Cultural Effects Model

The cultural effects model

The view that the media are powerful in so far as they link up with other agents of socialisation to encourage particular ways of making sense of the world.

Strengths:

• Recognises the power of the dominant class to influence content of the media.
• Recognises that media audiences are not passive absorbers of media messages – they can and do respond differently to media content.
• Recognises that although the media generally present a biased, ideological view of the world, they don’t always have the same effect on media audiences.
• Recognises that the media are likely to be a key influence in shaping people’s view of the world. This is likely to happen over a long period of time rather than immediate and short term.

 

Weaknesses:

• The model gives too much emphasis to the active role of media audiences.
• Assumes media personnel like journalists work within the frameworks and assumptions of the dominant ideology.