Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The increased availability and accessibility of media in its many forms, from television programming to the Internet, underscores concerns regarding the messages consumers receive from the content. Messages delivered through media have the power to shape the collective conscience of global citizens. Agenda-setting theories, dating back a century, address the ways in which media influences society. In the 1920s, Lippman and Lasswell investigated the hypodermic theory, arguing that information is injected into the consumer’s mind and readily accepted. Twentieth century research continued to establish the minimal effect theory and the cultivation theory, with varying levels of impact correlating to the viewer’s maturity level and critical thinking ability. The frequency, depth, and tone of media messages shapes public perceptions. Educators in an online graduate program explored the impact and influence of media programming from the perspectives of learners found within elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. Analyses included examinations of stereotypes based upon gender, race and ethnicity, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status, to determine the impact on the target audience’s cultural identity and perceptions of others. In an effort to provide an inclusive education, courses can be designed to engage diverse learners in meaningful dialogue, to help them understand and recognize how they can engage their own students in dialogue to combat implicit bias. Presenters of this online lightning talk will communicate findings of a study that examined implicit bias and stereotypes found in media programming which potentially affects acceptance and inclusion among diverse populations.