syllabus -...

B.A. (HONS.) Mass Communication I Semester Sub. – Introduction to Mass Communication

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SYLLABUS

Class – B.A. (HONS.) MASS COMMUNICATION

I Semester

Subject – Introduction to Mass Communication

Unit-I Journalism & mass communication: Nature, scope, definition of mass

communication, Process, 7 C‘s of communication.

Unit-II Types of communication, difference between communication & mass

communication, use of communication.

Unit-III Various media of communication: Books, magazine, newspaper,

internet, satellite, television, films, traditional media, other media.

Unit-IV Models of communication and mass communication – Lasswell‘s,

Shannon Weaver and Osgood.

Unit-V Mass media and modern society, Mass media and democracy.



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UNIT-I UNIT – I INTRODUCTION

It is impossible not to communicate. Everybody communicates, everything communicates. Communication is not a process limited to human beings only. All creatures on the earth, from worms to humans, are communicating each other for their better existence. It is a universal phenomenon. Communication is a process which includes transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, knowledge by using symbols, words, gestures, and visuals and so on. Thus, the act of communication is referred to as ‘transmission’

MEANING OF COMMUNICATION The word communication was originated from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means ‘common’. Communion, community, communism, commonality, communalism etc. are some related words having the same linguistic roots. Similarly, newer and newer terms are being coined as the concept of communication assumes importance day by day. Communication technology, communication media, communication age, communication management are just a few. As the very term indicates, the ultimate aim of the communication process is to create commonness between communicator and receiver of the message. Through communication, both communicator and receiver enter into a mental agreement. Thus, they achieve their goal, which may be expression of an emotion or transmission of an idea.

DEFINITIONS 1. Communication is the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols. (I.A.Richards). 2. The transmission of information, ideas attitudes, or emotion from one person or group to another or others primarily through symbols.(Theodorson and Theordorson) 3. Communication is the transmission and interchange of facts, ideas, feeling or course of action. (Leland Brown) 4. Communication is a social interaction through messages ( Grabner, 1967) 5. The interchange of thoughts or information to bring about mutual understanding and confidence or good human relation. (American society of Training Directors). 6. ‘One mind affecting another’ (Claude Shannon)

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION - 1. Communication is Information Transfer 2. Communication failures can be solved by restoring the connection 3. Communication is either on or off 4. Communication is passive 5. Communication success is defined in legal terms 6. If human communication is like machine communication, humans must be like machines 7. Communication Is Dynamic, not Static 8. Communication Is Irreversible 9. Communication Is Proactive, not Passive 10. Communication Is Interactive 11. Communication Is Contextual 12. Communication is grounded in perspective

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION Considering the essentiality of communication, scholars enumerated the following functions of it. a) Education: To transfer knowledge for the progress of the society (Example: class room communication) b) Information: To find and explain some thing new (Example: News media)



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c) Cultural promotion : To help foster social values and pass them from generation to generation (Example: Festivals, parties, celebrations) d) Social contact: To help make enjoyable companionship (Example: Friendship, clubs, organizations etc.) e) Integration: To create harmonious relationships among various social groups (Example:Political parties, conferences, meetings etc.) f) Stimulation: To create interest and develop positive thinking /behavior(Example: Advertisements) g) Counseling: To alleviate anxiety and lead to better ways (Example: guidance, consolationetc.) h) Expression of emotions (Example: crying, smiling etc) i) Entertainment: To help pass time and enjoy life (Example: drama, song etc.) j) Control function: To get someone to behave in an appropriate way (Example: management, censorship etc) Elements of Communication Let us analyse Joseph A Devito’s definition that ‘communication refers to the act by one or more persons, of sending and receiving messages distorted by noise, within a context, with some effect and with some opportunity for feedback’ to find out the essential elements of communication. According to his definition, communication has the following elements: A) SENDER- Senderis the idea generating component in communication process. In humancommunication, sender may be a person or persons who create or formulate the message to be sent to the receiver. Being the primary source of the message, sender is also termed as source. In mass media, for example, news reporter is the sender or source as he/she constructsthe message (news story). In a musical performance, the singer is the sender as his message isenjoyed by the audience. B) MESSAGE- The message is any verbal or non-verbal method that produces meaning in the mind ofthe receiver. Simply, it is the meaning transferred from sender’s mind to receiver’s mind. Thishappens mainly in two ways: verbal and non-verbal methods. Verbal message means written or oral messages. They are composed of words. Example:A newspaper report or a lecture by a teacher. Non-verbal messages are those communicated through our behaviour,movements, actions, clothes, style of conversation, pitch of the sound etc.What is fundamental in message construction is the agreement between sender andreceiver in the code used for it. If the receiver cannot identify the language or meaning of themessage, the communication will be defective. C) CHANNEL - The channel means medium by which sender transmits the message to the receiver. Ourfive senses such hearing, touching, smelling , tasting , seeing are basic natural channels of humancommunication. Communication can be classified on the basis of five basic natural channels.They are: Tactile communication: Communication by touch or taste Olfactory communication: communication by smell Audio communication: Communication through sound waves Visual communication: Communication through visual elements or properties. D) RECEIVER - Idea receiving end in communication process is called receiver. A person or thing may beat the receiving end. The receiver’s role is as important as a sender’s role. As in the case of asender, receiver has also three roles to play: a) To receive the message b) To decode the message Decoding is the process of extracting a message from a code and interprets it. For this, sender and receiver should have knowledge about the code (for example: language) used incommunication. c) To respond to the message through feedback



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Receivers may be audience watching movies, persons listening to music, students hearinga lecture or a computer getting e-mail from a remote server.Communication fails or remains faulty when message is rejected or misinterpreted by thereceiver. E) NOISE - Noise or communication barrier is any thing that distorts message. Noise may originatein any of the components of communication like source, message, channel, context, receiver etc.Noise is present when there is difference between the message sent and received. Communication is not possible without noise, but its effects may be reduced through various methods such as using good grammar, clear voice, simple language, quality signal etc. F) FEEDBACK - Information or message that is fed back to the source is called feedback. If you getclapping for your singing, clapping is the feedback. Questions raised by students in a class roomfor more information is another example for feedback.Feedback originated either from the sources’ own message is called self feedback.Example: When you talk to somebody, you hear yourself and evaluate your tone, pitch etc. G) CONTEXT - Communication takes place in a context. At times it is noticeable and at other times not.In other words, time, place, culture, physical and social condition and psychology of theparticipants are important in determining communication effect. If we try to interpret a messageout of its context, we may get an entirely different meaning which may result in communicationerror.Rules and roles are two important factors related to communication context. H) EFFECT - Communication effects are of three types: Cognitive effects: The consequences take place in the receiver’s intelligence due tocommunication. Example : Knowledge acquisition Affective effects: The consequences occurred in the emotions of the person/s due tocommunication.Eg. Compassion, love etc. Behavioral effects: The change in the receiver’s behavior or actions due to communication.Eg. Political campaign and change in people’s voting behavior or purchasing newproducts inspired by the advertisements.

WHAT IS MASS COMMUNICATION? AIR FM Gold, AIR FM Rainbow, Radio Mirchi, Doordarshan, Star, Zee, Dishnet, Tata Sky… The list is unending. Breaking news, flash, sting operation, live coverage of cricket… The way we communicate has changed in the area of mass communication or for most people in the mass media. We enjoy all that entertainment, music, reality shows, serials, beauty parades and fashion shows. From newspapers and magazines we have moved over to films , television and internet. All these are different forms of mass media and what they do is to communicate with the large unseen audiences nationally and internationally. The simplest definition of mass communication is “public communication transmitted electronically or mechanically.” In this way messages are transmitted or sent to large, perhaps millions or billions of people spread across the world. How are these messages sent ? They are sent through different forms of mass media such as newspapers, magazines, films, radio, television and internet. Media is the plural for the word medium or ‘means of communication’. Means of communication is also called channel of communication. Mass communication can therefore also be defined as ‘who’, ‘says what’, ‘in which channel’, ‘to whom’, ‘with what effect’. Look at the following figure.



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‘Who’ : refers to the communicator. Says ‘what’?: Here ‘what’ means the message. What the communicator has written, spoken or shown is the message. ‘In what channel’: This refers to the medium or channel like the newspaper, radio, or television. ‘To whom’ : This refers to the person receiving the message or the receiver. “With what effect”: This refers to the impact of a message on a channel or medium. Let us assume that you have been informed about an event in a newspaper, or on radio of a social message. If this has changed your attitude towards a social evil like dowry or if a film song on television has entertained you, it may be called “the effect”. People who make films, write news, produce radio and television programs or advertisements are all communicators who have a message for you. The medium through which messages are communicated such as newspaper, radio or television are the channels. That brings us to the functions of mass communication.

COMPONENTS OF MASS COMMUNICATION

For better understanding of the nature of mass communication, we should analyze itstwo basic components : the mass and the communication media. The Mass The concept “mass’’ in mass communication is defined as a large, heterogeneous,assorted, anonymous audience. ‘Large’ means we can’t exactly count the number of the members of audience. It isrelatively large but it doesn’t mean that the audience includes all people. ‘Heterogeneous’ means the audience of mass media includes all types of people – the rich,the poor, farmers, bureaucrats, politicians and so on. ‘Assorted’ means the audience of mass media is not necessarily limited to a particulargeographical sector. They may be scattered everywhere. For example, a newspaper may have areader in every nook and corner of the world. ‘Anonymous’ means we can’t specifically identify a reader of a newspaper of newspaperwith his certain characteristics. Today he may be reader of a particular newspaper. Tomorrow, hemay change his media habit. Anybody at any time may be a member of mass media audience.

FUNCTIONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION News and discussions may inform you; radio and television programmes may educate you; films and television serials and programmes may entertain you.

INFORM, EDUCATE AND ENTERTAIN

Those who write, direct or produce programmes are people who give us messages. Let us consider the example of a news bulletin on radio or television or a news item in a newspaper. They inform us of some event or happening.… “A new President is elected”, “The country has developed a new missile”, “India has beaten Pakistan in cricket”, “25 killed in a bomb blast”… All these inform us. These are properly designed or written messages given by people who are communicators. A doctor speaks on radio or television or writes in a newspaper about how



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to prevent a disease. Experts tell farmers on radio or television about a new crop, seed or agricultural practice. Thereby, the farmers are educated. All the commercial cinema, television serials and music programmes are entertaining. The channels are the means through which messages are sent. These may be newspapers, films, radio, television or the internet. Mass media have tremendous impact on their readers, listeners and viewers. That is the effect. People watch an advertisement on television and buy the product. They are motivated to buy the product to satisfy their needs. When India became independent agriculture in the country was not developed. We did not produce enough rice or wheat to feed our people. We were importing food and the population was also growing fast. There were too many mouths to feed. So the government used the media, especially radio to change this situation. The farmers who were mostly illiterate were told to use the right seed, fertilizers and new techniques on farming. The effect was remarkable. We went through a revolution in agriculture and that was called the Green Revolution. Similarly, the media stressed on the need for small families. Many people followed the small family norm and decided to have only two or three children. For example, the campaign on polio. The mass media informed and educated the people about the polio vaccine to eradicate polio. Messages are created using creativity and film stars deliver these messages. Have you seen Amitabh Bachhan saying “Doh boond zindagi ki” on television meaning “two drops of life”?

