define mass communication essay

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mass communication

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mass communication , process of sharing information with a large audience. Mass communication is accomplished via mass media —that is, technology capable of sending messages to great numbers of people, many of whom are unknown to the sender (e.g., television ). The purposes of mass communication include entertainment, education , and political propaganda . Among the fields of endeavour that engage in mass communication are marketing , public relations , and journalism .

Mass communication is a complicated phenomenon. Its use has had a significant impact on society, shaping not only cultural norms and values but also the way people perceive and interact with the world. It disseminates new ideas and beliefs, and it affects its audiences’ buying habits, styles, schedules, and health. The producers of content for mass media have the power to set the agenda for public discourse by determining which issues are deemed most important—or, indeed, which issues receive any attention at all. Consequently, political power relies in part on the effective use of mass communication. The field of mass communication is therefore broad and encompasses many different areas. Scholars research how mass media is produced, deployed , consumed, and otherwise used, but they also study the legalities and ethics involved in mass communication, the ultimate effect of mass media on those who consume it, and other related political, social, and cultural issues. Among the many theories that have resulted from this intellectual inquiry are the two-step flow model of communication , which is concerned with how information is filtered through active media users who act as opinion leaders for less active media consumers; the spiral of silence theory , which suggests that people with minority opinions tend to censor themselves; and the uses and gratifications theory, which posits that people do not simply receive information but rather seek out the information that they need or want.

Opportunities for mass communication first appeared with the invention of writing . A pharaoh, for example, could make proclamations to his subjects via hieroglyphics on a monument. However, the age of widespread mass communication is often said to have begun in the 15th century with Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press , which made it possible to produce books, pamphlets, and other printed materials at relatively low cost. Gutenberg’s creation led not only to the dissemination of information but also to the spread of literacy and education, as people adapted to take advantage of the new opportunities the press offered. The technology of sharing the written word was thus democratized, making mass communication possible for the masses themselves.

Another leap forward occurred in the 19th century: In 1844 Samuel Morse completed the first large-scale telegraph line, allowing for the rapid transmission of messages over long distances using electrical signals. This system led to the development of the first news agencies, such as the Associated Press (AP) in the United States , which were able to gather and disseminate news from around the world in a matter of minutes. It has been argued that among the effects of this innovation was a consolidation of the national character as people in disparate regions simultaneously reacted to the same news, often with the same emotions.

In the early 20th century, mass communication became ubiquitous and instantaneous. The popularization of motion pictures in the first decades of the century and of radio in the 1920s brought heightened immediacy to mass communication and revolutionized not only the news but also music, politics, and entertainment. Celebrity culture , consumer culture, and other aspects of modern society all began to manifest in ways that are still recognizable today. Moreover, the effectiveness of these new methods of mass communication further homogenized their audiences, giving rise to an ever more identifiable mass culture . When the television replaced the radio as the public’s mass medium of choice in the 1950s, these societal changes only accelerated.

With the development of the Internet and the proliferation of digital media in the 21st century, almost every aspect of mass communication has again changed dramatically. Like Gutenberg’s press, new technologies have resulted in the more equitable distribution of the ability to communicate with large audiences. Once, only the owners of newspapers, radio stations, and television broadcasters possessed the means of influencing popular opinion, but now anyone can participate in the public forum through social media , blogs, and other online platforms. The effect of this more diverse and decentralized media landscape has been the dissemination of a wider range of voices and perspectives.

However, the age of information has also led to concerns about the spread of misinformation and “fake news.” The ease with which information can be shared and spread online has also made it easier for misinformation to be spread quickly and widely. Documented consequences include risks to public health , financial losses, and the spread of extreme ideologies . Calls for increased media literacy and education have been made so that people can better discern the credibility of the information they are consuming.

Mass Communication, Media, and Culture - An Introduction to Mass Communication

(32 reviews)

ISBN 13: 9781946135261

Publisher: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

Language: English

Formats Available

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Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Jenny Dean, Associate Professor, Texas Wesleyan University on 2/27/24

This book is pretty comprehensive, but it is getting old in the media world where things are changing at a great pace. The basic text is good, but needs supplementary materials to truly keep pace with technology today. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 3

I am sure the book was accurate when it was published, but the world keeps changing, and it isn't as current as it needs to be. But, it still isn't bad for a free book to access.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

Once again, same issue. The book is almost seven years old and hasn't been updated. The issue is that the examples and illustrations are getting to be a bit dated. I suspect that there aren't any updates of this book planned, which is unfortunate. If updated, this would be a fantastic read for students.

Clarity rating: 5

It is simple to read and is easily accessible. It meets the needs of a young college student.

Consistency rating: 5

Yes, the textbook is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

It is well-subdivided and easy to access. Good use of subheadlines. It is a smooth read, and easy to find information through headers, subheads, headlines, and blocks of type.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Everything is presented in a clear and concise manner.

Interface rating: 5

This textbook comes in a wide variety of formats and can be accessed by almost everyone through one method or another. It was super easy to access.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is clean and clear of errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I don't think this book is as inclusive as the typical book written today. This is simply because times have changed, and the need for inclusive and culturally sensitive books has escalated exponentially from the time this book was written. It needs more culturally relevant examples. I wouldn't say that anything in the book is culturally insensitive or offensive, but it isn't as diversified as it needs to be.

This is an excellent book for an introduction to mass communication or an introduction to media and society course. It covers all the basics that I would expect to cover. It just needs some updating which can be done through supplementary materials.

Reviewed by Ryan Stoldt, Assistant Professor, Drake University on 12/15/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication thoughtfully walks readers through popular media and connects these media to questions about culture as a way of life. The book undoubtedly is comprehensive in its scope of American media but largely fails to consider how media and culture relate in more global settings. The book occasionally references conversations about global media, such as the differences between globalization and cultural imperialism approaches, but is limited in its engagement. As media have become more transnational their reach and scope (due to technological access, business models, and more), the American focus makes the text feel limited in its ability to explain the relationship between media and culture more broadly.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is accurate although it has limited engagement in some of the topics it explores. As such, this would be a good introductory text but would need to be paired with additional resources to dive into many topics in the book with both accuracy and nuance.

Many of the sections of the book are relevant, as the book often contextualizes media through a historical lens. However, the more current sections of the book (such as the section on the Internet and social media) have become outdated quickly. These, once again, would be useful starting places for classroom conversation about the topic but would need to be paired with more current readings to hold a deeper conversation about social media and society today.

Some terms could be further explained, but the text is overall well written and easy to understand.

Consistency rating: 4

The book pulls from multiple approaches to researching and discussing media and culture. The introductory chapter draws more heavily from critical media studies in its conceptualizations of the relationship between media and culture. The media effects chapters draw more heavily from more social scientific approaches to studying media. The author does a nice job weaving these approaches into a consistent conversation about media, but different approaches to studying media could be more forwardly discussed within the text.

The author has made the text extremely easy to use modularly. Chapters are self-contained, and readers could easily select sections of the book to read without losing clarity.

The book employs consistent organization across the subjects discussed. Each chapter follows a similar organizational structure as well.

Interface rating: 4

Because the text is so modular, the text does not flow easily when read on the publisher's website. Yet, downloading the text also raises some issues because of strange formatting around images.

I have not seen any grammatical errors.

As stated previously, the book is extremely biased in its international representation, primarily promoting Americans' engagements with media. The book could go further in being more representative of different American cultures, but it is far from culturally insensitive.

Understanding Media and Culture would be an extremely useful introductory text for a class focusing on American media and society. A more global perspective would require significant engagement with other texts, however.

Reviewed by David Fontenot, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 11/15/22

The text comprehensively covers forms of media used for mass communication and includes issues towards emerging forms of mass communication. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text comprehensively covers forms of media used for mass communication and includes issues towards emerging forms of mass communication.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

In some places there is nuance missing, where I feel brief elaboration would yield significantly clearer comprehension without bias or misleading associations about media's influence on behavior.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Still relevant and up-to-date with a valuable emphasis on issues related to internet mass media.

Very readable, with little jargon. Definitions are presented clearly and used in subsequent discussions.

Internal consistency is strong within the chapters.

Modularity rating: 4

The majority of chapters can be taken independently, with only a few larger structural pieces that lay the foundation for other sections.

The book takes an historical approach to media, which lends itself to a logical progression of topics. I might suggest, however, that for most students the material that is most accessible to their daily lives comes last with such an approach.

Interface rating: 3

The downloaded file has some very awkward spots where images seem clipped or on separate pages than the content that reference them. I only viewed this textbook in the online downloaded PDF format.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

No grammatical errors have jumped out at me in sections read so far.

There are quite a few opportunities to include discissions of media and culture that don't seem so anglo-centric but they are passed up.

I am using this textbook as the basis for an interdisciplinary class on media and the criminal justice system, and in that regard I think it will serve very well for an introductory level textbook. It provides a concrete set of core ideas that I can build off of by creating tailored content to my students' needs.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Johnson-Young, Assistant Professor, University of Mary Washington on 7/1/22

Appropriately comprehensive. Having some more up-to-date citations, particularly in the media effects theories criticisms section (with some more explanations) would be beneficial--perhaps supplementing with some ways these have been updated would... read more

Overall, content is clear and accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Mass media may always need updating, but this is appropriate and up-to-date.

Clarity rating: 4

Is an accessible text in terms of clarity and provides necessary definitions throughout in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the terminologies.

Text introduces terms and frameworks and uses them consistently throughout.

Small, easy to read blocks of text--could easily be used in a variety of courses and be reorganized for a particular course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Topics presented clearly and in an order that makes sense.

Easy to read through and images clear and displaying readily. It would help if there was a way to move forward without having to click on the table of contents, particularly in the online format.

No errors that stick out.

While appropriately comprehensive for an intro text, more examples and/or acknowledgment of who has been left out and those impacts could be helpful in the social values or culture discussions.

Overall, this is a great text and one that could be used in full for a course or in sections to supplement other communication/media studies courses!

Reviewed by David Baird, Professor of Communication, Anderson University on 4/18/22

I don’t know if any intro textbook can cover “all areas and ideas,” but this text was adequate to the task—basically on par with any other textbook in this space. I didn’t see a glossary in the chapters or an index at the back of the book. On the... read more

When the text was published, it would have been considered “accurate.” The content was competently conceptualized, well written and reflective of the standard approach to this kind of material. I didn’t notice any egregious errors of content aside from the fact that the book was published some years ago is no longer very current.

The primary weakness of the book is that it was published more than a decade ago and hasn’t been updated for a while. The text is relevant to the focus of the course itself, but the examples and illustrations are dated. For example, the book uses a graphic from the presidential election of 2008 in a treatment of politics, and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” is an example of current television programming.

I conducted a text search that tabulated the number of references to the following years, and these were the results: 2010: 588 2011: 49 2012: 8 2013: 4 2014: 0 2015: 2 2016: 0 2017: 0 2018: 1 2019: 1 2020: 0 2021: 1 2022: 1

The references to the more-recent years tended to crop up in forward-looking statements such as this one: “With e-book sales expected to triple by 2015, it’s hard to say what such a quickly growing industry will look like in the future.”

The second part of the question referred to the implementation of updates. I doubt that any updates are planned.

The text is well written and meets the usual standards for editorial quality.

The framework and "voice" are internally consistent.

The chapter structure provides the most obvious division of the text into accessible units. Each chapter also has well-defined subsections. Here’s an example from one chapter, with page numbers removed:

Chapter 13: Economics of Mass Media

Economics of Mass Media Characteristics of Media Industries The Internet’s Effects on Media Economies Digital Divide in a Global Economy Information Economy Globalization of Media Cultural Imperialism

This aspect of the text makes sense and is largely consistent with similar textbooks in this area.

The text is available in these formats: online, ebook, ODF, PDF and XML. I downloaded the PDF for purposes of my review. The formatting was clean and easy to work with. I didn’t notice any problems that made access challenging.

I can’t say with certainty that a grammatical error or typo can’t be found in the textbook, but as I noted above, the writing is strong. I’ve seen much worse.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text seems to be around a dozen years old now, so it doesn’t include discussion of some of the high-profile perspectives that have surfaced in more recent years related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. However, the book does discuss examples of media issues “inclusive of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds,” and this material is presented with sensitivity and respect.

This is a reasonably good resource for basic, intro-level definitions and explanations of some of the major concepts, issues and theories in the “Mass Communication” or “Media and Society” course, including:

• functions of the media • gatekeeping • media literacy • media effects • propaganda • agenda setting • uses and gratifications

The textbook also offers the standard chapters on the various media—books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc. These chapters contextualize the various media with standard accounts of their historical development. My feeling is that much of the historical background presented in this book is more or less interchangeable with the material in newer textbooks.

However, the media industries have changed dramatically since the textbook was written, so all of the last decade’s innovations, developments and controversies are entirely missing. Of course, even a “new” textbook is going to be somewhat dated upon publication because of the book’s production timeline and the way that things change so quickly in the media industries—but a book published in 2021 or 2022 would be far more up-to-date than the book under review here.

The bottom line for me is that if one of an instructor’s highest priorities is to provide a free or low-cost textbook for students, this book could work with respect to the historical material—but it would have to be supplemented with carefully selected material from other sources such as trade publications, industry blogs and news organizations.

Reviewed by Kevin Curran, Clinical Assistant Professor, Loyola Marymount University on 3/21/22

This is one of the most comprehensive media studies books I’ve read. It attacks each media platform separately and with sufficient depth. That is followed by economics, ethics, government/law, and future predictions. Takeaways attend of each... read more

Takeaways attend of each section will aid comprehension. Exercises at end of sections could be jumping off point for discussions or assignments. Chapters end with review and critical thinking connections plus career guidance.

The Chapter 2 rundown on both sides of media theories and summary of research methods was well-done.

Everything about this tome is good, except for its dating.

The book is well-researched and provides valuable, although often dated, information. The author used a variety of sources, effective illustrations, and applicable examples to support the points in the book.

It can be very hard to keep up with constant changes in the mass media industry. This book was reissued in 2016, but it has not been revised since the original copyright in 2010. The dated references start on page 2 when it speaks of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey as existing, when that circus ceased in 2017. The medium-by-medium exploration is well done, although the passage of time affects the end of each chapter.

Adoption of the book as-is will mean developing an update lesson for each chapter. For example, while smartphones are mentioned, they had not achieved saturation status at the time this volume was published.

The points are presented clearly. References with hyperlinks are available at the end of each section for those who still have questions or want more information. However, it is possible that because of the age of the book, some of those links may no longer be available.

The media chapters each follow a similar pattern in writing and order.

This will break up easily. The first chapter gives a good taste of what is to come. The book provides a comprehensive look at the history and influence of each medium individually. The last group of chapters necessarily contains many flashbacks to the medium sections.

It follows a logical pattern from the introduction to the individual medium chapters to the “big picture” chapters. That does require signposting between the two sets of chapters that some might find frustrating.

Interface rating: 2

The book is a standard PDF with links. The scan could have been better, as there is a lot of white space and illustrations are inconsistently sized. Users hoping for lots of interactivity are going to be disappointed.

The book is well edited. It is hard to find errors in writing mechanics.

The authors took a broad view of the mass media world. The music chapter was very well done.

Reviewed by Lisa Bradshaw, Affiliate Faculty, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 11/26/21

This textbook, downloaded as a 695-page PDF, contains 16 chapters and covers a variety of media formats, how they evolved, and how they are created and used, as well as issues related to media impact on society and culture. It is quite comprehensive in its coverage of media for the time of its writing (copyright year 2016, “adapted from a work originally produced in 2010”).

Content seems accurate for its time, but as technology and media have evolved, it omits current references and examples that did not exist when it was written. There does not seem to be bias and a wide variety of cultural references are used.

As mentioned previously, this textbook’s copyright year was 2016, and it was adapted from a 2010 work. It’s not clear how much of the content was updated between 2010 and 2016, but based on the dates in citations and references, the last update appears to have been in 2011. Even if it had been updated for the year 2016, much of the information is still out-of-date.

There is really no way to write a textbook about media that would not be at least partially out of date in a short time. This text’s background and history of the evolution of the various media forms it covers is still accurate, but there is much about the media landscape that has changed since 2010–2016.

Due to the textbook’s age, references to media platforms and formats such as MySpace, Napster, and CDs seem outdated for today’s media market. The textbook refers to previous political figures, and its omission of more recent ones (who were not on the political landscape at the time of writing) makes it seem out-of-date. To adapt it for modern times, these references need to be updated with fresh examples.

The writing level is relatively high. A spot check of the readability level of several passages of text returned scores of difficult to read, and reading level 11-12 grade to college level. The author does a good job of explaining technical terminology and how different media work. If adapting the text for students with a lower level of reading, some of the terminology might need to be revised or explained more thoroughly.

The text is consistent in its chapter structure and writing style. The order of topics makes sense in that chapters are mostly structured by media type, with beginning and end sections to introduce each respective media type in general, and conclude with a look to the future.

If adapting and keeping the same structure (intro to media in general, coverage of different media types in their own chapters, and main issues related to media), this 695-page textbook could be condensed by eliminating some of the detail in each chapter. There are a number of self-referential sentences that might need to be removed. If adapting the text to a more specific subject, the instructor would need to go through the text and pick out specific points relevant to that subject.

Each chapter introduces the respective media type and concludes with a summary that reflects on the future of that type and how it might evolve further. The chapters overall follow the same structure for consistency: overview, history, the media in popular culture, current trends, and potential influence of new technologies, with end-of-chapter Key Takeaways, Exercises, Assessment, Critical Thinking Questions, Career Connection, and References.

The text is well written and logically structured and sequenced. Despite its length, it’s easy to find information, as it’s ordered by chapters that address each media type and major issues related to media, and each chapter has a parallel structure with the others, all following mostly the same pattern.

I did not notice grammatical errors. The text is clearly and accurately written, and appears to have been thoroughly copyedited and proofread.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not notice cultural insensitivity in the text. A wide variety of cultural references are used. Examples from around the world and from many different cultures are included, including discussions of digital divide and inequity issues related to media access in disadvantaged populations.

Reviewed by Adria Goldman, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Mary Washington on 7/11/21

The text nicely breaks down different forms of mass communication. The text provides some historical background and discussion of theory to provide context for discussing mass media, which is all useful in helping students understand media and communication. There is not much discussion about the cultural significance of media. If using the text in a course, supplemental readings on the significance of culture and diversity, the importance of media representation, and media influence on an individual level (ex: impact on identity), would be especially helpful for a course exploring media and culture. The text does not feature a glossary or index, however the bolding of key concepts throughout the text is helpful in defining key terms.

The content is error-free. More discussion on culture would provide a more accurate account of mass communication and its significance.

The subject is very relevant and the book features topics important for a discussion on mass communication. As mentioned in other parts of this review, there is not much diversity featured throughout the text, which can impact the relevancy of the material to audiences and impacts the relevancy of the content in discussions on mass media and society. Updates would be straightforward to implement.

The text is clear and easy to follow.

The text is consistent in its use of terms and its framework. Since the book title mentions a focus on culture, an interesting add-on would be to have each section (on a specific type of mass communication) feature a discussion of culture and its significance.

The text's modularity is useful. It looks like it would be easy for students to follow and for instructors to re-structure in order to fit their course design.

The information follows a logical order, beginning with a discussion on the significance of mass communication and then going into each type.

No issues with interface noted.

No glaring grammatical issues noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

There is not much focus on the significance of culture. More discussion on the role of race, class, sex, gender, religion and other elements of identity would be helpful in exploring mass communication--past, present, and potential for the future. The text could also use an update in images and examples to include diverse representation and to further communicate the role of culture, diversity, and representation in communication and mass media.

The book provides an understanding of mass communication that would be easy for undergraduate college students to follow. The optional activities would also spark interesting discussion and give students the opportunity to apply concepts. Students using the text would benefit from (1) more discussion on culture's significance in media and communication and (2) more diversity in the images and examples used.

Reviewed by Brandon Galm, Instructor in English/Speech, Cloud County Community College on 5/4/21

One of the strong suits of this particular resource is its comprehensiveness, with topics ranging from specific mass comm mediums to the intersections/impacts of media on culture, politics, and ethics. There's enough here to easily cover a full... read more

The content is well-sourced throughout with a list of references at the end of each chapter. The hyperlinks on the references page all seem functional still. Hyperlinks within the chapters themselves--either sending the reader to the reference list or to the articles themselves--would be helpful.

As of this review writing, some of the content is relatively up-to-date. However, with a quickly changing landscape in mass communications and media, certain chapters are becoming out-of-date more quickly than others. The information discussed is more current than most of the information cited. The structure of the book lends itself to easy updating as technologies and culture shift, but whether or not those updates will take place seems unclear with the most recent edition being 5 years old at this point.

All information is presented in a way that is very clear with explanations and examples when further clarification is needed.

For a book covering as many different topics as it does, the overall structure and framework of this textbook is great. Chapter formats stay consistent with clearly stated Objectives at the start and Key Takeaways at the end. Visual examples are provided throughout, and each chapter also includes various questions for students to respond to.

Chapters are broken down into smaller sub-chapters, each with their own sub-headings hyperlinked in the Table of Contents. Each sub-chapter also includes the above-mentioned Objects, Key Takeaways, and questions for students. Chapters and/or sub-chapters could easily be assigned in an order that fits any syllabus schedule and are in no way required to be read in order from Chapter 1 to Chapter 16.

I would like to have seen the book laid out a bit differently, but this is a minor concern because of the overall flexibility of assigning the chapters. The book starts with broad discussions about media and culture, then shifts into specific forms of media (books, games, tv, etc.), then returns to more broad implications of media and culture. Personally, I'd like to see all of those chapters grouped together--with all of the media and culture chapters in one section, and all of the specific forms chapters in another. Again, this is a minor issue because of the overall flexibility of the book.

As mentioned above, hyperlinks--including in the Table of Contents and references--are all functional. I would have liked to have hyperlinks for the references in the text itself, either as a part of the citation or with a hyperlinked superscript number, rather than just in the references page. All images are easily readable and the text itself is easy to read overall.

No grammatical errors that immediately jumped out. Overall seems clear and well-written.

The text provides lots of examples, though most do come from US media. The sections dealing with the intersections between media and culture are similarly US-centric.

Overall, a solid introductory textbook that covers a wide range of topics relevant to mass communications, media, and culture. The text is bordering on out-of-date at this point, but could easily be updated on a chapter-by-chapter basis should the publisher/author wish to do so.

Reviewed by Dong Han, Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University Carbondale on 3/30/21

It covers all important areas and topics regarding media, culture, and society. Different media forms and technologies from printing media to social media all have their own chapters, and academic inquiries like media effects, media economics, and media and government also receive due attention. This textbook will meet the expectation of students of all backgrounds while introducing them to theoretical concerns of the research community. Its chapter layout is properly balanced between comprehensiveness and clarity.

Its content is accurate and unbiased. The textbook is written with ample research support to ensure accuracy and credibility. References at the end of each chapter allow readers to track sources of information and to locate further readings.

It is up-to-date in that the major cultural and media issues it identifies remain highly relevant in today’s world. However, since it was first produced in 2010, some more recent occurrences are not part of the discussion. This is not meant to be a criticism but a reminder that an instructor may want to supplement with more recent materials.

It is written with clear, straight-forward language well-suited an introductory textbook. The chapter layout, as mentioned earlier, is easy to access.

The book is consistent in terms of terminologies and its historical approach to media growth and transformation.

Each chapter is divided in sections, and sections in turn have various reading modules with different themes. For undergraduates taking an introductory course, this textbook will work well.

The topics are presented in an easy-to-access fashion. The textbook starts with a general overview of media and culture and a persistent scholarly concern with the media: media effects. Then it moves through different media in alignment with the chronological order of their appearance in history. The last few chapters focus on important but non-technology-specific topics including advertising and media regulations. For an introductory textbook, it is very accessible to the general student body.

The textbook does not have significant interface issues. Images, charts, and figures all fit well with the text.

There are no grammatical errors.

The textbook has a number of examples of minority cultures and ethnicities. It does not, however, have ample discussions on media and culture phenomena outside of the US, except those that have had significant impact on American culture (e.g., Beatlemania).

All considered, this is a very good textbook to be used in an introductory course. It is comprehensive, easy-to-read, and can help prepare students for future in-depth discussions on media, culture, and society.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Johnson-Young, Assistant Professor, University of Mary Washington on 7/6/20

Comprehensive text regarding mass communication, culture, and effects. The historical perspectives are helpful for understanding, particularly as it goes on to focus in on convergence throughout the text. A more complete glossary or index would be helpful for terms for an introduction text, but key terms are highlighted and defined throughout. Extra examples would help throughout, particularly with theories and research methods.

Accurate, up to date information on history, concepts, and theories.

The information focuses on important historical moments, theories, cultural impacts, and moves to the present with ideas and examples that will likely remain relevant for quite some time.

Clear, easy to read text that would benefit introductory students of mass comm.

Introduces terms and concepts and then utilizes them throughout.

The separation of the larger text into smaller sections is incredibly helpful and makes reading and assignments of readings easy, leading also to the ability to separate into sections that would be appropriate for any course organization.

Organization is logical and easy to follow. Importantly, because of the modularity, it would also be easy to re-organize for one's course.

Navigation works, images clear and detailed.

No glaring grammatical errors.

The examples and images demonstrate diversity in race and also provides examples outside of the United States, which is important. There is some diversity in terms of gender and sexual diversity, more of which would be beneficial and various sections would be appropriate for that inclusion.

This is an excellent and comprehensive text for intro students that includes important historical moments and thorough coverage of main concepts and theories in the field, with a diverse set of moments and examples.

Reviewed by Emily Werschay, Communication Studies Instructor, Minnesota State University System on 10/22/19

Overall, this textbook is quite comprehensive in covering various channels of media, particularly from a historical perspective, and would work well for an introductory course. It features the same focused areas of content that are in my current publisher textbook and incorporates elements of culture as well. It does not provide a glossary or index, which would be helpful, but key terms are in bold.

The text contains accurate research with clearly-cited references that give credibility to the content.

