The Role of Community Media in Development - Literature review Example

Community Communication The aim of this study is to that mass media, communication and journalism are directly related to the changes experienced in a community. Community and communication have a history that dates back to the last century. Dewey (1946), who is one of the well known thinkers from the growing field of social science, has studied to a great extent how mass media could work as a means of building harmony and cohesion in a community. He wondered such, because of the diffusion of cities created due to the stage of industrial revolution and unsettled west. Another scholar that set out to find the relation between community and communication was Gabriel Tarde in the 1980s. According to him, public opinion is a means of collective community which is controlled and arranged by the media (Katz, 1991). Furthering the previous thought, Bowes (1997) confirms that this relationship further gained strength in the 1920s and thus has now become indivisible. According to this study, for a collective action, communication between citizens and individuals is an important function for initiating a combined action, with the collective action being stimulated and expressed through the media. Of course, when it comes to finding the relation between these two variables, it is obvious to understand the definition of community. According to Hillary (1955), community can be explained in 94 ways. However, three essential components can be found in the explanation of this variable. Beginning with a person involved in a specific community contact, the author mentioned geographic area as the second component with the common ties completing the collection. Bracht (1990) also revolves around the same concept of community. According to this study, a community can be explained as a cluster of individuals that share the same ethics, ideals and institutions. Further adding to the definitions, the author explained interpersonal relationships, culture and social groups as the interdependent basic components. Therefore, the above mentioned components work collectively towards a common good. This means that these components are a food for the community that are intellectual and conscious in nature and is thus a highly necessary requirement Dewey (1946). Bell and Newby (1971) added more to the definition and stated that communities have nowadays adopted a virtual nature. According to this study, the idea of a physical space has currently adopted a less physical approach of communication. Nonetheless, the relation between community and communication remains intact. Where traditionally the use of broadcast and print media was at its peak, the introduction of the computer based era and the enhancement of development and interactive media have positively worked towards eliminating the geographical constraints in communication. The virtual temperament of the media used two basic tools; the internet and direct broadcast satellites. Therefore, it becomes imperative to mention at this stage that after adopting the virtual mode, the communication media not simply aid the traditional community, rather it aids to the change in the entire definition of it (Bowes, 1997). According to Berrigan (May 1979), there is always the risk of importance in considering communication. That is, it is the author’s firm belief that although communication media is an effective tool in affecting the community, the role of the media is highly exaggerated. The study also stated that the media revolves around precedence in its importance. For the role of communication to be effective, it must be understood that it can never work alone. The media, in spite of its role in not the only factor that can bring changes to the community, the organizational, social and political structures also play a vital role that need to be identified. As the international communication association (May 2012) states; as our perceptions regarding the organizational, personal and social communities are undergoing massive changes, the boundaries and peripheries are becoming highly porous and the connectivity is becoming more and easier, the entire definition regarding community is in a fix. After entering the 21st century, the act of striking the right balance between strengthening and maintaining flexibility in the communities is becoming more and more apparent. Other than the earlier stated efforts, this century has also faced certain negative effect on the community. The list includes the like of community destruction, annihilation and dissolution at massive scales. This means that entire philosophy of community can be summed up as something that is multifaceted, multidimensional, and instable. Therefore the individual rights in the community may be affected by personal relationship and communications that would stir enclosure or segregation, support or discouragement those rights. Thus, it is obvious that there is direct relationship between the community, mass media, communication and journalism. This theoretical approach will further be applied to a particular segment of the community. The specific area selected is Columbus, GA-North side of town on Armour Rd. where this approach would be used to build and maintain a sense of community. As far as the communication efforts are concerned, there are several reasons why communities should consider and formalize their communication endeavor. According to the Washington State School Directors’ Association, if there is a need to formalize such efforts, the need to be liable and answerable, the need to seize and control the outlook of the public and then correspond to the public about certain decision are the best guidelines available. Applying it on the selected community, it must be made sure that the communication plan must be planned in such a way that includes all the necessary elements. Beginning with the written policy, it must be made sure that all processes are defined very clearly as policy commitment. All prerequisites and elements regarding internal and external communications must be met. To maintain a sense of community, the budget for the program must also be taken as an essential part of the process. In order to involve the community in a process of development through communication, it is best to state that the community must at all times be highly informed. It must be ensured that those businesses in the community that have the most profound use of technology must sought after for advice as they are the gurus of the mindset of their customers. Further, if the technology is available to the community at all times, the road towards change through advancement in communication technology will be promoted. Therefore, if the above mentioned practices are ensured and such services are also guaranteed, the community support for technology will face a boom. Also, local capabilities and skills will used at the optimum level in the creating a plan for the respective change through communication media (Washington State School Directors’ Association). In order to achieve successful development, the establishment must make sure to address the true needs. Of course, the needs must be consistently put through the process of freeze and unfreeze with necessary reshaping. It must also make sure that views of the community are considered and a smooth flow of communication is achieved (Berrigan, pg 8). Therefore, this two-way communication applied on the communities adopts the form of community communications. Also known as the community media, this term took birth when a specific program was designed for a specific community. That is, this is the application of a customized program on a selected community. These communities range from groups with special needs, groups containing individuals with needs related to ethnicity or minority and communal groups. Of course, the fabrication of the procedure consists of little changes (Berrigan, May 1979). All in all, there exists a strong, apparent and close equivalence between the thought processes that has arisen about communication and its effect on the community. Consequently, the link between the communication and development also becomes apparent which stem from the sociopolitical concerns (Berrigan, May 1979). References Bell, C. and Newby, H. (1971), An Introduction to the Sociology of the Local Community, pg. 32, New York: Praeger, Berrigan, J. F, May (1979) Community Communications: the role of community media in development Bowes, E .J. (1997), Communication and Community Development for Health, Information: Constructs and Models for Evaluation, School of Communications, University of Washington, Seattle. Bracht, N. (1990), Health Promotion at the Community Level, pg. 47, Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Dewey, J. (1946), The Public and It’s Problems, Chicago: Gateway Books. Hillary, G. (1955), "Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement," Rural Sociology, 20: 111-123. International Communication Association, (2012), Communication and community, Phoenix, Arizona, USA Katz, E. (1991), "On Parenting a Paradigm: Gabriel Tardes Agenda for Opinion and communication Research," International Journal for Opinion. Washington State School Directors’ Association, http://www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/ComSupp.html Read More