托德·吉特林的《媒介社会学：主导范式》一文是代表20世纪70年代以来，传播学实证研究学派与批判学派开展研究范式之争的经典文献。本文尝试将其置于范式争论和传播学学科发展困境的历史背景中，解读该文对于大众媒介研究的主要价值。文章梳理了以媒介效果为代表的实证研究，自1940年代起，成为美国传播学研究主导范式的因果脉络；并从吉特林的学术旨趣和写作背景出发，揭示其学理逻辑和批判价值——如何评价媒介效果研究在成为主导范式后，对媒介社会学造成的影响。文章认为，《媒介社会学：主导范式》一文的核心价值在于揭示了传播学科的发展缺失独立性的根本原因——应用性研究领域的主导范式不可避免受权力宰制；而实证研究的不足和缺陷使其难以担当媒介社会学研究应有的社会责任。

Media Sociology: the Dominant Paradigm, which was written by Todd Gitlin, is the classic literature of media research paradigm debates between empirical research school and critical research school since the 1970s. This essay attempts to restore the historical contexts of the paradigm debates and development difficulties of communication, in order to interpret the main value of his article for media research. The causal relationship of how empirical research had become the dominant paradigm of mass communication research in the USA in 1940s is clearly combed.And as well as how Gitlin evaluated its influence on the media sociology , his academic purport and background, revealing its theoretical logic and critical value. The essay suggests that the key value of Media Sociology: the Dominant Paradigm includes: it reveals the fact that the dominant paradigm in apply-original research can hardly avoid from political or economic power ; the deficiencies of empirical research makes it difficult to shoulder responsibilities of media sociology, which leads communication to get into development trouble inherently and independently.