User:Gillianmarcuccio/Medium theory

Definition
Medium theory is the approach that emphasizes the importance of media technologies in determining the features of media products and content, as well as determining their social, cultural, political and economic uses.

Joshua Meyrowitz described medium theory focuses on the particular characteristics of each particular medium or of each particular type of media. Meyrowitz states that medium theorists typically aim to answer the following question: what are the fixed features of each means of communicating and how do these features make the medium physically, psychologically, and socially different from other media and from in person, face-to-face interactions? Medium theorists are interested in differentiating among media. Medium theory seeks to understand the following variables as well as others, such as which and how many senses are required to attend to the medium; whether the communication is bidirectional or unidirectional; how quickly messages travel through societies.

Medium theory is different then technological determinism. Medium theory is concerned with the interaction between media technology and human beings, where as technological determinism is concerned with the technology's influence on society.

Harold Innis
Harold Innis was one of the first medium theorists. Innis' main idea of medium theory draws on historical evidence to outline the theory. Innis refers to medium theory as the bias inherent to media technologies, in which any medium of communication will be biased to its utility either across time or space. Innis uses his theory of media bias and extends it towards the issue of how knowledge of information is spread throughout society. Innis uses historical examples to illustrate how the medium which the information or knowledge is circulated throughout society has more impact than the knowledge or information itself. One example that Innis uses is the transition from simple oral communication to written communication, that was set into motion through the creation and usage of the printing press.

Marshall McLuhan
Marshall McLuhan expands on Harold Innis' medium theory. McLuhan's medium theory states that an advanced society is shaped by the medium technologies that are available to it. McLuhan states that it is the medium itself that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action. McLuhan's medium theory is best understood through the examination how it compares the properties of different media, through 'hot' and 'cold' media. Hot media does not require a lot of audience participation because it is filled with data. An example of hot media would be a photograph, as a photograph does not require much participation as the photo represents what is trying to be communicated. Cold media on the other hand requires more effort and higher amounts of participation. An example of cold media would be a cartoon, as it requires more participation to determine what is being communicated.

Harold Meyrowitz
Harold Meyrowitz expands on both Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan's works on medium theory. Meyrowitz argues that the evolution of electronic media has reduced the significance of physical presence. For example, this aspect of medium theory means that with the evolution of television, no one necessarily has to be physically present to see, witness or gain knowledge of an event.

Medium Theory and Modernity
Medium theory is highly correlated with the process of modernity that societies have gone through. McLuhan refers to three eras of media history through modernity, which can be seen in the following table. This table can be found on page 35 of Dan Laughey's Key Themes in Media Theory.