Theories of Communication

Ashiqha Sultana
IIMC Kottayam
What is Communication?

• Communication is the act of giving, receiving, and exchanging information, i.e.

talking, writing, and listening, or reading.
• Levels of communication : Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Group Communication,
Mass Communication, Verbal & Non Verbal Communication
• Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message and a recipient
• A wide variety of factors may influence the message's delivery from the sender to
the receiver. These factors include our emotions, the surrounding cultural context,
the communication medium, and even our geographic location.
Theories of Communication

• Organizing and understanding our communication experiences is a primary role of

communication theories. Theories help us to categorise a wide variety of
communication circumstances by focusing on "similar characteristics.
• Theories also serve the purpose of guiding our research of communication behaviour.
Where, what, and how we study communication phenomena are all guided by theories.
• Theories have a third purpose: they aid in the expansion of our knowledge of human
communication.
• Theories aid in communication planning and control. When we communicate, we
attempt to foresee the outcome of our exchanges in order to retain some kind of
control. Let's say you're at a party and you'd want to strike up a conversation with
someone you find attractive.
• Theories have a fifth purpose: they provide us with new ways of thinking and
behaving that enable us question prevailing social and cultural realities.
Types of Communication Theories

• Media Effects Theories

• Psychological Theories
• Sociological Communication Theories
• Powerful Effects of Media
• Critical and Cultural Theories
• Social Learning Theories and Social Change
• Indian Communication Theories
 Media Effects Theories

• Hypodermic Needle Theory

• Researchers in the field of mass communication

came up with the first hypothesis about the effects
and behaviours of mass media in the mid-1930s.
• In both the United States and Germany during
World War II, the media played an important role
in influencing people's minds.
• When the Nazis in Germany were in power, they
utilised the film industry to spread propaganda
about their policies and accomplishments, which
had a profound effect on German culture

• Image Courtesy : mediaknite.org

• Other films portraying Germany as an evil power were created by the United States,
including "It Happened One Night," "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington," which had an effect on the minds of Americans as well.
• The media audience here absorbs the messages immediately and does not reject them in any
way

• Harold Lasswell's Hypodermic Needle Theory, often known as the Magic Bullet Theory
(hypodermic syringe model or transmission-belt model), was first put forward in the 1920s.
• During World War II, it was detailed in the book "Propaganda Technique.“
• The theory is based on a linear model of communication and discusses the influence that
media has on audiences.
• According to this idea, the message functions as a magic bullet that penetrates the brains of
the audience and delivers a specific message. Theory describes how media influence what
people see and hear as well as the consequences, which may be immediate or delayed.
• The media (like a magic gun) shot the message right into the minds of the people
who were listening without their consent.
• Messages that elicit an immediate, knee-jerk response from the audience are
referred to be "Magic Bullet Theory" messages.
• As a result of the media (needle) injecting the message into people's minds, they
alter their behaviour and attitudes about it.
• There is a passive audience that will not question the media's "Hypodermic
Needle Theory" narrative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5MjBlvGcY
• The popularity of mass media and the growth of the advertising sector, as well as
propaganda, have had a mixed impact on the audience's perceptions.
• This may either create difficulties and devastation, or it can enforce order and
consistency.
• The message that the audience receives from the media is irresistible, and it leads
to a unified way of thinking among the population. The result is the development
of a rigid frame of mind and perception. Even a single piece of information may
affect the brain in many ways and influence people's views without their being
aware of it.
• Two Step Flow Theory
• In the book "The people's choice: How the
voter makes up his mind in a presidential
campaign," Paul Lazarsfeld (1901-1976),
an American Social Researcher, Bernard
Berelson (1912 – 1979), and Hazel Gaudet
presented The Two-Step Flow of
Communication in 1944
• Specifically, the research aimed to find out
how individuals make decisions related to
the Presidential election campaign. All
three researchers sought to find out if mass
media messages had a direct impact on
people's voting decisions.

• Image Courtesy:

