...MASS MEDIA EFFECTS In partial fulfillment of the requirements of Theories of Communication (LAC 701) A paper prepared by Group Four John Fasisi (91817) Kalim Gazal (136615) Moyofade Ipadeola (95580) Nwachukwu Egbunike (147181) Oluwaseun Oti (168137) Seyi Bodunde (168139) Victor Eze (167521) And submitted to: Professor F. A. Adesanoye Department of Communication and Language Arts Faculty of Arts University of Ibadan November 27, 2012 ABSTRACT This literature-driven study examined mass media effects. The work peered into the history of the ‘powerful media’. An in-depth review of relevant theories of mass media effects was analyzed. Findings pointed towards both positive and negative impacts of mass media. However, there was no empirical evidence to substantiate a direct cause and effect relationship of mass media messages with the actions of the consumer of the information. Consequently we can only assert that the mass media impacts on society but does not necessarily have an effect since other factors also influence people other than information consumed from the media. As such, this study asserts that the mass media influences public opinion but does not necessarily cause it. Key words: powerful media, mass media effects, theories of mass media effects, impact of media messages INTRODUCTION The mass media involve organisations that are responsible for the dissemination of information to a large number of people. Basically, the mass media...
Words: 13047 - Pages: 53
...Mass Media Messages and Effects Mass Media Messages and Effects When it comes to mass media, it is important to not only understand the different roles the media has in society but to also recognize with every message, there is an effect. The message that the media source is giving may have a negative or positive effect on an individual, a group of people or on society as a whole. Messages from mass media can and will have an effect also on their own organization and at times have had to certain repercussions when not following certain rules set that they must adhere to. In many situations, mass media uses what people consider an unethical approach to influence society. Due to the many laws that exist to protect society, the government has made sure to have an involvement on mass media to regulate what type of content can be released as well as protecting the rights of the people. The audience has an expectation with the messages that the media is providing to society. Society expects mass media to be honest and ethical which is how a media source can earn the respect of its audience, which will lead to a regular return by viewers. Because there is no set of rules that apply to the requirement of ethics in media, it is in the Medias best interest to consider the golden rule and the “do unto others” as this is something that people tend to expect from others. At many times, it may appear that mass media try to brain wash, persuade, or decide for society what...
Words: 1407 - Pages: 6
...Mass media messages and effects Heather Gilliland BSCOM/268 06-06-16 Mabelle Reynoso Mass media messages and effects Introduction The mass media is in the business of steering your thoughts about subjects and controlling how the public thinks. The press, the television, and the radio play an important role in society. The mass media informs, educates, and entertains the public. They also influence how society looks at the world and can often alter that view. Mass media shapes public opinion on many different matters. When you want to see the most current events, read about the news or listen to get the latest gossip on celebrities, or learn the latest fashion trends, members of society usually turn on the television, the radio, or access the internet through your computer or smartphone. Mass media has developed a technology to reach the vast majority of the population. The mass media is constantly changing and growing as new technological advances are being made. The public is exposed to vast amounts of content in the stories they read and the news they listen to, and even though we depend on mass media for almost everything we listen to, all the stories may not be very ethical. There are many undependable sources of mass media out there, but there are also true, dependable and reliable sources that we are exposed to as well. As the public depends on the media to such a great degree, it is important to know which sources to trust, and which to disregard as unreliable...
Words: 1917 - Pages: 8
...Uses and Gratifications: Development and Basic Tenets Research into the reasons why individuals use mass media dates back more than 50 years. Early forms of gratifications research attempted to understand why people used certain media content. In the process, it explored the functions of the media and the role of the audiences' needs and expectations (e.g., Herzog, 1940; Lazarsfeld & Stanton, 1941; Lazarsfeld & Stanton, 1949). These early studies preceded any formal conceptualization of the uses and gratifications paradigm later proposed by Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch (1974) and Rosengren (1974). Instead of asking what effects the media have on individuals and collective audience behavior, the questions were, what are people seeking and what do they believe they are deriving from mass media? According to Katz (1959), "it is the program that asks the question, not 'What do the media do to people?,' but 'What do people do with the media?'" (p. 2). In more familiar terms, "Ask not what the media can do to people, but what the people can do with media." The uses and gratifications paradigm provides one way of conceptualizing the relationship between the producer of messages (sender) and the audience (receiver). It presents a departure from the powerful (direct) effects models of communication research that dominated the field of communication between 1930-1960 and to some extent still dominates the field today. Volumes three and four of the Journal of Communication...
