The mass media are diversified media technologies
that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. The technologies through
which this communication takes place varies. Broadcast media such as radio, recorded
music, film and television
transmit their information electronically. Print media use a physical object
such as a newspaper,
book, pamphlet or comics, to
distribute their information. Outdoor media is a form of mass media that
comprises billboards,
signs or placards placed inside and outside of commercial buildings, sports
stadiums, shops and buses. Other outdoor media include flying billboards (signs
in tow of airplanes), blimps,
skywriting,
and AR Advertising. Public speaking and event organizing
can also be considered as forms of mass media. The digital media comprises both Internet and mobile
mass communication. Internet media provides many mass media services, such as email, websites, blogs, and internet
based radio and television. Many other mass media outlets have a presence on
the web, by such things as having TV ads that link to a website, or
distributing a QR
Code in print or outdoor media to direct a mobile user to a website. In
this way, they can utilise the easy accessibility that the Internet has, and
the outreach that Internet affords, as information can easily be broadcast to
many different regions of the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently.
The organizations that control these technologies, such
as television stations or publishing companies, are also known as the mass
media.
Issues with definition
In the
late 20th Century, mass media could be classified into eight mass media
industries: books, newspapers, magazines, recordings, radio, movies, television
and the internet. With the explosion of digital communication technology in the
late 20th and early 21st centuries, the question of what forms of media should
be classified as "mass media" has become more prominent. For example,
it is controversial whether to include cell phones, video games and computer
games (such as MMORPGs) in the definition. In the 2000s, a classification
called the "seven mass media" became popular. In order of
introduction, they are:
1.
Print (books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines,
etc.) from the late 15th century
2.
Recordings (gramophone
records, magnetic tapes, cassettes,
cartridges,
CDs, DVDs) from the late 19th
century
3.
Cinema from about 1900
4.
Radio from about 1910
5.
Television
from about 1950
6.
Internet from
about 1990
7.
Mobile
phones from about 2000
Each mass
media has its own content types, its own creative artists and technicians, and
its own business models. For example, the Internet includes web sites, blogs, podcasts, and
various other technologies built on top of the general distribution network.
The sixth and seventh media, internet and mobile, are often called collectively
as digital
media; and the fourth and fifth, radio and TV, as broadcast
media. Some argue that video games have developed into a distinct mass form of
media.
While a telephone is a two way communication device, mass media refers to medium which can communicate a message to a large group, often simultaneously. However, modern cell phones are no longer a single use device. Most cell phones are equipped with internet access and capable of connecting to the web which itself is a mass medium. A question arises of whether this makes cell phones a mass medium or simply a device used to access a mass medium (the internet). There is currently a system where marketers and advertisers are able to tap into satellites, and broadcast commercials and advertisements directly to cell phones, unsolicited by the phone's user. This transmission of mass advertising to millions of people is a form of mass communication.
Video
games may also be evolving into a mass medium. Video games convey the same
messages and ideologies to all their users. Users sometimes share the
experience with each other by playing online. Excluding the internet however,
it is questionable whether players of video games are sharing a common
experience when they play the game separately. It is possible to discuss in
great detail the events of a video game with a friend you have never played
with because the experience was identical to you both. The question is if this
is then a form of mass communication.
Massively
multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as Runescape provide a
common gaming experience to millions of users throughout the globe. It is
arguable that the users are receiving the same message, i.e., the game is mass
communicating the same messages to the various players.
Characteristics
Five
characteristics of mass communication have been identified by Cambridge University's John Thompson:
- "[C]omprises both technical and institutional methods of production and distribution" This is evident throughout the history of the media, from print to the Internet, each suitable for commercial utility.
- Involves the "commodification of symbolic forms", as the production of materials relies on its ability to manufacture and sell large quantities of the work. Just as radio stations rely on its time sold to advertisements, newspapers rely for the same reasons on its space.
- "[S]eparate contexts between the production and reception of information"
- Its "reach to those 'far removed' in time and space, in comparison to the producers".
- "[I]nformation distribution" - a "one to many" form of communication, whereby products are mass-produced and disseminated to a great quantity of audiences.
Mass vs. mainstream
"Mass
media" is sometimes used as a synonym for "mainstream
media", which is distinguished from alternative
media by the content and point of view. Alternative media are also
"mass media" outlets in the sense of using technology capable of
reaching many people, even if the audience is often smaller than the
mainstream.
In common
usage, the term "mass" denotes not that a given number of individuals
receives the products, but rather that the products are available in principle
to a plurality of recipients.
