HUB Model Summary

 

  1. Communicators – conceive, produce and distribute messages
    1. Large corporations
    2. Specialized personnel
    3. Removed from audience, no/little direct contact
  2. Codes – message is encoded for greatest impact, efficiency
    1. Print message coding – great variety of layouts, virtually infinite: (books, newspapers, magazines) paper choice, size, color of paper and print, B&W vs. full color, white space, photographs, glossy/newsprint
    2. Electronic media coding – genre, production style, camera angle, use of music, dialog/narration, production value. 
  3. Gatekeepers – internal arbiters of content, executives, program directors, lawyers and increasingly advertisers and sponsors have input/influence over what content is allowed to be disseminated.
  4. Mass media – the media themselves, the technologies used to distribute messages. 
    1. Greatly influence each other, growth in one threatens another (direct broadcast satellite threatens cable, cable affects TV, TV effects magazines and newspapers, etcÉ)
    2. Constantly changing and converging.  Cell phones less than 10 years old in terms of common use, Mozaic web browser (pre-dates Netscape) was first available here in 1994.  New media impact existing media.
  5. Regulators – entities outside of the media that influence or regulate media content
    1. Formal regulation – FCC – broadcasting and telecommunications technology, content, ownership and practices.  FTC – trade and advertising issues such as truthfulness of ads.
    2. Informal regulations – organized groups, organizations or individuals who attempt to influence content.  Industry related trade associations (MPAA) often self regulate to avoid government intervention (MPAA [movies], beer industry, hard liquor industry]). Consumer groups boycott or affect change through lobbying lawmakers.
  6. Filters – audience ÔbaggageÕ that influences reception of messages.
    1. Socioeconomic status, education level, political view, religion, history, family, etcÉ
    2. We bring many factors to our media encounters and those influence our response to mediated messages.
  7. Audiences – we encounter and respond to the media as cultures, groups, individuals
    1. Simplest measures – ratings, an attempt to count the number of readers, listeners, viewers.
    2. Deeper research attempts to measure effects of mass media on us
  8. Effects
    1. Immediate, short term, long term
    2. Arousal, emotional, attitudinal, behavioral
    3. Individual, group, culture
  9. Message is a mix of content and style
    1. Media Amplification – message is given heightened importance simply by appearing in the media. 
  10. Feedback – receivers (audience) response to mediated messages
    1. Delayed
    2. Inferred
    3. Estimated
    4. Inaccurate? (donÕt tell anyoneÉitÕs the industryÕs dirty little secret)
    5. Measured numerous ways