As defined by Charles Berger and Stephen
Chaffee:
“Communication Science seeks to understand
the production, processing, and effects of symbol and signal systems by
developing testable theories containing lawful generalizations, that explain
phenomena associated with production, processing, and effects.”
Communication Science is a perspective that
integrates all research approaches grounded in quantitative, empirical,
behaviour, research methods. In joining limited effects, ideas, active audience
theories and research on interpersonal communication, Communication Science
includes most forms of quantitative, empirical research and theories it
supports. It does, however exclude cultural, critical, and political economic
theories.
In the year 1987, Chaffee and Berger offered
a restructuring of the scientific study of Communication Science based not only
on the usual narrow interest in specific aspects of the communication process
as applied in individual circumstances or settings but, rather, based on the four
levels at which communication phenomena occur:
1. Intra-individual: The
analysis of communication that occurs within the individual.
Dialogue taking
place within one’s self or an internal communication (the individual’s ability
to think, to visualize, to perceive, to learn, to form attitudes, and to
express ideas).
2. Interpersonal: The
analysis of communication relationships between two or small
groups of people.
Communication between couples or friends, relatives, acquaintances, etc.
3. Network
or Organizational: The
analysis of larger groups of people and the contexts of their
continuing relationships.
Communication between two or more organizations, and between an organization
and its stakeholders.
4. Macroscopic
Societal: The
analysis of the communication characteristics and activities of
large social
systems. Communication directed towards the public, society or towards a mass
audience.
Based on the above structure, Denis McQuail
developed a Pyramid of Communications illustrating the various
levels and types of communication network that exist in the society.
Levels of Communication Process FEW CASES
 |
6. Society-wide
(Mass Communication)
 |
5. Institutional/Organizational
 |
4. Inter-group
or inter -association
 |
3. Intra
– group (family, neighbourhood)
 |
2. Inter-personal
(couple, dyad)
 |
1. Intra-personal
MANY
CASES
CHARACTERISTICS OF MASS
Mass is an indication of a large aggregate of
undifferentiated public, that is representing the mass society, lacking in
order and organization, and reflecting mainly a negative image.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MASS AUDIENCE
Mass Audience indicates a large number of
widely dispersed heterogeneous, anonymous (not interactive), and self acting
public, lacking in order or organization, and that is regarded as an object of
manipulation or management by a handful of shrewd people.
MASS MEDIA
Mass Media can be defined as the means,
tools, techniques, etc., that are utilized to distribute or disseminate large
volumes of information to the mass audience. Several types and categories of
mass media have been developed till date. Some of these can be classified as
follows:
Print Media: Books,
Newspapers, Journals, Magazines, Pamphlets, Brochures, Bulletins, Directories,
etc.
Broadcast Media: Radio, Television, etc.
Electronic Media: Cable/Communication
Network, Computer Network, etc.
Outdoor Media: Posters,
Hoardings/Billboards, Banners, Balloons, Skywriting, etc.
Other Media: Films,
Movies, Novelties, Theatres, Street Shows, Puppet Shows, etc.
6.
MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONS:
Communications between a few or many people
by employing a technology or medium.
DEFINITION OF MASS COMMUNICATION
Mass Communication is the communication
effort initiated by individuals, groups, organizations/institutions, or a panel
of communicators, who by utilizing mechanical, electronic or other devices
disseminate huge volume of information to a largely scattered heterogeneous and
autonomous mass audience,
As defined by Janowitz in 1968 :
“Mass Communications comprise of the
institutions and/or specialized groups who employ certain techniques or
technological devices (press, radio, films, etc.) to disseminate symbolic
content to large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences.”
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
The functions served by mass communication
are very similar to those fulfilled by other types of communications. These are
summarized below:
Surveillance: The
mass media are the sentinels/guards or watchdogs, who act on behalf of the mass
audience or public. They are responsible for the constant flow of public
information or news concerning events occurring in the country and in the
world. The two types of Surveillance function are:
Warning
or Beware Surveillance: To inform the
public of dangers and threats (War, Cyclones,
Earthquakes,
Floods, etc.)
Instrumental
Surveillance: To inform
the public of everyday information (Stock Prices,
New
Products, Theatres, Movies, Market Prices, etc.)
