America, 'Mass Society' and Mass Media

• Published in: Journal of social issues 1960, Vol.16 (3), p.3-66
• Main Authors: Bauer, Raymond A., Bauer, Alice H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cultural Values; Mass Media; Mass Media Effects; Mass Society; Popular Culture; Preferences; Social Influence; United States of America
• ISSN: 0022-4537; 1540-4560
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1960.tb00953.x

There is a considerable body of speculation & generalization concerning the relationship of mass media of communication to US society. It is felt that the one position of prominence which approximates a coherent theoretical statement is the so-called theory of mass society & mass culture. The approach adopted here is that of a parallel comparison of the `pure' form of the theory of mass society as it applies to the role of mass communications with the findings & the theoretical models of empirical researchers of mass communications. The accumulated evidence sharply challenges 3 premises that underlie the model of communications still held by the critics of mass society though abandoned by the researchers: (1) that informal communications play a minor role in modern society, (2) that the audience of mass communications is a mass in the sense of being socially `atomized,' & (3) that content & effect may be equated. The need for the engineering of present exp'al findings of communications res is demonstrated. The salient findings of all communications res is that virtually every message has a differential impact. Specification of the sources of differential effect of communications offers the possibility of much more precise prediction & analysis of the impact of the mass media. The most important effect which has been attributed to the mass media is that they bring about the long-range deterioration of moral values & cultural taste. However, the issue is not that the cultural level of the products of the mass media & the cultural taste of its patrons are low by some absolute standard, but that the level of culture & taste is lower than it was in the past in our own society. The theorists of mass society, confronted with ambiguous data, invariably interpret it in one predictable direction. The notion that US society is running downhill culturally, morally, & pol'ally does not stem from the ordinary type of data against which we would customarily test both the major & minor propositions involved. The overall schema derives from the values system of the critics of the mass society, & coherence can be found on this level only. In general the theorists of mass society hold to a relatively mechanistic view of soc process & soc org. The elements of elitism extend very deeply into the thinking & feeling of the theorists of mass society. The issue is that it is highly desirable to improve the quality of mass communications - which stands by itself apart from any over