• https://www.communicationtheory.org/two-step-flow-theory-2 /
• As a surprise, they discovered that formal, personal communications had a far
greater impact on voting behaviour than informal, mass media ones.
• It was on the basis of this data that Katz and Paul Lazarsfeld came up with their
Two Step Flow Mass Communication Theory.
• Opinion Leader is a person who serves as a leader for a certain organisation and
provides details and information to less active members. In the workplace, the
CEO is an opinion leader, and in public, a politician is an opinion leader.
• They use their own group's interpretation of the data. However, the Opinion leader
is just a leader in their own group and not for the whole population. They do not
lead for everyone. A political leader is a public opinion figure. Very few
individuals in this country are free of the influence of the leader and his or her
political ideas and thoughts.
• As a result, these individuals are unable to support influential members in society.
• "The flow of media messages from radio and print to opinion leaders, and
eventually the opinion leaders lead to fewer active users in the public," as Katz
and Paul put it. As a result of this message transformation, leaders may contribute
their thoughts on the actual content, which may have an impact on the low number
of active users.
• Occasionally, opinion leaders are responsible for screening real material to ensure
that individuals have access to the knowledge they need. Influential people tend to
be picky when it comes to passing along messages. People who can't afford to
receive information straight from the media are referred to as low-end media
consumers.
• Multistep Flow Theory
• Two-step approach says social interactions and
audience selection hinder media's ability to
have a direct impact on audience perception
and retention. Rather from directly addressing
the general public, news organisations use
opinion leaders to disseminate ideas to a select
group of people.
• This group of influential people would be in
charge of receiving, interpreting, and
disseminating media messages to the general
population.
• A number of changes were made to the two-
step flow hypothesis throughout the years after
it was first proposed. When the Internet and
mobile devices made media material widely
available, critics said that the framework
underestimated the direct impact of mass
communication.
• The linear top-down model put forward by Lazarsfeld and Katz,
according to some researchers, oversimplified patterns of interpersonal
impact.
• Researchers discovered that the hypothesis predicted the information
flow from the mass media to the general public was more complicated
than expected.
• In the original model, key dynamics were lacking, such as information
flow among opinion leaders and among the less involved audience
members
• The impacts persisted even after two steps, and opinion leaders could
transmit their views to followers, who in turn would disseminate them
to other people
• Gatekeeping Theory
• The term "Gate keeper" is coined by
Kurt Zadek Lewin.
• It's nothing more than the usage of a
fence to keep out undesirable or
pointless items. 'Gatekeeper' refers to
the individual who makes decisions
in this context.
• In the beginning, it's extensively
utilised in psychology, then
subsequently in communication. It's
now considered a foundational theory
in the field of communication
research.
• What information is sent through to the group or person depends on the
Gatekeeper's decisions.
• There are decision makers who allow the whole social system through, and they
are gatekeepers. Each of these influences has an effect on the gatekeeper's
decision-making process: social, cultural, ethical, and political.
• They disseminate information to the group based on individual or societal factors.
• To keep society or a group in check and on track, gatekeepers use this technique to
filter out irrelevant, harmful, or contentious information. When it comes to raising
children, the mother has the most influence since she has to determine what their
children need and what they should avoid.
 Psychological Theories
Individual Differences Theory
• The psychological approach to understanding communication effects gives rise
to many theories among which an important one is individual difference
theory.
• According to this theory, different personality variables result in different
reactions to the same stimuli. In other words, an individual's psychological
mechanism accounts for reactions to media messages.
• In other words, the reaction to media content differs according to motivation of
audience members, their predisposition to accept or reject a given message,
their intelligence, beliefs, opinions, values, needs, moods, prejudices,
perceptibility, etc.
• The theory gives importance to the individual audiences and states that an
individual’s values, needs, beliefs and attitudes play a major role in how
they react and use media.
• In other words, the psychological makeup of a person is very much
responsible for how he or she will consume media.
• Therefore, different people will react differently to same information or
message.
• In other words, reaction of media message or content will differ according
to motivation of audience members, their predisposition to accept or reject a
given message, their prior believes, values, bias, intelligence level, moods
etc.
 Selective Exposure
• Selective exposure occurs when people tend to expose themselves selectively
only to communications which are in general accordance with their established
convictions and avoid communications which seem to challenge their beliefs.
• If, by chance, people are exposed to contrary opinions, they are able to perceive
selectively in order to invest these hostile arguments with acceptable meanings
narrowing the gap between what they believe already and what they are invited to
believe.
• They tend to avoid those messages which are against their point of view. People
seek out not only topics of interest to them but more importantly viewpoints with
which they expect to agree. Thus, they use to the media to reinforce existing
biases. On occasions when people seek out opposing points of view, they often do
so for the purpose of hearing the arguments so that they can refute it later.
Selective Perception
• Once the individuals have selectively exposed themselves to the messages, in
accordance with their preferences, they tend to "read into" the message whatever suits
their needs. This process is called selective perception.
• Selective perception also implies the tendencies of media audience members to
misperceive and misinterpret persuasive messages in accordance with their own
predispositions.
• Melvin L. De Fleur and Sandra Ball-Rokeach have concluded that "from the vast
available content, individual members of the audience selectively attend to, interpret
and retain messages, particularly if they are related to their interest, consistent with
their attitude, congruent with their beliefs and supportive of their values" (1981)
• These studies, which tried to discover psychological characteristics as intervening.
(i.e between media and audience), were admirable but they remained inconclusive.
The possibilities of other specific waits of an audience which could serve as barriers
between message and effects emerged from the political studies and gave rise to
personal influence theory.
Selective Retention
this notes that people remember messages that support their opinion longer than
they remember opposing messages, which often unconsciously are forgotten and set
aside.
• As with selective exposure and selective perception, selective retention is likely to
reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes.
• Such tendencies make it less likely that the media can play a solo role in changing
attitudes and behavior. To sum up, Individual Differences Theory of mass
communication proposes that individuals respond differently to the mass media
according to their psychological needs, and that individuals consume the mass
media to satisfy those needs.
• The need may be for information (e.g. providing statistics about players and
teams), integrative (offering a sense of belonging to a group of similarly interested
people), affective (e.g. by providing excitement), or escapist (helping to release
pent-up emotions).
Cognitive Dissonance

