MJM-020

INTRODUCTION TO
JOURNALISM AND MASS
Indira Gandhi National Open University
School of Journalism and New Media Studies COMMUNICATION

Block

1
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
UNIT 1
Communication: Concept and Process 7
UNIT 2
Models of Communication 21
UNIT 3
Theories of Mass Communication 36
UNIT 4
Mass Communication Research: Principles
and Process 50
Introduction to Communication
BLOCK INTRODUCTION: INTRODUCTION TO
COMMUNICATION
This is an important block as it introduces you to those aspects of mass
communication which you, as a first time learner may not be familiar with.
These concepts are the foundation or the building blocks of different areas
of the discipline.
Unit 1: Communication: Concept & Process emphasises the definition,
concept and process of communication. It teaches you what is effective
communication and barriers of communication. You will also learn about the
development of communications media and forms of communication. Last
and the most important, it teaches you about the social construction of
reality and how culture is placed in it.
Unit 2: Models of Communication introduces you to the various
communication models which are a systematic representation of the process
which helps in understanding how communication works. They are the
conceptual models explaining the human communication process.
Unit 3: Theories of Communication focus on how media operate under a
prevailing set of conditions and values. It speaks about the way of looking
at events, organising them and representing them. Various theories are covered
in this unit – psychological theories, sociological theories, critical and cultural
theories and media society theories.
Unit 4: Communication Research is a broad overview of media and
communications research. It tells you what is research, what are the types of
research and how to go about it. You will also learn about the steps of
research and different research methodologies.
With this you would come to the end of the first block in Introduction to
Journalism and Mass Communication. Further blocks would help you deepen
your knowledge on the conceptual understanding you have made in this
block.

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UNIT 1 COMMUNICATION: CONCEPT
AND PROCESS
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Learning Outcomes
1.2 Need for Communication?
1.2.1 Communication Process
1.2.2 Effective Communication
1.2.3 Barriers to Communication

1.3 Forms of Communication

1.4 The Development of Communications Media
1.5 Mass Communication: The Conventional View
1.6 Mass Communication: The Contemporary View
1.7 Role of Media in Social Construction of Reality
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Keywords
1.10 Further Readings
1.11 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

1.0 INTRODUCTION
What exactly is communication? The word is derived from the Latin word
‘communis’ which means ‘to make common’. Communication, at the simplest
level, involves understanding what someone conveys and means and in turn making
someone else understand what you mean. However, for communication to take
place, it is important for some basic understanding to exist, which is possible only
when the two people feel and think about that subject on common lines. The
more the commonness between two people, the better their communication gets.
In the parlance of communication, the person who sends a message or
communicates is called Sender/ Source and the one who receives it is called the
Receiver. A well-known media expert, Denis McQuail in his book “Mass
Communication Theory” defined communication as:
“The process that increases commonality but also requires elements of
commonality to occur at all.”
Many social scientists have attempted to define communication from different
perspectives. One of the oldest and most widely quoted one is from a western
political scientist, Harold Lasswell (1948) whoposed some questions the answers
to which would have communication defined. He described it as:
“Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?”
Channel here stands for the medium of communication which may be language,
book or even a mass medium like radio, television or newspaper. The effect is 7
Introduction to Communication the common understanding that communication aims at building. According to
John C. Merrill and Ralph L. Lowenstein, communication is:
“A meeting of minds, a bringing about of a common set of symbols in the
minds of participants – in short, an understanding.”

1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this unit you will be able to:
analyse communication, its process and need;
describe forms of communication and effective communication;
development of communications media;
differentiate between conventional and new media; and
interpret how media plays a role in social construction of reality.

1.2 NEED FOR COMMUNICATION?

Communication is as important a need for all living beings as is food and shelter.
And all living beings invariably communicate within their community, be it the
evening call of the birds to return back to their homes or barking of dogs in
protest when a non-member enters their territory or the dance of the honeybees
to convey to other members where nectar can be found. For human beings too,
this is a natural individual and social need as man is a social animal. No normal
human being can exist in isolation, irrespective of his age, gender and interests.

