INTRODUCTION TO MASS

COMMUNICATION

MAC (114)

DEPARTMENT OF MASS
COMMUNICATION

Mr. Linus M. Ngantem (Lecturer)

 INTRODUCTION
Communication is essential in every area of our lives as individuals
and as groups. The desire to communicate is innate in man and this
is exhibited even by babies, who in their own way express their
needs and feelings by crying, laughing, groaning, etc.
Man has diverse needs and the only way through which these
needs can be expressed and fulfilled is through communication.
We communicate to share information, to persuade, to influence
relationships and to satisfy several other needs. In the words of
Hybels and Weaver (1992),
• To live is to communicate.
• To communicate effectively is to enjoy life more fully.

Ella and Onwochei (2005) observed that as social beings we

interact with our kind in order to satisfy our various needs. This
desire explains why we engage in one form of communication or
another almost all the time.
Communication is the ‘‘life wire’’ of every individual and
organization’s existence. No man can survive the various
experiences of this life without any form of communication.
The need to be understood by the people we interact with as students,
teachers, children, parents, friends and associate is a major concern
today in schools, homes and organizations. Many relationships have
been cut short as a result of misunderstanding caused by ineffective
communication of intended meaning. Indeed, the truth remains that
people cannot interact without some form of communication.
We will succeed in our relationships and interactions with others if
we fully grasp the fact that, the essence of communication, the goal,
the ultimate aim of every exchange is the transfer of meaning.
Communication is effective when the intended meaning of the
speaker is understood by the listener.
It is hoped that the simple approach to communication
generally, will help students and other readers communicate
effectively as they interact on a daily basis.
Week 1: What is Communication?
Communication is from a Latin word- COMMUNIS, which
means common or shared understanding.
Communication therefore is a purposeful effort to establish commonness
between a source and receiver (Schramn 1965). Whatever is being
shared could be associated with knowledge, experience, thought, ideas,
suggestion, opinions, feelings etc.

We will define communication here as the process of exchanging or

sharing information, ideas and feeling between the sender and the
receiver. Communication is very central to all human activities; this is
because everything we do and do not, communicate. Man’s interaction
with other human beings is a result of communication. Communication
is the key around which human life revolves.
Communication is a common phenomenon that cuts across the daily
activities of human being. Obilade (1989) defines communication as a
process that involves the transmission of message from a sender to the
receiver.
Orewere (2006) defines communication as the process of sending
(transmitting) and receiving messages between individuals, among a
group of people in a place or locality or between people in a wider
society.
He added that a message is the actual physical product of the
Sender/Source/Encoder, e.g speech, writing, painting, picture,
movement of the arms in a gesture. Several communication scholars
such as Soola (2000), Ode (1999) and Ugboajah (2001) pointed out
that Communication is the process by which any person or a group
shares and impacts, information with/to another person(or group) so
that both people(or groups) clearly understand one another (Soola
2000).
Not just giving of information, it is the giving of understandable
information and receiving and therefore, the transferring of a
message to another party so that it can be understood and acted upon
(Ode 1999). That communication is the process which involves all
acts of transmitting messages to channels which link people to the
languages and symbolic codes which are used to transmit such
messages.
It is also the means by which such messages are received and stored. It
includes the rules, customs and conventions which define and regulate
human relationships and events (Ugboajah 2001). In addition,
Communication is the transmission of a message from a source to a
receiver or the process of creating shared meaning.
Communication is also innate – every man is born with the ability, from
childhood, we learn to communicate by crying, smiling, kicking etc.
Communication is dynamic, ongoing and ever changing.
Communication is made up of activities of interrelated elements which
continue to function in the communication process. The fact is that the
word communication is encompassing, ambiguous and pervasive.
These three words capture the universal nature of communication and
make everyone think they know something about communication.

Similarly, communication started with the simplest vocal and gestural

signals rooted in their physical structure. People then developed a range
of non-verbal means of communication for conveying messages, such
as music, dance, drum message, signal fires, drawings, paintings, tying
of bush leaves etc. The development of language rendered human
communication powerful and gave mankind his pre-eminent position
in the animal world (Orewere, 2006).
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication performs diverse kinds of functions. We will look at
the following functions:
a. Social Interaction: Human interaction is possible because we can
communicate. We relate with friends, parents, colleagues, etc because
we share codes that make us understand each other. Without
communication this will not be possible.
b. Business and Trade: Communication provides opportunity to transact
business and engage in trade. We are able to make known what we are offering
for sales and what we want to buy. We also negotiate the prices, mode of
delivery etc. through communication
c. Exchange of Ideas and Spread of Knowledge: We express freely our ideas,
opinions and feelings on issues affecting us. We also share knowledge as we
engage in discussion and write books. In classroom situation, a teacher is able
to impart knowledge into students through communication.
d. Social-Political Development: Development is made possible through
communication. Communication helps to mobilise people to work together for
their social and political development.
e. Social-Cultural Integration: Communication enables exchange of culture
and values. Through music, interaction in communities, we are able to learn
one another’s cultures and blend for harmonious co-habitation.
Purpose of Communication
Communication serves five major purposes: to inform, to express feelings, to
imagine, to influence, and to meet social expectations. Each of these
purposes is reflected in a form of communication. From the fore-going, we can
conclude here that, communication can serve a number of different functions like
information, education, entertainment, persuasion, and so on.
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication as a process is dynamic, recursive, on-going and continuous. It
includes the means by which messages are received and stored as the rules,
customs, beliefs, and conventions which define and regulate human relationship
and events. The process of communication is a cyclic one as it begins with the
sender and ends with the sender in the form of feedback.

