15 Question about Media & Communications

1) Media conglomerates use vertical integration and horizontal integration to dominate the media landscape in the United States. Please explain the difference between vertical and horizontal integration and provide an example of how a media conglomerate uses both to create successful media products. Be specific.

2) Mean World Syndrome provides an in-depth look at the lifelong work of communications scholar George Gerbner. What exactly is the “mean world syndrome” that Gerbner coined, and how do news programs, scripted televisions shows, films and video games contribute to this mean world? What are some of the ramifications and consequences of the new “mean world” that we live in?

3) Mickey Mouse Monopoly examines the unique, important and potentially dangerous role the Walt Disney Corporation plays in childhood entertainment and the formation of culture. What does the film say about how a media company’s status as a corporation can influence how it constructs reality and fantasy? And how can these constructions in turn shape perceptions? Please provide specific examples from the documentary to support your answer.

4) As you watched in The Machine That Made Us, the invention of the moveable type printing press had a profound effect on the course and fate of humanity. How exactly did Johannes Gutenberg come up with the idea of the printing press (what was his influence and what set of circumstances led to his invention) and what were some of the immediate effects it had? Provide specific examples.