1.3.1 Communication Process

Communication leads to creation of meaning that gets shared between the
participants as a continuous, cyclic process. What the sender shares with the
receiver is knowledge or information based on his own individual experiences.
What the sender understands as an outcome of those experiences is what he
further conveys to the receiver. So, one common functional definition for
communication can be:
“A cyclic process of sharing of experiences between two or more participants”
This brings us to the process of communication. The process of communication
involves four basic elements – the sender (S), the message (M), the channel (C)
and the receiver (R) – what is also called the SMCR model of communication.
The representation below (Fig.1.1) indicates how communication which takes
place in a cyclic process:

Message

Channel (language/mass media/gestures) Decoding

Encoding
Interpretation
Interpretation COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Encoding
Decoding
(RECEIVER)
(SENDER)
(feedback) (feedback)
Message
8
The sender initiates communication by sending a message and the receiver or the Communication: Concept
audience is/are the one(s) who receives it, message is the actual content that the and Process
sender desires to convey and channel is the medium of conveying that message.
Channel, the medium of conveying the message can be mass media, language,
gestures, body language, signs and symbols. When the sender sends a message
through some channel to the receiver, the receiver decodes that message in his
brain, makes meaning out of it (interpreting) and then encodes the response of
that message in his mind and conveys it back to the sender. This process of
conveying back is called feedback, an important component in the process of
communication. Feedback indicates whether what has been understood is what
the source/sender meant or is it different from the source’s understanding. While
receiving the feedback, the sender becomes the receiver and the receiver becomes
the sender.

1.2.2 Effective Communication

A communication is considered effective if it produces the desired results. For
example, if a political leader through his speech is able to motivate the electorate
to cast their votes for him, his communication may be termed as effective. Alternately,
a child tends to take the warning or instructions of his parents or teachers seriously
but will not listen to a stranger. His parents’ communication to him is effective but
the latter is not. From both the examples it is clear that it is the relationship
between the source and the receiver that communicates, it is this factor that
decides how the meaning would be interpreted at the receiver’s end. The
perception of the source by the receiver or the trust factor that exists in their
relationship decides how positively the receiver would respond to the source’s
message. Any communication is called effective if the meaning of the message
interpreted by the receiver is the same as that desired by the sender. The
effectiveness of the message would be clear from whether or to what extent any
desired behavioral change is brought about in the receiver. This is also termed as
feedback which can be in words and/or actions. The response that a
communication message emanates in the receiver is termed as feedback.
Feedback may be positive, negative or neutral. When an employee continues
to come late to office despite repeated reminders, it is a negative feedback as the
communication is not having the desired response on the employee. When a
student makes all efforts to meet the assignment deadlines of a teacher, it is a
positive feedback as it is the result of the high regard the student may have
towards the teacher and hence the teacher’s communication is termed effective.
When a voter does not exercise his right to vote, leave alone voting in favour of
or against a political leader, then it is called a neutral feedback as the communication
did not have any effect on him.

1.2.3 Barriers to Communication

There are certain barriers to communication which may hinder its effectiveness.
These may be of varied types:
Communicating to the receiver at a wrong/inconvenient time.
The message communicated is distorted (i.e. change in the meaning of the
message due to noise) some reason. Noise is termed as the change that is
introduced in the message so that its meaning does not remain what was
intended by the source.
9
Introduction to Communication Information overload is yet another barrier as every individual has a limited
attention span during which he/she is receptive to communication messages.
Besides technical barriers, there are also language and psychological barriers to
communication. Language barriers may be of two kinds:
Vocabulary (use of difficult words that the receiver may not understand)
Semantics (when the meaning of the message is not clear to the audience or
what the audience understands is different from what the source meant).
Psychological barriers may include these factors:
Noise: Sometimes when the student in the class is thinking of an India-
Pakistan cricket match that is to take place that evening, what the teacher
is talking may be noise to him. Alternately, any disturbance in the frequency
of a radio channel can create disturbance and the audience may not be able
to hear what is being broadcast.
Perception set differences: Over a period of time, individuals build a certain
tendency to perceive a message in a certain way. For example, some people
believe what advertisements claim about a certain product as their experiences
with it may be positive. Alternately, there may be others who may not believe
such messages as their experiences with the same product/ service may not
be satisfactory. This tendency is called perception set. Due to difference in
experiences, value systems, beliefs and social realities of individuals difference
in perception set will always exist due to which a message may not have the
same effect on all individuals.
Lack of trust and jealousy: These may also be the reasons why a message
may not have the desired effect on the audience.
Information filtering: The receivers have a tendency to accept only those
messages that they find are of interest to them or reinforce the notions and
beliefs that they already have. They filter such information and leave out the
rest thereby becoming another psychological barrier.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. Describe the process of communication.
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2. Explain the barriers to communication.
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 Communication: Concept
1.3 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION and Process