ORIGIN OF MASS COMMUNICATION

The term ‘mass communication’ may be considered as a 20th century development. Sending messages to a large number of people and at greater speed was what man was always looking for. There was a time when men on horseback travelled long distances to convey news about say, a war. Pigeons were used as postmen to deliver messages. You may have heard of Kalidasa who was one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. In his poem ‘Meghdoot’, a Yaksha (celestial singer) sends messages to his beloved through the clouds. The invention of paper and printing, and later newspapers, were the first steps towards mass communication. But it was only through the telegraph, invented by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1835, that messages could be sent to long distances using a code. The next step was to send messages through human voice. Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 succeeded in using wires to send the human voice across long distances. However, it was the invention of the radio by Marconi in 1901 which made sending of human voices over long distances possible. In 1947 the invention of the transistor made radio the most popular medium for sending voice messages. Today television, which can send voice as well as pictures, is found almost everywhere. This was invented by Baird in 1920. The moment someone mentions the term mass media, you would probably think of television because that is the most popular mass medium today. When we discussed mass communication we used the word ‘channel’ or ‘medium’. Media , as you have already learnt is the plural of medium. A medium is just a means used to send messages. When we meet someone and speak to that person, it is face to face communication. But when we talk about a mass medium like television it is not face to face communication. There is a mass or a very large number of people watching it. The first medium used to communicate with a large number of people was the newspaper. Then came a truly mass medium, the radio invented by Marconi. Newspapers had limitations like the time factor. News had to be collected, compiled, edited and printed in advance and then sent for people to read them. All these took plenty of time. For example, what you read in your morning newspaper was printed around midnight. That means it does not contain anything that happened after midnight. Of course, those who read a newspaper have to be literate. Before the invention of paper, writing was done on rocks, leather, palm leaves etc. You might have seen some old writings on rocks or, say, some ‘stupas’ of Ashoka or some old Sanskrit or other Indian language documents written on palm leaves. Though the Chinese are credited with the use of some sort of paper in



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105 AD, the word ‘paper’ is derived from the name of a plant Papyrus, that grows on the banks of river Nile in Egypt. For us, today, paper of different kinds and colours is neither a wonder nor a rare thing. Can you think of a world without paper? Your studies are almost entirely dependent on paper. NATURE OF MASS COMMUNICATION 1. Mass communication experience is public one. It means that anybody can be a part ofthis communication process at any time without much effort or permission. 2. It is a mediated communication act. Nature of the media involved in the processdefines the mediation in mass communication. For example, television can transmit anews instantly as it is a fast medium, newspaper takes to bring the same news reportto the public because of its limitations. This is how nature of the media defines themediation process in mass communication. 3. Mass communication is filtered communication. This filtering processing is calledgatekeeping. For example, a news report in a newspaper or on a television channelfiltered or controlled at different level by reporter, sub editor, news editor, editor. 4. It is the most complicated form of communication as it involves complex technologylike satellites digital networks, management structure, marketing chain etc. 5. Mass communication can alter the way the society thinks about events and attitudes. 6. Mass communication experience is transient. It means that once you used a message (for example, a news report or a film) you may not use it again. The message is meantto be used once and it is gone. Who will read yesterday’s newspaper? 7. Mass communication is most often remains as one-way communication. As receivers,how many of us write letters to editor (sender)? A very few. But, in interpersonalcommunication, senders and receivers are in active conversation sending feedback toeach other. 8. Unlike other communicators, mass communicators can’t see their audience. KaranTapar or Pranoy Roy, the leading television personalities in India know that theirprogrammes are watched by millions of Indians. But, they can’t see how peoplerespond or react while watching their presentations. That’s why they can’t change thestyle of presentation or mode of communication instantly as we do in interpersonal orgroup communication.

SCOPE OF MASS COMMUNICATION Scope of mass communication is wide in nature. For the advancement of world civilization, the scope of economic activities is increasing day by day. Specifically after, the industrial revolution rapid development is happening in trade, commerce and industrial sector. All these have given emphasis to the mass communicationwhich is now so pervasive that it may go up to social commercial national or international levels. However, the scope of mass communication discussed briefly in below: 1. Trade and commerce: For massive production and sale mass communication helps through wide

circulation and publicity facilitates the organization to reach these objectives in comparatively less time and expenditure.

2. Social affairs: Mass communication also helps to advance our social affairs. Unexpected sufferings of people are sometimes caused by severe drought, a terrible flood, war or any other natural calamities others will be known rapidly through mass communication and take quick decision.



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3. Human resources management: By the help of mass communication, semi skilled workers become skilled and fit for the target job which is a scope of mass communication also.

4. Political affairs: It has power for access to political affairs. To form public opinion on some important political issue, political parties convey their feelings and arguments to the general public through mass media like television, newspapers etc. Even international politics also influence largely by mass communication through electronic media.

5. State business: The annual plan, policy, program and procedure of a state are circulated through mass communication and communication ministry of a state performs a vital role here and uses various electronic media to serve their purposes.

6. Education: Education is another area where mass communication is widely used. The mass education programmed undertaken by the Govt. Is being vigorously conducted through television, radio and newspapers.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

7Cs of COMMUNICATION There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows: 1. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:

Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization. Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is

incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete. A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no

questions in the mind of receiver. Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/receivers of

message as they get all desired and crucial information. It persuades the audience.

2.Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:

It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.



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It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless words. Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the audience. Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience. Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

3.Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points, background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows:

Emphasize on “you” approach. Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a positive

reaction from the audience. Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is

impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

4.Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:

It makes understanding easier. Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.

5.Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:

It is supported with specific facts and figures. It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation. Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

6.Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:

Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the message.

Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience. It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message. It is not at all biased.

7.Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following features:

The message is exact, correct and well-timed. If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level. Correct message has greater impact on the audience/ readers. It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message. It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

NOTE :Types of mass communication media with advantages and limitations please refer the image:



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UNIT-II ETHOS, PATHOS, AND LOGOS.

Ethos (Greek for 'character') refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speaker. Ethos is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the writer or speaker refers to differing views. It can also be affected by the writer's reputation as it exists independently from the message--his or her expertise in the field, his or her previous record or integrity, and so forth. The impact of ethos is often called the argument's 'ethical appeal' or the 'appeal from credibility.' Logos (Greek for 'word') refers to the internal consistency of the message--the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The impact of logos on an audience is sometimes called the argument's logical appeal. [P]athos (Greek for 'suffering' or 'experience') is often associated with emotional appeal. But a better equivalent might be 'appeal to the audience's sympathies and imagination.' An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the writer's point of view--to feel what the writer feels. In this sense, pathos evokes a meaning implicit in the verb 'to suffer'--to feel pain imaginatively.... Perhaps the most common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative or story, which can turn the abstractions of logic into something palpable and present. The values, beliefs, and understandings of the writer are implicit in the story and conveyed imaginatively to the reader. Pathos thus refers to both the emotional and the imaginative impact of the message on an audience, the power with which the writer's message moves the audience to decision or action.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION Communication occurs when at least two elements of a system are present. We often think of communication as an interaction between two people. However, we participate in several communication contexts or levels of communication. The major forms of communication are: 1. Intrapersonal Communication 2. Interpersonal Communication 3. Group Communication 4. Mass Communication 5. Verbal Communication 6. Non-Verbal Communication The number of persons involved in the process of communication distinguishes theselevels. These different forms of communication also differ in the degree of proximity or closeness among the participants in the communication process-both at physical and emotional levels. Another differentiating feature is the nature of the feedback, which could be immediate or delayed. 1. Intrapersonal Communication: This is the most basic of the communication context or levels.It occurs when an individual sends and receives messages internally. We spend most of our timethinking and our thought process is nothing but intrapersonal communication where one person issending messages and the same person receives them. Intrapersonal communication also hasfeedback. Here it is called self feedback. Intrapersonal communication is not just a level ofcommunication; it is in fact the very basis of all communication. While participating in the higherlevels of communication like interpersonal communication, group communication and masscommunication we also indulge in intrapersonal communication. It takes place every moment thatwe are alive. 2. Inrerpersonal Communication: This is the universal form of communication that takes place between two individuals. Since it is person to person contact, it includes everyday exchange that may be formal or informal and can take place anywhere by means of words, sounds, facialexpression, gestures and postures.



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3. Group Communication: Group communication is an extension of interpersonal communicationwhere more than two individual are involved in exchange of ideas, skills and interest. A group is anumber of people with a common goal who interact with one another to accomplish their goals,recognize one another’s existence and see themselves as part of the group. Groups provide anopportunity for people to come together to discuss and exchange views of common interest. Groupcommunication in a group, small or big, serves many goals including collective decision-making,self – expression, increasing ones effect, evaluating ones status and relaxation. 4. Mass Communication: Mass communication involves communication with mass audiences andthe channel through which this kind of communication takes place is referred to as mass media.Both mass communication and mass media are generally considered synonymous for the sake ofconvenience. The media through which messages are transmitted include radio, T.V, newspapers,magazines, films, records, tape recorders, video cassette recorders etc. and require largeorganizations and electronic devices to put across the message. 5. Verbal Communication: Verbal communication refers to spoken messages that we transmit byproducing sounds. Our spoken words have greater impact than that of the sword taken out of thescabbard. The speeches of famous leaders and revolutionaries have had the greatest impact onpeople resulting in movements and revolutions. Oral communication is vital to human relationshipsin every business organizations as well as social gatherings. 6. Non-Verbal Communication: Non-verbal media has very limited range. Especially, itcommunicates feelings of likings and disliking and reinforces the feelings expressed through verbalmedia. Occasionally, it contradicts those feelings, which are expressed verbally by thecommunicator.The following are the types of non-verbal communication: 1. Facial behavior 2. Kinesics or body movements 3. Postures and Gestures 4. Personal appearances 5. Clothing 6. Proxemics or distances between people as they interact 7.Dyadic Communication The term ‘Dyadic communication’, in general refers to an interaction between two persons. Even if two persons are present in a situation, it is only two communicators that play a fundamental role.It is a person to person transaction and one of the commonest forms of speech communications.It provides an ideal conditions for close range continuous feedback.The meaning exchanged between the sender and the receiver is marked by high fidelilty High fidelity means a high degree of faithfulness to the original. There is a frequent change of role of participants and body language acquires a greater significance. This is so because the minutest reactions are mutually observable.The formal dyadic communication with which we are concerned demands artistry that can be acquired through practice.Dyadic communication may take a number of forms such as: Face to face conversation Telephone conversation Interview Instruction



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Dictation But we shall study only: FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION: Conversation is the most common form of dyadic communication. It links people together, be it social or professional. Conversation may be defined as oral and usually informal or friendly exchange of views, ideas, etc. In a conversation a participant has to play the role of a speaker or a listener interchangeably. Very often we form an impression about an individual from the way he talks and the topic(s) on

which he converses. Most of us find it easy to converse with our friends, relatives and colleagues whom we like or trust. Since every professional is required to participate in this form of dyadic communication let us

briefly look at some of the important points to be borne in mind. However, the rule that ‘the best practice for conversation is conversation itself’, still holds good. It is useful first to analyze your own conversation habits and then try to change them for greater

effectiveness. Ask yourself questions such as the following for self-analysis: 1) Do I find it difficult to start a conversation? 2) Am I unable to pick a topic? 3) Am I unable to keep the conversation flowing smoothly? 4) Do I always agree with what others say or disagree with them all the time? 5) Do I frequently talk about myself, my family or my interests? 6) Have I a tendency to dominate every conversation situation? 7) Do I give the other participants a chance to speak? 8) Have I any mannerisms like to annoy people? 9) Do I respect other people’s time and interest? 10) Am I self-conscious about the language I use – grammar, pronunciation, articulation etc. The answers that you get would prove useful both for formal and informal conversation. The following are some useful tips: The conversation should be of interest to the participant and may begin with a topic in which both

of you have some interest. As it flows into new channels adjust yourself to the comments and new points of view. Occasionally there would be spells of silence. These need not bother you because often during these spells new thoughts are generated.