Sambe (2005) pointed out that the communication process involves an action,
reaction and interaction.
a. Stimulation: This is the point at which the source or sender sees the need to
communicate. He receives stimulus that triggers him to communicate.
b. Encoding: here the source processes the message he want to communicate. For
instance, feelings, thoughts opinion, ideas etc. The sender puts the message into a
series of symbols, pictures or words which will be communicated to the intended
receiver. Encoding is an important step in the communication process as wrong and
inappropriate encoding may defeat the true intent of the communication process.
c. Transmission: in this process of communication, the message
is passed across to the receiver through a chosen medium or
channel. E.g radio, television, newspaper or magazines etc.

d. Reception: in this communication process, the receiver gets

the message sent from the source/sender/originator or
communicator.

e. Decoding: this is a communication process where the message

is processed, dissected, understood and interpreted by the
receiver in form of feedback. Decoding refers to interpreting
or converting the sent message into intelligible language. It
simply means comprehending the message. The receiver after
receiving the message interprets it and tries to understand it in
the best possible manner.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
There are seven elements involved in the communication process.
a. Stimulus: this refers to the need or desire that triggers off any form of
communication. It motivates, stimulates or moves an intending or prospective
sender into the urge to relax or transmit a message.
b. Sender/Source: this refers to the originator, encoder, initiator, or communicator that
packages or arranges the message in such a way that it can be communicated.

c. Message: this concerns the thoughts, feelings, ideas, opinion or needs which the
source transmits after he has received the message to be effectively shared or
transmitted.

d. Medium/Channel: this is concern with the form or method employed by the sender of the
message to get to the receiver or destination. Channel on the other hand, refers to the pathway,
route, or conduit through which messages travels between the source and the receiver. For
instance, the case of radio, television, newspaper, internet etc. Channel provides a link that
enables the sender and the receiver to communicate. The message may be oral or written and
it may be transmitted through a memorandum, a computer, telephone, cell phone, apps or
televisions
e. Receiver: This is the decoder, for others it is the destination of the message
or simply the audience to whom the message is sent. He/she is the target
audience. Communication must be receiver-centred. It is destination.
f. Feedback: this refers to the response or reaction to the message sent to the
decoder. It confirms that communication is well received, understood or
comprehended.
g. Noise: this refers to interference that keeps a message from being
understood. It is a viable or potent barrier to effective communication. It
also refers to obstacle or distortion noticeable in the communication
process.
Types of Noise
• Physical Noise: this comes from the environment in which we live. E.g
side-talks, conversation, meetings etc.
• Psychological Noise: result from mental state of the person, depression,
emotional stress, disability participating in the communication process.
• Physiological Noise: comes from interference or distortion from the body
in form of discomfort, feelings of hunger, tiredness etc.
• Linguistic Noise: result from the senders’ inability to communicate
accurately. It may be a grammatical noise manifested in form of defects in
the rules of grammar of a language, and faulty sentence structure.
WEEK 2: FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the form of communication in which message
is transmitted verbally; communication is done by word of mouth and a piece
of writing. The aim of every communication is to have people understand what
we are trying to convey.
In verbal communication remember the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple). Verbal
communication is further divided in to two: Oral and Written communication.

a. Oral (Speech) Communication: this refers to the means of communication done by

word of mouth. In oral communication, Spoken words are used. It includes face-to-face
conversations, speech, telephone conversation, video, radio, television, voice over
internet. Here, communication is influence by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of
speaking.
Advantages of Oral Communication
• i. It creates and sustains warm, interpersonal relationships.
• ii. It combines sight and sound, thus enabling participants to benefit from both verbal
and non-verbal stimulus.
• iii. It can satisfy man’s needs and desires (wants) more quickly than writing or gestures.
• iv. It allows for instantaneous exchange of ideas, information, opinions, feelings and
attitudes.
• v. It brings immediate feedback
Disadvantages of Oral Communication
i. There is possibility of distortion of meaning.
ii. It can easily be denied.
iii. It has little weight as contractual evidence.
iv. It is usually not admissible in evidence in the law court.
v. It lacks permanence
• b. Written Communication: refers to communication by means of written symbols (either
printed or handwritten). In written communication, written signs or symbols are used to
communicate. A written message may be printed or hand written. In written
communication message can be transmitted via email, letter, report, memo etc.
Advantages of Written Communication
• a. It provides opportunities for record keeping.
• b. It is amenable to conveying complex messages, information, and ideals as well as
explaining difficult process.
• c. It can be reproduced through various reprographic processes and dispatched to widely
scattered receivers.
• d. It provides avenues, through which oral transaction can be clarified, analysed and
confirmed.
• Disadvantages of Written Communication
• a. It lacks the warmth of interpersonal relationships.
• b. It may be expensive especially when it requires being dispatched to scattered receivers.
• c. It delays feedback.
• d. It delays feedback
II. Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is any information that is communicated without using
words. Nonverbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages.
We can say that communication without oral or written means, such as gesture, body
language, posture, tone of voice or facial expressions, is called non-verbal
communication. Nonverbal communication is all about the body language of the
speaker.
Types of Non-verbal Communication
• Vocalic (Paralanguage)
• This deals with the extra-linguistic aspects of communication. It concerns voice
rather than words. E.g. yawning to indicate tiredness or boredom; belching
after food or drink to show one has eaten to his fill. Paralanguage also include
such vocal characteristics as rate (speed of speaking), pitch (highness or
lowness of tone), volume (loudness) and quality (pleasing or unpleasant
sound). Any or all of these added to words, modify meaning.
• Oculesics (Eye Language)
• Messages are conveyed through the eyes by way of contact, blinks, eye
movement and pupil dilation. The eye is used to:
• a. Give the “green light” or declare the communication channel open.
• b. Seek and provide reaction in form of feedback
• c. Signal the intention to be involved or included in a discussion.
• d. Gaze at, or probe into, and provoke anxiety in others
c. Kinesics (Body Language)
a. Emblems are body movements that directly translate into words e.g. holding your
fingers to show how many of something you want.
b. Illustrators: they accent, emphasise or reinforce words e.g. pointing down the road
with finger when giving direction to someone.

