Consumerism-clouted Mass Media: Its Value Orientation And Relationship With Audience

The author applies modern theories on consumerism to the study of the value orientation of mass media, which is undergoing a profound transformation in the modern society. The term'value orientation of media'is adopted in the discussion instead of'media ethics', in an attempt to ensure an unbiased study that is free from ideological and moral justifications.Consumerism has risen since the end of WWII in western countries, where individualism and pragmatism have provided an easy social & cultural support for the transition to a consumer society. An explanation of the changes on social behaviors in the consumer society is provided in Chapter 1, after a brief review of the history of consumerism.The study of the interrelationship between mass media and consumerism in the modern society is presented in Chapter 2. Consumerism, since its emergence, soon became a prevailing culture with the support of modern media, which proved a vital and active factor in shaping the consumer society of today, where the ideals and values of consumerism soon gained popular approval under the influence of the incorporation of consumerism and modern media. The author focuses his attention to the impact of consumerism on the news reporting of mass media―advertising not included―and explains how consumerism exerts its transformative influence on the content of the news reporting which, the author believes, has been gutted of its traditional essence to cater to the consumerism trends.The following discussion explains the effect of the shift of value orientation on the practice of modern media, including cancelling non-rewarding pages and the rampage of paid-for news and advertorials. The author continues his study on the shift in the value orientation of modern media and the depletion of public credit under the pressure of consumerism.The discussion concludes with the application of aesthetics, in terms of the aesthetics of everyday life, to the analysis of the causes for the value orientation of mass media, as well as solutions to the present situations.