Be alert to the attitudes that others may have and don’t be surprised when you realize that the attitudes are likely to change.

Occasionally, call the person by name and look at him while speaking. If you speak the name aloud you would be generating a more friendly feeling. To cap it all, take care of your language and oral manner.

Be always courteous and cheerful. Feel interested in what is being said. Being rigid and argumentative may spoil your conversation, but it is useful to have a point of view. Avoid pet and superfluous words and phrases. Often we develop a fancy for a particular

expression. An analysis of your own speech may reveal that you have a fad for certain words or phrases (e.g. ‘time frame’, ‘allergic’)

Avoid using them frequently in conversation. Similarly expression that smack of affectation and exaggeration should be avoided. The smooth flow of conversation is likely to be hampered if you deliberately use foreign words or

use high-flown vocabulary to impress the listener. An overuse of words such as ‘very lovely, ‘wonderful’, ‘excellent’ may also mar the pleasant informal atmosphere in which conversation ought to take place.



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TYPES OF MASS COMMUNICATION Mass media can be categorized according to physical form, technology involved, natureof the communication process etc. Given below are the major categories of mass media. Print Media Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the moveable metallic type in the fifteenth centurypaved the way for proliferation of the print media. The printing press using moveable typesintroduced the method for mass production of texts. Before the invention of the printing press,books were expensive materials affordable only for the aristocrats and royal families. Printingreduced the cost of books and made them available to the common men also. Rapid duplicationof multiple copies of handy texts led to the innovation of modern newspapers. Print Media include

Newspapers Magazines

books other textual documents

Electronic Media The history of electronic mass media starts with the invention of radio by Marconi. Thefirst radio station was set up in Pittsburg, New York and Chicago in the 1920s. Following theUSA, European countries also started radio stations for broadcasting news and entertainmentcontent. The colonial powers like Briton and France set radio stations in Asian and Africancountries in the early years of 20th century. The next step in electronic communication mediahistory was the invention of cinema. Following cinema, television broadcasting was initiated in the US on experimental basis during 1920s. But, the dramatic impact of television as a massmedium began in 1950s. Parallel to these, recording industry was also boomed in the western countries. In short, the term electronic media mainly include:

Radio Movies

Television Audio and Video records

New Media Online and digital means of producing, transmitting and receiving messages are callednew media. The term encompasses computer mediated communication technology. It implies theuse of desktop and portable computers as well as wireless and handheld devices. Every companyin the computer industry is involved with new media in some manner. The forms of Communicating in the digital world include CD-RoMs DVDs Internet facilities like World Wide Web, bulleting boarding, email etc.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMUNICATION AND MASS COMMUNICATION

Communication is a relationship between two or more then two persons, when they at a certain time & place, are engaged in the exchange of information through a mutually shared medium. For instance, language, facial expression, music, color etc. Mass communication is a public communication that takes place through the use of mass media. (OR) Such act of communication in which information is made available without restricting who may be the receiver. Difference between Communication & Mass communication

1. Technical device is used in Mass communication, where as, 5 senses of human are generally used in Communication.



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2. In Mass communication, the audience is large, scattered & unidentified to the sender, where as, Audience is identified to the sender in Communication.

3. Mass communication is controlled by many gate keepers (who can change or edit the message), where as, Communication is mostly face to face & gate keeping do not involve in it.

Feedback is delayed in Mass communication, where as, Feed back is quick in communication.



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UNIT-III

VARIOUS MEDIUMS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication plays an important role in the management of organizations and the achievement of

their goals. A manager passes information to employees working at different levels orally and in

writing also. He receives the replies in the same manner.

The different mediums of communication used in an organization are :

(i) Oral Communication

(ii) Written Communication

(iii) Visual Communication

(iv) Non-Verbal Communication.

What ever be the media of communication it should maintain the clarity of facts, opinion and

information. It should presented in a decent manner with proper wording and timing. The information

must be clear without any confusion and ambiguity. The communication of information must be well

worded, properly timed and transmitted in decent manner. It is also necessary that the message must be

consistent i.e. the action must coincide with saying. It the supervisor makes a lot of promises, but not

fulfill them in such a case it would be called that consistency does not exit. Feedback of information is

necessary to adjust the action to desired objective.

Oral communication: In most of the cases oral communication is more effective than any other

method of communication. Managers, supervisors and executives use oral communication with their

subordinates. As it is more informal in nature it is like by the employees. But oral communication can

not be used in some cases; like for legal purposes and for maintaining records.

Different forms of oral communication are discussed below:

(i) Talking: Talking is the most common form of communication. It is the easiest, quickest and the

most economical way of communication. A person can talk to another person or to a large number of a

person. Talking is very helpful in situations like when a supervisor is talking to the employees while

resolving a dispute. Such disputes can be solved through oral or verbal communication only and

written communication can not provide speedy solution to such disputes.

(ii) Interview: An interview is also a form of oral communication. It serves three purposes. (i) to obtain

information (ii) to provide information and (iii) to motivate people. Interviews provide and appraisal of

the training, educational qualifications, working experience and personality of the interviewee. It helps

in checking the responsiveness, alertness, presence of mind and manners and poise of the persons

being interview.

(iii) Tours: Business organization commonly send their representatives like salesmen, advertising

agents, market surveyors and research personnel to get quick information. During these tours the

representatives discuss the matter, provide information and also collect information for the

organization. The dealers may ask several questions or certain matters regarding their commission on

sales or the acceptability of the products of the company are also discussed during these tours.



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There are some other forms of oral communication: These are group discussion, seminars and

telephone.

Group discussion: A group of trainees is assigned a problem much in advance together with necessary

reference of books to be consulted. The group prepares a paper for discussion. The leader of the groups

discussion the problem and the rest of the trainees can contribute come ideas during the course of

discussion which is controlled by the leader of the class. Group discussion is possible along persons of

equal status. In that case the chairman of the group shall act as group leader. Most of the time the

attitude of the leader is passive and most of the discussion is made by group members.

Seminars: Oral discussions are a main part of seminars also. The seminars are used to collect

information to deal with a problem. Usually the research scholars are informed in advance about the

research methodology. The familiarity with the proper methodology of research helps in dealing with

the problem in hand quickly and accurately. The names of the participants and their assignments are

announced well in advance.

Telephone: Telephone is the quickest and easiest method of conveying information to persons within

the organization and outside also. The organization has to pay to the service provider for the use of

external telephone service.

Other than these oral communication can also take place through a public address system, radio

telephone, speaker tubes, tele-printer and messengers.

Written Communication: In a business organization written communication is sent to following

persons, organizations or agencies. These could be the employees, consumers, management, labor,

suppliers, distributors or the stock holders of the company. Written communication is also sent to

government departments, bankers, insurance companies and security agencies. The different forms of

written communication are:-

(i) Reports: Reports are prepared to show the working results of the organization, department, factory,

plant or any other institution. These are also prepared to show the result of an enquiry. Many

institutions like banks, insurance companies, educational institutions and other business enterprises

prepare annual reports which show their achievements in the past year an also the obstacles, the impact

of economic conditions, working results and the plans for the future. Some reports are of confidential

nature also. A report must be based on facts and cover a specific period of time. It must serve an

objective and suggests the future course of action.

(ii) Business Letters: The business letters are also an important form of written communication. A

business letter should be written in a formal way and in simple language without any scope for

confusion. It should be polite and courteous but should also convey and idea impressively. Usually

business letters are written on printed paper containing the name and address of the company along

with the date and reference number. As business letters can be used for legal purposes also, these

should be written with grate care.

(iii) News letters: Business houses often use business letters to inform their customers about new

products, change in channel of distribution, enhancement of commission for distributors, improvement

in the quality of the produce, reduction in price, improvement in packaging, increase in weight and a

new use of their product etc. News letters are used for promotional activity. They must be lucid,

impressive, forceful simple convincing and precise.



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(iv) Advertisements : Advertisements are meant to inform the people, of company products and service

; The more a company carries on advertising campaign, the more it succeeds in increasing its sales

Advertisements are made in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, evening issues, radio commercials,

T.V. programmes, cinema slides and sales demonstrations. All advertisements must be appealing,

attractive, convincing and should succeed in achieving the objectives of the company i.e., increase in

sales. Advertising is not a waste of money but it helps both the company as well as the customers. By

advertising the sales of the products and services of the company increase, providing the company with

economies of large scale production consequently the profits increase, cost of production falls down

and the company enjoys ability to complete.

(v) Manuals : Job manuals are a form of written communication and help in defining duties and

responsibilities of the employees. All big companies have job manuals. In the absence, they follow

standard job manuals. The specific duties of an executives or high officials of the company can be

ascertained, through job manual. A job manual denotes exactly what are the powers and duties of the

person. How many people would work under him? What would be the reporting relations and who

would be responsible to whom ? Job manuals also mention the levels of structure of wage and salaries.

(vi) Signs :Signs are also used to communicate information. If a van with ‗+‘ sign in red colour passes

on the road it indicates that it belongs to hospital or Red Cross. A signal over the railway track also

indicates the arrival or non-arrival of the train. If the signal is down passengers shall get ready and wait

anxiously for the arrival of the train.

(vii) Annual Reports:Usually all the companies publish their annual reports for the consumption of

their shareholders, employees, public and government agencies. These reports consist of working

results, information about public liking and admiration of company products and services. Annual

reports also mention the economic problems faced by the company and efforts of the directions to

solve them. What company‘s plans are for future action?

(i) Bulletins :Some companies publish their bulletins informing people about the products and services

provided by the company, the standard of workmanship and technical know-how, place of the

company in reaction to share of the market, future plans and efforts of the company to fulfill its

obligations towards social responsibility. Universities also publish bulletins mentioning their

educational progrmames, areas of specialization, names of degrees, diplomas, tuition fee for each

programme, other charges, hostel facilities provided, scholarships and fellow-ships offered and mode

of admissions.