The historical content is well-crafted. The text provides a clear and informative introduction to the history of media and does well with the rise of newspapers, television, and movies. You will not, however, find a reference more recent than 2010, which means any advancements in media and technology in the past decade are not covered. An instructor using this text would have to supplement content on current types of media such as streaming television and music services and the current debate of social media shifting toward news publishing in terms of content delivery. While the text includes culture and political climate of the past, much would need to be supplemented for the last ten years.

The text is professional and well-written. It is well-suited to a college reading level.

The chapter format, writing style, and overall presentation of information are consistent throughout the text. I appreciate the defined learning outcomes and key takeaways pulled out in each chapter.

The text is divided into clear chapters focusing on one medium at a time, much like other publisher texts for mass communication. For example, books, newspapers, magazines, music, radio, movies, and television each get their own chapter. Each chapter begins with clearly defined learning outcomes, and features key takeaways, exercises, assessments, and critical thinking questions at the end, as well as a section on career connections.

The topics are presented in chronological order from the history of mass communication, through the various mediums, and finally to the future of mass communication (though most will find the content particularly about recent and current trends will need to be supplemented as it is outdated).

I didn't find any problems with the interface as it is a standard text that can be viewed as a PDF, but an index would really help navigation. I will say that it's not particularly user-friendly, so I may try integrating the online format chapter-by-chapter into D2L so that I can break it up by modules and add links to make it more interactive with supplemental resources.

Professional, well-written text with no errors.

I don't believe readers will find any of the text culturally insensitive or offensive. The text is focused on U.S. media, however, so some supplemental content may be needed.

This textbook is very comprehensive and will work well for an introductory course. It covers the same focus areas as my publisher text, so I feel comfortable switching to this textbook for my Introduction to Mass Communication course with the awareness that it does not cover the past decade. I will need to provide supplemental information to update examples and cover current topics, but that is generally accepted in this particular field as it is continually changing with advancements in technology.

Reviewed by Bill Bettler, Professor, Hanover College on 3/8/19

This text is comprehensive on several levels. Theoretically, this text echoes the framework employed by Pavlik and McIntosh, which displays sensitivity to convergence. However, this text understands convergence on multiple levels, not just the three employed by P and M. This text is well-researched, with ample citations on a whole host of media topics. Each chapter has multiple ways that it tests the reader, with "Key Takeaways," "Learning Objectives," etc. And finally, the text features chapters on the history and development of key historical media, as well as key emerging media.

Some students find Pavlik and McIntosh a bit too transparent in their Marxist assumptions. While this text certainly introduces Marx-based theories about media, it seems to do a better job of contextualizing them among several other competing perspectives.

Some of the popular culture texts felt a bit dated--for example, opening the "Music" chapter (Chapter 6) with an extended case study about Colbie Caillat. Unfortunately, this is the nature of mass media studies--as soon as books come into print, they are out of date. But I have a hard time imagining my mass communication students being inspired and engaged by a Colbie Caillat case study. I'm not sure what the alternative is; but it seemed worth mentioning. Other examples are much more effective and successful. The historical examples from different types of media are well-chosen, thoroughly explained, and insightful. Also, this text discusses emerging media more successfully than any other texts I have used.

The style of this text is straightforward and scholarly. It seems to strike an effective balance between accessibility and specialized language. For example, key concepts such as "gatekeeper" and "agenda setting theory" are introduced early and applied in several places throughout the text.

Like Pavlik and McIntosh, this text uses the concept of "convergence" to explain several key phenomena in mass communication. Unlike P and M, this text understands "convergence" on more than three levels. Like P and M, this concept becomes the "glue" that holds the various topics and levels of analysis together. As mentioned before, this text is especially effective in that it introduces foundational concepts early on and applies them consistently across succeeding chapters.

On one hand, this text rates highly in "modularity," because I could imagine myself breaking its chapters apart and re-arranging them in a different order than they are presented here. This is in no way meant as a criticism. I routinely have to assign chapters in more conventional texts in a different order. The fact that the technology involved in delivering this text makes it easier to re-arrange is one of its best selling points. The reason I scored this as a "4" is because some of the chapters are quite dense, in terms of volume (not in terms of difficulty). Therefore, I could see students perhaps losing focus to some degree. I might combat this by making further breakdowns and re-arrangements within chapters. This is not a fatal flaw--but it does seem like a practical challenge of using this text.

As mentioned above, some of the chapters are quite dense, in terms of volume. Chapter One is such a chapter, for example. I could easily see Chapter One comprising two or three chapters in another textbook. Consequently, there is a likelihood that students would need some guidance as they read such a dense chapter; and they would likely benefit from cutting the chapter down into smaller, more easily digestible samples. On the other hand, the Key Takeaways, and Learning Objectives, will counteract this tendency for students to be overwhelmed or confused. They are quite helpful, as are the summarizing sections at the ends of each chapter.

I did not encounter any problems with interface. In fact, the illustrations, figures, charts, photographs, etc. are a real strength of this text. They are better than any other text I have seen at creating "symbolic worlds" from different forms of media.

The writing style is professional and free of errors.

This is a genuine concern for mass media texts. Media content is a direct reflection of culture, and today's culture is characterized by a high level of divisiveness. I did not detect any examples or samples that were outwardly offensive or especially controversial. But, perhaps, there is a slight bias toward "the status quo" in the case studies and examples--meaning that many (but certainly not all) of them seem to be "Anglo," Caucasian artists. Looking at the "Music" chapter, for example, some popular culture critics (and students) might lament that Taylor Swift is an exemplar. While this choice is undeniable in terms of the popularity of her recordings and concerts, some might hope for examples that represent stylistic originality, genre-transcending, and progressive ideas (Bruno Mars, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, etc.).

I have been using the same text for seven years (Pavlik and McIntosh). I have decided to adopt Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. It is simply more thorough in its sweep of history and contextualization of culture, more multi-layered in its theoretical perspectives, and more rich in its examples and insights. This books is recommendable not just as an open source text, but as it compares to any conventional text. Students will benefit greatly from reading this text.

Reviewed by Hsin-Yen Yang, Associate Professor, Fort Hays State University on 11/29/18

Understanding Media and Culture: an Introduction to Mass Communication covers all the important topics in mass communication and media history. It also provides case studies, Key Takeaways, Exercises, End-of-Chapter Assessment, Critical Thinking Questions, and Career Connections in every chapter. Although this book does not provide a glossary, the comprehensiveness of the book still makes it a great textbook choice.

While the information was accurate and the discussions on key issues were supported by good references, it was odd to see the questionable formatting and quality of the first reference on page 3: Barnum, P. T.” Answers.com, http://www.answers.com/topic/p-t-barnum. --> First of all, Answers.com is not considered as a credible source by many scholars and the other half of the quotation marks was missing.

The major weakness of this book is the fact that many of the references were outdated. For example, on page 479, the statistics in the section, "Information Access Like Never Before," the cited reports were from 2002 and 2004. When discussing topics such as Net Neutrality, digital service providers, new policies and technologies, the urgency for updated information becomes evident. However, as the author correctly pointed out: "Although different forms of mass media rise and fall in popularity, it is worth noting that despite significant cultural and technological changes, none of the media discussed throughout this text has fallen out of use completely."

The writing in this book is very clear and easy to understand. The colored images, figures and tables should be very helpful in terms of student comprehension and engagement.

The framework and terminology are consistent throughout the book.

Each chapter can be assigned to students as a stand-along reading, and can be used to realign with other subunits should an instructor decide to compile reading within this book or from different sources.

Each chapter follows similar flow/ format: the history, evolution, economics, case studies and social impact of a mass medium, followed by Key Takeaways, Exercises, End-of-Chapter Assessment, Critical Thinking Questions, Career Connections and References. It was easy to navigate the topics and sections in this book.

I downloaded the book as a PDF and had no problem to search or navigate within the file. The book can also be viewed online or in a Kindle reader.

I spotted a few minor formatting or punctuation issues such as the missing quotation marks stated earlier, but no glaring errors as far as I know.

While it mainly focuses on American media and culture, this book contains statistics and cases from many countries (e.g. Figure 11.7), provides many critical thinking exercises and is sensitive towards diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Overall, this is a high-quality textbook and it contains almost all the key issues in today's media studies in spite of the somewhat outdated data and statistics. The strengths of this book are: Excellent historical examples, critical analysis and reflections, clearly defined key issues and in-depth discussions. Even when using the most recent edition of textbooks, I always research for updates and recent cases. This open resource textbook makes an outstanding alternative to those high-priced textbooks.

Reviewed by Hayden Coombs, Assistant Professor, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18

Perhaps the best quality of this text, Understanding Media and Culture is a very comprehensive textbook. I have used this text in my Mass Media & Communication course for two years now. Each chapter focuses on a different type of medium, starting with the earliest books and working its way up to the latest technological advancements in mass media. Other beneficial topics include: Media & Culture, Media Effects, Economics of Mass Media, Media Ethics, Media and Government, and the Future of Mass Media. These topics provide a solid base for a 100 or 200-level introductory communication course. They also were written in a way that each chapter provided sufficient material for a week's worth of discussion.

This book was written in a very unbiased manner. It is completely factual, and not much room is left for subjective interpretation. The discussion questions allowed multiple themes and schools of thought to be explored by the students. Because this book is intended for an introductory course, the information is fairly basic and widely-accepted.

My biggest issue with this title was that the latter chapters were not written with the same quality as the first ten or so chapters. However, that was the thought I had after the first semester I used this text. Since then, multiple updates have been written and the entire text is now written in the same high-quality throughout. Because this title is being constantly updated by its authors and publishers, the text is never obsolete.

Terminology is clearly defined, and students have little trouble finding definitions in the glossary. Because this text is written for an introductory course, there are not many intense or confusing concepts for students to understand.

Consistency rating: 3

As previously mentioned, the biggest struggle I've had with this text is the fact that the latter third was not written to the same quality of the first ten chapters. However, this issue seems to have been remedied in the latest edition of this text.

The modularity was the biggest selling point for me with this text. Our semester runs 15 weeks, the same number of chapters in this text. I was able to easily focus our classroom discussions and assignments on the chapter theme each week. The text also provides plenty of material for two or three discussions.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The text starts by introducing some basic concepts like culture and effects. From there, it focuses on ten different types of media (books, newspaper, radio, television, etc.). The concluding three chapters go back to concepts such ethics and the future of mass media. While not a major issue, there was a major difference in the tone of the two types of chapters.

This text is available in .pdf, kindle, .epub, and .mobi formats, as well as in browser. While nothing fancy or groundbreaking in terms of usability, it is simple and all of my students were able to download the format that best suited their individual needs.

The text contained no grammatical errors that I noticed in the latest edition, a tremendous improvement from the first semester I used this text.

I did not find the content to be culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. It used a variety of examples from the world's history, but I found none of them to be inherently offensive. The subject matter and the fact that this is an introductory text probably assist with the cultural relevance because it is easy to understand, but the themes rarely get into "deep" discussion.

This is a fantastic text. Comparing it to other texts for my COMM 2200 Mass Media & Society text, this textbook was not only easier for my students to understand, but it was written and compiled in a way that made teaching the material enjoyable and easy. I have recommended this book to the other instructors of this course because it allows our students to save money without sacrificing anything in terms of content or learning.

Reviewed by Heather Lubay, Adjunct Faculty, Portland Community College on 8/2/18

Overall the book is comprehensive, covering everything from books to radio to electronic media & social media. Each topic has a descent amount of information on both the history and evolution, as well as where we are today (though, as tends to be the nature of the industry, the “today” piece gets outdated quickly. However, the text covers the topics that most other texts of this subject cover as well. I would have liked to have seen just a bit more depth and analysis, instead of the broad, surface-level coverage.

The text is fairly accurate, though, with the rapid rate of change, it’s difficult to be accurate shortly after publication. Using sites such as MySpace as an example, or only looking at movies put out through about 2007, impacts the accuracy as society has changed and moved on. Students in 2018 are given more of a historical perspective from when they were kids more so than having a representation of what media means in today’s world.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

This is a hard one because the historical information stands the test of time, but many of the examples fall short for today’s students. The Social Media chapter still references MySpace and Friendster as current platforms and only goes as far as FaceBook & Twitter. The author makes it a point to clarify when the book what published, which helps, but, again, it’ll be hard for a current student to see past that when they’ve grown up with the platform being discussed as “new” and have moved on.

The book is fairly fast-paced and easy enough to follow for lower level or beginner students. Examples are easy to follow and the key takeaway boxes and exercises help further basic understanding.

The chapters are fairly consistent, covering the basic history, evolution, and influence/impact.

The text can easily be used as formatted, or broken up into sections and moved around.

The organization is fairly straightforward. Earlier forms of mass communication are covered first, moving on to newer forms. Once students have a basic understanding of each form, they can then move on to topics like ethics, government, and economics, which need that basic understanding to fully grasp the larger concepts.

The book is easy to navigate with had no issues viewing the photos or charts.

The book is well written and free of any gratuitous errors.

The book does a good job of focusing on US media and society. It uses pretty typical examples, though it could incorporate more relevant examples to today’s students. Some case studies reference minority groups, but it would have been nice to see even more examples featuring minority groups. Also, Using YouTube as a “new” viewing outlet and discussing “The war between satellite and cable television” and DirectTV versus Dish makes the cultural relevance more towards older generations than younger ones.

Overall the book does a great job with the history of mass communication and society. It would work for any lower level course. However, the examples are fairly out of date and the instructor would have to present more recent and relevant examples in class.

Reviewed by Randy (Rachel) Kovacs, Adjunct Associate Professor, City University of New York on 6/19/18

I like the way that the author has broadened the scope of the book to incorporate so many aspects of culture, society, politics and economics that some people would be inclined to distinguish from the mass media, when in reality, all these aspects of contemporary life are intertwined with and influenced by media messages. It provides an historical retrospective but also shows how convergence and constantly-evolving technologies have driven the way consumers use the media and the way producers will use those technologies to rivet the attention (and influence the purchasing choices) of today’s consumers. The text incorporates the most salient areas of media’s evolution and influence.

The book appears to be objective and adopts a critical but non-partisan perspective. It presents data, including media laws and policies, accurately, and the cases it cites are well documented. The author provides sufficient references to support the facts he states and the conclusions he draws. Caveat--The media landscape and technologies are constantly evolving, so the book is accurate for its time of publication but needs to be updated to include new developments.

The way that the author integrates the historical perspective with current roles of social media in is a clear indication of its relevance. The dates may change, as may the celebrities, industrialists, spokespersons, and there may be geopolitical and cultural shifts, but the author’s explanation of theories/principles and the cases selected show how mass media power and influence are here to stay. The author advances the salient issues at each juncture and contextualizes so they we can relate them to current events. The book could be updated but is still has relevance/longevity.

The book is written in a language that is accessible to the layman/beginning student of mass media. The cases that are boxed, and key takeaways at the end of each chapter further distill what is already explicated. There are many concrete facts but a minimum of jargon and any terms used are adequately explained.

The framework and the terminology are consistent. There is also a consistent structure in terms of the visual layout and breakdown of each chapter’s sections, which makes the material far more accessible to students. It’s reassuring in a way, because students know where to go in each chapter for clarification of terms and restatement of the major media developments or areas of impact.

The book’s content is broken down within chapters into (pardon the expression) digestible chunks. The way each subsection is organized makes sense. The major sections where media, developments, policies, etc., are first introduced are illustrated by boxed portions and then reiterated clearly at the end of the chapter with small, chunked takeaways and questions that challenge the students to ponder issues more deeply. The modules are distinguished by color, typset, size of font, etc. which is aesthetically appealing.

The organization makes sense and the topics segue smoothly from one area of media focus to another. Also, the way the book opens with an overview of mass media and cultural is a good starting point from which to document specific historical eras in the development of communication and to transition from one era of communication to another within a context of technology, politics, industry and other variables.

: The text does not have any interface issues, as it is easy to navigate, all illustrations, charts, and other visuals are clear and distortion-free. All features of the book are legible and all display features are legible and functional.

The book is grammatically accurate and error-free.

The book represents a range of cultural groups in a sensitive and bias-free way. Its discussions of media with regard to both dominant cultures and various minority cultures is respectful, bias-free, and non-stereotypical. It is culturally relevant and inclusive.

For many years, I have used a textbook that I have regarded as very high quality and comprehensive, but as it has become increasingly expensive and out of reach financially for many of my students, I find it hard to justify asking my struggling students to add another financial burden to them. Why should I when they can use this OER textbook? I am seriously considering using Understanding Media and Culture in future semesters and recommending it to my colleagues.

Reviewed by Stacie Mariette, Mass Communication instructor, Anoka-Ramsey Community College on 5/21/18

This OER is very comprehensive. I used it for an online course as a PDF textbook. While this discipline evolves faster than any other communication area I teach, this book remains solidly grounded in a wide variety of resources and foundational... read more

As I use it more often, I find myself wanting to update it only for examples regarding the evolution in technology/platforms and the societal/cultural changes that result – not to change the historical content of what is already there.

I haven't come across any factual errors at all.

The examples in this book are often dated. This is my one very mild criticism of this text and only reflects the nature of the information. As we grow into new media and adapt as a society to those delivery methods, it's only natural. I actually use updating the examples in the textbook as an assignment for students.

Some closer to up-to-date examples that I have added into my teaching of the course and to the materials are:

"Fake news" and social media's role in spreading it, especially in terms of Facebook and the last election

Data mining and algorithm practices

"Listening" devices and digital assistants, like Siri and Alexa

The subculture of podcasts

Business models – both for artists and consumers – of streaming services across all media

The chapter on convergence is short and could be a text all on its own. Information relating to this topic is sprinkled throughout the book, but the concept itself is so important to analyze that I like to think about it on its own. This is an area I will beef up in future semesters for my own students.

Streaming services and online journalism overall are two areas that I have noted to update and reference in nearly every chapter.

The short segments and snippets of information are very helpful and clear for students. It's all very digestible and the vocabulary is at just the right level.

The discussion questions and further reading/information are placed in logical places in each chapter. And this consistency helps the reader understand their prompts and what to do next – and additionally the important topics to take away.

I love how this text can be reordered very easily. Since it's so comprehensive, I actually omit a couple of the chapters (radio and magazines) to take the info at a slower pace and have never struggled with remixing other chapters.

In fact, I plan to blend Chapters 11 and 16 (Social Media and New Technology) for my upcoming semesters and have no doubt the text and materials will allow for this.

I like how the chapters primarily focus on one medium at a time. From there, the structure of evolution, technological advancements, social/cultural implications and then a look at trends and emerging controversies helps to build to exciting and relevant discussions and for students to have the backdrop to bring their own insights.

The interface is reliable and easy-to-use. I deliver it as a PDF within my online classroom software. I have never had issues with students downloading and reading on multiple devices – or even printing and referencing – based on their preferences.

This book is very concise and grammatically crisp. It's clear that the authors of the version I am using valued precision in their language and it helps students to see this resource as high-quality!

Cultural and societal relevance are important in this discipline and it's purposely covered in each and every chapter. However, as I mentioned earlier, the examples are outdated in many cases. So I layer this into class discussions and supplement with further readings and assignments. Some of the topics I add are: Representation in entertainment media, like TV and film, for example how the #MeToo movement gained ground based on the film industry Ways that online gaming culture is permissive of the communication of –isms, like sexism and racism Ways that social media and screen time are impacting attention spans, interpersonal relationships/communication and child development How citizen-sourced video and reporting differs from that of trained journalists and how important the differences are The section on media effects is helpful and thorough. I always include a key assignment on this topic. It's also an area I plan to emphasize even more in the future – particularly the idea of tastemaking and gatekeeping. There are many crossovers to many examples that are more up-to-date than the version of the text I have been using.

I love this book and it is on-par with many others I have reviewed for my Introduction to Mass Communication class.

Reviewed by Stacy Fitzpatrick, Professor, North Hennepin Community College on 5/21/18

The presentation of the historical context of media evolution in the US is clear and reasonably detailed, providing a good foundation for an introductory level course. As other reviewers have mentioned, this text was published in 2010 and is out of date in multiple areas, particularly with respect to media laws and regulation, social media, and newer developments of technology (e.g. preference for streaming television, technological and social advancements in gaming). Beyond needing updates to reflect newer advancements in media, this text would benefit from more attention to global media structures, including how they vary across political systems and how they impact how citizens use media to communicate. Additionally, an index and glossary would be helpful for navigation.

I am basing this on the fact that this was published in 2010. Considering the publication date, the factual content for that particular time frame is presented accurately, clearly cited, and reasonably unbiased. There is perhaps an unintended gender bias in the presentation of some content (e.g. Sister Rosetta Tharpe is absent in the music section, as is Nina Simone), though this could be a result of a broader, societal gender bias. Images, charts, and graphs are used well and clearly explained.

The historical content is fine, but the text is almost 9 years out of date and there is a great deal of content that needs to be updated. Making the necessary updates may take some time since the content is tightly written and there are reflections of the date of publication throughout the examples used, images presented, and media discussed. Using this text in class would require the instructor to provide supplemental content on newer advancements in media.

This text is appropriate for a freshman/sophomore level course and reads well. Important terms are defined and each section includes an overview to set a context and clearly defined learning objectives.

The language, terminology, and organization of the text is consistent throughout. This makes moving between chapters easy since they follow a similar format.

With a few exceptions (chapters 1 and 2), the text lends itself well to using different sections at different points. Where there are self-references, there is typically a hyperlink to the section referenced. This is useful for those reading the text online, but less useful if printed sections of text were used.

Chapters 1 and 2 clearly present a structure that the following chapters follow. The only chapter that seems to really break that flow is Chapter 16, but that is more a result of the text being so out of date than a significant change in structure.

I found the online reading format the easiest to navigate. The Word and PDF versions are somewhat more awkward to navigate without using a search keyboard function.

There were a couple minor typos, but no significant grammatical errors that might impact comprehension. The readability assessment (via MS Word) indicated a reading grade level of 13.1, which is consistent with lower division college coursework.

There is a heavy focus on US media, which is acknowledged early on in the text. More integration of content related to global media would strengthen the text. There should be more examples that integrate multiple forms of diversity, such as gender, ability, age, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Additionally, without an update, younger students may not understand some of the references. For example, younger students in 2018 don’t know Napster as a file-sharing site since it has rebranded to become a streaming site more similar to Spotify.

It would be great to see an update in the content of this text for 2018 that also incorporates broader perspectives of multiple identities and global perspectives. As is, I would use sections of the text and supplement that content with more current examples and issues. Balancing the cost of textbooks in this field with the quality and recency of the content is an ongoing challenge.

Reviewed by Craig Freeman, Director, Oklahoma State University on 5/21/18

The book covers all of the topics you would expect in an inter/ survey course. read more

The book covers all of the topics you would expect in an inter/ survey course.

The book does a good job of accurately surveying mass communications. Good job sourcing information.

The most recent citations are from 2010. That's just too far in the past for a rapidly changing subject like mass communication.

The book is clear and easy to read. Well written.

The book is internally consistent, with recurring sections.

The book does a good job breaking the information down into smaller reading sections.

The book follows the standard structure and flow for introductory texts in mass communication.

The interface is fine. It's a big book. Would appreciate active links to help skip chapters.

No grammatical errors.

I would appreciate a little more diversity in the examples used.

Really wish the authors would update this a bit. It does a great job with the history. Needs updating on the modern issues.

Reviewed by Kateryna Komarova, Visiting Instructor, University of South Florida on 3/27/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

The title Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication suggests that we are looking at a comprehensive introductory text. In my opinion, this book is the most valuable to GE courses and entry level courses across Mass Communication disciplines, as it does excellent job in covering the fundamentals of mass communication. The textbook is heavy on history, which is a great thing.

I found the content to be accurate and, to my knowledge, error-free.

In comparison with other introductory texts, the content is generally up-to date with current trends. Yet, the distribution of attention towards various forms of media tends to be slightly disproportional. For instance, print magazines alone (essentially, one of many forms of print media that’s experiencing a stable continuous decline) receive as much attention as all forms of social media altogether. As a communications practitioner and an instructor, I was pleased to see information on the merge of paid media and social media (content partnerships and native advertising being the prime examples, albeit these particular terms were not used by the author). On the other hand, some aspects of current media landscape (such as the role of mobile apps, for instance) could be explored further.

The text is written in simple, easy-to-understand language and would be appropriate to non-native speakers.

I find this text to be consistent in terms of terminology.

The book is organized in rather non-trivial fashion, without a unified approach to chapter categorization. Yet, I found this approach refreshing. I loved that the author suggests specific learning outcomes for each section (example: "Distinguish between mass communication and mass media"), key takeaways, and practical exercises. The question bank provided as part of this textbook is a treasure box! It’s a great resource that allows me to have more fun in the classroom by asking interesting questions that wake up the students and generate some amazing answers. The chapters are designed to be used selectively, in no particular order. Big plus.

The content is presented in chronological pattern: from past to future. Other than that, I did not trace much consistency in the material. For instance, Media and Culture is followed by Media Effects, after which the author switches to reviewing various forms of media (Radio, Magazines, Newspapers, etc.). The chapters to follow are Economics of Mass Media and Ethics of Mass Media. I find to be an advantage, as the subsections may be used selectively, and the order may be easily redesigned.

I read the textbook online via the Open Library portal http://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/1-2-intersection-of-american-media-and-culture/ . I found the navigation to be very easy. Good interface.

I did not spot any grammatical errors.

I found the content USA-centric. For this reason, it may have limited application to global courses (such as Global Citizens Project courses offered at USF). The majority of case studies are drawn from the United States; much attention is paid to the history of mass media in the USA and current U.S. legislation safeguarding privacy. In today’s increasingly globalized culture and economy, a broader outlook on media and culture may be expected. More international references would enhance the points made by the author. It is important for students to understand that major trends in mass communication, such as convergence of the media, are not unique to the United States. Similarly, increasing media literacy should be positioned as a global, rather than national, priority.

It is a great introductory text that provides a current overview of various forms of media and highlights the role of mass communication in society.