• First proposed by U.S. psychologist Leon Festinger in the 1950s, the Cognitive
Dissonance theory seeks to explain how people reduce psychological
discomfort and achieve emotional equilibrium in the face of inconsistent
beliefs or behaviors.

• It rests on the premise that people desire to view themselves as rational and
uniform in both thought and action; therefore, they consciously choose how
they respond to information or behaviors that challenge their way of thinking.

• It has been used to understand why people give in to con artists, make risky
financial decisions and justify unhealthy habits.
• Though Cognitive Dissonance Theory was controversial at first, it is now one
of the most analyzed and accepted theories in both psychology and
communication.

• The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the mental discomfort that
results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.

• People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this

conflict causes feelings of unease or discomfort.

• This inconsistency between what people believe and how they behave
motivates people to engage in actions that will help minimize feelings of
discomfort. People attempt to relieve this tension in different ways, such as by
rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding new information.
• Advertisers try to paint a picture that your life isn’t complete without their product
or their service. Many use cognitive dissonance to point out the inconsistencies
between the idealized version of you and the real-life you.
• You experience dissonance because you want to see yourself in that idealized way,
but you don’t necessarily use that product or service.
Sociological Theories of Communication
Cultivation Theory
● The cultivation theory was proposed by George Gerbner, is one of the core theories of media
effects. According to the theory, people who watch television frequently are more likely to be
influenced by the messages from the world of television.

● The influence goes to such an extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what
they repeatedly see and hear on television. Television is, considered to contribute independently
to the way people perceive social reality.

● Television offers a plethora of ideas and conceptions on a variety of social and cultural dynamics
like race, gender etc.. Over a period of time, a fixed image of various groups of people is formed
and viewers start to absorb these ideas which they then use as a map to navigate through life.
This constant exposure to the media content cultivates specific values, beliefs, attitudes and
desires in people.
• These newly preconceived notions shape their perception of the
world and they ultimately influence how others perceive them.
People, therefore, end up unconsciously shaping their thought
processes and behaviour based on what they consume.
• In today’s world, people depend on television to understand the
intricate web of the norms, values and mindset of the society in
which they live.
• Cultivation theory research views television as a system of messages
and tries to understand its function and consequences on an
audience.
• These messages complement one another and are organic and
coherent in nature. Cultivation analysis focuses on the impact of
long term cumulative exposure to television .
• The cultivation hypothesis states that the more television people
watch, the more likely they are to hold a view of reality that is
closer to television's depiction of reality.
• For many individuals the distorted and partial reality portrayed on
television represents what the world is 'really' like.
• Gerbner also coined the term mean world syndrome to describe the
cognitive bias whereby television viewers exposed to violent
content were more likely to see the world as more dangerous than it
actually is.
• In more recent times, researchers have delved into other forms of
media such as reality TV and video games, to study the effects of
cultivation theory.
 The Mean World Syndrome

• During the exploration of the effects of television viewing, Gerbner (1980) also
coined the term mean world syndrome to describe the cognitive bias whereby
television viewers exposed especially to violent content were more likely to see the
world as more dangerous than it actually is.
• Because television programming significantly shaped attitudes toward and opinions
of reality, regular viewers of violent content were likely to experience more fear,
pessimism, increased anxiety and a greater alertness to imaginary threats.
 Agenda Setting Theory

The Agenda Setting Theory was put forth by Maxwell McCombs

and Donald L. Shaw
• The news reports make it in a way that when a particular news
report is given importance and attention than other news the
audience will automatically perceive it as the most important news
and information are given to them.
• The priorities of which news comes first and then the next are set
by the media according to how people think and how much
influence will it have among the audience.
• Agenda setting occurs through a cognitive process known as
“accessibility”. Media provides information which is the most
relevant food for thought, portraits the major issues of the society
and reflects people minds.
Priming
• The media gives the utmost importance to a certain event such that it gives people
the impression that that particular news is the most important one. This is done on a
daily basis.

