8497.35 Describe the function, role and influence of video media on Society.
Introduction: Modern society relies heavily on media and video communication systems. We will call this process communications. You use them in your personal life, at work and at play. For this reason, the era of progress that we live in is called the Information Age.
Why Video & Media? No wonder this period of history is referred to as the Information Age. Each day, you awake to an alarm clock. Morning newspapers and television shows inform and entertain you. Radio announcers tell you which songs that they are going to play.
Most communication is meant to:
Inform: To inform is to let people know what is happening. Many messages are intended to spread information. They relay interesting or important facts. The media acts as a device for spreading information. Some information helps you plan your day. Other information aids in making decisions. People need to receive and enjoy receiving information.
Entertain: The mass media is used basically as entertainment. When you watch a television show you want to be entertained. People use mass media as a way to relax. Television is the most popular form of entertainment. How many televisions do you have in your house?
Instruct: Video technology is becoming increasingly popular as a teaching aid. In schools video media is used alongside traditional learning tactics to help the learning process and engage students. If you conduct an online search of how to do just about anything, you can find a video instructing how. Video tutorials on various products are also very useful and widely used both in the workplace as well as for personal use.
Persuade: Video & media technology is used to influence your decisions. This is called persuasion. Video and media urge you to make purchases, to vote, and to support certain causes. Many advertisements attempt to influence the way you act. Which soft drink do you buy? Which pizza do you prefer? Many times your decision to buy a certain product results from someone’s persuasion. Forms of persuasion differ greatly. Examples would be how news events are reported. What may be important in one place may be ignored in another.
Uses of Communication
We have looked at the four purposes of communication to inform, to instruct, to entertain, and to persuade. There are two broad classifications of communications, individual communications and mass communications. When we communicate one on one, we are practicing individual communication. If we are communicating with a large group of people, it is mass communication. Much of modern communications is transmitted by mass media.
2 CLASSIFICATIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Individual Communication: Many examples of individual communication exist. Talking with someone on the telephone, using the computer; instant messaging, e-mail, and finding information on the web are all examples of individual communication.
Mass Communication: Each day you receive messages aimed at reaching many people. Mass communication systems are used to inform a large audience. Masses of people act as the receiver in this type of communication. Communication to large audiences relies on modern technologies. Television, radio, newspaper, motion-pictures, and books are examples. Other mediums include billboards and road signs. The impact of mass communication is important in modern society, None is more powerful than television. This medium provides a constant flow of messages. You see advertisements for toothpaste, autos, and food.
A trend in mass communication is targeting. This idea tries to focus various media on a particular segment of society. An example would be a sporting goods company advertising during a football game. These commercials are targeted at the sports minded audience.
SOCIETY & MEDIA: Influences The influences of communication on society are meant to be positive. You are entertained, informed, and educated through the use of various media. However, communication technology can have a negative influence on society. The distribution of false or misleading information is an example.
Propaganda: is the use of false or misleading information to harm someone or something. It is used to force others to accept certain points of views.
Economics Many people are employed in various communication activities. Writers, printers, broadcasters, technicians and engineers work in the communication field. Advertisements also help generate money for companies in the communication field. This helps keep the economy of our country growing.
Information Overload Overexposure is a negative part of mass media. You are often exposed to an excessive amount of information. A term for this exposure is information overload. Your mind is not accustomed to processing so many messages.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNICATION IN AMERICA:
Freedom of Speech: The concept of freedom of speech means that you can express your views without experiencing a negative or positive impact from that action. You may express your views up to a point. This is a very important privilege. Freedom of speech allows us to communicate.
Laws and Regulations: With the growth of communication, federal laws and regulations were created to control various media so that those media are not used in a negative way. These rules limit many communication efforts. These regulations are designed to protect you. Various laws ensure that the public is being served fairly.
The Federal Communication Commission, or FCC, regulates radio, TV, and telephone communication. The results of these regulations are quite evident. Tobacco advertisements cannot be broadcast on television or radio, obscene language is not allowed in most media, and advertisers may not show alcohol being consumed on TV commercials. These regulations help to protect society from what is considered harmful.
Copyright: Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
To reproduce the work in copies.
To prepare derivative works based upon the work.
To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.
To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. One major limitation is the doctrine of “fair use.”
Fair Use is the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.
Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright.
What Works Are Protected? Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. Copyrightable works include the following categories:
literary works;
musical works, including any accompanying words
dramatic works, including any accompanying music
pantomimes and choreographic works
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
motion pictures and other audiovisual works
sound recordings
architectural works
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”
What Is Not Protected by Copyright? Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded.
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.
Caveat: Titles may not be copyrighted, but if they are used to identify a business, good or service in the marketplace, they can be given trademark protection.
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship, for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources.
Assignment:
Create a video to reflect what you have learned today. Must include pertinent information from the above. Show me what you learned today! Get creative! You may use video clips, pictures, text, etc to make this 30-60 second video. Be sure to label each category in your Video.