MASS COMMUNICATION DEFINED
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Mass Communication |
It
is omnipresent. The vehicles of mass communication or the mass media are
everywhere. From home, office, and outside, no place has escaped from mass,
media. it is considered to be intrusive as it easily enters into the private
worlds of our homes. It is attractive and alluring. Sometimes we find it excessive
and repulsive. .. Often it is considered to be omnipotent or all-powerful as
mass communication of information and images through advertising makes us buy
things. Wars have been won through mass communication. Most importantly mass
communication shapes public opinion.
What then is mass communication? To give a simple definition:
Mass communication a process whereby mass
produced messages are transmitted to large, anonymous and heterogeneous masses
of receivers.
By
'mass produced’ we mean putting the content or message of mass communication in
a form suitable to be disseminated to large masses of people. This also means
that some technological means are used for both producing and transmitting the
message.
The
term 'mass’ means a large aggregate
of people spread over vast geographical areas. The characteristics of mass in
mass communication are heterogeneous,
anonymous, separated from each other; and loosely organized.
Heterogeneous
means that the individual members of the mass are from a wide variety of
classes and categories in society. Anonymous means the individuals in the mass
do not know each other. Also the source or sender of messages in mass
communication does not know the individual members of the mass. Also the
receivers in mass communication are physically separated from each other and
share no physical proximity. They
are, in fact, spread over different geographic locations.
Finally,
the individual members forming a mass are not united. They have no social
organization. If at all they are united, they are very loosely organized.
Unlike groups, the mass does not have a body of customs and tradition, no
established sets of rules no structure or status roles and no established
leadership.
Eliot
Friedson (1953) defined mass as follows:
Mass is an aggregation of Individuals who
are separate, detached and anonymous.
This
is a very simplified definition of the term mass. Many changes have taken place
in the recent times particularly in the field of technologies involved in mass
communication and segmentation of audience. These have resulted in the audience
members being less heterogeneous and anonymous than in the past.
ELEMENTS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
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Transmission Model |
For
communication to occur we require a sender, a massage, a channel and receiver(s).
Further there is feedback which is the response or reaction of the receiver;
which comes back to the sender through the same or some other channel. Another
element, which plays an important role in communication, is noise or the disturbances or barriers.
All
these elements are there is mass communication also. In fact Harold
Lasswell's model of communication – ‘WHO says WHAT in WHICH CHANNEL to
WHOM with WHAT EFFECT’ - is applicable to mass communication also. The difference
from interpersonal and other levels of communication lies in the multitude of
receivers. In mass communication, multitude of receivers receives the message:
- Either simultaneously and immediately as in case of radio and television,
- Individually over a long period of time as in case of films, and
- Over centuries as in case of some books like The Quran, Bhagwat Gita, The Bible or the great classics.
- Other differences are in the degree of physical proximity (in interpersonal communication sender and receiver are mostly face to face while in mass communication they may be hundreds and thousands of miles away)
- Mass communications differs from other levels of communication in the time taken for feedback to reach back the sender (source). In interpersonal communication the feedback is instantaneous. But in mass communication, the feedback is delayed and often negligible. In certain cases there is no feedback at all.
THE AUDIENCE
Receivers
of mass communication or audience vary according to the medium used. For
network television like DD-1, the audience could be millions
of viewers. For an average book, the audience could be several thousands. And
for a scholarly journal, the audience could be a few hundred. , Whatever the
size, each audience is composed of individuals. Each Individual has a separate
and distinct personality and they react to the medium's message in different
fashions.
Each individual member of an audience is
exposed to, receives, perceives and retains a message differently according to
his or her personal self-concept or frame of reference. Scholars often stress
upon this aspect of audience individuality because audiences are often thought
to be automatons or robots that react to mass communication in one single way.