• The selected news report is carried on as a heading or covered regularly for months.
For example, terms such as headlines, special news features, discussions, expert
opinions are used.

• Media primes news by repeating the news and giving it more importance
Framing is a process of selective control. It has two meanings.

• The way in which news content is typically shaped and contextualized within
the same frame of reference.
• Audience adopts the frames of reference and to see the world in a similar way.
This is how people attach importance to a piece of news and perceive its context
within which an issue is viewed.
• Framing deals with how people attach importance to certain news. For example,
in the case of an attack, defeat, win and loss, the media frames the news in such
a way that people perceive from a different angle.
• We can take the Kargil War between India and Pakistan as an example. In both
the countries, the news reports were framed in such a way they show their own
country in a positive light and the other in the negative. So depending on which
media people have access to, their perception will differ.
Factors affecting Agenda setting

Gatekeepers, editors and managers and other external

influences.

Non-media sources like government officials and

influential personnel.
 Uses and gratification theory

The Uses and Gratification theory discusses how people use the media for their own need
and get satisfied when their needs are fulfilled.

• In other words, it can be said that the theory argues what people do with media rather than
what media does to people. Also, this theory is in contradiction to the Magic Bullet theory,
which states that the audience is passive.

• This theory has a user/audience-centered approach. Even for communication, say –

interpersonal, people refer to the media for the topic to discuss among themselves. By
referring the media, they gain more knowledge and exposure to the world beyond their
limited eyesight.
There are several needs and gratification for people. They are categorized into
five needs.

Cognitive needs
Affective needs
Personal Integrative needs
Social Integrative needs
Tension free needs
Cognitive needs:

People use media for acquiring knowledge, information, facts, etc. Among the audience, some
have the thirst to acquire intellectual and academic knowledge. This is not a very common
phenomenon. Different people have different needs. For example, quiz programs on
television give on factual knowledge; to know about current affairs people need to watch the
news regularly; search engines on the internet are also very popular since people can browse
for any topic easily under the run with no time restriction.

Affective needs:

It includes all kinds of emotions, pleasure and moods of the people. People use media; say
television, to satisfy their emotional needs.The best example would be when people get
emotional or sometimes even they cry for a sad scene while watching the movie/soap opera .
Personal Integrative needs

This is the self-esteem need. People use media to reassure their status, gain credibility and stabilize. So
people watch television and assure themselves that they have a respectable status in society. For example,
people watch advertisements in the media like jewellery ads, furniture ads, apparel ads, etc. and buy these
products so that they can change their lifestyle. Hence the media helps them to do so.

Social Integrative needs

It encompasses the need to socialize with family, friends and relations in society. For social interaction
nowadays, people do not seem to gather socially during weekends instead they have turned to social
networking sites on the internet such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr etc. to satisfy their needs.

Another example is people may start watching a particular programme, not because they have any self
interest, but because their neighbour/friend watches it such that both the parties may have something in
common to discuss.
Tension free needs:

People sometimes use the media as a means to escapism from the real world and to
relieve from tension and stress.

For example, people tend to relax while watching television, listening to the radio, surfing
the internet, etc. In fact, media has the power to grab audience mind since it makes them
feel connected with the situation and characters emotionally .
 Dominant Paradigm

The modernization paradigm arose soon after World War II, in 1949. It envisioned
development as a challenge to bring the "underdeveloped countries" out of their
conditions of poverty by mod­ernizing them and by free-market approaches
• The modernization paradigm pro­moted by political scientists and scholars of Western
countries became so strong and so pervasive in every dimension of social life that it
became also known as the "dominant paradigm."
• Everett Rogers (1960) called this the “dominant paradigm” of development as it
exercised a dominant influence in the field of development.
• The emphasis of this model was that development could be achieved by increased
productivity, economic growth and industrialization, through heavy industries, capital
intensive technologies, urbanization, centralized planning
• Daniel Lerner and Wilbur Schramm (1964) supported the dominant
paradigm and advocated automation and technology for development and
change.
• They made significant contributions in identifying the role of communication
for technological development. The development community argued that the
case of underdevelopment in the developing countries was not due to external
causes but due to internal causes present within the nation and the individual
as well as within the social structure
• Lerner identified four indices of development: industrialization, literacy,
media exposure and political participation. People have to be mobile,
empathetic, and participatory for development.
• Lerner (1958) suggested that media exposure, political participation and
developing psychic empathy are necessary for development.
• In the dominant paradigm the communication flow was one way which was top- down vertical
communication from the authorities to the people, the mass media channels were used to mobilize
the people for development and the audience was assigned a passive role for acceptance of social
change.
• The communication strategies suggested are: to educate the people about the vicious nature and the
stifling dependency relationships, to mobilize national and regional support communication
channels.
• Communication strategies should serve the educational and mobilizing functions.

