BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WITH HONOURS

CLUSTER OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT

SEPTEMBER 2019

ABCC1103

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

MATRICULATION NO : RF151622002

IDENTITY CARD NO : RF151622

TELEPHONE NO. : 019-738 1917

E-MAIL : isnor1622@oum.edu.my

LEARNING CENTRE : Johor Bahru Learning Centre

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Think about this for a second: whenever you want to hear your favorite song, watch
your favorite show, or see the latest current events, where do you go? You more than likely
turn on your television, radio, or computer. Mass media is the means used to communicate to
the general public. The general public typically relies on the mass media to provide
information regarding political issues, social issues, entertainment, and news in pop culture.
Some of the most popular forms of mass media are newspapers, magazines, radio,
advertisements, social media, television, Internet, and films/movies.

Mass media can be used for various purposes. In many countries, mass media used
heavily in advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising,
marketing, propaganda, public relations, and political communication. Besides that, mass
media also used as a tool of entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting and
music, in the modern times through audio and audio-visual communication.

2.0 FUNCTION OF MASS MEDIA

Nothing has influenced the lives of modern men as the mass media have. Mass media
are the powerful means that do not only influence today’s world but also shape the globe of
tomorrow. In this case, mass medium performs essential task in order to cast its effect to the
audience and maintain the society. We can classify the functions of mass media into two
categories: general functions and specific functions. In terms of general functions, following
points are listed:

a. Information

Dissemination of information is the major function of mass media. Since information

is knowledge and knowledge is power, media offer authentic and timely facts and opinions
about various event and situations to mass audience as informative items. Media disseminates
information mostly through news broadcast on radio, TV, as well as columns of the
newspaper or magazines.
b. Education

Media provide education and information side by side. It provides education in

different subjects to people of all levels. Distance education program, for example, is a direct
approach. Dramas, documentaries, interviews, feature stories and many other programs are
prepared to educate people indirectly. Especially in the developing country, mass media is
used as effective tools for mass awareness. In context of Nepal, media have been successful in
eradicating various traditional and evil superstitious practices from society through
continuous advocacy.

c. Entertainment

The other important function of mass media is the entertainment. It is also views as the
most obvious function of media. Actually, entertainment is a kind of performance that
provides pleasure to people. Mass media fulfill this function by providing amusement and
assist in reducing tension to large degree. Newspaper and magazines, radio, television and
online medium offer stories, films, serials, and comics to entertain their audience. Sports,
news, film review, columns on art and fashion are other instances. It makes audience
recreational and leisure time more enjoyable. The fusion of entertainment and information is
called infotainment.

d. Persuasion

It is another function of mass media. Persuasion involves making influence on others

mind. Mass media influence audience in varieties of ways. Media content builds opinions and
sets agendas in the public mind. It influences votes, changes attitudes and moderate’s
behavior. Using editorials, articles, commentaries and among others, mass media persuades
audience. However, all audiences are not well known about it. Many of them become
influenced or motivated unknowingly towards it. Advertisement is the example which is
designed to persuade.

Apart from general functions, mass media also performs some specific functions.
Hence, these specific functions are explained below:
i. Surveillance

Surveillance denotes observation. Here observation means to watch the society

closely. The function of mass media is to observe the society closely and continuously and
warn about threatening actions to the mass audience that are likely to happen in future in
order to decrease the possible loss. Likewise, mass media also informs about the misconducts
happening in the society to the concerned authority and discourage malpractices among mass
audience in the society. Warning or beware surveillance occurs when the media inform us
about threats from hurricanes, erupting volcanoes, depressed economic conditions, increasing
inflation or military attack. These warning can be about immediate threats or chronic threats.
News about films are plying at the local theaters, stock market prices, new products, fashion
ideas, recipes, and so on are examples of instrumental surveillance.

