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James W. Carey's Ritual View of Communication

The ritual view of communication is a communications theory proposed by James W. Carey, wherein communication–the construction of a symbolic reality–represents, maintains, adapts, and shares the beliefs of a society in time. In short, the ritual view conceives communication as a process that enables and enacts societal transformation.

Carey defines the ritual view particularly in terms of sharing, participation, association, and fellowship. In addition, Carey acknowledges that, commonness, communion, and community, naturally correspond with the ritual view. In a similar way, the term “ritual” holds religious connotations. For Carey, this connection to religion helps to emphasize the concept of shared beliefs and ceremony that are fundamental to the ritual view.

In contrast to the ritual view, Carey presents what he considers the more commonly recognized transmission view of communication. In the transmission view the dissemination of information constitutes the primary goal. Carey defines the transmission view in terms of imparting, sending, transmitting and giving information to others. In the transmission view information is disseminated across geography largely for the purpose of control. To support this idea, Carey refers to the messaging systems of ancient Egypt wherein, “transportation and communication were inseparably linked” and served as a method of control.

Where Carey seemingly presents these two views as oppositional, he acknowledges that the dichotomy is false. He states, “neither of these counterpoised views of communication necessarily denies what the other affirms”. Instead, they offer a nuanced perspective of communication that enables a broader understanding of human interaction.

Influence and Influencers of the Ritual View

In the foreword of Communication as Culture G. Stuart Adam states that, “Carey transferred the phenomenon of communication (and its technologies) from a place in the background of social theorizing and analysis to a place in the foreground.”

Randall Rothenberg echoes this accreditation to Carey in Advertising Age when he calls Carey “a godfather to U.S. media studies.”

Certainly, Carey’s ritual view of communication has proven highly influential. For instance, in communication journals, Carey’s theory has been applied–often as a theoretical framework–to family stories, undergraduate studies, business practices, computer technologies, and criminal behaviour. More broadly, Carey’s theory has been applied to theology, advertising, sociology, anthropology, and geography.

Yet, Carey himself was inspired and influenced by a number of well-known philosophers and theorists, in particular, John Dewey, Harold Innis, and Marshall McLuhan.

In his essay, A Cultural Approach to Communication, Carey references the writings of philosopher and psychologist John Dewey, to explore the complexities of, and draw out the contradictions for, the term “communication.” Carey then delineates communication into two main views, ritual and transmission. In fact, Dewey’s work informs Carey’s own use of the prepositions “of” and “for”, creating distinctions in their usage.

Moreover, Carey’s ritual and transmission view of communication, as Adam writes, draw largely from what Harold Innis implied in his work. Specifically, that media influences and contributes to the fabric of society, and its maintenance over the course of time relies on dissolution of the tensions in communication, that is its ritual and transmission forms.

In A Cultural Approach to Communication, Carey also references Marshall McLuhan’s assertion that, “the one thing of which the fish is unaware is water.” In so doing, Carey supports the concept of “the symbolic production of reality,” or what humans engage in, often unconsciously, as part of daily life, which forms the foundation for both of the ritual and the transmission views of communication. For Carey, it is necessary for “us” to become aware of our symbolic reality, to better understand communication, and ultimately reshape common culture.

Newspapers, Social Media and the Ritual View

In order to elaborate on his ritual view, and specifically its religions connotations, Carey uses an example of mass media, the newspaper. In this case, Carey likens newspaper reading to attending mass. He states, “attending mass, [is] a situation in which nothing new is learned but in which a particular view of the world is portrayed and confirmed.” The ritual act, then, becomes part of a shared culture, and according to the ritual view is maintained through time.

Carey details human interaction with newspapers to add another dimension to the ritual view, specifically drama. Carey asserts that readers “engage in a continual shift of roles or of dramatic focus,” when they read through a newspaper. Carey continues, that, “though news changes little…it is habitually consumed.” In this way, the ritual view of communication is concerned with the presentation of reality in a particular moment in time, and how individuals interact and share in it.

