Media Effects. James Shanahan

and ideological) that have provided the frameworks for thousands of investigations into the simple question of whether the media have any meaningful effect. Communication theory, perhaps even more than other forms of social inquiry, is notable for the large number of theoretical explanations that have been put forward. This is especially true in media effects theory; along with the various theoretical accounts, there are differing views on how those theories should be grouped with each other. As we delve into these explanations in more detail, we will be looking for newer ways to reframe and synthesize the old debates, contrasting and comparing informational and ideological accounts with a perspective that puts narrative more toward the front.

In the rest of the book, we’ll pursue the following outline. Chapter 2 will put forth the differences that will be involved in what I term the “narrative” perspective. The roots of media effects theory in persuasion will be examined, along with the intellectual and scholarly background that can help us move forward. In chapter 3 we will take up the question of the impact of mediated violence, which became the archetypical issue around which media effects debates revolved. In addition to the many studies focusing on the imitative aspects of media violence, we look at a prominent research approach that brought in a narrative perspective. In chapter 4 we look at the role of media and social representation. The question of how media highlights majorities and deselects minorities in its presentation is an interesting way to examine the socially constructive power of media narratives. In chapter 5, we look at whether media play a role in social control. The chapter hearkens back to old ideas about propaganda, but with newer angles and some fresher results. Chapter 6 examines what is happening with media effects theory in the new media environment. We look at whether traditional theories can explain media that have moved on from their legacy formats, or whether something additional is needed. Finally, in chapter 7, we have an epilogue that brings us back full circle to the question of whether narrative adds something new to the media effects picture, and takes on the question of media effects, big or small.

Notes

1 US violent crime rates were 363.5 per 100,000 in 1970; in 2000 they were 506. The additional 142.5 crimes per 100,000 amounts to about a 0.14 percentage point difference in the chances of victimization. More recent numbers are almost back to where they were in 1970: 382.9 in 2017. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports. 2 https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/denver-post 3 The Project Gutenberg eBook, Frank Merriwell’s Backers, by Burt L. Standish http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39433/39433-h/39433-h.htm#CHAPTER_I 4 Katz and Katz, in the above-cited paper, mentioned some useful but not much developed ideas in this regard, particularly in regard to cultivation theory, to be discussed below.