Interpretation: It
is the responsibility of the mass media not only to report what is happening or
what is bound to
happen, but also to
interpret what is happening and offer a clear picture of such events to the
public, thus informing/cautioning them of any undesirable consequences.
Transmission
of Values: Also
referred to as the Socialization Function, the mass media should educate the
mass audience on how to act and behave, through the dissemination of our
cultural values and beliefs. The mass media are responsible for
teaching/imparting cultural norms, social codes and practices.
Lineage/Linkage: The
mass media are also responsible for developing links between different social
groups, communities, and societies, by establishing a common tie/bond between
them.
Entertainment: Last
but not the least is the Entertainment Function of mass communication. Mass
media offer different types of entertainment to the mass audience.
DEFINITION
OF MASS COMMUNICATION PROCESS
“Mass Communication Process is a one
directional, asymmetrical, and impersonal communication effort undertaken by
individuals, groups, organizations, or institutions in a calculative or
manipulative manner to distribute/disseminate through the use of mass media, a
large volume of standardized information content to a widely dispersed
heterogeneous, anonymous, and self acting (not organized) mass audience, with
the objective of informing, instructing, influencing, and integrating them.”
BARRIERS IN MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Though the significance of Mass Communication
has dramatically increased within the last few decades, it is irony that the
characteristics which define the Mass Communication Process are the very
barriers to its effectiveness. These barriers can be detailed as follows:
Inaccessibility: The
rural populace are yet to have easy accessibility to mass media, thus depriving
them of the
benefits offered by mass communications. Even the contents of mass
communication are seldom developed as per the needs of these deprived mass
audience.
Lack of Proper Feedback: Another
major drawback of mass communication is the lack of an effective two way
communication system
prohibiting feedback on the messages, programmes, contents, and other factors.
7.
Resistance to Change: All kinds of
changes are always met with resistance on the part of the public, who
cannot tolerate
disruptions in their daily routine or habits. Introduction of innovative
techniques, technologies, presentations, formats, standards, etc., will always
meet with public resistance.
Heterogeneity of the Audience: Another major obstacle is the heterogeneous nature of the
Mass Audience, which
makes it impossible
for the same content of mass communication to be perceived in similar and
identical manner by each and every individual of the audience.
Competition:
Fierce
competition among the members of the mass media industry has compelled
them to become more
entertainment oriented rather than education or development oriented, in order
to enhance their circulation/reach/acceptance.
THEORY:
A Theory can be defined in many ways, such
as:
- A
conceptual representation or explanation of phenomena.
- Sets
of ideas of varying status and origin which may explain or interpret some
phenomena.
- Best
representation of a state of affairs.
- Sets
of statements asserting relationships among classes of variables.
Normally there are two types of theories:
Microscopic Theory: Which
attempts to explain effects at the personal or individual level.
Macroscopic Theory: Which
attempts to explain effects at the cultural or societal level.
SOCIAL SEMIOTICS THEORY
Developed recently (1995) by a Danish scholar
Klaus Bruhn Jensen, it is a perspective on mass communication that unites the
methods and beliefs of cultural theorists with those of critical theorists. It
is a unifying framework for mass communication research.
As per Jensen, mass media contribute to the
process of semiosis which sustains the
everyday of individuals and reproduces the institutions of the social
collective. He believes that much of our everyday life is devoted to semiosis
– the process of interpreting and using signs. Our ability to do
this is based on our knowledge of semiotics – the sign systems, that
we have gained from past interpersonal and mass communication.
THE ERAS OF MEDIA THEORY
In order to understand the emergence of the
different theories on Mass Communications it is imperative that we trace
specific eras in the development of media theory. This exercise will give an
insight of the important events and their influences in the development of
media, besides helping to gain an understanding of how the current thinking
about media has evolved. The five eras
which have been identified as significant landmarks in the development of the
media and media theory are as follows:
ERA OF MASS SOCIETY AND MASS CULTURE
This era signifies the period after the
Industrial Revolution, i.e. during the latter half of the nineteenth century,
when new media technologies were invented and popularized. Although some
theorists were optimistic about this new technology, many were pessimistic.
