Abstrakt
This entry moves beyond the traditional juxtapositions of cultural, critical, and discourse studies on the one hand and media effects studies on the other, by showing in detail how these perspectives differ in their understanding of power. First, the specific relationship between media effects and power is analyzed.
Then, a four-tiered model that combines a discursive/material dimension with an internal/external dimension of power is presented and elaborated, showing the contingency and complexity of effects, specifically by studying two key signifiers from within the media field: the audience and the media professional. These examples provide support for a critical-cultural theory perspective that addresses social reality as a multieffect reality and avoids unidirectional analyses of media power.