Certainly newspapers have long been conceptualized in terms of community. For example, in his book Newspaper Use and Community Ties, Keith R. Stamm examines the relationship between individuals and newspapers in detail, relying on the works of Park, Jenowitz, Robert, and Merton. Yet, in the past few decades, newspapers, in their printed format, have experienced a steady decline in readership. In response, a large majority of newspapers now host online versions. This ongoing movement towards digital formats raises questions surrounding the changing relationship of individuals and newspapers. For instance, what becomes of the communities newspapers have long sustained? How does Carey’s ritual view of communication apply today?

Although printed newspapers continue to retain readership owing, in large part, to the trustworthiness and insightfulness of content perceived by readers, digitized newspapers surpass the printed format in terms of immediacy and geography. They also incorporate an additional dimension for connectedness, particularly through social media. Yet, the relationship between social media and newspapers is multi-layered and complex. Indeed, the relationship between the two requires further exploration in order to better understand the potential effect of social media on newspapers. However, since social media encompasses multiple platforms, it may be necessary to focus on a specific social media, for instance Twitter.

In reference to Carey’s ritual view of communication Twitter enables the establishment, transformation, and maintenance of societal interaction. For example, Twitter involves both sharing and participation, by way of “tweets,” and association and fellowship, by way of “following.” At the same time, Twitter users engage in a somewhat ritualized way through the act of “following” particular organizations, individuals, or interests. Moreover, in “following” specific groups or persons Twitter users form “online communities.”

However, the impact of Twitter on newspapers remains unclear. To what extent does Twitter work in tandem with newspapers? How does this change individuals’ interaction with newspapers and their expectation of the journalists involved in newspaper production? How does Twitter transform ideas of community and enable interactions that were not possible with the printed newspaper format?

The Role of Twitter

Twitter describes itself as “…an information network [where] millions of people, organizations, and businesses…discover and share new information.” However, Twitter is much more than an informational network, it both represents and serves contemporary communications. A consideration of the pace of our culture, the way individuals interact with each other, and with journalists on Twitter, along with the changing nature of community, provide insight into some of the questions surrounding Twitter, journalism, and the newspaper. Ultimately, the future success of the newspaper will rely on the entrenchment of Twitter, or platforms like it, within journalistic practices and newspaper production.

Speed of Interactions

One of the key differences between newspapers of the past in contrast to today is the speed at which interactions take place. In fact, modern culture is characterized by a preoccupation with speed, or immediacy, particularly in terms of news. As one social media journalist put it, “Twitter has accelerated the news cycle to a point where news breaks every minute of every hour…” Indeed, Twitter steaming occurs at a hyperactive pace. The expressions “fast forward,” “ticking coverage,” “instant access,” and “real time,” emphasize the rapidity with which Twitter operates, and correspondingly, people engage with it. So much so that the demand for instant news is now embedded in society. For example, during President Obama’s inauguration, live online video streaming on internet news cites, saw a 200-300% increase in viewership. [Dayan and Katz ref] Yet, Twitter’s effect on the acceleration of news, and subsequently journalism and the news cycle, is nuanced.

Superficiality of Engagement

Certainly, owing to the immediacy and transience of Twitter, readers appear to engage somewhat superficially. In turn, this evidences a negative effect of the technology. For instance, “During time-sensitive events that are global in scale like the Mumbai bombing, President Obama’s visit to Cairo, or Air France’s plane crash near Brazil, people’s use of Twitter bursts with an astonishing frequency and intensity.” Yet, a large spike in interactions is soon followed by subsequent decays in tweets, evidencing how readers’ attention quickly wanes. In this way engagement on Twitter appears easily abandoned or relegated, generally in favour of the next popular news item. Indeed, the restrictive format of Tweets, with a limit of 140 characters, denies conversational depth. The result, therefore, is often a breakdown of conversation, whether by derogatory remarks or complete disengagement. Ultimately, the rapid interaction by users, followed by a lack thereof, or the degradation of conversation, suggests detachment on the part of users referencing a kind of superficiality of their usage.