They blamed the new industrial technology for disrupting peaceful, rural
communities and forcing people to live in urban areas merely to serve as a
convenient workforce in large factories, mines, and bureaucracies. Theorists
were fearful of cities because of their crime, cultural diversity, and unstable
political systems.
For many social thinkers who were educated
members of the dominant elites, mass media symbolized everything that was wrong
with the nineteenth century urban life. They charged the media with pandering
to lower class tastes, fomenting political unrest, and violating important
cultural norms. On the other hand, the radicals, who normally belonged to the
working class and who wanted drastic changes in the social way of life charged
the media with being a powerful tool in the hands of a selected few.
8.
The Mass Society Theory which
emerged during this period as a dominant perspective on Western industrial
society attributes an influential but often a negative role to media. It was
simply a collection of contradictory notions – some quite radical and others
quite reactionary . The radical notions were forwarded by revolutionaries who
wanted to impose radical changes in the society, whereas the reactionary
motions were forwarded by the elites (monarchists) who wanted to maintain the
old political and social order.
ERA OF A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE ON MASS
COMMUNICATION
During the 1930 – 1940, It was speculated
that, both the reactionaries and the revolutionaries exploited mass media
extensively for enhancing political gains and power. Totalitarian leaders like
Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, rose to political power and easily manipulated
public attitudes and beliefs through the mass media. But Paul Lazarsfeld, an
Austrian immigrant trained in psychological measurement, and who was quite
familiar with and very sympathetic to mass society notions, believed that mere
speculation about the influence of media on the society was not adequate. What
he wanted was hard evidence to prove the existence of such media
power/influence on the public. He proposed to conduct a carefully designed
elaborate field experiment to observe media influence and measure its
magnitude. By this time he had already established a very active and successful
research center, the Bureau for Applied Social Research at Columbia University
His most famous efforts “The Voter
Studies” which were started to prove his theory, just yielded the
opposite results. His findings proved that media were not as nearly powerful as
previously imagined. Instead, he found that people had numerous ways of
resisting media influence and were influenced by many competing factors. Rather
than serving as a disruptive social force, media seemed to reinforce existing
social trends and strengthen rather than threaten the status quo. Lazarsfeld found
little evidence to support the worst fears of mass society theorists.
Lazarsfeld’s findings generated several
smaller theories that are especially useful in explaining the short term
influence of routine media usage by various types of audiences. These theories
referred to as Administrative Theories are used to guide
practical decisions for various organizations.
ERA OF THE LIMITED EFFECT PARADIGM
By 1950s, Limited Effects Perspective which
is the view of media as a factor reinforcing existing social trends and
strengthening rather than threatening the status quo, was widely accepted by
the academia, in spite of severe criticisms propagated by the supporters of
mass society theory.
During the 1960s, V.O. Key published a
theoretical and methodological study “Public Opinion and American
Democracy”, which integrated
limited effects notions with social and political theories to create a
perspective that is now referred to as “Elite Pluralism” , a
theory asserting that media used by sophisticated audiences enriches democracy.
ERA OF CULTURAL CRITICISM
During the 1960s, a group of European social
theorists who resisted the post war influence of the USA
During the 1970s, questions about the
possibility of powerful media effects were again raised in the USA., by
scholars who were unrestrained by the Limited Effects Perspective and untrained
in the Scientific Method. Though their arguments which were not supported by
scientific evidence, were greatly ignored and marginalized by social
scientists, they attempted to create an ‘authentic’ American school of cultural
studies – though they drew heavily from the work of Canadian Scholars like
Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan.
Their concept reflected in the Cultural
Criticism Perspective, is a collection of perspectives concerned with
the conflict of interests in the society and the ways communication perpetuates
domination of one group over another.
ERA OF MODERATE EFFECTS
Emergence of new communication technologies
and pressure from cultural studies have compelled transformations of the
traditional assumptions and notions about mass effect and their impact. Drastic
changes in the way people use or are used by the media, have generated a whole
new set of perspectives. At the very heart of these recently emerged
perspectives: Communication Science Theory and the Social
Semiotic Theory, which support the Moderate Effect Perspective, are
notions about an active audience that uses media content to create meaningful
experiences. The Modern Effect
Perspective acknowledges that important media effects can occur over longer
periods of time as a direct consequence of viewer or reader intent. As stated
by such theorists there will be many conflicting or opposing social trends,
some of which will be easier to reinforce using available marketing techniques.
