Mass Communications in the Digital Age

What is Mass Communication?

Mass Communication is the communication to a large group or groups of people that remain largely unknown to the sender of the message.

Basic Theories of Mass Communication

• One of the earliest communication theorists was the philosopher Aristotle, who in 300 BCE called the study of communication "rhetoric" and spoke of three elements within the process: the speaker, subject, and person addressed.
• In 1949,scientists Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver formulated an influential model of communication: The Shannon and Weaver mathematical theory of communication. This model consisted of five main elements:

                                      *Information Source
                                      *Transmitter
                                      *Channel
                                      *Receiver
                                      *Destination

• In 1954, Wilbur Schramm developed a simplified communications model. In the Schramm model, commmunication requires three main elements:1). a source, who encodes 2). a message, or signal, which is transmitted (via the media or directly via interpersonal communication) to 3). a destination, where the receiver decodes it.

Basic Components & Functions of  the Mass Communication Process

*The functions of mass communication in society were relatively well understood  and thoroughly researched. Studies by Harold D. Laswell, Charles Wright, and others suggest that these functions have tended to fall largely into four broad categories.

• Surveillance
• Correlation
• Cultural Transmission
• Entertainment