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2 15. Mass communication.

Lecture



  • Basic concepts and techniques of mass communication
  • Characteristics of mass communication
  • The history of the study of problems of mass communication

Mass communication is the process of disseminating information (knowledge, spiritual values, moral and legal norms, etc.) using technical means (press, radio, television, etc.) to a numerically large, dispersed audience (see: Philosophical Dictionary / Under Edited by IT Frolova. M., 1991).

The mass media (QMS) are special channels and transmitters, thanks to which informational messages are spread over large areas.

Mass communication is primarily characterized by:

  • availability of technical means ensuring regularity and replication;
  • the social importance of information contributing to the increased motivation of mass communication;
  • the mass of the audience, which, due to its dispersion and anonymity, requires an elaborate value orientation;
  • multi-channel and the possibility of choosing communication tools that ensure the variability and, at the same time, the normativity of mass communication.

Characteristics of mass and interpersonal communication

Mass communication Interpersonal communication
Mediation of communication by technical means Direct contact in communication
Communication of large social groups Communication is mostly individual individuals.
Pronounced social orientation of communication Both social and individual-personal orientation of communication
Organized, institutional communication Both organized and, to a greater extent, the spontaneous nature of communication
The lack of direct communication between the communicator and the audience in the process of communication The presence of direct feedback between communicating in the process of communicative act
Increased demands for compliance with accepted norms of communication More “free” attitude towards compliance with accepted norms of communication
Unidirectionality of information and fixing communicative roles Alternately changing the direction of information and communication roles
The collective nature of the communicator and its public individuality The “individual” character of the communicator and its “private” individuality
Mass, spontaneous, anonymous, scattered audience Recipient - a specific individual person
Mass, publicity, social relevance and frequency of messages Uniqueness, privacy, universality, social and individual relevance, optional frequency
The predominance of the two-step nature of the perception of the message The predominance of direct perception of the message

Source: Lyapipa T. Political Advertising. Kiev, 2000. S. 98.

The uniqueness of the communication process in the QMS is associated with the following properties:

  • diachronicity is a communicative property due to which the message is preserved in time;
  • diatopnost - a communicative property that allows informational messages to overcome space;
  • multiplication is a communicative property, due to which a message is subjected to multiple repetitions with relatively unchanged content;
  • simultaneity is a property of the communication process that allows to submit adequate messages to many people almost simultaneously;
  • replication is a property that realizes the regulating effect of mass communication.

History of the study of problems of mass communication.

The beginning of the research of mass communication is associated with the name of the German sociologist M. Weber. In 1910, he methodologically substantiated the need to study the press in a sociological aspect, convincingly showing the orientation of the periodical press to various social structures and its influence on the formation of man as a member of society. He also formulated the social requirements that apply to a journalist, substantiated the method of analysis of the press.

Huge importance for the study of mass communication was played by the work of W. Lippmann, Public Opinion, published in 1922. According to Lippmann, human thinking is reduced to reactions in response to external stimuli.

According to Lippmann, exploring the complex processes of creating stereotypes, one can study the phenomenon of mass communication.

McLuhan developed a typology of historically developing cultural systems (oral, written, audiovisual), based on various means of communication. The study of communication tools, he considered the main task for understanding their interaction with man. His conclusion is interesting: throughout human history, the ratio of the sense organs changes in favor of hearing and tactility.

On the basis of the general theory of communication and information theory, mass communication is considered in line with the problems of philosophy, sociology, psychology, ethnography, linguistics, and other humanities.

  • What are the distinctive characteristics of mass communication?
  • What are the properties associated with the communication process?

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Communication theory

Terms: Communication theory