Reviewed by Joel Gershon, Adjunct Professor, American University on 2/1/18

The book should be the perfect fit for my course Understanding Media, as it indeed covers all of the subject matter of the course. The problem is that it is not up to date and therefore detracts from the complete picture that each one of these topics delves into. For example, the music section poses the question: How do the various MP3 players differ? It refers to Spin as a magazine (it ceased its print operations in 2012). Or in the section on television, there is a question about the war between satellite and cable television. I think the winner of that is neither, as streaming a la carte is what people are talking about in 2017 as the direction TV is going in.

This criticism, of course, is obvious and easy. It's actually an exhaustive book that does contain a wealth of useful information, although no glossary or index – glaring omissions. Unfortunately, it suffers from not being up to 2017, when we are living in an up-to-the-second world. Especially in a field like media studies, it makes this book unusable in its entirety. The chapter ethics and economics aren't as badly out of date.

It is accurate for the time it was written in, but in today's world, much of this doesn't hold up. Just one example, there is the claim that Reader's Digest has the third highest circulation of all magazine, which is no longer the case in 2017. It is not in good shape. Even the references to "President Obama," obviously show that it was written a different era with a very different landscape for the media world. Still, the great majority of it appears to be represented fairly, albeit in an outmoded way. It's just that the trends and latest innovations in 2010 won't even make sense to a college freshman whose frame of reference likely came about three years after

Content is up-to-date, but not in a way that will quickly make the text obsolete within a short period of time. The text is written and/or arranged in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy and straightforward to implement.

Obviously, this is a major weak link of the textbook. I've already commented on this, but I think any time the textbook is referring to MySpace or Friendster in a way that suggests that they are viable social media sites, it makes itself into a caricature of an outdated guide.

No real problem here. The book is fully clear, well-written and to the point. The problem is that the point was made in 2010. That said, there is no glossary or index.

Again, this book is solid as a foundational textbook to get students the basic information regarding the history and meaningful cultural highlights of different forms of media. From radio to media and democracy, the lessons are thorough and contain useful and important information. It's just that some of this information is outdated.

The book is quite easy to read, the organization is fine and reads like any typical textbook. I will say that there have been advancements made, and that this book should be more interactive and multi-media if it wants to keep up with the Joneses.

It's fine in this regard. The writing itself is great and it's broken up nicely. Very readable and I wish it was up to date because it's a solid textbook.

This is fine for 2010, but there is no interactivity or video or things to let us know that we are in 2017.It's basic and fine, but nothing stands out are particularly innovative.

Written well. No issue here at all.

Again, this is the fatal flaw of the book. It's just not going to be persuasive if it doesn't manage to maintain the sensibilities of someone in 2017. Between politics and technology there have been extreme shifts in the media in the past few years and a book like this would need to be updated monthly to stay relevant. It could work as a historical document to see how people thought in 2010, but not really as a relevant book today.

Reviewed by Suzi Steffen, Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/20/17

This text is rather comprehensive, at least for the time it was published. It covers pretty much any topic one might want to cover in a Media and Society or introductory media and communications class, though for those interested in topic areas like journalism, advertising, and public relations, this textbook is much more about the history of those areas than how they are surviving and functioning today (and that's fine with me; I can update with information that's more recent). There is no index (at least in this form), and there is no glossary, but terms are well-defined within each chapter and within pull-out boxes as well. It would be incumbent upon the professor and students to keep some kind of glossary or wiki, which is not a bad idea for a media history/media and society class in any case.

Often in a textbook for media and society or media history, one can see the author's world view shining through - is capitalism too much for media? Should media creators take an "unbiased" view of the world? How is a medium influenced by the way it is funded? The book has a solid conversational tone and is authoritative on its history, but I might prefer a little more analysis of media ownership and consolidation. As for accuracy, yes, the facts seem quite accurate to the best of my knowledge, and the text is written (and edited) by someone with a journalist's view of language - it's useful, it's best done well, and occasionally it lends itself to some essayistic moments.

I'm not sure there's a way to write a book like this that can keep it relevant past the month in which it was written, much less seven years later. Many of the examples the author uses to illustrate music, social media, books, newspapers (some of which don't exist anymore), magazines (ditto), etc., are simply no longer relevant. It *is* interesting to read about what the author thought was relevant at the time, and what the author thought would last, but this kind of book needs almost constant updating during this time of constant media churn and reinvention. I am giving it a 3, but really it's more like a 2.5 as any instructor would need constantly to find new examples that students will understand.

The book is accessible and lucid, absolutely. As with any history of a large discipline, the book contains a fair amount of jargon that is relevant to each portion of the subject matter covered, and the book is good about not only giving context and giving definitions but also setting aside boxed or special areas for examples that reinforce what it's talking about. The key takeaways at the end of each chapter, added to the exercises that are meant to help the students understand what's important in the dense historical detail and context of each chapter, are helpful as well.

This book is wonderfully consistent with terminology and the framework it employs to discuss media across a wide range of areas. From the beginning of each chapter, where an introduction lays out the plan of the chapter, to the end of each chapter - where a box of "key takeaways" explains what students should have learned - the book keeps a tone of very slightly amused detachment, mixed with earnest passion for certain topics, throughout, which is utterly consistent with how media people actually live their lives.

The text is definitely modular. It's written in a way that could easily be read in various chunks as the instructor or professor wishes to assign it. Blocks of text are broken up with images, a few charts, and a few stories that are boxed and that illustrate examples of topics within the chapters.

I think it's hard to know how to organize a media history/media and society textbook. Do you start with the printed word? But then, what about radio? Should radio come closer to magazines or closer to movies and TV? In that case, where do audiobooks and podcasts go? So, even as any instructor would grapple with these sorts of questions, the book is laid out in a way that made sense to the author - and that can be ripped apart and reassigned by each instructor. There's no need to read economics at the end of the course; perhaps, despite the fact that it's at the end of the book, it should come at the front end of the course - and because it's modular enough for flexibility, that's not a problem.

I read the textbook on my desktop Kindle and on my phone. It's not super with the images or charts, and the boxed questions and exercises at the end are especially hard to take. This interface could use a little attention, at least in the Kindle applications area. It's not impossible; it just needs some work.

No errors that I saw, though a textbook without at least a few grammatical errors is a miracle.

It's hard to say whether it's culturally insensitive or offensive because, well, I'm a white woman. I note that it talks about U.S. media's places (different for advertising, PR, newspapers, etc.) in the Civil Rights Movement and to a certain extent it discusses the ways that major media have been controlled or run by men, by white men, by straight white men. But I don't think the text addresses any of these things in the depth or with the clarity of thought that one would like to see in 2017. (Yes, it's a 2010 text.) In gaming, in Twitter discussions, in talking about newspapers or online media, the book is simply behind the times, and that makes it culturally problematic if not insensitive.

I am reluctant to adopt this book with students who really need more recent examples to make sense of how things are going now, today, in 2017, though it's also relevant for them to learn the history of how we got here (if anyone can really understand that at this point). I'd love to use a newer edition if one comes out. I might use or adapt parts of it along with other readings for my media and society class in 2018, but I'll be cautious about that.

Reviewed by Shearon Roberts, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, Xavier University of Louisiana on 6/20/17

The textbook hits the standard areas for a typical Introduction to Mass Communication course: evolution of media industries, media and society, media effects and theories, media law and ethics, the digital age, and global media. It is comprehensive in its case studies and historical events that are typically taught for an Introduction to Mass Communication course. The text is current as there is a chapter on the Internet and Social Media and several chapters look at the digital revolution as it impacts media industries. There is no glossary or index, however. Instructors will have to rely on chapter sections for lesson planning.

From Gutenberg to Apple and Google, the book provides content that is accurate on the development of media. The author thoroughly cites case studies and provides questions for critical thinking about issues affecting media industry trends and on the impact of the media on the public. Statistics, data and trends are appropriately cited for reference check on accuracy of estimates.

Case studies and citations stop at 2010. However, the author makes projections for media trends up to 2020. Since media industries are most vulnerable to yearly change, the information in the book holds for now, although the positions of some of the digital media players have changed since the book has come out. However, the author is careful to clarify dates for events that were transformative for media industry changes, at the point in which these events occurred, even if changes have occurred since the book was published in 2010. Within another 5 years, the book is likely to need some updates to digital age developments.

The language used is accessible for a first year student taking an Introduction to Mass Communication course. The theory, ethics and law chapters are broken down for a 1000-2000 level course. The case studies and critical thinking boxes are useful in helping to break down and apply a wealth of information in the text for students to conceptualize the importance of historical events and their social or cultural impacts.

The author is clear on defining media industries, digital convergence and common theories in mass communication.

Instructors can easily use the text as is, or piece together sections on history, digitization and media and society from several chapters, depending on the instructor’s preference.

The text follows the standard logic for media introduction courses moving students through print, to audio, to film to broadcasting and to the digital age. The author wisely weaves in the impact of new media in each of these phases of evolution so the student does not have to wait until the end of the text to see the impacts of the changes of the industry, as they understand media to be today.

While the interface is simple, all graphics and text boxes, as well as assignments are designed similarly throughout the text and easy to locate as an e-text for student work.

Sentences throughout the text are concisely written and the text appears thoroughly proofed.

It was important for me to see examples of race, gender and global dimensions of the media represented as case studies, assignments and critical thinking in the book. From using The Birth of a Nation and its outcry from the NAACP in the film chapter to the rice of BET, or the understanding stereotyping of African Americans in TV, this book has relevant examples that relate to minority students or for a Historically Black University. I did however see no mention of the black press, or the work of alternative media in introduction narratives left out of the mainstream media. However, most introductory media textbooks, also leave this out. If this is an interest area for diverse students, unfortunately instructors are left to source that information themselves. But the most prominent case studies for diverse groups can be found in this text.

It was surprising to discover such an open-textbook as the cost of Intro to Mass Communication textbooks are typically over $100 and students only use this textbook once. This is a valuable resource. I hope the author would consider updating in a few years for recent developments and important case studies such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement and President Donald Trump's election for an examination of media literacy.

Reviewed by Gwyneth Mellinger, Professor and Director, School of Media Arts & Design, James Madison University on 6/20/17

The book covers all of the subject areas typically touched on in a media and society survey course; however, the discussions within chapters would benefit greatly from more examples and, in some cases, greater detail in explanation. I often thought the content was pretty thin. This was particularly so in Chapter 2, where the treatment of effects theories and media studies controversies required much more supporting discussion to be relevant to undergraduates. The greatest weakness in the text, and the specific reason I would not adopt it for my own course, is that the book's engagement of social and digital media is, for the most part, woefully out of date and separated into discrete chapter segments, rather than synthesized into discussions directly. A text on media and society assigned in 2017 cannot be comprehensive if it does not engage media in a way that makes sense to the students who are reading it. There is no index or glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

There is no bias in the text and historical detail appeared to be represented accurately. Again, I question whether a book written in 2010, which lacks full context for the subject matter, can accurately reflect media and society for students in 2017. For example, in 4.6, online journalism is represented as blogs and online newspapers. That is an accuracy issue for today's students.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 1

The book is out of date. Examples and context stop at 2010, and many cultural references will not resonate with current students, which is the point of examples and cultural context. The Beatlemania example early in the book and the references to 2009 in the opening paragraphs advertise the lack of currency. Significantly, the book cannot be easily updated in its current form because its approach and perspective are also out of date. By failing to integrate social media and the Internet into the central narrative, the book emphasizes legacy media in a way that is no longer relevant.

The book is clearly written, though additional examples and context would be helpful in places.

The narrative is consistent in terminology and framework.

The modularity of the text would allow use of sections of the text at different points in a course.

The content in Chapter 11 on evolution of the Internet and the impact of social media belongs near the beginning, not the end, of the text. In addition, the impact of media economics on content is downplayed by sequestering this discussion in Chapter 13. Each chapter on legacy media ends with a section on the impact of new technology on that medium. These sections feel tacked on.

There were no interface issues. That said, the book lacked the visual engagement used by many media and society texts to capture and maintain the interest of today's students.

The text is clean. Of note, the text correctly uses "media" as a plural noun. There was, however, this awkward subheading at 1.2: "What Does Media Do?"

The text is not culturally insensitive. It acknowledges cultural imperialism and the digital divides as issues. There are examples of media content that would be deemed inclusive. That is not to say, however, that today's students would find the examples culturally relevant. The book is written from their grandparents' perspective.

Without irony, the unknown author of the text includes in a media literacy checklist and discussion (1.8) the advice that students should scrutinize the identity and credentials of authors. This same section warns against anonymous online sources. This is a conceptual problem with this particular online text. It's not clear why the author wants to distance her/himself from the project, but it creates a question of credibility.

Reviewed by Elizabeth England-Kennedy, Assistant Professor, Rhode Island College on 4/11/17

The book is extremely comprehensive. Not only does it include all forms of mass media, but it intelligently and thoughtfully addresses critical concepts such as ethics and culture. Photojournalism (especially the work of muckrakers such as Jacob Riis) is not included, and investigative reporting is too briefly addressed, although including advocacy journalism was a sound choice. There is no index or glossary. The lack of a glossary is surprising since key words are already highlighted in text.

The text is accurate and information is fairly represented and free of personal bias. No errors were found.

This is the most concerning characteristic of the book: The information has long-term relevance and is written in a highly readable way that will enhance its longevity. However, the examples tend to be temporally but often not generationally up-to-date and positioned for longevity. For example, beginning the book with an example that is this far removed from today's undergraduates' world may lessen their interest in reading further, as opposed to beginning with more focus on Beatlemania and then moving to an example of an artist/group more accessible to their generation. Additional examples used later in the book are drawn from recent time frames, but may not be commonly accessed. This is the only aspect of the book that would make me hesitate to adopt it.

The text is written in lucid prose that is accessible to introductory readers, though individuals whose first language is not English could have some difficulty reading independently. However, with minimal pre-reading guidance (e.g., introducing concepts that will be included in an upcoming reading assignment, instruction on how to use the Learning Objectives and Key Takeaways to best effect), these readers should also be able to understand and effectively use the text. Context is given for jargon/technical terminology, and definitions are generally clear.

The text is consistent in format, terminology, framework, and tone.

Modularity rating: 1

The book is clearly divided into relatively short subsections that are logically sequenced. Longer sections tend to be broken up by images, all of which are relevant examples of concepts being discussed in the section. The Learning Objectives, Key Takeaways, End-of-Chapter Assessments, and Critical Thinking Questions sections for each module are useful for guiding student reading and could be easily adapted into learning exercises and assessments such as discussions, quizzes, exams, and writing assignments. The Career Connection section at the end of chapters is innovative, and could be especially useful for students considering majors in communications-related fields. Chapters and sub-sections could be used independently in reading packets or rearranged without their being weakened, making it a more flexible resource or textbook.

The organization is clear. Sections are clearly labeled and of approximately the same length. Titles of chapters and subsections are logical and clear. Topics are logical laid out: An overview of foundational concepts in the first two chapters frames the remaining chapters effectively. The remaining chapters are organized in a historically-logical order. This structure is well-designed to helps readers better understand how an increase in the number and forms of media channels impacts audiences and media effects. Chapters are also internally well-organized and could be used separately as desired.

There are no interface difficulties. Pictures are clear and free of distortion. Navigation is clear and easy to use. Because the sections are short, reader interest should be maintained despite the low level of images included. Multiple platforms can be used.

The text contains no grammatical errors. A nice touch by the author is to clarify and model the correct grammatical usage of "medium" vs "media."

No cultural insensitivity or offensiveness was found. The author acknowledges that the book is focused on US media and includes culturally diverse examples. Topics such as cultural imperialism are addressed specifically. Related topics such as cultural appropriation and marginalization are referenced, although these specific terms are not necessarily used (e.g., the latter is addressed in the chapter on music as an outcome of the oligopoly in music without using the term "marginalization"). This could have been taken further; for example, the section on "Issues and Trends in Film" does not address concerns about "whitewashing" or lack of diversity in Hollywood movies and the section on Independent films does not address movies that countered these trends (e.g., the work of Spike Lee and Robert Rodriguez). However, the book lays the groundwork necessary for a discussion of such concepts in class or for use of supplemental materials that build on this text.

The book could be used as a stand-alone for an introductory class. Sections could be used in more advanced classes as supplemental readings or in reading packets.

Reviewed by Kevin Smith, Instructor, Chemeketa Community College on 2/15/17

This text is comprehensive in its coverage of all major media platforms and key general concepts related to mass media. There are times (e.g. Chapter 2: Media Effects) when some concepts are defined vaguely, but this is not indicative of the book as a whole. There is no glossary nor index, but most terms are defined well in the context of each chapter. The review sections at the end of each chapter would also help students organize and recall relevant information as they study. There is little that I feel is missing from this textbook that would be appropriate for an introductory mass media course.

A neutral, objective tone is struck throughout, with no apparent errors or gaps in coverage of major media and concepts. To the best of my knowledge, I believe this text to be free of errors, although it needs to be updated.

While this text is outstanding in its coverage and clarity, it is now seven years out-of-date and needs to be updated. A text on mass media should reflect the most recent changes in technology and economic and political contexts.

This text appears to be written for college freshmen and sophomores. Perhaps even upper-level high school students could successfully grasp its content. Most jargon particular to the discipline is defined and illustrated thoroughly.

The text is rigorous throughout, with even weight given to all concepts. There are occasional overlaps between chapters in coverage of terms (e.g. media bias), but nothing that seems sloppy or out-of-place. The historical overview of media technologies blends seamlessly with the beginning and later chapters on media studies concepts.

The structure of the book lends itself exceptionally well to divisibility, while demonstrating the ability to maintain its own internal coherence. The text seems designed for a semester-long course, so those looking to use it for quarters or with students whose expected reading loads might be lighter will find it easy to pull only what they need from it without sacrificing clarity.

The book's content is designed expertly, with introductory chapters leading into a chronological overview of the history of media technologies (books to social media). The text concludes by expanding its scope to cover more general concepts (e.g.media ethics) that scaffold on previously discussed ideas. This framework would greatly aid students in comprehending central ideas in media studies as they relate to specific technologies and historical periods.

I did not notice any problems in this area, although a cover might be helpful in identifying the text.

I noticed some minor typos, but nothing that reflects poorly on the high level of discourse and mechanical aspects of the text.

The text employs examples that would be helpful to students as they seek to understand mass media in diverse settings. There was no inappropriate content noted. The text is respectful and inclusive in this sense.

The end of chapter summaries, takeaways, exercises and critical thinking questions are outstanding and would serve any instructor well in designing a course with relevant activities tied directly to the text, while also pointing to other sources in contemporary mass media. The book is an invaluable resource that deserves the attention of a group of scholars who can update its content in order that it be more relevant to students.

Reviewed by Amy Rawson, Professor, Century College on 2/8/17

Interestingly, this textbook was more comprehensive than I originally expected. The text covered all of the major areas to be expected in a mass communication textbook: Media, Books, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Movies, TV, Games, Internet & Social Media, Advertising & PR, Economics, Ethics, Media & Government and the Future of Mass Media. However, I am giving 4 stars because there is no index or glossary which I deem especially important for a mass communication textbook.

The textbook is accurate. I also like the chapter on the future of mass media. The textbook seems to be error-free and unbiased. Each chapter section includes a few learning objectives and a few "key takeaways." There are also exercise questions at the end of each chapter section. The examples in the exercise questions are dated. It would be nice to have more current examples. However, I would prefer questions about the chapter at the end of the entire chapter or at the end of each section in addition to the objectives, takeaways and exercises. Thus, I am giving 4 stars for outdated examples.

I agree with another reviewer that the examples are a bit dated (which quickly happens in a mass communication textbook). This affects the credibility of the overall text. For example, in Chapter 16.1 Changes in Media Over the Last Century the example box titled "Pay-for-it Content: Will it Work?" is from 2009! This is 2017.

The textbook is written in clear and easily understood language. It is accessible and comprehensible. It would be nice to have a glossary for students for the mass communication jargon.

The text seems to be consistent with terminology and framework. However, the textbook seems dated overall and new terminology and frameworks could be added to make it more relevant and interesting for students.

The modularity of the textbook is good. It is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be assigned different points within the course. I like the division of the chapters into subsections.

The organization/structure/flow of the textbook is good. However, I agree with another reviewer that the textbook is too lengthy. In my opinion, 647 pages is too long. Although I have used other textbooks of similar length, there are many more vivid visuals for students and more timely information and examples.

The text is free of significant interface issues that may confuse or distract the reader.

The text contains no grammatical errors.

The textbook examples for cultural relevance could be more current.

Thank you for this opportunity. I like the idea of an open textbook and would be interested in doing more reviews in the future.

Reviewed by Tom Grier, Professor, Winona State University on 8/21/16

The book is comprehensive, covering the study of media and its intersection with culture, through an in-depth look at each of the major mediums, then content considerations, economics and ethics issues related to the mass media. read more

This text seems accurate. I didn't find glaring errors of fact in my reading. Though, as I will mention later in my review, many of the examples used in the text are now several years outdated, when more recent examples or case studies would be more relatable to a youthful college audience.

This is one area where I find some difficulty with the book -- as is the case with every text of this type. The world of media is ever-changing and fast-changing. The historical information about the invention, early adoption, and improvements to the mediums of mass communication (books, newspapers, radio, television, etc.) are fine. A few of the examples and case studies used to describe events related to the media feel outdated. This is most apparent in Chapters 1 and 2 on Media and Culture and Media Effects. Examples from 2010 and 2011, are not relative to college freshmen in 2016 who were in middle-school and probably not paying attention when these things happened. Therefore, the longevity of this text is limited, unless it is updated-revised at least every third year.

The author's writing style is informative and engaging. While the writing is clear and understandable, the chapters often get too deep and try to cover anything and everything in a particular content area-- or sub-chapter, when a couple statements and one case study would suffice.

I found the chapter formatting, writing style and narrative flow to be consistent from chapter to chapter.

Here, the text shines. First, it is broken into chapters that are easily identifiable and segment the content nicely. Within each chapter are several sub-chapters that allow readers to read and absorb material in smaller chunks. This will be helpful to the learning styles of younger people today.

For the most part, I agree with the author's organization and flow. My only thought, and it's just an opinion, is: Chapter 2 on Media Effects should be moved to Chapter 14, so it comes after the major media categories and then the economics of the media, and just before the ethics and law of media. To be fair, most mass media textbooks follow this same organization. When I teach the class, I always move the "effects" chapter to later in the semester, after I've discussed the media types, their history and development.

A second thought, I'd hold the footnoted source credits to the end of each chapter, or preferably to the end of the book. The sometimes very long list of footnoted sources between each sub-chapter stops the flow for readers that may wish to read a full chapter.

I downloaded the PDF version, and read that. I found the interface cumbersome. I wish paragraphs were indented. I wish it was easier to navigate from chapter to chapter or topic to topic without scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. I wish there was an easy way to get to a Table of Contents with one click, and then from there click topic-anchored reference points to skip to specific information sought.

I wish it had an index that had anchor links. I realize this would be a large undertaking to create and connect the links. But that would make searching and finding specific information easy and fast. If I was a college student studying for a chapter quiz or exam on the foundations of radio, I might like to scoot to the Index and click on Radio-Invention, or on Marconi and be led instantly to that content within the text.

And, probably an easy fix, I wish it was more evenly spaced. In my opinion, there should consistently be two spaces between sub-headed sections or sub-chapters. In most places in this text, a new, bolded subhead appears on the very next line under its preceding paragraph. This looks jammed and messy.

I have no problem with the grammar. It's clear, easy to follow, and written to be accessible to a college audience. I used the Gunning Fog Index to test several paragraphs throughout the text and found some of the writing aimed at an audience with 10-11 years of formal education, and in a few cases more than 15 years of education. The average of my selected readings came out at 12-13 years of education -- perfectly appropriate for a freshmen-level college course.

Other than my hope for some more recent case studies and examples, I find the text to be culturally relevant. A few of the examples mention MySpace, Napster and Kazaa as internet entities with which the audience should be familiar. In reality, today's college freshmen know almost nothing of these three internet terms. In my current Media and Society class, less than ten percent of the class had ever had a MySpace account. They had heard of MySpace, but really knew nothing. No one in the class knew about Napster or Kazaa first-hand... perhaps had heard of them in another class.

This text feels too long. This is a difficult thing. The author includes everything he feels needs to be discussed in each chapter. But it's too much for a college freshman-level class. Example: The chapter on Music is more than 50 pages long. While I agree college students should be able to read this much each week for a class, I'm confident they will not read this much. I believe the text could be condensed quite a bit while maintaining the content necessary to make it meaningful at the freshman level. It's a complete text, and would make a nice reference tool -- with better indexing and searching links within the body -- but it won't work at an entry level to the study of media. At my university, the "Media and Society" class is a 100-level course, used as a general education class that can fulfill a categorical credit-need for all students, not just Mass Communication majors. And we consider the class a "feeder" to the major, introducing students to the study of media and hopefully igniting an interest in students to consider a career in media, and therefore declare a Mass Communication major. This book, with its depth, might be more appropriate in an upper-vision media studies course.

Reviewed by Nick Marx, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University on 1/7/16

The text is a broad and comprehensive overview of all relevant forms of media today. Although this is a common organizational approach for survey textbooks of media, this particular volume utilizes it in a particularly clear and cogent manner. Instructors approaching media and culture from a mass comm/journalism standpoint are much likelier to find this text useful than are instructors who approach media and culture from a perspective emphasizing critical/cultural studies, historical poetics, and/or aesthetics.

Content is accurate and strikes appropriately diplomatic tones where contentious issues might arise that concern social and cultural power.

The text is quite relevant for the most part, but by the very nature of its subject matter will undoubtedly require updates every few years. Framing the intro of the "Future of Mass Media" chapter with a specific device--the iPad--rather than the set of cultural protocols such devices foster, for example, might prove to be one area where instructors redirect conversations after the next new device inevitably cycles through.

The text is lucid and easy to follow. The book is ideal for introductory-level courses, but is likely too survey-oriented for courses beyond that level.

The text is consistent in structure, tone, and subject matter.

Here the book really excels at guiding students through a programmatic approach to studying media. Each section of history/description is followed by useful discussion prompts and activities, easily lending itself to course adoption.

