| Ranger 2006-10-05, 8:08 pm |
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Walter Mitty wrote:
quote:
> "Ranger" <hayes12@fadmail.com> writes:
>
>
> Would you care to explain it?
I thought it was rather obvious. Programming implies people don't have
a choice in the matter on whether or not to accept opinions/tastes
popular in the mass media. Computers are programmed. Influence is
more subtle. People will tend to listen to Top 40 music since it gets
the most playtime. If people don't hear a garage band in town "x"'s
music, they can't like it because they never heard it (even if they
would love it otherwise). The Top 40 hit reaches a broader audience
than the garage band, and hence, it sells more. However, people can
choose to like it or hate it at will. This works with any form of
media you want to name. The idea/product with the most publicity sells
more in most cases simply because more people have heard of it. I
highly doubt you go into a music shop and pick up a bunch of CDs at
random and buy them. You'd at least like to know a thing or two about
what music those CDs contain. And chances are, you'll pick up stuff
you heard before. Chances also are that there is stuff out there you'd
love that you haven't heard on the radio or seen on TV. You may find
out about it by some other means than the mass media, like word of
mouth.
The mass media uses *indirect* methods to shape beliefs/start trends in
the population. That's influence (as opposed to programming, which
implies direct control).
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