It is also assumed that potentially useful trends can be undermined as public
attention is drawn toward opposing ones.
9.
DIMENSIONS AND TYPES OF MEDIA THEORY
As described above, different
views/perspectives on mass media had been forwarded during the last two hundred
years. These approaches can be categorized under different alternatives and/or
dimensions. These are:
Left Approach Right Approach
(Progressive/Liberal Approach) (Conservative
Approach)
Critical of the power exercised in the hands Critical of
the ‘Liberal Bias’ of the news on the damage
of large global organizations. done
by media to traditional values.
Critical Approach Applied Approach
(Lazarsfeld’s: Critical Approach ) (Lazarsfeld’s:
Administrative Orientation)
Seeks to expose underlying problems and
faults of Aims to
harness an understanding of communication
media practice and relate them in a
comprehensive way processes to
solving practical problems of using mass
to social issues, guided by certain values. Communications
more effectively.
Media-Centric Approach Society Centric Approach
Attributes much more autonomy and influence
to Mainly views the
media as a reflection of political and
Communication and concentrates on the media’s
own economic
forces. Mass Communication Theory is so driven,
Sphere of activity. Also pays much more
attention to tending to
respond to each major shift of media technology
the specific content of media and the
potential and
structure.
consequences of the different kinds of media.
Sees mass media as a primary mover in social
change
Driven forward by irresistible developments
in
Communication technology.
Culturist Approach Materialistic Approach
(Humanistic Approach) (Scientific
Approach)
(Qualitative Approach) (Quantitative
Approach)
(Subjective Approach) (Objective
Approach)
The Interests and convictions of which lie in
the realm of Wherein the emphasis
is on material factors and forces.
cultural values and ideas.
Based on the two sets of dimensions: Media
Centric/Society Centric, and Culturist/Materialistic Approaches, four
different perspectives on mass media can be identified as follows:
1. A
Media-Culturist Perspective:
Which focus on
media content and form, and the subjective reception of media messages as
influenced by the immediate personal environment.
2. A
Media-Materialistic Perspective:
Which
emphasizes the organizational, financial, and technological aspects of the
media.
3. A
Socio-Culturist Perspective:
Which emphasizes the influence of social factors on
media production and reception and the functions of the Media in social life.
4. A
Socio-Materialistic Perspective:
Which views the media and their contents mainly as
a reflection of political-economic and material forces and conditions.
EVOLUTION/HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE MASS
MEDIA
PRINT MEDIA
449 B.C. - News Reports on the actions of
the Roman Senate and gossip from Rome
1 A.D. - ‘Acta Diurna’ : The Written News Report was introduced.
1450s - Johann Gutenberg assumed to be
the inventor of printing techniques started his Press.
1476 - First Press in UK Westminster , U.K.
10.
1566 - The Venetian Government initiated
a daily newspaper to report its war with Dalmatia .
1609 - Regular daily newspapers began
appearing in Germany
1700 - James Franklin established the “New England Courant’
as the voice of opposition to the severe
Puritan
Rule in Boston
1704 - John Campbell became the editor of
the first successful newspaper “Boston Newsletter’, which
sold
at four cents.
1783 - Benjamin Towne converted his
“Pennsylvania Evening Post” to the “Pennsylvania Evening Post
&
Daily Advertiser”.
1800 - Printing introduced in Russia
1814 - Introduction of the Power Presses
that could print 800 copies per hour.
1832 - R. Hoe & Company offered a
Press that could print 4000 copies per hour. Rise of Mass Press
1833 - Benjamin H. Day offered New
Yorkers the “New York
at
lower class readers.
1840 – 1850 - Introduction of the Penny Press
and the Dime Novels.
1883 - Joseph Pulitzer bought the “New
York World” and drove its circulation from 10,000 to 100,000
copies
in less than a year.
1890 - Rise of Yellow Journalism
(Sensational, often irresponsible journalism)
1895 - William Randolph Hearst bought the dying ‘Journal’ and
drove its circulation to 380,000 by 1896.
The
next year it was 600,000, and by 1900, it had increased to 1,250,000 copies.
