Mainstream vs. Community Media

Mainstream media and community media differ in their monetary background, their audience, and their motivation. 

Mainstream media organizations have large budgets and are backed by multinational corporations (Disney, Bertelsmann, AOL Time-Warner, NewsCorp, Viacom, Vivendi Universal, etc.).  Community media organizations take funding from a variety of sources including local government, donations from the public, and sources such as PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  The different funding sources mean that the operating budgets for mainstream media vastly overshadow those of community media.

While mainstream media and community media both attempt to reach the same audience (the public), mainstream media’s audience is typically much larger.  Mainstream media reaches people across the world.  Community media doesn’t have the same types of distribution networks that mainstream media have.  Community media typically focuses their distribution on a specific locality and rarely distribute content for worldwide consumption.  The reasons for this difference have to do with the different budgets of mainstream and community media (see above) and the different missions of the media organizations (see below).

Mainstream media produces content for one reason: to make money.  Whether the content is a movie, TV show, radio show, or news broadcast, the mainstream media organization exists because the parent corporation believes that it will make money for the stockholders.  If a show doesn’t get ratings that will attract advertising revenues, then the show is cancelled.  This is true of Reality TV, Sit-Coms, Soap Operas, News programs, game shows and all other TV programming.  Movies are only produced by major media companies if they believe the movie will make a profit.  Community media wants to attract viewers just as much as the mainstream media does but their primary focus is delivering content that is of interest to the population they exist to serve.  Often, they wish to provide an alternative viewpoint to that delivered by the mainstream organizations.  Public access TV and radio allow members to produce their own content.  Independent film festivals provide a venue for filmmakers to bring new concepts to the big screen (concepts that haven’t proven their monetary worth and, therefore, fall outside the realm of what mainstream media will produce).  Community media organizations are routinely used to disseminate alternative political messages that differ from what mainstream media’s monetary backers wish to have disseminated.  Community media allows more viewpoints to reach the public because, in many cases, their mission includes neutrality of opinion.  Mainstream media may be unable to deliver a certain viewpoint because it would cause corporate sponsors to pull funding.  The mainstream outlets may reach a wider audience but they must always keep an eye to their pocketbook or they may lose their ability to reach that audience.  Community media exists with guaranteed government funding and the donations of viewers.  Rather than serving the interests of large corporations, community media must answer to their audience because they are funded by that audience.

‘Bones’ turns to ashes

************SPOILERS TO FOLLOW*************

I was extremely disappointed by the season finale of the show Bones.  This show had some great acting, great characters, and interesting science driven stories.  The season finale “The Pain in the Heart” was definitely not up to par with the rest of the series.

The problems with this episode were not with the actors.  Coming in to this episode, the audience was awaiting the resolution of agent Booth being shot.  The writers took what could have been a great storyline and put it to bed in about 3 minutes to be ignored (except in the childish banter by the psychiatrist Sweets).  Moving on from there, the writers continued the story arc begun in the season premier: Gormagon.  The staff at the Jeffersonian had been trying to pin down this serial killer cannibal up until the writer’s strike.  The writers could be forgiven for casting off the Booth shooting plotline in favor of movement on the season story arc but what they did with it was badly done and unforgivable.

The main story elements in the Gormagon plotline for this episode were OK.  A mandible is delivered to the lab.  Zack gets blown up.  The silver skeleton is stolen from the Gormagon vault.  All good developments for a season finale.  They should have left it at that, given the fans a cliffhanger and come back with a blockbuster season premier.  Instead, they killed the show.

The writers decided to make Zack Gormagon’s apprentice and explain that his rational mind led him to believe that killing people, letting his “master” eat them, lying to his friends, and planning to run away to hide it all was a perfectly rational series of things to do.  These were very out of character and were badly explained.  They should have developed this a bit more (like in the three episodes since the writers’ strike).  Little hints.  Small bits of evidence related to Gormagon surfacing in each episode leading to the big finale.  Frankly, so much time had passed due to the writers’ strike that I had completely forgotten Gormagon until they brought it up in the finale.

