Question : Ross and Nightingale argue ‘audience research is a vehicle for monitoring the impact of both the mediatisation of human senses and the industrialisation of the productive capacity of the media’. Using examples briefly discuss the term mediatisation.
Media Audience and Mediatisation
Mediatisation is very important to discuss today as this has become a source of information of political and societal information among the audiences. Thus, this essay is about the media audiences and mediatisation which will discuss how audience research affects both mediatisation of human senses and media’s productive capacity. Along with that we will also see what mediatisation is actually, difference in mediatisation and mediation phases of mediatisation, Mediatisation and the media audience and research of audience research on mediatisation (Hepp, 2011).
According to media studies, the theory related to the shaping and packing of media processes and the communications related to politics as well as society is called mediatisation. Mediatisation at the heart of the politics refers to social change process. It makes the media autonomous from political actors and institutions. This also increases the influence of media over processes, political actors and institutions. Mediatisation is a very big field which can be related to social activities, politics etc. Initially, mediatisation was just a hierarchy of two monarchies in such a way that the ruler keeps his title and local powers.
Mediation is nothing but just a process of transmitting message through different media. Mediation doesn’t directly influence the political processes while mediatisation directly influences the politics. Mediation even doesn’t directly relate to the media. Mediation of politics is the first step of mediatisation (Schroder, 2007). Thus, mediatisation is directly related to the politics and media while mediation is not.
There are mainly four phases of mediatisation. When the mass media is the most important source of information and communication medium between the political actors and agencies then that is the first stage of mediatisation. The second phase of mediatisation is when it becomes independent of government and politics means it started governing the media according to the logic of media and the media logic becomes more influencing and important. Mediatisation continues its dominancy and a most important source of information and communication media for different sections or parts of the society in the third phase of mediatisation (Stromback, 2010). In this phase, media is still perceived external for political actors but political actors also recognizes the necessity of logic of media. In the fourth phase of mediatisation, actors of politics and society adapt the logic of media and the news value which is predominated. In the fourth phase, these factors also become the internal factors.
There is a big relationship between media audience and mediatisation as both impact each other. Mediatisation increases the knowledge of politics and the awareness of society among the media audiences. People come to know about the political situation of the country and the problem of society. People find the solution and their sole responsibility towards society, country and environment etc. Media audience also helps the mediatisation in many ways, like, it helps the mediatisation in growing which helps in gaining various types of experiences from media audience. Thus, both media audience and mediatisation impact each other in many ways.
Audience research is a very good tool in mediatisation and the industrialisation of the productive capacity of media (Mediatisation of politics, 2014). Audience research actually tells the real time experience of the people. Audience is a real time entity which can provide the data related to what audience actually feels and experiences. Sometimes the theories may become wrong up to some extent due to negligence of various other factors. The impact of these factors may only be experienced by the real time consideration. This real time consideration can be experienced by only researching the audience. To enhance the capability of media, audience research is a main factor to help the media to find those factors which are not considered. Audience research also helps the media and mediatisation of human senses to improve. Media experiences the knowledge about the human senses and thinking. The different human behaviour on any political issue and society matter can be experienced (Slideshare, 2013).
The above essay is the result of various studies and research. Mediatisation is related to the political as well as societal issues in the world of media. It has a great influence on society and audience. Audiences come to know about the political factors and their society problems which help the people to find their sole responsibility for those problems (Schroder, 2007). Mediatisation also gets the help from audiences by experiencing their response and behaviour on the particular problem or situation.
References
Hepp, Andreas (2011). Mediatisation, Media Technology and the Moulding forces of media [online]. Available at: http://www.andreas-hepp.name/Blog/Eintrage/2011/5/26_Paper_auf_der_ICA-Tagung_und_mehr_files/Hepp.pdf [Accessed: 15th January 2015].
Mediatisation of Politics (2014). Defining mediatisation [online]. Available at: http://mediatization-of-politics.com/defining-mediatization/ [Accessed: 15th January 2015].
Schroder, Kim (2007). Mediatised Politics: Political Discourses and the media in Contemporary Danish Democracy Available at: http://www.nordicom.gu.se/sites/default/files/kapitel-pdf/12_059_070.pdf [Accessed: 15th January 2015].
Stromback, Jesper (2010). Four Phases of Mediatisation: An analysis of the Mediatisation Politics [Online] Available at: http://www.socsc.hku.hk/sigc/gc2012/pdf/Reading%20Materials_Taiwan/Lecture%207_Four%20Phases%20of%20Mediatization.pdf [Accessed: 15th January 2015].
Slideshare (2013). Media Audiences introduction [Online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/alevelmedia/media-audiences-an-introduction [Accessed: 15th January 2015].
