As I was reading through chapter 1… just in time for tonights lecture, I might add. The whole concept of “Elitist vs. Populist” really jumped out at me. First I thought that the notion was a brilliant idea, but then they just left us hanging, I mean who are these people? I understand that the elitists are concerned with the amount of power that the media has and wishes that the media would take up some responsibility and control the information and views that are presented. On the other hand, the populists are completely endulged in the media and believe to be all mighty and true. But then that is all, they do not provide us with any information, so I have been left wondering is it possible to move from one end of this theory to the other? Does it allow for people’s opinions on the media to change. Personally, I think that most people’s opinions should change as they age and become more aware of the patterns and systems that the media is using. For example; teens in high school seem to appear far more involved in the music, movie and TV industries, yet as they age and start to realize the faults in the media do they not seem to move from watching music videos to listening to records. It seems to me thats what my friends did as they left high school and moved on to MUCH better things, but that is not the point. All I really wanted to say was that this theory is intriguing but from what has been presented in the text book it seems to falls short.
hey I just read your blog and I agree with your coment about having to cange our opinion and what types of media we indulge ourselves in as we age and move though life. I think this is where we could pull in demassification and how it means that media is not trying to reach the largest possible audiences and are going after more narrow segments of the population.
I think that as people age they do get more aware of the errors the media makes in what is presented. Although if you tune out all or most media then there is a good chance that you will be “out of the loop” with the latest innovations in the media world.