Introduction to Mass Communication - Case Study Example

Introduction to mass communication Definitions Gatekeepers Gatekeepers are those individuals who decide if a message, as written or spoken, would be distributed by a mass medium to the intended audience. In other words organizations and individuals with the power of control over the flow of knowledge or intelligence, act as gatekeepers in mass media related domains (Beard & Olsen, 1999). Thus in the process of decision making gatekeepers exercise such control over the actual capacity and flow dynamics of message delivery systems. While many such institutions or organizations are manned by individuals in their capacity as government and private sector officials who are responsible for the flow of information and its direction, their functions are defined by rules and regulations that are often gazetted (e.g. government press secretary) or made known through notifications (e.g. private firms’ public relations officers). Such gatekeepers have also other corresponding responsibilities towards the very community that they are intended to oversee in releasing information. 2. Audience segmentation In mass communication the word audience segmentation refers to such activities as dividing and organizing the audience to a manageable small segments or groups. This is carried out with the sole intention of developing appropriate target groups for effective communication. In other words the communication strategy is focused on the final outcomes related to efficiency in transmission and reception (www.cuttingedgepr.com). Audiences consist of disparate people, who can be customers of a product, employees of a company or the members of the general public. Such segmentation is essentially connected with reducing costs. Recent efforts at audience segmentation even include such highly theoretical frameworks as the determination of characteristics of segmented sub-categories on the basis of their inherent behaviors, e.g. psychological perception. Communication strategy is often determined by the ability of the communicator to reach as wide and varied an audience as possible by using a given amount of resources during a given amount of time. 3. Convergence Convergence refers to the communicator’s ability combine different technologies in the process of communication. Thus the variations in the elements of a communication process necessarily affect the qualitative outcomes. The communicator’s success in determining the different technologies depends on his ability to master the techniques of communication efficiently. Improvisations are not new in convergence decisions of individuals and organizations. For instance modern communication equipment enables convergence to take place at a variety of levels both within the organization and outside. In addition, in completely different environments such as at home and in the field such equipment and technologies play still a bigger role. Mass communication has persistently developed a spirit of technological capabilities and these capabilities are focused on achievement related design and planning. Finally convergence is a process in which compatibility between and among technologies matters to such an extent that casual design and planning might not help. 4. Multiple platforms Multiple platforms are those operating environments that include two or more modes such as CPUs and operating systems. In other words multiple platforms enable the user to integrate in to the operating environment at multiple levels such as internet surfing and communication. These multi functional environments not only are seamlessly integrated but also independently determined (www.iab.net/media/file/2008_ugc_platform.pdf). Multi platforms are intrinsically capable of enhancing the quality of the operating environment to such an extent that along with speed techniques can be incorporated without the user being put off by increasing difficulty levels. Further multi platforms permit the user to create environment specific synergies such as multi modal communication and independent operations. In other words only the functions would be integrated. Multi platforms have become more complex due to the integration of multi level tasks in to the operating environment. For example while the operating system is just an empowering tool, digital communication web portals such as Google would simultaneously empower the user. 5. User generated content User generated content refers to what has been added by internet surfers who visit different web sites and add new content (www.slideshare.net/designeducation). For example Wikipedia depends on user generated content to a greater extent because such content not only modifies the existing content but also significantly increases horizontal value addition. In multimedia operating environments user generated content significantly enhances the final outcomes. For example a certain amount of user generated content is visible on every web portal, especially those professional web sites. Physicians, engineers and other professionals have generated content online to such an extent that operating systems like Linux have been created through user generated content. This example shows that user generated content can work miracles because they are free and easily accessible. Users’ comments on the workings and operational aspect enable administrators to update the technical features of a website or a system so quickly. 