BASIC COMMUNICATION THEORY (THA 105)

ABSTRACT

Communication is the exchange of information ideas, opinion, thoughts, and emotions and so on,

between two people or groups of people. It is a phenomenon that is integral to human existence,

as man cannot effectively conquer and exist in his environment without it, in fact it is not out of

place to infer that no second passes by without the presence of communication in the everyday

existence and interaction of man, and living organism in general as its significance cannot be

over emphasized. Owing to its the importance, man through technological means has been

creating innovative equipment that would aid better sharing and transfer of information, thus the

world is a global village today because of the advancement in communication technologies. This

treatise seeks to enumerate and discus the concept of communication from the basics, with the

understanding from the beginning of its existence which was a process that involved the sharing

of information between two or more people to the era of technological advancement that brought

into existence a larger scale of information sharing termed mass media communication to the

current trends and technologies facilitated by the presence of a computer and computer

technologies which birthed the internet and the presence of the internet made possible a global

form of communication that revolutionized information creation, and sharing referred to as new

media which encompasses social media and other forms of mass communication. Basic

information on the subject of communication such as historical insights into the concepts of

communication, theories governing the information dissemination and functions of the media to

society would be discussed. With the aim of imparting basic understanding of the concept of

communication to budding theatre artistes who would be employing the art of communication to

their careers as performance artistes.

 COMMUNICATION

Communication is in its simplest understanding refers to the transfer of information from

one entity to another, or person to another as the case may be. It involves the conception of an

idea, thought, philosophy, ideology etc.by a source (the person with the intent or motivation to

inform the other party) and choosing of a medium or channel for which the information is to be

transmitted and the receiver (the party for whom the information is intended. For it to be said

communication has taken place the receiver has to accept the message decode it (understand it)

and send a reply to the source. It is worthy to note that for the concept of communication to be

employed the vehicle (code/language/sign or symbol) for information transfer should be one that

can be understood by both parties involved process of communication.

It is a phenomenon that is an integral component in human existence, as it is observed

that man makes extensive use of communication to effectively exist in environment and coexist

with his fellow man. Because man is a social being, (this meaning that humans exists in groups

and not in isolation) so communication is the major tool or medium of expressing, intent,

emotions, desires, ideas and so on between man and his fellow man. Importance of

communication in the day to day existence of human cannot be over-emphasized as it can be

observed that from birth of a human offspring i.e. a baby, it starts utilizing communication to

express itself or relate with its mother when in need or is uncomfortable. Its presence is very

significant in man’s everyday existence as it can be deduced that in every single second that

passes by in time man makes use of communication it safe to say as water and air are important

to existence so is communication. And it can also be inferred that nonexistence of the concept of

communication will leave the world in disarray and chaos as they would be no means by which
man can express or impart or even receive knowledge to better his chances of existing and being

comfortable in his environment or solve problems plaguing his existence.

Communication is present in all aspects of human relations examples are the following:

 Relationships: all human relationships either within the family unit or outside, i.e.,

business organization, communities, or in the society as a whole, communications is

essential for the smooth coexistence devoid of strife and even when conflicts occur,

communication can be utilized as a tool for bringing about peace between aggrieved

parties.

 Commerce: communication is essential for commerce, as is through the exchange of

ideas and interests that parties in business transactions reach agree on how they would

exchange their good or services for the rate of remuneration. Communication is also

employed in the announcement of good and services to the general public, in fact many

business organizations depend on advertisement (a form of mass communication) in

selling their goods or services. In other situations business organizations use another

information gathering (another form of communication which involves representatives of

business organizations going to a cross section of members of the society and get

information from them bothering on satisfaction or dissatisfaction on their products or

services with the aim of improving them which would boost sales or patronage as the

case maybe, which would in turn affect positively profit margin and growth of the

organization.

 Governance: a sovereign entity (a country) without rules and regulations laid down and

observed by the members would end up in chaos. That’s why it is essential to have an

administration comprising of experienced members of the society managing it.

 Communications is the main medium which intending members of the society use to

sensitize and cajole the members of the society of the sovereign entity of their eligibility

for positions of leadership. In contemporary situations mass media organizations staged

situations or create programmes where these intending leaders have opportunity of

interfacing with the members with the society and state what ways, programmes,

innovations and plans and how they would go about achieving these plans. Furthermore

through communication the administrators in government make use of communication

channels such as newspapers, radio, television and the internet, to pass disseminate

information and get feedback from the governed to aid smooth relations and peace in the

society.

 International Relations: through communications countries interrelate, and this

promotes world peace, as countries having conflicts can be called to a round table and

have the opportunity of settling their differences. Countries with economic, health

challenges, war situations etc. can reach out to other countries for aids or support. In area

of science and technology countries that are ahead through communications which

involves the less developed reaching out to the countries more advanced in technology

for assistance.

