Media Studies as an Important Academic Discipline - Essay Example

Why is Media Studies an important academic discipline? Media studies in the times of today have attained a lot of importance. The reasons for the same is that media has literally changed the way people think, feel and act in day to day lives. The role of media studies has been pretty fundamental to the basis of understanding a society or a culture and this cannot be denied its due role in the related scheme of things. Media studies are being taught in a number of colleges and universities around the world since these institutions have come to know of the importance of this discipline with the passage of time and thus all out efforts are being placed on imparting timely education of media studies. The basic field of media studies or media sciences as one might inter relate the two terms is to make sure that there is complete harmony of understanding the different media related regimes when it comes to getting the message to the right people at the right time and in the right capacity. The media contributes to public opinion and provides understanding of the news. The media entertains us, watches government and social institutions, and gives the public information for debate and discussion about local and international affairs. The role of media in the world of today is unparalleled, so much so that it literally overshadows the extent of impact any other field of life or work can have. Media manipulations thus also are quite rampant and would remain in the thick of things until a sense of responsibility and fair play is brought into this scenario. Thus this issue brings to light the task played by the spin doctors with the passage of time. These people are basically biased towards a cause, an event or have a set objective to start with. Media has a huge role to play in any country’s day to day activities and the mannerisms in which it usually deals with the people living in a region or country for that matter. (Curran, 2000) Its role cannot be denied its due right especially since it can literally make or break the cultural values and traditions of any country. When we speak of media studies, we must remember that it is composed of a number of subsets namely advertising, film, television, print, animation and so on and so forth. Media communications demands a lot of word of mouth approach that essentially takes into consideration the fact that the more people are happy and satisfied with the brand and its related associations, the more they will buy it again and again as well as encourage their near and dear ones to take that step of having the eventual purchase on their part so as to give satisfaction to their own selves and thus indeed benefit the brand and more than that the company itself in terms of its business. But then again it is all about having positive associations here than disappointing a gender that is usually not that well presented in the ads, the result of which is in the form of wrath from all female quarters, no matter they hail from the rich strata of the society or are a part of the poor society values. These media communications cannot be understood by the media fraternity if it is not well versed with the terms and relevant techniques which are taught under the banner of the media studies or sciences as we might speak. (Felski, 1996) Continuing with the discussion on media studies, we find that the sub fields of media like advertising is indeed the non-personal communication of information which is usually paid for and persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. This is all the art of selling and it comes under the heading of marketing and for marketing to happen in the first place, advertising is of fundamental importance. Without advertising, marketers can only think of their product lying on the retail outlets waiting for angels to come and satisfy themselves. People need to be told the plus points of their brands (by the company) so that they actually go out and make the eventual purchase which in all fairness, not an easy job for the company, say that is producing a shoe polish which does not stick on to the shoes as much as do the other competitor shoe polishes already available in the market. But more important is the fact that the messages need to be designed in such a manner that they do not offend any particular segment of the society. Also they need to be fine tuned in order to make them stand out from the clutter but then again this is not a consumer prerogative but one thing that has to be understood from the company’s point of view. If the customers do not know or are not given the liberty to comprehend the different features of the brand which is being advertised by the company, they would not make that valued effort on their part and hence the company will be the one to suffer in the end and no one else. (Rayner, 2004) For the company to see their brand thriving big time in the market with competitors having little or negligible business, it needs to build upon a base that it can erect its structure so that when the wind blows, it does not hamper the smooth business of this brand at all. Therefore, one pivotal role is played by persuading these very customers and consumers into making that vital purchase and for that they need to be given the space that they want and more importantly so the insight and understanding and not to forget the knowledge about this very brand that would make their brand sell and competitors’ brands to stay on the shelves when the moment of truth hits the retail chains all around the globe. Media studies ensure that all these aspects are taken care of and no point seems missing from the relevant discussion. The role of media studies is raised even further when we find that it has such an important bearing on the organizations’ business that they cannot think of surviving without the intervention of different vehicles of media. The aspect of media representation raises an important pointer here. The reason for the same is that media is portrayed in different manners and ways in each and every society and/or culture of the world and hence the differences seem pretty much natural. Therefore media is being represented in different ways all over the globe. It might be free and open in one society while at the same time; the role of media could be taken in a conservative fashion. The same demonstration of media values could be altered so as to make people feel at home with its varied undertakings. The idea however is the same in the whole discussion and this is one interesting aspect when one speaks of the whole ideology of media and the related media studies as well. Media representation can raise a number of political and ethical debates around the world and the most significant aspect here is to make sure that no one gets offended in terms of his/her religion, the value hierarchy system, cultural traditions and so on. This would guarantee that the openness of media has got absolutely no bearing on the media’s portrayals of different things from time to time. The role of media organizations is that of a responsible one. It must make sure that media values and beliefs systems remain in check and there are no hiccups in the wake of the different problems and related factors that arise from time to time. Media organizations have to thus keep a complete check of what is happening around them and how best they can change the stance of the different happenings and events in a manner which would not alter the positives that have already been drawn for the common man and woman on the street. The sensationalizing aspect of media has to be toned down to lower levels since the responsibility of these organizations is immense in the whole discussion related with the media organizations. Having media studies as an academic discipline within a college or university guarantees that the students know about these problems beforehand and that they must make room for a number of changes that will be made in the method of their thinking and eventual working regimes. The manner in which media is taken in by the different audiences is also a significant aspect of the way in which students must be taught about media as per the media studies. This means that media studies can really pave the way for a better tomorrow as well as guarantee that the students know what they are getting into and how tough and difficult the media world could be for them. This also brings us to the discussion of media reception where instances of giving out a message have been taken in a totally different vein by the people which can become a real problem as far as the media reception is concerned. This can happen when there is a lot of clutter within the media vehicles or within programs or when the audiences are being overdosed with a number of similar ‘me too’ packages. This highlights the fact that copying each other could eventually account for each and every party’s loss and the industry overall is a loser in such a scenario. In the end, it would be suffice here to suggest that the role of media could only be highlighted in a positive manner when students have the relevant knowledge before they enter into the media world. They must know about the different media undertakings and that they should be ready for the frontiers that lie ahead for them. (Murphy, 2003) The surprise factor must be minimal and the efforts that should be put in by them must exceed any other thing. All said and done, media studies forms the basis for a solid beginning of a student since he can never actually fall back and start from scratch. He knows what he is doing and hence this can form as a point of advantage for him in the tough times. Proper media studies make sure that students remain committed to their future jobs and there are no procrastinations at any point in time. The future of media studies is indeed very secure. BIBLIOGRAPHY CURRAN, James. (2000). De-Westernizing Media Studies. Routledge FELSKI, Rita. (1996). Gazing at Gender: Recent Work in Feminist Media Studies. American Literary History, Vol. 8 MURPHY, Patrick D. (2003). Global Media Studies: Ethnographic Perspectives. Routledge RAYNER, Philip. (2004). Media Studies: The Essential Resource. Routledge Word Count: 1,764 Read More