• Mass media could be employed purposefully once structural transformation of society takes place.

• In the communication field, modernization theory led to the first systematic and rigorous attempts
to research communication applications in the development context.

• A few scholars started to devote increasing attention to communication processes and effects,
among them Lasswell (1948), Katz and Lazarfeld (1955), and Klapper (1960), while others, such as
Lerner (1958), Rogers (1962), and Schramm (1964), became particularly interested in studying how
communication could be used to foster national development, which at that time was conceived
predomi­nantly in economic terms.
• Communication in the dominant paradigm is basically associated with the
linear, mass media model aimed at transmitting information and messages
from one point to another or many others, usually in a vertical or top-down
fashion.
• This idea was rooted in the strong belief in the persuasive power of media,
especially until the 1970s.
• Development communication was associated with the use of media to per ­
suade people to achieve, maintain, and strengthen development goals, and
media's role was paramount.
• UNESCO, for example, considered media to be a crucial means for
promoting change,' and in the 1960s.
 Diffusion of Innovations
• Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory, developed by E.M. Rogers in
1962, is one of the oldest social science theories
• It originated in communication to explain how, over time, an idea or
product gains momentum and diffuses (or spreads) through a specific
population or social system. The end result of this diffusion is that
people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or
product.
• Adoption means that a person does something differently than what
they had previously (i.e., purchase or use a new product, acquire and
perform a new behavior, etc.). The key to adoption is that the person
must perceive the idea, behavior, or product as new or innovative. It is
through this that diffusion is possible.
• Adoption of a new idea, behavior, or product (i.e., "innovation")
does not happen simultaneously in a social system; rather it is a
process whereby some people are more apt to adopt the
innovation than others.
• Researchers have found that people who adopt an innovation
early have different characteristics than people who adopt an
innovation later.
• When promoting an innovation to a target population, it is
important to understand the characteristics of the target
population that will help or hinder adoption of the innovation.
• There are five established adopter categories, and while the
majority of the general population tends to fall in the middle
categories, it is still necessary to understand the characteristics
of the target population.
When promoting an innovation, there are different strategies used to
appeal to the different adopter categories:

Innovators - These are people who want to be the first to try the
innovation. They are venturesome and interested in new ideas. These
people are very willing to take risks, and are often the first to develop
new ideas. Very little, if anything, needs to be done to appeal to this
population.

Early Adopters - These are people who represent opinion leaders.

They enjoy leadership roles, and embrace change opportunities. They
are already aware of the need to change and so are very comfortable
adopting new ideas. Strategies to appeal to this population include how-
to manuals and information sheets on implementation. They do not
need information to convince them to change.
Early Majority - These people are rarely leaders, but they do adopt new ideas
before the average person. That said, they typically need to see evidence that the
innovation works before they are willing to adopt it. Strategies to appeal to this
population include success stories and evidence of the innovation's effectiveness.
Late Majority - These people are skeptical of change, and will only adopt an
innovation after it has been tried by the majority. Strategies to appeal to this
population include information on how many other people have tried the
innovation and have adopted it successfully.
Laggards - These people are bound by tradition and very conservative. They are
very skeptical of change and are the hardest group to bring on board. Strategies to
appeal to this population include statistics, fear appeals, and pressure from people
in the other adopter groups.
 Spiral of Silence Theory
Originally proposed by German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974, Spiral of
silence is the term meant to refer to the tendency of people to remain silent when they feel that their
views are in opposition to the majority view on a subject.
Through this Spiral of Silence theory Neumann indirectly explains the Jews status during World War
II under Nazi’s control. Here, Adolf Hitler dominated the whole society and the minority Jews became
silent due to the fear of isolation or separation.
The theory posits that they remain silent for a few reasons:
• Fear of isolation when the group or public realizes that the individual has a divergent opinion
from the status quo.
• Fear of reprisal or more extreme isolation, in the sense that voicing said opinion might lead to a
negative consequence beyond that of mere isolation (loss of a job, status, etc.)
The one view dominated the public
scene and others disappeared from the
public awareness as it adherents
became silent.
In other words, the people fear of
separation or isolation those around
them, they tend to keep their attitudes
to themselves when they think they are
in the minority. This process is called
“Spiral of Silence”
• The spiral is created or reinforced when someone in
the perceived opinion majority speaks out confidently in support of the
majority opinion, hence the minority begins to be more and more
distanced from a place where they are comfortable to voice their opinion
and begin to experience the aforementioned fears

• The spiral effect is experienced in so much as this activates a downward

spiral where fears continually build within the minority opinion holder,
hence the minority opinion is never voiced.