Having known what communication is what makes it effective and what reduces
its effective capacity, it is also important to know the different forms in which this
process is carried out. Though, we are exposed to each of these forms in our
daily lives, we may have never paid any attention to it. Communication scholars
agree that there are four basic forms of communication:
Intra-personal communication: This is the kind of communication in which
there is only one participant who is the sender as well as the receiver. This
is also known as auto communication or introspection. Talking to oneself is
a good example for this.
Interpersonal communication: This communication takes place between
two participants and the exchange may be formal or informal. It is the most
ideal kind of communication as the sender can get feedback instantly and as
it is one to one communication, the sender can also study the body language
(gestures, postures, facial expressions etc.) of the receiver which gives ample
idea of what the receiver means and whether what is said is also what is
meant. Influencing and persuading the other person is also easy and there is
greater scope of appealing to the receiver emotionally by means of motivating,
encouraging and coordinating. It is also known as dyadic communication.
Group communication: This is an extension of interpersonal communication
and the exchange involves more than two people where the participants get
a chance to express themselves on subjects of common interests. This
communication serves many goals like collective decision making, self-
expression, and relaxation and is effective as it gives opportunity to interact
directly with the receivers. One common aspect of such a communication is
that it sees the emergence of a leader who coordinates the communication
within the group.
Mass communication: This is the communication that takes place with the
help of a mechanical device that multiplies messages and takes it to a large
faceless audience simultaneously. The use of mass media like newspaper,
radio, television and internet is needed in this kind of communication. The
source and the receiver are physically separated in time and space. The
audience is anonymous and heterogeneous. The feedback in mass
communication is slow, weak and delayed.
Different forms of the above mentioned communication are effective in different
communication contexts. The widest reach is of mass communication but the most
effective is interpersonal communication. For example, to make the general public
aware of a new product, advertisements and publicity are the best ways for which
use of mass media is mandatory. On the other hand, for a desired change in an
individual’s behavior like quitting smoking, it is more fruitful to counsel him
personally, i.e. inter personal communication would be more effective.