c. Regulators: control the back-and-forth flow of speaking and listening. e.g.

when a teacher points at the student who should speak next in the class.
d. Displays of feelings: show through facial expressions and body
movements, how intensely a person is feeling.
Levels at which Communication Occurs
3. Intra-Personal Communication: refers to the kind of communication
that occurs within an individual. It involves thoughts, feelings, and the way
an individual look at oneself. Because intra-personal communication is
centred in the self, you are the only sender-receiver. The message is made
up of your thoughts and feelings. The channel is your brain, which
processes what you are thinking and feeling. There is feedback in the sense
that you talk to yourself, or discard certain ideas and replace them with
others.
4. Inter-Personal Communication: This kind of communication occurs mostly between
two people, though it may include more than two. Because interpersonal
communication is between two (or a few) people, it offers the greatest opportunity for
feedback. Messages consist of verbal and non-verbal symbols.
Few participants are involved and are close to each other. The main attribute of
inter-personal communication is the face-to-face type of interaction.
Interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in
that there are few participants involved, the interactants are in close physical
proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is
immediate.
• Types of Interpersonal Communication
• Interpersonal communication has three major types. They are:
• 1. Dyadic communication,
• 2. Public speaking, and
• 3. Small-group communication
• Communication Dyadic
• Dyadic communication is simply a method of communication that only
involves two people such as a telephone conversation or even a set of letters
sent to and received from a pen pal. In this communication process, the sender
can immediately receive and evaluate feedback from the receiver.
5. Group Communication: this kind of communication occurs when a small number
of people meet to solve a problem. The group must be small enough so that each
member in the group has a chance to interact with all of the other members. Example:
teacher and students, family meetings, village meeting etc.
6. Public Communication: this refers to a situation where a message is
directed to a large audience assembled together on a spot. Here, one person
is speaking to a large number of people using public address system.
Example: NUJ, NLC etc. The audience is bigger and the setting is formal.
What differentiates public communication from group communication is
the medium. A situation where there is application of public address
system, newsletters, circulars etc. to pass across information to a large
number of people.
7. Intercultural/Cross-Cultural Communication: this refers to a
situation where people from different cultures, differences in language,
values, gestures etc interact. It concerns with communication across
different cultures and social groups or how cultures affects communication
for the purpose of interaction.
8. Traditional Communication: this serves the purpose of delivering a
concise message to a small group of people; usually those people who live
in towns and small communities.
9. International Communication: this refers to the form of communication that takes
place across national frontiers or national boundaries or from one country to another.
The purpose of international communication is for two or more countries coming
together to interact and solve certain issues affecting member nations or for bilateral
relation or business.
International communication arose because of the need to maintain
international friendship and relations as well as to understand and
keep abreast of happenings around the world. This is one of the core
aims of international communication.

10. Mass Communication: is human communication on a

‘Massified Scale’, incorporating all the six basic elements of
communication; that is, source, encoder, message, channel, decoder,
receiver and feedback. In other words, it refers to the process of
transmitting or disseminating information from a sender to a large,
scattered, heterogeneous and anonymous audience simultaneously
using technological devices of the mass media such as radio,
television, internet, newspaper, magazines etc, with the possibility of
delayed feedback.
Week 3: COMMUNICATION MODELS
Models are communication tools that illustrate communication behaviour. They are
simply the common sense realities of communication revealed in a typical sketch
diagram. Folarin (2002) submits that models are in disposable for the more complex
process of communication.
A model is a symbolic representation that shows how elements of a
structure or system relate for analysis and discussion purposes.
Communication models help to explain the process of communication. It
refers to the conceptual model used to explain the human communication
process.
The models here are named after their originators. Models could be used to
understand the concept of communication better. Specifically, the models
are categorized under the following:
• Aristotle’s Model
• Harold Lasswell Models of 1948
• Shannon and Weaver’s Model of 1949
• Wilbur Schramm’s Model of 1954
• HUB Model
• Linear Model and
• Interactive Model among others
1. The Aristotle’s Model of Communication
The first known scholar, who wrote about communication, though not
directly, is Aristotle (384-322 BC). In his famous books, ‘Rhetoric’,
Aristotle called the study of communication as ‘rhetoric’ and elaborated
three elements within the process.

He provided us with this insight: Rhetoric falls into three

divisions, determined by the three classes of listeners to
speeches. Of the three elements in speech-making — speaker,
subject, and person addressed — it is the last one, the hearer
that determines the speech's end and object. Here, Aristotle
speaks of a communication process composed of a speaker, a
message and a listener. Note, he points out that the person at
the end of the communication process holds the key to whether
or not communication takes place.
 Sketch diagram of Aristotle’s Communication Model

2. Harold Lasswell’s Model of 1948

• In Which? Channel?
• Says What?
• Message
• To Whom?
• Receiver
• With What?
• Effect
• Who?
• Sender
• Harold Lasswell, a political scientist, designed a communication model which
exchanges type mixing the main elements of communication process.
Lasswell’s communication model consists of; a source sends a message,
through a medium, to a receiver, producing some effect. Lasswell’s
communication model asks five major questions: (Who)? Sender, Says (what)?
Message, in (Which)? Channel, to (whom)? Receiver (With) what effect?
Effect of the message.
 Lasswell’s Model diagram

3. Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s Model of 1949

Shannon and Weaver were the first to present the Linear Model of Communication in
1949′s Mathematical Theory of Communication. The original model was designed
to mirror the functioning of radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model
consisted of three primary parts: sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the
part of a telephone a person spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the
receiver was the part of the phone where one could hear the other person. Social
scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver structured this model based on the
following elements: An information source, which produces a message.
A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals, a channel, to which signals
are adapted for transmission, a receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message
from the signal, a destination, where the message arrives.
David Berlo in 1960 expanded on Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) linear model of
communication and created the SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-
Message-Channel-Receiver Model of communication separated the model into clear
parts and has been expanded upon by other scholars.
According to Daramola (2003) Shannon and Weaver’s model has been criticised
by scholars because it concern itself more with mechanical transmission of message
from one point to another thus laying emphasis primarily on quantity of information
transmitted.
 Shannon and Weaver’s Diagrammatic Model
4. Wilbur Schramm’s Model of 1954
In Schramm's model he notes, same with Aristotle, that communication
always requires three elements-the source, the message and the destination.
Ideally, the source encodes a message and transmits it to its destination via
some channel, where the message is received and decoded. Schramm’s in
his model propounded that, communication is usually described along a
few major dimensions: Message (what type of things are communicated),
source /sender/encoder (by whom), form (in which form), channel (through
which medium), destination/receiver/target/decoder (to whom), and
Receiver.
According to Baran (2002) Schramm’s model demonstrate the on-going
reciprocal nature of communication process. There is no source, no receiver,
and no feedback. This is because as communication occurs, both the
interpreters are simultaneously the source and the receiver.

There is no feedback; all messages are presumed to be in the reciprocation

of other messages. Furthermore, Field of Experience in Schramm’s
communication model refers to things that influence the understanding and
interpretation of message like culture, social background, beliefs,
experiences, values and rules. Examples: a person who always eats with
spoon is informed that he has to eat with hands in that place; the person
will get offended because he will think it is impolite to eat that way.
5. HUB Model
Hiebert, Ungurait and Bohn designed the model. It shows mass communication process as
circular, dynamic and ongoing. It pictures communication as a process similar to the series of
actions that take place during communication process. Circular communication gives opportunity
to both parties to give their opinion. As it is dynamic and ever changing model, it is helpful
in general practice. Sender and receiver interchanges and both are equally active.
 Diagram of HUB’S Model

6. Linear Model. It is a one way model to communicate with others. It consists of the sender
encoding a message and channelling it to the receiver in the presence of noise. Draw backs –
the linear model assumes that there is a clear cut beginning and end to communication. It also
displays no feedback from the receiver. For example; a letter, email, text message, lectures.
7. Interactive Model. It is two linear models stacked on top of each
other. The sender channels a message to the receiver and the
receiver then becomes the sender and channels a message to the
original sender. This model has added feedback, indicates that
communication is not a one way but a two way process. It also has
“field of experience” which includes our cultural background,
ethnicity geographic location, extend of travel, and general personal
experiences accumulated over the course of your lifetime. Draw
backs – there is feedback but it is not simultaneous. For example –
instant messaging. The sender sends a message to the receiver, and
then the original sender has to wait for the message from the original
receiver to react. Or a question/answer session where you just ask a
question then you get an answer.
Week 4: What is Mass Communication?
Mass Communication refers to the process or means of disseminating or
transmitting information, views, or messages to a large, anonymous, and
scattered heterogeneous masses of receivers who may be far removed from
the message sources through the use of sophisticated equipment. In other
words, communication is the sending of message through a mass medium
to a large number of people.
Mass Communication represents the creation and sending of a
homogeneous message to a large heterogeneous audience through the
media. Baran (2002) defines mass communication as the process of
creating shared meaning between the mass media and their audience.
Also, Bittner (1989) defines mass communication as messages communicated through a mass
medium to a large number of people. One needs to underscore the underlying fact that what is
common in every definition of mass communication anywhere in the world is that it is
communicated through a mass medium. In other words, for any message to be regarded as being
mass communicated, it must be disseminated through a mass medium like Radio, Television,
Newspaper and Magazine.
(Sambe 2005) submits that mass communication can be defined as a device
by which a group of people working together transmits information to a
large heterogeneous and anonymous audience simultaneously. It is a
process by which information originates from the source to the receiver,
having been thoroughly filtered and transmitted through a channel.
Therefore, mass communication is the process of disseminating, sharing,
passing or transmitting of information, messages, views opinion etc from a
source to a large, anonymous, heterogeneous and scattered audience
simultaneously through the use of technological devices of the mass media
such as radio, television, internet, newspapers, magazines etc with the
possibility of delayed feedback. The foremost feature of mass
communication is that it has large number of audience. No other
communication gets as many receivers as it gets. Heterogeneous Audience
Mass Communication is not only composed of a large number of audiences
but also aims to heterogeneous audience. The heterogeneity here means
that the audience may belong to different races, groups, section, cultures
etc. Scattered Audience: the audiences of Mass Communication are not
organized in a certain area rather they are highly scattered in different
geographical areas. The receivers of message of mass communication may
stay anywhere in the world.
Features of Mass Communication
1. Nature of Audience
By nature, mass communication audience has some peculiar features.
They are:

• a) Large scattered audience: Mass communication messages are directed to a

very large audience who are scattered all over the world. The audiences run in
thousands, millions and billions depending on the nature or ability of the media
organization.
• b) Heterogeneous audience: The heterogeneity here means that the audience
may belong to different races, groups, section, cultures etc. This means that
mass communication messages cannot be segregated. It cannot be directed
towards certain people without others hearing it. Every human being,
irrespective of age, creed, sex, wealth and affluence get the messages at the
same time
• c) Anonymous audience: The audience of mass communication messages are
not known. He who receives the messages is not known to the sender. It is
assumed that messages in mass communication are sent to nobody, everybody
and somebody.
• d) Simultaneous: This means that mass media messages gets to the audience at
the same time or instantly. Everybody gets the message at different location
across the globe at the same time.
e) Mass Media: This refers to the use of technological devices such as radio, television
etc to disseminate message to a large scattered audience.
2. The Communication Experience/Technological Based: Mass communication
process is enhanced or made possible by the use of technological devices e.g radio,
television etc.
The idea here is that mass communication messages are rapid, public and
transient. It is public in that the content is for public good; it is not directed
to only selected few but the general public and that the messages are sent
for the consumption of every member of the public. Mass communication
messages by nature are rapid because the messages get to audience almost
immediately. With the aid of new communication technologies, it takes
seconds to pass across the globe
3. Nature of Communicator/Sender: In mass communication, the sender
is not an individual but an organization made up of individuals who work
as a team. The media is managed by media organisations and run by
experts. It is important to point out that news casters or reporters are not the
sender of the news presented but a representative of the organization which
is the actual sender. That is why after the news presentation, end credit is
given to various persons who contributed in making the programme or
news a success.
Characteristics of Mass Communication
1. Limited Sensory: this is limited to audio-visual in the process of information
dissemination. You can only be able to hear or see the communicator of the message
through radio or television.
In other words, mass communication only enables one to use his or her sense of
sight and hearing since one can only see the visual picture and hear the voice of
the speaker on the broadcast station. This is unlike in a face- to- face
communication where the audience can shake hands or hug the person and as
such, have no limitation to the sensory channels.
2. Impersonality: participant in mass communication are usually unknown to
each other. The messages are impersonal. The sender does not have any
personal relationship with the receiver.
3. Transient in Nature/Permanency: mass communication messages are fast
moving, always in motion and requiring great attention to be arrested and
consumed. Once transmitted and missed, it can’t be reversed immediately in
the case of radio and television, but there is permanency with the print media;
newspaper and magazine where it can be read and re-read after some time.
4. Portability and Mobility: Portability has to do with the fact that messages of
mass communication are handy and that the medium through which the
messages are passing could be carried from one place to another. Mobility
refers to the ease with which a medium can be moved from one place to
another e.g radio set.
5. Universality: the messages are universal.
FUNCTIONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION
The literature of mass communication across the globe lists the classical functions to
be: news and information; analysis and interpretation; education, persuasion and public
relations; advertising/sales and entertainment. Therefore, the major functions of mass
communication are: surveillance of the environment, correlation of the parts of society
in responding to the environment, transmission of socio-cultural heritage from one
generation to the next and entertainment.
a. Surveillance of the Environment: this refers to the activities of collection
and distribution of information about events in the environment, both within
and outside a particular society. The surveillance function or role of the media
presupposes that the media are the eyes and ears of the public. The media
provides information and alert their heterogeneous audiences of the changes
that take place around them The media help maintain social order by
providing instructions on what has to be done in times of crisis, thereby
reducing confusion among the masses. Example: in times of insurrections and
uprising, natural disasters, war, health scares, etc., it is the role of the media to
create awareness by providing information on what is happening and of ways
in which the disaster can be faced.
b. Correlation of parts of Society: this refers to the process of going beyond
mere gathering and distribution of information and interpretation of what is
given out as news about the environment.
People’s attitudes towards political issues, events, public policy, etc. are influenced to
an extent by how the media frames and presents the issue in their discussions and
presentations. For instance, ‘‘news behind the news’’ such as going beyond facts to
situate the events. This is also called news analysis or news commentary which of
course, could accommodate some form of propaganda.
c. Transmission of Socio-cultural Heritage: this involves communicating
the knowledge, values and social norm of a given society from one
generation or group to another. This is what is often regarded as the
educational function of any medium of mass communication such as radio
or television. For instance, children’s television programmes are designed
to showcase good behaviours and moral standards which children can learn
by watching example; Tales by Moonlight a children television programme
on NTA network service.
d. Entertainment Function: It relates to relaxation. It is meant to ease
tension from much labour. The function of entertainment in mass
communication is not meant for punishment but for leisure and
relaxation. This is simply why families can sit comfortably in their
various homes viewing comedies; sports and cartoons for children.
e. Mobilization: Mass communication functions to mobilize people during
times of crisis. Consider the case of Boko Haram bombings in the North-
East Nigeria. Regardless of your association to the incident, Nigerians felt
the attack as a nation and people followed the news as they were
unfolding until government brought the situation under control.
With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the
same events taking place in real time somewhere else, as such, mobilizing a
large population of people around a particular event.
f. Persuasion: Mass communication messages are designed to induce
or persuade people to bring a change in their beliefs system;
opinions, attitudes and thinking on a number of issues like buy a
particular product or idea, voting, religious convictions, dowry
culture etc. In addition, business enterprises design various
advertisements to persuade potential customers to consume such
products as advertised in the mass media whether print or electronic
media.
g. Integration: mass communication serves the purpose of binding
influence. Here, the media of mass communication binds people
from different cultural backgrounds, age, religion, races, ethnicity,
language barrier etc, are bound together to interact on a daily basis.
People are bonded together due to the influence of mass media
messages.
The foregoing postulations of communication functions provide a
general framework upon which each medium can be assessed.
WEEK 5: MASS MEDIA
According to Schramm (1964) a mass medium is essentially a working group organized
around some device for circulating the same message, at about same time, to a large
number of people. Here, it can be deduced that there is a well organized system behind
each mass medium for information dissemination.
Orewere (2006) posits that mass media refers to those technical channels of
communication through which messages are designed, produced and disseminated
to a large number of people, widely dispersed over geographical space. It therefore
means that mass media are technical devices through which mass communication
takes place. It can further be explained that mass media are those devices for
moving messages across distance or time to accomplish mass communication.
• Types of Mass Media
Mass media can be categorized under the following:
a. Print Media: this comprises of newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlet, direct
mail, circulars, billboards, etc and any technical devices that carries a message to
the masses by appealing to their sense of sight.
b. Electronic Media: this consist of radio and audio recordings that appeal to the
sense of sound, television, motion pictures, satellite and video recordings which
