Mass Communications: A Rapid Growth and Influence in the Society
Introduction
This paper explores when and why the Mass Communications appeared and what influenced its development. Samples of Mass Communications and its content are also outlined. Finally, it briefly discusses the issues related to it and highlights the impacts of past, current, and future events.
A Brief History of Mass Communications and Its Developing Content
Mass communications, defined as communication reaching large numbers of people using a channel or medium, has primarily developed because of the help of technological progress and social change.
There are two major classifications of Mass Communications which has greatly influenced the society.
The Print Media. It was the most dominant form of media in the 19th and early 20th centuries (Suresh, 2003). Print media is categorized into books, newspapers, newsletters and magazines. Tracing back history, books are the oldest form of media and the first known book written was in Egypt at around 1400 B.C (Suresh, 2003).
The content of most early newspapers in Europe and the American colonies were primarily concerned about selling and advertising. It was used to track shipping, provide market information, cover import and export news, and offer trade tips.
The Broadcast Media (Electronic Media). Broadcast media includes radio, television and the Internet. Broadcast media developed more quickly than the printed media (Sterling, 2002). Radio emerged as a mass medium in the 1920s, used as a tool for industrial and military communications while being partnered with the growing popularity of music and entertainment (Sterling, 2002).
Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to regularly use radio addresses for broadcasting a series of political discussions between 1933 and 1944 (Sterling, 2002). Throughout World War II, radio was the main source of up-to-the-minute news information (Sterling, 2002).
However, the creation of television was considered to be one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. (Sterling, 2002) Some of the events highlighted were in 1952, when the Democratic and Republican national conventions were televised. Also on 1960, television news stations regularly aired footage from the Vietnam War and the assassination of President Kennedy on 1963 (Sterling, 2002).
Satellite transmissions were developed during the 1970s and 1980s, and it made live news coverage more accessible from points around the world. This led to the live transmission of important political events such as the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan and the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
The newest mass medium is the Internet, which has revolutionized communications (Lule, 2012). It has changed the way we live in society and the way people interact with each other. It has given people a new way to communicate, through E-mail and Video Chats. Anything imaginable can also be researched. The economy and the way people purchase things have also changed. Because of these reasons, the Internet has become a staple in society and will continue to influence our lives in any way.
The question of how strong the power of media is can always be traced back to our history. It shows clearly enough that media can attract and direct attention to problems, solutions or whichever way that may favor those with power and divert attention to rival individuals or groups. It has the indirect effect of bringing people into one belief.
The most positive effects of mass media include a more informed society. An informed public translates into an involved public. It also exposes the general public to the things they never would have previously had access to. But it can also be used as a dangerous aid to destroying an individual or group through bullying and bias judgment, especially on social media due to the anonymity of the Web.
References
Lule, J. (2012) Mass communication, media, and culture. Retrieved from
http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/mass-communication-media-and-culture/
Sterling, C. (2002). Stay Tuned: A History of American Broadcasting. New York City, NY: Routledge.
Suresh, K. (2003). Journalism and Mass Communication. Retrieved from
http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/mass/fram1.html