(ii) Charts, Graphs and Diagrams :Charts, graphs and diagrams are also used for written

communication. Doctors use graphs to indicate the changing temperatures of the patient in morning,

noon and evening. Statisticians use graphs to show the results over a period of few years like India‘s

exports and imports as compared to those of last year. Banks use charts for public consumption and to

invite more bank deposits. Banks provide charts showing the amount invested, duration covered and

the amount of interest to be earned etc.

Memoranda:Memoranda are of a great use to the executives. These are sent to the concern executives

so that they are well informed and their decisions may be appropriate under the circumstances. The

memoranda also called memo could contain information concerning the industry or the industrial

enterprise, employees, labor productivity, cost of production and such other matters.



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VARIOUS MEDIAS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication media refers to the means of delivering and receiving data or information. In

telecommunication, these means are transmission and storage tools or channels for data storage and

transmission. The term is also commonly used in place of mass media or news media.

1. BOOKS - Books are the oldest of the media, having been around since the beginning of written

language. As far back as 2400 B.C. in Babylonia, tiny clay tablets were inscribed with cuneiform

characters to record legal decisions and monetary transactions. By 700 B.C., a library of literary works

written on clay tablets existed in Asia Minor.

Various forms of paper were developed over the centuries, with the first, papyrus, appearing in Egypt

as early as 4000 B.C. Papyrus was made from the pith of a reed found in Egypt. The first known book

was "The Book of the Dead", written in Egypt around 1400 B.C. Animal skins were later used, leading

to the development of parchment, which became the primary medium for writing until the tenth

century A.D. At that time, linen was introduced.

The earliest form of bookbinding consisted of a stick with rolls of long pieces of papyrus or parchment

wound around it. Scrolls eventually gave way to a form of binding called "codex", developed by the

Romans in the fourth century A.D. Here the paper was cut into sheets and tied together on the left side

between two boards. Like UNESCO – EOLSS books today, this allowed readers to leaf through

pages, and for authors to structure the material, creating such things as an index and table of contents.

This ability to organizeinformation made books extremely valuable.Nonetheless, books were hardly

considered a mass medium because very few copies existed. Until the middle of the fifteenth century,

most books were hand-copied, oftentimes by monks. Such books were expensive and very few people

could read or write. As a result, only religious orders, the ruling elite, and some wealthy merchants

ever saw or owned one.

The concept of making prints of books was not new, however; the Chinese developed the technique in

the ninth century using woodblocks. The oldest known printed book, called "The Diamond Sutra", was

a 16-foot scroll printed in China in 868. Still, the Chinese did not do much more with this crude

invention, and similar techniques did not appear in Western Europe until the early fifteenth century.

2. MAGAZINE - It offers specialisedformation to a special audience. Newspapers appeal to people in

aarticular locality; but magazines reach special types of people in all qualities. Magazines are subscribed

to by those people who have certain stern, they maybe interested in movies, households, sports, politics,

etc.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF MAGAZINE

Content - One of the most dramatic developments in publishing has been the emergence of magazines

with special content, which has given many books goods prospects for long-term growth. The broadest

classifications Content are consumer magazines, farm magazines, and business magazines. Each may

be broken down into hundreds of categories.viz -



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a) Consumer magazines - Consumer magazines serve the interests of consumer-men, women, children.

There are specific magazines serving the interests of all types of consumers. The Manorama, Grahsobha,

Women's Era, etc. are consumer magazines.

b) Farm Publications - are directed to farmers and their families or to companies that manufacture or sell

agriculture equipment, supplies, and services: Farm Journal, Progressive Farmer, Prairie Farmer,

Successful Farming.Farm Magazines in India are not very popular in spite of the expansion of agricultural

techniques and inputs, the though agricultural production has increased considerably.

c) Business magazines, by far the largest category, target business readers. They include trade publications

for retailers, wholesalers, and other distributors; business and industrial magazines for business people

involved in manufacturing; and professional journals for lawyers, physicians, architects, and other

professionals.

d) Audience. Magazines may be classified on the basis of editorial appeal or audience or readers. They

may be consumer magazines, farm magazines or business magazines.

Geography - On the basis of regional publications, magazines maybe divided into national magazines,

regional magazines and local magazines. Many specialised magazines have nationwide circulation. They

servethe interests of specialized people living in any part of the country. Some magazines, such as

Commerce and Industrial Times, are in demand in foreign countries as well.The circulation of some

magazines is restricted to a particular region, community or religion. Bengali magazines have circulation

only in the eastern part of the country, while Grihsobha is popular in Northern India.

Size -It does not take a genius to figure out that magazines come in different shapes and sizes, but it might

take one to figure out how to get one ad to run in different-size magazines and still look the same.

Magazine sizes run the gamut, which makes production standardisation an occasional nightmare.

Advantages of Magazines

It offers selectivity, reproductively, Long life, possible prestige and other services.

The advertiser can select any one specialised magazine according to his product.

They are cheap and intensive medium of COMMUNICATION VIA stories &advertising.

They reach the actual prospects who are willing to purchase the advertised goods.

Necessary duplication and waste are avoided by the proper selection of a magazine.

Magazine advertising can be reproduced at a later stage because the advertised content and photo

can be used at any time.

Some magazines pay special attention to colour and printing impressions.

Magazines are kept for a longer period and maybe used as references.

Many magazines offer prestige advertisements. The advertisement in The' illustrated Weekly,

India Today, etc- enjoy some prestige. Magazines may. offer research possibilities, test marketing,

split-run testing and many other extra services.

Disadvantages of Magazines - Magazines are not as flexible as television and radio. They may not be

suitable for local conditions because they have a nation wide appeal Very few magazines offer regional



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editions in regional languages., Magazines do not have a wide reach as the other media.

3. NEWSPAPERS - Newspapers enjoyed the position of the most preferred medium to reach a wider

audience until electronic communication emerged on the media scene. In the early days, newspapers

were the only medium that masses at large depended on, for daily news. A newspaper carries all kinds

of communication related to a variety of topics like politics, socialism, current affairs, entertainment,

finance, stocks, etc. Apart from this, it also includes topics which are in lighter vein like cartoons,

crosswords, Sudoku, movie reviews, book reviews, puzzles, crosswords, etc. This captivates the

imagination and interests of readers, from all age groups. Newspapers are an important platform of

mass communication as they reach every nook and corner of the world where electronic media fails to

reach. It plays a pivotal role in providing authentic firsthand information, building opinions, updating

the knowledge of the reader, and serves as a good platform for advertisers to promote their products.

However, with the emergence of Internet, which updates information every second, and is just a click

away, the popularity of newspapers has reduced.

CLASSIFICATION OF NEWSPAPERS ON THE BASIS OF FREQUENCY

The newspapers are classified into two broad categories on the basis of frequency, viz. dailies and

weeklies. The dailies are published every day While the weeklies are published once in a week.

The frequency is decided On the basis of circulation. The weeklies publish concise figures and news

for the whole of the week, while the dailies publish all sorts of news daily divvied from

different sources.

Physical Size - The size may be the standard size or the tabloid size. The standard size has 8 columns

to the page, i.e. 300 lines in depth, while the tabloid has 6 columns, i.e. 200 lines in depth. The

standard size is that of The Hindustan times and The Times of India, while the tabloid is about half the

standard %ize-The Illustrated Weekly, Blitz, etc. Advertisers have to bear in mind the question of size.

Newspaper charge for advertising on the basis of columns and formats.There are two basic newspaper

formats, standard size and tabloid. The Standard-size newspaper is about 22 inches deep and 143

inches wide and is divided into six columns. The tabloid newspaper is generally about 14 inches deep

and 11 inches wide.

Specialised Audience -Some dailies and weeklies serve special-interest audiences, a fact lost on

advertisers. They

general contain advertising oriented to their s audiences, and they ma

y have unique

advertising regulations.

Supplements -Many newspapers iSSUe Supplements. The dailies issue Saturday Sunday supplements.

Some dailies issue only Sunday magazines. Re supplements are issued two dailies. Sometimes, the dailies

issue some special! supplements, Such asIndependence Day supplement, Supplements on the, progress of

a particular State or public enterprise or trade or industry.

OTHER TYPES OF NEWSPAPERS



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Most Sunday newspapers also feature a Sunday supplement magazine.' Some publish their own

supplement, such as Los Angeles Magazine of the: Los Angeles Times.Another type of newspaper, the

independent shopping guide or free community newspaper, offers advertisers local saturation.

Sometimes called pennvsavers, these shoppers offer free distribution and extensive advertising pages

targeted at essentially the same audience as weekly newspapers— urban and suburban community

readers. Readership is often high, and the publisher uses hand delivery or direct mail to achieve

maximum saturation-

OTHER CLASSIFICATION OF NEWSPAPERS

The primary role of newspapers is to deliver promptly detailed coverage of news and other information,

and incorporate interesting features for readers. Newspapers can be classified in different ways. The

following classification of newspapers is convenient.

National Newspapers -Newspapers with national circulation in India are either in English or Hindi.

Times of India, The Hindzi, Hindustan Times and others are national English dailies. Hindustan,

Nav Bharat Times and Rashtriya Sahara are Hindi national dailies. These newspapers have editorial

content with a nationwide appeal. This mainly attracts national and regional advertisers.Among the

general national level English newspapers, Times of India has no equal. Its readership figure is 44.23 lakhs.

NRS indicates that 95.75% TOI readers are urban and only 4.25% are rural.

Daily Newspapers (Regional/Local) -These newspapers are published daily and in some cases the

circulation figures of these regional newspapers are much higher than national newspapers.

Special Audience Newspapers - These newspapers are published daily and in some cases the

circulation figures of these regional newspapers are much higher than national newspapers. For

example, circulatory figure of Punjab Kesari is 57.09 lakhs, which is more than any English national

daily. They provide only brief coverage of important national news and events.

AS A MEDIA OF MASS COMMUNICATION - In a democratic country, like India, they are an

important means of forming public opinion. They comment on current events and criticize or

appreciate the conduct of the government. It is through them that the public comes to know of the

problems that face the country and the different possible ways of solving those problems. They, thus,

educate the public mind and enable the people to have their own opinion on matters of public

importance. They, thus, make democracy possible. Everyone must read newspapers. This is essential

for national integration. This is essential to keep down fissiparous tendencies.

Besides this, the newspapers are also an important means of communication between the government

and the people. It is through the newspapers that the government places its programmes, its policies,

and its achievements, before the people. The public also uses them to express its dissatisfaction with

the government. They voice the grievances of the people and suggest measures of reform. Thus, by

expressing public opinion they serve as a check on the government. They are essential for the proper

functioning of democracy. The press is all powerful in a democracy. A free press is essential for its

success.



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Newspapers are also an important means of advertisement. They help trade and commerce. If a trade

or an industrialist wants to increase his business, he can do so by advertising his goods in the

newspapers. They help both the employer and the employees through their 'wants' columns. The large

number of advertisement of every kind is a clear proof of the popularity of the newspapers as a means

of advertisement.

