IIMC Digital Media Notes

Normative theories of press are theories that seek to establish the ideal role and purpose of the media in society. These theories are based on normative assumptions about how the media should function and what values they should uphold. There are four main normative theories of the press which include authoritarian theory, libertarian theory, social responsibility theory, and Soviet Communist theory. Authoritarian theory: This theory assumes that the media should be controlled by the government or a ruling elite to maintain social order and stability. The media is viewed as a tool for propaganda, promoting the interests of the ruling elite, and ensuring that the populace is kept in line. Supporters of this theory argue that the media should be subservient to the state and not challenge the status quo Libertarian theory: The libertarian theory emphasizes individual freedom and the free flow of information. It advocates for the media to be free from government control and interference, ...

 Definition: Communication is the process of transmitting and receiving information, ideas, thoughts, or messages between two or more people through verbal or nonverbal means. Elements: Sender: The person who initiates or starts the communication. Message: The information or idea that is being conveyed. Channel: The medium through which the message is transmitted, such as face-to-face conversation, email, or phone. Receiver: The person who receives the message. Feedback: The response or reaction to the message. Process: Encoding: The process of putting the message into a form that can be communicated. Transmitting: The act of sending the message from the sender to the receiver. Receiving: The act of receiving the message by the receiver. Decoding: The process of understanding the message. Interpreting: The act of assigning meaning to the message. Responding: The receiver's reaction or feedback to the message. Scope: Intrapersonal Communication: Communication within oneself, such as...

 Media can be understood as text, which means that they are composed of signs and codes that convey meaning.  Signs are anything that can be used to represent something else, while codes are systems of signs and rules for combining them. In media, signs can take various forms, including images, sounds, and words.  For example, a photograph of a person can be a sign that represents that person, while a sound of a car engine can be a sign that represents the presence of a car.  Codes, on the other hand, are the systems of rules for combining these signs to create meaning.  For example, the code for the English language is a system of rules for combining letters and words to create meaning. Media texts use signs and codes to convey messages and meanings to their audiences. These messages can be explicit, such as the news report on a current event, or implicit, such as the symbolic meaning conveyed by the use of certain colors in a film.  The interpretation of ...