The book flows logically. Some medium-specific chapters might arguably be collapsed into others, but their separation provides instructors with a good range of options for organizing lesson plans as they wish rather than having to proceed sequentially.

The text is a cleanly organized PDF, but is quite cumbersome to navigate internally. At 700+ pages, there's no table of contents and little in the PDF that allows for quick and easy browsing without intense scrolling. I'd recommend a hyperlinked TOC and some mechanism that affords instructors/students the freedom to teach/read in a modular, not linear, fashion.

The book is very clean and free of any obvious errors.

The book appropriately qualifies and focuses on the US media context, drawing on a good diversity of examples throughout.

Reviews prior to 2016 are for a previous edition.

Reviewed by Robert Kerr, Professor, University of Oklahoma on 1/12/15

This book devotes almost 800 pages to achieving an impressive level of comprehensiveness, considering the vast subject material upon which it focuses. Moving from Gutenberg’s 15th-century invention of the movable type printing press, through the beginning of the contemporary media age launched by the introduction of the telegraph in the mid 19th century, on into the explosive era opened with the beginnings of wireless communication, and ultimately into the revolution of Internet communication that by 2008 meant that U.S. households were consuming 3.6 zettabytes of information annually, the equivalent of a seven-foot-foot tall stack of books that covered the entire nation and represented a 350 percent increase from just three decades previously. This book manages to cover that remarkable series of media developments, and actually a good bit more, while keeping it all in broader context and without getting bogged down in the tedium of too much minutia from any one topic area.

This reviewer came across no errors of fact nor any pattern of bias in presentation.

The author of any text on this subject is faced with the challenge of achieving up-to-date content on a subject that explodes with new developments faster than any static text could ever stay fully up to date on for long. This text addresses that challenge by focusing on presenting a fully, dynamic framework that is so fully developed that it provides readers with a quite useful and enduring framework for considering crucial issues of media and culture in a manner that should give it a considerable shelf life. That framework is designed to help readers understand not only today’s media landscape but to consider what may be ahead for that landscape in terms of the future of media and culture.

The text breaks down relevant concepts and terminology with lucid, accessible prose so that even readers at the most introductory level should be able to always understand the discussion. Throughout the text, it very clearly helps readers think about each concept and related elements very clearly and in context that illuminates their significance.

This book’s use of terminology and framework is remarkably consistent. The author clearly has an instinctive, unified understanding of the essential dynamics driving the media world as it has evolved, exists today, and is unfolding going forward, and consistently discusses all topics in a context that never loses connection with that broad, fluid picture.

Chapters are organized into small modules, short subsections that by and large can stand alone and could be reorganized as an instructor might find more useful for the purposes of particular courses. Each chapter and each subsection includes highly useful learning objectives, key takeaways, and exercises, links to source materials and end-of-chapter assessments.

The book begins with a thorough overview that takes the reader quickly through a multifaceted assessment of the relationship between media and culture. With that foundation established, it moves into discussion of what is understood about the complex subject of media effects. Then it moves into narrower topics within the broader view considered so far, moving on to discussions of books, newspapers, magazines, music, radio, movies, and television, and then on to more recent developments such as electronic games, the Internet and social media. Then it steps back again to consider broader media influences such as advertising/PR, the role of economics in shaping the nature of mass media, ethical considerations, and government influence, before concluding with a substantial discussion of the future of mass media. The final chapter very effectively brings together the many strands of discussion from preceding chapters and synergizes them with a forward looking discussion of what the media future may hold. A table of contents within the book pdf itself would be helpful, as would content outlines at the beginning of each chapter. However, each chapter does contain very good breakdown highlights of each subsection’s learning objectives, key takeaways, and exercises, as well as extensive links to source materials and end-of-chapter assessments.

There do not seem to be any interface problems. The book is easy to navigate and the images/charts are displayed clearly, without distortion. Display features are presented quite distinctly and effectively throughout and should present readers with not distractions or confusion. The layout is somewhat visually plain, compared to many websites and even many traditional textbooks with more graphically elaborate designs, but the simple layout is easy to negotiate. The number of images/charts is not abundant, but is sufficient.

Grammar is used correctly throughout -- including use of the term “media” as a plural noun, which even too many academics have begun to use incorrectly as a singular term. It even includes an explanation of why it is incorrect to make that term singular, despite its popular usage in such manner. The text is very well written throughout, lively and to the point, with an easy flow that should enable readers to move through it almost effortlessly.

Over the course of this 761-page book, the reader is taken through an extensive range of discussion examples that span a multitude of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. This reviewer did not detect any instances of cultural insensitivity or offensiveness.

This book is written well enough to be of general interest as a stand-alone read, apart from the context of its use as a textbook.

Reviewed by Doug Trouten, Professor, University of Northwestern - St. Paul on 7/15/14

The text covers all of the major forms of media and significant related topics (advertising, media economics, ethics, etc.). While the text lacks a dedicated chapter for journalism, this topic is covered at length in some of the other chapters. No... read more

Content is accurate and free of glaring errors. Although written in a personal, conversational tone, the text avoids obvious personal bias.

The content is up-to-date, including discussion of social media and references to recent works of media criticism. The rapid development of new media makes it likely that some of the material in this (or any) book will quickly seem dated, but the most time-sensitive material is confined to a few chapters, which should facilitate future updates.

The book is written in clear, easy-to-understand language that should appeal to today's college-age reader.

The text shows good consistency, introducing key ideas early and using them to facilitate understanding of material covered in subsequent chapters.

The chapters are clearly divided into subsections, each with clearly stated learning objectives, key takeaways and learning exercises. Most subsections could stand on their own, and chapters focusing on specific forms of mass media could easily be rearranged or skipped if desired.

The topics are presented in a logical fashion. After introducing basic ideas about media and culture and media effects, the text moves to discussion of various forms of media in chronological orders, and ends with chapters on various mass media applications and issues, such as advertising, public relations, ethics and government regulation.

The text is a basic PDF, with fixed line breaks that limit display options. Most URLs are live links. Footnote numbers and references to chapter sections look like links but are not, which may confuse some readers. A format better-suited for e-readers would be welcome.

The text strives to be culturally neutral, and should not offend any particular group of readers. The text clearly focuses on the U.S. media context, and acknowledges this limitation early on.

This is an impressively comprehensive overview of mass communication, written in a clear and engaging manner. Discussion questions and exercises are helpful resources for classroom use. A glossary, index and more flexible e-format would make this text even more useful. This text is a welcome addition to the field, and will serve students and teachers well.

Chapter 1: Media and Culture
Chapter 2: Media Effects
Chapter 3: Books
Chapter 4: Newspapers
Chapter 5: Magazines
Chapter 6: Music
Chapter 7: Radio
Chapter 8: Movies
Chapter 9: Television
Chapter 10: Electronic Games and Entertainment
Chapter 11: The Internet and Social Media
Chapter 12: Advertising and Public Relations
Chapter 14: Ethics of Mass Media
Chapter 15: Media and Government
Chapter 16: The Future of Mass Media

Ancillary Material

University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

About the Book

According to the author, the world did not need another introductory text in mass communication. But the world did need another kind of introductory text in mass communication, and that is how Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication was birthed.

The only question was: What would be the purpose of another introductory mass communication text?

Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication was written to squarely emphasize media technology. The author believes that an introduction to mass communication text should be a compelling, historical narrative sketching the *ongoing evolution* of media technology and how that technology shapes and is shaped by culture — and that is what he set out to deliver with his new textbook.

Today's students are immersed in media technology. They live in a world of cell phones, smart phones, video games, iPods, laptops, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, and more. They fully expect that new technology will be developed tomorrow. Yet students often lack an historical perspective on media technology. They lack knowledge of the social, political and economic forces that shape media technology. This is not knowledge for knowledge's sake. It is knowledge that can help them understand, comprehend, appreciate, anticipate, shape and control media technology.

With this focus, Understanding Media and Culture becomes an appropriate title. Indeed, the title has particular significance. Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media is a key text in media studies. Written in the 1960s, Understanding Media was the subject of intense debates that continue to this day. Its central message was that the technology of media — not their content — was their most important feature. In a typically pithy phrase, McLuhan said, "The medium is the message." The title, Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication , situates the introductory text in a large, engrossing theoretical conversation.

The goal is to adopt a textbook that will support and complement your teaching of this course. Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication will support an engaging and interesting course experience for students that will not only show them the powerful social, political and economic forces will affect the future of media technology, but will challenge students to do their part in shaping that future.

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15.2 Functions and Theories of Mass Communication

Learning objectives.

Identify key functions of the mass media.
Explain how the media functions as a gatekeeper.
Discuss theories of mass communication, including hypodermic needle theory, media effects, and cultivation theory.

How does mass communication function differently than interpersonal communication? Do we have relationships with media like we have relationships with people? To answer these questions, we can look at some of the characteristics and functions of mass communication. One key characteristic of mass communication is its ability to overcome the physical limitations present in face-to-face communication. The human voice can only travel so far, and buildings and objects limit the amount of people we can communicate with at any time. While one person can engage in public speaking and reach one hundred thousand or so people in one of the world’s largest stadiums, it would be impossible for one person to reach millions without technology.

Another key characteristic of mass communication in relation to other forms of communication is its lack of sensory richness. In short, mass communication draws on fewer sensory channels than face-to-face communication. While smell, taste, and touch can add context to a conversation over a romantic dinner, our interaction with mass media messages rely almost exclusively on sight and sound. Because of this lack of immediacy, mass media messages are also typically more impersonal than face-to-face messages. Actually being in the audience while a musician is performing is different from watching or listening at home. Last, mass media messages involve less interactivity and more delayed feedback than other messages. The majority of messages sent through mass media channels are one way. We don’t have a way to influence an episode of The Walking Dead as we watch it. We could send messages to the show’s producers and hope our feedback is received, or we could yell at the television, but neither is likely to influence the people responsible for sending the message. Although there are some features of communication that are lost when it becomes electronically mediated, mass communication also serves many functions that we have come to depend on and expect.

Functions of Mass Media

The mass media serves several general and many specific functions. In general, the mass media serves information, interpretation, instructive, bonding, and diversion functions:

Information function. We have a need for information to satisfy curiosity, reduce uncertainty, and better understand how we fit into the world. The amount and availability of information is now overwhelming compared to forty years ago when a few television networks, local radio stations, and newspapers competed to keep us informed. The media saturation has led to increased competition to provide information, which creates the potential for news media outlets, for example, to report information prematurely, inaccurately, or partially.
Interpretation function. Media outlets interpret messages in more or less explicit and ethical ways. Newspaper editorials have long been explicit interpretations of current events, and now cable television and radio personalities offer social, cultural, and political commentary that is full of subjective interpretations. Although some of them operate in ethical gray areas because they use formats that make them seem like traditional news programs, most are open about their motives.
Instructive function. Some media outlets exist to cultivate knowledge by teaching instead of just relaying information. Major news networks like CNN and BBC primarily serve the information function, while cable news networks like Fox News and MSNBC serve a mixture of informational and interpretation functions. The in-depth coverage on National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, and the more dramatized but still educational content of the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and the Discovery Channel, serve more instructive functions.
Bonding function. Media outlets can bring people closer together, which serves the bonding function. For example, people who share common values and interests can gather on online forums, and masses of people can be brought together while watching coverage of a tragic event like 9/11 or a deadly tornado outbreak.
Diversion function. We all use the media to escape our day-to-day lives, to distract us from our upcoming exam, or to help us relax. When we are being distracted, amused, or relaxed, the media is performing the diversion function.

Just as a gate controls the flow of traffic, the media acts as a gatekeeper, allowing some messages to travel through and others not.

Jacqui – Gates – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Media as Gatekeeper

In addition to the functions discussed previously, media outlets also serve a gatekeeping function , which means they affect or control the information that is transmitted to their audiences. This function has been analyzed and discussed by mass communication scholars for decades. Overall, the mass media serves four gatekeeping functions: relaying, limiting, expanding, and reinterpreting (Bittner, 1996). In terms of relaying, mass media requires some third party to get a message from one human to the next. Whereas interpersonal communication only requires some channel or sensory route, mass media messages need to “hitch a ride” on an additional channel to be received. For example, a Sports Illustrated cover story that you read at SI.com went through several human “gates,” including a writer, editor, publisher, photographer, and webmaster, as well as one media “gate”—the Internet. We also require more than sensory ability to receive mass media messages. While hearing and/or sight are typically all that’s needed to understand what someone standing in front of you is saying, you’ll need a computer, smartphone, or tablet to pick up that SI.com cover story. In summary, relaying refers to the gatekeeping function of transmitting a message, which usually requires technology and equipment that the media outlet controls and has access to, but we do not. Although we relay messages in other forms of communication such as interpersonal and small group, we are primarily receivers when it comes to mass communication, which makes us depend on the gatekeeper to relay the message.

In terms of the gatekeeping function of limiting, media outlets decide whether or not to pass something along to the media channel so it can be relayed. Because most commercial media space is so limited and expensive, almost every message we receive is edited, which is inherently limiting. A limited message doesn’t necessarily mean the message is bad or manipulated, as editing is a necessity. But a range of forces including time constraints, advertiser pressure, censorship, or personal bias, among others, can influence editing choices. Limiting based on bias or self-interest isn’t necessarily bad as long as those who relay the message don’t claim to be objective. In fact, many people choose to engage with media messages that have been limited to match their own personal views or preferences. This kind of limiting also allows us to have more control over the media messages we receive. For example, niche websites and cable channels allow us to narrow in on already-limited content, so we don’t have to sift through everything on our own.

Gatekeepers also function to expand messages. For example, a blogger may take a story from a more traditional news source and fact check it or do additional research, interview additional sources, and post it on his or her blog. In this case, expanding helps us get more information than we would otherwise so we can be better informed. On the other hand, a gatekeeper who expands a message by falsifying evidence or making up details either to appear more credible or to mislead others is being unethical.

Last, gatekeepers function to reinterpret mass media messages. Reinterpretation is useful when gatekeepers translate a message from something too complex or foreign for us to understand into something meaningful. In the lead-up to the Supreme Court’s June 2012 ruling on President Obama’s health-care-overhaul bill, the media came under scrutiny for not doing a better job of informing the public about the core content and implications of the legislation that had been passed. Given that policy language is difficult for many to understand and that legislation contains many details that may not be important to average people, a concise and lay reinterpretation of the content by the gatekeepers (the media outlets) would have helped the public better understand the bill. Of course, when media outlets reinterpret content to the point that it is untruthful or misleading, they are not ethically fulfilling the gatekeeping function of reinterpretation.

In each of these gatekeeping functions, the media can fulfill or fail to fulfill its role as the “fourth estate” of government—or government “watchdog.” You can read more about this role in the “Getting Critical” box.

“Getting Critical”

The Media as “Watchdog”

While countries like China, North Korea, Syria, and Burma have media systems that are nearly if not totally controlled by the state regime, the media in the United States and many other countries is viewed as the “watchdog” for the government. This watchdog role is intended to keep governments from taking too much power from the people and overstepping their bounds. Central to this role is the notion that the press works independently of the government. The “freedom of the press” as guaranteed by our First-Amendment rights allows the media to act as the eyes and ears of the people. The media is supposed to report information to the public so they can make informed decisions. The media also engages in investigative reporting, which can uncover dangers or corruption that the media can then expose so that the public can demand change.

Of course, this ideal is not always met in practice. Some people have critiqued the media’s ability to fulfill this role, referring to it instead as a lapdog or attack dog. In terms of the lapdog role, the media can become too “cozy” with a politician or other public figure, which might lead it to uncritically report or passively relay information without questioning it. Recent stories about reporters being asked to clear quotes and even whole stories with officials before they can be used in a story drew sharp criticism from other journalists and the public, and some media outlets put an end to that practice. In terms of the attack-dog role, the twenty-four-hour news cycle and constant reporting on public figures has created the kind of atmosphere where reporters may be waiting to pounce on a mistake or error in order to get the scoop and be able to produce a tantalizing story. This has also been called being on “scandal patrol” or “gaffe patrol.” Media scholars have critiqued this practice, saying that too much adversarial or negative reporting leads the public to think poorly of public officials and be more dissatisfied with government. Additionally, they claim that attack-dog reporting makes it more difficult for public officials to do their jobs (Coronel, 2008).

In what ways do you think the media should function in a democratic society?
Do you think the media in the United States acts more as a watchdog, lapdog, or attack dog? Give specific examples to support your answer.
In an age of twenty-four-hour news and instant reporting, do you think politicians’ jobs are made easier or more difficult? Do you think reporters’ jobs are made easier or more difficult? Support your answers.

Theories of Mass Communication

Theories of mass communication have changed dramatically since the early 1900s, largely as a result of quickly changing technology and more sophisticated academic theories and research methods. A quick overview of the state of the media in the early 1900s and in the early 2000s provides some context for how views of the media changed. In the early 1900s, views of mass communication were formed based on people’s observation of the popularity of media and assumptions that something that grew that quickly and was adopted so readily must be good. Many people were optimistic about the mass media’s potential to be a business opportunity, an educator, a watchdog, and an entertainer. For example, businesses and advertisers saw media as a good way to make money, and the educator class saw the media as a way to inform citizens who could then be more active in a democratic society. As World War I and the Depression came around, many saw the media as a way to unite the country in times of hardship. Early scholarship on mass media focused on proving these views through observational and anecdotal evidence rather than scientific inquiry.

Fast forward one hundred years and newspapers are downsizing, consolidating to survive, or closing all together; radio is struggling to stay alive in the digital age; and magazine circulation is decreasing and becoming increasingly more focused on microaudiences. The information function of the news has been criticized and called “infotainment,” and rather than bringing people together, the media has been cited as causing polarization and a decline in civility (Self, Gaylord, & Gaylord, 2009). The extremes at each end of the twentieth century clearly show that the optimistic view of the media changed dramatically. An overview of some of the key theories can help us better understand this change.

Hypodermic Needle and Beyond

In the 1920s, early theories of mass communication were objective, and social-scientific reactions to the largely anecdotal theories that emerged soon after mass media quickly expanded. These scholars believed that media messages had strong effects that were knowable and predictable. Because of this, they theorized that controlling the signs and symbols used in media messages could control how they were received and convey a specific meaning (Self, Gaylord, & Gaylord, 2009).

The hypodermic needle theory of media effects claimed that meaning could be strategically placed into a media message that would then be “injected” into or transmitted to the receiver.

ChrisWaldeck – The Media Needle – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Extending Aristotle’s antiquated linear model of communication that included a speaker, message, and hearer, these early theories claimed that communication moved, or transmitted, an idea from the mind of the speaker through a message and channel to the mind of the listener. To test the theories, researchers wanted to find out how different messages influenced or changed the behavior of the receiver. This led to the development of numerous theories related to media effects. Media businesses were invested in this early strand of research, because data that proved that messages directly affect viewers could be used to persuade businesses to send their messages through the media channel in order to directly influence potential customers.

This early approach to studying media effects was called the hypodermic needle approach or bullet theory and suggested that a sender constructed a message with a particular meaning that was “injected” or “shot” into individuals within the mass audience. This theory is the basis for the transmission model of communication that we discussed in Chapter 1 “Introduction to Communication Studies” . It was assumed that the effects were common to each individual and that the meaning wasn’t altered as it was transferred. Through experiments and surveys, researchers hoped to map the patterns within the human brain so they could connect certain stimuli to certain behaviors. For example, researchers might try to prove that a message announcing that a product is on sale at a reduced price will lead people to buy a product they may not otherwise want or need. As more research was conducted, scholars began to find flaws within this thinking. New theories emerged that didn’t claim such a direct connection between the intent of a message and any single reaction on the part of receivers. Instead, these new theories claimed that meaning could be partially transferred, that patterns may become less predictable as people are exposed to a particular stimulus more often, and that interference at any point in the transmission could change the reaction.

These newer theories incorporated more contextual factors into the view of communication, acknowledging that both sender and receiver interpret messages based on their previous experience. Scholars realized that additional variables such as psychological characteristics and social environment had to be included in the study of mass communication. This approach connects to the interaction model of communication. In order to account for perspective and experience, mass media researchers connected to recently developed theories in perception that emerged from psychology. The concept of the gatekeeper emerged, since, for the first time, the sender of the message (the person or people behind the media) was the focus of research and not just the receiver. The concepts of perceptual bias and filtering also became important, as they explained why some people interpreted or ignored messages while others did not. Theories of primacy and recency, which we discussed in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , emerged to account for the variation in interpretation based on the order in which a message is received. Last, researchers explored how perceptions of source credibility affect message interpretation and how media messages may affect viewers’ self-esteem. By the 1960s, many researchers in mass communication concluded that the research in the previous twenty years had been naïve and flawed, and they significantly challenged the theory of powerful media effects, putting much more emphasis on individual agency, context, and environment (McQuail, 2010).

The next major turn in mass communication theory occurred only a few years after many scholars had concluded that media had no or only minimal effects (McQuail, 2010). In the 1970s, theories once again positioned media effects as powerful and influential based on additional influences from social psychology. From sociology, mass media researchers began to study the powerful socializing role that the media plays but also acknowledged that audience members take active roles in interpreting media messages. During this time, researchers explored how audience members’ schemata and personalities (concepts we discussed in Chapter 2 “Communication and Perception” ) affect message interpretation. Researchers also focused more on long-term effects and how media messages create opinion climates, structures of belief, and cultural patterns.

In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, a view of media effects as negotiated emerged, which accounts for the sometimes strong and sometimes weak influences of the media. This view sees the media as being most influential in constructing meanings through multiple platforms and representations. For example, the media constructs meanings for people regarding the role of technology in our lives by including certain kinds of technology in television show plots, publishing magazines like Wired , broadcasting news about Microsoft’s latest product, airing advertisements for digital cameras, producing science fiction movies, and so on. Although these messages are diverse and no one person is exposed to all the same messages, the messages are still constructed in some predictable and patterned ways that create a shared social reality. Whether or not the media intends to do this or whether or not we acknowledge that how we think about technology or any other social construct is formed through our exposure to these messages is not especially relevant. Many mass communication scholars now seek to describe, understand, or critique media practices rather than prove or disprove a specific media effect.

More recent media effects theories acknowledge that media messages do affect the receivers but that receivers also have some agency to reject or reinterpret the message.

Sean MacEntee – – CC BY 2.0.

Additionally, mass communication scholars are interested in studying how we, as audience members, still have agency in how these constructions affect our reality, in that we may reject, renegotiate, or reinterpret a given message based on our own experiences. For example, a technology geek and a person living “off the grid” have very different lives and very different views of technology, but because of their exposure to various forms of media that have similar patterns of messages regarding technology, they still have some shared reality and could talk in similar ways about computers, smartphones, and HD television. Given the shift of focus to negotiated meaning and context, this view of mass communication is more in keeping with the transactional model of communication.

Media Effects

Media effects are the intended or unintended consequences of what the mass media does (McQuail, 2010). Many of the key theories in mass communication rest on the assumption that the media has effects on audience members. The degree and type of effect varies depending on the theory. In general, we underestimate the effect that the media has on us, as we tend to think that media messages affect others more than us. This is actually so common that there is a concept for it! The third-party effect is the phenomenon just described of people thinking they are more immune to media influence than others. If this were true, though, would advertisers and public relations professionals spend billions of dollars a year carefully crafting messages aimed at influencing viewers?

There are certain media effects that are fairly obvious and most of us would agree are common (even for ourselves). For example, we change our clothes and our plans because we watch the forecast on the Weather Channel, look up information about a band and sample their music after we see them perform on a television show, or stop eating melons after we hear about a salmonella outbreak. Other effects are more difficult to study and more difficult for people to accept because they are long term and/or more personal. For example, media may influence our personal sense of style, views on sex, perceptions of other races, or values just as our own free will, parents, or friends do. It is difficult, however, to determine in any specific case how much influence the media has on a belief or behavior in proportion to other factors that influence us. Media messages may also affect viewers in ways not intended by the creators of the message. Two media effects that are often discussed are reciprocal and boomerang effects (McQuail, 2010).

The reciprocal effect points to the interactive relationship between the media and the subject being covered. When a person or event gets media attention, it influences the way the person acts or the way the event functions. Media coverage often increases self-consciousness, which affects our actions. It’s similar to the way that we change behavior when we know certain people are around and may be watching us. For example, the Occupy Movement that began on Wall Street in New York City gained some attention from alternative media and people using micromedia platforms like independent bloggers. Once the movement started getting mainstream press attention, the coverage affected the movement. As news of the Occupy movement in New York spread, people in other cities and towns across the country started to form their own protest groups. In this case, media attention caused a movement to spread that may have otherwise remained localized.

The boomerang effect refers to media-induced change that is counter to the desired change. In the world of twenty-four-hour news and constant streams of user-generated material, the effects of gaffes, blunders, or plain old poor decisions are much more difficult to control or contain. Before a group or person can clarify or provide context for what was said, a story could go viral and a media narrative constructed that is impossible to backtrack and very difficult to even control. A recent example of such an effect occurred at the University of Virginia when the governing body of the university forced President Teresa A. Sullivan to resign. The board was not happy with the president’s approach to dealing with the changing financial and technological pressures facing the school and thought ousting her may make room for a president who was more supportive of a corporate model of university governance (Pérez-Peña, 2012). When the story picked up local and then national media coverage, students, faculty, and alumni came together to support Sullivan, and a week later she was reinstated. Instead of the intended effect of changing the direction and priorities for the university, the board’s actions increased support for the president, which will also likely add support to her plans for dealing with the issues.

Cultivation Theory

Cultivation theory is a media effects theory created by George Gerbner that states that media exposure, specifically to television, shapes our social reality by giving us a distorted view on the amount of violence and risk in the world. The theory also states that viewers identify with certain values and identities that are presented as mainstream on television even though they do not actually share those values or identities in their real lives (Griffin, 2009). Drawing on cultivation as it is practiced in farming, Gerbner turned this notion into a powerful metaphor to explain how the media, and television in particular, shapes our social realities. Just as a farmer plants seeds that he or she then cultivates over time to produce a crop, the media plants seeds in our minds and then cultivates them until they grow into our shared social reality.