But the newspapers have some drawbacks also. They serve as a means of propaganda for the various

political parties. Often views and comments are expressed through them that confuse the people and

misguide them. The people fail to understand the truth. Sometimes, news are even twisted and

distorted. At other times, they stir up class hatred. They sow seeds of communal quarrels. This misuse

of newspapers did much to encourage agitations in Gujrat, Bihar and other parts of the country. Often

they publish wrong advertisements which deceive and cheat the people and corrupt the public taste by

giving indecent pictures and advertisements.

4. INTERNET - The Internet is unique among the mass media in allowing interpersonal

communication through e-mail and instant messaging; group communication through list serves,

newsgroups, and discussion boards; and mass communication through the World Wide Web.

The World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by British physicist Tim Berners-Lee while he was

working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland. His goal was to produce a

decentralized system for creating and sharing documents anywhere in the world. The Web has three

major components: the uniform resource locator (URL), the hypertext transfer protocol (http), and the

hypertext markup language (HTML). Berners-Lee published the code for the World Wide Web on the

Internet in 1991 for anyone in the world to use at no cost.

The Internet in general and the Web in particular were based on a set of values known as the hacker

ethic. This ethic holds that information should be freely distributed and that individuals should have as

much control over computers as possible.

The World Wide Web has turned the Internet into a major mass medium that provides news,

entertainment, and community interaction. The Web offers a mix of content providers, including

traditional media companies, new media companies offering publications available only on the Web,

aggregator sites that offer help in navigating the Web, and individuals who have something they want

to say.

The Web has been criticized for elevating rumors to the level of news, making inappropriate material

available to children, collecting private information about users, and creating a false sense of intimacy

and interaction among users.

Over the past several years, users have moved increasingly from slow dial-up connections to high-

speed ―always on‖ connections that have changed how people view and use the Internet. Media are

making use of these high-speed connections to deliver content that includes a rich mix of video, audio,

photos, and text.

5. TELEVISION - Amongst all the mass media today, television attracts the largest number of

viewers. Its audience is greater in size than any of the other media audiences. This is because television

is able to attract the audiences of all age groups, literate and illiterate and of all the strata of the

society.In India, from the beginning i.e. 1989, television has been used more for education and



24

information purposes than for entertainment. It has performed different functions as compared to the

television in west.

Even today, though commercials have entered Indian television in a big way, it's basic purpose has not

changed. It continues to perform it's function of national integration and development.Dr. Rajendra

Prasad, while inaugurating India's Television Service on September 15, 1959, hoped that television

would go a long way in broadening the popular outlook in line with scientific thinking.

There is no doubt about the fact that the technology has given us a major tool in television. It is a very

powerful persuasive mass communication medium. How and why we make use of this tool will

determine the effectiveness of this tool to enhance the development process.In India until now,

television is government owned medium. Therefore, it has to further the cause of development and

spread the message of people's participation in development programmes launched by the government.

The Indian model of television programmes is unique as it is expected to pass on the culture from one

generation to other and persuasion.Doordarshan, India's national network has 41 major Kendras

(stations) with studios, production facilities and regular programmes originating from the stations and

921 transmitters.Today, Doordarshan is competing with all cable TV networks in meeting the

entertainment needs of the people.

- Television in India, through its programmes presents a composite national picture and

perspective of India's rich cultural heritage and diverse thinking. They represent various

religions and cultural expressions and activities of people, belonging to different parts of India,

thus it reflects the Indian society.

- Television has been able to influence the people living in remote areas of our country as its

outreach has covered the remotest villages and tribal pockets.It was basically conceived as a

mass medium and a mass educator for its large population scattered in remote and culturally

diverse areas.

- It is supposed to disseminate the message of development and modernization to create

awareness for generating public participation.

- Television, being an audio-visual medium, brings us into contact with events in an exciting and

clarifying way. For example, a live telecast of a national event such as celebration of golden

jubilee year of independence, or launching of a satellite, offers meaning to the events that no

amount of reading or still pictures or even films could match.

- Television is considered as a mirror of a nation's personality. It can recall the past, dwell upon

the present and peep into the future of a society. This role of television is all the more relevant

to a country like India, having continental dimensions and innumerable diversities.

- It has the capability to reach simultaneously millions and millions of our people.

- In a country like India where population and illiteracy are the burning problems, electronic

media provides tremendous reach for disseminating audio-visual information even in remote

areas.India has diverse cultures, religions and traditions.

- It opens up the prospects of educating villagers in the remotest areas, in the affairs of the nation

and associating them in the task of development, along with creating wider vision of the world.

- Television provides masses a common experience at the same time, in a verifying degree. A

telecast can use combination of various audio-visual materials and methods, such as, objects,

models discussion, demonstrations, plays, exhibits, chalkboard and so on.Which helps in

clarifying the messages to audience varying in their comprehension level. Thus, it makes mass

communication more effective and appeals to the groups of varied nature.



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- Television, like radio, is also primarily a one way channel of communication.

There have been developments in television medium so as to make two way communications possible,

but in India this technique is used occasionally only.For example, at the time of elections we are able

to watch communicator and receiver communicating on TV from a distance.Normally the

communicator on a television screen cannot enjoy the rapport with his audience which makes

difference between a one-sided performance and a true interaction of communicator and receiver.

6. FILMS - Movies were very effective mass-media vehicles during the period just before the Second

World War, during the war, and afterwards. With a public hungry for information and entertainment,

movies became increasingly popular, proving to be invaluable for spreading propaganda and forming

public opinion. At war‘s end, the images provided by the movies continued to be powerful in

informing and educating the recently liberated populations.

There is no gain in saying that a movie does wield a tremendous influence in the society.

Children and the grown ups are equally exposed to the dangers of the vulgarity and degrading valued

of cheap popular cinema, in the guise of entertainment.Cinema has perhaps the greatest potential to be

the most effective mass media instrument. Besides proving cheap entertainment for masses, it can

easily become a means of mass instruction and mass education.

Cinema has certainly some clear advantages over other media. It combines primarily, both

audio and video and is thus very appealing to the eyes and the ears. With the development of color

cinematography, and stereophonic sound, it is certainly one up on other media. The moral values

conveyed through the medium of cinema have a lasting effect on the audience. The audience also has a

moral, emotional involvement in the course of events and the roles of various characters, their

language and style of speaking does leave an impression on the spectators.

Benefits of FILMS

Entertainment – Movies are a source of popular entertainment. From the moment we indulge in

watching a movie, we are transformed into a new world where our mind is at ease, it forgets

everything and is concentrated at watching. Everybody wants to relax and be amused. Every age of

people, young and old, literate and illiterate want recreation. Recreation is an important part of life and

movies provide that avenue. Watching a film on a theatre can be an exhilarating experience in itself.

This is because a large number of people are doing the same thing. The audience laughs together,

applauds and shares almost the same emotions. This collective effort experienced by the viewers

makes the experience more entertaining and enjoyable.

Socialising Activators – Films are social activators, they allow even unknown people to mingle with

each other. We all see movies and it is a common factor amongst us. This common factor can initiate

and or sustain a conversation with a stranger. We have opinions about movies and these also help in

socialisation through conversation and debate. When we go to a cinema or a theatre to watch a movie

we socialise with our friends, relatives, peers etc. Movie is social art form which brings together all

genres of people even if they have different views about the movie.

Lesson of Teamwork – A movie is a collaborative work; it requires actors, cinematographers,

directors, make-up artists, writers, visual effects specialists, technicians and others. When this movie is

applauded by all is shows the power of teamwork. It is also a lesson for all; that teamwork pays. Some

films themselves are based on the theme of ‗teamwork‘. This comes across strongly across the

audience as they visually experience the lesson as compare to a bookish lesson.



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Movies stir our Imagination – The weirdest, the most extreme, the most unbelievable things are

shown in movies. Some films are based on comic book characters, adaptations of novel or drama. They

bring to life the inanimate and it requires imagination. Today, we have so many techniques and

instruments which show us the unseen and unimagined. Both the viewers and the movie directors

conceive ideas towards their own personal objectives. The audience witness‘s audio-video which

enhances their imagination and their feedback inspires more varied imagination.

Showcase of World’s Art and Culture – Many of the customs and traditions of different parts of the

world are shown in movies. While sitting at our homes we are able to travel virtually to places where

we cannot imagine, to be. Most of the movies show customs and arts of foreign countries. They give us

insights about human activities and a better understanding of people of the world. Without movies we

wouldn‘t come to know about ‗Muay Thai‘ or ‗Ninjas‘ or any of the things that we know today.

Films Educate us – Films are platter of various disciplines, they show us history, culture, science,

technology, politics and lot more. These disciplines are not confined to one particular region; these

educate us on varying geographical regions across various time lines. We come to know about the past,

the present and the future. In fact visual medium is means of better education as we retain information

for a long time when we visually see it. The uneducated also benefits from the content of the movies as

he needs only eyes and not the skill to read or write to understand a literary classic or hi-fi flick. They

haven‘t said it just like that ‗A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words‘.

Art Form – Films are a Universal Art Form, a platform where you can express and communicate your

thoughts or emotions. Just like a painter paints his imagination on a canvas, movie makers express

their emotions, views, angst, joy and so on. People have ideas and they use films to point out their

opinions or viewpoints through cinemascope. Some want to recreate some historical event while some

indulge in fantasies. In their objective, they create beautiful scenes, thrilling moments, happy

environment etc. which become their own style and an art form. These inspire others to create their

own unique art of presentation.

Movies are Mirrors to Society – Films are inspired from our daily lives whether partially or fully is

another story. Most of the films have a certain portions where we really get to see what we know but

don‘t think deeply about it. Various films depict historical, mythological scientific and social themes.

These are reflections of society, both present and past. Movies show the aftermath of a war, social

evils, political strategies, human rights infringement and various other sensitive issues. A wide

platform as films is most effective in presenting these issues and sensitising the public at large. They

create awareness, build civic sense, ensure public morality and their propagation.

Films Inspire Us – Films inspire us in more than ways that we can imagine. Some profound

inspirations are given to us by inspirational movies. The old age stories of the victory of the good over

evil and the ‗never give up‘ one‘s are apt at towards their objective. Films inspire us to be brave,

clever, insightful, experimental, loyal, determined and other virtues which make us positive minded.

While not all movies are inspirational but you never know what may inspire whom and through which

film? Apart from this we get inspired by the film industry itself. Most of the stars, directors etc. have a

story of struggle, hard work and how they reached at the top? These examples themselves become

source of inspiration, though in an indirect manner. Similarly, when movies win certain awards it

arouses within us an urge to shine in our respective field of work.



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Employment and Revenue – It is not a hidden fact that movies generate a lot of employment and

revenue to the treasury, not only through the films but even through its peripheral forms like

merchandising, tourism, film training etc. The film industry supports a vast array of professionals like -

designers, dressmakers, photographers, storywriter, technicians and others. Poets and authors have also

benefited from this medium as their works have been adapted to movies, fetching them royalty and

other benefits.

Quick Fame – One movie can make you a star overnight and it happens with many of the actors and

directors. It is a matter of luck that a certain newcomer or a struggling actor gets a movie which takes

him to unscaled heights. Sometimes a small role in a movie makes you highly popular and you adorn

the magazine covers, websites, television etc. You become a household name in an instant; you are

worshipped, cheered and adored by the masses. There is a saying that – ‗There is no business like

show business‘ and all the stars that you see will totally agree with the adage.

