The Rise and Fall of Mass Communication

186 Pages·2020·9.683 MB·English

by  William L. Benoit, Andrew C. Billings

The Rise and Fall of
27
Mass Communication
W
Mass communication theories were largely built when we had mass media
i
l
audiences. The number of television, print, film or other forms of media li
a
audiences were largely finite, concentrating people on many of the same core m
content offerings, whether that be the nightly news or a popular television show. L
What happens when those audiences splinter? The Rise and Fall of Mass Com- . B
e
munication surveys the aftermath of exactly that, noting that very few mod- n
o
ern media products have audiences above 1–2% of the population at any one it
a
time. Advancing a new media balkanization theory, Benoit and Billings neither n
d
lament nor embrace the new media landscape, opting instead to pinpoint how A
we must consider mass communication theories and applications in an era of n
d
ubiquitous choice. r
e
w
C
. B
i
l
l
i
n
William L. Benoit (Ph.D., Wayne State University, g
s
1979) is Professor of Communication Studies at the
University of Alabama, Birmingham. He created and
applied image repair theory and the functional theory
of political communication. He has published over 15
Th
books; his H-index is 63.
e
R
i
s
e
a
Andrew C. Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999) n
d
is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the
F
Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the a
l
University of Alabama. He has published over 200 l o
journal articles and book chapters along with 20 book f
M
projects, the majority of which pertain to issues of
a
media content and effects. s
s
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
c
a
t
i
o
www.peterlang.com n
William L. Benoit and Andrew C. Billings
Cover image: © 2020 Wiliam L. Benoit
9781433164224_cvr_eu_SC.indd All Pages 05-Jun-20 22:31:29
The Rise and Fall of
27
Mass Communication
W
Mass communication theories were largely built when we had mass media
i
l
audiences. The number of television, print, film or other forms of media li
a
audiences were largely finite, concentrating people on many of the same core m
content offerings, whether that be the nightly news or a popular television show. L
What happens when those audiences splinter? The Rise and Fall of Mass Com- . B
e
munication surveys the aftermath of exactly that, noting that very few mod- n
o
ern media products have audiences above 1–2% of the population at any one it
a
time. Advancing a new media balkanization theory, Benoit and Billings neither n
d
lament nor embrace the new media landscape, opting instead to pinpoint how A
we must consider mass communication theories and applications in an era of n
d
ubiquitous choice. r
e
w
C
. B
i
l
l
i
n
William L. Benoit (Ph.D., Wayne State University, g
s
1979) is Professor of Communication Studies at the
University of Alabama, Birmingham. He created and
applied image repair theory and the functional theory
of political communication. He has published over 15
Th
books; his H-index is 63.
e
R
i
s
e
a
Andrew C. Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999) n
d
is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the
F
Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the a
l
University of Alabama. He has published over 200 l o
journal articles and book chapters along with 20 book f
M
projects, the majority of which pertain to issues of
a
media content and effects. s
s
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
William L. Benoit and Andrew C. Billings
Cover image: © 2020 Wiliam L. Benoit
9781433164224_cvr_eu_SC.indd All Pages 05-Jun-20 22:31:29
The Rise and Fall
of Mass Communication
Lee B. Becker
General Editor
Vol. 27
The Mass Communication and Journalism series
is part of the Peter Lang Media and Communication list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets the highest
quality standards for content and production.
PETER LANG
New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw
William L. Benoit and Andrew C. Billings
The Rise and Fall
of Mass Communication
PETER LANG
New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Benoit, William L., author. | Billings, Andrew C., author.
Title: The rise and fall of mass communication /
William L. Benoit and Andrew C. Billings.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2020.
Series: Mass communication and journalism; vol. 27 | ISSN 2153-2761
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020006005 (print) | LCCN 2020006006 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6426-2 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6422-4 (paperback: alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6423-1 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6424-8 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6425-5 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Mass media—Audiences. | Consumers’ preferences—United
States. | Mass media—United States—History.
Classification: LCC P96.A83 B46 2020 (print) | LCC P96.A83 (ebook)
DDC 302.23—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006005
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020006006
DOI 10.3726/b16805

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

© 2020 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
Table of Contents

List of Tables vii
List of Figures ix
Preface xi
Introduction: The Rise and Fall of Mass Communication 1
Chapter One: When ‘Mass’ Meant ‘Massive’: Cohesive Audiences and Heavy
Impact 17
Chapter Two: Partisan, Hostile, Fake, or Real: The Fragmentation of News 29
Chapter Three: Not ‘Must See’ for Me: The Balkanization of Entertainment 65
Chapter Four: The Customization of America: My Reality Is Not Yours 83
Chapter Five: The Illusion of Modern Mass Media: False Cultural Barometers
and Why Nothing Truly ‘Breaks the Internet’ 103
Chapter Six: “Don’t Tell Me; I’m Not Caught Up!”: Death of the Watercooler 125
Chapter Seven: Media Balkanization Theory: Axioms and Implications 143
Index 159

List of Tables

Table 1. Television Finale Viewership by Population Percentage 2

Table 2.1. Ratings and Population Shares (2019) 33
Table 2.2. Which Political Party Would Do a Better Job Handling this

Issue? 44

Table 4.1. Best Selling Albums of All-Time 93

Table 4.2. Top 10 Highest Grossing Tours of All-Time 95

Table 6.1. 2018 Top Ten Most-Viewed Programs on Netflix 133