Mass Communication- Definitional

Mass communication seems to be evolving constantly. Mass communication is unlike a personal encounter because it is mediated. There are three ways in which these mediated messages differ from personal messages. First of all, the sensory input prospective for the receivers is more restricted. Second, receivers are sometimes unable to offer their feedback. And lastly, receivers may not know the source from which the information came. Wright believes that in mass communication, “the audience is relatively large, heterogeneous, and anonymous to the source. The experience is public, rapid, and fleeting. The source works through a complex organization rather than in isolation, and the message may represent the efforts of many different people (503).”
In mass communication, the role of the audience is imperative, and it is important that one considers the size of the audience in a specific context. Because mass communication includes a massive audience, face-to-face communication does not take place. We have seen people steered into action as times of calamity, so we know that it is essential to get a point across to an audience. Though, in mass communication, the receivers of the message are widely unknown. These messages presented are, “intended for rapid consumption by great numbers of people (504).” Therefore, these messages are considered public and not private. When we hear a message through a mass communication effort, we must remember that it most likely have from a plethora of sources. Many individuals must compile their thoughts to construct an effective message. This effort includes a lot of time and funds. For instance, advertising companies spend millions of dollars to have a commercial air during the Super Bowl. The company also hires the people that are ideal for the job. And although this process can be costly, usually it pays off as its profits are, “equally spectacular (504).” In the United States we see advertising as a huge form of mass communication. Because we know these messages can be so effective, we must also reflect on the fact that ethics must be considered. To consider the effect of mass communication we must evaluate it next to different communication contexts. As we consider it, we must remember that in mass communication there is limited feedback.
Feedback is given in mass communication, it is just delayed. This feedback will also not be as complete as the feedback given in face to face communication. Also, we must consider the fact that mass communication weaves its message through a complex network of people. Sometimes the feedback that was specified to someone can end up reaching another person. Unfortunately, it is often impossible for one to respond to all the feedback that is given. An example of this would be a popular magazine. Thousands of people might contribute their thoughts, but only a few thoughts can be answered by the editor. On the other hand, technology is growing at such a rapid pace, and today more emails and faxes can be answered. In some ways, mass communication and face-to-face communication has a quantity of overlap.
As we think about the process of mass communication, we must consider the gatekeeper. A gatekeeper “is a person who, by selecting, changing, and/or rejecting messages, can influence the flow of information to a receiver or a group of receivers (508).” In thinking about this concept, we may remember its connecting to the construction of rumors. This gatekeeping exists in all mass media. In fact, in mass communication we will most likely find a network of gatekeepers. This procedure, “involves a selection process that has analogies with the selection process going on in all other contexts of communication- from interpersonal to organizational (509).” The gatekeeper must consider the economic impact of this message because mass media in the United States is concerned with profit making. The gatekeeper must also keep in mind legal restrictions that should be places on the message to make sure it does not get into the wrong hands or offend someone. Many people in the media have to gather and present information quickly, so deadlines become a cause of concern in accuracy and truth. A gatekeepers ethics will also tailor the message. In the media there is a great deal of dynamic competition so it is important for a gatekeeper to consider what looks best for their company. Gatekeepers must consider the importance of their message against all other messages. When understanding this, they must weigh the local and global interest of a situation. The gatekeeper must constantly look at the feedback he or she receivers in order to change or limit their message for the next time.
A lot of work with gatekeepers has been seen in war reporting. The problem with war reporting is usually access. Many journalists find ways that they can sneak past this dilemma. During the Vietnam War for instance, the link between the media and the military became tense. During the Gulf War, few media correspondents even knew what was going on. In recent years, the Pentagon created the concept of embedding which has changed the relationship between media and military operations. Embeds are journalists who are allowed to live and travel with the troops. In addition to these embeds, there are also journalists that are independent called unilateral. Embeds has access to the troops at all times, but were subject to censorship. These people often wrote dramatic stories that lacked all of the information necessary for one to understand the whole picture. Unilaterals have less contact with the troops, and little to no restrictions. Therefore, they see events in larger contexts and can attempt to travel anywhere, at any time they wish to witness a story. Unfortunately, these unilateral lack protection. Receivers of these war messages usually found that those constructed by the embeds where usually written in a more positive tone towards the military.