 Information: communication aids the transfer of information, in fact the two components

work hand in hand as one cannot work without the other, because for communication to

take place, it has to have a what to be communicated (an information) and for

information to be useful, it has to be disseminated and the only medium for information

dissemination is communication.
  Entertainment: every form of entertainment, irrespective of the platform e.g. Stage

performance, film, radio, music, dance, etc. utilize communication as a vehicle for

driving the content of the art form to pleasure the audience. Because for an art form to be

entertaining there needs to be a message which has the capacity to pleasure the members

of the society and a medium with which to transfer this message, and communication is

the basic medium for information transfer even in entertainment.

 Education: it is a common knowledge that education is the impartation of information

with the aim of improving the level of knowledge of mankind. But for knowledge

impartation to be possible there has to be the act and medium of information transfer.

Thus for education to occur there needs to be a medium to transfer or impart the

information (knowledge), and there is no other medium than communication.

The above listed functions highlights and emphasizes the extreme importance of communication

to mankind and highlight some way by which communication is employed in the daily existence

of mankind.

Elements of Communication Process

Communication as earlier described is the transfer of information between two or more

parties, as a process information sharing is dynamic, recurring and cyclical in nature, this

meaning that the process does not end with one instance as it may ongoing, continuous until both

parties are content with process or have gotten the knowledge sought. But for the process to be

complete there needs to be certain components/elements in the activity for it to be said that

communication has occurred. These elements are the following:

1) Stimulation: this component is the beginning of the process of information sharing, it is

concerned with the intent or motivation that drives the sender (the party that starts the
 process of communication) to initiate the process. As earlier mentioned the process of

communication can be driven by the need to pass information such as ideas, thought,

emotions or with intent of receiving information, knowledge etc. as the case may be.

2) Message: this is information that the source (the instigator of the communication process)

intends to pass across to the other party (the receiver). These maybe ideas, emotions,

knowledge, information etc.

3) Encoding: this is the second stage in the process, and it is concerned with the putting

together, or conceiving the message that would be transferred. for the sender to pass to

initiate the process of communication after having a reason/motivation for engaging in the

process, he/she must make the decision of conceiving the message to be passed and to do this

he/she has to take into consideration the language or symbols to utilize in conception,

because whatever language or symbols to be utilized must be one that is familiar to both

parties for easy understanding of the message sent. Failure to do this would lead to

communication breakdown and a distortion in the process which might have dire

consequences in crucial situations.

4) Channel: this is the medium for which to pass across information from one party to another.

It could be trough a person to person medium such as face to face communication or

technology assisted medium such as newspapers, radio and television mass medium, phone

calls, electronic mails or platforms created by the advent of the internet such as the earlier

mentioned mass media platforms, instant messaging applications installed on mobile phone

and or social networking platforms.

5) Transmission: this component is concerned with of the sending out of the conceived

message, intended by the source. For the message to be transferred effectively the source or
 instigator of the communication process must choose a channel for which to pass the

message. Presently there are many channels that can be employed for communication. These

are namely: verbal person to person transfer of message or technology assisted method such

as phone calls, newspaper reports, Radio or Television broadcast, instant messaging

applications on mobile phones or different social networking platforms on the internet.

6) Reception: the stage is concerned with acceptance of the transmitted message conceived by

the source with the intent of disseminating it. At this point the information has reached the

other party in the communication process. It is worthy to mention that for the process to

reach this point, the sender must have chosen a channel that is appropriate for both parties to

communicate.

7) Decoding: this stage of the communication process is the point where the conceived,

intended message from the source has passed through a channel or medium to reach the other

party (the receiver). The conceived message, after reception is deciphered to aid

understanding. It is worthy to note for the message to be understood and to aid decoding, the

language in which the message is encoded (packaged) is one that both parties are familiar

with and can easily understand.

8) Feedback: this is the final stage of a communication process, because at this point the

conceived message has passed through a channel and has reached the party for whom the

message is intended. But for the process to be complete the receiver, after reception has to

decipher the message digest it, and send a response to the originator of the process (the

sender). When this is done, it can then be said that communication has taken place. Although

the is observed as the end of a communication process, it should be understand the process

of communication is cyclical and dynamic in nature, this connotes that the process is ongoing
 and doesn’t end at one cycle. Because the process goes back and forth with both parties

changing positions as the sender changes positions and becomes the receiver, when a new

idea or information emanates in the process. For easy understanding this means : that is two

parties man A and woman B are having a conversation irrespective of who starts the process

starts the process their positions as originator and receiver changes as they change the subject

of discussion.

9) Noise: the dictionary understanding of the word noise is any sound that is irritating and

unpleasant or any combination of sounds that are unpleasant to the ears, but in the context of

communication it is a situation or thing that hinders the successful process of

communication.

