The Medium Is The Message

Authors use various styles of writing to appeal to different types of audiences. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and “The Most Dangerous Job” by Eric Schlosser both utilize ethos, pathos, and logos writing styles to convince the audience of their ideals. An author uses ethos in writing to show his/her credentials and explain why he/she is credible. Pathos appeals to an audience’s emotions and makes the audience feel sympathy or pity. The author draws feelings out of the audience and compels the audience to feel what the author wishes them to feel. Logos uses facts, statistics, historical and literal analogies, and quotes from authorities on a subject to convince the audience with logic or reason. Upton Sinclair and Eric Schlosser have the goal of exposing the corruption in the meatpacking industry, but the authors develop their arguments through similar and contrasting approaches.

This is a result of media globalisation and transnationalising audiences emerging in a globalised society today. Media globalisation is a phenomenon that causes us to be understood

The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.

Mass media has experienced many major developments over the past hundred years. As the manner in which media is communicated to the world evolves a definite shift to American culture has occurred in the process. Mass media has undergone numerous changes in the way it is distributed to the general public, going from newspapers, to radio, to television, and now to the World Wide Web. American culture is so ingrained in technology, that distributing mass media in this format seems like a natural step in the evolutionary process of distribution.

Marshall McLuhan, who was a Canadian communication theorist, was very much interested in technology and how it shapes the advanced modern society. His very famous theory was “the medium is the message” which means that the resource used or mode through which they are presenting shows the message, not really the content. This theory then leads to how technology is seen as an extension to human senses. McLuhan stated, “Media have powerful effects on societies. Moreover, media become extensions of ourselves; extensions of our human senses” (Laughey, 2010, p. 33). Just like the way our eyes see, our nose smell, our skin feels and our other senses have their function, McLuhan emphasis the fact that technology is the extension of our psychological, social and intellectual (inner) senses. In relation to Television as a technology, McLuhan would agree that technology is an extension to our human sense due to the fact that in recent days it is something that is used everyday. Humans use

One rhetoric tool which is used to empower the media’s reporting is one of Aristotle’s appeals – ethos. Today, although it refers to our ethics, credibility and trustworthiness of information, it is said to more accurately refer to image. In journalism, ethos is often portrayed in tone and style in the article.

Writing skills such as selection and slanting are often used by the press in reporting news. The role of the media is to inform the public on what is going on since we live in an era that information is the driving force of economic advancement. In Birk and Birks essay, they describe the criteria and pattern that is used by the press in their news development, which is selection, slanting and charged language. Selection is a way we formulate an idea based on

When Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” back in 1967, we were facing a very different society than we are today. His focus was of course on the mediums of the time: radio, newsprint and television. Mark Federman, a Chief Strategist for the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology asserts in his article, What is the Meaning of the Medium is the Message? (2004), McLuhan was not speaking directly about the medium itself. His thought process went to a deeper level. Federman “note[s] that it is not the content or use of innovation, but the change in inter-personal dynamics that the innovation brings with it” that is the issue. In a world that we can now access hundreds of thousands of bits of information in milliseconds, we can certainly see a shift in media influence. Today we can actually watch events as they unfold, whether they are events for a greater good or events of horrific acts of terrorism, technology has enabled society to be omnipresent. Melody Thompson (2011) refers to Jaron Lanier in discussing how technology shapes our relationship to itself. She notes that Lanier believes technology imposes on us its own viewpoint and that shapes our decisions. In a world where we live with a 24 hour news cycle and news stations that can skew their reporting to send the message they want their viewers to hear, it is quite prophetic when Lanier states “it

Marshall McLuhan’s phrase is meant to convey the fact that it’s the medium itself that is important, not what the medium may produce. Anyone may have a piece of print in their hands, and it doesn’t matter what they’re actually reading, the fact they have a piece of print is important. The evolution of technology has allowed multiple mediums of communication to br brought into the world. These various mediums of communication; newspapers, phones, radio, televisions, and computers, are so important for the world.

Does globalisation imply cultural homogenisation? Your answer should consider specific and local global media examples and should include reference to the Appadurai and McChesney article in the course reader.

1.) Of this week’s reading the articles, The Medium is the Metaphor the author and Media as epistemology by Neil Postman draw on the fact that present American culture is entirely devoted to entertainment and today’s media-metaphor shift has led much of our public discourse to become nonsense when it does not sever its sole purpose to entertain. Postman also went on to explain on what he means by the term epistemology with the help of some words from epistemology.

Globalization and American Media to me is the mass production of media that is released worldwide such as film, books, and anything dealing with social media. However, after viewing the video Professor Driver posted on Blackboard my definition is incorrect. According to Professor Driver, the United States does not have the strong influence I was familiar with however it is actually the reversed thinking. This idea is intriguing and would love to learn more about this and how exactly the influences are acquired. Finally, I learned from this video of what is expected from me as a student and what I can achieve with hard work.

McLuhan’s claim that “The Medium is the Message” signifies that the approach of a transmitted message does matter. The reason as to why is that it affects how it is obtained by recipients which can manipulate their overall perception. This dominant form of communication also influences the substance in modifying how we interact and behave alongside our values and norms. These effects happen to stem from numerous definitions of media and its content for users such as hot (filled with information lacking in participation to think and active engagement furthering passive behavior) and cold (short of data requiring mental activity to be involved) media. Ultimately, this assertion pinpoints the role of media ecology in that mass media is the sole foundation of cultural life in society.

“The medium is the message,” uttered by the late media scholar and theorist Marshall McLuhan, and they have been revered and dissected ever since they were spoken. There has been several different interpretations on the premise of McLuhan’s words, and the meaning behind them. The best way to start unraveling his theory, is to get a general understanding of the terms used in his famous quote. In McLuhan’s own words, a medium is simply “an extension of ourselves.” Simply put the medium personifies or enhances what we as humans cannot do on our own. In a mass media perspective this means the use of technology including radio, television, and the Internet to project our thoughts, feelings, and senses (Frederman) . Finally, it is important to

Mass media is a media intended for a large audience. It may take the form of broadcast media, as in the case of television and radio, or print media, like newspapers and magazines. Internet media can also attain mass media status, and many media outlets maintain a web presence to take advantage of the ready availability of Internet in many regions of the world. Some people also refer to it as the “mainstream media,” referencing the fact that it tends to stick to prominent stories which will be of interest to a general audience, sometimes ignoring controversial breaking news. Many people around the world rely on this form of media for news and entertainment, and globally, it is a huge industry.