1.4 DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION

MEDIA
When there was less communication and communication channels in the society,
people lived on the basis of equality as there was no hierarchy among people.
11
Introduction to Communication Later, those who controlled the channels of communication emerged stronger
while the others were weak. With changing times and technology, the
communications media developed as people realised the subtle though strong
effect media could have in influencing public opinion. In the earlier societies, it was
the number of women a man had that determined his status in the society. Later,
the number of cattle one owned was indicative of one’s status. Even later, it was
how much land one had that determined it and then it was the riches that counted
most. These stages of societal development on the basis of economic development
are identified as:
Pre agricultural societies: There were small communities that existed with
mostly spoken words as their means of communication and comprised of
hunters and food gatherers.
Agricultural societies: People practised agriculture to earn their living, writing
came into being and these were more developed societies with a complex
social structure. But a huge chunk of population still remained illiterate.
Industrial societies: This was the machine age and was marked by the
publication of Gutenberg’s Bible in as early as 1455. This drastically improved
the speed of book printing that was earlier copied by hand, by the use of
movable metal type. Mass production became the mantra and industrial
production was centered in cities which led to huge migration of people from
rural to urban areas. Jobs in these industries became more important than
farming.
Information society: The second half of 1900s saw the emergence of
information societies primarily in the United States. But from the second half
of the century till its end, most economies of the world had drifted towards
it because of which media became much more important than before. One
important invention of the time was computer that became the main tool to
handle information, its creation, processing and distribution.
Today information is power. Those who have better sources of information are
more resourceful and stronger in the society; they are the opinion leaders and are
listened to while others do not wield such a control. The information society has
also seen different conventional media forms merging together in to one, thus
becoming cheaper, more accessible and faster. The conventional media forms that
comprised different communication technologies merged together into a computer
readable digital form. The earlier technologies were analogous or linear in nature
while digital technologies could be stored and used in any format and were easy
to use. This process of merging of technologies to give better output of more than
one conventional media technology is called ‘convergence’. For example, a mobile
phone serves the purpose of a phone as well as a computer as emails can be
accessed on it and internet can be browsed. Also, a computer acts as television
as channels can be accessed on it. Television and computers on the other hand
have made DVD players outdated. All these examples show how the output of
more than one technology can be had from a more compact and cheaper
technology. Also these technologies are interactive which makes feedback an
inclusive process of communication. It enables the improvement of message. This
fast exchange of information through cyber networks has led to coining of the
term information superhighway irrespective of the communication objective
which may be social networking, e commerce, e governance or professional
12 communication.
Before we delve further into this discussion of the twenty-first century technology, Communication: Concept
let us take a view of the characteristic features of conventional media that dominated and Process
the communication media scene for long and the new media that has lately emerged.
Newspapers: The ancestors of newspapers were called Corantos which
were news sheets that were published as long back as 1620s in England and
Holland with irregular periodicity. Later, around 1640s, Diurnals appeared
in England that were dailies publishing reports on domestic events. They
were the actual ancestors of the newspapers we see today. At present, we
have two formats in which newspapers appear: broadsheets (for example,
The Indian Express, The Times of India) and tabloids (for example Mail
Today and Mint). Broadsheets are the morningers that carry hard news and
opinions based on them while most tabloids are eveningers or evening papers
that are more of news magazines or feature newspapers. While broadsheets
come up with fresh news, tabloids carry features and detailed stories based
on them. While the advantage of newspapers is that they sell cheap, they can
reach out only to the literate section of the population. Over the last six to
seven years, a lot of experimentation has been done in Indian newspapers
from reducing their sizes in order to make them portable to dividing them into
as many sections as can be covered in order to cater to maximum number
of readers. Innovations are also brought out to market them as a product
and as a view point. While their circulation is dying out in the West, in India,
they are soaring high.
Magazines: The earliest magazine was published in England in 1730s. Though
they primarily focused on politics, they were then called miscellanies as they
carried a wide variety of contents. In the later part of 1800s, magazines
made efforts for popularising magazine reading. And there was a widespread
growth due to increase in literacy, reduced costs to ensure greater sales and
because in that era of industrialization, more and more businesses wanted a
platform to put forth their advertisements and publicity messages. Today,
magazines are generally classified into general interest and special interest
magazines. The first category is of those magazines that cover a number of
subjects to cater to wider masses (for example, India Today, Outlook) and
the second category is the one that caters to a niche audience (for example,
Better Photography, National Geographic and Business World). Most
newspaper groups own the magazines that one generally sees on the
newsstands. The reason that when the ad flow increases the newspaper’s
capacity to publish also increases. Newspaper groups come up with sister
concerns in the form of magazines that have longer shelf life and hence make
advertisement publication a costlier affair.
Radio: Radio was first invented by an Italian named Marconi in the 1890s.
He is called the ‘Father of Radio’. Broadcasting, or transmitting voices and
music to a geographically separated large audience had begun through
telephone itself which was invented by Alexander Graham Bell before the
advent of radio. That is when radio became a mass medium. In India, the
first license for transmitting a broadcast was given in February 1922 while
the AIR was formed in June 1936. The most important time in the history
of radio was during the Second World War when this medium of addressing
the masses became immensely significant. This was because the Nazis in
Germany used it for propaganda and by playing German music which would