Another
aspect of mass communication is that individual members discuss about media
contents and thus many others come to know about it that are called secondary
audiences. Sometimes the secondary or indirect audiences may be larger than the
original audience. For example millions and millions have read the Bhagwat Gita
or the Bible. But more people (then who have read these religious books) know
or are aware about these religious books through discussions and discourses. So
it is obvious that the effect of mass communication reaches far beyond the
initial audience.
THE SOURCE
In
interpersonal and group communication the sender is usually one person. He or
she thinks of communicating, decides the topic or theme or concept, puts it a
proper context according to the receiver and channel, encodes and transmits the
message.
But
in mass communication the situation is different. Rarely the source is one
individual. It is usually an organization or institution. It involves a large
group of people who are involved in the conceiving, collecting, processing,
encoding and transmission processes.
For
example when we read news story in a newspaper, we tend to think that the
writer of the story (the reporter) is the sender or source. In fact, often a
reporter is assigned by a superior to do the story. So the reporter is not
always the initiator. Again after the story is written and reaches the
newspaper office, it is either selected or rejected by a news editor or
assistant editor. If selected, a sub editor edits the story; the news story is
then composed by a compositor, proof read by a proofreader, sometimes rechecked
by a host of senior editorial staff. Then the page make up people prepare the
layout before it is printed. Only then it reaches us.
Similarly,
we tend to think that newsreaders are the sources of news on radio and
television. But there is a long chain of people through whom news passes. Thus
the source in mass communication is a collection of people with a lot of
different expertise. So the people working for the source are all trained in
some field or the other.
And
almost all these activities involve complex technologies, infrastructure and
huge investments.
THE MEDIUM
For
the purpose of mass communication many channels or media are used. The
first such medium was the book. The writing of books started about 5,500 years
ago. In the early days, books were not exactly mass oriented. They were more
elitist as only few people could read and even fewer people could afford books
which were exquisitely designed, intricately patterned, y, and ornate and
painstakingly hand printed works of art.
In
the mid fifteenth century all these changed with the invention of movable types
and printing press by Johan Gutenberg of Germany. He
published the first machine printed book The 42 lines Bible. With
technological advances, growth of literacy and an increased demand for
knowledge and information led to large-scale production and dissemination of
books.
Then
came the newspaper. The first newspaper was brought out in 1625. It developed
through various stages and by the beginning of the 19th century had
developed into a full-fledged mass medium.
Towards
the end of the 19th century, in 1895, cinema came. Then
in the 1920s came radio. Television followed soon and arrived in the
1930's. Other media like Videocassettes followed soon. The latest mass medium
new is the Internet, which has characteristics of all other mass media in some
way or other.
All
the mass media have become part and parcel of our lives. Although the mass
media are usually taken for granted, they play important roles fulfilling many
of our wants.
Mass
media started as simple vehicles for dissemination of messages. But these have
become very powerful. So much so that the media today are more important than
the message. Also each medium is so unique and different, that these have
developed their unique images.
For
example, although radio and TV provide news almost immediately (and even while
something is happening), people still read newspapers. This is because the
printed word has much more credibility.
Also
within a medium, individual vehicles have different features and images. For
example, among newspapers of India, The Hindu and The Statesman are
considered serious and sober. The Times of India is considered to
be modern. Internationally speaking, The Times of London has more credibility
among newspapers the world over. Same is the case with The Time and The
News Week among magazines. Reader's Digest has a unique image
of being a vehicle of clean information and education.
This
overwhelming dominance of the media has led eminent communication scholar Marshal
McLuhan to coin the phrase ”Medium is the Message”
THE MESSAGE (CONTENT)
The
message in mass communication includes information, news, views, education,
entertainment and persuasion. We have already discussed how message is
initiated, collected, processed, encoded and transmitted.
One
important characteristic of message in mass communication is that it is mostly
very general in nature. This is because the message is not directed at any
specific group but at a highly diverse, dispersed and heterogeneous mass. And it
has to cater to the different needs, varying wants and divergent attitudes of
the individual members of the audience.