appeal to both sound and sight.
c. Narrowcast Media: Film/Cinema, and cable television
d. New Media: it implies the use of desktop and portable computers as well as
wireless and handheld devices used as digital means of producing, transmitting
and receiving messages.
Newspapers: Newspapers are periodically published documents that carry current
information about the society. Earlier newspapers were not daily publications as we see
now. They were published weekly or bi-weekly. This was due o the absence of
adequate technology and newsgathering system. By the early 19th century, power press
was invented. This led to fast printing. Invention of telegraph and teleprinter also
helped us gather news from remote places.
This all facilitated the introduction of daily newspapers. Unlike other mass
media, newspapers influence people in a many significant ways. A newspaper
article or news is valued more than television or radio programmes. And,
newspaper content is considered more credible and accurate.
• Characteristics of Newspapers
• Primarily newspapers are print media even though digital age offers online
newspapers and e-newspapers. That is why it has all the features that any print
medium has.
• Predominance of news-oriented content: There are three types of content in
newspapers: news, views and advertisements. Of these news overshadows the
others because newspapers are primarily meant for the dissemination of news.
• Regular periodicity: Newspapers may be published daily or weekly.
Periodicity may vary but, regularity should be kept. Every newspaper keeps a
particular regularity in publication.
• Future reference facility: Being a print medium, newspapers can be kept for
future use. This archiving ability makes newspapers one of the main sources of
historical research.
• Low cost: Compared to other media, newspaper is a cost effective medium.
Anybody can afford a newspaper as it needs no hidden charges or other
accessories.
Types of Newspapers
Newspapers can be categorized into various types based on their page size/format,
content type, periodicity, time of publication, area of circulation and type of the users.
Magazines and Periodicals
Unlike newspapers, magazines are periodical publications carrying non-
news items. Magazine is originally a French word which means storehouse.
In journalistic terms, magazine is a collection of materials like stories, ads,
poems, and other items that editors believe will interest audiences.
Characteristics of Magazines
• Magazines are not published daily like newspapers. Periodicity f magazines
are longer than that of normal newspapers. In general, they are published
weekly, biweekly or monthly.
• Unlike loose sheets of newspapers, magazines are produced as bound
volumes.
• Most of the magazines are meant for light reading and mainly for
entertainment, rather than serious reading for information gathering as in
the case of books and newspapers.
• Magazines contain diverse content ranging from poems to comics and
cartoons to photo feature.
Types of Magazines
Magazines are of different types. Five major categories are:
General Interest Magazines: Magazines covering wide variety of topics aimed at a
broad audience. They occasionally offer investigative stories and burning social issues.
Examples: The Week, Outlook, India Today, Readers’ Digest, National Geographic.
• Business Magazines: Also called trade magazines. They focus on topics
related to a particular occupation, profession, or industry.
• Consumer Magazines: Consumer magazines also aim at general public in their
private and non-business lives. They are called consumer magazines as their
readers prompted to consume products and services advertised in them.
Books
Corner (2007) opines that books are bound pages of written or printed
messages of considerable length, mostly on one topic. Being meant for
circulation, they are produced using durable materials and in a portable form.
The Chinese invented a method for printing using wooden blocks in 400 A.D.
But, it was not developed enough to print books. Invention of movable metallic
types by Johannes Guttenberg revolutionized printing, thereby book
production. Before the invention of movable metallic types, books were
expensive and large in size.
They were affordable only to the wealthy, aristocratic people like political and
religious leaders and business men. Guttenberg’s invention changed the
situation. Printers could reduce price when books were made available to more
people. The first book published using the metallic moveable types was the
Bible.
Characteristics of Books
Books are portable and compact, and thus have an advantage over other media forms.
Unlike other print media, books most often deal with a single subject. Thus, we can
read books piece by piece for days or weeks with convenient intervals, without losing
concentration.
While newspapers and magazines get old soon due to their time limitations,
books remain afresh since they deal with subjects significant for a longer
period.
Unlike magazines and newspapers, books are stored for longer period in public
or private libraries.
• Types of Books
• Books are categorized according to their content type and target audience.
Based on nature of the content books can be categorized generally as fiction
and non-fiction. Fictions include stories, novels, poems etc. while non-fictions
comprise of academic and reference books.
• The Electronic Media
Mass media that use electronic or electromechanical energy for transmission
of messages are called electronic media. Major electronic media are radio,
television, video and audio records, CDs and DVDs etc. Of these, radio and
television messages are transmitted via air waves or radio signals. The process
of transmitting messages via radio waves or signals is called broadcasting. The
literary meaning of broadcasting is to scatter seed over a broad area rather than
in particular place.
 Radio: The First Broadcast
Telegraph and telephone were important predecessors of radio. Samuel Morse
developed the telegraph in 1844 and it was a principal means of news and information.
Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his telephone in 1876 and this invention gave
birth to the concept of “broadcasting” i.e. sending of a single message as sound which
can be simultaneously received by large numbers of people in different locations.
Radio is everywhere as the signals reach every nook and cranny. Therefore,
more people receive their morning news from radio than from any other
medium.
Characteristics of Radio as a Mass Medium
• The radio is a powerful mass medium. Unlike other mass media, radio has a lot
of advantages, both technical and message wise, to reach maximum number of
people.
• Radio is a cost effective medium: Radio sets are not at all a luxury. They are
less
• Radio is a Public Medium: Radio can be accessed by any number of people
simultaneously. Anybody can listen to radio as it functions as a background
medium.
• Radio is accessible for the Illiterates: Illiterate people can also access radio as
they can overcome the deficiency of illiteracy through radio programmes.
• Radio is a mobile medium
• Radio is an Audio Medium: Being an audio medium, radio is accessible to the
visually challenged also.
Types of Radio Stations
Commercial Stations: Stations under this category support themselves financially by
selling time on their airwaves to advertisers.
Non-Commercial Stations: Non-Commercial Stations do not receive financial support
from advertisers in the sense of airing commercials. They are normally funded by the
governments.
• AM and FM Stations: This categorization is purely based on the type of waves used for
transmitting radio messages. Both AM and FM radio stations transmit a carrier wave that
is some changed or modulated to carry audio signal such as music or voice. With AM
(Amplitude Modulation) radio, the amplitude or strength of the carrier wave’s vibration
fluctuates with the sound. With FM (Frequency Modulation) radio, the strength of the
carrier wave remains constant, and instead it is the frequency or number of vibration
within the wave that changes based on sound.
• Radio Programmes includes: news, news bulletin, documentaries, talk programmes,
interviews, entertainment/music, etc.
• Television
Curran and Gurevitch (2005) posits that television refers to the transmission of visual
images, generally with accompanying sound, in the form of electromagnetic waves that
when received can be reconverted into visual images. Between 1935 and 1938, the Nazi
government under Adolph Hitler in Germany operated the world’s first regular television
service, with propaganda broadcasts to specially equipped theatres. It was after the end
of World War II in 1946 that commercial television came into being in the United States.
In the same year, Peter Goldmark introduced colour television system. The
development of satellite television in the 1970s allowed for more channels and
encouraged businessmen to target programming toward specific audiences.
Television is one of the most popular inventions of the last century. Every day we
spend hours with television. It is a reality that we cannot imagine a day without
television consumption. Our imagination of the world is formed with television.
Characteristics of Television

