After reading chapter 1, I was intrigued by the review questions.

Via Media and Culture : “Explain the limitations of the old linear model of mass communication” (Campbell, Martin, Fabos).

In the past, mass communication was viewed as a linear model. This meant that messages were derived from the idea that there was a one-way model of communication in which the message sent was received in the way it was intended to be. In the linear model of mass communication, a “sender” sent out a message, which then travelled through “channels” to reach its anticipated “receiver”.

While the linear model was informative in practice, it can be seen as irrational to assume that a message takes on a linear path when being communicated. Nowadays, messages are rarely received in the way that senders intend them to be, and with the rise of selective exposure, some messages never reach their intended audience. Additional obstacles such as gatekeepers add to this phenomenon.

The audience that receives the message has the liberty to interpret the message to fit their own belief systems and values. This references the idea of the more modern cultural model of mass communication in which the intended audience chooses how they interpret the messages they receive.