Noise is another factor that is considered in communication because it is believed in

some situations when the process of communication is initiated there maybe circumstances

that can hinder the smooth transfer of the information from one party to another. When this

happens, it is said that there has been a communication breakdown. This circumstance(s) as

the case may be is referred to as noise. Noise is the communication for easy understanding

has been broken down into four different types, these are:

Physical Noise: this concerned with the tangible impediments in the environment that

can hinder the process of communication, these are vehicular noise, side discussions in a

meeting or classroom situations, loud machinery noise in a factory, bad reception network in

the case mobile or internet forms communication, loud conversations in a quiet environments

etc. an example is in a class room scenario where a lecture is ongoing and a car speeds into a

car park close to the classroom with its occupant playing very loud music, the resulting effect

would be that the students in the classroom would be distracted by the noise of the music and
 would not be able to hear the lecturer and participate properly, this would lead to loss of

communication between the lecturer and the students.

Physiological Noise: this is concerned with the internal hindrance of a

communication process, and this could be as a result of the mental, emotional state or

disability of either of the individuals in a communication process would cause the parties or

either of the parties, no to be able to respond appropriately to the message sent thus causing a

communication breakdown. An example is a student who is depressed from an emotional

situation or have a hearing disability would not be able to listen a lecture or contribute to

learning in the class.

Psychological Noise: this is concerned with interference from the body causing either

parties of the communication process not to concentrate to understand and decode a message

sent to them. An example could be a student ill, hungry, tired or even sleepy in a classroom

during a lecture might not be able to focus on the ongoing lecture because of the discomforts

he/her body is going through at the time of the lecture.

Linguistic/Semantic Noise: this is concerned with the interference from the medium

of expression of information, in a communication process. This may be caused by a linguistic

ineptitude which may give rise to grammatical incoherence, wrong spelling or pronunciation

(in the case of verbal communication) or on the other hand semantic noise which could be

wrong usage of words or the usage of words to connote a different meaning different from

the widely acknowledge meaning of the word. Whatever the case may be this type of noise

interference can distort the conceived idea packaged in a message and when received by the

other party (the receiver) which will in turn cause a breakdown of the communication,

Forms of Communication
Communication as a concept can be appreciated from different angles, although with a basic

understanding of information exchange between two parties, the process and characteristics are

different. The basic forms are the following:

 Verbal Communication

 Non Verbal Communication

 Intra personal Communication

 Inter personal Communication

 Mass Communication

VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal the definition of this form of communication is somewhat cumbersome as there a

myriad of what the word term verbal communication denotes. But in all the may description of

the subject of discuss the understanding that remains constant, is that verbal communication is a

form of information sharing that involves the use of agreed upon sounds and symbols in

communication. The aspects of agreed upon sounds and symbols refers to the two kinds of verbal

communication i.e. oral and written.

ORAL COMMUNICATION

Oral Communication refers to information sharing that entails the use of sounds

emanating from the human mouth in the form of spoken words. This form of communication is

employed in situations such as: face to face conversations, meetings, conferences, interviews,

phone calls etc. free dictionary describes oral communication as such : “Speech communication,

spoken communication, spoken language, voice communication, language, speech language,

linguistic communication jointly define as a systematic means of communicating by the use of

sounds or conventional symbols.” (obe 2005 pg. 78)

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

This refers to communication that entails the use of written or printed signs and symbols

in information sharing. written communication could be in these forms i.e.: doctor’s prescription,

carved or painted hieroglyphics on the wall in Egyptian caves, an assignment written on the

board for students, educative contents printed in a book etc.

Both forms of verbal communication are language based, this meaning that, the users of

these forms of communication have mutual understanding of the sounds, tone, expressions

associated with the sounds employed in the communicating to them (in the case oral

communication) . The same applies to the written or printed symbols and signs written

communication. The mutual understanding of the codes in the content of the message make for a

seamless communication process, as both parties would be able to exchange information without

distortion.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION:

Nonverbal communication is generally defined as the aspect of

communication that is not expressed in words. Under the assumptions that
‘one cannot not communicate’ (Watzlawick et al., 1967, p. 51) and that all
movements are to some degree expressive (Wiener et al., 1972), all
nonverbal behaviours are subsumed under this heading. (Hess, U. 2016, p.
208).
The basic understanding of the non-verbal communication as highlighted by the above

description is that communication as a concept goes beyond spoken words, and that any other

manner with which humans exchange information or pass across messages, can be seen to be a

form communication. In addition, similar to verbal communication, there should be mutual

understanding of the sign and symbols used as unspoken language of communication for it to be

an effective medium of information sharing.

