Howard and Matthew’s book, On Deadline, Managing Media Relations, references journalism.org’s Eight Major Trends of Media Relations, one of which regards the convergence of media seeming to become more inevitable. With media messages being blasted from all angles, it becomes difficult to identify what factors influence our decisions and shifts along an influence spectrum.
In studying the patterns of factors regarding the effects media has, I analyzed the potential media effects for a person watching a cooking show.
For example, watching a particular cooking show could lead someone to pick up an organic food item at the grocery store if the show emphasizes healthy and environmentally friendly eating. A person could be influenced consciously or subconsciously by the products used on a program as well. Some shows cover product labels, whereas some cooking show hosts capitalize on product placement and mention or endorse products.
Changingminds.org cites persuasive tactics as an incentive to understand the meaning behind colors. An example being McDonald's using red and yellow as their colors. The use of red to signify fast and yellow to encourage hunger hence, fast food.
Color psychology is evident in the other fast food restaurant’s logos as well as the orange Food Network logo. The psychology of colors is a tool media can use to manipulate audiences. If the consumer is aware or media literate of this tool, he/she would be less likely to be consciously influenced by the sight of “golden arches”, but when the person is not engaged in being media literate of color psychology, the person could be persuaded by the color stimulus of a current or previous media impression.
Other factors contribute to acting on a decision to purchase fast food whether or not a person was immediately and/or previously exposed to a corresponding fast food media impression. Developmental and cognitive abilities move people’s manifestation points as they emotionally and cognitively mature. Sociological and lifestyle factors such as seeing a favorite television character, family member or friend model certain behaviors also influence a person’s habits. Refining these abilities within the scope of exposure to media attribute to developing a more media literate mindset.
When it comes to deciphering what effects the media has on people, the answer lies in determining what effects the individual allows the media to have on him/herself. By strengthening one’s ability to put media literacy into practice, the person can then have more control over his/her own actions and use the media as a tool rather than being used by the media.
I hope to use media literacy to be more conscientious about removing myself from media impressions and act as an impartial third party to analyze my frame of reference in relation to the media’s message. I also hope to develop my personal locus regarding my media exposure habits to make informed decisions regarding to what degree I allow myself to be influenced by the media and why I allow a particular media message to influence me.
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