Interaction with Journalists

According to Twitter.com, over 100 million individuals worldwide use their site. Popularity alone is a good reason for newspaper journalists to engage with Twitter, gleaning a thorough and immediate account of global happenings. However, the connection that Twitter enables between journalists and their readers is equally significant. Where in the past newsreaders relied on the letter format to reach journalists, an insulated and time-intensive process, in modern day, newsreaders interaction with journalists is direct and instant. The interactions on Twitter, then, resemble more of a “peer-to-peer” relationship. This allows newsreaders to provide their input direct to journalists, potentially enriching articles, inspiring article ideas, and generating a multi-faceted discussion. Of course, the platform on which Twitter operates also gives opportunities for journalists to test and explore ideas with their readers. That is, to gain feedback for an idea without investing much time or effort prior to actually developing it. Ultimately, where a direct and instant connection creates a dialogue between journalists and newsreaders a degree of trust is formed that often secures readership.

Adaptation of Newspaper Production

At the same time the dialectic between journalists and newsreaders, originating in part on Twitter, has begun to reshape the process of newspaper production. Several newspapers, in Canada and in the U.K., have adopted a transparent production model, or “open” newsroom. For instance, Openfile.ca, an online Canadian newspaper with regional editions, operates with a transparency in that news, or stories in process, is made known and the journalist involved in writing a particular story is made explicit. What’s more, Openfile.ca gives credit to the individual from the community who made the recommendation for the story. In the U.K., the Guardian has adopted an open newsroom in terms of allowing the participation of the public at in-house news meetings. Certainly newspapers recognize that the relationship between journalists and readers is increasingly collaborative. In turn, newspapers are exploring ways in which to adapt to accommodate this shift.

The Response to Web 2.0

Where Twitter enables journalists and newsreaders to connect, converse, and ideate, broadly speaking, Twitter empowers users to generate content, share, and converse with other users. The result is a proliferation of user-generated, or Web 2.0, content, with the potential effect of diminishing professional journalism. However, the proliferation of Web 2.0 content far from negates the role of journalists. Certainly, “…reporters have to know how to do a lot more, technologically speaking, than ever before…” to counterbalance user-generated content. In fact, many journalists have expanded their technological capabilities to include, for example, videographer and photographer. Yet, the saturation of an issue, by way of a multitude of Tweets on Twitter, is often too much for the larger body of users to absorb, resulting in a continued reliance on journalists to wade through, decipher, and provide in-depth coverage of issue referenced on Twitter. The statement, “Twitter is hardly a medium for deliberative democracy” rings true. Twitter, then, cannot function to provide a depth of understanding, rather it relies on alternative platforms in which to unpack and contextualize pertinent issues. In this way, Twitter reaffirms the role of the journalist and the newspaper, while demonstrating the extant overlap of each.

Ideas of Community

In Communication as Culture, Carey explains that with the dawn of the electric age the futurist ethos attributed electric technology with, amoung other things, the rebirth of community. Indeed, the futurist ethos was not far wrong. The advent of the Internet, a product of electric technology, has redefined community, particularly in terms of its global scale. To that end, Twitter is conceptualized as an online, global community. However, community exists only to the extent of the shared beliefs of Twitter users. That is, users are not a unified, cohesive group, rather a collective of individuals with often contrasting perspectives, seeking to find those who share their specific views. Similarly, individuals “hunt and gather [the news] they want when they want it,” often via social media, including Twitter. An example of this is explored in Dynamic Debates: An Analysis of Group Polarization Over Time on Twitter. The study looks at the interactions of advocates and critics of abortion on Twitter, focusing largely on the Tweets occurring several hours and days following the death of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller. The study concludes that both pro-life and pro-choice supporters primarily interacted with like-minded individuals, that is, fellow supporters of either side of the abortion issue. Not only did each group seek to affirm already established beliefs, they also vehemently argued with dissidents. Although, the finding is not groundbreaking, it does demonstrate a certain loss of courtesy in the online environment. Furthermore, it shows the challenge that journalists and newspapers face in responding to the aggressive and polarized behaviour of Twitter, representative of the fracturing of community.

Conclusive Thoughts on Twitter

The use of Twitter has initiated a shift towards greater collaboration with the public with regard to both journalism and newspaper production. However, the superficial engagement occurring on Twitter combined with the increasing fracturing of community produce a challenge for journalists and newspapers. That is, striking a balance between cooperative efforts and facile or partisan views. Unquestionably, however, Twitter forms a necessary part of newspapers by way of its connective and communicative function. Much like Carey’s consideration of both the ritual and transmission view of communication operating in tandem with one another, Twitter, and its successor, must operate in tandem with journalism and newspaper production.

Works Cited