Conditions of Media Effectiveness: Lazarsfeld and Merton say three conditions are required for media effectiveness: monopolization; canalization rather than change of basic values; and supplementary face-to-face contact. Monopolization occurs in the absence of mass media counterpropaganda. It exists not only in authoritarian societies but also in any society in which there is an absence of countering views on any issue, value, policy, or public image. Sometimes this near or complete absence is illustrated by the fact that when a “sacred” institution is questioned by the media, the article or program becomes the center of a storm of controversy and is remembered years later as an outstanding exception to the norm. An example is the CBS documentary “The Selling of the Pentagon,” which raised the question of what were termed “improper military information activities.” Many critics of the documentary generalized their criticism and said the program was an attack on the […]
Conditions of Media Effectiveness