Words: 2240 - Pages: 9
...something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.” No matter what form of communication or means we employ our ability to understand the message, the process, and manufacture an accurate, clear, and mindful message are required. Rather than deceive and destroy, whether we encode or decode in mass communication, we have a responsibility to be true rather than deceive and build rather than destroy. This brings me to the three most important terms media literacy, the third-person effect, and technological determinism. Our proficient understanding of any form of media is important because it cultivates our interpretations and views. Media literacy encompasses many elements and skills without them we are not capable of responsible communications. Second, the third-person effect is very dangerous especially when we overestimate the effect of a media message on others and under estimate the effect on our self. If we do not recognize the influence of a certain media message, our vulnerability to it is increased. In order to be objective, we need to recognize the influence of media on us as individuals so we can overcome this influence and objectively comprehend or compose a communication. Lastly, technological determinism not only changes how we do business, but also develops our intellect and transforms our inherited beliefs. Technology breaks...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...The Communication Process - communication : the sharing of messages - intrapersonal communication within oneself - interpersonal direct sharing of experience between two people - group communication small group organizational - mass communication communication from one person of group of persons through a transmitting device (a medium or channel) to large, diverse audiences Mass Media Definitions - mass media are industries or businesses that create and distribute the following to large numbers of people: songs, novels, newspapers - MM are key institutions in society that affect our culture, buying habits, politics, etc - MM are profit-centered businesses making money is priority #1 concentration of ownership The media are good and bad - At their worst the median can erode out quality of life - at their best help us understand events and trends facilitate connections with others shape our identity - media literacy is crucial we can have a say in the role media play in our lives Media Convergence - convergence refers to the appearance of older media forms on the ewes media channels - convergence also refers to newspaper, broadcast, and internet outlets existing under one corporate roof Models of Mass Communication - linear model : sender -- message -- mass media channel -- (gate keepers) -- receivers media messages - cultural model: culture: the symbols of expression that people use to make sense...
Words: 1392 - Pages: 6
...Rethinking Mass Communication and Mass Media Bruce Mutsvairo: Defining Mass Communication • Mass communication refers to ways through which individuals and organizations use mass media to disseminate information to large segments of the population at the same time. • Newspapers, magazine publishing, radio, television, film and lately the Internet help the media relay information to targeted audiences • The study is mostly centred on evaluating media effects on society • ‘Mass’ refers to the media’s ability to simultaneously reach out to a wider audience. Characteristics of Mass Communication (John Thompson 1995) • Has both technical and institutional methods of production and distribution • Relies on commodification of symbolic forms • There are separate contexts between the production and reception of information • Reaches to those 'far removed' in time and space • Maintains a ‘one to many’ information distribution responsibility How mass media works • Source: Every mass media message has a source. Production requires team effort. • Message: Mass media has a message to disseminate. Mostly complex. Eg. News report • Channel: Where there is no channel there is no mass media • Audiences: Someone has to be there to watch, read and comment on what’s on the news • Feedback: Has to be minimal Media’s role in society • Provides entertainment • Acts as our trusted interpreter • We can use media for surveillance purposes • Provides information • Acts...