Mass vs. local
Mass media is distinguished from local media by the notion that whilst the former aims to reach a very large market such as the entire population of a country, the latter broadcasts to a much smaller population and area, and generally focuses on regional news rather than global events. A third type of media, specialty media, provides for specific demographics, such as specialty channels on TV (sports channels, porn channels, etc.). These definitions are not set in stone, and it is possible for a media outlet to be promoted in status from a local media outlet to a global media outlet. Some local media, which take an interest in state or provincial news can rise to prominence due to their investigative journalism, and to the local region's preference of updates in national politics rather than regional news. The Guardian, formerly known as the Manchester Guardian is an example of one such media outlet. Once a regional daily newspaper, The Guardian is currently a nationally respected paper.
Forms of mass media
Broadcast
A family listening to a crystal
radio in the 1920s
The
sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a schedule. With all technological endeavors
a number of technical terms and slang are developed please see the list of broadcasting terms for a
glossary of terms used.
Television
and radio programs
are distributed through radio broadcasting over frequency bands that are highly
regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
Such regulation includes determination of the width of the bands, range,
licencing, types of receivers and transmitters used, and acceptable content.
Cable
programs are often broadcast simultaneously with radio and television programs,
but have a more limited audience. By coding signals and having a cable converter box in homes, cable also
enables subscription-based
channels and pay-per-view services.
A
broadcasting organisation may broadcast several programs at the same
time, through several channels (frequencies),
for example BBC
One and Two.
On the other hand, two or more organisations may share a channel and each use
it during a fixed part of the day. Digital
radio and digital television may also transmit multiplexed
programming, with several channels compressed
into one ensemble.
When
broadcasting is done via the Internet the term webcasting
is often used. In 2004 a new phenomenon occurred when a number of technologies
combined to produce podcasting. Podcasting is an asynchronous
broadcast/narrowcast medium, with one of the main proponents being Adam Curry
and his associates the Podshow.
Film
'Film'
encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in
general. The name comes from the photographic
film (also called filmstock), historically the primary medium
for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist—motion
pictures (or just pictures and "picture"), the silver
screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks—and
commonly movies.
Films are produced by recording people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. They comprise a series of individual frames, but when these images are shown rapidly in succession, the illusion of motion is given to the viewer. Flickering between frames is not seen due to an effect known as persistence of vision—whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Also of relevance is what causes the perception of motion; a psychological effect identified as beta movement.
Film is
considered by many to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire
audiences. Any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with the
addition of dubbing or subtitles
that translate the film message. Films are also artifacts created by specific
cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.
Video games
A video game
is a computer-controlled
game where a video display such as a monitor
or television
is the primary feedback device. The term "computer game" also
includes games which display only text (and which can therefore theoretically
be played on a teletypewriter) or which use other methods, such as
sound or vibration, as their primary feedback device, but there are very few
new games in these categories. There always must also be some sort of input
device, usually in the form of button/joystick combinations (on arcade games), a keyboard
& mouse/trackball
combination (computer games), or a controller
(console games), or a combination of any of the
above. Also, more esoteric devices have been used for input. Usually there are
rules and goals, but in more open-ended games the player may be free to do
whatever they like within the confines of the virtual universe.
In common usage, a "computer game" or a "PC game" refers to a game that is played on a personal computer. "Console game" refers to one that is played on a device specifically designed for the use of such, while interfacing with a standard television set. "Arcade game" refers to a game designed to be played in an establishment in which patrons pay to play on a per-use basis. "Video game" (or "videogame") has evolved into a catchall phrase that encompasses the aforementioned along with any game made for any other device, including, but not limited to, mobile phones, PDAs, advanced calculators, etc.
Audio recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction
is the electrical
or mechanical re-creation and/or amplification of sound, often as music. This involves
the use of audio equipment such as microphones, recording
devices and loudspeakers. From early beginnings with the invention of the phonograph
using purely mechanical techniques, the field has advanced with the invention
of electrical recording, the mass production of the 78
record, the magnetic wire recorder followed by the tape
recorder, the vinyl LP record. The invention of the compact
cassette in the 1960s, followed by Sony's Walkman, gave a
major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings, and the invention of digital
recording and the compact disc in 1983 brought massive improvements in
ruggedness and quality. The most recent developments have been in digital audio players.
An album
is a collection of related audio recordings, released together to the public,
usually commercially.
The term record album originated from the fact that 78 RPM Phonograph disc records were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an "album" was Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, release in April 1909 as a four-disc set by Odeon records.[9][10] It retailed for 16 shillings—about £15 in modern currency.
A music video (also promo) is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. Modern music videos were primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when Music Television's format was based on them. In the 1980s, the term "rock video" was often used to describe this form of entertainment, although the term has fallen into disuse.
Music
videos can accommodate all styles of filmmaking, including animation, live action
films, documentaries, and non-narrative, abstract
film.
