Mass communication refers to transferring of information and ideas to the community by using media. Individuals and organizations can share their ideas and vision effectively through mass media. Common mass media are news paper, magazines, radio, television, and films. The common purpose of this mass media is disseminating information and news across social communities. Mass media is also used for transferring business information and ideas through advertisements.
Mass communication involves different ways for social communication. It is the way to communicate to a massive community. In mass communication, distribution of entertainment, arts, information and messages is carried on by mass communication media such as news papers, radio, television, magazines, and movie films. Mass media has the following social functions:
- Surveillance of the environment,
- Correlation of the part of the society in responding to its environment,
- Transmission of cultural heritage,
- Entertainment.
Radio as a mass communication media
There is a general tendency for the society to listens radio regularly and watch television as it gave information on politics as well as other vital information to the general public.
Radio broadcasting acts as a better social communication media. But it suffers from certain limitations such as limited purview, and only hearing impact on listeners. Radio is focused on a limited community area. Cross cultural communication is not possible through radio broadcasting. Today the radio industries is dominated by commercial organizers which focused on advertising income through attracting special segment of the local and regional listeners. It is based on entertainment programmes such as popular songs. Radio industry is characterized by particular channels, each reaching and influencing only relatively small and differentiated audiences. While describing mass media, it is the institutional and technological system capable of producing mass audiences for mass distributed communications. On this regard radio have certain limitations. The impact of radio on social behaviour is much less than that of films.
Mass communication by The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Films as a mass communication media: It is a fact that sometimes film act as a media of communication act as parallel of mass communication. Creative directors and story tellers are influencing society to a great extent. Many of the actual events is making as film to show the public to influence them as well as for entertainment. Films mainly focus on the issues in the society and even make fun of the wrong practices or evils in the society. Besides film is focusing the role of women, drug abuse, minorities issues.Films play a major role in influencing youth of the country. Films are proved as the active media for entertainment as well as disclosing the evils of the society and is getting wide acceptance through out the world. It provides a way of passing information on political structure, geographical changes or culture of a country is open to the world. It always provides insight into the technological innovation, economics popular culture of the nation. It also provides details of various problems such as war, violence etc and shows its impact on the society in a very effective way than any other media. Success of the film indicated how the society is responded to the particular issue or what ever it is.
The differential impact of films over society makes it a strong mass communication media. Films are based on provision of entertainment and aesthetic pleasure. The ideas are transmitted in the most likely way of stories and thus the result of influence much better. A strongly built up film would influence society. The influence may be positive or negative depending upon the message and idea that which the film involves. Badly created films may cause social violence, communal riots and subvert youngsters and children. Otherwise good films impose positive impact on the society by transferring good ideas. Films have a number of functions. Its basic function is to make profit by exploiting the emotional features of audience through their production of day dreams.
Films relate to the ideas of mass media in the following ways
Surveillance of the environment: – Films represents the ongoing conditions of a society. Thus people can be informed about the need for making changes in the present social conditions for the sake of the society.
Correlation of the part of the society in responding to its environment: Through transferring of messages for communal harmony, films can strengthen the family and social relations. Transferring of cultural heritage:
Far reaching capability of films media can be used to transact the cultural peculiarities of the community to the entire global society. Films can bring about cultural awareness among individuals in the community and the need to change or follow it according to the changing social needs.
Entertainment: The basic functions of films are entertaining the viewers. It provides relaxation through reducing tensions and strength to overcome barriers in social life.
Reaction to social problems: By representing the real life problems and the right way for overcoming these problems, films are highly effective for solving social problems. The need of communal harmony on better social life and the negative impact of social evils on society life can be better explained through film media as it influences a large group of audience. Thus society can avoid breakdown.
Reference
McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory, By Denis McQuail, Page 97. Web.
Mass communication by The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web.