Powers and Influence of Mass Media

Powers and influence of Mass Media

Mass Communication is the process by which a complex organization with the aid of one or more machines produces and transmits public messages that are directed at large, heterogeneous, and scattered audience. It is the end product of more than one person. Think about how a newspaper put together. Because the new technological systems have brought even greater speed, complexity, and power to affect human life than in the past, it is more imperative than ever for mass communication to understand the nature of the art and the scientific application they are engaged. The study of mass communication begins with knowledge of the basic theory and process of communication itself. Communication in its simplest form consists of the transmission of information, ideas, and attitudes from one person to another. Communicator sends a message through a channel to an audience, seeking some effect. Communicating to a mass audience is difficult because the mass communicator must know what to communicate and also how to deliver the message through a complex system, to make the greatest possible impact on an audience of diverse character from which reactions cannot be immediately obtained. The need to communicate with our fellow human beings is a fundamental as the physical requirements of food and shelter. This urge for communication is a primal one and, in our contemporary civilization, a necessity for survival.

When we talk about mass communication, we also need channels to carry the message. Mass media use these channels to carry the message. It will not only include the mechanical devices that transmit and store the message but also the institution that use these machines to transmit messages. For a society to exist, certain communication needs to be met. As society became larger and more complex, certain jobs grew too big to be handled by single individuals. With the advent of a technology that allowed