Another major problem was that Gormagon himself was a complete non-entity.  This was very uncreative on the part of the writers.  In interviews, they stated that they wanted to shake things up and end with a big shocker.  Well, the best way to do that would have been to make Gormagon a recurring or main character and then make Zack the apprentice.  Get rid of two characters (there’s the shakeup they wanted) and make Gormagon a formidable opponent.  Heck, he eluded them all season and then we see him on screen for all of 10 seconds in which he gets shot and that’s the end of that storyline.

The stolen skeleton is ignored after the discovery of it’s theft.  Zack obviously didn’t steal it.  He was busy blowing himself up.  So, who stole it and how.  Usually on Bones, the writers would provide a tidy explanation for how things were done (kind of reminiscent of the way Murder, She Wrote episodes used to end all neat and tidy).  This time, however, they decided to get out as fast as possible and ignore the depth and detail that fans of the show have come to expect.

To top it all off, the writers decided to have Zack’s character plead insanity and be sent to a mental institution allowing for the possibility of him being included as a guest star in later episodes.  They really should have sent him up the river.  We’ve seen (on this show even) how a character’s incarceration doesn’t limit their ability to be involved in the story any more than being in the loony bin will.

Overall, this episode was about 4 times shorter than it needed to be to tell the story the writers came up with.  Bones is a show that has always presented science and investigation piece by piece to the viewers.  This episode was more like a summary.  The detail and depth usually present was completely lacking.  It seems like the writers’ no longer wanted to be involved in the show.  They effectively killed off the show – not by getting rid of a major character but by getting rid of the style, science and overall personality that made the show what it was.  They effectively lobotomized the show and thrust it on stage.

The only redeeming factor in this episode was the acting.  Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Tamara Taylor, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne, and Eric Millegan did an excellent job with the drivel they were given.  Kudos to them and I hope they all find great gigs after this show disappears from the airwaves due to the lassitude of the show’s writers.

I’m not sure I’ll return for Season 4.  I loved the series until this episode.  I love the actors.  But, I have better things to do with my time that watch a show that the writers so clearly don’t want to write.

Finale

So here I am at the end of the semester and I’ve blogged about 13 separate items of media.  What have I learned from my examination of these myriad media messages?  By looking critically at some of the media which I’ve encountered during the course of the last few months, I have learned that much of the media I’ve encountered has similar motivations. 

FreePaulJacob.com, Project for the Old American Century, WeCanSolveIt.org, and the Media That Matters Film Festival all focus on politics and social issues.  They each tell their story in a slightly different way but the common theme here is that all of these media outlets want the viewer to understand the motivations of those producing the media.  

Metropolis could also be placed in the political and social category.  Despite being made eighty years ago, the social commentary and examination of the divide between the economically advantaged and economically disadvantaged rings true today.  

While Poetry of the Native American Indian, The Onion, Saturday Night Live and Disney’s High School Musical are created primarily for entertainment purposes, they also manage to include political and social undertones in the message that reaches the viewer.  The messages in these are subtler and are almost subliminally received.  These media sources require a more trained eye to see the agenda of the media creator.  In addition to being harder to analyze, these sources of media also reach huge audiences and those audiences contain many people untrained in analyzing media.  The messages reach unwary eyes and ears and sink in shaping thought and feeling without the knowledge of the viewer.

The anomalies in the media I encountered are Virtual CSI:NY which is created for both entertainment and advertising purposes, irishRugby.ie and the Mayhem RFC Minneapolis website which are both created for advertising purposes and the maintenance of the fan base of the sports teams.  The final anomaly is Guardian America which is created to inform.  Guardian American could also be said to have a political agenda.  The politics of the organization are subtle and are not an overtly intended message on the part of the media creators.

The media I encountered was diverse but all of it had a purpose.  Most of the media sought to sway opinion regarding politics or social issues but some also sought to sway opinion about products or sports teams.  The connecting theme I found in all the media is that all media wishes to sway the opinion of the viewer to some purpose.  The purposes are diverse and the methods used to convey meaning are dependent upon the intended audience.  In order for the viewer to understand the message and maintain control over their own opinions, they need to examine the messages they receive in order to determine what the media creators want the viewer to take away.  Then, the viewer can decide whether they agree with the creator or not.