Non-verbal communication forms are numerous in human communication and sometimes are

used as complimentary components to verbal communication. Examples of non-verbal

communication includes;

 Facial expression; all the different expressions possible, that could be made with the

parts of the face such as the eyes, the lips, etc. the eyes could be used to wink at a person

to pass a hidden message which could mean friendship or hatred.

 Gestures; the human body in totality can be utilized in passing unspoken

communication, for example, a man standing, with arm stretched and palms open in a

traffic situation can be used to give an instruction to stop oncoming vehicles.

 Signs /symbols ; a good example are the colours on a traffic light; red, amber and green

that denote the instruction of stop, ready to go and go respectively. Commuters who are

trained in the skill of driving, and have encountered the lights would readily obey them

when driving.

It is worthy to note that, as in the case of verbal communication, the signs symbols, gestures or

bodily expressions utilized in non-verbal communication have to denote a universal message that

is understood by the users.

INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

This is essentially a neuro-physiological activity which involves

some mental interviews for the purposes of information
processing and decision making. The basic operations of
intrapersonal communication are to convert raw data from
environment to information; to interpret and give meaning to that
information and to use such meaning. In other words, it is
communication that occurs within you. (Obe, 2008, p.90)
Mclean (2006), “intrapersonal communication is communication within oneself and that

includes, self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization and even recall and memory.”

According to descriptions of intrapersonal communications by the two authors the basic

understanding of intrapersonal communication is that, it is a form of communication that occurs

between an individual, in other words an individual having a discussion with him or herself. This

form of communication maybe vocalized (as in soliloquy) or internalized (as in meditation).

Intrapersonal communication consists of three aspects, namely: self-conception, perception and

expectation.

Self-conception: in intrapersonal communication, is concerned with the personal conclusions of

an individual with regards to self. Simply put, how a person sees himself in the world (the

environment he finds himself). It is very necessary stage in personality development, because in

the process of self-conception, individuals assess and analyse themselves through events and life

experiences and come up with a model (personality) of presentation of who they are to other

individuals. Self-conception consist of three components that influence that influence its process,

they are: belief, values and attitudes.

 Belief: is the perception of the principle that an individual has accepted as truth or

falsehood and has chosen to live by it.

 Values: these are essential component an individual`s belief system that informs the

choice of truth or falsehood, right or wrong in a person’s character. Values are deep

rooted foundations within individual’s mind and it controls the person’s choices in

decision making.

 Attitude: is the understanding one’s self and this is relation to values.

Perception: is the outward external analysis a person undertakes in understanding self and

essence in the environment. It is the opposite of self-concept that focuses on the inward analysis

of self. They are both intertwined and combined to create a holistic understanding of an

individual of concepts within self and outside (in the environment around them). An

understanding of self and essence in the world.

Expectation: it is a futuristic orientation dealing with long term occurrence, people are believed

to form expectations on the base of the strength of learned ideas in the society. An example is the

universal life lesson that states that when a student studies well for an exam he/she would score

good grades.

TYPES OF INTRAPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

 Internal discourse: thinking, ruminating, meditating, praying etc.

 Solo vocal: speaking aloud to oneself, vocalizing one’s perception to self (self-

motivation), talking aloud to one’s self about a bad experience with the aim of analysing

and effecting correction, rehearsing speech to someone ( in a situation where one wants

to express an affectionate desire to a love interest).

 Solo written: writing for self, such as taking note in a diary or writing down futuristic

plans.

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication is a form of information sharing that consists of two entities,

present in the same location (face to face) working together towards creating a sustaining shared

meaning. This meaning that, the two individuals passing information and receiving and sending

in a continuously, with both parties having a mutual understanding of language or symbols of

communication.

TYPES OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

There are three major types of communication and these are categorized by the number of

individuals involved in the communication process. They are the following:

Dyadic Communication: this form of communication takes place between two people, such as

a personal conversation between to people or a phone conversation between to people. The

communication process is immediate with no delays as both parties, the sender and receiver take

messages sent to them evaluate/decode and give immediate responses.

Group Communication

This form of communication bears a semblance with dyadic communication but involves

more people (any number more than two but not too large). There is a significant understanding

with group communication, and this is that the number should be remarkably small so that

communication can be effectively done. This denotes that, the number of individual present in a

group communication process, must be able to receive and share message effectively, so when

the number of participants is large the noise which would lead cause barriers in communication.

It is also worthy to note, due to the number of people in the communication process information

transfer would not be as effective as dyadic communication because of the large fact the number

of senders and receivers in the process might lead to confusion. An example is a small study

group.

Public communication

This form of communication involves a large number of people, the communication

process is not as effective as in the other two forms. This is because of the process of

communication would be one sided as information transfer would have to be from a person to the

crowd without or with minimal feedback, it would be as clear and direct as with the other two

forms of interpersonal communication. Example are communication in a conference situation

with a speaker communicating with the attendees, or a classroom situation with a lecturer

standing in front of the class and teaching students, or a solo performance in front of an audience

in the theatre etc.

