Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.

San Guillermo, Isabela

MODULE 6
DISCIPLINES OF COMMUNICATION
PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS IN COMMUNICATION

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. identify the goals and scope of communication;
2. explain the principles of communication;
3. describe the elements and levels of the communication processes;
4. explain the roles and functions of communicators and journalists;
5. identify specific work areas in which communicators and journalists work;
6. explain the rights, responsibilities, and accountabilities;
7. distinguish between ethical and unethical behaviors among practitioners.

LESSON 1: The Discipline of Communication

Before we proceed in our lesson, you are asked to answer a short assessment. Let us see how wide or
knowledgeable you are in our new topic, communication. This is not recorded but let us tests how deep your
idea is.

PRETEST

True or False. Please indicate in the space provided if the following statements are true or false.
____1. Praying is a form of communication.
____2. People communicate only through words
____3. Communication leads to certain effects.
____4. Children learn the social values of society like the love of the country through the
communication processes that take place in their families.
____5. Birthday celebrations are a form of communication.
____6. Through communication, people are mobilized to take part in political processes such as
elections.
____7. When messages are sent to large audiences by an institution, mass communication is taking
place.
____8. Mass communication usually involves standardized content.
____9. The absence of visual cues is a characteristic of computer-mediated communication.
____10. Communication involves a sender sending a message to a receiver.

EXPLORE!

Watch a video clip on the life of a journalist through this URL link then answer the questions
below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-yTNp3dDGw

1. What do you think are the roles of journalists in a society based on the video clip you have watched?
Give examples.
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DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

2. What do you think will happen if there will be no journalists in our country?
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FIRM UP!

DEFINITIONS AND ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESSES

Goals of Communication

1. To inform – you are providing information for use in decision making, but aren’t necessarily advocating
a course of action.
2. To request – ask for a specific action by the receiver.
3. To persuade – to reinforce or change a receiver’s belief about a topic and possibly, act on the belief.
4. To build relationships – some messages you send may have the simple goal of building good-will
between you and the receiver.

Scope of Communication

Communication in personal life – communication is closely related to every sphere of human life.
From dawn to sleep at night, a person communicates with others.
Communication in social life –In social life, people need to develop social bondage. Communication
helps us in creating and strengthening this social bondage.
Communication in state affairs – communication is also pervaded in all areas of state affairs. Without
communication, the state neither can administer its various wings nor can maintain relationships with the other
part of the world.
Communication in religion – communication is also present in perching, spreading, and circulation
various religious doctrines. Prophets and saints have preached the verses of Almighty to their followers and
even now, many religious thinkers are performing the duty of preaching and circulating religious verses.
Transmission Models of Communication
Communication is a process by which a message is moved or transmitted from one point to another.
These definitions fall under the so-called transmission model of communication and contain all or most of the
following elements:
• Sender or source – person, groups, or institutions that create or produce the message; also referred to as
encoder.
• Message –the ideas or meanings, expressed in verbal (messages use words to convey meaning) or
nonverbal (facial expression, gestures, posture, touch, pitch) means that is transmitted from the source to
the receiver.
• Channel – the medium such as radio, used to transmit the message.
• Receiver –the person, group, or institution to which the message is intended; also referred to as decoder.
• Encoding and decoding – encoding refers to the way the communication source creates the message
into a form that can be understood by the receiver. On the other hand, decoding refers to the processing
of the message by the receiver so that he/she can understand and react to it.

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

• Noise – interference that prevents a message from being accurately understood or interpreted. It can be
physical noise such as choppy connection, or psychological noise such as stress, the attitude of the
communicators toward each other.
• Context – the situation in which the communication takes place and may include sociocultural factors,
the status, and roles of the communicators.
• Feedback – the response or reaction of the receiver to the message received.
• Effect – refers to the consequence or result. Communication effects include changes in our knowledge
(cognitive effects), in our emotions (affective effects), and behavior.