There are a lot of ethical considerations a gatekeeper makes in order to insure that the message doesn’t misrepresent a story. In the past years, different journalism stations have had to take risks and have their form declined ethically. The media can alter the way we see images. The media also has a tendency to not consider the privacy of an individual and they become intrusive. An example of this would be the night that Princess Diana dies in a car crash. Many reports say that she was being chased by a photojournalist. Sources in mass media must be credible so that we can gain a clearer understanding of a situation. In broader terms, gatekeepers must consider censorship, questions about federal power of broadcast licensing, and the duty of the mass media to the public. Because there are so many topics of information, gatekeepers must establish an agenda. In doing so, they do not tell us directly what to think, but rather they give us the information necessary to form our own thoughts. The information that they choose can have a huge impact on the public. It is important that they sometimes limit their information for private matters. In the end though, silence can be deadly. This kind of silence, not speaking up when horrible things are happening, is irresponsible. During times of war, the media must take all different kinds of patriotism into consideration. Some people do not believe it is right for the media to talk about the number of causalities in a war. Because media stations can show their own judgment of politics, broadcasting has adapted the Fairness Doctrine. This doctrine states that stations “devote a reasonable time to discussions or serious public issues and allow equal time for opposing views to be heard (Bagdikian and Rendall).” This is not always used by news stations, and the principles of censorship are still being well thought-out today. In constructing a story, media outlets must design the message to take into account everyone involved and distribute the profit and burdens of the point to those same people.
In earlier years, studies of mass communication showed that the message went directly to the sender from the receiver. According to this process (The Hypodermic Model), each audience affiliate receives messages straight from the starting place of a certain medium. If this information is powerful enough, it will influence the receiver. In some ways this is a miraculous thing, in other ways, this can have a perilous effect. As mass communication was researched more, people found that the media reinforced the preferences of voters in a campaign. Our major source of influence seems to be personal influence which is the pressure of other people. Put more simply, even in mass communication contexts, senders have to consider the viewer as being a part of a larger social setting. In some of these larger groups there is an opinion leader. This opinion leader is, “someone who, through day-to-day personal contacts and communication, influences someone else’s opinions and decisions (Wright).” These leaders influence decisions on all kinds of issues. Inside the different levels of society, you will find special opinion leaders. These people tend to be very well versed in their area of expertise, and therefore can contribute quite a bit of influence. This discovery leads to the development of the two-step flow model. This model says that information is first passed throughout the mass media, then in trickles down to opinion leaders. Then from these leaders, information is distributed to the populace.
As a part of the hypodermic model, an audience has to remain relatively passive and suck in all the information that is given off from the sender. Though, this does not always occur as the audience is now active. An audience can select the way in which it receives information. For example, some people watch the Today Show, and others prefer to read the New York Times. Because of this, you could say we have more control over the information that is being pushed at us. This goes along with the idea of selective exposure. If we choose to read a magazine that confirms our ideas, we are practicing selective exposure. As humans, we seek out places that will provide us with ideas, beliefs, and values like our own. More specifically though, what we take in from the various contexts is also selective, meaning we only hear what we want. This process includes the filtering of information. The receiving function in mass communication is very much like face-to-face communication as we tend to avoid using the work audience. Instead, we view the person who is processing the information to be a receiver also. There is also face-to-face communication used in developing a message because we have to remember that different opinion leaders and gatekeepers work together. Also, the feedback from the receiver can entail several steps.