Mass Communication

Mass communication as stated by O’Sullivan et al is thus:

Mass communication is the practice and product of providing

leisure entertainment and information to an unknown audience
by means of corporately financed, industrially produced, state
regulated, high-technology, privately consumed commodities
in the modern print, screen, audio and broadcast media. (as
cited in Lorimer. 2002, p.67)
Although this definition aptly describes mass communication and its uses, function and

somewhat business angle, but its range of what mass communication media listed refers to only

the older mass communication medium(s) that came into existence as human communication

developed from face to face verbal communication to the for a broader medium. These are print

media (newspapers, magazines, newsletters, bulletins etc. radio media (audio broadcast of news,

educative programmes or informative over airwaves) and television media (broadcast of audio-

visual programmes). In order of emergence.

In recent times, since the advent of the internet it safe to describe mass communication as

follows: as a technology assisted medium of information exchange between a large number of

heterogeneous audience across geographical barriers with the incorporation of the older forms

mass media, such as print, audio and audio visual.

Mass communication as put forward by Sambe (cited in Ate 2017) possesses certain distinctive

characteristics such as the following:

(i) It is directed towards a relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous audience.

(ii) Messages are transmitted publicly, often timed to reach most audience members

simultaneously and are transient in character.

(iii) The communicator tends to be or operate within a complex organization that may involve

great experience. This translates to mean that mass communication as a medium of information

sharing involves composition of information, by a media organization ( or an organization

experienced in information sharing) for a large number of unrelated people/audience,

disseminated to them at the same time irrespective of geographical boundaries.

According to Ate (2017) who furnishes a brief historical background of mass communication.

Mass communication started with books with the first book written in Egypt in around 1400BC

but not until the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg that books were

reproduced for public consumption and this became a significant event which led to the creation

of newspapers around 100BC, the first English paper circulation occurred in 1704. In 1920’s the

radio media emerged and in 1940’s the television media came into being.

In Nigeria the first newspaper tagged names Iwe Iroyin (meaning newspaper in Yoruba) began

circulation in 1859, Radio media broadcasting came into being in 1932 and Television media

started operations in 1959. This brief background aptly highlights the order and timeline in

which mass communication media emerged and gained prominence.

In current times the internet is the newest form of mass communication and its emergence has

revolutionized the original form of mass communication process which used to be from one

entity (media organization) to a large number of heterogeneous audiences, to now placing the

audience not only as content consumers but being able to create content and disseminated for

public use.
The internet is the current technological advancement in mass communication with a capacity

that could absorbed the earlier forms of mass communication, such as newspapers, radio and

television in the progression of their emergence as communication media and a reach that is

beyond geographical boundaries. Kraidy 2005 defines the internet from a technological point of

view, he say thus:

Technologically the internet is a global network of smaller network of

computers connected by information superhighway of
telecommunication infrastructures including fibre optic networks and
coaxial cable grids, in addition to the wireless and satellite connections.
As such the internet integrates millions of computers worldwide, whose
users can communicate via electronic mails and the World Wide Web by
sending packets of digital information to the destination of their choice.
In order words, the internet is a network of networks allowing those who
are connected to it to send and receive digital data from a virtually
infinite number of sources. (Kraidy 2011)
The emergence of the internet as a mass communication medium has revolutionized the

essence of mass communication, with different forms of information transfer technology such as

internet radio, television and newspapers, and communication platforms such as internet

telephones, social media platforms, electronic mails etc. making it possible for people to

communicate through different channels i.e. (audio as in telephone call, video as in video call

and text as in emails (electronic mails) or instant, messaging applications such as Facebook,

whatsapp, Telegram. And in some cases an applications can give the user a variety of choices of

medium of information transfer such as instant messaging, audio and video calls. This

technological advancements in mass communication has made it possible for convergence in

communication, this means that the possibility of numerous forms of information transfer

technology existent in one platform an example is the possibility as earlier mentioned of different

methods of communication on one platform e.g. whatsapp, it also made mass communication

participatory in nature as the duties of creation and dissemination of messages, information etc.
is no longer the sole duty of the media houses because through the internet that have platforms

such as blogs, You tube and social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram and

so individuals are given the opportunity to be able to create content in any form text, audio, and

audio visual and upload on the internet for public consumption, and this opportunity as made it

possible for people to have the voice to express themselves without inhibition or hindrance.

