Mass Communication and Media Coverage - Essay Example

Mass Communication & Media Coverage In crude language, Mass Communication can be defined as the transfer of message or contact (communication) to a huge population (masses). An example of mass communication is when the head of a state wishes to send a message to the general public and he uses television and radio as a channel to do this. In general, mass communication is a field of academic study of the different modes through which individuals, group of individuals or a body communicates data (or its refined forms such as information or knowledge) to large chunks of the population, and this correspondence takes place through mass media. As the phenomenon of mass communication has grown over the years, it has become more dependent on media. Today, the world is said to be belonging to media. English language defines media as a medium, and logic defines it as a medium of communication that reaches the masses. The common definition of media covers 'mechanisms of reaching masses' or mechanisms for mass communications such as television, newspaper, radio, billboards, etc. These all can be quoted as the primary media that exist today as well as modes for mass communication. The basic forms of media are: Recording media, print media, electronic media, published media, media meshing, and new media. The event that has changed the mass media to a great degree has been the 9/11 attacks on the American soil, these attacks were the basic factor that initiated the world wide changes in mass media presentation and there were on field reports from battle grounds, live terrorists hunts with cameras mounted on top of the soldiers helmets and research journalism took on a totally new meaning, the world got to see the connection between politics and terrorism and this was generally considered to be a grey area before these attacks but since these attacks journalism has been hell bent on making the connection and people who have done wrong have been unmasked. Movies: Fahrenheit 9/11 a Michael Moore movie is a bench mark of the changes that have been brought about and goes to show that people are thinking along new lines to help people and have been able to have an affect on not just the populace of one country but the world over because that is what mass communication is now all about, like every other thing this too has gone global in every sense of the word. This was the first time that a movie was made and on such a sensitive issue and against the current president of the united states and it was a very decent shot at helping the soldiers who went to war because of their commander in chief and his views but there was one man in the form of Michael Moore who presented to the world what every one thought as to be missing links in the whole 9/11 scenario. Though it remains highly unclear what impact Michaels movie had but one thing is clear i.e. it set a lot of people thinking and that is one of the most major goals of mass media, to set people thinking so that they can make their own decisions and bring about change as and when needed. Such documentary 'movies' are the new face of mass media and have definitely changed the way documentaries or movies were made. On field reporting: On field reporting had a totally different meaning before the 9/11 but in the world after 9/11 it has changed tremendously. Previously reporting was done from a safe a distance but now all that has changed, on field reporting has to be the most dynamic field of mass communication because it brings to people sitting at home the realities of war. The Lebanon-Israeli war is a good example of how on field reporting has changed when reporters camped on sites which had actually been bombed and during this war at least 4-5 reporters were killed due to bombing. Another example of on field reporting could be the footage of United States soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and such reports are given out daily. It has to be said that it is very exciting and dynamic but it is also very very dangerous. Books: Books have also been a part of mass communication and the way that they have been presented over the years has also changed largely due to the post 9/11 world. Books have also been a major means for people to letting go of information that they want the world to know and in the post 9/11 world books have been modified to be as simple as possible but even then they should be a hub of information, much more importance is now given to being politically correct and not criticise people or nations beyond necessity. Internet: The internet is now used extensively by terrorist organizations to post videos and messages and due to this more and more countries are now aiming to control the activities over the internet and that has resulted in a much more controlled and restricted environment over the internet. There have also been cases of people making irresponsible comments over the internet and they have been caught so one has now limited freedom over the internet as well. This is contrary to the over all affect on the media after the 9/11 world because media has carved out its own place and have much more freedom than they had before. Conclusion: The times have changed dramatically and drastically and so has everything around us, perhaps this is the new world order that has been in the pipe line for so many years now. As with every thing else, the media, its role and the way that is presents and passes on information has also been changing and that too for the better. Along with this realization we should also be able to point out that this is indeed just a temporary phase of evolution and there is much more to come and there is great potential to improve. Bibliography 1. Anderson, R., & Ross, V. Questions of communication: A practical introduction to theory (2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. 1998 2. Cragan, J. F., & Shields, D.C. Understanding communication theory: The communicative forces for human action. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 1998 3. Griffin, E. A first look at communication theory (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. 2000 Read More