Media That Matters

1: Media being reviewed

Media That Matters Film Festival

2: How I encountered the media

I encountered the festival through my media lit course. After visiting the festival’s website, I discovered that many of the films had been sent to me by friends who saw them on YouTube.

3: My general impression

The Media That Matters Film Festival brings important issues to the fore. With unique imagery, honest storytelling, and a frank examination of some of the most controversial and engaging issues facing the world today, the films featured bring to light viewpoints that do not always make it past mainstream media’s censors.

4: Who is communicating, and why?

The film festival is presented annually in June by an organization called Arts Engine. The organization was formed to create social issue documentaries. One of the organization’s projects was the Media That Matters Film Festival which is based online and reaches a vast audience. Aside from the motivations of the festival’s producers, the messages are also communicated by the people who create the films. Each of these filmmakers has a different motivation to create a documentary about their social issue. The issues covered by the festival include: criminal justice, economic justice, environment, family & society, gay/lesbian, gender/women, health/health advocacy, human rights, immigration, international, media, politics/government, racial justice, religious freedom, and youth.

5: What type of text (or medium) is it?

Most people will access the films through an online interface. The films themselves are short films.

6: How is it produced?

The films are produced using a variety of filmmaking and editing techniques.

7: How do we know what it means?

The Media That Matters Film Festival is available for viewing on a website. That website includes information about the motivations of Arts Engine and why they feel that short films highlighting current issues are important. The filmmakers use imagery and story to inform the viewer what the film means. Each film also has information and links associated with it that help the viewer to understand the issue and to find more information.

8: Who receives it and what sense do they make of it?

The films are readily available on YouTube and other places on the Internet. With this ready access, the media reaches many people in the developed world. Each person viewing the films will make their own sense of what they view depending on their knowledge of the issue being presented and the amount they want to look into the issues they are not familiar with. The videos are created in such a way that, for most, it is easy to tell what bias the filmmaker has and the message they wish to convey.

9: How does it present its subject?

The subject is presented using new technologies available on the Internet in order to reach the largest possible audience. The design of the festival website utilizes a layout that allows for easy navigation while incorporating enough graphic interest to keep the eye visually stimulated.

10: Links/images

Media That Matters Film Festival

YouTube Media That Matters Channel

Saturday Night

1: Media being reviewed

Saturday Night Live

2: How I encountered the media

I first encountered Saturday Night Live while I was in high school.  I, like many others, became engaged by this series.  Now, I try not to miss an episode.

3: My general impression

Saturday Night Live is a tour de force.  The series is one of the longest running in television history and has launched many blockbuster careers.  There is always a biting social commentary included in the comedy and often issues of the day that are frustrating are lightened and given focus by this amazing television show.

4: Who is communicating, and why?

The show was originally created by Lorne Michaels and he is still involved.  The comedians get to do a lot of the writing but at the end of the day, NBC is responsible for the programming that makes it on screen.  The show is designed as an entertainment but it also has a definite focus on current events and the US government.  Common characters appearing on the show often are the current president, vice president, congressmen and any other public official who makes it into the news.  The prevalence of public officials in the lineup of characters allows the show to examine and play with current social policies and the motivations of our political leaders.

5: What type of text (or medium) is it?

This is a “live” TV show.  On the east coast, the show is broadcast live.  There is a broadcast delay for other time zones.

6: How is it produced?

The show is filmed in front of a live studio audience.  There are sets and costumes similar to a live theatre performance but the show is being filmed and broadcast on television.

7: How do we know what it means?

Given the conventions of the comedic form, the viewer can interpret the meaning of the different sketches.  Some of the sketches are simply for entertainment.  Others have a statement about society, our election process, or the integrity of politicians.  Understanding of the meaning beyond the comedy requires the viewer to be familiar with the comedic form and its conventions.

8: Who receives it and what sense do they make of it?

This show is received by millions of Americans, Canadians, and people all over the world.  Most people who view the show are able to grasp the comedy involved in making light of social conventions unique to the United States.  Most are also able to grasp the political satires that are broadcast.

9: How does it present its subject?

The subject is presented in a short skit format.  There are numerous skits in one episode and each can have its own meaning.  The skits are short, funny, and often repetitive helping the viewer to interpret and understand the intent.

10: Links/images

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live//
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live