Media, Popular Culture, the relationship

Media and Popular Culture.

Media and popular culture go hand in hand; one does not exist without the other. Popular culture or mainstream culture refers to behavior and artifacts accepted by the majority of the population. It evolves or changes with time, within different contexts and to varying degrees within cultures. These are enacted during the course of their daily interaction with the society in which they live. Media refers to the tools through which communication and by extension knowledge transfer. Media comprises print, broadcast, electronic and internet forms used in transmission.

In order for popular culture to exist it needs to be transferred across cultures, society and geographic areas. Media provides the means of this transfer as it has the ability to cover vast expanses of geography at any given time. This ability in knowledge transfer facilitates the ever changing characteristics of popular culture. Without this transfer ability popular culture would simply be another culture bound by tradition and geographic restrictions. 

Media in its various platforms propels changes in behavior and symbolic representation almost simultaneously toward their particular niches. Individuals who are print and those in electronic can be fed the same elements of popular culture, which can focus their attention or points of view in the same direction. This facilitation allows for popular culture to occupy the main areas of human life across the various demographics which comprise the modern society.

In early times the main source was print and broadcast media, which at the time was appropriate for cultural transfer. With the advancement in media and through the internet in particular has morphed the changes in culture transmission in a split second, with the individuals being encoded where ever they are located.

For popular culture to continue mass media has to its major partner, simply because of its communicative ability. Without this it would fail to exist or be restricted to even smaller segments of society.

Can popular culture exist outside the realm of media? 

Can its effect be as pronounced within society?

Media and Communication

What is communication?

Communication can be described as being the transfer of information between two or more individuals. The result of this transfer can be positive or negative, where culture plays a significant role in the translation of the transmissions. It is meant to educate and inform the participants.

Communication can be between individuals, institutions or a combination of both. They can persuade, inform, and be casual or serious depending on the context. 

Media is one of the prominent agents of communication in todays’ society. They transfer information to wide sections of the population with every publication or broadcast. Media content is set by the editorial policy, which is set by the owners and carried out by the employees. The content can be political, religious, social, and financial or gender specific based on the audience. 

In Trinidad and Tobago the media carries content that covers a variety of topics which target specific segments or the general public. The content communicated comprises local, regional and international news items. The content is transmitted at specific times during any given day to achieve the maximum effect. Content such as news, entertainment, sports and culture occupy the majority of what is communicated.

News communicated comprises of local, regional and international items such as crime, politics, human interest and sports. Entertainment is mainly international with a few items being local and regional to a lesser extent. Sports features are somewhat equal between local, regional and international. Culture occupies seasonal transmission throughout the year. However western culture and or pop-culture is at the core of what is communicated via entertainment.

Communication as a means to inform can influence what individuals do or not do, meaning it can affect their lives based on how the transmission is received and understood. Communication as described by many scholars, influences human interaction and donates how we understand the human experience. 

Media, through what it communicates has the ability to shape human interaction and the society in which it occurs. The context in which media communication occurs has relevance on the society and maybe understood as the thought of its members. Many decisions are made based on what is communicated by the media; the result of the 2010 general can be seen as a reflection of what media can be used to communicate.

What is Communication? Is it different within the Media?

Media Ownership

Who owns the Media?

The question to the average individual signifies the person or persons who to use the local terminology “those who run tings”. The individuals who sign the big checks, those who chart the course for the workers have to follow.

However in today’s business environment that may mean the owners living in a different local, government or the public.

In Trinidad and Tobago owners include government, journalists and corporations, who control all forms, the print, radio, television, cable and internet.

The owners as in all businesses determine what products are offered to the public. The content that is offered is reflective of those at the helm and their view of what is important and what’s not.

In terms of the media that is under governmental control, it is believed that they reflect the views of the government of the day. What are the views of the administration can be seen through the content that is distributed. An example of this can be seen in the production of the GIS (government information system unit). The programs reflect the highs of the government and avoid their lows. For those who attempt to differ, the results can be pronounced. Fazir Mohammed formerly of the CNMG media house appeared to suffer from going against the grain when he asked what were perceived improper questions of a Government official. A question thou, is it not the governments’ role to be in service of the people?

Those under private control have to satisfy the interest of the shareholder groups. They produced content that is reflective of this body of individuals. Content from these houses may be varied and cover a multitude of topics. These can range from religious ideals like IBN, entertainment such as Synergy TV, news and current affairs as those on CNC3, CCN and CNMG. They can align themselves with who so ever they wish as well as oppose the same way. CCN played a major role in the lead up to the last general elections where their stories were thought to be against the Manning administration. In many quarters in was felt that they were aligned with the PP coalition, where they were given a lot more coverage than the incumbent administration.

Media globally is thought to free and fair, my question now is there such a Media house which is not tainted by some view or movement? Can they exist in an environment and produced content that is free of bias?