On the Use of the Mass Media for Important Things

TLDR

The study examines how different mass media are perceived to satisfy social and psychological needs, ranking them from newspapers (best for sociopolitical integration) to books (best for self‑knowledge), with cinema and books serving escape, television being the least specialized, and arranging the media in a circumplex of interchangeability. The authors aim to identify which media attributes best explain the social and psychological needs they serve. They analyze data from an Israeli survey to provide a basis for cross‑cultural comparison. Disciplines: Communication and Social and Behavioral Sciences, the article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/267.

Abstract

The mass media are ranked with respect to their perceived helpfulness in satisfying clusters of needs arising from social roles and individual dispositions. For example, integration into the sociopolitical order is best served by newspaper; while knowing oneself is best served by books. Cinema and books are more helpful as means of escape than is television. Primary relations, holidays and other cultural activities are often more important than the mass media in satisfying needs. Television is the least specialized medium, serving many different personal and political needs. The interchangeability of the media over a variety of functions orders televisions, radio, newspapers, books, and cinema in a circumplex. We speculate about which attributes of the media explain the social and psychological needs they serve best. The data, drawn from an Israeli survey, are presented as a basis for cross-cultural comparison. Disciplines Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/asc_papers/267 ON THE USE OF THE MASS MEDIA FOR IMPORTANT THINGS * ELIHU KATZ MICHAEL GUREVITCH