One
way of achieving this is through simplicity and commonality. Before
preparing the message, some kind of survey is conducted to find out what
audience members want and how they want it. Also the lowest common denominator
is found out and the message is prepared for and aimed at that audience
intelligence level or interest level which will attract and hold the maximum
number of audience members.
Whatever
type of media content or message - from information, education, to persuasion
(advertising etc.) - simplicity and commonality ensure that the message is well
received by the maximum number of audience members.
Recent
developments include the concepts of infotainment or info edutainment. Here
mass media content includes information and entertainment and even education.
Another
aspect of media content is the way it is treated by the audience members. As
individuals, audience members differ from one ' another, No media content is
equally liked or disliked or similarly acted upon by all. In fact, audience
members are very selective about what they are exposed to, what they receive,
how they perceive it and how much they retain. These are called selective
exposure, selective reception, selective perception and selective retention.
DELAYED FEEDBACK
Mass
communication differs from other levels of communication, as it is linear and
one-way. That is there is no or very little response or feedback. Also even in
this age of instant communication, feedback in mass communication is rarely
direct and instantaneous. Also generally this feedback reaches the source from
far distances, is of a wide variety
(as different people react to a message differently) and most importantly
reaches the source after considerable time lapse.
For
example, the feedback to a newspaper is published in the form of
letters to editor after several days of the story being published. The success
of books can be judged after months and years. In fact, many books (the plays
by William Shakespeare or the books of Prem Chand for example) became
successful long after the authors died. Similarly, the success or failure of a
film is measured at the box office (ticket counter) long after the film is
released. Delayed feedback is, in fact, an in-built aspect of mass
communication.
However,
attempts are being made to shorten this delay by developing new forms of
feedback. Television programme producers conduct audience survey through People
Meter, Nielsen Meter, etc. And programmes are rated according to audience
liking. Doordarshan conducts its own rating survey called DART.
Public
Opinion surveys or opinion polls (developed by George Gallup in the 1930’s) are
important feedback measures. These methods are also used as an important ‘feed
forward measure as it helps decide what kind of programmes should be prepared
in future. In case of advertising, a host of methods including recall tests,
recognitions test, personating tests, etc., are conducted to find out about the
effectiveness of advertising campaigns before, during, and alter campaigns.
NOISE
One
classic, it somewhat exaggerated, example of noise in communication is the rumor
game where one person in a group is given a piece of information or a
statement. This is then passed on from one individual to the next. By the time
it reaches the last person, the original statement is often distorted or
twisted to a great extent. Distortion or noise in mass communication is of two
types -channel noise and semantic noise. Channel noise is any disturbance within the media. In the printed
mass media, channel noise ranges from typographical errors, misspellings,
scrambled words, omitted lines or paragraphs, misprinting, etc. Noise in the
electronic media includes static (sounds during rain or lightening, etc.) in
radio and television or any kind of mechanical failure that stops the message
reaching the audience in its original form.
The
increased dependency of mass media on technology compounds the problem of noise
and with the increasing complexity of these technologies; the probability, of
more channel noise (mechanical noise) increases many folds.
Channel
noise also includes all those interferences while the message is being
received. For example kids shouting while you, are' watching TV and friends
dropping in while you are reading a book also constitute noise. In fact,
channel noise is present at every stage of the mass communication process from
collection of information, processing, encoding, and transmission and at the
reception stage. Another problem is the availability of many media at the same
time. For example, reading newspapers is disturbed by the sounds from
television or radio, etc. This problem could grow and get worse as more and
more media become available.
One
solution for channel noise is repetition. This is particularly used constantly
in case of advertising. Have not we seen certain advertisements hundreds of times?
Also television programmes are repeated at least twice. Some programmes, in
fact, have more than two repeat telecasts. Repetition works on the Law of
averages, i.e. if something is missed or not understood the first time,
repetition will solve these problems. However, too much of repetition leads to
boredom and the message effectiveness is diminished or lost.