In the first week of November, Department of Meteorology Malaysia issued an early

warning regarding heavy rain and strong wind at the East Coast Malaysia. Among places that
will affected by the Monsoon including Bachok, Pasir Putih and Baling, Kedah. Around mid-
November, residents around Baling evacuates their homes due to flood rising. Besides that,
Angkatan Pertahanan Awam (JPA) is ready with 15 lorries, 12 ambulances, 13 four-wheel
drive vehicle, and 85 boats due to the early warning notifications.

ii. Interpretation

The mass media do not supply just facts and data but also explanations and
interpretation of events and situations. Media offer various explanations correlating and
interpreting information to make the reality clear. Unlike normal reporting, interpretation
functions provide knowledge. News analysis, commentaries, editorials, and columns are some
examples of interpretative contents. Basically, such types of interpretative contents are
prepared by those journalists who have a vast knowledge of background information and
strong analytical ability.

Few days ago, a by election in Tanjong Piai, Johor has concluded with a landslide
majority win of Barisan Nasional. Barisan Nasional (BN) trounced Pakatan Harapan (PH) in
the parliamentary by-election by a majority of 15,086 when its candidate Datuk Seri Wee Jeck
Seng polled 25,466 votes against Karmaine Sardini’s 10,380. From one point of view, the
overwhelming majority sent a loud and clear message to the government to “buck up or step
down” as the voters’ rejection of ruling PH can be interpreted that there is no more tolerance
for excuses from national leaders. Besides the non-delivery of last year’s general election
pledges, they are also telling the government to table its future plans and stop blaming the
previous government for anything and everything. Many are also fed up by how long the
1MDB trial and SRC trials are taking. There is so much dissatisfaction. But the issue is this.
The court cases have to take their due process and must be done without any interference on
the part of the executive. Realistically speaking, the court cases are going to take years to
complete taking into account the appeals process in the higher courts. And let’s just say for
arguments sake that if the defendants are found guilty and sentenced to jail time. If there is no
stay of execution pending an appeal, there would then be insinuations of interference by the
Executive.

This is few analyses that is discussed in the web including websites, forum and social
media regarding the result of by election in Tanjong Piai.

iii. Linkage

The function of mass media is to join together different elements of society that are not
directly connected. For instance: mass advertising attempts to link the needs of buyers with
the products of sellers. Similarly, by broadcasting news of those suffered from the disease or
natural disasters, media can help in collecting aids and provide the collected amount to the
victims. In this way, media become bridge between different groups who may or may not
have direct connection.

In April 2019, the whole country is shocked when Harian Metro reported that a small
baby, Ainul Mardhiah that suffered from Germ Cell Tumor needed immediate medical
attention. Her news going viral in multiple social media platform promoting aid for surgery. A
month later, Malacca government agreed to sponsor her treatment cost. She and her family
were flied to UK for the surgery on 25 Mei 2019. In 10 June, Ainul Mardiah was admitted to
operation room for five long hours. Special thanks to the entire surgery team that successfully
remove the tumor. Few weeks ago, Ainul Mardhiah was fly back to Malaysia after undergoes
intensive treatment in UK for four months. This is one of many stories that circulate in the
mass media that are able to touch many hearts of Malaysian to help. Without the help of mass
media, it will be difficult for her and her parents to solve their problem considering the lack of
financial of her family.

iv. Socialization

Socialization is the transmission of culture. Media are the reflectors of society. They
socialize people, especially children and new-comers. Socialization is a process by which,
people are made to behave in ways that are acceptable in their culture or society. Though this
process, we learn how to become a member of our society or human society in greater sense.
Whenever a person reads newspaper or watches television, individual knows how people react
on matters and what types of norms and values they perceive on particular event, issue or
situation.

3.0 MASS MEDIA AND ME

It is true that the emergences of internet have changed the way we experience our life
and how we express it. Traditionally, we use diary as the tools in expressing what we feel.
Nowadays, some of us more comfortable using social media instead of diary. As for myself, I
chose using mass media especially social media in bringing myself for greater good both
internally and externally.

As a part time students in Open University Johor Bahru, Johor, I from time to time
was given assignment that sometimes require group participation. Last semester, I am tasked
to cover a recent issue in Malaysia as a group. Turn out my team members are diverse in
terms of location. Some in Kuala Lumpur and some in Melaka. For me, it is difficult to travel
here and there as my job as Sergeant at police station restrict my schedule. Thus, I decided to
use mass media as communication tool with my team members. We normally discuss ongoing
development of the project using online messaging tool, Whatsapp.

