MEDIA AND

INFORMATION SOURCES
Media as Information Source
• One of the primary roles of media is to
inform.
• An invaluable source of information.
• Information can come anywhere
virtually (media, blogs, encyclopedias,
etc.) and depends on what questions
users try to answer (according to
Library of Virginia)
 Indigenous Media
According to Oxford Bibliographies…

• Forms of media expression conceptualized, produced, and

circulated by indigenous people around the globe.
• Includes cultural preservation, cultural & artistic
expression, political self-determination, and cultural
sovereignty.
• A reflection of indigenous communities, used as a powerful
social movement catalyst (spark activism, promote
advocacy, source of empowerment, and encourage
community building among indigents)
 EXAMPLES OF
INDIGENOUS MEDIA
 Ethnographic Films
• visual manifestation of anthropological practice organized in a
linear moving media ( according to Matthew Durington)
• a non-fiction work that reflects the lives of indigenous people
following the documentary format.

Meaning has been a subject of discussion in the film industry:

• Ruby(2000) and Ruby (2005) – limited to productions by individuals
with anthropological training, preferably at a professional level
combined with media production background.
• Heider (2006) – any film can be considered ethnographic while
providing set of evaluative criteria to gauge ethnographic film for
both research and pedagogy
 Aboriginal Media
Imparja
• the most notable aboriginal media in existence
• run by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
(CAAMA) which is a commercial station intended for the
aboriginal population.
• the term means “tracks” or “footprints” in Central
Australian Language, Arrente.

Broadcasts aboriginal programs promoting awareness about the

concerns and issues of Aboriginal people, preserve the aboriginal
language, and culture through art, music stories, and dances (Ginsber,
1991)
Community Media
• independent, civil society based media that operate for
social benefit and not for profit
• a popular alternative to commercial media among
minority groups (indigenous community).
• Role: It makes up for its lack of commercial opportunities.
• a proponent of social responsibility and public
participation.
Social Movements and Community-Based
Organizations make use of Community
media for:
• providing access to information.
• a platform for raising their concerns
and aids in solving them.
• A medium for community discussions
• Makes public decision making possible.
 Traditional Media as Primary Source of Information
o Print – traced back to ancient recordkeeping intended to
teach the next generations about their history and
practices.
o Radio – break the barrier of distance that hinders the
travel of info from one place to another.
o TV - imported educational materials in the early
programming despite of commercial purposes.
People keep in touch with the world through
newspaper headlines, and news and current
affairs program. Examples are:
• Public relies on traditional media for
weather reports and updates in times of
natural disasters.
• Academic, Educational, & Scholar Societies
heavily lean on print media for research.
• The masses are exposed to multiple
subjects through feature articles and
magazine programs
 The Library as Source of Information
 Library – a place where books, magazines, and other
materials (videos and musical recordings) are
available for people to use or borrow. (according to
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary).
 Pew Research Center – showed annual decrease in
the number of people who have visited the library
aged 16 above from 2012-2015.
 Cataloguing System - makes searching easier for its
users.
The Internet as Source of Information
Three Key Aspects of Internet as a Source of
Information:
• Abundance
• Availability
• Accessibility
All these three combined accounts for internet’s
reputation as the leading source of info in the digital
age.
 MEDIA AND
INFORMATION LANGUAGES
CONTENT ANALYSIS
 According to Berrelson (1952),
content analysis is a research
technique for the objective , systematic
and quantitative description of the
manifest content of communication
It aims to decipher the real
message of the content, through
careful evaluation of the elements
found in the message
Content in this context can refer
to letters, diaries, newspapers content,
folksong, short stories, poetry, radio,
television programs, books, films,
documents or symbols.
 Devi Prasad explains that content analysis
confirms to three basic principles of scientific method.
They are:
• Objectivity
• Systematic
• Generalizability
 According to Holsti
(1968), content analyst’s
task is to draw inferences
about the sender(s)
message, characteristics
Ole R. Holsti of the message itself, or
the effects of
communication on the
audience.
 Purpose Questions Research Problems
To describe trends in
communication content
To relate known characteristics
What? of sources to the message they
produce
To check communication
content against standards
To describe characteristics of To analyze techniques of
the content How? persuasion
To analyze style
To relate known characteristics
of the audience to messages
To Whom? produced for them
To describe patterns of
communication
 Purpose Questions Research Problems

To secure political and military

intelligences
To analyze psychological traits
Why? of individuals
To infer aspects of culture and
To make inferences about the
cultural change
causes of content
To provide legal evidence

Who? To answer questions of

disputed authorship
To measure readability

To make inferences about the With what effect? To analyze flow of information
effect content
To assess responses to
communications
 The process of content analysis
answers Lasswells’s “Who says What in
which Channel to Whom and with
What effect” model of communication
Process involved in doing Content Analysis
1. Formulation of the research questions or
objectives
2. Selection of communication content
sample
3. Development content categories
4. Finalizing units of analysis
5. Preparing a coding schedule, pilot testing
and checking intercoder reliabilities
6. Analyzing collected data
 The Codes and Conventions in Media
 Codes- meaningful patterns into which signs are
conveyed
 Conventions- rules which describe predictable patterns

Codes and conventions govern the way in which

signs are chosen and combined.
Sources of the Message
The source in communication process is the origin of information. In their
book entitled Advance Studies in Media, Joe Nicholas and John Prince listed the
following as a source:
• News Agencies are organizations employing journalists to find and write stories.
These stories are then made available to any news organizations which pays and
annual subscription.
• Stories are written by a news organization’s own staff.
• Press releases are publicity statements released by organizations.
• Emergency services such as police, fire, ambulance, search and rescue teams are
valuable sources of information for incidents worth reporting on.
• Members of the public give good leads for stories.
• Another media refers to previously released materials which can be further
developed.
• Court the judicial system can provide compelling stories through court cases.
• Diary stories or coverage stories. Typically journalists cover public meetings and
events to produce a story.
• Contacts refer to a journalist’s connections in organization that willingly provides
alternative information provided by PR sources
 Audience of the Message
oMass Audience – refers to the mainstream
consumers
oNiche Audience – a small, influential
audience with a unique taste
 The abundance of information
creates the need for gatekeepers.
According to Maclean (1957),
gatekeepers filters the message
according to the needs of the audience
and media institutions. They determine
which information passes through the
communication process and those,
which are discarded.
Gatekeeper’s job happens in the
following level:
 Individual Level
Routine Practice Level
Communication Organization
Social Institution
Societies
 Laws and regulations govern the
media, like most industries. These
regulations keep them in check and sets
up boundaries for them to operate.
Examples of media regulators are:
• Government institutions
• Non-government organizations that
promotes media responsibility
• Associations of media producers