International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Altheide and Snow (1979) were the first to use the term “media logic” to identify the specific frame of reference of the production of media culture in general and of the news in particular. They define media logic as a way of seeing and interpreting social affairs. Elements of this form of communication include the various media and the formats used by them. Formats consist, in part, in how material is organized, the style in which it is presented, the focus or emphasis, and the grammar of media communication ( Altheide & Snow 1991 ). The underlying idea is that of a dominant form, a representation of reality, and content definitions to which media producers conform (→  Media and Perceptions of Reality ). By identifying these “formats” it is possible to better understand what lies behind the process of media production. According to Altheide (1985) , formats are also relevant to issues of the social influence of the media, for they affect the perception of reality acquired from the media. The production processes of media raw materials normally imply a certain extent of standardization, reflecting the goals, traditions, and routines of a given media organizations and an adaptation to the demands of the audiences. Media organizations maintain a set of specifications, which may be economic, technological, and cultural, to assure that content produced and distributed responds ... log in or subscribe to read full text