DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

The Medium Is the Message


Marshall McLuhan’s idea that “the medium is the message” was defined as such “because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and interaction” (McLuhan 9). In his book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan establishes the concept of “medium” as an extension of man (7) and “the ‘message’ of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs”  (8). McLuhan uses mechanical automation and its impact on our roles in industry and society to address this concept—looking at how automation impacted societal relationships (7-8). He also focuses on the “messages” of the electric light and railways; that is, how they changed human interaction. The same could be said for accessing information through more conventional ideas of media such as TV, radio or the web. Instead of simply focusing on what is being said through each medium, McLuhan’s concept requires us to look at what each is saying about society.

 

Authors Nicholas Gane and David Beer briefly discuss “the medium is the message” in their book New Media: The Key Concepts, comparing McLuhan with information theorists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. Gane and Beer observe that, unlike the ideas proposed by Shannon and Weaver, McLuhan believes “that it is the channel or technology of communication that shapes the content transmitted rather than vice versa. This is why, for McLuhan, the medium is the message, for information … can never be understood in isolation from the technological devices through which it is produced and communicated” (39).

 

One example that illustrates this concept of information not being understood in isolation is illustrated in The Today Show interview referenced during class regarding the 1976 president debate. In discussing the broadcast, McLuhan observes that the candidates appeared more concerned with their image than what they said. This critique shows the necessity to analyze both the obvious and core messages conveyed through the medium. In this case, the obvious message being delivered was the candidates’ spoken remarks while the core message of the medium can be interpreted as “how I look  is more important than what I say.” Another example of dual messaging would include the use of Twitter to share news–with the tweet serving as the explicit message and the idea of “I want information as brief as possible” serving as one of a number of potential underlying messages.

 

Author: Josh Dysart, fall 2011

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.