Features of Mass Communication

Mass Communication is distinguished from other kinds of communication by a number

of features or characteristics. They are:

1. Mass Medium
2. Presence of Gatekeepers
3. Delayed Feedback
4. Limited Sensory Channels
5. Impersonal Versus Personal Communication
Mass Medium

For a medium to be regarded as mass in communication it must have acquired fifty

million adopters (Kaye & Medoff 2005). Radio, Television, internet etc. are examples of media

which are regarded as mass media because they can reach out to no fewer than fifty million

audience at a time. In mass communication, messages reach far beyond the immediate proximity

of the sender and could even get to the uttermost part of the world.

Presence of Gatekeepers

In mass communication, sent messages do not reach the audience in raw form. Messages are

usually ‘treated’. The implication of this is that there is usually no guarantee that what the

message receivers get is exactly the message sent by the source. In mass media organizations, the
gatekeepers are usually the reporters, sub-editors, editors, producers, writers, etc. The concept of

gatekeeper was first coined by Kurt Lewin who describes gatekeepers as individuals or groups of

persons who govern the travels of news items in the communication channels. Gatekeepers could

also be defined as any person or formally organized group directly involved in relaying or

transferring information from one individual to another through a mass medium. A gatekeeper

can be a film producer who cuts a scene from the original script, a network censor who deletes a

scene from a prime – time show because it is perceived as being too sexually explicit, a director

who determines what segment of film to use in a documentary, a newspaper executive who

determines the topic for an editorial, or any other individual in the processing or control of

messages disseminated through mass media ((Bittner 1989 pg.12).

In actual sense, a gatekeeper does three major functions:

1. Limiting the information through editing before dissemination.

2. Expanding the amount of information by injecting additional views
or angles.
3. Reorganizing or Reinterpreting the information gathered before disseminating it.
Delayed Feedback

Unlike in interpersonal communication where reply/feedback is made almost instantly, the

feedback in mass communication is always delayed, say for a day, week or month. Burgoon et al

1978 cited in Folarin 1994 says “Feedback is often limited, delayed and indirect”

Mass Communicators are usually subject to additional feedback in form of criticism in other

media, such as a television critic writing a column in a newspaper (Baran 2004:7). In other

words, feedback in mass communication is not instant. It is mostly through letters to the editor or

telephone calls or personal calls on the media Stanley Baran coined the term ‘delayed inferential
feedback’ when he said that television executives do not usually wait for feedbacks on what they

must do not to improve programming but only infer using the rating measured by the number of

viewers.

Limited Sensory Channels

This feature has to do with the fact that mass medium limits the number of sensory

channels upon which audience can draw. In other words, mass communication only enables one

to use his or her sense of sightand hearing since one can only see the visual picture and hear the

voice

of the speaker on the broadcast station. This is unlike in a face- to- face communication

where the audience can shake hands or hug the politicians and as such, have no limitation to the

sensory channels.

Impersonal and Personal Communication

Unlike in face – to – face communication where communication is personal, participants

in mass communication are usually strangers and, hence messages are more impersonal.

THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION

In every concept existent, there is the need for guiding rules or parameter with which to assess

and evaluate the viability or necessity of the concept in human endeavours. The assessment and

evaluation gives credence to the concept and a direction for applying the concept is defined. This

brings the focus to theories of mass communication.

Kessinger (1989) defines as follows:

"A theory is a set of interrelated constructs (concepts), definitions, and propositions that present

a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of

explaining and predicting the phenomena"(as cited in Onwubere 2013).

Theory as a concept method of evaluating concept is a believed to have the following attributes

 Intellectual Rigour: Every theory is a product of careful analysis and giving great

attention to details. This process ensures that they are testable, verifiable or systematic.

 Explanatory Power: The theory should be able to give plausible explanation for the

phenomena it was constructed to explain. Also a good theory should be able to explain a

good range of phenomena. The greater the number of phenomena a theory explains, the

more powerful the theory.

 Predictive Power: A good theory should be able to predict events. It is however, possible

that a theory may predict an event but may not be able to provide plausible explanations

to that event.

 Dynamism: Theories are subject to change; they are seldom constant because they can

be modified or completely repudiated when new facts emerge.

 Economy: A good theory explains many cases with a few statements and with few

exceptions, if any.

 Internal Consistence: The internal logic of a theory should be easily assessed without

carrying out any test. For instance, a theory states that "students who work hard excel in

their exams and subsequently in life". This theory and the variables therein should be

easily assessed even without having to carry out empirical/scientific tests.

 Heuristic Provocativeness: A good theory should be able to generate new hypotheses

which will expand the horizons of Knowledge. For instance, if a theory states that "those
 who drive while drunk die of motor accidents, this very theory should be able to generate

the hypothesis that "if those who get drunk are chauffeur-driven, they will live very long

lives".

 Durability: A good theory should be able to stand the test of time. It should be a

statement or proposition that can stand for a long time without being flawed. On the other

hand, some scholars contend that good theories are those that can be proved false. For

instance, Popper (1963) "suggests that theoretical propositions should be attacked from a

variety of angles to see whether they can withstand efforts to disprove them".