TELEVISION
Commission.
1945 -1950 - Columbia
American
Broadcasting Company (ABC) started their television broadcasting services.
CABLE TELEVISION
1948 - John Walson of Mahoney City Central Pennsylvania erected a large
receiving antenna on top
of a hill and
connected this to the TV sets through the coaxial cable. Referred to as Community
Antenna Television (CATV) Network.
RADIO
1920 - Pittsburg
1922 - WEAF owned by American Telephone
& Telegraph Company aired the first commercial
broadcasting.
1926 - David Sarnoff, a Russian immigrant
became the guiding force behind the establishment of the
National
Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the nation’s first radio network.
1927 - Federal Radio Commission assigned
frequency and established a broadcasting band between
500
and 1500 kilocycles.
1928 - A Tobacco Heir, William S. Paley,
the Vice-President of Congress Cigar Company bought a
ramshackle radio
network: United Independent Broadcasters including Philadelphia
OTHERS
1877 - Phonograph patented.
1882 - First Wireless Communication: Between the Isle of
Wight and English Mainland.
1895 - First Cinema Film screened in
Paris (Hancock)
11.
MODELS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
Mass Communication can be defined through
many alternative approaches. Four such alternatives referred to as the Models
of Communications are summarized herein. A Model is any representation of a
system expressed in terms of words or diagrams. The Communication Models are
ideal means of representing the communication processes.
1. The
Transmission Model
This model assumes
that a message source dominates the communication process and that the primary
outcome of the process is some sort of effect on receivers – usually one
intended by the source. Influence moves or flows in a straight line from source
to receivers. The possibility that the message receivers might also influence
the source is ignored. Attention is focused on whether a source brings about
the intended effects or whether unintended negative effects occur. Mutual or
reciprocal influence is not considered.
Bruce Westley and Malcolm Maclean (1957) proposed a
new model of communication processes with feedback loops in which mutual
influence was possible.
2.
The Ritual Model
This model regards mass communications as “not
directed toward the extension of messages in space but the maintenance of
society in time; not the act of imparting information but the representation of
shared beliefs.
James Carey, who traced the origin of the ritual
view to hermeneutic literary criticism, stated; “Communication is a symbolic
process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.”
This model compels
communicators to examine broader issues like how cultures organize themselves,
how people negotiate common meaning and are bound by it, and how media systems
interact with the culture to affect the latter’s definition of itself.
3.
The Reception Model
It is an audience
centered model that focuses on how various types of audience members make sense
of specific forms of content, sometimes referred to as reception analysis.
Stuart Hall, a prominent
scholar suggested that researchers shouldn’t make unwarranted assumptions about
either encoding or decoding but should rather conduct research that permits
them to carefully assess the social and political context in which media
content is produced (encoding), and the everyday life context in which it is
consumed (decoding). Hall drew on French semiotic theory to argue that any media
content can be regarded as a text that is made up of signs. These signs are
structured; that is, they are related to one another in specific ways. To make
sense of a text – to read a text – you must be capable of interpreting the
signs and their structure. He further stated that the texts can be read or
interpreted in several ways depending on the perception, learning, attitude,
etc. of the readers.
Preferred or
dominant reading is the way of reading or interpretation as intended by
the producers of the message. Negotiated Meaning is the
personally meaningful interpretation of the content (by the audience
member) that differs from the preferred
reading in important ways. Oppositional Decoding is when an audience member develops
interpretations of content that are in direct opposition to a dominant reading.
4.
The Publicity Model
This model reflects the
economic aspect of mass communications. As almost all media are commercial
oriented, they must generate revenues by increasing their Circulation or by
broadening their Reach, and by attracting advertisers. Advertisers normally
prefer mass media which are greatly
popular and have a large audience or readership. One of the foremost objectives
of the mass media is to draw the attention of the audience and retain their
interest.
Not only must the mass
media enhance their popularity, but they must also be capable of competing.
Offering good entertainment to the public is an effective way of gaining
popularity and collecting revenues.
Each of the four
models described here reflects different perspectives of the communication
processes, and each has its own weaknesses and advantages, as such it would be
a folly to select one and reject the others. Each model can be relevant and
applicable for a different purpose, and thus preferred by some members of the
media industries.
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