.Audio Visual Medium: Radio is audio medium while television is audio visual, means
it carries moving pictures and sound.
• Live Medium: With these magical features of television, it enables us to view
the events anywhere in the world live while sitting in our drawing rooms.
• Domestic Medium: Film is also an audio visual medium. It is not live. And,
for watching films, we have to theatre. Most of us watch television in home
environment because this medium is conceived to be so. So, it is called a
domestic medium.
• Popular Medium: Literacy is not a barrier in watching television while
newspaper reading requires literacy. Any illiterate can get information and
entertainment from television. In that sense, it is really a popular medium any
type of people can use.
• Transitory Medium: You can read today’s newspaper in the evening or in the
morning. But, television programmes are to be watched while they are telecast.
Television has not archival facility. So, it is called as a transitory medium.
Radio has also the same characteristics.
• Expensive Medium: In every term, television is expensive. Television set is
costlier than a radio set or newspaper.
Film: Like television, film is also an audio visual medium. It is the most popular
medium of the last century. The technology behind the cinema was invented by Lois
Lumiere and his brother Auguste Lumiere who are famously known as Lumiere
brothers. But, their invention of moving picture technique was just an extension of
photography.
Their equipment called ‘cinematographe’ was a compact, portable machine with
an inbuilt camera and projector. They exhibited actualities in life like arrival of
a train, workers leaving a factory and such real events with their equipment.
• Functions of Film: Entertainment function, relaxation, catharsis that is, purge
people of negative emotions, psychological escape, creation of heroes and role
models, mirroring the society, education function etc
• Defining New Media: New media can be defined as interactive forms of
communication that use the Internet, including podcasts, blogs, social
networks, text messaging, wikis, virtual worlds and all other computer aided
communication formats available online. New media makes it possible for
anyone to create, modify, and share content and share it with others, using
relatively simple tools that are often free or inexpensive. New media requires a
computer or mobile device with Internet access.
• Internet and the Global Village: The McLuhan’s idea of a global village is
made possible by the emergence of the Internet. Global village is the idea that
the new communication technologies will permit people to become
increasingly involved in one another’s lives.
McLuhan believed that electronic media would permit “the human tribe” to become
“one family”. However this involvement does not mean harmony, it simply means an
exchange of ideas. It is argued that many people will be shut out of the electronic
debate due to technology in the information gaps.

