Communication

Communication is the means through which the “social” becomes plausible and manifests;
natural language in its paradigm (routine/method).

Jakobson’s Communication Model presents 6 functions

of language that are needed for communication to occur,
with the functions being listed in the illustration.

Lasswell’s Communication Model

analyzes communication in terms of
5 basic questions, referring to the
most salient components of
communication.

Mass communication takes place between an

agent in the center and a larger group on the
periphery. It’s one way and is sent out to
incalculably large numbers of people with common
interests. Every medium serves as a channel for
communication, filtering/altering the message in
some way before reaching the audience.

It emerged as both a product and precondition of

society and tends to be a distortion of one on one
communication.
“Media” is the medium where mass communication goes through, taking various forms in
devices, websites etc. It can be presentational, representational and mechanical and is
found everywhere. It is located at the middle of the communication process. It is a
construction.

“The Media” refers to the institution responsible for producing and distributing media
forms such as cinema, television, radio, print, individuals,organizations that distribute
info etc.

There are three main groups of media, Presentational, Representational and

Mechanical.
● Presentational Media is verbal communication with participation from both sides
○ Conversations between friends, streamers
● Representational Media are recorded and one sided communication, usually mass
media.
○ Writing, Painting, Music, Architectural, Landscape Gardening etc.
● Mechanical Media is the device in which representational is shown through
○ Computer, Radio, Video, Cinema, Telephone etc.

The medium, according to McLuhan, is just as powerful as the message itself. It has
the power to affect the receiver just as much as the content. It changes the way people
perceive and understand the message, evidently affecting the receiver in various ways.

“Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the

media by which men communicate than by the content of the
communication.”

“The personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of

any extension of ourselves- result from the new scale that is
introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by
any new technology.”

There are a variety of mediums we use in communication, some more

common and frequent than others such as film, billboards, music
videos, comic books and flyers.
Any medium conveys information in very different ways other than any other medium.
The choice of medium for specific content is just as important because each medium has
its own language. This is a result of different people having different reception of each
medium.

McLuhan divided all human history into four periods,

a tribal, literate, print and electronic age.
According to him, the crucial inventions that
changed life on this planet were the phonetic
alphabet, the printing press and the telegraph.
This points out his belief of medium being the
message. He views things in a very technologically
determinate way.

Movies can’t always translate everything from novels as a result of novels being able to
detail everything, from small subtle details such as characters trembling, to the inner
monologues of characters in their head. This perfectly illustrates the point “the medium is
just as important as the message”, as some mediums can be more descriptive whereas
other mediums are better at illustrating or visualizing scenes.

How the medium manipulates the message:

- The medium can shape the messages
- The medium can alter the language
- The medium can dictate the audience
- The medium can direct/redirect the
purpose
Media Studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content,
history and effects of various media; in particular the mass media and its relationship to
what is broadly defined as “popular culture”. As such, it signals a dramatic shift from
earlier values that were concerned with only so-called “high art”.

This includes obvious fields such as film, music, TV, video games, ads, “low art” but may
also attend to less obv aspects of everyday life such as fashion, food, packaging, memetic,
and other forms of tech

The issues of media studies revolve around: representations, message construction,

effects and audiences.

“If the media have such an influence on us, then it is important for us to study the media
to understand how they work, influence and shape society.” (Donnes & Miller, 1998)

“Today, most people get most of their information through complex combinations of text,
images and sounds. We need to be able to navigate this complex media environment to
make sense of the media messages that bombard us daily, and to express ourselves using a
variety of media tools and technologies.”

Semiotics is the study of signs. Signifier is in the realm of the physical while the
Signified is in the realm of the mental. One revolves around sound, shape, word and
images while the other revolves around denotative and connotative. The signifier triggers
the signified.

Broadcast Media involves electronically and

simultaneously sending information
containing signals, print messages and audio
or video content to a large group of
recipients through television, radio,
newspaper, magazines and through the
internet.
Media codes are the “building blocks” of all the media around us. Media codes generally
have an agreed meaning, connotation, to their audience. There are 3 types of media codes:
symbolic, technical, and written codes. Conventions are expected ways in which codes are
organized in a product.

Effect of media on reality

- The reality we see is an effect of our exposure to the media

Media Effect Theories

- Refers to the study of media’s influence on the audience and reality
- Can explain the various ways the media leaves a lasting effect on the audience

Agenda-Setting (McCombs & Shaw, 1972)

- Media do not tell us what to think, but
rather what to think about
- Media’s ability to influence (not dictate)
public agenda
- Mass Media’s ability to present and
empathize certain ideas to the audience,
who themselves will find relevance in issues
presented to them
- Mass media are effective in determining
what audiences see as newsworthy
- By the issues they cover, media can legitimize a story or marginalize either the
entire story or certain aspects of it.
- brings out only the importance of the issue
Priming (Iyengar, Peters & Kinder, 1982)
- Media provide a context for public
discussion of an issue, setting the stage
for audience understanding.
- Seen as the “second-effect” after
agenda-setting
- The media effect that explains media’s
ability to shape audience’s judgment
based on what was highlighted in the
media

Priming Techniques
- The points in the media presents (in agenda-setting) activates certain stimuli in the
audience's memory that “primes” (prepares) them for a certain response (judgment)
- Priming is done when the media provides ample time and space to share certain
issues to the audience for them to be receptive and alert to particular themes

- These themes are particularly dependent on the perception of the audience and the
(historical) context they are familiar with in the media (most of the time through
personal or shared experiences)
- ex. glasses vs no glasses

Framing (Goffman, 1974)

- Media provides a focus and environment for reporting a story, influencing how
audiences will understand or evaluate it.
- To frame is to select some aspect of a
perceived reality and make them more
salient in a communicating text, in such a
way as to promote a particular problem,
definition, casual interpretation, moral
evaluation, and treatment
recommendation for the item described
- Provides rhetorical analysis of the text
(an issue, or the reporting of an issue) to
 identify perception, interpretation (from the institution or audience)
- Involved the use of metaphor, spin, jargon, word choice, and other narrative
elements for the sender to “control” the text
- Has been called an exercise in power and persuasion, that is, it deals with who tells
the story first and how they “frame’ it for the audiencebb

With framing, we can see social construction (of reality) on two levels
- Perception of a social phenomenon by the institution presenting the text
- Interpretation of that phenomenon by audiences