The media is ubiquitous, deeply embedded in life and culture at local, national, and global levels. It entertains, teaches, informs, and shapes audiences’ perceptions of their lives and the world. Stories, in all their forms, are central to the media’s relationship with audiences. Through stories, narratives are constructed that engage and are interpreted by audiences. Representations of ideas, realities, and imagination are continually constructed, deconstructed, remixed, and reimagined with increasing technological sophistication, ease, and speed.
The context of media influences both production and audience reception. Contextual factors such as time, place, culture, societal attitudes, and values are reflected explicitly and implicitly in media products. Audiences consume media through this contextual lens, making the relationship between media and audience complex. Students will explore notions of influence, power, audience, agency, and the role of media in shaping views and values.
Technological developments have transformed media rapidly. The interplay between print and broadcast media and multinational-networked database platforms has created new opportunities for creative communication and redefined key media concepts such as audiences, forms, products, storytelling, influence, institutions, and industries.
Media audiences are no longer constrained by physical, social, and political boundaries. They are consumers, users, creative and participatory producers, and products themselves. This has dramatically increased communicative, cultural, and creative possibilities. The greater involvement of audiences has led to significant changes in the media economy and issues of content control.
The rise of social media platforms has accelerated the production, distribution, and consumption of information, raising questions about accountability, regulation, and influence. This growth has led to competition with traditional media forms and institutions. Traditional media continues to hold power and influence, evolving alongside social media platforms. Through the study of media, students gain a critical understanding of media and their role as both producers and consumers of media products. They examine how and why media constructs and reflects reality and how audiences engage with, consume, read, create, and produce media products.
