Binary Models

Binary Models: Class Discussion Response #4

There are four different binary models-

1. Hot-Cool- The amount of attention the mass communication requires.

Hot- Requires audience's full attention. In order to fully understand it, you have to completely focus on it.

Examples: Print Books, Audio Books

Cold- Does NOT require full attention. 

Examples: Music, Television, Movies; Can have any of these three things going on in the background and to understand it you don't have pay full attention; Can multi-task.

2. Elitist-Populist

Elitist- Concerned with it's message; it's message is it's number one priority, no matter it's audience size.

Examples: Slashdot, The Nation, PBS

Populist- Concerned about it's popularity; will post/talk about anything that it thinks will expand it's audience and make it more popular.

Examples: Buzzfeed, People, ABC

3. Content-Distribution

Content- Only produces it's own content; makes it's content.

Examples: Sony, Warner Bros, HBO

Distribution- Distributes and produces content to people and audiences.

Examples: iTunes, Amazon, Netflix

4. Information-Entertainment

Information- Stories are more information based; to inform.

Entertainment- Stories are meant to be entertaining to read; to entertain.

There is an "in between" version of this binary model called "Infotainment" in which people try to make the entertaining informational, but it always leans more towards the "entertaining" side.

Example: ABC News

I found this lecture to be the most interesting out of all of the lectures we've had because I liked learning about the contrasting forms of communication and I felt like I could relate some every day activities to some of these binary models. For example, I always knew that I could never multi-task while reading a book and that it required my full attention, but I never knew that it can be described as a model that is used in communication (the hot medium from the Hot-Cool binary model). I think it's pretty cool how things that you never really think twice about on a daily basis can have a more complex meaning to them and belong to models that you might have never guessed they belonged to.