Media And Social Movements

Keywords

Collective action; Mass media; Media frames; Media opportunity structure; Media standing; Public discourse; Publicity; Resource mobilization; Social networking sites

Abstract

Contemporary social movements engage in a complicated and uneasy dance with the mass media. Historically, movements have typically had their own media, controlled by movement participants and directed at the people they hoped to rally to their cause. Where mass media were once peripheral to understanding movements, in the last half-century, with the rise of television, they have become central. It is no longer possible to understand the actions of contemporary movements without understanding the nature of the movement-mass media transaction.This article introduces the reader to the critical role of mass media for social movements as sites of contest and indicator of broader cultural changes in the civil society. The article describes the role of mass media in the social construction of meaning that shapes language use and political consciousness of individuals in society. The concept of media structural opportunities is presented and discussed, and the strategic implications of the constant interaction of social movements with media are discussed.

Publication Date

3-26-2015

Publication Title

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition

Number of Pages

19-22

Document Type

Article; Book Chapter

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.95005-0

Socpus ID

85043446543 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85043446543

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