University Assignment: Mass Communication and Popular Culture Analysis

This assignment solution delves into various aspects of mass communication and popular culture. It begins by analyzing media bias, exploring how news outlets may lean towards one end of the political spectrum and the factors contributing to this bias. The solution then discusses Marshall McLuhan's perspective on media's impact on cultural identity and convergence. It also examines the core mission of journalism in the digital age, the roles of CRTC, and 'CanCon', and how Wikipedia functions as a self-correcting medium within participatory new media. The document explores the role of hyper-local news sites, the contributions of Ivy Ledbetter Lee to public relations, and the changing landscape of news aggregation and consumption in the modern era.

Running head: MASS COMMUNICATION AND POPULAR CULTURE
Mass Communication and Popular Culture
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Answer 1)...................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2)...................................................................................................................................2
Answer 3)...................................................................................................................................3
Answer 4)...................................................................................................................................3
Answer 5)...................................................................................................................................3
Answer 6)...................................................................................................................................4
Answer 7)...................................................................................................................................4
Answer 8)...................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Answer 1)
News media leans towards one end of the political spectrum and it have the tendency
of favouring the governing political parties in the country. They have the tendency of offering
support to party who are in the incumbent government and the kind of the news that are
portrayed over the various news platforms are inclined in favour of the party that is in the
center (Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca., 2020). The preference of the news media towards the
ruling dispensation occurs on account of the fact that they feel that it will help them in getting
the favours that can pave the path for the success of their establishment. News media feels
that it can help them in becoming popular among the people that can help them in making the
profits. There are various factors that contributes to bias in the news media in the present age.
The biasedness is caused on account of influence of government that causes the news media
to report fake news. There also exist the market forces which paves the path for biased
presentation of events on the various kinds of platforms of news media.
Answer 2)
The evolution of mass media would create the way for lesser identification of the
individuals with the cultures and it would bring about the cultural convergence in the present
age. The proliferation of various forms of mass media would enable the people of one nation
to know about the cultural practices of the other countries that would make them bring about
the modifications in their own way of living. The growth of mass media would create the way
for globalization that would be responsible for demolishing local cultures along with
traditions. The stories are flowing with the emergence of various kinds of media platforms
that is creating a cultural exchange in between the different cultures in the world. It would
remove the barriers that exist in between various countries of the world and bring about the
cultural assimilation of the various nations in the world.

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Answer 3)
The radical changes have taken place in the realm of technology along with
economics of the journalism since beginning of new millennium however mission of
journalism have remained same in present age. The primary purpose of journalism is
providing the citizens with information that can help them in making best decisions regarding
their lives, community and governments. Purpose of journalism cannot be defined by
technology as the principles of journalism are dictated by the basic function of keeping the
people informed regarding current events and issues that are taking place in the world. It acts
as an important means that wants to provide empowerment to informed people so that they
can take the just decisions within the framework of the society.
Answer 4)
CRTC stands for Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
that helps in taking care of the fact that Canadians get access to world-class communication
system which promotes the innovation in Canada and enriches the lives of the people in the
country (Crtc.gc.ca., 2020). It aids in the implementation of laws along with regulations
which is set by the Parliamentarians who creates the legislation which sets the policies in the
country. ‘Can Con’ refers to the conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and
Literature which acts as a public venue for featuring speculative fiction writers and editors of
Canada. The two main objectives of CRTC in the Canadian media is to sustain and promote
the culture of Canada so that they can achieve the economic objectives. It also helps in
fulfilling the mandate by the supervising of Canadian broadcasting so that it acts in the
interest of the public.

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Answer 5)
Wikipedia is referred to as self-correcting medium as the articles which are presented
on Wikipedia improves with the help of various kinds of contributions. The people can make
the changes that they feel is necessary and this have helped Wikipedia in evolving as an
example of fine art. The community responds to the edits that are being made on the platform
and they revert back or question the changes that are being made on the popular platform
(Steen-Johnsen, Ihlebæk & Enjolras, 2016). It proves to be efficient and it helps in making
constructive efforts that helps in improving the quality of the matter on the platform. It can be
said to be related to rise of participatory new media as it takes cognizance of various kinds of
perspective and opinions of the people that can be said to be the framework of democratic
media. The audience plays an important role in the analysis of dissemination of content in
Wikipedia that can be said to be related to ethos of new media which believes in citizen
journalism that ascribes power to the citizens.
Answer 6)
Hyper-local new sites have been taken recourse to in various kinds of journalistic
schools that have helped in providing education to the new journalists. An example of a
hyper-local site is DallasSouthNews.org that provides various kinds of news related to
politics, education and real estate (Dallassouthnews.org., 2020). It can help in providing the
new online approach that can help in providing the essential lessons to the new journalists. It
can help in strengthening their networking of the journalists that can help them in becoming
successful professionals in the future. It have been found that topics that are covered by the
hyper-local news sites vary widely and this can act as a boon for the new journalists. The
information that is posted by the hyper local news sites are accurate which can help in
delivering the valuable lessons for the future journalists.

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Answer 7)
Ivy Ledbetter Lee was the founder of the modern public relations who is renowned for
the public relations work with that of Rockefeller family. He made a name for himself with
the help of establishment of Association of Railroad Executives that helped in providing
public relations service to industry. His “two-way street” principle of the public relations that
talks about the fact that role of public relations is to help clients in listening and at the same
time communicating messages to the public (Nicholls et al., 2018). The philosophy that was
espoused by him talks about the significance of public relations that can raise awareness
among the people.
Answer 8)
There have been a change in the arena of news aggregation as the people in the
modern age do not seek the detailed coverage but they want to consume the news headlines
along with the information bites. The people in the present age do not have the requite
amount of time at their disposal that can help them in going through the entire lengthy news
but they are rather interested in getting snippets about the news that can help them in staying
relevant in the present age (Xenos et al., 2018). The role that is played by the aggregators can
decrease concentration of the user news browsing and it can help them in finding the new
outlets which are suited to the interests of the reader. It can help them in becoming informed
regarding quality of wider range of outlets that can be instrumental in increasing overall
consumption of user. The behaviour of new consumers of the present age have changed as
they want to get the news from the diverse sources that can help them in ascertaining veracity
of the information in relation to a news (Youtube.com., 2020). It can help them in getting
various kinds of perspectives that can help them in reaching a logical conclusion.

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References
Crtc.gc.ca. (2020). Info Source: Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information |
CRTC. Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/about/sources.htm
Dallassouthnews.org. (2020). Dallas South News – Using News to Make Dallas Better.
Retrieved 19 April 2020, from http://www.dallassouthnews.org/
Nicholls, T., Shabbir, N., Graves, D., & Nielsen, R. (2018). Coming of age: developments in
digital-born news media in Europe.
Steen-Johnsen, K., Ihlebæk, K. A., & Enjolras, B. (2016). News on new platforms:
Norwegian journalists face the digital age. The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered:
Democratic Culture, Professional Codes, Digital Future, 190-209.
Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. (2020). Media Bias in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 19 April 2020, from
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/media-bias-in-canada
Xenos, M. A., Scheufele, D., Brossard, D., Choi, D. H., Cacciatore, M., Yeo, S., & Su, L. Y.
F. (2018). News media use and the informed public in the digital age. International
Journal of Communication, 12, 19.
Youtube.com. (2020). Retrieved 19 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_sC3iUa1YGo
Reading Material
Chapter 7: New Media: The Internet Revolution
Chapter 9: Media Industry
Chapter 8: Advertising and Public Relations

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