Blog Eleven: Locating Myself Within the Field of Communication

I see myself specifically within the mass communication discipline as I plan on writing for the media in the future, whether that be as a journalist or within public relations.  Media communication includes “newspapers, magazines and other forms of print, cable, radio, television, film and new media technologies such as the internet.” (natcom.org) I am personally concerned with newspapers, magazines and the internet as media in particular, because in writing articles and press releases, these are the primary forms through which information is conveyed and also the forms that represent threats to one another in terms of the journalism industry.

            A number of scholars have written on journalism as a form of media communication.  Susan Brockus writes about journalism’s role in perpetuating the attitudes and ideas that society holds through writing.  She says that journalism “traditionally has assumed a role in relating to the maintenance and evocation of a society’s values”.  (Brockus, 1)  Essentially, Brockus focuses on journalism’s ability to share meaning through verbal communication and to enforce society’s ideals through this medium.  She discusses how journalism is becoming a shrinking industry because of the presence of other technologies that are easier to access and that provide readers with information that they can derive their own meaning from.  Wilma Stassen further elaborates on journalism’s role in communicating to the public and its need to be fused with or replaced by other forms of media, such as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.  While journalism provides society with a presentational form of communication that spins events and emphasizes a particular view or opinion, social media “allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content” that permits readers to form a relationship in which they are meant to respond and not just simply accept information. (Stassen, 5)

            I would like to expand on research already done in the field and figure out exactly why less people read newspapers and magazines, and the opinion they have of the views typically expressed.  It would be interesting to see if people perceive journalism as enforcing a certain set of democratic ideals and allowing no room for personal feedback, or if technology that allows easier access to information is the deciding factor in whether they read newspapers or not.  I would also like to look into if writing and is as effective at conveying a message as speaking is, considering there is no verbal communication in writing.

            I see myself continuing the work of these scholars by critically analyzing journalism and its limitations in assuming that all people will perceive an event the same, and, in that matter, implying a lack of heterogeneity amongst audiences.  I would also assess the representations that the media puts forth within its writing and how they have both conditioned and perpetuated what is and is not acceptable. I plan on going to gradate school for journalism and actually applying what I have learned using information that I gather to ensure that the messages encoded within my writing are received and comprehended. 

Bibliography:

Brockus, Susan. "Rethinking the Reader's Role in Community Journalism." Rethinking the Reader's Role in Community Journalism. 50.4 (2009): 1-6. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.

National Communication Association. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <http://www.natcom.org/>.

Stassen, Wilma. "Your News in 140 Characters: Exploring the Role of Social Media in Journalism." Global Media Journal 4.1 (2010): 1-16. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.

Blog Ten: The Relationship Filtering Model

I find Duck’s Relationship Filtering Model very interesting as it ties into everything that we have learned about communication as transaction.  It relates to our tendencies to form relationships based on our ability to understand people, similar to the idea that people like people who share their general system, or codes, for understanding meaning.  Basically, the better we can relate to or understand how others think, the better we are able to communicate and create deeper meaning.  Duck’s model suggests that the goal in determining the formation of relationships is to figure out the other person’s way of thinking, or thought structure. As the filters become more based on a greater knowledge of another’s internal structure, those who pass become the people who we choose to form a relationship with.  Because we need others to confirm our worth and value, and to support our identity and actions, the filtering usually applies to those “who do not appear to support your ways of seeing the world or confirming self.”  (Duck, 19)  This idea of needing approval and reinforcement of identity connects to why people form identities in the first place.  It makes me wonder if we use relationships to validate ourselves, and form relationships only with those that will agree with our ways of understanding and applying meaning to the world.  After all, psychological similarity is they key and last filter in the model that someone must pass through in order to become a friend or lover.  The chapter does not mention successful relationships formed between people that have no psychological similarities.  It would be interesting to look into other models and to see if different factors are used to see if and how relationships are formed, without the basis of similar mindsets.   

Blog Nine: Evaluating a Communication Article Related to Our Interests

Interest: The role that communication plays in relationships

Article: The Difference in Nonverbal Behaviors and How It Changes in Different Stages of a Relationship

Authors: Tracy Prinsen. Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter

      A. Relevance to Communication Studies and Theory

The article addresses the importance of nonverbal communication in romantic relationships and how nonverbal affection changes throughout the stages of a relationship.

