
The Concept of Mass Media
Mass Media - the channels of communication that involve transmitting information in some way, shape, or form to large numbers of people target audience.
4 CHARACTERISTICS OF MASS MEDIA
1. Distance - Communication between those who send and receive messages (media-speak for information) is:
- impersonal
- lacks immediacy
- one way (from the producer/creator of the information to the consumer / audience).
3. Scale - One feature of a mass medium, as we’ve noted, is it involves simultaneous communication with many people; for example, as I sit in my living room watching Chelsea play Manchester United on TV, the same behavior is being reproduced in thousands of other living rooms, not just across the country but also, in this instance, across the globe.
4. Commodity - An interesting feature of mass communication is that it comes at a price. I can watch football on TV, for example, if I can afford a television, a license fee (to watch BBC or ITV) or a subscription to something like Sky Sports if it’s on satellite or cable.
Demassification
The demassification of media simply refers to the restructuring of media industry into smaller independent operating entities. This of course cuts across the major mass media: Print (newspapers, books, magazines), film (commercial film), and Broadcast Media (radio and television.)
Typical media types used include:
- Television
- Radio
- Newspapers
- Outdoor advertising such as billboards
- Magazines
- Movies, concerts, shows, and events that attract large crowds
- Internet websites
- Social media*
- Mobile*
- Email*
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