• The closer an individual feels their opinion resides to the held majority
opinion the more likely they are to be willing to voice it in public
discourse. This theory relies heavily on the idea that the opinion must
have a distinct moral component
 Normative Theories of Press
• Normative theories were first proposed by Fred Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur
Schramm in their book called “Four Theories of the Press”.

• At first the word “Normative Theory” was pronounced in USA during the height of ‘cold
war’ with communism and soviet. Often it called as western theories of mass media.

• A Normative theory describes an ideal way for a media system to be controlled and
operated by the government, authority, leader and public.

• These theories are basically different from other communication theories because
normative theories of press are not providing any scientific explanations or prediction.
At the same these “four theories of the press” were came from many sources rather than
a single source.
• Authoritarian theory describe that all forms of communications are under the control
of the governing elite or authorities or influential bureaucrats.

• The press is an instrument to enhance the ruler’s power in the country rather than any
threats. According to this theory ,the authorities have all rights to permit any media and
control it by providing license to the media and make certain censorship.

• If any media violate the government policies against license, then the authority has all
right to cancel the license and revoke it. The government have all right to restrict any
sensitive issues from press to maintain peace and security in the nation.

• Example : North Korea, China, Iraq, Middle East Countries

• Censorship is a suppression of any communication which may consider as harmful to
the people, King, government and its nation. Especially these censorship methods are
much familiar in press which against the freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
In some other cases, the censorship helps to protect the rulers and authorities from
sensitive issues.
• There are different types of censors like
• Political censor
• Moral censor
• Religious censor
• Military censor
• Corporate censor
• The Libertarian theory which is originally came from libertarian thoughts from 16th
century in Europe.

• The libertarian theorists are against the authoritarian thoughts. International trade and
urbanization undermine the power of a rural aristocracy which leads various social
movements raise includes the Protestants reformation, that demands individual’s
freedom and their own lives and free thoughts.

• Liberalism means information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Libertarianism is

free from any authority or any control or censorship. The libertarianism is an idea of
individualism and limited government which is not harmful to another.
• The theory says people are rational and their rational thoughts lead them to
find out what are good and bad.

• The press should not restrict anything even a negative content may give
knowledge and can make better decision whilst worst situation.

• The libertarian thoughts are exactly against or opposite to the authoritarian

theory which means the authoritarian theory says “all forms of
communication works under the control of government or elite like king”.

• Example : United States of America, India, European Countries

• Social responsibility theory allows free press without any censorship but at the
same time the content of the press should be discussed in public panel and media
should accept any obligation from public interference or professional self
regulations or both.

• The theory lies between both authoritarian theory and libertarian theory because it
gives total media freedom in one hand but the external controls in other hand. Here,
the press ownership is private.

• The social responsibility theory moves beyond the simple “Objective” reporting
(facts reporting) to “Interpretative” reporting (investigative reporting).