      B. Review of Literature

1. The authors used findings and cited literature that indicated that there was a correlation between body language and the quality of a romantic relationship, particularly dependent upon age and sex.  Ex) “It has been found that unhappy couples seem to display more unhappy facial expressions than other couples…it has also been found that older married couples display lower frequencies of responsive listening than middle-aged couples”.  From this literature, the authors concluded that body language and nonverbal communication are two important components of a romantic relationship that change in different stages and are different based on your sex.

2. The authors developed their research questions based on the literature they already had.  They even say, “it seems to be that most of the research already done on this subject looks at the differences between men and women.”  The authors then use this and tie it into their study that assesses the five different relationship stages/how men and women respond to and use nonverbal communication.

     C. Concept/Methodology

1. Some questions that the authors designed are as follows:  What are the differences between men and women/how they answered the nonverbal questionnaire passed out?  How did the individuals in the five different stages vary in their answers to the nonverbal questionnaire?  How did the five different stages differ in their affectionate communication toward their partner?

2. The authors clearly map out their method:  A questionnaire was handed out to college students enrolled in introductory communication courses at a Southwestern University to assess nonverbal participation in a relationship.  145 students participated and 69 were men and 76 were women.  There were 32 freshmen, 41 sophomores, 32 juniors and 38 seniors.  The mean age was 20.52 and the age range was from 18-37.  54 participants were in a casual relationship, 31 were in an exclusive relationship, 48 were in a long -term relationship, 6 were living with their partner and 6 were engaged/married.

3. The method was appropriate as it addressed gender, age, and the stage of the relationship by surveying men and women of different ages and involved in different stages of relationships.

4.  The method was properly executed in that a survey covering how people respond to and use nonverbal communication was passed out to the proper participants.  The method reflected the research questions regarding sex, gender, and stage of the relationship in how nonverbal communication is expressed.

5.  The sampling was appropriate in that it covered a range of ages, surveyed both men and women and included people who were in different romantic relationships.

      D. Findings

1. The findings were clearly reported: There is a big difference in nonverbal communication depending upon the gender/stage of relationship.  The findings were organized by question and how many people of each group in a certain stage responded in a certain way.

2.  The findings were interpreted through the use of words as well as through the use of charts, graphs and data tables.

3. The study used the review of literature to expand upon theories of nonverbal communication in relationships that already existed and proved the link between age and the stage of a relationship in how body language is expressed.

4.  The authors admit that their study was limited in only surveying college students and also in the accuracy of the questionnaires themselves.  They admit that participants may not have been truthful.  Future research directions that they mention are the inclusion of race, culture and expanded age groups in research and also not simply surveying participants but observing as well.

       E. Stylistic Issues/Quality of Writing

1. The language is easy to comprehend but uses language specific to the field.  It is not pretentious or confusing.

Blog Eight: Metaphors

When thinking of a metaphor, I instantly relate it to poetry and using analogies for comparative purposes.  After reading Fiske's chapter on signification, it is clear that metaphors are not simply creative ways of describing things, but the idea of understanding one thing in terms of another.  The use of a metaphor "to express the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar" (Fiske, 92) ties into communication's need to create a common understanding.  A metaphor is a component of constructing a shared interpretation through what we know and how it can be described to convey what we don't know.  Fiske says that a metaphor "exploits simultaneous similarity and difference" (92), meaning that we use a referent that we already have to find a connection, or reference, through noted similarities or differences of something that we are familiar with.  Context and culture play a large role in this as our personal and cultural experiences impact how we interpret meaning.  I never realized how metaphors don't just stand for themselves but create understanding.  By applying more physical qualities to complex things, we use metaphors to "make sense of abstractions...by embodying them in concrete experience" (94).  This shows that society uses language as a vehicle to come to an understanding and that we use words to better our grasp on signs and symbols.  Metaphors connote a meaning through their shift of qualities from one thing to another.  I disagree with Jakobson  in arguing that "metaphor is the normal mode for poetry" (Fiske, 97) because, while metaphors may require more creativity and imagination to transfer qualities and to construct an idea of the unknown, it allows us to form some reality involving the unknown and can be useful outside the realm of poetry.