Semantic-level misreadings of media are socially structured, not errors

Evidence

Literal or denotative “errors” are relatively unproblematic. They represent a kind of noise in the channel. But “misreadings” of a message at the connotative or contextual level are a different matter. They have, fundamentally, a societal, not a communicative, basis. They signify, at the “message” level the structural conflicts, contradictions, and negotiations of economic, political, and cultural life. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 808

Categorization

• XREF: Reverses the information-theory ‘noise in the channel’ framing — connects to the reader’s earlier ‘Communication as Culture’ work distinguishing transmission from ritual models.