Words: 308 - Pages: 2
...be selective, knowing why we are using it and what we hope to gain from it. Transmission models - criticism The Shannon and Weaver and Lasswell model are typical of so-called transmission models of communication. These two models also typically underlie many others in the American tradition of research, showing Source-Message/Channel-Receiver as the basic process of communication. In such models, communication is reduced to a question of transmitting information. Although transmission models have been highly influential in the study of human communication, it can be argued that, although Shannon's and Weaver's work was very fertile in fields such as information theory and cybernetics, it may actually be misleading in the study of human communication. Some criticisms which could be made of such models are: The conduit metaphor Their model presents us with what has been called the 'conduit metaphor' of communication (Reddy (1979) The source puts ideas into words and sends the words to the receiver, who therefore receives the ideas. The whole notion of 'sending' and 'receiving' may be misleading, since, after all, once I've 'sent' a message, I still have it. The underlying metaphor is of putting objects into a container and sending them through some sort of conduit to the receiver who receives the containers and takes the objects out. The important question which is overlooked is: How do the 'objects' get into the 'containers'? In other words, how do we succeed...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...Abstract: Mass Communication is often use in today’s modern society to establish the superior communication and the simplest way for everyone to get information. We will uncover that Mass Media also has a theory and we will find out more definition of it from the other developers who will give us more idea. For today, we are definitely living in communication and in an information-filled society, where in every day in our lives we uses it. As I check my notes in Speech and Oral Communication, I have read that Mass Communication is a communication that uses mass media like radio, television, ads, prints and films, and as I research even via internet is part of mass media. Through reading, I found out that the technology has the biggest share in mass media. According to Arthur Asa Berger (1995) “mass communication involves the use of print or electronic media, such as newspapers, magazines, film, radio, or television, to communicate to large numbers of people who are located in various places- often scattered all over the country or world” (pg. 9). Mass Communication is a process in which a person or a group of people and organization sends their message to the large group of people or massively spread out the information through the use of technologies in mass media. It thinks about the effects of mass media’s information to the receiver’s emotion, opinion, behavior and attitude. Mass media also has a theory. According to George Gerbner and Marshall McLuhan (1976), Cultivation...
Words: 516 - Pages: 3
...Effects of Mass Media Paper The major developments in the evolution of mass media during the last century included, internet, cell phones, books, radio, movies and magazines. |In the early 1900’s newspaper and magazine were the main sources of mass media. In the 1940's, the radio supplied a new source to reach the masses. Newspapers were still in demand and still used often. In the 1950s, television became a main source of resources for the mass media. The television was a combination of the radio and the newspaper and people embellished it. In 1962, the launch of a satellite gave access to worldwide news. Media messages are created for specific purposes. Commercial radio stations divide people by age, gender and sometimes race. Demographic is used to sell products to people. On the internet, you can make a website for free. You can share pictures, talk about your favorite things and even discuss all sorts of events. Textbooks are important resources, but they are still products sold by publishing companies to make a profit. We are able to connect with people all over the world just by phone or internet. Through the twenty-first century, the power of the media has shifted away from newspapers and radio to television. More recently, devices such as, laptops, Ipads, and smartphones allow people to view magazine articles, radio programs, songs, TV shows, and movies, from almost anywhere they want. The average person is exposed to over 3000 messages each day. All media messages...
Words: 731 - Pages: 3
...understanding of the role of the mass media. By: Amy Rashid The amount of influence the media has on the society has been extensively debated and researcher. The hypodermic syringe model is an analogy between media messages and a drug injected by a hypodermic syringe; which represents the content of media being spread by the medium (television, newspaper, etc.). In this essay, I shall discuss the usefulness of the hypodermic syringe model alongside some other models to our understanding of the role of the mass media. First and foremost, the hypodermic syringe model explains the role of the media in the manipulation of the gullible public and creating moral public. This can be seen from the classic example of the application of the Magic Bullet Theory was illustrated on October 30, 1938 when Orson Welles and the newly formed Mercury Theatre group broadcasted their radio edition of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds." On the eve of Halloween, radio programming was interrupted with a "news bulletin" for the first time. What the audience heard was that Martians had begun an invasion of Earth in a place called Grover's Mill, New Jersey. It became known as the "Panic Broadcast" and changed broadcast history, social psychology, civil defence and set a standard for provocative entertainment. Approximately 12 million people in the United States heard the broadcast and about one million of those actually believed that a serious alien invasion was underway. A wave of mass hysteria disrupted households...