Disadvantages of Films

Movies profess Violence – There is no denying that movies today are more violent than ever before.

And it is very clear with the shootings at schools by kid and teenagers that they are being heavily

influenced by violence shown is movies. To shock, the audience‘s film makers choose this theme.

Surprisingly, these become cult movies with a fan following of their own. Movies like these show new

ways of torture and physical abuse which inspires the young mind to indulge in these acts.

Movies are made for Profit – Ever heard of a movie made for charity, hard to say? In this cash

striven lives who cares for a charity?, perhaps none. The entertainment industry is even more selfish

than any industry can be. Consider, people dropping their clothes for money just for a movie. Then we

can consider the underlying motive that ‗Movies are solely made for Profit‘. This profit influences the

movie makers to showcase nudity and explicit sexual acts; there is a popular sub-industry of the latter

one as well. The film industry people are no more worried about public morality; they will show what

appears instantly to the senses. Even good film makers like Mahesh Bhatt, EktaKapoor resort to ‗Jism

2‘ and ‗Dirty Picture‘ which appeal to our lower instincts. By making such movies they bend our

mentality to accept them, knowingly or unknowingly. Young people don‘t have the maturity to

understand these motives, they find these appealing and there becomes an audience to which aforesaid

cater to. Stars and makers of such lewd movies inspire the upcoming and the about to come and the

chain goes on and on.

Establish False Notions – Some movies portray certain subjects or themes in a way which is far from

real. Such portrayals establish false notions amongst the people. Many of the Sikhs are joked upon

because of their turban and jolly nature. Their turban makes them Taliban and their jolly nature

conjures mockery. Similarly, masala dosa becomes the identity of south Indian people and most black

people are shown as gangsters. Every community has its individuality, tastes and flaws but that alone

is not their true identity. Fools, ugly people are distributed across the communities. Establishing an

opinion based on certain aspects of a community encourages racism and other anti social sentiments

which hinder the peace and prosperity of the world.

Wastage of Money and Time – Majority of the movies are not really worth watching but still we

watch them. This happens because we are enticed by appealing posters, teasing trailers, publicity and

other marketing strategies. This is done to ensure that the movie earns at least more than the cost



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involved. Take a look at the movies today, they are sequels, there are aliens, vampires, werewolves and

if not anything there are special effects of all sorts.

Art Form of Personal Opinion – It has been truly said that ‗Movie is an Art Form‘ but the art form is

many times biased on one‘s personal imagination. This imagination is at times contradictory to the

truth. For a filmmaker, it is his personal take on a theme, which may not be in tandem with the truth,

maybe false, disturbing or distorted. An art form to become meaningful should be honest and true

towards its representation.

No Respect for Law and Order – Heroes shooting at cops, assassinators killing presidents and

villains raping women all have one thing in common, lawlessness. Movies proliferate the idea that it is

cool to break law or that it is not a big deal to break law. Criminal tendencies are aggregated by movies

which show violent acts against the law upholders or even a common citizen. Movie based games do

the same, thereby initiating a negative mindset.

Larger than Life Characters – One again it is the young mind which is unable to distinguish reality

form fiction. Powerful human beings, superheroes, skilled fighters, stunts and acrobatics are surreal but

not to your 4-5 year old kid. A startling example is that of ‗Ninja Turtles‘; around the time when it

became a hit, certain kids actually started living in drains. Movies show that everything is possible but

not everything, becoming spiderman through a spider bite, many of us have actually been bitten by

spiders and have often imagined of becoming a spiderman, but we haven‘t.

Means to Propaganda – In a move to earn popularity and money, some filmmakers take on

controversial topics. It is an old formula but an existent, tried and tested one. Often such movies

become a national agenda out of nowhere. It is the acts of politicians and pressure groups who need

mileage or want to distract the public attention from a certain issue. History can be searched when

movies have become scapegoat of uproar, agitations and protests thereby making a mountain out of ant

hill. Taking care of such situations requires capital and man force which unnecessarily puts burden on

the national expenditure.

Quick Downfall – Movies without movie stars is unacceptable. While stars are born overnight, so is

their downfall. The fate of an actor rests on a hit movie. It can make or break a person. Many

ambitious people have strived for this fame but have tasted the dust. Some become desperate and will

do anything. For others it is a matter of death and honour for others its is life of nightmare. There are

more failures than stars but those that are stars shine like anything.

Popularity of Unideal Role Models – Films are remembered for their story, direction etc. but mostly

they are remembered for the actors. They become are role models, we want to become like them. They

are more popular than real life heroes and get more recognition than anyone else. Let‘s not forget that

the heroes we applaud have become heroes at our own expense and because of the marketing strategy.

If real life heroes were also marketed the same but then real life heroes aren‘t glamorous or perform

stunts. We know more entertainment celebrities than those who really make a difference in the world.

How many of us know about an ordinary man who did extraordinary to save others? The world is full

of brave, strong, handsome, innovative, intelligent, life saving people who carry on with their lives

without expecting any applaud. But their achievements are dwarfed by giant poster of movies with

their glamorous star cast publicised throughout the whole world.



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Addiction to Movies – Addictions come in many forms and one of them is that of movies. Many

amongst us suffer from complexities of life and instead of finding a real life solution we end up finding

a solution which is harmful for us, health wise or otherwise. The addiction to movies can be expensive

if we go to malls or theatres. The addiction to movies can affect our mental and physical health if we

watch them at home. We start paying more attention to movies than any other thing. We neglect

exercise and become couch potatoes. Our main concern becomes the release dates, the booking, the

downloading, the exchanging, the trailers, wallpapers and so on.

Conflicting Personalities – If actors are unideal heroes they also happen to have an unideal personas,

i.e. that what they portray on cinema, they aren‘t the same in real life. Sometimes even adults have to

come to terms with this reality. As humans we are judgemental, we make opinions about someone

even when we don‘t know them fully. The actors are seen as role models and they have a certain

responsibility towards society. But more often than not, we witness that our favourite hero, heroine,

director etc. aren‘t the same as they appeared on-screen.

7. TRADITIONAL MEDIA - Traditional media are a part of our country‘s rich heritage. They have

as abase our strong oral tradition. They belong to our own land and are stronglyrooted in our culture.

They are as varied and diverse as our culture itself.

Life in India is deeply influenced by agriculture and religion. So also arethe seasons. From very

ancient days we have been having fairs and festivalscelebrated with spontaneous songs and dances.

These songs and dances aretraditional forms of media which inform, educate and entertain people.

The advent of faster forms of media has affected traditional media.However the performers or

communicators and the audience in traditionalmedia are known to each other unlike in radio or

television. The environmentin which the performances take place is natural, known and friendly.

Themessages are also simple; the content known and the language and idioms

are familiar. Unlike other modern media, people never get tired of them.

Let is consider the example of the Ram Lila celebrated and performed allover north India. The story of

Ramayana is known to everyone and so arethe performers. They repeat the same story every year, yet

people come inlarge numbers to see them. But can you see an ordinary Hindi film a numberof

times?There are several forms of traditional media in our country. They are knownby different names

in different regions. Some common examplesof traditional media are storytelling, folk songs, street

theatre andpuppetry.

Some forms of traditional media like traditional songs and mythologicalstories are written down as

proper text. But different forms of folk mediaare generally spontaneous or are made on the spot.

NEW / OTHER MEDIA OF COMMUNICATION

A) Virtual Reality Worlds: A virtual world is simulated by a computer, displayed as a three-

dimensional environment on the computer's monitor screen, and intended for its users to inhabit and

interact via graphical avatar representations of themselves. The best known 3-D virtual-reality

environment is Second Life created by the San Francisco company Linden Lab. SL's more than 15

million residents create avatars representing themselves, build and create objects and clothing, and

interact with each other in the setting of a user-created virtual world complete with its own economy in

which they may own land.

B) Wiki: A wiki is an online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively. Through

the use of hypertext, a wiki's collection of web pages can be navigated and edited by anyone. The fact

http://www.secondlife.com/



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that anyone can edit, delete, or modify its content makes a wiki the collaborative work of many

different authors. The best known of this informative type of website is Wikipedia.

C) Blogs: Blog is short for weblog, a form of online journal. Best known services are WordPress and

Blogger and Typepad and LiveJournal and Squarespace. A blog can have a single author or several.

Most blogs allow readers to post comments in response to an article or post, but some do not.

D) Microblogs: A cross between instant messaging and blogging, Twitter is a microblogging system

that allows a user to send a short, 140-character informational updates. Users also can follow the

updates of selected friends.

E) Photo Sharing: The best known online photo sharing site is Flickr. Users upload digital still

photos. Public photos may be viewed and commented on by others. Other photo sharing sites include

Photobucket and Snapzilla and Ringo and Buzznet and Picturetrail and Dotphoto and Fotki and

Faces and ImageShack. There are sites that let you embed slideshows in your web page such as Slide

and OneTrueMedia.

F) Video Sharing: An online video sharing site is YouTube owned by Google. Videos are uploaded

by users and can be viewed free by others. Users can leave comments on video pages. There also are

Video Egg and jumpcut and Google Video and eyespot and vimeo and Sony's Crackle and revver

and ourmedia and vSocial and Bright Cove.

G) Data Sharing: A Web application that allows discovering, reading, organizing and sharing on the

Internet of valuable personally-selected data and information is Pageflakes. The tool creates a Web

start page for blogs and news sources that are read daily. The page is personalized with photos, videos,

a calendar, email, to-do list and more.

H) Digital Storytelling: Digital storytelling is mediated mass communication combining traditional

techniques from television, video production radio, newspapers and magazines with contemporary

multimedia tools to deliver informative and entertaining short productions with text, still and motion

images, sound, music, and voice.

I) Machinima: The art of making a real movie in a virtual world is called machinima from the term

"machine cinema." A machinima is a video production shot in a 3D virtual reality world, such as

Second Life, and produced with real life tools and techniques.

J) Social Networks: A social networking site where users can set up a profile of themselves, create

formal connections to people they know, communicate, and share preferences and interests is

Facebook. Once restricted to college students, Facebook's fastest-growing demographic is users over

25.

K) Social Bookmarks: The social-bookmarking site del.icio.uslet's you add, categorize and manage

social bookmarks for storing, sharing, and discovering web pages. Another bookmarking system is

Furl.

L) Tag Clouds: A cloud of tags is a visual list of weighted keywords on a Web page – usually

hyperlinked single words listed alphabetically with their importance shown in font size or color. They

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.typepad.com/

http://www.livejournal.com/

http://www.squarespace.com/

http://www.twitter.com/

http://www.flickr.com/

http://photobucket.com/

http://www.slpics.com/

http://www.ringo.com/

http://www.buzznet.com/

http://www.picturetrail.com/

http://www.dotphoto.com/

http://www.fotki.com/

http://www.faces.com/

http://www.imageshack.us/

http://www.slide.com/

http://www.onetruemedia.com/

http://www.youtube.com/

http://videoegg.com/

http://jumpcut.com/

http://video.google.com/

http://eyespot.com/

http://www.vimeo.com/

http://crackle.com/

http://revver.com/

http://ourmedia.org/

http://www.vsocial.com/

http://www.brightcove.com/

http://www.pageflakes.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://del.icio.us/

http://www.furl.net/



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can be created at TagCrowd and Tag Cloud Generator and TagCloud Generator and

TagCloud.etc.

