What is mass media? Communication and its models
Communication is sharing a message. It has a sender, a message, a channel (medium), a receiver and feedback. It can be interpersonal (two friends talking), group (a class) or mass communication (one source to a huge, scattered audience).
Mass media are the technologies used for mass communication. They reach many people at once, are usually produced by organisations, and traditionally give little feedback.
Models
- Linear model: sender → message → channel → receiver. Noise (anything that disturbs the message) can get in the way.
- Two-step flow: the media influence opinion leaders (a respected teacher, an influencer), who then influence others.
- Interactive model: messages and feedback flow both ways, as on social media.
Forms of mass media
- Print: newspapers (daily news), magazines and other periodicals (weekly or monthly), books. Can be re-read; slower to update.
- Broadcast: radio (cheap, reaches villages, works without reading), television (picture + sound, strong emotion), film.
- Advertising and marketing: paid messages that sell products or ideas, found in every medium.
- Music video: promotes a song and an artist's image.
- Online, social and participatory media: news websites, blogs, social networks, video platforms, podcasts. Anyone can publish.
- Video games: interactive media; the player shapes the story.
Functions of mass media
- Inform: news, weather, warnings (cyclone alerts).
- Educate: documentaries, school TV and radio, online courses.
- Entertain: films, serials, music, sport, games.
- Persuade: advertising, election campaigns, public health messages.
Media also act as a watchdog: journalists investigate and question people in power. And they help socialisation: we learn values, fashions and ideas of what is normal from them.
Journalism
Journalists gather, check and present news. Good journalism is accurate, fair, independent and separates facts from opinion.
Who decides the news? Selection, ownership and representation
News selection
Gatekeepers (editors, producers, and now algorithms) choose which stories pass. News values make a story more likely to be chosen: it is recent, nearby, surprising, about famous people, negative or dramatic, or has pictures. The agenda-setting idea says media may not tell us what to think, but they strongly tell us what to think about.
Ownership and control
A few large companies own many newspapers, channels and platforms (concentration of ownership). Some sociologists say owners shape content to protect their interests; others say journalists and audiences have real power, because channels need viewers and advertisers.
Representation
Media show groups (women, older people, minorities, young people) in particular ways. Repeated stereotypes can shape how people see themselves and others; under-representation makes some groups invisible.
New media, globalisation and audience effects
New media
New media is digital, interactive and networked: smartphones, social media, streaming. It is two-way, fast and cheap, and users create content (participatory culture). Downsides: fake news spreads quickly, filter bubbles, cyberbullying and privacy loss. Online, be polite, think before you share and protect personal details.
Globalisation and popular culture
Films, music and shows now cross borders quickly: K-pop, Hollywood, Bollywood and anime have global fans. Some fear one culture will dominate; others see a mix (hybrid culture).
Audience effects
- Hypodermic syringe model: media inject ideas straight into a passive audience.
- Uses and gratifications: people actively choose media to meet needs (fun, information, belonging).
- Reception analysis: different people read the same message in different ways.
- Cultural effects: long-term exposure slowly shapes views.
Try it at home
Look at today's front page of a newspaper and the top 5 stories in a news app. Which stories are the same? Which news values (recent, nearby, famous, dramatic) does each story have? Who owns the paper and the app?
Key formulas and definitions
- Communication: sender → message → channel → receiver → feedback
- Forms: Print · Broadcast · Digital (+ advertising, music video, video games)
- Functions: Inform · Educate · Entertain · Persuade (+ watchdog, socialisation)
- Gatekeeper: person or algorithm that selects which news gets through
- Agenda setting: media decide what we think ABOUT
- Effects models: hypodermic syringe → two-step flow → uses & gratifications → reception analysis
Worked examples
1. Classify: a weekly magazine, a podcast, a radio news bulletin, a mobile game.
Magazine = print (periodical); podcast = digital/online; radio bulletin = broadcast; mobile game = digital (video game, interactive).
2. A flood in a far-away country gets 10 seconds on TV, but a celebrity wedding gets 10 minutes. Explain using news values.
The wedding has more news values for that audience: famous people, nearby culture, pictures, entertainment. The flood is far away (low proximity), so gatekeepers gave it less time.
3. Two students watch the same advert. One buys the product; the other laughs at it. Which audience model explains this?
Reception analysis / active audience: people interpret the same message differently based on their background, so the hypodermic model is too simple.
Common mistakes
- Thinking mass media means only news. Films, ads, music videos and games are mass media too.
- Assuming audiences are passive. Most research shows people choose, question and reinterpret messages.
- Mixing up ownership and control: owning a channel does not always mean controlling every story, but it can shape what is covered.
- Believing that if many people share a post it must be true. Popularity is not proof; check the source.