Words: 1542 - Pages: 7
...Com 1020 Assignment 2 Introduction Mass communication is the variety of all the media mediums together, and is aimed at a large audience. A ritual view is directed not towards the addition of messages in space but the maintenance of society in time, not the act of imparting information or influence but the creation, representation, and celebration of shared even if illusory beliefs, James,(1988: 43). This essay will discuss how mass communications has transformed the temporal and spatial foundations of the social-sphere. This essay will start by defining the key terms which are communication, mass communication, and the para-social. The separation of social space from the physical place by mass communications, time and space and mass communications will also be discussed in the essay. The para-social interactions, how mass communications transformed the temporal and spatial foundations of the social sphere will then follow. The ritual dimensions of communication will also be discussed, the essay will then sum up the essay and give the researcher’s opinion. Definition of key terms Communication refers to the transmission of meaningful messages; these messages are conveyed in images, language, gestures, or other symbols. Thompson. (1997:30) Anthony R, (2004), defines mass communication as the process in which professional communicators design and use media to disseminate messages widely, rapidly, and continuously in order to arouse intended meanings in large...
Words: 2644 - Pages: 11
...FOOD RISK COMMUNICATION, PROBLEMS AND ISSUES CONFRONTING COMMUNICATORS INTRODUCTION Risk communication is an integral part of risk analysis and an inseparable element of the Risk Management Framework (RMF). Risk communication helps to provide timely, relevant and accurate information to, and obtain information from, members of the risk analysis team and external stakeholders, in order to improve knowledge about the nature and effects of a specific food safety risk. Successful risk communication is a prerequisite for effective risk management and risk assessment. It contributes to transparency of the risk analysis process and promotes broader understanding and acceptance of risk management decisions. Risk communication is defined as an interactive exchange of information and opinions throughout the risk analysis process concerning risk, risk-related factors and risk perceptions among risk assessors, risk managers, consumers, industry, the academic community and other interested parties, including the explanation of risk assessment findings and the basis of risk management decisions (Codex Alimentarius Commission). The risk communication process Risk communication can be difficult to do well. It requires specialized skills and training, to which not all food safety officials have had access. It also requires extensive planning, strategic thinking and dedication of resources to carry out. Since risk communication is the newest of the three components of risk analysis to have...
Words: 1828 - Pages: 8
...especially in the present, digital mass media. While communication is often presumed to be face-to-face interaction, due to digital technology social media has altered that assumption. Social networking has a variety of discrete characteristics and trending effects. The use of social media is necessary to study to enhance better communication skills and is important to study in a communication theory course. Social media’s extraordinary prevalence will continue to grow within...
Words: 1157 - Pages: 5
...Theories of Communication – MCM 511 VU LESSON 01 COMMUNICATION Defining communication Communication is seen as central to our everyday ideas about what makes life worth living. It is not surprising that academicians have attempted to unravel the secrets of the communication process. In this section of the study we will examine the theorizing and theories of this discipline of communication. To understand communication theory we need to understand the nature of communication. Nature of communication People define terms in different ways, and those differences in definition can have a profound impact on the extent to which we understand each other and the way we move forward with both academic and everyday pursuits. Given the variety of ways in which words are used and understood, we are often ill-served to search for the single, so-called correct definition of a term. In other words, it is better to evaluate definition in terms of their utility rather than in terms of their correctness. So we should not assume that there is always a single right way to define a concept. There is a great deal of variation in the definitions. Some are very abstract and some are extremely specific. Few definitions are cited below. Communication is the process by which an individual (the communicator) transmits stimuli (usually verbal) to modify the behavior of other individuals (the audience). (Hovland Janis and Kelly in 1953) Communication is the process by which we understand others and in turn...
Words: 67078 - Pages: 269
