According to critics, mass-mediated transmission of culture means the transmission of

According to critics, mass-mediated transmission of culture means the transmission of low culture.

Such critics argue that mass media, chasing the widest audience, dilute content to the simplest, most saleable common denominator.

The result, in their view, is a spread of cheap, standardised, undemanding cultural fare.

High culture, the refined and elite forms, is seen by these critics as neglected rather than carried by mass media.

Middle culture, a moderate middle band, is not what the critics point to as the media's typical output.

An unknown culture is not a meaningful category in this critique of what the mass media transmit.