----------------

http://tagcrowd.com/

http://www.tagcloud-generator.com/

http://www.tag-cloud.de/

http://www.tagcloud.com/



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UNIT-IV Why do we communicate? It is a fundamental question. To make some effect on the receiver is the answer. Effect is consequence or result of communication. Every communication act makes some effect on the person/s. Effect may be positive or negative. Communication is said to be success when we achieve the indented effect. Communication effects are of three types: Cognitive effects: The consequences take place in the receiver’s intelligence due to communication. Example : Knowledge acquisition Affective effects: The consequences occurred in the emotions of the person/s due to communication. Eg. Compassion, love etc. Behavioral effects: The change in the receiver’s bahaviour or actions due to communication. Eg. Political campaign and change in people’s voting behaviour or purchasing new products inspired by the advertisements. Using these elements, let us have a graphical representation of communication process. Graphical representation of communication process is also called communication models.

(Basic Model of Communication)

While analysing this model, we should keep in mind that:

Communication is a dynamic process involving different elements. No element is static. Some or all of these elements make communication possible. It is not must for acommunication

act to have all these elements. Elements of communication are interrelated.

Scope and Purpose of Communication Models A model is a miniature, a highly selective visual representation of any reality. In thatsense, communication model means graphical/visual representation of communication processusing various elements involved. The best example is the above described graphic thatvisulanalizes various elements and processes in the communication as envisaged by Joseph ADevito. Purpose of Communication Models A graphic representation of any reality helps us visualize the relationships among variouselements of a structure, system or process; an object, event or act. McQuil and Windhal say that a model is a consciously simplified description in graphic form of a piece of reality. No singlemodel can be expected to present a holistic picture of reality. Communication models help us to



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visualise, analyse and discuss various complex processes and issues that would be otherwisedifficult to explain Functions of models Organizing function: Models help us by ordering and relating systems to each other byproviding with images of whole that might not otherwise perceivedExplaining function : Models help us study communication by providing simplified versionwhich would otherwise be complexYet another function of communication is heuristic in nature. It means that in the study ofcommunication, models guide researchers to the key points of the process or system Thus communication models help A. To assign probabilities to formulate hypothesis in research B. To predict outcomes C. To describe the structure of a phenomenon

LASSWELL MODEL OF COMMUNICATION Harold Dwight Lasswell (1902-1978) is the proponent of famous question formula, whichis otherwise called Lasswell formula of communication. We can’t call his definition ofcommunication which is presented in an array of question as a communication model in its strict sense.This American political scientist stated that the most convenient and comprehensive wayto describe an act of communication was to answer the following questions: Who (says) What(to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect?

This model is self speaking of the process of communication which consists of five elements namely communicator (who), message (says what), medium (in which channel), receiver (to whom) effect (with what effect). Lass well conceived communication as a linear process which starts from communicator and ends at receiver with some effect. The major missing elements of this basic model are feedback and context of communication. However, this model is said to be highly helpful for organizing communication research as audience analysis, content analysis, control analysis, reception analysis and effect studies which are respectively represented by communicator, message, medium, receiver and effect. Explanation - This model is about process of communication and its function to society, According to Lass well there are three functions for communication:

1. Surveillance of the environment 2. Correlation of components of society 3. Cultural transmission between generation



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Lasswell model suggests the message flow in a multicultural society with multiple audiences. The flow of message is through various channels. And also this communication model is similar to Aristotle’s communication model. In this model, the communication component who refers the research area called “Control Analysis”,

Says what is refers to “Content Analysis”, In which channel is refers to “Media Analysis”, To Whom is refers to “Audience Analysis” With What Effect is refers to “Effect Analysis”

Example: CNN NEWS – A water leak from Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear power station resulted in about 100 times the permitted level of radioactive material flowing into the sea, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Saturday.

Who – TEPC Operator What – Radioactive material flowing into sea Channel – CNN NEWS (Television medium) Whom – Public Effect – Alert the people of japan from the radiation.

Advantage of lasswell model: It is Easy and Simple It suits for almost all types of communication The concept of effect

Disadvantage of lasswell model: Feedback not mentioned Noise not mentioned Linear Model

SHANNON AND WEAVER MODEL OF COMMUNICATION Claude Shannon, an engineer at the Bell Telephone Company, along with Weaver developed the most influential of all early communication models. Their goal was to formulate a theory to guide the efforts of engineers to find out the most efficient way of transmitting electrical signals from one location to another.

As the prime concern of the developers of this model was to quantitatively maximize the signals transmitted, this model is also called Mathematical Model of Communication. The model is based on technical communication settings where information source transmits the messages after converting it to



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signals. These signals are captured using receivers and decoded. Communication through mechanical devices like telephone or television is a best example for this model. Practical Example of Shannon-Weaver model of communication : Thomson made call to his assistant “come here I want to see you”. During his call, noise appeared (transmission error) and his assistant received “I want” only. Again Assistant asked Thomson (feedback) “what do you want Thomson”.

Sender : Thomson Encoder : Telephone (Thomson) Channel : Cable Noise : Distraction in voice Reception : Telephone (Assistant) Receiver : Assistant.

Due to transmission error or noise, Assistant can’t able to understand Thomson’s messages. *The noise which affect the communication flow between them. Criticism of Shannon-Weaver model of communication : 1. One of the simplest model and its general applied in various communication theories 2. The model which attracts both academics of Human communication and Information theorist to leads their further research in communication 3. It’s more effective in person-to-person communication than group or mass audience 4. The model based on “Sender and Receiver”. Here sender plays the primary role and receiver plays the secondary role (receive the information or passive) 5. Communication is not a one way process. If it’s behaved like that, it will lose its strength. For example: Audience or receiver who listening a radio, reading the books or watching television is a one way communication because absence of feedback 6. Understanding Noise will helps to solve the various problems in communication OSGOOD AND SHRAMM MODEL

Osgood and Schramm envisioned communication as a circular process which has beginning and or end. Hence their model is called Circular Model. In their view, sender and receiver are interchangeable positions and though not specifically mentioned, feedback is a inessential component of this model. There are three functions on each part of the communication circle. They are : encoding, decoding and interpreting. Both sender and receiver are encoders, decoders and interpreters at the same time. It is a Circular Model, so that communication is something circular in nature Encoder– Who does encoding or Sends the message (message originates) Decoder – Who receives the message?



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Interpreter – Person trying to understand (analyses, perceive) or interpret Note: From the message starting to ending, there is an interpretation goes on. Based on this interpretation only the message is received. This model breaks the sender and receiver model it seems communication in a practical way. It is not a traditional model. It can happen within our self or two people; each person acts as both sender and receiver and hence uses interpretation. It is simultaneously take place e.g. encoding, interpret and decoding. Semantic noise is a concept introduced here it occurs when sender and receiver apply different meaning to the same message. It happens mostly because of words and phrases for e.g. Technical Language, So certain words and phrases will cause you to deviate from the actual meaning of the communication. Note: When semantic noise takes place decoding and interpretation becomes difficult and people get deviated from the actual message. Advantage of Osgood- Schramm model of communication

1. Dynamic model- Shows how a situation can change 2. It shows why redundancy is an essential part 3. There is no separate sender and receiver, sender and receiver is the same person 4. Assume communication to be circular in nature 5. Feedback – central feature.

Disadvantage of Osgood- Schramm model of communication This model does not talk about semantic noise and it assume the moment of encoding and decoding.

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UNIT-V MASS MEDIA AND MODERN SOCIETY

ARTICLE – 1 “Media” is one of the most useful essences of human life. We speak of mass media, of media revolution and of living in a media society. We are overloaded with all these letters, sounds and films, pixels, headlines, jingles. When we use the term media in this context we speak of print and electronic media, the so called mass media. Media affect our modern life in nearly every way. With a turn of a magazine page or an easy flip of the TV channel there at our disposal is a huge array of potential identity replicas. In contemporary society, identity is continuously unstable; it must be selected, constructed and created with reference to inevitable surrounding media traditions. There are a variety of mediums from which people can pick and access information from such as radio, TV, Internet, or even cell phones. Consequently, the media holds a very powerful capacity to set a social issue for mass audience to assume and talk about. Often, media do not intentionally set the agenda and resolve the pros and cons of that particular matter, so it repeatedly causes terrible consequences towards public as well as establishes ‘moral panics’, which can sometimes direct to mob violence. This writing will argue that identity is a social construction, managed primarily by the contemporary media and created in relation. An individual’s identity is formed by society in which media plays a predominant role. There is a daily interactive relationship between the subject and the object, that is, human agents and the conditions of their subsistence, respectively. Theories of the individual emphasize on differences between people and deem these differences as natural. Individuals are “constituted” as the possessors of positions throughout the effects of social relations. Alternatively, other theories of the topic concentrate on people’s general experiences in society through watching TV, surfing the internet or reading the newspaper. It is these general experiences that are the most significant way of distinguishing who we are. Thus, subject identity is a social construction, not an ordinary one. When we connect with the media, we act and are acted upon, use and are used by the system. The following text deals with the importance of media to politics and society. Main work of media is to inform the people. This relates to our form of government: In a democracy the “demos” should know what goes on in the world as it is the one, that decides. A modern democracy cannot work without the media which are an agent between public and state, the Latin word “medius” describes a status in the middle and that is exactly where we can find media: between two entities of communication. You could counter that nor the ancient Greeks for example needed the media in their democracy, and it was a really excellent type of democracy, when we look at its structure. Something like that is unimaginable for modern polity. Since we cannot organize a meeting between 50 million people to inform them orally, we need an instrument, the media. That is the precondition for political participation of the people. Information as a main task of media sounds easy but in my opinion it is not that simple at all. Information is always a balancing act between objectivity and subjectivity. On the one hand media have to inform about all important happenings and keep the information as neutral as possible. On the other hand media should also be a platform for groups and organizations that are not mainstream. It should control and criticize not only political parties but also society. Concerning this control function it is important to have a variety of media horizontal and vertical, both different types of media such as TV and newspapers and different providers of information. Due to the control function we call media the forth force in a contemporary democracy. Media have also an economic side. The German TV system consists of public and private stations. In my opinion it is necessary to have both, for both have advantages and disadvantages. Private TV stations can decide freely what they want to present. As they live on advertisement fees and earn the more the higher their ratings are, a market arises. That has the inescapable consequence of a reign of market’s rules: We are talking about the law of supply and demand. To reach good ratings private TV stations broadcast what



