences for behavior.2 In the field of mass communication, many of the contemporary theories that have been developed, indeed most, are stated that way—often in lengthy works
that describe the factors and conditions that are thought to bring about certain kinds of
consequences.
An alternative to such lengthy discussions of the nature of a theory is to summarize it in
a more formal manner as a limited set of related statements from which certain logical inferences can be drawn. People who develop theories in this more formal manner sometimes
call the theory’s statements propositions. The propositions of a given “formal” theory are
designed in such a way that they set forth in brief statements the assumed relationships that
are thought to exist between two or more variables (concepts) that are used to describe and
explain how things work. A number of examples of such formal theories are presented in
this book.
The advantage of a formal statement of propositions is this: If its assumed propositions
can be regarded as correct descriptions of the relationships between the concepts, the theory provides a basis for a logical derivation of some sort of consequence or implication. In
other words, an important question is what does the theory (logically) imply—if all of its
assumptions can be thought of as true? This idea—of being able to obtain some sort of logical implication about whatever is under study—is a truly valuable feature of formal theories. The reason is that such logical implications provide guidelines as to what researchers
should look for as evidence in order to assess the merits of the theory.
In the chapters of this book, in which specific theories of processes and effects of mass
communication are discussed, an attempt is made to summarize them in this more formal
way—as sets of related propositions stating the theory’s assumptions. This can be a difficult task, given the complexity of the mass communication process, the audiences that
receive media messages, and the many kinds of influences that result. For that reason, the
formalized summaries set forth in each chapter are to be regarded as very tentative.
Generally, then, a theory is a set of statements or propositions that describe assumed
relationships between independent and dependent concepts (variables) that are important
in trying to understand how (whatever is under study) “works” or comes about. The formalization of such theories is intended to make them easier to understand and also to
indicate what logical implications they reveal—implications that can be assessed through
observational research.
Theories as Explanations
As noted, a theory is an attempt to explain something.3 The statements or propositions of
a theory are just sentences that describe both the assumptions that are made about how
its concepts are related and some logical prediction of what can be expected (in reality)
if those assumptions are regarded as true. This may sound complicated, but it is really a
very common procedure that people use all the time to predict some consequence of a set
24
Introduction
of prior conditions. To illustrate, consider the common criticism that the American mass
media overwhelmingly produce and disseminate to their audiences entertainment content
that is of shallow and limited artistic merit. Categories of content that could be characterized in this way are soap operas, spectator sports, situational comedies, reality shows,
quiz shows, and so forth. Few people would describe this type of content as truly serious,
intellectually challenging, or as having high artistic merit. A similar situation exists in
the daily news that is printed, broadcast, or presented online. Many truly serious stories
are delivered, of course, but many deal with human interest events, bizarre happenings,
accidents, fires, and other topics or information that may have a certain “entertainment”
value. Indeed, the term “…