 Practical Utility: Theories have usefulness to reality. They can be used to solve real life

problems and issues

Normative Theory

This is a type of theory that describes an ideal way for media systems to be structured and

operated. Normative theories do not describe things as they are nor do they provide scientific

explanations; instead, they describe the way things shall be if some ideal values or principles are

to be realized. They help to explain the way in which social communication rules impinge on

mass media structures, conventions and performance, and highlight the consequences of non-

convergence between societal communication principles and mass communication principles.

They include:

Authoritarian Media Theory

This is the oldest of the press theories. It is an idea that placed all forms of communication under

the control of a governing elite or authorities. Authorities justified their control as a means to

protect and preserve a divinely ordained social order. It actually began in 16th century Europe,
when feudal aristocracies exercised arbitrary power over the lives of most people. It derived

from State’s philosophy of absolutism, in which recognition of truth was entrusted to only a

small number of ‘sages’ who are able to exercise leadership in a top-down approach. It

advocates the complete domination of media by a government for the purpose of forcing the

media to serve the government; and the media were forbidden to criticize the government or it

functionaries. The media in an authoritarian system are not allowed to print or broadcast

anything which could undermine the established authority, and any offense to the existing

political values is avoided. The authoritarian government may go to the extent of punishing

anyone who questions the state's ideology.

The fundamental assumption of the authoritarian system is that the government is infallible.

Media professionals are therefore not allowed to have any independence within the media

organization. Also foreign media are subordinate to the established authority, in that all imported

media products are controlled by the state. Authoritarian media still operate today in countries

where the press is largely owned or controlled by government (mostly repressive government).

The instruments of authoritarian control include, repressive legislation and decrees, heavy

taxation, direct or subtle control of staffing and of essential production inputs like newsprints,

prior censorship and suspension of production. The relationship between the state and the media

in an authoritarian system can be illustrated as such:

Libertarian Media Theory (Free Press Theory)

Libertarian thought emerged out of the authoritarian theory, when some social movements,

including Protestant Reformation, demanded greater freedom for individuals over their own lives

and thoughts. It prescribes that an individual should be free to publish what he or she likes and to
hold and express opinions freely. It sees the press as a free ‘market place’ of ideas- that all ideas

should be put before the public, and the public will choose the best from that ‘market place’

(Milton Self-righting principles).

Libertarian theory does not advocate media immunity to the rule of law but asserts that people

should be seen as rational beings able to distinguish between good and bad, truth and falsehood-

which renders prior censorship of media unnecessary. As a matter of fact, in the libertarian

system, attacks on the government's policies are fully accepted and even encouraged. Moreover,

there should be no restrictions on import or export of media messages across the national

frontiers. Moreover, journalists and media professionals ought to have full autonomy within the

media organization. It also advocates that the press be seen as partner in progress with the

government in the search for truth, rather than a tool in the hands of government.

The illustration below shows that there is no explicit connection between the government and the

media in the libertarian theory:

Social Responsibility Media Theory

Social Responsibility Theory emerged as a result of conflict between professionalism and self-

regulation of the press and pressure for greater regulation of the media. In response, Henry Luce,

CEO of Time Inc. provided funding for an independent commission to make recommendations

concerning the role of the press. The Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the press was

established in 1942 and released its report in 1947. The Commission members were sharply

divided between those who held strongly libertarian views and those who supported some form

of press regulation. Press regulation advocates argued that anti-democratic press can easily

subvert the “market place of ideas” and use the media to transmit propaganda to fuel hatred for
their own advantages. (e.g. Hitler used the media against the Jew). On the other hand, placing the

media under a control or regulation will hinder the freedom of the press. The Commission

therefore decided to place their faith in media practitioners and called on them to redouble their

efforts to serve the public and that the media have certain obligations to society. These

obligations were expressed in the words "informativeness” truth, accuracy, objectivity, and

balance" This theory states that the media can be used by anyone who has an idea to express but

they are forbidden to invade private rights or disrupt social structures. It emphasizes the freedom

of the press and places responsibility on the media practitioners to abide by certain social

standards. It opposes media regulation but believes that the press is automatically controlled by

community opinion, consumer protest and professional ethics. It calls on the media to be

responsible for fostering productive and

creative “Great Communities” (Baran and Davis 2003:109), and that media should do this by

prioritising cultural pluralism- by becoming the voice of all the people – not just elite groups or

groups that had dominated national, regional or local culture in the past. It also points out that the

media, in carrying out their obligations, must adhere to the highest ethical standards.

Social Responsibility Theory basic principles, summarised by McQuail (1987), include:

 To serve the political system by making information, discussion and consideration of public

affairs generally accessible.

