Media studies

A sender of a message, intentionally form purposeful messages and attempt to express them to others through verbal and non-verbal signs, this sender is responsible for the message sent and can be held responsible for his or message. However, the process becomes complicated in mass communication as the sender is usually a collective body; several people are involved in the delivery of a message.

That is, a collective becomes the communicator. Example, a theatre drama trying to portray a message about HEADWINDS related disease involves not only the cast, but the script writer, stage setting, the actor’s attire, sighting and so on.

All these people and people responsible for other parts of the stage, forms part of being the “ communicator”. 2. 2 The meaning of “ medium” In mass communication the medium can be radio, television, film, newspapers, magazines, the internet, videos, compact disks, sound cassettes and so on. The term “ medium” also means the channel through which the media content is transmitted and distributed.

It requires that a member of a media audience must have the technological means to receive the transmitted messages. It means that mass communication involves technologies as a form of medium that could be complex at mimes.

For example, what used to be Just video games and played on audio and visual cassettes are now played on the internet, digital TV through wireless technological instruments. Message has both concrete and an abstract meaning. It concrete in a form of content being produced and abstract in terms of the meaning encoded in the content by the recipient’s own interpretation of the content. The message can be analyses on four levels: content, form, substance and meaning.

Examples of message analysis respectively – a political topic on TV, radio or newspaper’s content will be interpreted fervently by any recipient.

The manner in which something is linguistically or visually formulated. The size, color or channel of TV. The literal or derivative meaning. The audience are the viewers, listeners and readers. Media audience in mass communication are heterogeneous and usually unknown to the communicator.

Media audience usually receive and use media messages either as individuals or within a small larger group. Media content can be read all over the world through being part of the media audience is, however, access. You need to be able to afford media by having electricity.

This could become a problem in countries like South Africa as some households; especially in rural arrears still do not have electricity. It must be pointed out though that in mass communication, it is difficult to pinpoint the audience, hence the generalization about media audiences is almost impossible.

Examples of audience would be individual or group of people watching a movie or listening to radio. 2. 5 The meaning of “ communication” in mass communication Communication means a two-way exchange with mutual feedback between a communicator and a recipient in reciprocal roles.

Mass communication is mainly one-way communication from a (collective) communicator to a recipient(s), often, unseen and unknown by the communicator. The ever improving and developing technology, in a form of internet (seep), mass medium, enables one to see and communicate with the recipient though. This means that there’s always immediate feedback.

Therefore, one could argue that communication In mass communication is taking place in this regard. Mass media such as newspapers, radio, television and internet have now created simple platforms for feedback, thereby creating public debate.

Examples would be publishing of Journalists email addresses by some newspapers and phone-ins by the public on radio and TV talk shows. THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE MEDIA Media is located within the framework of functionalism, the informative role of media and the freedom of expression is highlighted. The point of departure is normative theory with special focus on postmodern perspective. Postmodern societies are characterized by a new kind of public, which in turn is characterized by habitation, fragmentation and the rise of minorities and minority rights.

It is a society in which the traditional clear-cut distinction between public and private is blurred. It is difficult to recognize a coherent population with shared values. A single idealized Haberdasher public sphere with a common normative dimension no longer exists, or is difficult to recognize. Several public spheres claim New Media Environment New technologies, convergence, liberation’s, deregulation and globalization have brought about new channels of public communication.

Public communication is now characterized by new distribution platforms, a multimedia approach, and interactivity, the blurring of the distinction between public and private media, niche markets, diversity, choice and abundance. It is argued that in the new media environment, Journalism has become market-driven and guided by what is interesting rather than what is important; by an audience orientation rather than an ethical orientation and an institutional logic.

Content is market oriented and commercialese. In the postmodern society democracy is believed to be in a crisis.

The ideal of republican democracy, be it representative, participatory or communitarian, is questioned. Democracy, it is argued, can no longer be viewed as a fixed ideal type but only as fluid and evolving. The changing nature of citizenship in a pluralists society needs to be acknowledged. A new view of democracy is thus evolving as being pluralists, marked by new kinds of communities of identity, a system in which the traditional public-private divide does not apply, in which there are no universal visions of “ common good” but rather pragmatic and negotiated exchanges about ethical behavior and ethically inspired courses of action.

Functionalism is a view of society as integrated, harmonious, cohesive whole in which al parts of the society (government, non-governmental organizations, private institutions, educational establishments and economic structures) function to maintain equilibrium or balance, consensus and social order. Objections to functionalism are that it often: It tends to overlook the fact that the media do not necessarily function identically for the people or groups.

It takes consensus as grated and disregards conflict in social relations. This approach further fails to account adequately for social change and transformation. Media functions in well-established democratic societies might be histrionically in societies in a process of change, development and transformation.

The message and the context. There is no doubt that mass communication needs to be understood in a more broader perspective, considering the theories which are now refuted by new theories based on the developing technologies.