One assumption is that media is a stabilising force, which maintains consensus in the society and strengthens it . It assigns a role or function to media and is a ‘functionalist’ school. Here the interplay of power and conflict in the society has been ignored. The assumption is that all the forces in society compete with each other and there is free and fair play, with each group getting an equal opportunity to dominate and control. Another school of thought assumes power struggle as the pivot around which the social classes — groups revolve. Mass media may be used by the powerful as a vehicle to propagate its ideology. This is the critical school. It examines media experience in cultural and political context, media’s economics and owenership and media consumption habits.

Media effects theories have a continuum, the one extreme which puts media in all-powerful position and the other in no-effects at all position. In between, there are people who suggest that effects are negotiated by the audiences. Media effects are in fact effects of the contents on the opinions, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. There is research on the effects of the audio-visual media like TV and films, e.g. research on the effects of TV programmes on children. The research is mostly based pre-test and post-test methods. They could be on expected lines. The social context of media consumption was ignored.