Introduction to Mass Media and Mass Communication

                         

Introduction to Mass Media and Mass Communication

- What is communication?

Communication means the practise of encoding information through sounds, symbols, and actions in order to transmit that information to others. It also means to decoding the information and interrupting it to give it meaning.

- What is Mass Communication?

By Mass Communication, we mean communicating with many people, perhaps million of people, often simultaneously. Mass communication is supported by 'New Ways of Communication'. It is all about new media. By new media, we are able to transmit same message to very large number of people within no time.

History of Mass Media:

> The first event in Mass communication was movable type and printing press.

> The same media originated in China about 600 years earlier

> The first book published by Gutenberg was Bible in 1455

Mass Communication is the study of how people pass the information to the large segment of population.

Word origin: Communication - Communes (Latin word) - Something common

Process of Communication:

- The sender has an idea

- The sender encodes the idea

- The sender transmit the message

- The receiver gets the message

- The receiver decodes the message

- The receiver sends feedback to the sender

                        

Types of Communication:

1) Intrapersonal Communication - communication with self

2) Interpersonal Communication - Communication between two people

3) Group Communication

4) Mass Communication

5) Mass-Line communication

Functions of Media:

- To Inform - To educate - To entertain - Commercial - Transmission of heritage

Impact of Mass Media:

1. Personal 2. Psychological 3. Social 4. Moral 5. Cultural

Indian Communication theories:

(these indian theories are based on the classical texts and popular indian culture )

1. Bharatmuni’s Theory

- Concept of Sadharikaran - Latin term ‘Communes’

- Bharatmuni’s Theory includes 9 Rasa and permanent mood.

                   

2. Hindu Theory (philosophical view):

- The place of indiviual in the universal context and considers one’s relationship  with other living and non-living elements of the environment. - ‘Virat Purush’ - Cosmic Man

3. Buddhist Thoery:

- Vima Dassanayaka has talked about Philosophical traditions and explained the process that, “How receiver makes sense of the stimuli’ he argues that,

“Communication is an inward search for meaning - a process leading to self - awareness, then to freedom, finally to truth.”

- Western Communication Theories:

1. Laswell Model of Communication : Three functions

- Surveillance of environment

- Corelation of components of society

- Cultural transmission between generations

- Who(Communicator) - Says what(message) - In which channel(medium) - To whom(receiver) - With what effect(feedback)

2. Shannon and Weaver Model : Effects oriented approach

- 5 parts

- Information source

- A transmitter

- A channel

- The receiver and the destination

-  Noise

         

3. Osgood and Schramm Model

- Communication is all about sharing information, ideas and attitudes.

- 3 parts - Sourse - Message - Destination

 

4. Ritual Model Communication : James Caray - American anthropologist.

- Role of rituals in society - Social control

- Objective communication to transmission of message ] + Social control

5. Communication as Dialogue : Paul Friere - Brazilian educationalist

- Liberation - Participation - Conscientization 

 

- This model challenges Aristotalian model of Communication

6. Communication as Power relationship : Marxist theory - ideology

- ‘Conflict’ as the function of communication