Media discourse refers to how the media frames issues and generates discussion among audiences. It can be categorized by publication type, written or spoken media, topic, and unconventional or nontraditional speech. Media discourse can also have an effect on society and is influenced by guiding principles and ethics. It varies by region and can be used to promote a particular point of view or convey information objectively. Online media often includes user-generated content and lacks traditional editing and proofreading.
Media discourse can be broadly understood as any way in which the media, including news outlets, publishers, and others, frame certain issues and generate discussion among audiences. In a sense, all media favor some sort of discourse simply as a function of its essential nature. Another way of putting it is that the media wouldn’t be media if they didn’t disseminate information at a certain angle or through a particular lens. Breaking down specific types can be a challenge, but it’s often easier to think in terms of broad categories. The publication type is one; different media publish and disseminate their work in different ways, from printed volumes and online blogs to radio and television broadcasts. Differentiation based on written or spoken media is also sometimes instructive. Other scholars look at the discourse in terms of its effects on the wider society, or study it based on the guiding principles or wider ethics of its reporters and participants. Much of the discussion is necessarily regional and depends very much on the prevailing customs and traditions of both media actors and information consumers.
Understand speech in general
Speech itself can be understood in different ways. For one, it may simply refer to the way individuals and groups communicate. On a deeper level, however, it can symbolize the thought and belief systems that shape how individuals understand and interpret the world. Media-driven discourse in the first sense would include the various outlets that individuals in the media use, such as newspapers and magazines, television, radio, and the Internet. If discourse is understood as the beliefs that drive media output, then principles like objectivity or ideological bias might best describe it.
Individuals filter local events and happenings through various lenses; some of this is determined by personal experience, but a lot is also determined by how the information was presented to them in the first place. This can include subtle cues or emphasis on certain details, and can also include things like tone of voice and choice of words. The means of delivery is very important.
Average by subject area
One of the simplest ways to differentiate types of media discourse is to categorize them by topic. Some stories or conversations might look at issues from a political point of view, where the complex factors that make up social decision-making prevail. Others may operate from a financial or economic point of view. Often a different column is used to report the lives of famous celebrities and human interest news.
Written and oral communications
In understanding media discourse as various means of communication, it is common to divide the category into two broad areas: written and spoken. Some examples of written texts include newspapers and magazines. The articles found within these publications are individual examples of discourse, and the advertisements can also be considered a form of discourse. Radio and television, on the other hand, rely primarily on spoken discourse, such as news broadcasts, although television outlets often make use of visual tactics such as location shooting and on-location interviews.
Unconventional or non-traditional speech
Modern scholars often group online media into its own category, often under the “unconventional” or “nontraditional” banner. Some also call it more generally “new media”. The discourse that takes place here is also often very important for the way it distinguishes itself from more familiar forms of publication. It often happens in real time and has the ability to broadcast to a global audience almost instantly. Demand is often faster than style, and this type of report often lacks the careful editing and proofreading that are the hallmarks of more traditional outlets.
Online media communications also often welcome — and are sometimes driven by — the participation of a wider audience. This is often known as “user generated content” and can include anything from comments to added videos and personal weigh-ins. In these kinds of scenarios the discourse is often seen as incredibly fluid, and often very much reflecting the mores and feelings of the people participating in it.
Effect on the larger company
Media discourse can also be seen as the effect a media presentation has on the wider society. Social and personal beliefs could have an impact on the semantics, or choice of wording, of a particular article, for example. Similarly, media distributors can use factors such as tone to skew information for a particular effect on the audience. Political media often promote discourses favoring conservative or liberal principles based on the ideals of their journalists or the designations of their financiers.
Guiding Principles
Many of the principles and ideals governing media distribution vary from region to region. In some places, ideological groups use the media to promote a particular point of view. If the media is more opinion oriented than fact oriented, this type of discourse may be prevalent. Another type of discourse is valuing objectivity in news gathering and dissemination, where the media conveys information without bias or bias. This approach could present the information fully and with sufficient supporting evidence while dispensing with the facts, although it is irrelevant. In some countries, government agents control the media and use it as a way to influence and shape citizens’ opinions to align with what the administration wants them to know or thinks they should believe.
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