Besides that, we also sharing any project material using cloud storage application,
Dropbox. We decide to use cloud storage due to size restriction in email attachment. In other
words, we are not allowed to send big file more than 25MB. By sharing all the related project
material through cloud computing provide additional protection from data lost due to virus
infection or unintentional file deletion.
At my residence, I act as a Chairman of Resident Association of Taman Laman Setia, it is
important for me to organize activities that is able to strengthen bond among us. Well planned
program and cooperation from all the members of association is the main key to succeed in
every program planned. Hence, I saw mass media as a great tool in promoting cooperation
among all the members. Before every event conducted, a meeting is organizing and every key
member are invited to attend. I use social media as a medium in blasting invitation message
both in Whatsapp and Facebook. After every meeting, all the minutes are share within chat
group for all the member to know and take any action accordingly. I also encourage all the
member of association to take part in all the conversation held in the group.

We also formed Jawatankuasa Keselamatan dan Kemajuan Kampung dan Taman (JKKK) in
my residence. Among its responsibility is to ensure the safety of the residence from any
danger. For example, in mid-August few months ago, our member was able to apprehend a
known and wanted motorcycles thief who flee from his hometown in Johor Bahru and hiding
in our residence. With the help of chat group, we organize a group with the help of local
police in an attempt to arrest him. Thankfully, we manage to arrest him and leave for the
police to take further action. The news of arresting him also not made public as we decide not
to cause commotion among residents.

4.0 EFFECT OF MASS MEDIA

In my opinion, there is no other best example to demonstrate the significant effect of

mass media in reshaping our country political landscape than the General Election 14 2018.
The Internet has allowed for increased transparency by making it easier for citizens to
perform fact-checks and background-checks, facilitating higher involvement in civic issues.
This provided more space for dissent and competing narratives, leading to a further distrust in
authority. These trends made it especially challenging for the Najib administration, and the
BN camp by extension, to convince voters of their governance record. This is especially the
case in an era where Malaysians increasingly consume news via private social media
platforms like WhatsApp that unlike traditional media, are not government-controlled.
Internet-based campaigns hence complement, rather than substitute, traditional campaign
methods in GE14. In GE14, mass media especially social media show its effectiveness in
influencing the voters all over the country.

When everyone attached themselves with a smartphone and internet access it seems
everything is so simple and easy. The combinations of smartphone and internet access has
change the lifestyle of people. If we look on how we doing business before and now we can
understand this situation easily. In a decade ago, when anyone wanted to buy goods such as
electrical appliances, food, cloth and car accessories, one need to walk to the store do some
haggling and then return with the merchandise. However, nowadays we only need smartphone
does a quick review and when we satisfy place an online order. Then the merchandise will be
delivered right in front of our doors. This opportunity opens a great chance to small and
medium enterprise in promoting and selling their product all over the world. The example
how mass media change our shopping routine is GoShop, Shopee, PandaFood, and Grabcar.

5.0 NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

In today’s society, it has become even more common among adolescents. Adolescents
are spending approximately 8 hours per day with various media. With such amount of time
engaging in mass media there is no doubt that anyone could have effected by its content.
Social media can and been used as a medium for defamation of characters. In Malaysia, the
recent case of GS Realty Sdn Bhd v Lee Kong Seng has set the precedent for the imposition
of liability for third party comments. In this case, Lee Kong Seng was sued for defamation for
his defamatory statements posted in certain Facebook public forums and on his own Facebook
page. He was also sued for the defamatory third party comments posted below his Facebook
postings. In GS Realty, the Court ruled that Lee Kong Seng was liable for the third party
comments because the evidence showed that Lee Kong Seng had knowledge of them.