The Ritual Model of Communication

Many communication activities take place to bring people together in some expression of belief, values,
or culture. This view of communication as ‘ritual’ described as follows:
“. . . communication is linked to such terms as sharing, participation association, fellowship, and the
possession of a common faith. . . A ritual view is not directed towards the extension of messages in space, but
the maintenance of society and time; not the act of imparting information but the representation of shared
beliefs.
Example: Celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries, and flag ceremonies.

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA

As a pervasive component of our personal and social lives communication fulfills many functions. Five
main functions are usually attributed to communication in society, namely:
1. Surveillance – refers to the news and information role of communication media such as the news in
media
2. Interpretation – refers to the analysis, commentary, context, and other meanings that are found in a
message. This function relates to persuasion or the influence of attitudes or opinions.
3. Socialization – refers to the transmission of values and culture within a society and also to the education
functions of communication and the media. The mass media is thought to play an important role for it
provides models of appropriate behavior and attitudes which are the basis of common values in a
society.
4. Entertainment – refers to functions related to relaxation, reward, diversion, and education of tension.
These may be performed through variety shows, drama, music, novels, and many other forms.
5. Mobilization – refers to the communication and media’s ability to generate public action about a social
issue, for instance, in relief efforts after a disaster.
Below is an inventory of the tasks of communication and media in society (Mcquail, 2010):
• Information – providing information about events and conditions in society and the world.
• Indicating Relations to Power – facilitating innovation, adaptation, and progress.
• Correlation – explaining, interpreting, and commenting on the meaning of events and information.
• Socializing – coordinating separate activities.
• Consensus-building – setting orders of priority and signaling relative status.
• Continuity – forging and maintaining the commonality of values.
• Entertainment – providing amusement, diversion, and the means of relaxation.
• Mobilization – campaigning for societal objectives in the sphere of politics, war, economic
development, work, and sometimes religion.

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is classified as follows:

1. Intrapersonal communication – is an internal communication process taking place within the
individual. This includes thought processes, speaking aloud, or writing to oneself as when one is writing
in a diary, prayer, meditation.
2. Interpersonal communication – involves two persons or a small group such as family.
• Dyadic communication – when two persons are involved.
• Group communication – when there are three or more persons communicating face-to-face and
able to give immediate responses and feedback, such as a meeting or in-class session.
• Public communication – involves a large group such as a public lecture or church ceremony.
o Categorized as:
• Direct interpersonal communication involves face-to-face between or among the communicators.
• Mediated interpersonal communication involves the use of technology such as telephone or the
internet.
3. Mass Communication – involves the transmission of messages to large audiences using the technology
of communication such as advertisements, movies, etc.
4. Computer-mediated Communication – refers to any communication taking place using the computer
and internet-based technologies such as email, message boards, personal websites, voice conferencing,
chat rooms, social media.

Before you proceed to another lesson, please answer the following accordingly.
You can do it, my student! ☺

1. Many children have parents who are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In a 100-150 word essay,
discuss how these children communicate with their parents. In your discussion, use the concepts learned
in this lesson, for example, the different levels and functions of communication.
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2. Recall the communication activities you have been engaged in from the time you woke up. In the two-
column table below, list down these activities and classify each of them according to the level of
communication and the function/s of the communication activity to you.

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

Time Communication Level of Function of

Activity communication communication

PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS IN COMMUNICATION

Various professions in communication have emerged as a result of the functions and roles which the
media play in society, particularly in politics, economy, and culture. Most prominent of these are those in the
fields of journalism, public relations, and advertising.

Journalism

Journalism refers to the gathering, reporting, and dissemination of news through the mass media. It is
the system which arose to provide for society’s need for news and it arises from the citizens’ rights to have
access to fact and opinion about matters of public interest, and hence is of importance to their welfare, and
rights and duties as citizens.
The committee’s report, published in the book The Elements of Journalism (Kovach & Rosenstiel,
2002), and outlined nine principles which journalism must observe to fulfill his task, namely;
1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens.
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their conscience.

