Concept of Mass Communication

Mass Communication involves communication with the mass audiences and hence the name

Mass Communication. When we are thinking, it is interpersonal communication, when there is face-to-face conversation between two people it is interpersonal communication, college lecture or speech would be an example of group communication, but there is another level of communication when we read newspapers, magazines, listen to Radio or watch TV. This would be called ‘Mass Communication’ as the message is reached to the masses through different media.

Meaning & Definitions of Mass Communication

The term communication comes from the Latin word- communis, which means common. In social situation the word communication is used to denote the act of imparting, conveying or exchanging ideas through speech, writing or signs. Thus,it is an expression of transferring thoughts and sound for hearing.

Mass Communication is defined as ‘any mechanical device that multiple messages and takes it to a large number of people simultaneously’. Mass Communication is unique and different from interpersonal communication as it is a special kind of communication in which the nature of the audience and the feedback is different from that of interpersonal communication.

Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various means by which individuals and entities relay information to large segments of the population all at once through mass media.

Both mass communication and mass media are generally considered synonymous for the sake of convenience. The media through which messages are being transmitted include radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, films, records, tape recorders, video cassette recorders, internet, etc. and require large organizations and electronic devices to put across the message. Mass communication is a special kind of communication in which the nature of the audience and the feedback is different from that of interpersonal communication.

Mass communication can also be defined as ‘a process whereby mass produced messages are transmitted to large, anonymous and heterogeneous masses of receivers’. By ‘mass produced’ we mean putting the content or message of mass communication in a form suitable to be distributed to large masses of people.‘Heterogeneous’ means that the individual members of the mass are from a wide variety of classes of the society. ‘Anonymous’ means the individuals in the mass do not know each other.The source or sender of message in mass communication does not know the individual members of the mass. Also the receivers in mass communication are physically separated from each other and share no physical proximity. Finally, the individual members forming a mass are not united. They have no social organization and no customs and traditions, no established sets of rules, no structure or status role and no established leadership.

Barker defines Mass communication as ‘the spreading of a message to an extended mass audience through rapid means of reproduction and distribution at a relatively inexpensive cost to consumers’.

With the Internet's increased role in delivering news and information, Mass Communication studies and media organizations have increasingly focused on the convergence of publishing, broadcasting and digital communication. Thus,graduates of Mass communication programs work in a variety of fields in traditional news media and publishing, advertising, public relations and research institutes.

Characteristics of Mass communication:

1.Directs messages toward relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous audience.

2.Messages are transmitted publicly (no privacy).

3.Short duration message for immediate consumption.

4.Feedback is indirect, non-existent or delayed.

5.Cost per exposure per individual is minimum.

6.Source belongs to organization or institutions.

7.Mostly one way.

8.Involves good deal of selection that is, medium chooses its audience(newspaper for literates) and audience choose media (poor, illiterates selectradio).

9.There is need for fewer media to reach vast and widespread audience because of wide reach of each.

10.Communication is done by social institutions which are responsive to the environment in which they operate.