Another
solution for channel noise is 'perfecting the channel performance’. Checking
and rechecking or proofreading newspaper and magazine stories, reducing static
in radio, clearing up hazy pictures on television, etc., are examples of
attempts at noise reduction.
Semantic
noise or psychological barriers are as frequent and omnipresent as channel
noise. They are also equally or more problematic. While channel noises are
physical; or mechanical by nature, semantic noises' are about understanding of the
message. Language barriers form a major semantic problem. Other problem areas
include differences in education level, social-economic status, occupation,
age, experience and interest, etc. With so many different variations and
differences, it is difficult to prepare messages, which will be understood as
desired by the source. As discussed earlier, one-way of solving the problem of
semantic noise is to use simplicity and commonality.
Also
the cannons of communication clarity, completeness, conciseness, credibility,
comprehensiveness, coherency, continuity, etc. help solve the problem of
semantic noise to a great extent.
GATE KEEPING
This
concept is unique only to mass communication. Mass media content passes through
many hands within the source organization before it reaches the audience. From
initiation, collection, compilation, presentation, processing, production and
finally dissemination, mass media content is regulated at each stage. This is
called gate keeping as media content passes through many 'gates’ before these
are released. Media personnel engaged in the various stages or the gates
exercise their discretion to decide and determine what the audience will read,
see, or hear. We have already discussed the example of how a news story passes
though different stages before we read it.
Gets
keeping is also on exercise in specialization in order to reach selective
audiences. Different media and particularly media organizations have developed
specific formats to appeal specific audiences. This way gate keeping is limited
by nature as it restricts what the audience is exposed to. However, it becomes
necessary as no medium can accommodate all the information, education and
entertainment. Also audiences will be deprived of specific interest messages or
content.
Another
feature of gate keeping is that it is highly subjective and personal. Gate
keeping is a ‘professionally educated guess’ about what the public will like.
FUNCTIONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
Mess
communication or mass media are described as the fourth pillar of democracy.
They perform the role of ‘watchdog‘over the society and
government in particular and expose corrupt practices. Mass media like cinema,
television, radio and books, etc. help people cope with or escape from their
environment. Mass media also create new values. Also mass media serve an
important economic function by providing employment to millions of people. In
fact, each medium - be it newspaper, television, films, books, audio to and
Videocassettes has now grown to the stature of an industry.
All
the above functions of mass communication are secondary. The primary functions
of mass communication include: Information, entertainment, persuasion and transmission
of the culture. Sometimes education is also considered a function of mass
communication.
INFORMATION
When
we think of mass communication, the first thing that comes to our mind is
information. May be it is because of the fact that the very first function mass
communication over performed was to inform. Also information is an important
part of all other functions. And all media serve the information function to
some extent or other.
While
all media inform, the print media inform the most. Both newspapers and
magazines have strong information thrust and inform us through news. Although
not considered to be a medium of mass communication the news agencies (Reuters,
Associated Press, United Press Interactional, Agence Press France and in India
United News of India and Press Trust of India) have the highest
information content. In fact, news agencies form the major source of news for
all news media.
Compared
to news agencies (also called wire-Services), newspapers have very low
informational content. On an average more than half the space of any newspaper
is devoted to advertisements (which are persuasion). Newspapers also perform
the entertainment function as they provide features comic strips and a variety
of human-interest stories
Books,
particularly textbooks, have very high information content. Textbooks form
about half the book publishing industry. Other types of books include fiction,
non-fiction, and technical books. These books have less information content.
As
far as TV (along with radio) is concerned, its main thrust area is
entertainment. Still, TV provides us a lot of information through news
bulletins, current affairs programmes etc. TV documentaries try to incorporate
information and entertainment. But television cannot be blamed for ignoring
information and concentrating more on entertainment. Viewers expect more
entertainment from television and that is what they get.