WEEK 6: INFLUENCE OF THE MASS MEDIA ON THE

SOCIETY
McQuail (1977) defines media effects as any of the consequences of mass
media operation, whether intended or not, that has effectiveness and the
capacity to achieve given objectives. Media effects mean different things to
many people. To some, it is just about the impact of the mass media message on
the audience. Even at that, some communication academics believe that
particular parts of the media message must be contextualized. In other words,
some academics talk about media effects to mean the impact of particular
content of the mass media message. For instance, the impact of watching
pornography on audience is propensity to rape. In this case, it is the contents of
the media message that produce the impact. In the same vein, some academics
are concerned with the impact of particular media message conventions or
public notions about a media message. For instance, the general convention is
that video games may be addictive for youngsters because they are so fast
paced and use so many “orienting devices” that they may control children’s
attention.
Black et al (1995) cited in Baran (2002) pointed out that some scholars are more
concerned with the short-term or transitory effects of media; others strive to determine
whether the media have more durable or long term effects. Sometimes, the positive or
beneficial effects of media are examined, but more often, concerns are with the
negative, detrimental or anti-social consequences of using media.
They further posited that some people examine media effects simply for the
purpose of better understanding the roles and consequences of media in the
society. Others examine media effect in order to know how to utilize media
more effectively to achieve specific goals. Still, others consider media impact
in order to administer or regulate media or to better formulate public policy
regarding media.
• WEEK 7: Mass Communication as Social Force
Mass communication has enormous power. It is a social force because “it has
the capability of causing cultural change or influences people.” Television,
radio, and film impact people regardless of one's social status, ethnicity,
religion, etc. Furthermore, McQuail (2005) argues that mass communication
can be considered as both a ‘societal’ and a ‘cultural’ phenomenon. The mass
media institution is part of the structure of society, and its techno-logical
infrastructure is part of the economic and power base, while the ideas, images
and information disseminated by the media are evidently an important aspect of
our culture. If we consider mass media as an aspect of society (base or
structure), then the option of materialism is presented.
There is a considerable body of theory that views culture as dependent on the economic
and power structure of a society. It is assumed that whoever owns or controls the media
can choose, or set limits to, what they do. This is the essence of the Marxist position. If
we consider the media primarily in the light of their contents (thus more as culture),
then the option of idealism is indicated.
Today, the various influences are so bound together that neither mass
communication nor modern society is conceivable without the other, and
each is a necessary, though not a sufficient, condition for the other. From
this point of view we have to conclude that the media may equally be
considered to mould or to mirror society and social changes.
The media institution is essentially concerned with the production and
distribution of knowledge in the widest sense of the word. Such knowledge
enables us to make some sense of our experience of the social world, even
if the ‘taking of meaning’ occurs in relatively autonomous and varied ways.
The information, images and ideas made available by the media may, for
most people, be the main source of an awareness of a shared past time
(history) and of a present social location. They are also a store of memories
and a map of where we are and who we are (identity) and may also provide
the materials for orientation to the future. As noted at the outset, the media
to a large extent serve to constitute our perceptions and definitions of social
reality and normality for the purposes of a public, shared social life, and is
a key source of standards, models and norms.
WEEK 8: Media as a Societal Catalyst for Development
In a country like Nigeria, media’s role in national development is highly
important. Media’s contributions to national development are mainly in two
ways: As advocates for development and as carriers of development messages.
Mass media find out problems faced by people in different walks of their life
and make the administrators aware of them.
Most often, media report such events and further campaign to get the
grievances redressed. On the other hand, media make people aware of their
rights, government subsidies, development policies and the merits and demerits
of adopting or practicing them for better life. Government controlled media
perform these duties better than the private media do. This development orient
function of media is termed as Development Communication. Development
Communication has been recognized as a special area in communication study
and research.
There are powerful social forces that act through the mass media to influence
the meanings we give to things. The news media for one exert significance
influence on how we conceptualize the world. They affect the meaning we give
to events across the globe-Europe, Asia, Africa South America etc. They affect
the meanings we give to events close to us. This however shapes our world
view. They tell us, in effect, who to trust, and who to fear, who gives us
security, and what threatens us, what is significant in our lives, and what is
insignificant.
WEEK 9: Debate of Mass Media Effect on the Audience
According to McQuail (1977) media effects refers to any of the consequences of mass
media operation, whether intended or not, that has effectiveness and the capacity to
achieve given objectives. More so, Black et al (1995) observes that the term media
effects not only refer to the consequences or impacts of media use on individuals,
society and culture; media effects also are rather well-defined area of scholarly inquiry
that examines the impact of media.
Black summarises certain rules or conventions about what must occur before
something is considered to be true media effect. They are:
• a. The presumed cause (e.g. a person watches a lot of violence on television or
in films) and the presumed effects (e.g. a person becomes more aggressive)
change together, in some verifiable way;
• b. The presumed cause (e.g. viewing violence) must precede in time the
presumed effect (e.g. engaging in aggression); and
• c. Rival causes and explanations for these other causes (e.g. living in a volatile
environment) must be controlled for and/or eliminated.
• Media effects mean different things to many people. To some, it is just about
the impact of the mass media message on the audience. Even at that, some
communication academics believe that particular parts of the media message
must be contextualized. In other words, some academics talk about media
effects to mean the impact of particular content of the mass media message. For
instance, the impact of watching pornography on audience is propensity to
rape. In this case, it is the contents of the media message that produce the
impact.
Despite the role of the media in the society, there exist sharp arguments and counter
arguments about the presence, strength and operation of media effects on the audience.
In other words, school of thoughts exist as regard to the limited or minimal effects of
the mass media. The arguments and their counter arguments are presented below as
organized by Standly Baran (Baran, 2004: 416 – 417).
• 1. If media have any effects at all they are not the media’s fault; media simply
hold a mirror to society and reflect the status quo, showing us and our world as
they already are.
• Counter-arguments
Media hold a very selective mirror. The whole world in all its vastness and
complexity cannot possibly be represented, so media practitioners must make
choices. In other words, some things are over-represented in the media, others
under-represented and still others disappear altogether.
• 2. If media have any effect at all it is only to reinforce pre-existing values and
benefits. Family, church, school, and other socializing agents are much better.
• Counter-arguments
The traditional socializing agents have lost much of their power to influence in
our complicated and fast-paced world. Moreover, reinforcing effects are not the
same as having no effect. If the media can reinforce the good in our culture,
media can just as easily reinforce the bad.
• 3· If media have any effects at all they are only on the unimportant things in
our lives, such as fads and fashion.
Counter-argument
Fads and fashion are not unimportant to us. The car we drive, the clothes we wear, and
the ways we look help define us; they characterize us to others. In fact, it is central to
our self definition and happiness. If media influence only the unimportant things in our
lives, why are billions of dollars spent on media efforts to sway opinion about social
issues such as universal health care, nuclear power and global warming.
4. Media content has limited impact on audiences because it is only make-
believe people; it is not real.
Counter-arguments
News is not make-believe (at least it’s not supposed to be) and as such
people are supposed to take it seriously. Most film and television dramas
are intentionally produced to seem real to viewers, with documentary-like
production techniques such as hand held cameras and uneven lighting.
Much contemporary television programmes like talk-show and reality
shows are expressly real. Example: Gulder Ultimate Search.
• Advertising is supposed to tell the truth: Before they develop the
intellectual and critical capacity to know what is not real, children confront
the world in all its splendour and vulgarity through television and what
television effects researchers call the early winded. To kids, what they see
is real. To enjoy what we consume, we willingly suspend disbelief that is;
we willingly accept as real what is put before us.
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