The relationship between interpersonal and media technologies are being constantly questioned. Many people believe that the places we look for mass media information are very important in shaping our interpersonal communication. People also tend to, “make choices about what media they will use for particular reasons (521).” Many people believe that our search for information on the internet limits our social interaction. Researchers found this idea to be entirely untrue as families used their television for entertainment, and in turn used their computer for attaining information and communication. The internet is now being used widely as a source for credible information.
Closely tied to the concept of message flow is the study of the diffusion of information. The diffusion of information deals with, “how quickly news or information travels and the communication channels through which it spreads to a community or receivers (522).” This diffusion includes all kinds of information that is trickled down over time among members of a social system. After September 11th, the diffusion of information was rapid. Ninety percent of people hear about news through the mass media. The importance of the information will determine how rapidly it spreads. Sometimes we hear about information said in the mass media from others, and at times we hear about it in the presence of others. Once information is given off, its persuasiveness must be evaluated.
Because politicians know the great affect of the mass media on attitude influence they spend more and more each year during campaigns. Because these politicians are using new form of technology to get their information across, teenagers are becoming more and more involved. More Americans are also using the internet as their source for political information. Attitude influence has been studied over all the years of presidential debates. Millions of people tune in to watch these debates as they hope to have their attitude either reinforced or influenced. Those that did not watch the debate on television soon found out about it in the newspaper. These debates are crucial as they also influence those viewers who are impartial or undecided. Viewers tend to look closely at tone, posture, and hand movements in order to gain a greater understanding of the candidate’s personality. Interestingly, people tend to form their opinion about the debate after it occurs. The press’s interpretation of the debate is what usually influences society. Although this candidate packaging is sometimes seen as negative, it is imperative for us to form our views.
If one looks at the stories that run on the nightly news, or across the headlines of a news paper, then will begin to understand that the mass media has an agenda. This agenda is, “strictly a descriptive term for a prioritized list of items, the major topics found in newspapers, television programs, and other mass media messages (McCombs).” According to agenda setting theory, the press can tell us what to think by ranking the significance of certain issues. This influencing works as it is repeated day after day. You can also learn a lot by cues in asking yourself about the length of the article, the font size of a headline, and the page the article is presented on. We must be aware of this agenda setting so that our attitudes are not influenced as easily.
Another way that we are influenced by the media is framing. Framing is, “choosing a broad organizing theme for selecting, emphasizing, and linking the elements of a story (529).” Frames define the problems and are measured in terms of widespread cultural values. These frames also detect causes which identifies the force creating the dilemma. Frames also make moral judgments and suggest remedies. Frames can be seen as a way of telling a story from a certain point of view. The language we choose also has a huge amount to do with framing. This can be seen in politics when the society asks something like death penalty or execution? We should stay aware of terms like informed sources and right-winger.
In many ways, we learn new responses and behaviors simply by observing them. This process is defined as modeling. Movies, books, and television shows have significantly influenced the children and in some ways, adults, in our society. Children learn about jobs, material possessions, wealth and such through television dramas. It is interesting how men and women are portrayed differently through the media. In television for example, shows show married women who for the most part do not work. Because we know about this influence, the mass media has created the concept of role models. In movies women are sometimes to be portrayed as sex objects, and men are portrayed to not be as bright as women. This gender stereotyping seems to evolve over time. Children seem to be watching more television than ever. Children tend to remember news seen of the television more so than in the newspaper. All of this television has contributed to an increase in adolescent violence. George Gerbner studied the effect of television on our society. From his research he developed the cultivation theory which states that, “the greater amount of television you watch, the more your worldview comes to accord with the beliefs, values, and attitudes you see on the screen (535).” Through his project, he and other researchers have tried to monitor the amount of dramas children watch. Through constant watching of television we develop the mean world syndrome which leads us to believe that the world is not a kind place. Usually we believe that others are more influenced than we are- this is called the third person effect.