• The total news is complete facts and truthful but the commission of the freedom
press stated that “No longer giving facts truthfully rather than give a necessary
analysed or interpretative report on facts with clear explanations”.
Soviet media theory is imitative of Leninist principles which based on the Carl
Marx and Engel’s ideology. The government undertake or controls the total media
and communication to serve working classes and their interest.
• Theory says the state have absolute power to control any media for the benefits
of people. They put end to the private ownership of the press and other media.
• The government media provide positive thoughts to create a strong socialized
society as well as providing information, education, entertainment, motivation
and mobilization. The theory describe the whole purpose of the mass media is to
educate the greater masses of working class or workers. Here, the public was
encouraged to give feedback which would able to create interests towards the
media.
• According to authoritarian theory, the media controlled and censored by the
ministries in the country but libertarian is fully free without any intervention of
any authority or government, Social responsibility theory – press freedom in one
hand but other hand they controlled the press by raising question and Soviet
media theory, the whole control of the media is under the leader of the nation.
• Soviet media theory looks similar like authoritarian theory but the
core part is different from each other. In authoritarian theory is a one
way communication, there is no feedback allowed from the public
but in Soviet media theory is a two way communication at the same
time the whole media is controlled or works under the leadership.
• Private ownership is not allowed which leads the press without any
restriction and it can serve people without any authoritative
blockades.
• Soviet media theory allows some restriction based on the nation
interest rather than personal.
• Under communist theories like soviet media theory, the journalist or
press should support the leadership rather than a watchdog.
• If the leadership is wrong the whole nation will suffer a lot.
 Critical and Cultural Theories
Hegemony
• Antonio Gramsci (1971) introduced the notion of hegemony as the moral,
intellectual, and political leadership of a social group. that is not won via force
but rather through the active permission of other social groups gained through
the control of culture and ideology
• Through social processes like as education, religion, family, and the mass media,
the dominating social group is able to exercise its influence and obtain
legitimacy throughout this period of transition.
• According to the concept of hegemony, media hegemony refers to the
domination and penetration of a dominating culture and its values into social
life, as opposed to other forms. Thus, media hegemony plays an important role
in the formation of society's culture, values, and ideology
• Productive media products include messages that transmit the character of
society, the nature of the relationship between production and consumption
within the media, as well as the realm of institutions and social processes.
The "Hegemony" Theory, unlike the political economic, concentrates less on the economic system
and more on the ideology itself.
• Here, a greater degree of independence of ideology from the economic base is emphasised. The
relationships between the capitalist and working classes are legitimated by the media in terms of the
voluntary consent of the working class itself.
• In Gramscian Marxism, the idea holds that an elite controls mass media and that media outlets
propagate the prevailing ideology.
• In popular culture, media hegemony is defined as the process through which particular ideals and
ways of thinking propagated by the mass media become prevalent in society. It is seen as
particularly beneficial in terms of strengthening the capitalist system.
According to Gramsci, the audience is not always willing to comply.
• The worldwide control and influence of big commercial mass media companies and a transnational
elite that is referred to as "corporate media hegemony."
• The term 'Western media hegemony' refers to the view that worldwide news sources are controlled
by Eurocentric values and perspectives, rather than by other perspectives
 Political Economy

Political economy of the media includes several domains including journalism, broadcasting,
advertising, and information and communication technology. A political economy approach
analyzes the power relationships between politics, mediation, and economics. Of the several
theories derived from the Marxist thought one, is Political-Economy Media Theory.
• This theory's focus is on the economic structure of the media rather than the ideological
content of the media. Here the ideology depends on the economic base and research
attention is directed to analysis of ownership structure and operation of media market forces.
• Thus, the media institution must be considered a part of the economic system, though with
close links to the political system. Economic interests of media owners, that is, the need for
profit for media 'operations', are important. The consequences are: the reduced
independences of media sources; concentration on the largest markets; and , neglect of small
and poorer sections of the potential audience. One weakness of this theory is that the
working of public media can not be analysed solely in terms- of the free market.
Two definitions of political economy capture the wide range of approaches to the
discipline.
• In the narrow sense, political economy is the study of the social relations,
particularly the power relations, that mutually constitute the production,
distribution, and consumption of resources, including communication resources.
• This formulation has a certain practical value because it calls attention to how the
communication business operates