 To inform the public to enable it to take self-determined action.

 To protect the rights of the individual by acting as watchdog over the

government.
 To serve the economic system; for instance by bringing together buyers and sellers through

the medium of advertising.

 To provide “good” entertainment, whatever “good” may mean in the culture at any point in

time.

 To preserve financial autonomy in order not to become dependent on special interests and

influences.

Mass Society Theories (All-Powerful Media Effect)

These are perspectives that stress the influential but often negative role of the media. They

believe that the media are corrupting influences that undermine the social order and that average

people are defenceless against their influence. These theories emerged in the second half of the

19th Century when mass circulation of newspapers and magazines, movies, talkies, and radio

came to prominence. It was a time of urbanization and industrialization spread; which in

conjunction with the media altered the society’s patterns of life. The theories are treated below:

Hypodermic Needle/ Magic Bullet Theory

This was a media theory that saw the media as all-powerful and supremely effective; and

believed that all human beings responded the same way to the powerful influence from the

media. The theory was a propaganda theory, produced by a combination of Behaviourist and

Freudian schools of thought. Behaviourism held that human action was as a result of or response

to external environmental stimuli. It argued that the so-called consciousness was meant to

rationalise behaviours after they were triggered by the external stimuli. Freudianism saw the self

that controls human action as having three parts:

Id- pleasure seeking part of the mind, Ego- rational mind; and Superego- internalised set of

cultural rules. It said the human action was often the product of the darker side of the self -the

Id-, which is the pleasure-seeking part of the mind. By appealing to the Id, so that it could

overcome the ego, then, propaganda would be effective. So, the Magic Bullet saw the media as

conveying external stimuli that can condition anyone to behave in whatever way a master

propagandist wants. People were viewed as powerless to consciously resist manipulation no

matter their level of education or social status. The rational mind was viewed as a mere facade,

incapable of resisting powerful messages. People had no ability to screen out or criticise these

messages. The messages penetrate to their subconscious mind, and transform how they think and

feel.

Lasswell’s Propaganda Theory

During the troubled decade of the 1930s, one of the first communication theorists, Harold

Lasswell, proposed a theory that attempted to explain disturbing events of the times. Lasswell

argued that the worldwide economic depression and political strife had made people particularly

vulnerable to propaganda conveyed by the mass media. He posited that the power of propaganda

was not so much the result of the substance or appeal of specific messages but, rather, the result

of the vulnerable state of mind of average people. Unlike the Magic Bullet Theory's prediction of

rapid and powerful persuasive effects of the mass media, proponents of Propaganda Theory posit

that mediated propaganda conditioned the audience slowly over time. Propaganda works through

projection of master symbols, emotion charged images (for example, a national flag). Lasswell's

depiction of the working mechanism of propaganda was especially prescient in Germany. The

National Social Party (Nazis) under Adolph Hitler took control of the German government in
1933 and launched a systematic campaign of propaganda to win popular support for its policies.

Joseph

Goebbels Propaganda Ministry produced propaganda films to promote the party's militarism and

anti-Semitism. A network of carefully-crafted Nazi master symbols included the swastika, the

"Zeig-Heil" gesture, German ascendancy from a mythical Aryan race, and a fictitious Jewish

conspiracy. Reinforced by terrorist tactics of the secret police, the propaganda helped to firm a

Nazi grip on the highly educated German people. The Propaganda Theory ascribed great

persuasive power to a technocratic elite. Influential newspaper columnist Walter Lippmann,

author of the first book on public opinion (1922), thought that propaganda so threatened

democracy that the mass media must be censored to protect the public from their powerful

influences. Later theorists decided that people are not so gullible and that the 1930s was a unique

era.

Theories of Media, Culture and Society

The theories under consideration here offer cogent and insightful analyses of the role of the

media in both culture and society. These theories argue that the structure and content of our

media system both reflect and create our overall social structure and our culture. They include

the following:

Agenda Setting Theory

This posits that the mass media determines the issues that are regarded as important at a given

time in a given society. That means that the press is significantly more than a purveyor of

information and opinion; and though it may not be able to tell its readers what it thinks, it does
successfully tell them what to think about. In other words, our perception of the world is

dependent not only on our personal interests, but also on the map that is drawn for us by the

media. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw (1972) corroborate the agenda setting theory by

their research. They posit that:

In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and

broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality. Readers
learn not only about a given issue, but how much importance to attach to
that issue from the amount of information in a news story and its position
…The mass media may well determine the important issues- that is, the
media set the ‘agenda’ of the campaign. (pg.176)
The elements involved in agenda setting include:

(1) The quality or frequency of reporting

(2) Prominence given to the reports – headlines display, layout, timing on radio and TV set
(3) The degree of conflict generated in the reports
(4) Cumulative media-specific effects over time