Cultivation theory states that heavy television viewing cultivates, or grows, certain ways of thinking about the world that are distorted.

Yoshihide Nomura – Watching TV – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Over decades of exploring cultivation theory, Gerbner made several well-supported conclusions that are summarized as follows:

Prime-time television shows and weekend morning children’s programming have been found to contain consistently high amounts of violence over the past thirty years.
Older people, children, African Americans, and Latino/as are more likely to be shown as victims of violence than are their young-adult, middle-aged, and/or white counterparts. This disparity is more meaningful when we realize that these groups are also underrepresented (relative to their percentage in the general population) on these shows while their vulnerability to violence is overstated.

The effects of television viewing on our worldview build up over years, but in general, people who are more heavy viewers perceive the world as more dangerous than do light viewers. Gerbner coined the phrase “mean world syndrome,” which refers to the distorted view of the world as more violent and people as more dangerous than they actually are.

Heavy viewers predict that their odds of being a victim of violence within the next week are 1 in 10, while light viewers predicted 1 in 100. Real crime statistics give a more reliable estimate of 1 in 10,000.
Heavy viewers fear walking alone on the street more than do light viewers, believing that criminal activity is actually ten times more prevalent than it actually is.
Heavy viewers believe that more people are involved in law enforcement and that officers draw and use their weapons much more than is actually the case.
Heavy viewers are generally more suspicious of others and question their motives more than do light viewers (the basis of the mean world syndrome).
Given that most people on television are portrayed as politically moderate and middle class, heavy viewers are more likely to assume those labels even though heavy users tend to be more working class or poor and more politically conservative than moderate. In short, they begin to view themselves as similar to those they watch on television and consider themselves a part of the mainstream of society even though they are not.

“Getting Competent”

Applying Media Theories

Although most do not get mass public attention, there are many media criticism and analysis organizations that devote much time and resources to observing, studying, and/or commenting on how the media acts in practice, which often involves an implicit evaluation of media theories we have discussed so far, in particular media effects theories. Media outlets and the people who send messages through media outlets (i.e., politicians, spokespeople, and advertisers) are concerned about the effects and effectiveness of their messaging. As we already learned, the pervasive view of media effects today is that media messages do affect people, but that people have some agency in terms of how much or little they identify with or reinterpret a message.

To understand media effects, media criticism organizations do research on audience attitudes and also call on media commentators to give their opinions, which may be more academic and informed or more personal and partisan. In either case, taking some time to engage with these media criticism organizations can allow you to see how they apply mass communication theories and give you more information so you can be a more critical and informed consumer of media. You can find a list of many media criticism organizations at the following link: http://www.world-newspapers.com/media.html . Some of these organizations have a particular political ideology or social/cultural cause that they serve, so be cautious when choosing a source for media criticism to make sure you know what you’re getting. There are also more objective and balanced sources of media criticism. Two of my personal favorites that I engage with every week are CNN’s show Reliable Sources ( http://reliablesources.blogs.cnn.com ) and the public radio show On the Media ( http://www.onthemedia.org ). Reliable Sources even has an implicit reference to reciprocal effects in its show description, stating, “The press is a part of every story it covers.” [1] On the Media ran a story that implicitly connects to cultivation theory, as it critiques some of the media’s coverage of violence and audiences’ seeming desensitization to it (Bernstein 2012).

Of the “functions of mass media” discussed earlier in the chapter, which functions do media criticism organizations like the ones mentioned here serve? Specifically, give examples of how these organizations fulfill the gatekeeping functions and how they monitor the gatekeeping done by other media sources.
Since media criticism organizations like Reliable Sources and On the Media are also media sources (one a television show and one a radio show), how might hey be contributing to reciprocal effects?
Using the links provided, find a substantial article, study, or report that analyzes some media practice such as the covering of a specific event. Apply some aspect of media effects from the chapter to the story. How might media effects theory help us understand the criticism being raised?

Key Takeaways

The mass media serves information, interpretation, instructive, bonding, and diversion functions.
As a gatekeeper, the media functions to relay, limit, expand, and reinterpret information.
The hypodermic needle theory of mass communication suggests that a sender constructs a message with a particular meaning that is “injected” into individuals within a mass audience.
Theories of media effects explore the intended or unintended effects of what the media does. Theories have claimed strong effects, meaning that media messages can directly and intentionally influence audience members. They have also claimed weak effects, meaning that media messages have no little power over viewers. More recently, theories have claimed negotiated effects, meaning that media messages do affect viewers but that viewers also have some agency to identify with, reject, or reinterpret a message.
Cultivation theory explores a particular kind of media effect claiming that media exposure, specifically to television, shapes our social reality by giving us a distorted view on the amount of violence and risk in the world.
Which function of mass media (information, interpretation, instructive, bonding, or diversion) do you think is most important for you and why? Which is most important for society and why?
What ethical issues are created by the gatekeeping function of the media? What strategies or suggestions do you have for bypassing this function of the media to ensure that you get access to the information you want/need?
Getting integrated: Discuss media messages that have influenced or would influence you in a professional, academic, personal, and civic context.

Bernstein, B., “The Story of the Times Gory Empire State Shooting Photo,” On the Media , August 24, 2012, accessed September 20, 2012, http://www.onthemedia.org/blogs/on-the-media/2012/aug/24/story-times-gory-empire-state-shooting-photo1 .

Bittner, J. R., Mass Communication , 6th ed. (Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1996), 11.

Coronel, S. S., “The Media as Watchdog,” Harvard-World Bank Workshop, May 19, 2008, accessed September 19, 2012, http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Conference/Conference%20papers/Coronel%20Watchdog.pdf .

Griffin, E., A First Look at Communication Theory , 7th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2009), 352–53.

McQuail, D., McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory , 6th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010), 457.

Pérez-Peña, R., “Ousted Head of University Is Reinstated in Virginia,” New York Times , June 26, 2012, accessed November 11, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/education/university-of-virginia-reinstates-ousted-president.html?pagewanted=all .

Self, C. C., Edward L. Gaylord, and Thelma Gaylord, “The Evolution of Mass Communication Theory in the 20th Century,” The Romanian Review of Journalism and Communication 6, no. 3 (2009): 29.

“About This Show,” CNN Reliable Sources , accessed September 20, 2012, http://reliablesources.blogs.cnn.com . ↵

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

11.1 Defining Mass Communication

Littlejohn and Foss define mass communication as “the process whereby media organizations produce and transmit messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used, understood, and influenced by audience.” McQuail states that mass communication is “only one of the processes of communication operating at the society-wide level, readily identified by its institutional characteristics.” Simply put, mass communication is the public transfer of messages through media or technology-driven channels to a large number of recipients from an entity, usually involving some type of cost or fee (advertising) for the user. “The sender often is a person in some large media organization, the messages are public, and the audience tends to be large and varied.” However, with the advent of outlets like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and text messaging, these definitions do not account for the increased opportunities individuals now have to send messages to large audiences through mediated channels.

Mass Communication - The process whereby media organizations produce and transmit messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used, understood, and influences by audience.

Nevertheless, most mass communication comes from large organizations that influence culture on a large scale. Schramm refers to this as a “working group organizer.” Today the working groups that control most mass communication are large conglomerates such as Viacom, News Corp, Disney, Comcast, Time Warner, and CBS. In 2012, these conglomerates controlled 90% of American media, and mergers continue to consolidate ownership even more. An example of an attempt at such a takeover of power occurred throughout 2014, with Comcast and Time Warner pursuing a merger for $45 billion. Though it ultimately failed, this would have been one of the biggest mergers in history.

Remember our definition of communication study: “Who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results?” (Smith et al.). When examining mass communication, we are interested in who has control over what content, for what audience, using what medium, and what the results are. Media critic Robert McChesney said we should be worried about the increasingly concentrated control of mass communication that results when just a handful of large organizations control most mass communication: “The implications for political democracy, by any standard, are troubling.” When interviewed, Ben Bagdikian, media critic and former dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, cautiously pointed out that over the past two decades, major media outlets went from being owned by 50 corporations to just 5. Both McChesney and Bagdikian warn about the implications of having so few organizations controlling the majority of our information and communication. Perhaps this is the reason new media outlets like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook have consistently grown in popularity, as they offer alternative voices to the large corporations that control most mass communication.

The Mass Communication table that shows Comcast, New Corporation, Disney, Viacom, Timewarner, and CBS

To understand mass communication, one must first be aware of some of the key factors that distinguish it from other forms of communication. First is the dependence on a media channel to convey a message to a large audience. Second, the audience tends to be distant, diverse, and varies in size depending on the medium and message. Third, mass communication is most often profit driven, and feedback is limited. Fourth, because of the impersonal nature of mass communication, participants are not equally present during the process.

Mass communication continues to become more integrated into our lives at an increasingly rapid pace. This metamorphosis is represented by the convergence occurring (Fidler) between ourselves and technology, where we are not as distanced from mass communication as in the past. Increasingly, we have more opportunities to use mediated communication to fulfill interpersonal and social needs. O’Sullivan refers to this new use of mass communication to foster our personal lives as mass-personal communication. This is where (a) traditional mass communication channels are used for interpersonal communication, (b) traditionally interpersonal communication channels are used for mass communication, and (c) traditional mass communication and traditional interpersonal communication occur simultaneously.

Over time, more and more overlap occurs. “Innovations in communication technologies have begun to make the barriers between mass and interpersonal communication theory more permeable than ever” (O’Sullivan). Sites such as Facebook, X (formally known as Twitter), TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are great examples of new mass communication platforms we use to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.

Berg Nellis states, “Virtual reality, the simulation of actual environment complete with tactile sensory input, might be the extreme in cold media…This and other cutting-edge technologies seem to point to increasingly cold media as we move into the digital communication future.” Think about online video games, such as the interactive sci-fi game Fortnite . Games like this can be played in teams, but the players do not necessarily have to be in close proximity. Simply by logging onto the server, gamers can connect, interact, communicate through microphones, and play as a team. These games have become so involved and realistic that they represent cold mediums because of the vast amount of sensory input and participation they require.

Perhaps we are turning into a global village through our interdependence with mass communication. Suddenly, across the ocean has become around the corner . McLuhan predicted this would happen because of mass communication’s ability to unify people around the globe. Are you a player in what Habermas calls the “public sphere” that mass communication creates by posting information about yourself on public sites? If so, be careful about what you post about yourself or allow others to tag you in, as many employers are Googling potential employees to look into their personal lives before making decisions about hiring them. As we continue our discussion of mass communication, we want to note that mass communication does not include every communication technology. As our definition states, mass communication is communication that potentially reaches large audiences.

Evolution of Mass Communication

Societies have long had a desire to find effective ways to report environmental dangers and opportunities; circulate opinions, facts, and ideas; pass along knowledge, heritage, and lore; communicate expectations to new members; entertain in an expansive manner; and broaden commerce and trade (Schramm). The primary challenge has been to find ways to communicate messages to as many people as possible. Our desire to know prompted innovative ways to get messages to the masses.

Before writing, humans relied on oral traditions to pass on information. “It was only in the 1920s—according to the Oxford English Dictionary—that people began to speak of ‘the media’ and a generation later, in the 1950s, of a ‘communication revolution,’ but a concern with the means of communication is very much older than that” (Briggs and Burke). Oral and written communication played a major role in ancient cultures. These cultures used stories to document the past and impart cultural standards, traditions, and knowledge. With the development of alphabets around the world over 5,000 years ago, written language with ideogrammatic (picture-based) alphabets like hieroglyphics started to change how cultures communicated.

Still, written communication remained ambiguous and did not reach the masses until the Greeks and Romans resolved this by establishing a syllable alphabet representing sounds. But without something to write on, written language was inefficient. Eventually, paper-making processes were perfected in China, which spread throughout Europe via trade routes (Baran). Mass communication was not quick, but it was far-reaching (Briggs and Burke). This forever altered how cultures saved and transmitted cultural knowledge and values. Any political or social movement throughout the ages can be traced to the development and impact of the printing press and movable metal type (Steinberg). With his technique, Gutenberg could print more than a single page of specific text. By making written communication more available to larger numbers of people, mass printing became responsible for giving voice to the masses and making information available to common folks (McLuhan and Fiore). McLuhan argued that Gutenberg’s evolution of the printing press as a form of mass communication had profound and lasting effects on culture, perhaps the most significant invention in human history.

In 1949, Carl I. Hovland, Arthur A. Lumsdaine, and Fred D. Sheffield wrote the book Experiments on Mass Communication . They looked at two kinds of films the army used to train soldiers. First, they examined orientation and training films such as Why We Fight that were intended to teach facts to the soldiers as well as generate a positive response from them for going to war. The studies determined that significant learning did take place by the soldiers from the films, but primarily with factual items. The army was disappointed with the results that showed that the orientation films did not do an effective job in generating the kind of positive responses they desired from the soldiers. Imagine—people were not excited about going to war.

With the transition to the Industrial Age in the 18th century, large populations headed to urban areas, creating mass audiences of all economic classes seeking information and entertainment. Printing technology was at the heart of modernization, which led to magazines, newspapers, the telegraph, and the telephone. At the turn of the century (1900), pioneers like Thomas Edison, Theodore Puskas, and Nikola Tesla literally electrified the world and mass communication. With the addition of motion pictures and radio in the early 1900s, and television in the ’40s and ’50s, the world increasingly embraced the foundations of today’s mass communication. In the ’70s, cable started challenging over-the-air broadcasting and traditional program distribution, making the United States a wired nation. In 2014, there was an estimated 116.3 million homes in America that owned a TV, according to Nielson, 2014 Advance National TV Household Universe Estimate. While traditionally, these televisions would display only the programs that were chosen to be broadcast by cable providers, more and more households have chosen to become more conscious media consumers and actively choose what they watch through alternative viewing options like streaming video.

Today, smart TVs and streaming devices have taken over the market, and it is estimated that over 80% of households have at least one streaming device. These new forms of broadcasting have created a digital revolution. Thanks to Netflix and other streaming services, we are less frequently subjected to advertisements during our shows. Similarly, streaming services like Hulu provide the most recent episodes as they appear on cable that viewers can watch any time. These services provide instant access to entire seasons of shows (which can result in binge-watching).

The Information Age eventually began to replace the ideals of the Industrial Age. In 1983, Time Magazine named the PC the first “Machine of the Year.” Just over a decade later, PCs outsold televisions. Then, in 2006, Time Magazine named “you” as the person of the year to remind their audience of their use of technology to broaden communication. Chances are that you, your friends, and your family spend hours engaged in data-mediated communication such as emailing, texting, or participating in various forms of social media. Romero points out that “the net has transformed the way we work, the way we get in contact with others, our access to information, our levels of privacy and indeed notions as basic and deeply rooted in our culture as those of time and space.” Social media has also had a large impact on social movements across the globe in recent years by providing the average person with the tools to reach wide audiences around the world for the first time in history.

If you’re reading this for a college class, you may belong to the Millennial or Gen Z age groups. Free Wi-Fi, apps, alternative news sources, Instagram, TikTok, and Clubhouse have become a way of life. Can you imagine a world without communication technology? How would you find out the name of that song stuck in your head? If you wanted to spontaneously meet up with a friend for lunch, how would you let them know? Mass communication has become such an integral part of our daily lives, most people probably could not function through the day without it.

What started as email quickly progressed to chat rooms and basic blogs, such as LiveJournal. From there, we saw the rise and fall of the first widely used social media platform, Myspace. Though now just a shadow of the social media powerhouse it once was, Myspace paved the way for social media to enter the mainstream in forms of websites such as Facebook, X (formally known as Twitter), Tumblr, Snapchat, and Instagram. Facebook has evolved into a global social media site. It’s available in 37 languages and has over 500 million users. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2005 while studying at Harvard University, and it has universally changed the way we communicate, interact, and share our lives with friends, family, and acquaintances. Many people argue about the good and bad qualities of having a Facebook profile; it can be looked at as your digital footprint in social media. Profiles log status updates, timeline photos and videos, and archive messages between members.

Another example of mainstream social media is X, commonly referred to by its former name Twitter. X used to allow for quick, 140-character-or-less status updates for registered users. Now the original, strict 140-character limit has been gradually relaxed. In 2016, 140-character-limitation changed to 280. In 2023, it was announced that paid users of the platform could create posts with up to 4,000 characters in length. Posts (formally known as Tweets) can be sent from any device with access to the internet in a fast, simple way and connect with a number of people, whether they be family, friends, or followers. X’s mostly microblogging format allowed people to share their daily thoughts and experiences on a broad and sometimes public stage. This simplicity allows it to be used as a tool for entertainment and blogging but also as a way of organizing social movements and sharing breaking news.

Snapchat allows the user to send a photo (with the option of text) that expires after a few seconds. It can be looked at like a digital self-destructing note. Contrary to Facebook, there is no pressure to pose or display your life. Rather, it is more spontaneous.

Clubhouse is one of the most recent additions to the social media sphere. This app allows users to join specialized rooms that are audio-only. Clubhouse is like a live podcast with audience participation. The new service debuted during the Covid-19 pandemic, as many of the earliest members, vocal artists and comedians, sought a place to create live content and gain fans.

With new forms of communication emerging rapidly, it is important to note the corresponding changes to formal language and slang terms. UrbanDictionary.com is a famous site that can introduce any newbie to the slang world by presenting them various definitions for a term they don’t recognize, describe its background, and provide examples of how it’s used in context. For example, one of the most popular definitions claims that the word hella is said to originate from the streets of San Francisco in the Hunters Point neighborhood. “It is commonly used in place of ‘really’ or ‘very’ when describing something.”

In this age of information overload, multiple news sources, high-speed connections, and social networking, life seems unimaginable without mass communication. Can you relate to your parents’ stories about writing letters to friends, family, or their significant others? Today, when trying to connect with someone, we have a variety of ways of contacting them; we can call, text, email, Facebook message, tweet, or SMS. The options are almost endless and ever changing.

Society today is in the midst of a technological revolution. Only a few years ago, families were arguing over landline internet cable use and the constant disruptions from incoming phone calls. Now, we have the ability to browse the web anytime on smartphones. Since the printing press, mass communication has literally changed the ways we think and interact as humans.

We take so much for granted as “new technologies are assimilated so rapidly in U.S. culture that historic perspectives are often lost in the process” (Fidler). With all of this talk and research about mass communication, what functions does it serve for us?

Functions of Mass Communication

Mass communication doesn’t exist for a single purpose. With its evolution, more and more uses have developed, and the role it plays in our lives has increased greatly. Wright characterizes seven functions of mass communication that offer insight into its role in our lives.

Surveillance

The first function of mass communication is to serve as the eyes and ears for those seeking information about the world . The internet, television, and newspapers are the main sources for finding out what’s going on around you. Society relies on mass communication for news and information about our daily lives; it reports the weather, current issues, and the latest celebrity gossip and even start times for games. Do you remember the Boston Marathon bombing that happened in 2013? How did you hear about it? Thanks to the internet and smartphones, instant access to information is at the user’s fingertips. News apps have made mass communication surveillance instantly accessible by sending notifications to smartphones with the latest news.

Correlation

Correlation addresses how the media presents facts that we use to move through the world . The information received through mass communication is not objective and without bias. People ironically state, “It must be true if it’s on the internet.” However, we don’t think that in generations past, people must have without a doubt stated, “It has to be true because it was on the radio.” This statement begs the question, How credible are the media? Can we consume media without questioning motive and agenda? Someone selects, arranges, interprets, edits, and critiques the information used in the media. If you ask anyone who works for a major reality TV show if what we see is a fair representation of what really happens, the person would probably tell you no.

Sensationalization

There is an old saying in the news industry, “If it bleeds, it leads,” which highlights the idea of sensationalization, which is when the media puts forward the most sensational messages to titillate consumers . Elliot observes, “Media managers think in terms of consumers rather than citizens. Good journalism sells, but unfortunately, bad journalism sells as well. And, bad journalism—stories that simply repeat government claims or that reinforce what the public wants to hear instead of offering independent reporting—is cheaper and easier to produce.”

Entertainment

Media outlets such as People magazine, TMZ, and entertainment blogs such as Perez Hilton keep us up to date on the daily comings and goings of our favorite celebrities. We use technology to watch sports, go to the movies, play video games, watch YouTube videos, and stream music on a daily basis. Most mass communication simultaneously entertains and informs. We often turn to media during our leisure time to provide an escape from boredom and relief from the predictability of our everyday lives . We rely on media to take us places we could not afford to go or imagine, acquaint us with bits of culture, and make us laugh, think, or cry. Entertainment can have the secondary effect of providing companionship and/or catharsis through the media we consume .

Transmission

Mass media is a vehicle to transmit cultural norms, values, rules, and habits . Consider how you learned about what’s fashionable in clothes or music. Mass media plays a significant role in the socialization process. We look for role models to display appropriate cultural norms, but all too often, we do not recognize their inappropriate or stereotypical behavior. Mainstream society starts shopping, dressing, smelling, walking, and talking like the person in the music video, commercial, or movies. Why would soft drink companies pay Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift millions of dollars to sell their products? Have you ever bought a pair of shoes or changed your hairstyle because of something you encountered in the media? Obviously, culture, age, type of media, and other cultural variables factor into how mass communication influences how we learn and perceive our culture.

Mobilization

Mass communication functions to mobilize people during times of crisis (McQuail). Think back to the Boston Marathon bombing. Regardless of your association to the incident, Americans felt the attack as a nation, and people followed the news until they found the perpetrators. With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real time somewhere else, thus mobilizing a large population of people around a particular event . The online community Reddit.com is a key example of the internet’s proactivity. While the FBI was investigating the bombing, the Reddit community was posting witness photos and trying to help identify the culprits. People felt they were making a difference.

Mass communication functions to validate the status and norms of particular individuals, movements, organizations, or products. The validation of particular people or groups serves to enforce social norms (Lazarsfeld and Merton). If you think about most television dramas and sitcoms, who are the primary characters? What gender and ethnicity are the majority of the stars? What gender and ethnicity are those that play criminals or those considered abnormal? The media validates particular cultural norms while diminishing differences and variations from those norms. A great deal of criticism focuses on how certain groups are promoted and others marginalized by how they are portrayed in mass media.

Functions of media that include surveillance, correlation, sensationalization, entertainment, transmission, mobilization, and validation.

Given the power of the various functions of mass communication, we need to be reflective about its presence in our lives (McLuhan and Fiore). We will now turn our attention to the study of mass communication by looking at what mass communication scholars study and how they study it.

The public transfer of messages through media or technology-driven channels to a large number of recipients from an entity, usually involving some type of cost or fee (advertising) for the user.

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Mass Communication by Hans-Bernd Brosius , Veronika Karnowski LAST REVIEWED: 23 February 2011 LAST MODIFIED: 23 February 2011 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0022

Mass communication can be best described by its counterparts. With regard to the number of people involved, mass communication has many participants, whereas interpersonal communication has few. With regard to visibility, mass communication is highly visible and public; private communication is hidden from others. Mass-communication messages are mostly provided by media professionals who collect, process, structure, and distribute information. It is a one-to-many communication with little feedback possibilities. In mass societies, mass communication is probably the most effective way of finding, discussing, and resolving issues that are relevant for the existence of a given society. Accordingly, research in mass communication is mainly concerned with its effects. Scholars have developed many theories—such as agenda setting—that are focusing on the beneficial and detrimental effects of the mass media. Many other topics are indirectly related to the effects of mass communication, such as freedom of the press, journalism, or media systems, but also entertainment. The internet and its diverse communication modes serve as a challenge to this role of mass communication. Mass communication is often framed within a normative point of view: Mass media, particularly radio, television, and other instances of audiovisual communication, enable a mass society to exchange views effectively on important problems and issues, thus helping democracies to come to the right decisions. In terms of usage, however, audiovisual mass media mostly carry entertainment content. Entertainment, however, might not be without political and societal consequences (e.g., cultivation theory). Although mass-communication content includes many genres and modalities and appears across all media, this entry focuses more on processes and intellectual arcs that transcend any single type of content.

There are only a few textbooks explicitly dedicated to mass communication; most of them address communication science in general or special topics in mass communication such as mass-communication effects. McQuail 2010 and Baran 2008 are probably the most prominent exceptions to this. Easy to read but rather old is the “milestones” project, Lowery and DeFleur 1995 . Besides these textbooks addressing undergraduate students, there are readers such as McQuail 2002 and Katz, et al. 2002 assembling texts by different authors in various topics in mass communication. Additionally, some books on communication science in general are considered textbooks as they are relevant to the smaller field of mass communication. These include Berger, et al. 2010 and Schulz 2010 , which give excellent overviews of various topics in mass communication.

Baran, Stanley J. 2008. Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future . 5th ed. Boston: Wadsworth.

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This volume is a timely and highly accessible review of research and theory in mass communication. An essential reading for undergraduate students in mass communication.

Find this resource:

Berger, Charles R., Michael E. Roloff, and David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, eds. 2010. The handbook of communication science . 2d ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Despite being devoted to the more general field of communication science, the second edition of this handbook is also helpful to advanced students and academics seeking overviews on mass-communication-related themes.

Katz, Elihu, John Durham Peters, Tamar Liebes, and Avril Orloff, eds. 2002. Canonic texts in media research: Are there any? Should there be? How about these? Cambridge, UK: Polity.

This edited volume is a first attempt to establish canonic texts in the field. Despite being heavily criticized for this undertaking, the editors produced a book equally valuable to advanced students and academics in the field.

Lowery, Shearon A., and Melvin L. DeFleur, 1995. Milestones in mass communication research: Media effects . 3d ed. White Plains, NY: Longman.

Dedicated to seminal work in the field of media effects. In short articles, the authors explain circumstances, theoretical background, methods, results, and effects of the most prominent academic work in media effects.

McQuail, Denis. 2010. McQuail’s mass communication theory . 6th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Denis McQuail’s textbook on mass communication theory can already be considered a classic. Highly accessible, it is especially useful to undergraduate students in the field.

McQuail, Denis, ed. 2002. McQuail’s reader in mass communication research . London: SAGE.

This reader offers a selection of original articles on various topics in mass communication. It therefore presents a good choice of primary literature for undergraduate students.