give an impression that they had conquered the areas where the music was 13
Introduction to Communication played, they could damage the morale of their rival forces. FM broadcasts
first started in Chennai (then Madras) in 1977 and in Jalandhar (Punjab) in
1992. Private players came into the picture only in 1993. Radio later developed
in to a youth medium. Today, radio’s approach is more local in nature, right
from giving traffic updates to playing popular music. The advantage of this
medium is that it is mobile, does not require reading ability and can be
enjoyed without demanding sole attention on the medium itself (unlike
television). These days, the emergence of community radio is seen in large
numbers which makes more specialized programmes for a niche audience.
Television: Television first started developing in the 1920s and 1930s. After
the printing press, television is considered to be the most important
communication invention. By late 1940s and early 1950s, television had
become a part of life of most of the developed countries. In India, television
was introduced with the objective of bringing about development in the year
1959. By 1970, the content on TV included news, information and
entertainment programmes including ‘Krishi Darshan’ which began in January
1967 for farmers in 80 villages. Commercials were first telecast in January
1976. Today, the number of television channels in India outnumber the time
one can afford to spend watching them even once a week. The race for
TRPs (Television Rating Points) which decide the popularity of a TV show
or a channel is of prime importance as it directly affects the ad revenue that
the channel earns. In fact, for the very reason, channels do not mind
compromising on work ethics or building agenda for public discussion for
their vested interests. 24 hour news channels have become a reality with no
sanctity of what should be called news. In fact, television creates reality that
may sometimes not be real. For example, the portrayal of superwomen in
Indian media- one who can single handedly carry out all tasks in personal,
professional and social life without faltering at any point of time is the one
who is termed the ideal Indian modern woman.
Cinema: The earliest cinema was a portrayal of real event shots in motion
without any sound, story line or plot. They were just black and white larger
than life size silent scenes that first came up as early as 1896. The first Indian
movie is said to be ‘Raja Harishchandra’ which too was a silent movie
made in the year 1913 by one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb
Phalke. The first talkie (film that could talk) in India was Alam Ara made in
1931. In the years to come, regional cinema also flourished. Contemporary
films have not just remained a form of art for its lovers to delight in, they have
also started taking up contemporary issues which makes for both entertainment
and food for thought. The relationship of cinema with society is very complex.
It has been found to have an effect on the psychology of the audience while
the degree of audience acceptability has varied from one film to another
looking at their experimental nature and low investments over the past four
to five years. While romance, comedy and depiction of real life situations
click with the audience most of the times while horror films are much less
accepted. The Central Board of Film Certification in India looks into matters
of what can go to the larger masses and what may disturb their sensibilities.
Following a certain ‘Code of Ethics,’ they either allow or censor objectionable
scenes in a film. Also, based on whether they can affect the minds of the
more impressionable section of the society, the films are certified as ‘U’ or
universal (meant for all age groups) and ‘A’ or adult (meant for people only
14 above 18 years of age).
 Folk media: This medium has been alive in our society since ancient times Communication: Concept
and has been used for conveying political, social and moral messages. The and Process
advantage of such a medium is that it is personalised (members of the same
community perform it) and is used where audience fully accept it which
makes the communication effective. It relates to all age groups of people and
is inexpensive. Mainly confined to rural India, this is special in every part of
the country. For example, Tamasha and Pawala in Maharashtra, Yakshagana
in Karnataka, Jatra in Bengal, Bhavai in Gujarat and Nautanki, Ramlila and
Raslila in the northern states of India. They may be satirical or sharp in their
messages sometimes but are efficient tools of communication. Many NGOs
also make use of these forms considering how powerful a medium it is.
Government bodies in rural areas also make use of folk medium to pass on
health or agriculture or any other development issue related messages that
are smartly imbibed in traditional folk songs, dances and mythological stories.
That is what makes it a powerful tool of development communication.
So far we discussed the conventional media; the new media is the internet.
Let’s see how it has revolutionised the world.
Internet: The first calculator, ‘abacus’ was the predecessor of computer
which was first used by Egyptians in 460 B.C. Some scholars also mention
about the Chinese abacus. Charles Babbage, an Englishman is called the
father of computer who first produced designs for a computer that could
make calculations based on stored memory. The internet as we know it
today has fast developed to replace and merge most communication devices
and technologies. Today, they are used in educational institutions, commercial
and business organisations, government departments, international organisations
and the defence sector. But these are the major sectors, it has made its
inroads even into the lives of most individuals and made them have an
internet identity. Virtual reality has almost become literal with the kind of
involvement it has in our day to day lives. It has most evident advantages but
also perils that stand out from the rest. While social networking has helped
in building inter-personal connections in far and distant lands for personal
and professional reasons without spending as much as a penny, it has also
led to anti-social and aggressive behavior on the net. For example, writing
hate mails about personalities, organisations and religions, defaming and
harassing people by posting morphed photographs or posting nasty things by
hacking their accounts and different kinds of cyber crimes like hacking bank
accounts and even child molesters contacting children through chat rooms.
Whatever its dangers, internet has taken the world by storm and there is no
stopping it. Moreover, as referred to earlier, each individual conventional
medium has computer related technology to operate it. As all TV and radio
has turned to digital from analogous, printing has become cheaper by the aid
of computer in the form of desktop printing. Newspapers and magazines use
computer for designing and editing, there are e books and e music available
at the click of a mouse and films and videos use this technology too.
So far, we have understood what mass communication means, how mass media
developed and what are the special features and characteristics of different media
forms, both conventional and new media. Now let us analyse the conventional
and contemporary views of mass media.