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people want, some problems can result from this point: There is the danger of delivering stereotypes or superficiality and indifference in general, TV becomes a dumping machine, as some people claim. “Infotainment” instead of information, “politainment” instead of policy. Besides there are public TV stations, and the main difference is that they are not really free, their program is created under a certain standard and the directors are from different groups such as political parties or labour unions. But then they do not have to look on ratings and can really achieve media’s aim of political education. We need both, public TV stations not to become too superficial, and private ones to be aware of a state TV monopoly which might exist in dictatorships for example, a historic example is the Third Reich, where the Nazis’ most important propaganda machine was the “Rundfunk”, controlled by propaganda minister Goebbels in person; a contemporary example could be the situation in Tibet, where both internal and external media have no permission to film and no access at all respectively. Not for nothing one of the basic principles of democracy is freedom of press. Media have two further important tasks: entertainment and creating topics of conversation. It sounds sarcastic but this is a main reason why people for example watch TV: to be able to have conversations with lots of people, even if they have no other similar hobbies. Furthermore it raises your status if you are informed, to be subscriber. Sociologists warn against a so called knowledge gap. This means that a gap develops between people who are informed and take part in cultural and perhaps intellectual life and people who are not. Perhaps you could compare this knowledge gap to the often recited poverty gap. Mass media have big influence on our all day life, whether we want it or not. They set trends and spread them, they influence our way of thinking in an enormous way and they have a long arm in political issues. These characteristics are more positive than negative as long as some conditions are fulfilled: first a wide diversity of media, second no oligopolies/monopolies and of course freedom of press, third fulfillment of media’s main tasks information, political education and control. “In former times politicians made policy and the media reported on it. Today media makes policy and the politicians put it into execution.” In this manner mass media has many needs and importance too in people’s daily life: Mass media has become an integral part of our lives and can not be separated from our life. Particularly for the urban people, the need for information is more important than ever. Our values and way of life in the society in this information era are strongly influenced by the mass media like newspapers, TV, radio, video, and the internet. Mass media’s influence on people’s lives is even greater and deeper than many kinds of state indoctrination or priest’s sermons from the pulpit in the church .The full range of unfiltered media is now available to most of us by using a parabola and satellite transmission. We can buy many kinds of videos freely. Access to the internet is easy and inexpensive almost everywhere. We can find many kinds of information using the internet technology..It is worth remembering that there have been three important revolutions in recent history, i.e. agrarian revolution in farming, industry revolution in mass production and information revolution that provides global access. We are now in the midst of the information revolution. Due to continuing developments in media technology, we are flooded by a huge volume of non-stop information. Most of this information comes to us without a filter or censor. The information can be positive and negative. It is important for all, and particularly teenagers, to be able to look critically at the information and the sources and make positive choices. Having a critical attitude means that we can distinguish between positive and negative information and make choices that will give us information that will benefit us and our society.Media is the most powerful tool of communication. It helps promoting the right things on right time. It gives a real exposure to the mass audience about what is right or wrong. Even though media is linked with spreading fake news like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform us about the realities as well .

ARTICLE – 2 How does the Mass Media Influence the Modern Society? - The Mass Media is a unique feature of our modern society, a society that completely depends on information and communication. Its flow



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penetrates us through TV, papers, Internet and influences our actions, engagements, leisure time and even standards of life. We have a trust in the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and education. However, it can influence the public opinion in different ways depending on who is the manipulator and what is the objective. Very often the mass media is a tool, both more influential and more malleable than anything previously used for impacting people and changing certain modes of belief within society especially in the political campaigns. And it is rather dangerous, as the major part of the population consider the mass media to be independent and impartial. Thus people have to be vigilant because instead of merely helping us to live more efficient and healthy lives, the media almost takes our decisions for us and despite our personal preferences. We shouldn’t take the information in all good faith and ask themselves to look for other, different opinions and evaluate those facts by their own rather than blindly believe in media’s version of the truth. The mass media should only be a mirror that reflects the reality without pinning any labels (and that is a challenge for the conscious journalists). If used constructively, it can be… MASS MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY “India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, grandmother of legend, and great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only”

-Mark Twain Yes, indeed the most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are in India. We are the world’s largest democracy and an emerging force in the field of communication, science and technology. After combating recession, India is back on the path of growth and development but with challenges ahead like Carbon Emission reduction, Reforms in Judiciary, Progress of the Industrial sector etc… In this scenario an analysis of the towers of strength of India will provide a strong basis for realizing our opportunities and threats in the future. Mass Media has always played a vital role in the functioning of democracy in India and exploring into these avenues will definitely play a major role in solving the problems pondered upon India. THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN INDIAN DEMOCRACY Every man needs food, clothing, healthcare and shelter for his physical survival. Similarly communication is regarded as an indispensible factor for the social welfare of people. In this 21st century every individual is keen to be updated with the latest developments in all walks of life. It is here where the mass media comes into the picture which aims to reach out to a very large audience. It carries out its functions through advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political communication. Mass media is now considered as an effective tool for advocating business and social concerns. But what role does media and information play in a democratic society need to be examined as there is still a dispute regarding the significance and magnitude of mass media in Indian society. EXPLORING THE LINK Access to information is essential to the health of democracy for at least two reasons. They can be summarized as follows: 1.) Media ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. 2.) Information serves as a checking function by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them. Every citizen is entitled to have free access to the knowledge and information they require. The democratic political system depends on the efficient, accurate, and complete transmission of social, political, and cultural information in society People should be able to discuss matters of public interest with their equals in order to influence the actions taken in our nation. This ensures genuine participation of individuals in matters of public interest which is in fact the essence of democracy. Thus mass media



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forms an integral part of democracy as it contributes to those factors that are intrinsic to genuine democracy. Democracy believes in the empowerment of individual and media facilitates it through communication and ensures freedom of expression and freedom of conscience. Democracy and mass media are the two essential components of Indian life. It has accomplished the task of transforming the lives of the people. But to what extent has Indian lives progressed and what advancement has the nation achieved is a matter of concern. Like every coin which has two sides the effects of mass media in Indian democracy has brought in serious advantages as well as disadvantages. We need to understand the role and functions of media in our nation and the significance of media in democracy. There is a need to analyse mass media and democracy in relation with each other to comprehend the impact of these core aspects. AN OPTIMISTIC APPROACH A democratic society permits freedom of speech and expression. We Indians have the freedom to think, freedom to write, freedom to discuss with others, freedom to explain, freedom to criticize and freedom to dissent. Democracy demands the fulfilment of every citizen’s right to expression. Media facilitates the process of empowerment of individual by providing an arena for public debate and by reconstituting private citizens as a public body in the form of public opinion. Nowadays, media provides a platform for every individual to exercise his right of being heard. Innovative talk shows and public discussions organised by the media is now playing a major role in the enforcement of the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(a) of the constitution. Media in India has tried every possible means to satisfy the democratic ideals. For example, during elections voters are educated and informed to the point where they are able to understand the most important political issues. During all these years the Indian mass media has successfully performed the following functions: Supporting objective news and informative programs so that people can make quick decisions. Cultivating alternative media, so that multiple voices and opinions will be heard. Mobilizing popular participation in the transition process. Multiplying the impact of transition activities by disseminating information on successful local peace

and participatory efforts.

Let it be any natural calamity or any other disaster we find our reporters there risking their lives to give us information regarding the events taking place in every nook and corner of the world. There are many instances of Media turning out to be real investigators in cases like the murder of Jessica Lal, PriyadarshiniMatoo case, Best Bakery scandal etc. If the media didn’t take the initiative to bring out the truth before the public then justice wouldn’t have prevailed. The efforts of the media are always concentrated towards lifting the veil to ensure righteousness in society. It uses effective techniques like sting operations, opinion polls etc to portray the reality. Whether it be newspaper, television or internet the objective of every media is to collect, analyse, verify and present information regarding current events, trends, and various other issues of this democratic nation. Democracy believes in protecting the rights of the citizens and limiting the powers of the government. It intends that no one should be discriminated on the basis of their race, religion, ethnic group, or gender. It directs that no one should be arrested, imprisoned or exiled arbitrarily. No one in a democratic society should be denied their freedom without a fair and public hearing by an impartial court. Noone may be taxed or prosecuted except by a law established in advance. The idea of democracy lays in the fact that no one is above the law, not even a king or an elected president. Above all the law is fairly, impartially, and consistently enforced, by courts that are independent of the other branches of government. The contribution by mass media for upholding the above principles of democracy in our society is remarkable.



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WHEN MONEY RULES OVER MORALS........ “Tell me, why is the media here so negative. Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognise our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?”

-Dr. Abdul Kalam This observation made by our former President is very true. It is a very sad fact that every morning we have to begin our day with negative news. Indian mass media often has a tendency to exhibit gossip, scandal and violence. The aim of mass media is to sensationalize every piece of information rather than sensitizing them. The Media is usually focused on the lives of celebrities and reality shows instead of concentrating on events of national importance. The lack of media literacy among the pubic also makes matters worse. With the increase in the number of competitors in mass media nowadays we find that a wide range of topics are being discussed among the public. The common man and the celebrities express their opinion, but usually there is no measure taken after that. The issues discussed become stale and after a week a new storyline creeps in bringing in hope and opening up a new avenue. Gone are those days when preferences were given to the selection of news. Media does not believe in newsworthiness anymore. There is a wide opinion among people that media is no more interested in creating citizenship. At times media fails in its duty to provide public sphere for dialogue and interaction among the citizens. Political parties started their own channels to highlight their achievements and political news were more about personalities than about their ideologies. In the absence of serious debate, voters are left with paid political propaganda containing only meaningless slogans making them disinterested and cynical about politics and losing faith in democracy. Forgetting its responsibility to educate the masses media is busy transforming citizens into spectators by offering them pure entertainment. What happened in most of the cases is that Global Competition and profit motive made media forget about democracy. The interests of the advertisers did not coincide with readers, listeners and viewers. Advertisements occupied the pages in newspapers. Media was concentrated on promoting an event or a latest movie which is yet to be released so as to increase its box-office collection. If media was left with the option of choosing between either its functions or its survival it would have chosen the latter. Democratic values and principles were to be buried if advertisement rules media Money ruled over morals and media was no more interested in veracity. CONCLUSION After analyzing the role of media in our democratic society I have come to the conclusion that all these years since its establishment the mass media has worked for the progress and development of our country. All its activities were concentrated to see a fully fledged democratic Indian society. But observations also prove the fact that mass media nowadays prefer to sensationalize news. Media is losing interest in promoting democratic values and principles. Mass media corporations are now concerned about improving the financial position of their organizations. If this continues India can never fulfill its dream to be a developed nation by 2020. So the question arises: What next? Well first we need to realize the fact that the problem is neither with the media nor the democratic principles. Media gives us entertainment because we demand it. Media cannot be blamed alone for its depicting people’s preferences. So first the attitude of the public should be changed. We should not be bothered about timely pleasure instead our focus should be on long term projects which would take our country to new heights. If you are given the opportunity to express what you want from the media...just think for a while and then decide what you really want. If the media also



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tries to sensitize news and takes initiative to accomplish its social responsibilities then no one can stop our country from being a strong powerful democratic nation. For more info follow this link – http://www.inclusivedemocracy.org/dn/vol5/fotopoulos_media.htm

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