Mass Communication, Popular Taste and Organized Social Action By Paul F. Lazarsfeld & Robert K. Merton

This aged essay has been reprinted many times but still provides a lot of good information on how mass media influences our society. In this essay, the authors do not explore the question of whether the media influences individuals or not. Instead, they focus on broader issues of the media’s power in society. The authors take on a different approach and analyze this idea in a different way. They suggest that the real power in the media may not be in causing people to make major changes in their lives, but rather the power the media has to give a certain status to individuals and groups (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 1).

I’m sure we can all agree that there is a lot of concern with the influence of mass media. As the authors point out, the mass media is so powerful as if it has some sort of “magical power.” The authors concisely list three main concerns with the media. The third concern that they discuss is a bit complex but raises interesting and unique points. The third source of concern is what the authors refer to as “a concern with the social role of mass media is found in their assumed effects upon popular culture and the esthetic tastes of their audiences” (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 2). They demonstrate that whatever is significant in popular culture is based on the common desire of the population. In other words, whatever pleases the audience becomes an important aspect of mainstream culture.

I believe this third concern is very relevant especially in contemporary society. Whether the matter is positive or negative, whatever is a common desire of the viewers will affect popular culture. For instance, hip-hop is not only a popular genre of music; it is a dominating culture that has been a part of popular culture for decades. Any type of change to this culture will instantly influence the audience. Specific language, clothing, hair styles and dance moves are all aspects of hip-hop culture that easily influence the public. Since viewers heavily admire this specific type of culture, they are automatically influenced by what the culture is presenting to them.

In order for us to fully understand the enormous influence of the media, the author states that “approximately seventy Americans attend the movies every week, our daily newspaper circulation is about forty-six million, and some thirty-four million American homes are equipped with radio, and in these homes are they listen to the radio three hours on average” (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 3). When reading these statistics, readers can really see how huge the media’s influence is if they have not before. When I read these statistics, I automatically thought to myself this is exactly why I became a Communication and Sociology major. The mass media’s enormous influence on the world is fascinating. Although we can all agree that this influence is big, like the authors mentioned the different concerns and types of influence are still debatable.

The authors remind us that the many different types of media, whether it is movies, television, newspaper or radio; all serve the purpose to entertain. Since the mass media can be considered a form of entertainment, we are required to consider the impact of the mass media on popular taste (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 9). The authors also suggest that propaganda for social objectives refer to the conditions for the effective use of mass media. Researches indicate that monopolization, canalization and supplementary are all elements that need to be considered when discussing propaganda (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 12). The authors make very interesting relations between all of these concepts. I think that what makes this essay so gratifying is the complex yet intriguing connections the authors make. When we think about mass media, we often debate if it has an influence or not; but the more significant matter which is discussed in this essay is the broader issues of the power of mass media.