15
Introduction to Communication Check Your Progress 2
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What are the different types of communication?
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2. Information is power-elaborate.
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3. Identify the different media categories.
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1.5 MASS COMMUNICATION: THE

CONVENTIONAL VIEW
To make the study of the conventional and contemporary view simple, let us try
to analyse communication through its characteristics and economics.
Conventional Communication characteristics: The conventional view of mass
communication considered media to be all powerful. The communication was
made from a single source to anonymous and heterogeneous multitudes of audience
irrespective of their tastes, interests and preferences. The audience was considered
passive who would accept anything served to them by media. A few controllers
of media through their media empires decided what should and should not go into
the public domain or what should be the public agenda; they were instrumental
in creating tastes and opinions of the audiences. So they not only acted as
gatekeepers in media but also helped in setting media’s agenda. These functions
are called the gatekeeping and agenda setting functions of media respectively.
While the messages were undifferentiated (i.e. same for all audience alike), the
motive was to create some kind of consensus among all by creating similar tastes
and viewpoints. The feedback to such a communication was negligible and was
not given much importance.
Conventional media economics: Alongside these characteristics, the economics
of media also toed a different line. You all know that media get their revenues
16 from advertising. Larger the circulation of newspapers and greater the television
rating points (TRPs) for television channels, more profitable will be the business. Communication: Concept
In such a conventional system, media required as much audiences as they could and Process
possibly get to generate revenue through advertising. The audience was not
systematically targeted as it was not differentiated according to market needs.

1.6 MASS COMMUNICATION: THE

CONTEMPORARY VIEW
Contemporary Communication: Convergence has been phenomenal in defining
the contemporary view of mass communication as we know it today. Convergence
is the phenomenon of merging technologies and producing more than one different
kind of output while also making its use simpler. Convergence along with further
technological innovations made the media market consumer-oriented. With the
onset of 24 hours news channels and numerous entertainment channels, more
magazines and newspapers, more FM channels on radio, there was a huge variety
of content for the consumer to pick and choose from. There was something for
all segments of audience, be they housewives, children, adults or people who
looked for serious news and opinions. This gave the media consumers the liberty
to form their own opinion and created competition among various media platforms
(inter media competition like that between print and electronic media) as well as
the media groups owning similar media segments (intra media competition like
between different newspapers). Meanwhile, control shifted in to the hands of the
consumer who became spoilt for choice and wielded control by simply zapping
channels or choosing to change the newspaper that came to his house. Also, while
technology became an easy to use product, consumers also found themselves
becoming the producers of content. For example, they could now create their
own websites or blogs, create their own movies and upload them too for everyone
to see. Citizen journalism is another case in the point. As they were the producers
as well as consumers of media communication, they came to be called as
prosumers.
Media economics: There was a greater focus on media marketing innovations,
with media enticing the audience by various ways to opt for their product.
Price war ensued between media organisations and every media tried to slash
their prices as much as they could while aiming to build on their circulation/TRPs.
Every medium started marketing itself like any other usable commodity, say, soap
or shampoos. Media also collaborate with products or services other than media
to sell themselves. Most of the organisations wanted to own more media platforms,
for example, a newspaper also owned a radio channel, a TV channel, an event
management company and a news agency. This not only benefitted in creating
monopolies in the markets they operated in but also helped in creating a self-
sufficient support system for all their media platforms. But what was more, they
were in a better position to negotiate with their advertisers with better offers and
packages. The media companies today are ready to pirouette as per audience
demands, encourage audience participation and feedback while also aiming at
profit maximisation.