Internet
See also: Web extra
The Internet (also
known simply as "the Net" or less precisely as "the Web")
is a more interactive medium of mass media, and can be briefly described as
"a network of networks". Specifically, it is the worldwide, publicly
accessible network of interconnected computer
networks that transmit data by packet
switching using the standard Internet
Protocol (IP). It consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic,
business, and governmental networks, which together carry various information
and services, such as email,
online
chat, file transfer, and the interlinked web pages and
other documents of the World Wide Web.
Contrary to some common usage, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is the system of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections etc.; the Web is the contents, or the interconnected documents, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is accessible through the Internet, along with many other services including e-mail, file sharing and others described below.
Toward the end of the 20th century, the advent of the World Wide Web marked the first era in which most individuals could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass media. Anyone with a web site has the potential to address a global audience, although serving to high levels of web traffic is still relatively expensive. It is possible that the rise of peer-to-peer technologies may have begun the process of making the cost of bandwidth manageable. Although a vast amount of information, imagery, and commentary (i.e. "content") has been made available, it is often difficult to determine the authenticity and reliability of information contained in web pages (in many cases, self-published). The invention of the Internet has also allowed breaking news stories to reach around the globe within minutes. This rapid growth of instantaneous, decentralized communication is often deemed likely to change mass media and its relationship to society.
"Cross-media" means the idea of distributing the same message through different media channels. A similar idea is expressed in the news industry as "convergence". Many authors understand cross-media publishing to be the ability to publish in both print and on the web without manual conversion effort. An increasing number of wireless devices with mutually incompatible data and screen formats make it even more difficult to achieve the objective “create once, publish many”.
The Internet is quickly becoming the center of mass media. Everything is becoming accessible via the internet. Instead of picking up a newspaper, or watching the 10 o'clock news, people can log onto the internet to get the news they want, when they want it. For example, many workers listen to the radio through the Internet while sitting at their desk.
Even the education system relies on the Internet. Teachers can contact the entire class by sending one e-mail. They may have web pages where students can get another copy of the class outline or assignments. Some classes have class blogs in which students are required to post weekly, with students graded on their contributions.
Blogs (web logs)
Blogging, too,
has become a pervasive form of media. A blog is a website,
usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary,
descriptions of events, or interactive media such as images or video. Entries
are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order, with most recent posts
shown on top. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject;
others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text,
images and other graphics, and links to other blogs, web pages, and related
media. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an
important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some
focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog),
music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social
media. Microblogging is another type of blogging which
consists of blogs with very short posts.
RSS feeds
RSS is a format for syndicating news and the content of news-like sites, including major news sites like Wired, news-oriented community sites like Slashdot, and personal blogs. It is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts. An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" or "channel") contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays.
Podcast
Main article: Podcast
A podcast is a
series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using
syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers. The
term podcast, like broadcast, can refer either to the series of content itself
or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also called
podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
Mobile
Mobile
phones were introduced in Japan in 1979 but became a mass media only in 1998 when the
first downloadable ringing tones were introduced in Finland. Soon most forms of
media content were introduced on mobile phones, tablets
and other portable devices, and today the total value of media consumed on
mobile vastly exceeds that of internet content, and was worth over 31 billion
dollars in 2007. The mobile media content includes over 8 billion dollars worth
of mobile music (ringing tones, ringback tones, truetones, MP3 files, karaoke,
music videos, music streaming services etc.); over 5 billion dollars worth of
mobile gaming; and various news, entertainment and advertising services. In
Japan mobile phone books are so popular that five of the ten best-selling
printed books were originally released as mobile phone books.
Similar to
the internet, mobile is also an interactive media, but has far wider reach,
with 3.3 billion mobile phone users at the end of 2007 to 1.3 billion internet
users (source ITU). Like email on the internet, the top application on mobile
is also a personal messaging service, but SMS text messaging is used by over
2.4 billion people. Practically all internet services and applications exist or
have similar cousins on mobile, from search to multiplayer games to virtual
worlds to blogs. Mobile has several unique benefits which many mobile media
pundits claim make mobile a more powerful media than either TV or the internet,
starting with mobile being permanently carried and always connected. Mobile has
the best audience accuracy and is the only mass media with a built-in payment
channel available to every user without any credit cards or PayPal accounts or
even an age limit. Mobile is often called the 7th
Mass Medium and either the fourth screen (if counting cinema, TV and PC
screens) or the third screen (counting only TV and PC).
Print media
Book
Main article: Book
A book is a collection of
sheets of paper, parchment or
other material with a piece of text written on them, bound together along one
edge within covers. A book is also a literary work or a main division of such a
work. A book produced in electronic format is known as an e-book.
Magazine
A magazine is a
periodical publication containing a variety of articles, generally
financed by advertising and/or purchase by readers.
