Communication media are symbol codes that motivate acceptance of selections

Evidence

Accordingly, communication media shall be defined as a device additional to language, namely, as a code of generalized symbols which guides the transmission of selections. Language normally guarantees intersubjective comprehension, i.e. the recognition of the selection of the other party as a selection. Communication media add to this by providing a motivating function in that they urge the acceptance of other people’s selections and as a rule make that acceptance the object of expectations. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 591

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core working definition of ‘symbolically generalized communication media’ — essential anchor for the whole trust/power apparatus, distinguishes language (comprehension) from media (motivation).