1.7 MEDIAAND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF

REALITY
Media were earlier instrumental in creating public opinion the way they desired
and continue to influence it in contemporary times as well. Media cannot be 17
Introduction to Communication counted as less powerful even now. There are certain changes that media bring
about in a subtle manner which the audience does not consciously realise until the
society where these media operate is high on media literacy scale. Unfortunately
for India, this is not the case. There are a number of reasons for this are like
varying demographics, cultures, religions, buying capacities, exposure levels, et al.
But before that, let us try and understand what social construction of reality means
and how media create it.
Social construction of reality is the portrayal of reality presented to the audience
as media see it. It is a kind of distorted reality presented by the media with a
certain agenda to promote, be it in terms of profit making through sensationalism,
certain portrayal of a given section of the society or stereotyping modern women
by some pre-defined moral and cultural societal values and norms. To understand
this better, consider a few examples. A number of advertisements on the Indian
television channels talk about fairness creams and their measurable effectiveness
for both men and women in order to help them look attractive. Unconsciously,
fairness has become one of the parameters of beauty in India. Media have promoted
it and people have, due to subtle influence that message reinforcement creates
over the years accepted it for generations now. Let us look at some more examples.
A modern Indian woman is pictured in the media as one who is more of a
superwoman – one who handles the responsibilities of the family and profession
successfully and errorless, she cooks well, dresses well and wins over in board
meetings, she is morally upright, and she is a loving mom and a dutiful housewife
and never falters in any role. Such a portrayal is never practically possible but
Indian media depicts her as a blend of traditionalism and modernity and this is
how a modern Indian woman is perceived by the public at large. This perceived
reality through which media give role models to the society or create images of
different realities is the social construction of reality. We call it ‘social’ construction
because we as a culture believe it to be true. That is why media theorists believe
that ‘reality is not what is real, reality is what is perceived.’ Communication
consists of signs and symbols. Communication scientists believe that while objective
meanings are attached to symbols, for example, a red light at a traffic signal means
the same to everyone, signs are more complex to comprehend as they may mean
differently to different people. They have subjective meanings.
Check Your Progress 3
Note: 1) Use the space provided below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
1. What do you understand by media convergence?
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2. How do you view the media construction of reality?
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 Communication: Concept
1.8 LET US SUM UP and Process

Media never promised to work for philanthropy though they were created to be
socially responsible. It remained on us, the audience to stay aware of the kind of
content that it was offering and select/ reject it collectively. Initially, the statesmen
of the country wanted to see the media strong on both national and regional levels
as the objectives for which they were planned were different. But once this entity
became powerful, it diverted its focus to suit its needs. Now the society looks for
someone with whom the buck would rest. But, the truth is that nobody can/will
solely shoulder the responsibility. Only the audience denouncing malpractices of
media and introducing synthetic value system in Indian society can bring about a
change in what is being served to the audience in the name of news, entertainment
and role models. Change always takes long and is never easy. The future holds
hope. What remains to be seen is whether or not our media with the people
would be able to meet the challenge.

1.9 KEYWORDS
Communication : Exchange of information

Conventional media : Media like newspapers, magazines radio and

television

Convergence : Combining of technologies to make it consumer-

friendly in the media market

New media : Internet based media

Mediated reality : Media construction of reality that is different from

what exists in the society

1.10 FURTHER READINGS

Allen Donna, Rush, Ramona R., Kaufman, Susan J. (eds.): Women Transforming
Communications: Global Intersections (1996), Sage Publications

Baran, Stanley J. (1999), Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy

and Culture. Mayfield Publishing Company.

Baran, Stanley J., Davis, Dennis K., Mass Communication Theory: Foundations,
Ferment and Future (2000), Thomson/Wadsworth Learning

Dines Gail, Humez, Jean M. (eds.), Gender, Race, and Class in Media (2003),
Sage Publications.

Kumar, Keval J, Mass Communication in India (2000), New Delhi, Sage

Publications.

Straubhaar, Joseph, and Larose, Robert, Media Now: Communications media

in the information age (2000), Thomson/Wadsworth Learning.
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Introduction to Communication
1.11 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1

1. The sender sends the message to a receiver through a channel. When the
receiver transmits his reaction to the sender it is called feedback. The
communication can be verbal or non-verbal.
2. The barriers to effective communication are: Inconvenient timing, information
overload,
Technical issues in the form of physical noise, language- vocabulary and
semantics and psychological noise in the form of perceptional differences,
lack of trust, jealousy and information filtering.
Check Your Progress 2
1. The different types of communication are intra-personal, interpersonal, group
and mass communication.
2. People who have better sources of information are more resourceful, rich
and strong in any society for that matter. They wield power and control.
Others respect them.
3. The conventional media are newspapers and magazines, radio and television
besides cinema and folk media. The new media re internet-based media
platforms. The other classifications are: Print media- newspapers and
magazines, electronic media- radio and television, in addition to folk media
and new media. Often films fall into their own category.
Check Your Progress 3
1. Convergence means merging of technologies and producing more than one
kind one different kind of output. It makes the media content use simple and
the media market consumer friendly. The mobile phone can be your radio,
TV and internet besides being a phone.
2. Social construction of reality means the portrayal of reality presented to the
audience the way media looks at it. It can be a distorted reality presented
by the media with a certain agenda to promote. The agenda can be to make
more profit through sensationalism or it can be stereotyping of certain classes
of society.

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