Schulz, Peter J., ed. 2010. Communication theory . 4 vols. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This book provides a broad range of essays on all kinds of topics in communication studies. This timely summary of the field is a key reading both for students and academics in the field.

Scholarly work on mass communication is published in a wide range of refereed journals. Some of them focus exclusively on mass communication ( Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly , Mass Communication and Society ) or are even more specialized ( Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media ). Others are broader in their scope ( Communication, Culture & Critique , Communication Theory , Communication Research , Human Communication Research , Journal of Communication ), nevertheless playing an essential role in the academic discourse on mass communication.

Communication, Culture & Critique .

Communication, Culture & Critique provides a forum for a critical discourse on mass communication, concentrating on interpretative and qualitative research in communication science.

Communication Theory .

This journal is dedicated to the theoretical development of communication studies. It is published by the International Communication Association.

Communication Research .

Communication Research publishes high-quality research in all fields of communication science and ranks among the first in terms of impact. Most of the articles are empirical in nature.

Human Communication Research .

This top-ranked journal in communication studies publishes empirical work on all kinds of research in communication, involving both interpersonal and mass communication.

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly .

Explicitly dedicated to journalism and mass communication, this journal, published by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, emphasizes original investigations in this field.

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media .

The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media publishes contemporary developments in electronic media, mostly focusing on media use und media effects.

Journal of Communication .

The Journal of Communication is the highest-ranked publication in mass communication, offering the highest-quality research on a broad variety of topics not only in mass communication but in communication science in general.

Mass Communication and Society .

Macrosocial and societal perspectives of mass communication are the main focus of Mass Communication and Society . The journal focuses especially on theoretical developments in this field.

Mass communication—like every other type of communication—can be described as a process: under certain societal, economical, and technical frameworks, communicators such as journalists and public-relations managers collect, process, arrange, and distribute information in its broadest sense (news, entertainment, advertisements, etc.). The most influential models of mass communication take this into account and describe mass communication in terms of a flowchart that echoes general sender-medium-recipient models of human communication.

Mass communication is undoubtedly one of the most disputed concepts in the academic field of communications. Based on pure communication models, like the mathematical model in Shannon and Weaver 1949 or the more interactive model in Schramm 1954 , various definitions, concepts, and models of mass communication arose. One of the simplest but also widest known is the Lasswell Formula ( Lasswell 1948 ) that has molded the field until today. More elaborate models, emphasizing different aspects like social background of sender and recipient, organizational background of message production, and attributes of the audience, were proposed in various works (e.g., Riley and Riley 1959 , Westley and MacLean 1955 , Wright 1959 ). The conceptualization laid out in Hall 1980 directs attention to quite a different point of view. Emphasizing the idea of encoding and decoding and thus the very possible alteration of messages during the communication process, the author lays the groundwork for cultural-studies research. In today’s media environment, the adequacy of this concept is discussed intensively. Turow 1992 and Chaffee and Metzger 2001 both address this point, either arguing for the remaining importance of this concept or for its replacement by other concepts like media communication.

Chaffee, Steven H., and Miriam J. Metzger. 2001. The end of mass communication? Mass Communication and Society 4.4: 365–379.

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This discussion of the term mass communication tries to analyze the significance of mass communication with respect to new media. Due to the fundamental changes in the media landscape, Chaffee and Metzger prefer the term media communication to mass communication.

Hall, Stuart. 1980. Encoding/decoding. In Culture, media, language: Working papers in cultural studies, 1972–79 . Edited by Stuart Hall, Dorothy Hobson, Andrew Lowe, and Paul Willis, 128–138. London: Hutchison.

Hall’s thoughts on the communication process have laid the groundwork for cultural-studies research in mass communication. In this article he emphasizes the fact that sender and receiver are decoding and encoding messages during the communication process. The message is therefore easily subject to alterations during the communication process.

Lasswell, H. D. 1948. The structure and function of communication in society. In The communication of ideas: A series of addresses . Edited by Lyman Bryson, 37–51. New York: Institute for Religious and Social Studies.

In this most influential article Lasswell introduced his famous formula: “Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?” Provides a structuring of the mass-communication process that has shaped the field since then. The Lasswell Formula was subject to harsh critique, especially regarding its linear and static conceptualization of the mass-communication process.

Riley, John W., and Matilda White Riley. 1959. Mass communication and the social system. In Sociology today: Problems and prospects . Edited by Robert K. Merton, Leonard Broom, and Leonard S. Cottrell, 537–578. New York: Basic Books.

The model suggested in this article is dedicated to the social dependencies and interdependencies of communicator and recipient. It highlights the fact that mass communication is embedded in and influenced by an “overall social system.” Consequently, this article inspired diverse research on sociological and socio-psychological issues in mass communication research.

Schramm, Wilbur. 1954. How communication works. In The process and effects of mass communication . By Wilbur Schramm, 3–26. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.

The basic communication model suggested by Wilbur Schramm—often named as the founder of communication science—is of a circular process between interchangeable senders and receivers, both of them encoding and decoding messages.

Shannon, C., and W. Weaver. 1949. The mathematical theory of communication . Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.

Shannon and Weaver propose a classical unidirectional communication model. Despite its various shortcomings—due to its exclusively technical focus—it is one of the most cited communication models in mass-communication research.

Turow, Joseph. 1992. Standpoint: On reconceptualizing “mass communication.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 36.1: 105–110.

In response to the changes in the media landscape since the very first conceptualizations of this term, Turow emphasizes the industrial production of content as a core element of mass communication.

Westley, Bruce H., and Malcolm S. MacLean Jr. 1955. A conceptual model for mass communications research. Audio Visual Communication Review 3:3–12.

Another model of the mass-communication process was proposed in this article by Westley and MacLean. Clearly influenced by the concept of gatekeeping, it mainly focuses on the transmission of news. This model was also criticized for different reasons, mainly its linear conceptualization, similar to the stimulus-response model.

Wright, Charles Robert. 1959. Mass communication: A sociological perspective . New York: Random House.

Wright consolidated the scholarly discourse on mass communication in his widely accepted and applied definition of the mass-communication process. He highlighted the fact that communicators work in complex organizations and use technological devices to reach a large, diverse, spatially separated, and anonymous audience.

There are quite different traditions in analyzing journalism and journalistic work. The constructivist point of view is highlighted in Tuchman 1978 . Görke and Scholl 2006 gives an introduction to Luhman’s theory of social systems in journalism studies. Dahlgren and Sparks 1992 provides a summary of journalism as popular culture. A synopsis of the whole field is provided in Franklin, et al. 2005 , Tumber 2000 , Wahl-Jorgensen and Hanitzsch 2009 , and Zelizer 2004 .

Dahlgren, Peter, and Colin Sparks, eds. 1992. Journalism and popular culture . London: SAGE.

This volume, designed for both students and academics, gives an introduction to cultural studies on journalism, concentrating on nonfictional journalism.

Franklin, Bob, Martin Hamer, Mark Hanna, Marie Kinsey, and John E. Richardson, eds. 2005. Key concepts in journalism studies . London: SAGE.

This textbook for undergraduate students in journalism provides an accessible introduction to the terms, processes, and effects of journalism.

Görke, Alexander, and Armin Scholl. 2006. Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems and journalism research. Journalism Studies 7.4: 644–655.

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A comprehensive introduction to Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems and its implications for the analysis of journalism.

Tuchman, Gaye. 1978. Making news: A study in the construction of reality . New York: Free Press.

This study on news as social activity is a milestone in research on the social construction of reality, interesting to both students and practitioners in the field.

Tumber, Howard, ed. 2000. News: A reader . Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

A comprehensive introduction to key theoretical concepts in journalism for undergraduate students. The volume gathers both classical and more recent work in the field.

Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin, and Thomas Hanitzsch, eds. 2009. The handbook of journalism studies .

Wahl-Jorgensen and Hanitzsch’s timely edition supplies both graduate students and academics with a comprehensive overview to theory and scholarship in journalism studies with a strong emphasis on comparative and global perspectives.

Zelizer, Barbie. 2004. Taking journalism seriously: News and the academy . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

By giving an overview of scholarly work on journalism, Zelizer examines journalism as a discipline, a profession, a practice, and a cultural phenomenon. A textbook that is ideal for graduate students.

The study of content and channel in mass communication has various aims. On one hand, there is research on factors influencing media content and channels; systematizations and reviews are given in Shoemaker and Reese 1995 and Dimmick and Coit 1982 . Albarran and Dimmick 1996 centers on concentrations in the media sector and its effects. On the other hand, there is research on different attributes of content and channels themselves. Semiology (e.g., Fiske 2002 ), iconography, and discourse analysis (e.g., Smith and Bell 2007 ) examine the ambiguous meaning of media content. Quality is another issue in media content. Fundamental dimensions in the debate on this construct were proposed by McQuail 1982 . A third aspect besides influence on and attributes of media content is the methodology of analyzing media content, i.e., content analysis. This methodology was introduced to communication studies by Berelson 1952 . A recent and comprehensive overview is given by Krippendorff 2004 .

Albarran, Alan B., and John Dimmick. 1996. Concentrations and economies of multiformity in the communication industries. Journal of Media Economics 9.4: 41–50.

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Based on an extensive longitudinal study of media concentration, Albarran and Dimmick identify two categories of concentration: within-industry and across-industry. The article also provides an example of how to measure within-industry and across-industry concentration.

Berelson, Bernard. 1952. Content analysis in communication research . Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

This book introduced the method of content analysis to the study of mass communication, paving the way for thousands of studies.

Fiske, John. 2002. Introduction to Communication Studies . 2d ed. London: Methuen.

This introduction provides a summary on the analysis of media content to undergraduate and graduate students.

Dimmick, John, and Philip Coit. 1982. Levels of analysis in mass media decision making: A taxonomy, research strategy, and illustrative data analysis. Communication Research 9.1: 3–32.

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The authors propose a framework of nine levels and two forms of influence on media organizations.

Krippendorff, Klaus. 2004. Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology . 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This textbook, designed for undergraduate and graduate students, gives a comprehensive overview of conceptualization and methodology of content analysis.

McQuail, Denis. 1982. Media performance: Mass communication and the public interest . London: SAGE.

In his integrative analysis of media performance, Denis McQuail relates the concepts of media performance and public interest.

Shoemaker, Pamela J., and Stephen D. Reese. 1995. Mediating the message: Theories of influences on mass media content . 2d ed. New York: Longman.

Dedicated to all kinds of influences on media messages, this volume provides a comprehensive synopsis.

Smith, Philippa, and Allan Bell. 2007. Unravelling the web of discourse analysis. In Media studies: Key issues and debates . Edited by Eoin Devereux, 78–100. London: SAGE.

This article provides students with an accessible summary of discourse analysis based on an exemplary case study of print-media coverage of whaling in New Zealand.

The term “audience” refers to those actually using certain media content. Blumler 1939 was the first to describe this then-new social group. Recent systematizations of the term, emphasizing the different notions of audience (e.g., “audience as the people addressed” or “audience as value”) are given by Webster and Phalen 1997 and Nightingale 2003 . First considered to be a rather passive assembly of individuals, the audience came to be thought of as exhibiting more activity and selectivity, a development also reflected in theories and models on media use. Overviews of these theories and models can be found in Hartmann 2009 and McQuail 1997 regarding the behavioral tradition of audience research, and in Bird 2003 for the cultural-studies view of audience. As the barriers between sender and receiver continue to vanish and audiences are growing increasingly fragmented, the future of the concept audience is in question—an issue addressed by Livingstone 2003 .

Bird, S. Elizabeth. 2003. The audience in everyday life: Living in a media world . New York: Routledge.

Emphasizing the interaction between audience and media, Bird gives insights into the cultural-studies tradition of audience research and its methods. Highly readable, the volume is certain to stimulate further inquiries.

Blumler, Herbert. 1939. The mass, the public and public opinion. In New outline of the principles of sociology . Edited by Alfred McClung Lee. New York: Barnes and Noble.

In this text Blumler first described the then-new phenomenon of (mass) audience, giving birth to this research field.

Hartmann, Tilo, ed. 2009. Media choice: A theoretical and empirical overview . New York: Routledge.

This edited volume gives a theoretical overview of media choice. Explicitly not meant to be a textbook, it is aimed at advanced students and academics.

Livingstone, Sonia. 2003. The changing nature of audiences: From the mass audience to the interactive media user. In A companion to media studies . Edited by Angharad N. Valdivia, 337–359. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Adopting a historical framework, the author examines the concept of audience with regard to today’s changing media environment. In widening the scope to a broader context, this article gives new insights into this debate.

McQuail, Denis. 1997. Audience analysis . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

This textbook on audience analysis by Denis McQuail is probably the widest known of the synopses on audience research.

Nightingale, Virginia. 2003. The cultural revolution in audience research. In A companion to media studies . Edited by Angharad N. Valdivia, 360–381. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

The author proposes a typology of audience concepts. Differentiating between audience as “the people assembled” and “the people addressed,” and between “happening” and “hearing” or audition,” she highlights the different notions of this concept depending on the theoretical point of view.

Webster, James G., and Patricia F. Phalen. 1997. The mass audience: Rediscovering the dominant model . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Webster and Phalen propose another systematization of audience, distinguishing audience as “value,” “victim,” and “consumer.”

Media effects is probably the most prominent field in mass communication. McQuail 2005 gives a systematic overview of the history of this field, separating it into three phases of media-effects research: “all-powerful media,” “theory of powerful media put to the test,” “powerful media rediscovered,” and “negotiated media influence.” Bennett and Iyengar 2008 argues for a new era of minimal effects, in part due to today’s fragmented audiences. The milestones in this evolution from “all-powerful media” to “negotiated media influence” are highlighted and described by Lowery and DeFleur 1995 . Nowadays a multitude of theories, concepts, and models shape the field of media effects. The general nature of these effects is systematized by McLeod, et al. 2005 . The variety of concepts, models, and theories itself is systematized and described in various overviews and textbooks dedicated to media effects. Among the most comprehensive and recent are Bryant and Oliver 2009 , Harris 2009 , Nabi and Oliver 2009 , and Perse 2001 .

Bennett, W. Lance, and Shanto Iyengar. 2008. A new era of minimal effects? Changing foundations of political communication. Journal of Communication 58.4: 707–731.

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With special respect to political communication, Bennett and Iyengar discuss the range of media effects in the era of fragmented audiences, laying the groundwork for a vivid discussion of media effects in today’s media environment

Bryant, Jennings, and Mary Beth Oliver, eds. 2009. Media effects: Advances in theory and research . 3d ed. New York: Routledge.

This compendium offers articles about the most influential theories and models in media effects, mostly written by key actors in their respective fields. It is valuable to undergraduate and graduate students alike, as well as to academics looking for a quick overview of a distinct topic in media effects.

Harris, Richard Jackson. 2009. A cognitive psychology of mass communication . 5th ed. New York: Routledge.

As the title of this book implies, Harris’s textbook addresses media effects from a mostly psychological point of view. Written in a highly accessible style, this book is especially apt for undergraduate students.

This book is dedicated to seminal work in the field of media effects. In short articles the authors explain circumstances, theoretical background, methods, results, and effects of the most prominent academic work in media effects.

McLeod, Jack M., Gerald M. Kosicki, and Zhongdang Pan. 2005. On understanding and not understanding media effects. In Mass media and society . 4th ed. Edited by James Curran and Michael Gurevitch, 235–266. London: Hodder Arnold.

This article provides a comprehensive systematization of media effects.

McQuail, Denis. 2005. The influence and effects of mass media In Mass media and society . 4th ed. Edited by James Curran and Michael Gurevitch, 70–94. London: Hodder Arnold.

In this article Denis McQuail first introduced his widely received model of three (later on four) phases of the evolution of media effects, today broadly used in communication science. One can question the time sequence of the phases.

Nabi, Robin L., and Mary Beth Oliver, eds. 2009. The SAGE handbook of media processes and effects . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

An extensive volume addressing theoretical, conceptual, and methodological issues in media effects, with a special emphasis on new media.

Perse, Elizabeth M. 2001. Media effects and society . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

This handbook offers a wide overview of media effects research. Giving in-depth insight but comprehensively written, it is ideal for advanced students in the field.

Mass communication is deeply rooted in society and affects almost every part of individual and societal behaviors and circumstances. The following subdimensions of influences of mass communication (cultural, historical, normative, and political) reflect the broadness of the concept. Many research questions deal with the impact of mass communication on subsystems of society in general and individual behaviors in these realms.

The cultural dimension of mass communication is addressed in clear opposition to the information-processing, mainstream view of mass communication. Noticeably the essays on the cultural dimension of mass communication in Carey 2008 emphasize the negotiation of meaning. Comprehensive synopses on this school of thought are provided by Grossberg 1997 and Miller 2006 . Rooted in critical theory (for an international overview see Hardt 1992 ), this view was mainly developed by the “Birmingham school of cultural studies,” especially Stuart Hall ( Hall 1980 ). Subsequent work in this project dealt with the notion, among others, of audience in communication studies ( Ang 1991 ), media evolution ( Meyrowitz 1985 ) or gender aspects in communication ( Zoonen 1994 ), all emphasizing the discursive nature of the respective relationships.

Ang, Ien. 1991. Desperately seeking the audience . London: Routledge.

This book by Ien Ang provides a different view of audience, conceptualizing it as an active social subject—a stimulating resource for scholars and advanced students.

Carey, James W. 2008. Communication as culture . Rev. ed. New York: Routledge.

This classic in cultural studies emphasizes the negotiation of meaning as a basis of culture, consequently drawing attention mainly to the content of mass communication.

Grossberg, Lawrence. 1997. Bringing it all back home: Essays on cultural studies . Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press.

This compilation of original essays provides a substantial contribution to the state-of the-art work on cultural studies in mass communication. It is most suitable for advanced students and academics in the field.

Hall’s concept of encoding and decoding points out that messages are often subject to alterations during the communication process. These thoughts form the basis of cultural-studies research in mass communication.

Hardt, Hanno. 1992. Critical communication studies: Essays on communication, history, and theory . London: Routledge.

Hardt provides a comprehensive synopsis of the development of scholarly discourse on critical theory in communication science.

Meyrowitz, Joshua. 1985. No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior . New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

This theoretically brilliant yet readable book analyzes the dependences between the evolution of electronic media and social change.

Miller, Toby, ed. 2006. A companion to cultural studies . Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Subsuming current trends in cultural studies, this textbook is an accessible introduction to cultural studies for undergraduate students. At the same time, it is a helpful point of reference for advanced students and academics.

Zoonen, Liesbet van. 1994. Feminist media studies . London: SAGE.

This is an accessible introduction to feminist media studies for students in mass communication. Based in cultural studies, the book explores a wide range of topics in gender, media, and culture.

Examinations of mass communication from a historical point of view typically start with Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. So do classical textbooks on media history like Briggs and Burke 2010 and Winston 1998 , or, with a US-centered point of view, Emery, et al. 2000 . Flinchy 2006 is a new media history that concentrates on the youngest media history, the evolution of information communication technologies. Analyzing media history from a more theoretical point of view, both Lehman-Wilzig and Cohen-Avigdor 2004 and Stöber 2004 propose models of media evolution, especially with regard to new media evolution. A broader societal context for media evolution is given by McLuhan 1962 , overlooking the era from invention of the printing press to modern times, and Castells 1996–1998 , regarding modern information society.

Briggs, Asa, and Peter Burke. 2010. A social history of the media: From Gutenberg to the Internet . 3d ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

This textbook is a comprehensive and readable general survey of media history. Starting with Gutenberg, the authors portray media evolution as a nonlinear process.

Castells, Manuel. 1996–1998. The information age: Economy, society, and culture . 3 vols. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

This seminal trilogy by the famous sociologist Manuel Castells provides a wide-ranging sociology of the information age, pointing out higher risk and less security but also higher chances in future society. A must-read for everyone.

Edwin, Michael, Edwin Emery, and Nancy L. Roberts. 2000. The press and America: An interpretative history of the mass media . 9th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

The classical textbook on mass media history in the United States. It covers the whole range of media evolution in the United States from the press during the colonial years to media technologies of the 21st century.

Flichy, Patrice. 2006. New media history. In The handbook of new media: Social shaping and social consequences of ICTs . Edited by Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone, 187–204. London: SAGE.

This article gives a brief synopsis of the evolution of the so-called new media. Flichy summarizes the evolution of information communication technologies and their relation to society.

Lehman-Wilzig, Sam, and Nava Cohen-Avigdor. 2004. The natural life cycle of new media evolution: Inter-media struggle for survival in the internet age. New Media & Society 6.6: 707–730.

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In their analysis of the evolution of the internet, Lehman-Wilzig and Cohen-Avigdor propose a life-cycle model of new media evolution.

McLuhan, Marshall. 1962. The Gutenberg galaxy: The making of typographic man . Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.

In his analysis of European media evolution, McLuhan describes the shift from a listening to a reading society. A key reading relevant to any student in mass communication.

Stöber, Rudolf. 2004. What media evolution is: A theoretical approach to the history of new media. European Journal of Communication 19.4: 483–505.

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Stöber conceptualizes new media evolution as a two-step process of inventing and social institutionalizing.

Winston, Brian. 1998. Media, technology and society: A history from the printing press to the superhighway . London: Routledge.

This volume offers a comprehensive history of communication and information technologies. From the printing press to the Internet, Winston highlights the nondisruptive nature of media history.

The main topic of normative theories in mass communication is not what role mass communication actually plays in society, but what role it should play. A timely and broad summary is provided by Christians, et al. 2009 . Special attention to normative issues in mass communication with regard to electronic media is paid by Napoli 2001 . The notion of public interest is at the heart of every normative investigation of mass communication. Key points in this concept are addressed by Blumler 1998 . Mass communication should serve the public interest; therefore it has a certain social responsibility (for details see Nordenstreng 1998 ) and develops certain codes to assure this duty. A comparative analysis of journalistic codes is given by Hafez 2002 . On the other hand, freedom of the press must be guaranteed to enable mass communication to serve the public interest. Hardt 2001 provides a historical overview of freedom of the press. Underlying these principles is the concept of the public sphere provided by mass media, enabling political discourse in a democratic society. Habermas heavily criticized this idea being outdated and elitist. Habermas 2006 is a comprehensive overview of the author’s thoughts on the public sphere. A possible solution to the issue of improving public discourse addressed by Habermas was developed by journalists themselves—the idea of public journalism (see Haas and Steiner 2006 ).

Blumler, Jay. 1998. Wrestling with public interest in organized communication. In The media in question: Popular cultures and public interests . Edited by Kees Brants, Joke Hermes, and Liesbet van Zoonen, 51–63. London: SAGE.

This essay is an essential reading on public interest for undergraduate and graduate students in communication and politics.

Christians, Clifford G., Theodore Glasser, Denis McQuail, and Kaarle Nordenstreng. 2009. Normative theories of the media: Journalism in democratic societies . Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.

This volume offers a timely and comprehensive synopsis of normative theories in mass communication, while providing an extensive foundation for future discussion of this topic.

Haas, Tanni, and Linda Steiner. 2006. Public journalism: A reply to critics. Journalism 7.2: 238–254.

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This article is both a summary of the concept “public journalism” and a response to the most prominent critiques of this concept.

Habermas, Jürgen. 2006. Political communication in media society: Does democracy still enjoy an epistemic dimension? The impact of normative theory on empirical research. Communication Theory 16.4: 411–426.

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An accessible summary of Habermas’s thoughts on the public sphere, given by the author himself.

Hafez, Kai. 2002. Journalism ethics revisited: A comparison of ethics codes in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim Asia. Political Communication 19.2: 225–250.

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Hafez analyzes journalistic codes of ethics in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim Asia, finding a common dedication to freedom of the press.

Hardt, Hanno. 2001. Social theories of the press: Constituents of communication research, 1840s to 1920s . 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

This volume provides a historical perspective on freedom of the press from a critical point of view.

Napoli, Philip M. 2001. Foundations of communications policy: Principles and process in the regulation of electronic media . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.

This book outlines normative principles in mass communication with regard to electronic media.

Nordenstreng, Kaarle. 1998. Professional ethics: Between fortress journalism and cosmopolitan democracy. In The media in question: Popular cultures and public interests . Edited by Kees Brants, Joke Hermes, and Liesbet van Zoonen, 124–134. London: SAGE.

A comprehensive introduction to journalistic ethics and responsibilities, suitable for undergraduate and graduate students.

The political dimension of mass communication is a field of research based on multiple disciplines. Chaffee 1975 is a milestone in scholarly work in communication, paving the way for an extensive discussion on the interconnections between mass communication and politics. An increasingly controversial debate is subsumed by Blumler and Gurevitch 1995 . Synopses of the field appear in Kaid 2004 and Kaid and Holtz-Bacha 2007 . Comprehensive but short summaries on the political dimension of mass communication are provided by Graber 1983 or—more recently— Graber and Smith 2005 . An easily accessible introduction to one of the core concepts of political communication—public opinion—is given by Price 1992 .

Blumler, Jay G., and Michael Gurevitch. 1995. The crisis of public communication . London: Routledge.

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Blumler and Gurevitch provide an in-depth analysis of the increasingly controversial role of mass communication in politics. A volume suitable for advanced students and academics.

Chaffee, Steven H., ed. 1975. Political communication: Issues and strategies for research . Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.

This edited volume marks a sharp break in how researchers think about the field. The volume explicitly rejects limited-effects theory and lays the foundation for later research on political communication.

Graber, Doris. 1983. Political communication: Scope, progress, promise. In Political science: The state of the discipline . Edited by Ada W. Finifter, 305–332. Washington, DC: American Political Science Association.

This article gives an accessible synopsis of the field of political communication.

Graber, Doris A., and James M. Smith. 2005. Political communication faces the 21st century. Journal of Communication 55.3: 479–507.

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The authors give an overview of scholarly work in political communication. Based on this review, they outline a road map for future research in political communication. The article is of value to both scholars and advanced students in political communication.

Kaid, Lynda Lee. ed. 2004. Handbook of political communication research . Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gathering works by experts from political science, communication studies, rhetoric, marketing, journalism, and media studies, this volume gives extensive summary of political communication.

Kaid, Lynda Lee, and Christina Holtz-Bacha, eds. 2007. Encyclopedia of political communication . Los Angeles: SAGE.

Timely and wide-ranging, these two volumes cover all relevant theoretical approaches to political communication in more than six hundred entries—an essential resource not only for undergraduates, but also for graduate students.

Price, Vincent. 1992. Public opinion . Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

This review of a central topic in political communication analyzes the nature of public opinion and its relation to mass media. This volume makes the concept “public opinion” easily accessible to students.

As the new media evolution continues at high speed, the future of mass communication has come increasingly into question. Sunstein 2007 argues for an increasing fragmentation in new media use, leading to “information cocooning,” a point also addressed by other scholars. Livingstone 2003 considers mass audiences to be an outdated phenomenon of the 20th century, and Bennett and Iyengar 2008 consequently postulates the comeback of an era of minimal effects. The new forms of communication arising in this new media environment are characterized as mass self-communication by Castells 2007 . Morris and Ogan 1996 , on the other hand, advocates for the continuity of mass communication. So does Rice 1999 , pointing to the ongoing unwillingness of users to take full advantage of new media’s capabilities. The main capability of new media, to make users an active audience is interactivity (see Kiousis 2002 , Quiring and Schweiger 2008 ).

With special attention to political communication, Bennett and Iyengar discuss the range of media effects in an era of fragmented audiences.

Castells, Manuel. 2007. Communication, power and counter-power in the network society. International Journal of Communication 1.1: 238–266.

In this stimulating essay on media in the network society, Castells introduces the concept “mass self-communication.”

Kiousis, Spiro. 2002. Interactivity: A concept explication. New Media & Society 4.3: 355–383.

This article provides an influential theoretical analysis of “interactivity,” a key attribute of new media.

As to changing media environments Livingstone’s article provides a pessimistic analysis on the future of mass media audiences. Adopting a historical framework the text gave impulse to the ongoing debate on the future of media audiences.

Morris, Merrill, and Christine Ogan. 1996. The Internet as mass medium. Journal of Communication 46.1: 39–50.

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In their heavily criticized article, Morris and Ogan support the notion of the Internet as a mass medium.

Quiring, Oliver, and Wolfgang Schweiger. 2008. Interactivity: A review of the concept and a framework for analysis. Communications 33.2: 147–167.

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Quiring and Schweiger provide a timely review of the concept “interactivity” and propose a three-level framework of interactive communication.

Rice, Ronald E. 1999. Artifacts and paradoxes in new media. New Media & Society 1.1: 24–32.

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In this stimulating essay Rice calls for a more thorough analysis of common attributes of media in general than of certain kinds of (new) media. He concludes by arguing for the ongoing importance of mass communication.

Sunstein, Cass R. 2007. Republic.com 2.0 . Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.

In his updated analysis of Internet usage, Sunstein draws a picture of fragmented audiences and “information cocoons.” This book provides stimulating reading for anyone interested in new media and democracy.

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8.1: A Definition and Brief History of Mass Communication

Learning Objectives

Define mass communication.
Identify events that impacted the adaptation of mass media.
Explain how different technological transitions have shaped media industries.
Identify four roles the media perform in society.

A Brief History of Mass Media/Communication

“Well, how did I get here?” a baffled David Byrne sings in the Talking Heads song, “Once in a Lifetime.” The contemporary media landscape is so rich, deep, and multifaceted that it’s easy to imagine American media consumers asking themselves the same question. People can turn on their television and find 24-hour news channels, sports channels, as well as music videos, nature documentaries, and reality shows about everything from hoarders to fashion models. That’s not to mention movies available on-demand from cable providers. We watch television, film, and video available online for streaming or downloading from creators like Netflix and Hulu, curators like Tubi and Crunchyroll, or Network-specific like Disney+, CBS All Access, HBOmax, or NBC Peacock. The estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2020 was 24.3 million for weekdays and 25.8 million for Sunday, each down 6% from the previous year.

Books and Newspapers

The printing press is a device that allows for the mass production of uniform printed matter, mainly text in the form of books, pamphlets and newspapers. It was created in China sometime during the first millennium with the oldest surviving document being The Diamond Sutra from 868 A. D. The printing press revolutionized society in China before being further developed in Europe 600 years later by German Johannes Gutenberg when he created the Gutenberg press.

As Europeans colonized the land that would come to be called the United States of America, the newspaper was an essential medium. At first, newspapers helped the Europeans stay connected with events in their respective countries. But as a more common way of life started throughout the states newspapers helped give expression to a burgeoning “American” culture. Political scientist Benedict Anderson has argued that newspapers helped forge this sense of national identity by treating readers across the country as part of one unified group with common goals and values. Newspapers, he said, helped create an “imagined community.”

In the 1830s, the major daily newspapers faced a new threat with the rise of the penny press—newspapers that were low-priced broadsheets. These papers served as a cheaper, more sensational daily news source and privileged news of murder and adventure over the dry political news of the day. While earlier newspapers catered to a wealthier, more educated audience, the penny press attempted to reach a wide swath of readers through cheap prices and entertaining (often scandalous) stories. The penny press is the forerunner to today’s gossip tabloids.

Radio, Television, Film

In the early decades of the 20th century, the first major non-print forms of mass media—film and radio—exploded in popularity. Radios, which were less expensive than telephones and widely available by the 1920s, especially had the unprecedented ability to allow huge numbers of people to listen to the same event at the same time. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge’s pre-election speech reached more than 20 million people. Radio was a boon for advertisers, who now had access to a large and captive audience. An early advertising consultant claimed that the early days of radio were “a glorious opportunity for the advertising man to spread his sales propaganda” thanks to “a countless audience, sympathetic, pleasure-seeking, enthusiastic, curious, interested, approachable in the privacy of their homes (Briggs & Burke, 2005).

The reach of radio also further helped forge an American culture. The medium was able to downplay regional differences and encourage a unified sense of the American lifestyle—a lifestyle that was increasingly driven and defined by consumer purchases. “Americans in the 1920s were the first to wear ready-made, exact-size clothing…to play electric phonographs, to use electric vacuum cleaners, to listen to commercial radio broadcasts, and to drink fresh orange juice year-round.

The post-World War II era in the United States was marked by prosperity, and by the introduction of a seductive new form of mass communication: Television. In 1946, there were about 17,000 televisions in the entire United States. Within seven years, two-thirds of American households owned at least one set. As the United States’ gross national product (GNP) doubled in the 1950s, and again in the 1960s, the American home became firmly ensconced as a consumer unit.

Broadcast television was the dominant form of mass media. From the ’60s to ’90s there were just three major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS), and they controlled over 90 percent of the news programs, live events, and sitcoms viewed by Americans. On some nights, close to half the nation watched the same show! Some social critics argued that television was fostering a homogenous, conformist culture by reinforcing ideas about what “normal” American life looked like. But television also contributed to the counterculture of the 1960s. The Vietnam War was the nation’s first televised military conflict, and nightly images of war footage and war protestors helped intensify the nation’s internal conflicts.

Broadcast technology, including radio and television, had such a hold of the American imagination that newspapers and other print media found themselves having to adapt to the new media landscape. Print media was more durable and easily archived, and allowed users more flexibility in terms of time—once a person had purchased a magazine, they could read it whenever and wherever they’d like. Broadcast media, in contrast, usually aired programs on a fixed schedule, which allowed it to both provide a sense of immediacy but also impermanence—until the advent of digital video recorders (DVRs) in the 21st century, it was impossible to pause and rewind a television broadcast.

The media world faced drastic changes once again in the 1980s and 1990s with the spread of cable television. During the early decades of television, viewers had a limited number of channels from which to choose. In 1975, the three major networks accounted for 93 percent of all television viewing. By 2004, however, this share had dropped to 28.4 percent of total viewing, thanks to the spread of cable television. Cable providers allowed viewers a wide menu of choices, including channels specifically tailored to people who wanted to watch only golf, weather, classic films, sermons, or videos of sharks. Still, until the mid-1990s, television was dominated by the three large networks. The Telecommunications Act of 1996, an attempt to foster competition by deregulating the industry, actually resulted in many mergers and buyouts of small companies by large companies. The broadcast spectrum in many places was in the hands of a few large corporations. In 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loosened regulation even further, allowing a single company to own 45 percent of a single market (up from 25 percent in 1982).

Technological Transitions Shape Media Industries

New media technologies both spring from and cause cultural change. For this reason, it can be difficult to neatly sort the evolution of media into clear causes and effects. Technological innovations such as the steam engine, electricity, wireless communication, and the Internet have all had lasting and significant effects on American culture. Electricity altered the way people thought about time, since work and play were no longer dependent on the daily rhythms of sunrise and sunset. Wireless communication collapsed distance. The Internet revolutionized the way we store and retrieve information.

The contemporary media age can trace its origins back to the electrical telegraph, patented in the United States by Samuel Morse in 1837. Thanks to the telegraph, communication was no longer linked to the physical transportation of messages. Suddenly, it didn’t matter whether a message needed to travel five or five hundred miles. Telegraph lines began to stretch across the globe, making their own kind of worldwide web.

Not long after the telegraph, wireless communication (which eventually led to the development of radio, television, and other broadcast media) emerged as an extension of telegraph technology. Although many 19th-century inventors, including Nikola Tesla, had a hand in early wireless experiments, it was Italian-born Guglielmo Marconi who is recognized as the developer of the first practical wireless radio system. This mysterious invention, where sounds seemed to magically travel through the air, captured the world’s imagination. Early radio was used for military communication, but soon the technology entered the home.

The 19th-century development of photographic technologies would lead to the later innovations of cinema and television. As with wireless technology, several inventors independently came up with photography at the same time, among them, the French inventors, Joseph Niepce and Louis Daguerre, and British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot. In the United States, George Eastman developed the Kodak camera in 1888. Moving pictures were first seen around the turn of the century, with the first U.S. projection hall opening in Pittsburgh in 1905. By the end of the 1930s, Americans were watching color films with full sound, including Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz .

Television existed before World War II but really began to take off in the 1950s. In 1947, there were 178,000 television sets made in the United States; five years later, there were 15 million. Radio, cinema, and live theater all saw a decline in the face of this new medium that allowed viewers to be entertained with sound and moving pictures without having to leave their homes.

For the last stage in this fast history of media technology, how’s this for a prediction? In 1969, management consultant Peter Drucker predicted that the next major technological innovation after television would be an “electronic appliance” that would be “capable of being plugged in wherever there is electricity and giving immediate access to all the information needed for schoolwork from first grade through college.” He said it would be the equivalent of Edison’s light bulb in its ability to revolutionize how we live. He had, in effect, predicted the computer. He was prescient about the effect that computers and the Internet would have on education, social relationships, and the culture at large. The inventions of random access memory (RAM) chips and microprocessors in the 1970s were important steps along the way to the Internet age. As Briggs and Burke (2005) note, these advances meant that “hundreds of thousands of components could be carried on a microprocessor.” The reduction of many different kinds of content to digitally stored information meant that “print, film, recording, radio and television and all forms of telecommunications [were] now being thought of increasingly as part of one complex.”

Mass Communication – A Definition

Now that we understand the history of mass communication, let’s circle back to defining what mass communication and why it is important in society. We define communication as the process of generating meaning by sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs that are influenced by multiple contexts. Mass Communication does that on a grander scale as it imparts or exchanges information to a wide range of people. Even a brief history of media and mass communication can leave one breathless. The speed, reach, and power of the technology are humbling. Evolution can seem almost natural and inevitable, but it is important to stop and ask a basic question: Why? Why do media and mass communication play such an important role in our lives and culture ? According to the website Chron.com we see that the four functions of mass communications are: surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission, and entertainment:

Media provide entertainment acting as a springboard for our imaginations, a source of fantasy, and an outlet for escapism.
Media provide information and education . Information can come in many forms and often blurs the line with entertainment.
Media provide public forums for the discussion of important issues.
Media provide watchdog services to monitor government, business, and other institutions . Online journalists today try to uphold this role.

Thinking more deeply, we can recognize that certain media are better at certain roles. Media have characteristics that influence how we use them. While some forms of mass media are better suited to entertainment, others make more sense as a venue for spreading information. The 1960s media theorist Marshall McLuhan took these ideas one step further with the phrase “the medium is the message.” McLuhan emphasized that each medium delivers information in a different way and that content is fundamentally shaped by that medium. For example, although television news has the advantage of offering video and live coverage, making a story come vividly alive, it is also a faster-paced medium. That means stories get reported in different ways than print. A story told on television will often be more visual, have less information, and be able to offer less history and context than the same story covered in a monthly magazine. This feature of media technology leads to interesting arguments. For example, some people claim that television presents “dumbed down” information. Others disagree. In an essay about television’s effects on contemporary fiction, writer David Foster Wallace (1997) scoffed at the “reactionaries who regard TV as some malignancy visited on an innocent populace, sapping IQs and compromising SAT scores while we all sit there on ever fatter bottoms with little mesmerized spirals revolving in our eyes…Treating television as evil is just as reductive and silly as treating it like a toaster with pictures.”

We do not have to cast value judgments but can affirm: People who get the majority of their news from a particular medium will have a particular view of the world shaped not just by the content of what they watch but also by its medium . Or, as computer scientist Alan Kay (1994) put it, “Each medium has a special way of representing ideas that emphasize particular ways of thinking and de-emphasize others.” The Internet has made this discussion even richer because it seems to hold all other media within it—print, radio, film, television, and more. If indeed the medium is the message, the Internet provides us with an extremely interesting message to consider.

Key Terms & Concepts

mass communication
public forums

Briggs, A., & Burke, P. (2005). A Social History of the Media: From Gutenberg to the Internet . Polity Press.

Kay, A. (1994, May). The Infobahn is Not the Answer. Wired .

Wallace, D. F. (1997). A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again . Little Brown.

Licensing and Attribution: Content in this section is a combination of:

9.1: Mass Communication – A Definition and 9.2: Quick Look – Mass Communication and Media in Competent Communication (2nd edition) by Lisa Coleman, Thomas King, & William Turner. It is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA license.

1.4: How Did We Get Here? The Evolution of Media in Mass Communication, Media, and Culture by Anonymous on LibreTexts. It is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA license.

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Mass Communication: Importance and Impacts

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Introduction, body paragraph 1: informing the public, body paragraph 2: shaping public opinion and social dynamics, body paragraph 3: supporting the democratic process.

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Defining Mass Communication

Littlejohn and Foss define mass communication as “the process whereby media organizations produce and transmit messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used, understood, and influenced by audience” (333). McQuail states that mass communication is, “only one of the processes of communication operating at the society-wide level, readily identified by its institutional characteristics” (7). Simply put, mass communication is the public transfer of messages through media or technology-driven channels to a large number of recipients from an entity, usually involving some type of cost or fee (advertising) for the user. “The sender often is a person in some large media organization, the messages are public, and the audience tends to be large and varied” (Berger 121). However, with the advent of outlets like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and text messaging, these definitions do not account for the increased opportunities individuals now have to send messages to large audiences through mediated channels.

Text on a blue background, reading: Mass Communication * the process whereby media organizations produce and transmit messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used, understood, and influenced by audience.

Nevertheless, most mass communication comes from large organizations that influence culture on a large scale. Schramm refers to this as a “working group organizer” (115). Today the working groups that control most mass communication are large conglomerates such as Viacom, NewsCorp, Disney, ComCast, Time Warner, and CBS. In 2012, these conglomerates controlled 90% of American Media and mergers continue to consolidate ownership even more. An example of an attempt at such a takeover of power occurred throughout 2014 with Comcast and Time Warner pursuing a merger for $45 billion. If successful, this will be one of the biggest mergers in history.

Remember our definition of communication study: “who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results” (Smith, Lasswell & Casey 121)? When examining mass communication, we are interested in who has control over what content, for what audience, using what medium, and what are the results? Media critic Robert McChesney said we should be worried about the increasingly concentrated control of mass communication that results when just a handful of large organizations control most mass communication. Both McChesney and Ben Bagdikian warn about the implications of having so few organizations controlling the majority of our information and communication. Perhaps this is the reason new media outlets like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook have consistently grown in popularity as they offer alternative voices to the large corporations that control most mass communication.

To understand mass communication one must first be aware of some of the key factors that distinguish it from other forms of communication. First, is the dependence on a media channel to convey a message to a large audience. Second, the audience tends to be distant, diverse, and varies in size depending on the medium and message. Third, mass communication is most often profit driven, and feedback is limited. Fourth, because of the impersonal nature of mass communication, participants are not equally present during the process.

Mass communication continues to become more integrated into our lives at an increasingly rapid pace. This “metamorphosis” is representative by the convergence occurring (Fidler) between ourselves and technology, where we are not as distanced from mass communication as in the past. Increasingly, we have more opportunities to use mediated communication to fulfill interpersonal and social needs. O’Sullivan refers to this new use of mass communication to foster our personal lives as “masspersonal communication” where (a) traditional mass communication channels are used for interpersonal communication, (b) traditionally interpersonal communication channels are used for mass communication, and (c) traditional mass communication and traditional interpersonal communication occur simultaneously.” Over time, more and more overlap occurs. “Innovations in communication technologies have begun to make the barriers between mass and interpersonal communication theory more permeable than ever” (O’Sullivan). Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram are great examples of new mass communication platforms we use to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.

As more mass communication mediums develop, Marshall McLuhan states that we can understand media as either hot or cold depending on the amount of information available to the user, as well as the degree of participation. A hot medium “extends one single sense in high definition” (McCluhan 22). Examples of hot media include photographs or music (Spotify, radio, etc.) because the message is mostly interpreted using one sense and requires little participation by participants. An audience is more passive with hot media because there is less to filter. Television is considered a cold medium because of the large amount of multisensory information. Berg Nellis states “Virtual reality, the simulation of actual environment complete with tactile sensory input, might be the extreme in cold media…This and other cutting edge technologies seem to point to increasingly cold media as we move into the digital communication future” (256). Think about online video games, such as the military sci-fi game, Halo. Games like this can be played in teams but the players do not necessarily have to be in close proximity. Simply by logging onto the server gamers can connect, interact, communicate through microphones and play as a team. These games have become so involved and realistic that they represent cold mediums because of the vast amount of sensory input and participation they require.

Perhaps we are turning into a “global village” through our interdependence with mass communication. Suddenly, “across the ocean” has become “around the corner.” McLuhan predicted this would happen because of mass communication’s ability to unify people around the globe. Are you a player in what Hagermas calls the “public sphere” that mass communication creates by posting information about yourself on public sites? If so, be careful about what you post about yourself, or allow others to “tag” you in, as many employers are googling potential employees to look into their personal lives before making decisions about hiring them. As we continue our discussion of mass communication we want to note that mass communication does not include every communication technology. As our definition states, mass communication is communication that potentially reaches large audiences.

Defining Mass Communication Copyright © by Enyonam Osei-Hwere and Patrick Osei-Hwere is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Understanding Mass Media and Mass Communication

Writing Essays
Writing Research Papers
English Grammar
M.A., Anthropology, University of Iowa
B.Ed., Illinois State University

Mass media refers to the technologies used as channels for a small group of people to communicate with a larger number of people. The concept was first addressed during the Progressive Era of the 1920s, as a response to new opportunities for elites to reach large audiences via the mass media of the time: newspapers , radio, and film. Indeed, the three forms of traditional mass media today are still the same: print (newspapers, books, magazines) , broadcast (television, radio ), and cinema (movies and documentaries).

But in the 1920s, mass media referred not just to the number of people such communication reached, but rather to the uniform consumption and anonymity of the audiences. Uniformity and anonymity are characteristics which no longer fit the way people seek out, consume, and manipulate information into their daily lives. Those new media are called "alternative media" or "mass self-communication."

Key Takeaways: Mass Media

Mass media as an idea was created in the 1920s.
There are three major forms of traditional mass media: print, broadcast, and cinema. New forms are being created constantly.
The internet has changed the nature of mass media by creating consumers who control and even create media of their own, and producers who can more easily track consumer responses.
Being a smart consumer of media means exposing yourself to a variety of points of view, so that you can become more adept at recognizing subtle and not subtle forms of propaganda and bias .

Mass Communication

Mass media are the transport forms of mass communication, which can be defined as the dissemination of messages widely, rapidly, and continuously to large and diverse audiences in an attempt to influence them in some way.

Five distinct stages of mass communication exist, according to American communication scholars Melvin DeFleur and Everette Dennis:

Professional communicators create various types of "messages" for presentation to individuals.
The messages are disseminated in a "quick and continuous" manner through some form of mechanical media.
The messages are received by a vast and diverse audience.
The audience interprets these messages and gives them meaning.
The audience is influenced or changed in some manner.

There are six widely acknowledged intended effects for mass media. The two best known are commercial advertising and political campaigns. Public service announcements have been developed to influence people on health issues such as smoking cessation or HIV testing. Mass media has been used (by the Nazi party in Germany in the 1920s, for example) to indoctrinate people in terms of government ideology. And mass media use sporting events such as the World Series, the World Cup Soccer, Wimbledon, and the Super Bowl, to act as a ritual event that users participate in.

Measuring the Effects of Mass Media

Research on the impacts of mass media began in the 1920s and 1930s, with the rise of muckraking journalism—elites became concerned about the effects of investigative reporting in magazines such as McClure's on political decision-making. Mass media became a prominent focus of study in the 1950s after television became widely available, and academic departments dedicated to communication studies were created. These early studies investigated the cognitive, emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of media on both children and adults; in the 1990s, researchers began to use those earlier studies to draw up theories concerning the use of media today.

In the 1970s theorists such as Marshall McLuhan and Irving J. Rein warned that media critics needed to watch how media affects people. Today, this remains a key concern; much attention has been paid, for example, to the impact on the 2016 election of false messaging distributed on social media. But the myriad forms of mass communication available today have also encouraged some researchers to begin to investigate "what people do with media."

The Move to Mass Self-Communication

Traditional mass media are "push technologies:" that is to say, producers create the objects and distribute them (push it) to consumers who are largely anonymous to the producer. The only input consumers have in traditional mass media is to decide whether to consume it—if they should buy the book or go to the movie: undoubtedly those decisions have always been significant to what got published or aired.

However, in the 1980s, consumers began to transition to "pull technology:" while the content may still be created by (elite) producers, users are now free to select what they wish to consume. Further, users can now repackage and create new content (such as mashups on YouTube or reviews on personal blog sites). The users are often explicitly identified in the process, and their choices may have immediate, if not necessarily conscious, impact on what information and advertising they are presented with going forward.

With the widespread availability of the internet and the development of social media, communication consumption has a decidedly personal character, which the Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells calls mass self-communication. Mass self-communication means that the content is still created by the producers, and the distribution is made available to a large number of people, those who choose to read or consume the information. Today, users pick and choose media content to suit their needs, whether those needs were the intent of the producers or not.

Computer-Mediated Communication

The study of mass media is a fast-moving target. People have studied computer-mediated communication since the technology first became available in the 1970s. Early studies focused on teleconferencing, and how interactions between large groups of strangers differ from interactions with known partners. Other studies were concerned with whether communication methods lacking nonverbal cues could influence the meaning and quality of social interactions. Today, people have access to both text-based and visual information, so those studies are no longer useful.

The immense growth in social applications since the start of Web 2.0 (also known as Participatory or Social Web) has made huge changes. Information is now distributed in many directions and methods, and audiences can vary from one person to many thousands. In addition, everyone with an internet connection can be a content creator and media source.

Blurring the Lines Between Producers and Consumers

Mass self-communication can potentially reach a global audience, but it is self-generated in content, self-directed in its mission, and typically focuses on self-related information. Sociologist Alvin Toffler created the now-obsolete term of "prosumers" to describe users who are almost simultaneously consumers and producers—for example, reading and commenting on online content, or reading and replying to Twitter posts. The increases in the number of transactions that now occur between consumer and producer create what some have called an "expression effect."

Interactions also now cross-media streams, such as "Social TV," where people use hashtags while watching a sports game or a television program in order to simultaneously read and converse with hundreds of other viewers on social media.

Politics and the Media

One focus of mass communication research has been on the role that media plays in the democratic process. On the one hand, media provides a way for predominantly rational voters to obtain information about their political choices. That likely introduces some systematic biases, in that not every voter is interested in social media, and politicians may choose to work on the wrong issues and perhaps pander to an active set of users who may not be in their constituencies. But by and large, the fact that voters can learn about candidates independently is predominantly positive.

On the other hand, media can be leveraged for propaganda, which exploits cognitive errors that people are prone to make. By using the techniques of agenda-setting, priming, and framing, the producers of media can manipulate voters to act against their own best interests.

Propaganda Techniques in Mass Media

Some types of propaganda that have been recognized in mass media include:

Agenda-Setting: Aggressive media coverage of an issue can make people believe an insignificant issue is important. Similarly, media coverage may underplay an important issue.
Priming : People evaluate politicians based on the issues covered in the press.
Framing : How an issue is characterized in news reports can influence how it is understood by the receivers; involves the selective inclusion or omission of facts ("bias").
DeFleur, Melvin L., and Everette E. Dennis. "Understanding Mass Communication." (Fifth Edition, 1991). Houghton Mifflin: New York.
Donnerstein, Edward. "Mass Media, General View." Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace, & Conflict (Second Edition). Ed. Kurtz, Lester. Oxford: Academic Press, 2008. 1184-92. Print.
Gershon, Ilana. " Language and the Newness of Media. " Annual Review of Anthropology 46.1 (2017): 15-31. Print.
Pennington, Robert. "Mass Media Content as Cultural Theory." The Social Science Journal 49.1 (2012): 98-107. Print.
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Rosenberry, J., Vicker, L. A. (2017). "Applied Mass Communication Theory." New York: Routledge.
Strömberg, David. " Media and Politics. " Annual Review of Economics 7.1 (2015): 173-205. Print.
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Mass Communication

Functions of mass communication.

Mass communication doesn’t exist for a single purpose. With its evolution, more and more uses have developed and the role it plays in our lives has increased greatly. Wright characterizes seven functions of mass communication that offer insight into its role in our lives.

Surveillance . The first function of mass communication is to serve as the eyes and ears for those seeking information about the world. The internet, televisions, and newspapers are the main sources for finding out what’s going around you. Society relies on mass communication for news and information about our daily lives, it reports the weather, current issues, the latest celebrity gossip and even start times for games. Do you remember the Boston Marathon Bombing that happened in 2013? How did you hear about it? Thanks to the internet and smart phones instant access to information is at the users fingertips. News apps have made mass communication surveillance instantly accessible by sending notifications to smartphones with the latest news.
Correlation . Correlation addresses how the media presents facts that we use to move through the world. The information received through mass communication is not objective and without bias. People ironically state “it must be true if it’s on the internet.” However, we don’t think that in generations past people must have without a doubt stated it “has to be true” because it was on the radio. This statement begs the question, how credible are the media? Can we consume media without questioning motive and agenda? Someone selects, arranges, interprets, edits, and critiques the information used in the media. If you ask anyone who works for a major reality TV show if what we see if a fair representation of what really happens, the person would probably tell you “no.”
Sensationalization . There is an old saying in the news industry “if it bleeds, it leads,” which highlights the idea of Sensationalization. Sensationalization is when the media puts forward the most sensational messages to titillate consumers. Elliot observes, “Media managers think in terms of consumers rather than citizens. Good journalism sells, but unfortunately, bad journalism sells as well. And, bad journalism-stories that simply repeat government claims or that reinforce what the public wants to hear instead of offering independent reporting -is cheaper and easier to produce” (35).
Entertainment . Media outlets such as People Magazine, TMZ, and entertainment blogs such as Perez Hilton keep us up to date on the daily comings and goings of our favorite celebrities. We use technology to watch sports, go to the movies, play video games, watch YouTube videos, and listen to iPods on a daily basis. Most mass communication simultaneously entertains and informs. People often turn to media during our leisure time to provide an escape from boredom and relief from the predictability of our everyday lives. We rely on media to take us places we could not afford to go or imagine, acquaints us with bits of culture, and make us laugh, think or cry. Entertainment can have the secondary effect of providing companionship and/or catharsis through the media we consume.
Transmission . Mass media is a vehicle to transmit cultural norms, values, rules, and habits. Consider how you learned about what’s fashionable in clothes or music. Mass media plays a significant role in the socialization process. We look for role models to display appropriate cultural norms, but all too often, not recognizing their inappropriate or stereotypical behavior. Mainstream society starts shopping, dressing, smelling, walking, and talking like the person in the music video, commercial, or movies. Why would soft drink companies pay Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift millions of dollars to sell their products? Have you ever bought a pair of shoes or changed your hairstyle because of something you encountered in the media? Obviously, culture, age, type of media, and other cultural variables factor into how mass communication influences how we learn and perceive our culture.
Mobilization . Mass communication functions to mobilize people during times of crisis (McQuail, 1994). Think back to the Boston Marathon Bombing. Regardless of your association to the incident, Americans felt the attack as a nation and people followed the news until they found the perpetrators. With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real time somewhere else, thus mobilizing a large population of people around a particular event. The online community Reddit.com is a key example of the internet’s proactivity. While the FBI was investigating the bombing, the Reddit community was posting witness’s photos and trying to help identify the culprits. People felt they were making a difference.
Validation . Mass communication functions to validate the status and norms of particular individuals, movements, organizations, or products. The validation of particular people or groups serves to enforce social norms (Lazarsfeld & Merton). If you think about most television dramas and sitcoms, who are the primary characters? What gender and ethnicity are the majority of the stars? What gender and ethnicity are those that play criminals or those considered abnormal? The media validates particular cultural norms while diminishing differences and variations from those norms. A great deal of criticism focuses on how certain groups are promoted, and others marginalized by how they are portrayed in mass media.

Image of overlapping colored bubbles, each containing text. The top row reads Surveillance: Serves as the eyes and ears for those seeking information about our world.; Correlation: How the media presents facts that we use to move through the world.; Sensationalization: When the media puts forward the most sensational messages to titillate consumers. The second row reads: Entertainment: Media outlets such as People magazine, TMZ and blogs like Perez Hilton keep consumers up to date with their favorite celebrities.; Transmission: Mass media is a vehicle to send out cultural rules, values, norms, and habits.; Mobilization: With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real time somewhere else.; Validation: Mass communication functions to validate the status and norms of particular individuals, movements, organizations, or products.

Functions of media

Given the power of the various functions of mass communication, we need to be reflective about its presence in our lives (McLuhan & Fiore). We will now turn our attention to the study of mass communication by looking at what mass communication scholars study, and how they study it.

Survey of Communication Study. Authored by : Scott T Paynton and Linda K Hahn. Provided by : Humboldt State University. Located at : https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Survey_of_Communication_Study . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Image of functions of media. Authored by : Spaynton. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Functions_of_media.png . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

58 Mass Communication Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best mass communication topic ideas & essay examples, 🔍 most interesting mass communication topics to write about, 🔎 simple & easy mass communication essay titles.

Movies as a Medium of Mass Communication Over the decades of its development, the phenomenon of a movie has changed significantly, especially with the introduction of new genres and the discovery of new ways of conveying a particular idea visually.
Ethical Issues in Mass Communication and Advertising The following are some of the primary ethical issues that mass communication and advertising need to observe in modern society where media plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion.
India Movie Industry as a Medium of Mass Communication India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is therefore charged with the development and regulation of the broadcasting, print, film and other media on behalf of the state.
What is “Two-step Flow”? What Implications Does It Have for Our Understanding of Mass Communication? It should be known that there has been an implication of our understanding of mass communication as a result of this theory based on the fact that it has redefined our predictions on the influence […]
Telegraph and Its Impacts in Mass Communication The invention of electricity was very instrumental as it led to the discovery of electric telegraphy by William and Charles in the 19th century.
Larry King: The Pioneer of Mass Communication The ‘Numbers Guy,’ as he was referred to by callers while hosting the Larry King Show, makes one of the greatest broadcasters in media history despite not having taken a course in mass communication. Larry […]
Social Media as a Component of Mass Communication The reasons for such a claim are justified and refer to different opportunities that social media and the Internet give their users. During that time, social media helped me to stay aware of the current […]
E-Media Fast: Mass Communication Theory The level of my media usage had risen to a point that I could not spend a day without the use of any of the media sources.
Mass Communication Law and Ethics As the hotel employee did not clean up the water out of a fish tank that resulted in an accident, the hotel was to be responsible for that situation.
The Study of Mass Communication and Popular Culture The contributions of the French sociologist emile Durkheim to the formation of sociology are rather sufficient, as the scientist has studied the ways in which societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in the present […]
Global Mass Communication: Web Television The Web TV and IPTV are a powerful enabling force that enables the use of similar ideas in different corners of the world.
Mass Communication Impact on Modern language Within the frames of another tradition, the impact of mass communication and mass culture on language and mass consciousness is analyzed in a different critical way.
The History of Mass Communication: New Opportunities and Challenges for Society In the history of mass communication, it is possible to distinguish three main stages: ethic-legal paradoxes, techno-legal time-gap, and surveillance society, The new media is characterized by technological changes and changes in ideas and ideals […]
Mass Media Communication: Personal Analysis Finally, when I do the same in the kitchen in the morning, I am occupied with preparing and eating my breakfast; therefore, television serves as a background and I cannot be focused on the information […]
Global Music: Mass Communication The era of globalization had a dramatic impact not only on the economic development of the countries but also implied cultural exchange while distributing national music around the world.
Mass Communication and Public Policy One example of the websites that help to exchange ideas but negatively is the In the real sense, there several public interests in conflict when the information about the funding of a politician is disclosed […]
The Implication of Chaffee and Metzger’s Article “The End of Mass Communication” With the development of computer-based communication technologies, the university should focus on this issue in determining the impact of technological changes on mass communication and the need to change the courses offered at the Lindenwood […]
Americans: Global Awareness and Mass Communication
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Language and Mass Communication: Omnivore’s Dilemma
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Theories, Concepts, and Models in Mass Communication Theory Foundations and Future
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The Role and Impact of Mass Communication on Sexuality in TV Programs
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Mass Communication: Definitions, Functions, Characteristics, Types, Importance, and Process

Table of Contents

1 What is Mass Communication?
2 Definitions of Mass Communication
3.1 To Inform
3.2 To Persuade
3.3 Education
3.4 To Entertain
3.5 Transmission of Culture
3.6 To Build Public Opinion
3.7 To Circulate Government Policies
3.8 To Disseminate Health and Education Programs
3.9 Surveillance
3.10 Mobilization
4.1 Specific Objectives
4.2 Common Messages
4.3 Source of Message
4.4 Messages are Sophisticated and Complex
4.5 Limited Information
4.6 Mass Medium
4.7 Impersonality
4.8 Portability and Mobility
4.9 Universality
4.10 Permanency
4.11 A large Number of Audiences
4.12 Delayed Feedback
4.13 Use of Modern Technological Media
5.1 Print Media
5.2 Electronic Media
5.3 New Media
6.1 Contact With Families and Friends
6.2 Universality
6.3 Permanency
6.4 Launching a Business and Introducing New Products
6.5 Wide Cover
6.6 Advertising Product and Services
6.7 Interdepartmental Coordination
6.8 Inform Market Price, Demand and Supply
7.2 Message
7.3 Channel
7.4 Global Village
7.5 Receiver
7.6 Feedback
7.7 Gate Keeping
8.1 What exactly is mass communication?
8.2 What is the best definition of mass communication?
8.3 What are the 8 functions of media?
8.4 What are the 3 types of mass communication?
8.5 What are the characteristics of mass communication?
8.6 What is the importance of mass communication?
8.7 What is the process of mass communication?
8.8 What is the meaning of mass communication?
What is Mass Communication?

Mass communication is the process of transmitting ideas, information, opinions, norms, attitudes, cultures, etc. to a relatively large, heterogeneous, and anonymous audience simultaneously through the use of technological devices.

To put it simply, Mass communication involves communication with the mass audience and hence the name communication. Group communication has now been extended by the tools of mass communication : books, the press, the cinema, television, radio, video, and the internet.

Mass communication is generally identified with these modern mass media, but it must be noted that these media are processes and must not be mistaken for the phenomenon of communication itself.

Definitions of Mass Communication

Here are a few definitions of mass communication :

Functions of Mass Media

The following are functions of mass media explained briefly:

To Persuade

To entertain, transmission of culture, to build public opinion, to circulate government policies, to disseminate health and education programs, surveillance, mobilization.

Dissemination of information is the primary function of the news media. Newspapers, radio, and TV provide us with news from around the world and keep us informed. In describing the events, news media have come to include human interest, analysis, and factorized treatment of the news.

Journalists are not just ‘reporters’ now. They have become news analysis analysts who discuss the implications of important news stories. Also, more ‘soft stories’ are filed these days. In addition to dissemination of information news media provided us with information and also helps us understand the news events, ideas, policy changes, etc.,

Most of the mass media are used as vehicles for promotion and persuasion. Goods, services, ideas, persons, places, and events the range of things that are advertised through mass media is endless. Different media have different features and reach. Advertisers and advertising agencies analyze these features and depending upon the nature of the message and the target audience, choose where and how the message should be placed.

Mass media provides our education on different subjects and topics. It is taken as a good source of education for all levels of people. It provides education directly and indirectly in two ways. “Many distance education programs are direct and many programs provide education regarding health, environment, and moral norms indirectly.

For example , Japan’s NHK has very ambitious educational broadcasting. It provides programs for primary, secondary, and higher education to mentally and physically handicapped, foreign languages, vocational and technical instruction, advice on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and special programs for children, adolescents, and women.

The most common function of mass communication is entertainment. Radio, television, and films are basically entertainment media. Even newspapers provide entertainment through comics, cartoons, features, crossword puzzles, etc., Entertainment through radio consists of mainly music and also drama, talk shows, comedy, etc.

Television has become primarily an entertainment medium. Even highly specialized channels like news, nature, and wildlife channels also have a lot of humorous and comic content. Among all media, films are perhaps the only medium concentrating on entertainment.

Any communication leaves a direct or indirect impact on an individual. It becomes part of one’s experience, knowledge, and accumulated learning . Through individuals, communication becomes part of the collective experience of groups, audiences of all kinds, and finally the masses. Mass communication plays an important role in the transmission of culture from one generation to another.

Another important objective of mass communication is to create public opinion on any national or international issue. Mass media attempts to create public opinion by providing their audiences with a realistic picture of the world, activities of the leaders, governmental politics, etc. The mass media also tries to build public opinion through special articles, editorials, and commentaries.

Another objective of mass communication is to announce and circulate government programs and policies. Mass media can bring such policies to the public notice very quickly.

The government takes various health and educational programs like vaccination, sanitation, birth control, open education, mass education, etc. these health and education programs are disseminated and implemented through mass media like radio, television, films, newspapers, etc.

The first function of mass communication is to serve as the eyes and ears for those seeking information about the world. The internet, televisions, and newspapers are the main sources for finding out what‘s going around you. Society relies on mass communication for news and information about our daily lives, it reports the weather, current issues, the latest celebrity gossip, and even starts times for games.

Do you remember the Boston Marathon Bombing that happened in 2013? How did you hear about it? Thanks to the internet and smartphones instant access to information is at the user’s fingertips. News apps have made mass communication surveillance accessible by sending notifications to smartphones with the latest news.

Mass communication functions to mobilize people during times of crisis (McQuail, 1994). Think back to the Boston Marathon Bombing. Regardless of your association with the incident, Americans felt the attack as a nation and people followed the news until they found the perpetrators.

With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real-time somewhere else, thus mobilizing a large population of people around a particular event. The online community Reddit.com is a key example of the internet‘s proactivity.

While the FBI was investigating the bombing, the Reddit community was posting witness photos and trying to help identify the culprits. People felt they were making a difference.

Characteristics of Mass Communication

The main features or characteristics of mass communication are as follows:

Specific Objectives

Common messages, source of message, messages are sophisticated and complex, limited information, mass medium, impersonality, portability and mobility, universality, a large number of audiences, delayed feedback, use of modern technological media.

Every communication has a specific objective. Without objectives, no communication is held. Mass communication has also a specific objective that is dependent on the subject matter of communication.

Mass communication transmits or delivers the same simultaneous messages to vast diverse and scattered audiences.

The sources of mass communication messages generally are a person or group operating within an organizational setting. These sources include news reporters, television producers, magazine editors, etc.

In mass communication, messages are sophisticated and complex. Whereas the message in interpersonal communication may be simple words and short sentences, mass media messages are quite elaborate. Examples of mass media messages are news reports, a novel, a movie, television programs, newspaper columns, magazine articles, music videos, and billboard advertisements.

Such audiences are brought together by a single shared interest in the particular message available through the mass medium. Message sources generally have only limited information about their audiences.

Radio, Television, the Internet, etc are examples of media that are regarded as mass media because they can reach out to a vast audience at a time.

Messages of mass communication have remained impersonal since there is no personal touch of a medium. The impersonality of mass communication is informed by the need to reach large, diverse and scattered audiences almost at the same time.

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 at any geographical location.

This refers to the extensiveness or commonness of a medium and the acceptability of messages. A person does not need to be literate or educated in a particular language before listening to a radio program or a watch television program in that native language.

This refers to the period for which a medium can hold its message thereby making the message reviewable. A reader of a book, newspapers, and magazines can read and re-read and store it for a long term.

In mass communication , information reaches a large and vast number of heterogeneous audiences. The audiences of mass communication exceed millions after millions.

Feedback in mass media is slow and weak message flow typically is one-way, from source to receiver. Traditionally, feedback has been minimal and generally delayed. A newspaper reader could write a letter to the editor but it remains limited and delayed.

Channels of mass media use modern technology. Radio involves tape machines, microphones, and devices that digitize sound waves transmitters that disseminate them, and receiving units that decode the sound waves and render them back into audio form approximating the original.

Types of Mass Communication

These are the following types of mass communication :

Print Media

Electronic media.

Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the moveable metallic type in the fifteenth century paved the way for the proliferation of print media. The printing press using moveable types introduced the method for mass production of texts. Before the invention of the printing press, books were expensive materials affordable only to the aristocrats and royal families.

Printing reduced the cost of books and made them available to the common men also. Rapid duplication of multiple copies of handy texts led to the innovation of modern newspapers.

Print Media Include

other textual documents

The history of electronic mass media starts with the invention of the radio by Marconi. The first radio station was set up in Pittsburg, New York, and Chicago in the 1920s. Following the USA, European countries also started radio stations for broadcasting news and entertainment content.

The colonial powers like Briton and France set up radio stations in Asian and African countries in the early years of the 20th century. The next step in electronic communication media history was the invention of cinema. Following cinema, television broadcasting was initiated in the US on an experimental basis during the 1920s.

But, the dramatic impact of television as a mass medium began in the 1950s. Parallel to these, the recording industry also boomed in western countries. In short, the term electronic media mainly include:

Audio and Video records

Online and digital means of producing, transmitting, and receiving messages are called new media. The term encompasses computer-mediated communication technology. It implies the use of desktop and portable computers as well as wireless and handheld devices.

Every company in the computer industry is involved with new media in some manner. The forms of communicating in the digital world include

Internet facilities like World Wide Web, bulleting boarding, email, etc.
Importance of Mass Communication

The importance of mass communication is as follows:

Contact With Families and Friends

Launching a business and introducing new products, advertising product and services, interdepartmental coordination, inform market price, demand and supply.

With the help of mass communication , many people can communicate with their families or with their friends. Actually, people travel around the world and for this reason, they need a good way in order to not lose contact with their families in their native country.

The studies reveal that approximately 95% of the population use electronic devices for their communication for example Mobile phones, Telephones, Computers, etc.

Mass communications are used to make the wide circulation of senses regarding forming and launching a business and introducing new products to the organization.

The audiences of mass communication are spread over a vast or a wide geographic area in a given time. It can spread the product and business news of the organization over a large part of the country and the world.

Mass communication plays an important role in advertising products and services . Mass media like radio, television, newspaper, and the internet are the main vehicles of advertisement.

Generally, large organizations have various departments like procurement, production, marketing, administration, human resource; accounts, etc. Through the help of mass communication, managers of this department cooperate and coordinate with each other.

Mass communication helps to inform market price, demand, and supply of products and services for home and abroad.

Process of Mass Communication

These are the following points of how the process of mass communication follows:

Global Village

Gate keeping.

Source mostly represents the institution or organization where the idea has been started. In the case of the source and the sender being different, the sender belongs to a media institution or is a professional in media communication. Thus, a scientist or a technologist may use the mass communication media himself for propagating his idea. Or else, they can send the script of the message to the media for delivering a message by an announcer or a reporter.

A message needs reproduction for making it communicable through the media. the message is processed and put into various forms like talk, discussion interviews, documentaries, plays, etc., in the case of radio and TV. In the case of newspapers, the message is processed by means of articles, feature news stories, etc.

The terms channel and media are used interchangeably in mass communication . Modern mass media like radio, television, and newspapers spread the message with an enormous speed far and wide. The ability of mass communication to encompass by Mc Luhan’s term.

The term expresses that the world is smaller than before due to advances in mass communication. More information is coming faster, at cheaper rates per unit, from farther away and from more sources through more channels including multimedia channels with a more varied subject matter. Channels of mass communication can be classified into two broad categories:

Print Media: Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Pamphlets, etc.
Electronic Media: Radio, Cinema, Television, Internet (New Media)

Mass communication means communication to the mass, so there remains a mass of individuals at the receiver end of the communication. This mass of receivers is often called a mass audience.

The mass audience can be defined as ‘individuals united by a common focus of interest (to be informed, educated or entertained) engaging in identical behavior towards common ends (listening, viewing or reading)’. Mass communication has an enormous ability to multiply a message and make it available in many places.

Mass communication will have indirect feedback. A source having communicated a message regarding family planning through radio, television or print either has to depend on indirect means like a survey of audience reaction, letters and telephone calls from audience members, review of the program by columnists to know the response of the audience to the message. Direct feedback which is possible in interpersonal and to a limited extent in group communication, is almost absent in mass communication .

This is again a characteristic unique to mass communication. The enormous scope of mass communication demands some control over the selection and editing of the messages that are constantly transmitted to the mass audience. Both individuals and organizations do gatekeep. Whether done by individuals or organizations, gatekeeping involves setting certain standards and limitations that serve as guidelines for both content development and delivery of a mass communication message.

It is in mass communication is of two types- channel noises and semantic noise.

Channel Noise is any disturbance within transmission aspects of media. In print media, it may be misspellings, scrambled words, or misprints. Any type of mechanical failure stops the message from reaching the audience in its original form.

Semantic Noise will include language barriers, differences in education level, socio-economic status, occupation, age, experience, and interests between the source and the audience members.

FAQ Related to Mass Communication

What exactly is mass communication, what is the best definition of mass communication.

Mass communication is concerned with transmitting information, thoughts, opinions, entertainment, etc. at a time to a large number of heterogeneous audiences.

What are the 8 functions of media?

The following are functions of mass media explained briefly: 1. To Inform 2. To Persuade 3. Education 4. To Entertain 5. Transmission of Culture 6. To Build Public Opinion 7. To Circulate Government Policies 8. To Disseminate Health and Education Programs 9. Surveillance 10. Mobilization etc.

What are the 3 types of mass communication?

These are the following types of mass communication: Print Media, Electronic Media, and New Media.

What are the characteristics of mass communication?

Following are the characteristics of mass communication: 1. Specific Objectives 2. Common Messages 3. Source of Message 4. Messages are Sophisticated and Complex 5. Limited Information 6. Mass Medium 7. Impersonality 8. Portability and Mobility 9. Universality 10. Permanency.

What is the importance of mass communication?

These are the importance of mass communication given below: 1. Contact With Families and Friends 2. Universality 3. Permanency 4. Launching a Business and Introducing New Products 5. Wide Cover 6. Advertising Product and Services 7. Interdepartmental Coordination 8. Inform Market Price, Demand, and Supply.

What is the process of mass communication?

Following are the steps of the process of mass communication: 1. Source 2. Message 3. Channel 4. Global Village 5. Receiver 6. Feedback 7. Gate Keeping 8. Noise.

What is the meaning of mass communication?

Mass communication is communicating with the masses. It is distinguished from other forms of communication as it caters to a large number of heterogeneous receivers separated from each other both physically and emotionally. Mass communication uses technological systems to produce the message and disseminate it to a multitude of receivers. Mass communication thus overcomes the barrier of time and space.

The Three Types of Mass Communication

This essay about the various forms of mass communication examines three primary types: broadcast media, online media, and print media. It sheds light on how these mediums play pivotal roles in disseminating information, shaping public discourse, and fostering connections among individuals and communities. By exploring the unique characteristics and impacts of each type, the essay offers valuable insights into the dynamic landscape of modern communication.

How it works

In the kaleidoscope of human interaction and information exchange, the realm of mass communication stands as a vibrant mosaic, weaving together diverse threads of media and messaging. Delving into this tapestry reveals not just the broad strokes of television screens and newspaper headlines, but also the intricate patterns of connection and influence that define our modern world. Within this dynamic landscape, three distinct types of mass communication emerge, each possessing its own character and impact.

First, let’s cast our gaze upon the towering edifice of broadcast media.

Picture the glow of a television screen illuminating a living room, or the crackle of a radio filling the airwaves with voices and music. Broadcast media embodies the essence of shared experience, captivating audiences with its ability to simultaneously reach millions of viewers or listeners. From gripping news reports to gripping dramas, from live sports events to cultural phenomena, broadcast media serves as a communal hearth around which society gathers to witness, react, and engage.

Venturing into the digital realm, we encounter the sprawling landscape of online media. Here, the internet serves as both stage and megaphone, amplifying voices and ideas across vast virtual spaces. Social media platforms buzz with conversation, news websites pulse with real-time updates, and blogs offer intimate glimpses into diverse perspectives. Online media democratizes the dissemination of information, granting individuals the power to share their stories, opinions, and creations with a global audience. Yet, amidst the cacophony of digital chatter, discerning truth from falsehood becomes a critical challenge, as echo chambers and misinformation abound.

And let us not forget the enduring presence of print media, standing as a steadfast sentinel in the midst of digital upheaval. Newspapers, magazines, and books hold a timeless allure, offering tangible artifacts of knowledge and culture in an increasingly ephemeral world. The rustle of turning pages, the scent of ink on paper—these sensory experiences evoke a sense of intimacy and authority that digital mediums often struggle to replicate. Through investigative journalism, thoughtful analysis, and literary exploration, print media continues to shape our understanding of the world with depth and nuance.

In this ever-evolving landscape of mass communication, the interplay of broadcast, online, and print media shapes the contours of our collective consciousness. Each medium carries its own strengths and weaknesses, its own opportunities and challenges. Yet, beneath the surface diversity lies a common thread—the human impulse to connect, to inform, to entertain, and to inspire. As technology advances and societal norms shift, the ways in which we communicate and consume media will undoubtedly continue to evolve. But amidst the flux and uncertainty, one thing remains certain: the enduring power of mass communication to shape our perceptions, our beliefs, and our shared reality.

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mass communication

Mass Communication, Media, and Culture - An Introduction to Mass Communication

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15.2 Functions and Theories of Mass Communication

Functions of Mass Media

The Media as Gatekeeper

“Getting Critical”

Theories of Mass Communication

Hypodermic Needle and Beyond

Media Effects

Cultivation Theory

“Getting Competent”

Key Takeaways

11.1 Defining Mass Communication

Evolution of Mass Communication

Functions of Mass Communication

Surveillance

Correlation

Sensationalization

Entertainment

Transmission

Mobilization

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Mass Communication

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Mass Communication by Hans-Bernd Brosius , Veronika Karnowski LAST REVIEWED: 23 February 2011 LAST MODIFIED: 23 February 2011 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756841-0022

8.1: A Definition and Brief History of Mass Communication

A Brief History of Mass Media/Communication

Books and Newspapers

Radio, Television, Film

Technological Transitions Shape Media Industries

Mass Communication – A Definition

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Mass Communication: Importance and Impacts

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