Magazines
are typically published weekly,
biweekly, monthly, bimonthly or quarterly,
with a date on the cover that is in advance of the
date it is actually published. They are often printed in color on coated paper,
and are bound with a soft cover.
Magazines
fall into two broad categories: consumer magazines and business magazines. In
practice, magazines are a subset of periodicals, distinct from those periodicals
produced by scientific, artistic, academic or special interest publishers which
are subscription-only, more expensive, narrowly limited in circulation, and
often have little or no advertising.
Magazines
can be classified as:
- General interest magazines (e.g. Frontline, India Today, The Week, The Sunday Times etc.)
- Special interest magazines (women's, sports, business, scuba diving, etc.)
Newspaper
A newspaper is
a publication
containing news and information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost
paper called newsprint.
It may be general or special interest, most often published daily or weekly.
The first printed newspaper was published in 1605, and the form has thrived
even in the face of competition from technologies such as radio and television.
Recent developments on the Internet are posing major threats to its business
model, however. Paid circulation is declining in most countries, and
advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of a newspaper's income, is
shifting from print to online; some commentators, nevertheless, point out that
historically new media such as radio and television did not entirely supplant
existing.
Outdoor media
Outdoor
media is a form of mass media which comprises billboards, signs, placards
placed inside and outside of commercial buildings/objects like shops/buses,
flying billboards (signs in tow of airplanes), blimps, skywriting, AR
Advertising. Many commercial advertisers use this form of mass media when
advertising in sports stadiums. Tobacco and alcohol manufacturers used
billboards and other outdoor media extensively. However, in 1998, the Master
Settlement Agreement between the US and the tobacco industries prohibited the
billboard advertising of cigarettes. In a 1994 Chicago-based study, Diana
Hackbarth and her colleagues revealed how tobacco- and alcohol-based billboards
were concentrated in poor neighborhoods. In other urban centers, alcohol and
tobacco billboards were much more concentrated in African-American
neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods.
Purposes
A panel in the Newseum in Washington,
D.C., shows the September 12 headlines in America and around the world
Mass media
encompasses much more than just news, although it is sometimes misunderstood in
this way. It can be used for various purposes:
- Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations, and political communication.
- Entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting, music, sports, and TV shows along with light reading; since the late 20th century also through video and computer games.
- Public service announcements and emergency alerts (that can be used as political device to communicate propaganda to the public).[8]
Professions involving mass media
Journalism
Journalism
is the discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting information
regarding current events,
trends,
issues and people.
Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.
News-oriented
journalism is sometimes described as the "first rough draft of
history" (attributed to Phil Graham), because journalists often record
important events, producing news articles on short deadlines. While under
pressure to be first with their stories, news media
organizations usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication, adhering
to each organization's standards of accuracy, quality and style. Many news
organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and
institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised
questions about holding the press itself accountable to the standards of professional journalism.
Public relations
Public
relations is the art and science of managing communication between an
organization and its key publics to build, manage and sustain its positive
image. Examples include:
- Corporations use marketing public relations to convey information about the products they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers to support their direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short and long term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing market.
- Corporations also use public relations as a vehicle to reach legislators and other politicians, seeking favorable tax, regulatory, and other treatment, and they may use public relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in support of human-resources recruiting programs.
- Nonprofit organizations, including schools and universities, hospitals, and human and social service agencies, use public relations in support of awareness programs, fund-raising programs, staff recruiting, and to increase patronage of their services.
- Politicians use public relations to attract votes and raise money, and, when successful at the ballot box, to promote and defend their service in office, with an eye to the next election or, at career’s end, to their legacy.
Publishing
Publishing
is the industry concerned with the production of literature
or information
– the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases,
authors may be their own publishers.
Traditionally,
the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books and newspapers.
With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet, the
scope of publishing has expanded to include websites, blogs, and the like.
As a business,
publishing includes the development, marketing, production,
and distribution of newspapers, magazines,
books, literary works, musical works, software, other
works dealing with information.
Publication
is also important as a legal
concept; (1) as the process of giving formal notice to the world of a
significant intention, for example, to marry or enter bankruptcy, and; (2) as
the essential precondition of being able to claim defamation;
that is, the alleged libel
must have been published.
Software publishing
A software publisher is a publishing company
in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all
three of these roles may be combined (and indeed, may reside in a single
person, especially in the case of shareware).
Software
publishers often license software from developers with specific limitations,
such as a time limit or geographical region. The terms of licensing vary
enormously, and are typically secret.
Developers
may use publishers to reach larger or foreign markets, or to avoid focusing on
marketing. Or publishers may use developers to create software to meet a market
need that the publisher has identified.
[article by WIKI world wide informal source]