Social media has been used extensively by a radical religious group, Islamic State (IS)
for recruitment. They use social media as a tool in spreading their ideologies and propaganda.
ISIS primarily uses the Internet to reach Malaysians. According to the Southeast Asian
Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), ISIS’s radicalization and recruitment in
Malaysia has been facilitated via social media platforms, particularly Facebook. Malaysia has
high rates of Internet access, and according to Malaysian Home, social media comprises 75
percent of ISIS recruitment efforts. Malaysians radicalized and recruited by ISIS appear to
come from diverse backgrounds. Some are religious, some are secular who sought to redeem
themselves for a religious cause, and others joined for thrill-seeking reasons. Few years ago, it
is reported that ex-commando ATM age 29 was arrested in Saudi Arabia while trying to enter
Syria as mujahidin. While in 2014, police arrested two university’s student in an attempt to
join IS in Syria.
On May 5, 2013, Malaysians went to the polls again. There was much hype and anticipation
about this election. In the midst of the election frenzy, three bloggers had been detained under
the Sedition Act. Blogger “Milosuam” was arrested on May 2, 2013 under the Official Secrets
Act on the basis that he had posted classified documents on his blog. “Milosuam” had also
blogged that the Malaysian police had conducted early voting, a claim denied by police
officials. Two other bloggers were also arrested. “King Jason” was arrested on May 6, 2013
over his allegations that the election was fraudulent and “Papagomo”, an UMNO blogger, was
arrested for racial remarks against the Chinese electorate who he claims were ungrateful and
caused BN to suffer in the election. Both bloggers were detained under the Communications
and Multimedia Act. While they are also those who support the racial stance, many are
against it and this even includes supporters of BN. With a few posts in social media and web,
one can change the entire political and social landscape in Malaysia. Clearly, a better
monitoring mechanism are crucial in preventing such racism material from going viral in
social media to prevent unnecessary event that could disrupt peace in Malaysia.

6.0 OVERCOMING SOCIAL MEDIA PROBLEMS

There are few ways in dealing with the negativity rise from the mass media. In this
section, we will discuss few of the solution at the very least lessen the effect of the problems.
Over time, you have likely accumulated many online friends and contacts, as well as people
and organizations you follow. Some content is still interesting to you, but much of it might be
boring, annoying, infuriating, or worse. Now is the time to unfollow, mute, or hide contacts;
the vast majority won’t notice. And your life will be better for it. A recent study found that
information about the lives of Facebook friends affects people more negatively than other
content on Facebook. People whose social media included inspirational stories experienced
gratitude, vitality, and awe. Pruning some “friends” and adding a few motivational or funny
sites is likely to decrease the negative effects of social media.

Reflecting on how often we're checking social media or the amount of time we spend
on social apps can help us understand if it's getting in the way of our day-to-day activities. If
we find that ourselves prefer social media over more direct forms of communication or if you
constantly feel an urge to scroll through social feeds, it might be time to scale back or adjust
your habits.

As an individual, everyone need to be able to evaluate themselves which material from

the mass media that is beneficial or not. The consideration must be including the good moral
value. We need to ask ourselves is this information really doing good for me or people around
me. If the material is going to cause harm to anyone, we should stop ourselves from spreading
that piece of media.

As for the government, imposing certain level of censorship might be beneficial

towards the audience. For example, there are many entertainments that enter our society from
the west that have lower degree of censorship in terms of sexuality. Imposing such restriction
might reduce the cultural absorption from them. There is a bill that being proposed in
Malaysia’s parliament to impose censorship in Netflix. These action might not be enough but
it certainly will reduce the rate of culture absorption from West into our culture.

We also require to take notice on what our friends post or share online. If their posts
are trying to nurture hatred and radical action, we might need to monitor them closely. If they
going too aggressive we possibly need to report them to authority for further actions.

7.0 CONCLUSION

Mass media is a tool that are very powerful in reshaping individual, society and
political landscape of a country. Controlling mass media is likely controlling the story
narration and interpretation of that stories. As an audience, we not only need to evaluate any
information that we receive but also how that kind of media would affect ourselves and our
society. Investigating any information that we receive with ample effort should protect us
from easy manipulation from any people that have their own agenda and interest. If we cannot
give good to others, at the very least we should not cause harm to others.

(3100
words)
VIDEO LINK

https://youtu.be/p3fJ0p4mOKc