6. Focus group/market research In market research a focus group is a form of qualitative research that serves as a paradigm to determine the attitude of the sample population towards a good or a service. For example questionnaires can be given to a selected group of people within whom there is a focus group (Lunt & Livingstone, 1996). The latter will be subject to a greater amount of examination to determine the qualitative aspect of the research effort. As such focus groups in market research enable researchers to identify and focus on some qualitative aspects of the research efforts. For instance if the researcher were interested in finding out how the average customer responds to the price of the product, he would have the focus group as a representative group concerned about the price elasticity of demand of the product so that he can draws on conclusion on the qualitative aspect of the research with regard to the focus group’s attitudes towards price. 7. Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) is an independent non-profit organization established in 1914 to formulate rules and regulations to audit the circulation of data. For example the membership of the organization ranges from publishers to advertising agents and from web portal operators to advertisers. As a result auditing of circulation data is a simple task for the ABC but nevertheless the organization is affected by a number of shortcomings such as the ever growing diversity and complexity of the industry and the members’ inability to cope with the complexity of technology. In addition the organization is faced with an ever increasing demand to be involved in regulatory framework design and planning. Such tasks require far advanced expertise and professional training. Thus non-profit organizations like ABC cannot afford to attract the best talent. Despite these shortcomings still ABC has accomplish some big policy goals, e.g. informing governments about the need for counter intelligence networks to monitor encrypted messages on public sites. 8. Agenda setting Agenda setting refers to the characteristics of media in informing the public as to what to think about concerning the credibility of mass media. For example mass media personnel would love to tell what people should think about them but they would never encourage people to think independently about them. In other words agenda setting refers to the practice of mass media in telling the people that they have got to think in a particular way about the functioning of mass media organizations (Chernov, 2008). This kind of agenda setting behavior has been criticized by analysts because it gives mass media personnel an authoritative command over public decisions. If people were subject to pontification by mass media, definitely there would be a social problem. For instance attitudes of people are sought to be influenced by this kind of pontification. Therefore it is necessary that mass media organizations ought to focus on the credibility of setting agendas in their favor at the expense of reality. 9. World Wide Web The World Wide Web in short is the internet. In other words it is the digital pages, images and all hypertexts created on the internet. It also includes music, films and games. The internet has revolutionized the way in which information is distributed and received. People no longer depend on an exclusive medium for information because the information super highway or the internet has widened the number of choices available to the user within a single domain. The user has access to information instantly, providing that he has the right type of technology and equipment (Kaye & Medoff, 2001). The World Wide Web has been acknowledged as the most powerful medium in human relations so far. This honor is unlikely to be bestowed on any other medium of communication. The internet has enabled the growth of diverse and complex number of related technologies including, the growth of digital music industry with instant downloads and file sharing capabilities. 10. Target audience In advertising the target audience refers to those people who are targeted by advertisers with a view to selling as much as possible. However in general usage it refers to a group of people that a certain agency or an organization or even an individual might target in order to achieve a desired goal such as delivering a message. For example the government might target the parents of school children with the hope of delivering a message emphasizing the importance of keeping their kids in school longer than needed. This message may not have any relevance to those people who have no school going kids. In mass communication target audiences sometimes become unwilling participants such as those internet surfers who are subject to form filling exercises online. Thus target audiences can be unwilling victims of phishing. Despite these drawbacks target audiences can be better positioned to contribute to social and economic development, e.g. by being drawn in to socially desirable activities such as seminars and workshops. REFERENCES 1. Beard, Fred & Olsen, Rolf L. “Webmasters as mass media gatekeepers: a qualitative exploratory study”, Internet Research Journal, 9. 3 (1999): 200 – 211. 2. Chernov, Gennadiy. "Convergence of agenda setting and attitude change approaches: The role of message attributes and the nature of media issues",  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Marriott Downtown, Chicago, Aug 06, 2008, http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p272473_index.html (accessed September 28 2009). 3. Harrison, Kim. Audience segmentation is important for better communication, www.cuttingedgepr.com (accessed September 28 2009). 4. ‘IAB Platform Status Report: User Generated Content, Social Media,and Advertising - An Overview April 2008’, Interactive Advertising Bureau, www.iab.net/media/file/2008_ugc_platform.pdf (accessed September 28 2009). 5. Kaye, Barbara. K & Medoff, Norman. J. The World Wide Web: A Mass Communication Perspective, New York: McGraw Hill/Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001. 6. Lunt, Peter & Livingstone, Sonia. ‘Rethinking the Focus Group in Media and Communications Research’, Journal of Communication, 46 (1996). 7. Mass Media vs. User-Generated Content, www.slideshare.net/designeducation (accessed September 28 2009). Read More