Journalism

The profession of gathering, editing, and publishing news reports and related articles for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio.

- The various means of mass The various means of mass communication considered as a whole, communication considered as a whole, including television, radio, magazines, including television, radio, magazines, and newspapers, together with the and newspapers, together with the people involved in their production.people involved in their production.

What are the “media”?

Presentational media Representational media Mechanical/electronic media

Presentational Media

Require the presence of a face-to-face communicator (ex. Speech)

Representational Media

Enable messages to be stored, passed over a distance, and reproduced in the absence of the participants

Ex. Telegrams, newspapers, comics, and magazines

They rely on technical devices for producing their messages

Mechanical/Electronic Media Are also representational because

they use codes to carry messages They differ from simple

representational ones because they depend on technical devices both for sending messages and receiving them (Hart, 1991)

Mass Media

The tools to mass communication. They are the channels, therefore

media, through which information, ideas, and attitudes are disseminated to the masses.

Traditional Media

The folk arts: plays, puppet shows, musical drams, poetry, jousts etc., which were/are popular forms of entertainment among the rural people in the Philippines and other parts of Asia.

Community Media A new trend in the use of communication

media for community development. The small media or group media, provide

better success and opportunities for people participation in community development

Examples: community newspaper, blackboard newspapers, rural newspapers, audio cassettes and development theatre

Mass Communication

Is a process by which an individual or organization transmit messages to a large, diverse audience with limited opportunity to respond

Channels of Mass Communication Books, pamphlets Magazines Newspapers Direct-mail circular Newsletters Cd’s audiotapes Television Motion picture Radio Videotapes Computer networks

Not included as channels of mass communication Telephones – do not reach large

audience, one-on-one conversation Stage plays – limited to a confined

area

The Communication Process

Source Receiver

Message

Channel

Figure 2 Communication Model (Wilson & Wilson 1998)

Types of Communication Intrapersonal Communication –

describes a person talking to himself or herself

Interpersonal Communication – two or three people talk with one another in close physical proximity

Group Communication – groups of people communicate with one another in face-to-face encounters

Mass Communication –communicators use technological devices known as media to communicate over great distances to influence large audiences

Basic Components of Communication Process Source – sometimes called the

sender, communicator, or encoder- Is the person who shares

information, ideas, or attitudes with another person

- In mass communication, is usually a professional communicator who shapes the message to be shared

Examples: TV reporter or entertainer

MessageMessage

Is whatever the source attempts to share with someone else

It originates with an idea, which then must be encoded into symbols which will be used to express ideas

Symbols are words, pictures, or objects that the source uses to illicit meaning in the mind of the receiver of the message

Ex. Words, pictures, facial expressions, gestures, and body language

Channel

Is the way in which the message is sent

Is interpersonal communication: sense of sight, sound and touch

Example: use of electronic or technological devices

Receiver

Sometimes called destination, audience, or decoder

Is the person with whom the message is extended to be shared in mass communication

Is usually a large audience that is often referred to as the masses

Ex. Book reader, movie audience, radio listeners

Feedback

Is an added component in the communication process if the receiver or the audience transmits back to the source an observable response

Can take many forms: words, gestures, facial expressions, or any observable element

Communication Noise

1. Channel Noise – refers to external interference in the communication process

Ex. Radio static blocks, unreadable book prints, inaudible voices, blurred pictures

2. Semantic Noise – occurs when the message gets through as sent, but you don’t understand what it means

- Can be caused by jargons, scientific, and technical terms idioms, legalese, gobbledygook

- Can also occur when words take on connotations or emotional meanings based on experiences

3. Psychological Noise

Refers to internal factors that lead to misunderstandings in the communication process

Selective exposure – we expose ourselves to information that reinforces rather than contradicts our beliefs or opinions

Selective perception – we tend to see, hear, and believe what we want to see, hear, and believe – also called “autistic thinking” (Piaget) (Autism – thought in which truth is confused with desire)

Theory of Redundancy

The communicator’s way of overcoming channel noise by repeating the main idea of his message a number of times to make sure it gets through.

Information Processing By the Media1. Gate keeping – one way the media

control our access to news, information, and entertainment.

- This sociological term was coined by Kurt Lewin who used to describe the fact that news most travel through a series of checkpoints (gates) before it reaches the public

2. Agenda setting – another process whereby the mass media determines what we think and worry about

- Mass media agenda-setting theory contends that the mass media, not we, determine what will be news and what won’t

- The most important effect of mass communication is its ability to mentally order and organize our world for us

Mass Communication Field Encompasses:1. Advertising agencies2. Wire services, public relations and publicity

firms3. Syndication houses that provide feature and

photo material for print media or programs and movies for television, artist and graphic design consultants

4. Research firms for product, audience and message analysis

5. Independent producers of movies and television programs

6. Program suppliers

Important Agencies of Communication that are Adjuncts of the Mass Media1. The Press Association, which collect

and distribute news and pictures to the newspapers, television, radio stations and magazines.

2. The syndicates, which offer background news and pictures, commentaries, and entertainment features to newspapers, tv, radio, and magazines.

3. The advertising agencies, which serve their business clients on the one hand and the mass media on the other.

4. The advertising departments of companies and institutions, which serve in merchandising roles, and the public relations departments, which serve in information roles.

5. The Public Relations counselling firms and publicity organizations, which offer information in behalf of their clients.

6. Research individual and groups, who help gauge the impact of the message and guide mass communicators to more effective paths

The Social Roles of Mass Communication (Lasswell 1948)1. Surveillance of the environment2. Correlation of the components of

society in making a response to the environment

3. Transmission of social inheritance

Social Functions of Media (Farrar, 1997)1. Sentinel – we rely on mass

communication media to keep us alert to an impending typhoon, election, oil price hike, movie schedule, brown-outs, etc.

2. Arena – the communication media place events and controversies on the community agenda, focusing attention on issues so that consensus can be reached.

3. Instructor – through communication media, we teach what others are saying, wearing, doing.

4. Social and Political regulator – this may be most important rate mass communication media play: they keep leaders honest; social and government policies equitable.

Four Concepts of Mass Communication1. Authoritarianism – or authoritarian

theory – a theory of the press asserting that the rulers of society should control what is disseminated to the public in the mass media.

2. Libertarianism or libertarian theory – the theory that the press should serve the governed (people) not governors

3. The soviet people – an offshoot of the authoritarian theory of the press stating that the mass media should be state owned and operated to best serve the government.

4. Social responsibility – an offshoot of libertarian theory of the press that contends that the press is socially responsible to keep a democratic nation well informed.