ABSTRACT
The media are very powerful institutions, yet the nature of media influence is often too narrowly conceived. There has been massive study of how individual media products may help shape the views of audiences. This chapter also considers three other forms of influence. First, media products influence each other's meanings. People do not consume them in isolation but together. Second, mass media shape the practices of other institutions. For example, television does not simply record events in the criminal justice system. Finally, some theorists argues that media are not just implicated in short-term opinion formation, but in more profound longterm social and cultural shifts. The chapter argues that the popular reality TV program "Cops" displays all four types of influence. It explores how, while "Cops" purports to show "raw reality", it offers a very particular vision of criminal justice. The chapter shows how sometimes police carry videocameras during their operations, simultaneously making arrests and producing their own television shows.
