part 5 RESEARCHING THE MEDIA
TO UNDERSTAND OUR WORLD
u n d e r . c o n s t r u c t i o n
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Now we turn to asking ourselves about how to understand the processes by which the media developed in conjunction with other forces in society. This takes us to three broad models/approaches which can help us understand how this process happened.

1. the Political Economy Model of media & society

2. the Media Effects approach to media & society

3. the Cultural approach to media & society

As you've probably figured out, most of k.i.s.s. of the panopticon focues on the third of these approaches -- but it's worth looking at the first two, since they'll help us understand the Cultural side of things. We can examine in greater detail the differences between these approaches to communication's role in society, and the social and cultural contexts within which these ideas operate. Remember: These schools of thought and their ideas are supposed to be able to help us understand what's going on in the world of communication, what forces are acting upon us, and what power we have to challenge these forces. These models can, in broad terms (we'll go into more detail later), help us understand three core questions (see below):

This makes us focus closely on theory, and how these theoretical appraoches help us answer the three questions above. In other words: iinstead of assuming the influence of different forces on the development of mass media, we now need to investigate the nature and extent of these forces -- and the nature and extent of the media's influence itself -- much more carefully.

So let's briefly look at each of these approaches and see how they relate to the media:

1. the Political Economy Model of media & society:
Holds that it's political and economic institutions (and their interactions) that cause change in society. The media are primarily seen as simply part of the system of economic relationships among groups in society. Thus it's the institutions that cause change, while the media merely transmits that change.

2. the Effects Model of media & society:
Holds that it is primarily technological forms, or the content carried in by these forms, that has strong effects -- and therefore causes change -- in society. The media takes a much more prominent role as the agent of change, either via media content or media forms.

3. the Cultural Model of media & society:
Holds that it is culture, in tandem with both these other forces above, that cause change in society -- culture, and individuals' relationship with culture/cultures, are perhaps the most important factors. The media's role is to serve as the communicative space (or "map" of representations) within which cultures and other forces in society interact. The question of who or what causes change therefore becomes more complex.

Power, change, & media-society concepts

In fact, power is a very useful unifying concept for helping us frame this whole debate about media influences. It helps us to conceptualize and judge: - the power of the media itself; - the power societal institutions have over us (e.g., governments, big corporations, etc.) - the power that we as people have, either : - as individuals to resist or assimilate the influences of media or govt on a personal level; OR - as a group (whether national, global, cultural or sub-cultural), able to exercise or democratic rights So when we ask: What, historically, has caused change in society? … we are trying to understand what forces were in the forefront of causing change; and who or what had the power to make change historical events.