ENTERTAINMENT
As
the print media have information thrust, the broadcast media radio, TV and films
have a basic entertainment thrust. This is not to say that these media have an
exclusive right to entertainment and provide only entertainment. Broadcast
media perform other functions too. And other media also provide entertainment.
However,
it is obvious that the broadcast media are intensely, purposefully, and
enthusiastically entertainment-oriented. In addition, television plays in
important commercial role as a medium of persuasion.
TV
and radio schedule their programmes according to viewing habits of people. As
less people watch TV during daytime, programmes shown during the day are not
very high on entertainment content. ln fact, during daytime we often get
reruns, old movies, etc. But the programmes during prime time (evenings) are very
high on entertainment as more people watch TV during evenings.
Radio
- particularly FM radio - provides programmes of high entertainment value all
through the day and evening.
Broadcast
media, particularly TV, are blamed and criticized for the mindless
entertainment programmes. The problem is that people want entertainment from
television. Also to be commercially viable, radio and TV have to provide more
entertainment programmes so as to attract more viewers and consequently more
advertisements.
Even
Public Broadcasting Services, which are free from any financial pressure, being
government funded, offer entertainment programmes instead of programmes of
consequence like on culture, education, etc. Even BBC provides many
entertainment-based programmes. And our own Doordarshan also provides large
numbers of entertainment programmes.
However,
things are changing for better. While we have many entertainment specific TV
channels, there are channels like Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet
etc. which emphasis on information and education. Also specific education
channels are catching up very fast.
PERSUASION
Goods,
services, ideas, places, events, political parties, business organizations and
social and religious institutions, and even individuals need to be promoted.
One effective way to promote is through persuasion. A highly prominent and
visible form of persuasion is advertising. And advertising has become an
important part of many mass media. So much so that most mass media newspapers,
magazines, radio and television - depend on advertising for a major chunk of
their revenue. In India, the annual expenditure on advertising is projected to
be about 15,000 crores. And a major portion of it goes to the mass media.
Many
other means of persuasion are used in addition to advertising. These include
public relations, special promotional activities and blatant and subtle
attempts at image manipulation and public opinion formation.
Editorials
advertorials, letters to editor, Opinion columns etc are often used to the
purpose of public opinion formation and image manipulation.
Even
films have not escaped. Commercial products are subtly and not so subtly
implanted in many blockbuster films. Any recent James Bond film is a good
example of this. Shahrukh Khan and Juhi
Chawla’s film ’Phir Bhi Di! Hai
Hindustani is another example of how films are used to promote commercial
products.
Many
news stories, interviews, features, etc., are initiated and implanted by public
relations practitioners. In the US, political parties use TV to a great extent.
Also
much of government news has a propaganda motive
At
this juncture, it is important to note a significant fact about news and
advertisements. While only 10 percent of all information and news that reaches
reporters and editors is published or broadcast, almost 100 percent of all
advertisements received by mass media are published or broadcast. This show how
important is advertising to mass media.
In
fact, commercial radio and television are solely dependent on advertisement
revenues, which is their only source of income. Of course, pay channels get
money through cable or DTH fees.
In
case of newspapers and magazines, the cover price does not even cover the
distribution cost. The rest editorial costs, production costs and profits are
covered by paid advertising. For example, one issue of any standard English
newspaper in India costs something between Rs. 15/-and Rs.20/-, while almost
all dailies (except business dailies) are priced between Rs. 1.50 to Rs. 2.00.
And it is no surprise that about half the space in most English newspapers is
devoted to advertisements.
Any
communication leaves a direct or indirect impact on an individual. It becomes
part of one's experience, knowledge and accumulated learning. Through
individuals, communication becomes part of the collective experience of groups,
audiences of all kinds and finally the masses. Mass communication, being the
most potent, most far reaching of all communication, plays an important role in
the transmission of culture from one place to another and from one generation
to the next.