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

Rights and Responsibilities

To ensure that journalists can perform their functions, they enjoy certain rights that flow from a
constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press and speech. These rights include free access to all sources of
information, the right to investigate stories that are of interest to the public, the right to protect the identity and
confidentiality of one’s sources, the right to publish stories without fear of punishment.
Moreover, the journalist’s rights are protected by an international legal framework that is based on the
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The journalist is expected to adhere to certain principles of
professional conduct. The first canon of journalism was published by the American Society of Newspaper
Editors in 1923. The most frequently found principles in these codes are:

• Truthfulness of information
• Clarity of information
• Defense of the public rights
• Responsibilities in forming public opinion
• Standards of gathering and presenting information
• Respecting the integrity of sources
• Prohibition of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, and other characteristics
• Respect for privacy
• Prohibition of bribes and other benefits
• The need to respect universal values and the diversity of cultures
• The need to promote human rights, peace, social progress, and democracy

The code of ethics drawn up by the Society of Professional Journalists defines the principles and standards
of journalism practice as follows:
1. Seek truth and report it – journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting,
and interpreting information.
2. Minimize harm – ethical journalists treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving
of respect.
3. Act independently – journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right
to know.
4. Be accountable – journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other.

Career Opportunities in Journalism

Journalism encompasses print, broadcast (radio and television), and online media. Within these broad
categories are subcategories of news media based on factors such as type of content (general news, political
newspapers, business newspapers, sports newspapers), circulation area (national, local, metropolitan
newspapers), audience (community or religious newspapers), language (national language, vernacular), and
periodicity (daily, weekly).
At the heart of the news, organization is the editorial section. The various roles which journalists play in
the editorial section vary depending mainly on the medium – print, broadcast, online. In print journalism, the
editorials' roles include those of a reporter, editor, columnist, copy editor, photographer, proofreader, and layout
artist.
In addition to the editorial section are other sections needed to run the entire organization, and this
includes:

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

• Advertising
• Circulation
• Marketing
• Production
• Business

Advertising and its Functions

Advertising is a paid, mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to

persuade the reader, listener, or viewer to take some action, now or in the future. The key elements in this
definition are:
• Mediated – refers to the presence of a medium like television, radio, or billboard, to convey the
message from sender to receivers.
• Action refers to the behavior that is desired by the advertiser, such as buying a product or service,
adapting a behavior such as frequent washing of hands, wearing face masks, or walking instead of taking
a car for short distances.
• Advertising serves the following functions in business and society:
• As a marketing tool – products find buyers through advertising.
• As a transmitter of information – advertising provides information that consumers need to make
informed decisions.
• An economic stimulant – advertising is a global industry employing large numbers of people and
generating huge revenues. Advertising campaigns stimulate demand and drive economic growth.
• A purveyor of values – advertisements may promote certain values such as health, thrift, civic
engagement, environment-friendly behavior.

Career Opportunities

Advertising agencies provide a range of services to their clients, as follows:

• Account management
• Research and account planning
• Creative
• Production
• Media planning and buying
o Careers may also be found in the media used for advertising such as:
• Mass media such as TV, radio, print
• Online media
• Nontraditional media especially outdoor advertising media such as billboards, neon signs, electronic
boards, transit ads, ad balloons
• New media forms such as websites, email, games
• Mall events and event marketing such as the major town fiestas in the Philippines including Sinulog,
Dinagyang, Panagbenga; sports events such as UAAP, PBA; school fairs, job fairs

Professional and Ethical Standards

Indeed advertising is a tool of communication whose impact on society cannot be ignored. Recognizing
their social responsibility, governments seek to regulate their practices. In the Philippines, the Advertising

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

Board of the Philippines, the umbrella organization for the largest advertising associations including the
Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies – Philippines and Cinema Advertising Association of the
Philippines, has sought to police its ranks by crafting a code of ethics and the procedures to implement these.
The code provides, among others, that advertisements should not:
• Undermine the public’s regard for government, law, duly constituted authority.
• Exploit or tend to promote physical, verbal, or psychological violence or the use of deadly weapons.
• Disparage, ridicule, or attack any natural person or groups of persons especially based on gender, social
or economic class, religion, race, or nationality.
• Depict the actual act of drinking alcoholic beverages or smoking tobacco products.

