COMM 2P98 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Digital Research, Max Horkheimer, Commodification

• School: Brock University
• Department: Communication Studies
• Course: COMM 2P98
• Professor: russelljohnston

Document Summary

Logi(cid:272) of ad(cid:448)ertisi(cid:374)g affe(cid:272)ts : the kinds of media outlets available, the cultural products available in the marketplace. Modern media outlets are designed around consumption practices. Audiences cannot simply be aggregates of interested citizens they (cid:373)ust (cid:271)e aggregates of interested consumers. An audience without consumer spending power attracts little advertising investment and thus few targeted media outlets. Dallas smythe (1977: communications-blindspot of western marxism, canadian journal of political and social theory (1:2, 1-27) In reality, a means to distract citizens from the levers of power. Smythe: audience becomes the profit; commodifies us. Alienation of labour: labour is the property of employees, labour adds value to ideas/materials, employees paid fixed rate for labour, owner/stockholder earn unlimited profit. Alienation of audience: attention is the property of individuals, attention adds value to media content, audience paid nothing for attention, media outlets earn unlimited profit.