The National Institute of Mental Health believes that, “violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior… not all children become aggressive, but the correlations between violence and aggression are positive (536).” Apparently it exists in both boys and girls. Those who view violence fear being a victim, they decrease their sensitivity to it, and increase their want to be involved with violence. Children with violent tendencies choose to watch shows that support their thoughts. This is all very terrifying, but we must remember that mass media is a human creation and we cannot blame it on our problems.
Today, we tend to take technology for granted. This development will allow doctors to examine and diagnose patients from across the world. Narrowcasting refers, “to programming designed to target a specific segment of the media audience (538).” These new technologies affect how quickly a message reaches us. Virtual materials can now be sent all over the world- this is why we have an increasingly visual society. The volume of information has also greatly increased. Technology is thought of as a media extension. Technological advances show a trend towards this idea of convergence. Convergence is the merging, “or coming together of computing, telecommunications, and media in a digital environment (538).” For those that can afford it, their homes are filled with wireless fax, home shopping, and electronic newspapers. The distinctions between the various forms of media are becoming less and less and they are all coming together into one. This convergence will provide us who a more efficient world of journalism. Currently, 1.1 billion people use the internet. The computer is now used for a wide variety of interactive activities. This World Wide Web changes the way we read and write. Some scholars have even published their novels online. The average American spends 8.9 hours per week on the internet and many use the internet to be effective at work.
Another facet of the online world is the use of email. Studies have found that people’s favorite thing to do on the internet is read or write emails. This includes email, instant messages, and chat rooms. Email is essential in organizational communication. This can also affect the privacy of the message though. Email ethics seems to be forming every day. Now companies teleconference- they hole meetings with people in different locations. The telephone is used for audio conferencing. We see this happening on the news as different correspondents communicate with each other from different places in front of our eyes. Cell phones have become important devices in our world. Cell phones allow us to be engaged and they encourage us to use our time communicating with others who are not in our presence. The cell phone has changed the way we view people as available. In telecommunicating, “people work at different locations outside the main office, often at home, and are usually connected to a main office by computer and a high-speed modem (542).” All of this creates a more bendable work environment. We must also consider the fact that not everyone wants to work from home. Now there are thousands of video games offered throughout the world. These video games are often seen as controversial because they take up to much unnecessary time, and in many cases they are violent. Some believe that video games can actually increase our skills in different areas. These games can also deepen our problem solving skills.
The world has now created this new alternative media. Now we use blogs which is, “a website where information is updated and presented in reverse chronological order (543).” There are 12 million bloggers in the United States. Most of the information on blogs has been found to not be accurate. The mainstream media now uses blogs also. Media reform organizations have been formed to promote superior interactivity linking the press and the public. The Free Press and Accuracy in Media are examples of these types of organizations. Other news outlets are also emerging like small town radio stations that cater to their publics opinions.
All of these technologies have an effect on interpersonal communication. Now, there will be less face to face transactions, but we must also consider new technologies such as skype. These advances intensify a person’s selectivity. Many of these advances will advance communication as we can now communicate with others from across the world. Some communication that occurs online is not always reflective of us. Some studies have shown that those who use the internet at home express depression and isolation. Other research has found that the internet actually promotes social interaction as it allows us to stay connected with those we care about. There has been little research that has concluded that internet affects of social relationships. These changes in social networks are parallel with social changes. The internet should complement our social activities.
People are now concerned that technology is implementing a digital divide between people who can use, afford, and understand the information. Access to internet is limited to those who are well educated and in good economic standing. These divides seems to deal with race and economic social issues. It is our most sincere hope that this technology helps our world become a global human community. Borders have been taken down, and communication flows more freely. We can connect with other countries and promote change. Mass communication has the power to influence all of society. We must make ourselves aware of the ways in which the persuasion works. We must also work very hard to stay in touch with our global human community through advances in technology.
Bibliography:
Tubbs, Stewart, & Moss, Sylvia (1974). Human Communication. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill .