McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved. THE DYNAMICS OF MASS COMMUNCATION Joseph R. Dominick University of Georgia--Athens.

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.

THE

DYNAMICS

OF MASS

COMMUNCATION

Joseph R. DominickUniversity of Georgia--Athens

McGraw-Hill © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights reserved.

The

Nature and History

of

Mass Communication

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Chapter 1

Communication: Mass and Other Forms

Cha

pter

Out

line Case Study – 24/7 Global News Coverage?

The Communication ProcessCommunication Settings

InterpersonalMachine-AssistedDefinition of Mass CommunicationMass Communication

Traditional Mass Media OrganizationsThe Internet and Mass CommunicationFuture of Mass Media Segmentation

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• July 7, 2005 terrorist bombs exploded in London

• All major broadcast and cable networks reported the story within 25 minutes

• Technical communication breakdown warning of tsunami lead to the death of thousands

• Demonstrates fragility of modern communications

24/7 Global News Coverage?

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The Communication Process

Figure 1-1: Elements of the Communication Process

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Eight Elements of the Communication Process

• Source

• Encoding

• Message

• Channel

• Decoding

• Receiver

• Feedback

• Noise

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Communication Settings

• Interpersonal Communication

• Machine-Assisted Interpersonal

Communication

• Mass Communication

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Communication Settings

• Interpersonal Communication

– Individual or groups

– Physical presence required

– Encoding is a one-step process

– Variety of channels

– Messages hard for receiver to terminate

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Communication Settings

• Interpersonal Communication

(cont)

– Little or no expense

– Messages generally private

– Message can pinpoint specific targets

– Immediate feedback

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Communication Settings

SOURCE

-- machine --

RECEIVER

Machine-Assisted Interpersonal Communication

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Communication Settings

• Machine-Assisted Communication– Source and receiver

• May be individuals or groups

• May be a machine such as ATM

– Feedback • Immediate or delayed

• May be impossible

– Messages • Customizability varies

• Private or public

• Inexpensive to send

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Communication Settings

• Machine-Assisted Communication

– Encoding can be simple to complex• Source: thoughts words or symbols• Machines: encode message for transmission

– Channel options restricted

– Decoding similar to encoding• Machines: electrical energy light patterns• Receiver: words or symbols thoughts

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Mass Communication . . .

… occurs when a complex organization, with machine aid, produces and transmits public messages to large, heterogeneous and scattered audiences.

Communication Settings

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Communication Settings

• Mass Communication– Pre-Internet: Source is a structured organization

– Internet: Source can be one person

– Sender gets little audience information

– Encoding a multi-stage process

– Channel involves machines

– Messages are public and impersonal

– Effective feedback difficult

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Communication Settings

• Mass communication audiences– Large

– Heterogeneous

– Geographically diversified

– Individually anonymous

– Self-defined

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Communication Settings

Table 1-1: Differences in Communication Settings

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Traditional Mass Media Organizations

• Complex, formal organizations

• Multiple gatekeepers

• Need lots of money to operate

• Exist to make a profit

• Highly competitive

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Traditional Mass Media Organizations

Table 1-2: Global Media Giants

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The Internetand Mass Communication

• Websites– Affordable and producible by individual

– Bypass gatekeepers

– Creativity reigns

– Low start-up and maintenance costs

– May or may not exist for profit

– Audience competition not always factor

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The Internetand Mass Communication

Figure 1-2: Traditional Mass Communication Model

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The Internetand Mass Communication

Figure 1-3: Internet Mass Communication Model

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Mass Media Segmentation

• Audience lifestyles more fragmented

• Individual segments can be large

• Emerging trends:– Convergence (coming together)

• Corporate

• Operational

• Device

– Disintermediation (eliminating the middleman)– Increasing audience control– Media mobility