Public Relations and its Functions

“Public relations are a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships
between organizations and their publics.” This definition focuses on the basic concept of public relations – as a
communication process, one that is strategic and emphasizing “mutually beneficial relationships.”
• Process – is preferable to a management function, which can evoke ideas of control and top-down, one-
way communications.
• Relationships – relate to public relations’ role in helping to bring together organizations and individuals
with their key stakeholders.
• Public – is preferable to “stakeholders”, as the former to relate to the very public nature of public
relations, whereas stakeholders have connotations of publicly-traded companies.
o As a management function, public relations also encompass the following:
• Anticipating, analyzing, and interpreting public opinion, attitudes, and issues that might impact, for good
or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.
• Counseling management at all levels in the organization about policy decisions, courses of action and
communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or
citizenship responsibilities.
• Researching, conducting, and evaluating, continuingly, programs of action, and communication to
achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. This may
include marketing, financial; fundraising, employee community or government relations, and other
programs.

Standards and Responsibilities

The public relations industry seeks to regulate itself. The Public Relations Society of America’s Code of
Ethics outlines the principles and standards of professional practice and provides concrete examples to illustrate
this. For instance:
A member shall preserve the free flow of unprejudiced information when giving or receiving gifts by
ensuring that gifts are nominal, legal, and infrequent.
• Example: A member entertains a government official beyond legal limits and/or in violation of
government reporting requirements.
A member shall be honest and accurate in all communications. Reveal the sponsors for causes and interests
represented. Avoid deceptive practices.
• Example: A member deceives the public by employing people to pose as volunteers to speak at
public hearings and participate in “grassroots” campaigns.

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

The Public Relations Society of the Philippines also has its code of ethics, among others, are the
following:
• Conduct our professional way of life with the interests of the public as our basic and primary guide.
• Conduct our activities in full accordance with the accepted standards of trust, objectivity, accuracy,
and good taste.
• Uphold the rule of law and the dictates of public order, public policy, morals, and good customs.
• Protect the interest of our clients or employers by being faithful to our commitments to them, against
which we shall not represent conflicting or competing interests unless full consent is given by all
interested parties with full disclosure of facts.

DEEPEN!

Instruction: Answer the following in 50-100 words.

1. Why is ritual communication important in our society?

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2. Explain why the socialization process can be viewed as a communication process.
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3. In what ways can interpersonal communication be more effective than mass communication?
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4. Discuss some advantages and disadvantages of computer-mediated communication.
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DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021
Southern Isabela Academy, Inc.
San Guillermo, Isabela

TRANSFER!

The class will be divided into four. Using social media, each group will conduct research on the
communication habits of young people in your community and prepare a report of your findings. To carry out
this project, do the following:

1. Using a questionnaire, conduct a survey of the communication habits of young people, between the ages
of 15 to 18 years old in your community. A minimum of 10 people.
2. Write a report that contains the following information:
a. A description of the survey.
b. The result of the survey.
c. A discussion of what the results say about the functions of communication for young people in
your community. Which functions dominate? Which functions play a minor role?
d. A discussion of what the results imply about the role which the mass media play in the
information of young people as citizens and their active participation in political processes such
as elections?
e. What policies and programs will you recommend to promote the use of the media as tools of
democracy?

REFERENCES

Dela Cruz, A.R., Fernandez, C., Melegrito, M. L., & Valdez, V., (2016). Disciplines and Ideas in the Applied
Social Sciences. Phoenix Publishing House,188-211

Life of a journalist. Retrieved July 23, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-yTNp3dDGw

END OF MODULE 6

DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

FIRST SEMESTER • SY 2020-2021