Responding to this first wave of political economy thinking, Karl Marx shifted the
debate by critically examining the dynamic forces within capitalism and the
relationship between capitalism and other forms of political economic organization.
• He did this specifically in order to understand the processes of social change that
would, he contended, ultimately lead from capitalism to socialism.
• The issue of explaining social change remains central for the political economist
today but the debate has shifted to include the question of whether we are now
entering an information society.
 Frankfurt School
• The Frankfurt School, known more appropriately as Critical Theory, is a philosophical and
sociological movement spread across many universities around the world.
• It was originally located at the Institute for Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung), an
attached institute at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany
• Critical Theory provides a specific interpretation of Marxist philosophy with regards to some of its
central economic and political notions like commodification, reification and critique of mass
culture.
• Some of the most prominent figures of the first generation of Critical Theorists were Max
Horkheimer (1895-1973), Theodor Adorno (1903-1969), Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), Walter
Benjamin (1892-1940), Friedrich Pollock (1894-1970), Leo Lowenthal (1900-1993), and Eric
Fromm (1900-1980).
• Since the 1970s, a second generation began with Jürgen Habermas, who, among other merits,
contributed to the opening of a dialogue between so-called continental and the analytic traditions.
• With Habermas, the Frankfurt School turned global, influencing methodological approaches in other
European academic contexts and disciplines. It was during this phase that Richard Bernstein, a
philosopher and contemporary of Habermas, embraced the research agenda of Critical Theory and
significantly helped its development in American universities starting from the New School for
Social Research in New York.
• The Frankfurt School's work is interpreted within the philosophical and
practical goals of critical theory.
• Max Horkheimer described critical theory as social criticism aimed to
influence sociologic change and achieve intellectual liberation via non-
dogmatic illumination in Traditional and Critical Theory (1937).
• It examines the relevance of governing understandings (the prevailing
ideology) to explain how capitalism justifies and legitimises the dominance
of people.
• Cultural hegemony is a ruling-class narrative tale that explains what is
happening in society as normal.The Frankfurt School's mission was to
analyse and understand features of capitalism that Marx did not address in
the 19th century.
 Birmingham School
• The Birmingham School of Cultural Studies refers to the Centre for
Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS), which was housed at Birmingham
University from 1964 to 2002.
• The shorthand “Birmingham School” refers to a site, a moment, a movement,
and a method.
• Emerging alongside other intellectual and activist currents in the British New
Left, it posed a radical democratic alternative to traditional higher education and
the available methods and methodologies of communication and media studies
• The early goal of the Birmingham School was to contest the cultural elitism of
literary theory as well as the positivism of British Sociology. Richard Hoggart
was appointed as the first head of CCCS (Center for Contemporary Cultural
Studies) in 1964.
• The primary approach of the center was the re conceptualization of popular culture as a
site of resistance and negotiation for marginalized and dis empowered groups. The
school recognized the importance of the culture for maintaining the political order in
the modern society
• British scholars such as Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Paul Willis, Dick Hebdige,
and Angela McRobbie contributed to the growth of British cultural studies.
• The school emerged in the shadows of the rising New Left in Britain in the postwar
1950s. Many of the founders and leaders of the New Left became founding members of
the CCCS, including Hoggart, literary theorist Raymond Williams, historian E. P.
Thompson, and the second director of CCCS, Stuart Hall.
• There were thus very sturdy influences between the work on culture and some new
forms of politics.
• Both witnessed the 'mass' circulation of media images and languages as the false
representation of groups and classes to themselves - but also as a site of refusals, of
values not shared, and as one site of a politics adequate to conflicts in the spheres of
reproduction and consumption.
• Richard Hoggart‟sThe Uses of Literacy (1957), Raymond Williams‟s Culture
and Society (1958) and The Long Revolution (1961), and E.P Thompson‟s The
Making of the English Working Class (1964) are considered as important works
in British cultural studies.
• British cultural studies was very much interested in power structures
communicated through popular culture. For them, popular culture was
communal and self-made. Once the hegemony is conveyed and established
through popular culture, masses remain unaware about their subordination.
• A dominant subject in the Birmingham School was the theory of hegemony.
Hegemony has an importance in cultural studies because an observation that
over again pop culture converses the domination in cultural framework was
prevailing in the academia.
• This framework, defines that dominant power structure, who is in supremacy,
what the laws are, who to follow, what is deliberated „good behavior‟ et cetera.
Another important thinker in British school, John Fiske introduced a very different
approach.
• He sees the value of popular culture in its universal appeal. According to Fiske if many
people respond to a certain music album, it is an indicator of its cultural quality.
• In other words popularity is in synchronization with the dominant social reality.
• Fiske actually sees popularity as an indicator of quality. John Fiske is generally seen as
the epitome of the uncritical drift into cultural populism.

“The capitalist culture industries produce only an apparent variety of products whose
variety is finally illusory for they all promote the same capitalist ideology” (Fiske, 309).

In his analysis of the term popular culture, he establishes that circulation is crucial to its
popularity and popular turns to be cultural later.
 Social Learning Theories and Social Change

Social Learning Theory by Bandura

• Albert Bandura is a leading contributor to social learning theory. He calls our attention to
the ways in which many of our actions are not learned through conditioning; rather, they
are learned by watching others (1977).
• Young children frequently learn behaviors through imitation. Sometimes, particularly when
we do not know what else to do, we learn by modeling or copying the behavior of others.
Adolescents struggling with their identity rely heavily on their peers to act as role models.
• Social learning theory, proposed by Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of
observing, modelling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of
others.
• Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to
influence human learning and behavior.
 Social Learning Theories and Social Change
Components of Social Learning
• Observation
• Assessment
• Imitation
• Identification
Bandura's theory believed that direct reinforcement could not account for all types of learning.

For example, children and adults often exhibit learning for things with which they have no direct
experience. (Even if you have never played cricket in your life, you would probably know what to do if
someone handed you a bat and told you to try you might do it.. This is because you have seen others
perform this action either in person or on television)

While the behavioral theories of learning suggested that all learning was the result of associations formed
by conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment, Bandura's social learning theory proposed that learning
can also occur simply by observing the actions of others

There are three core concepts at the heart of social learning theory. First is the idea that people can learn
through observation. Next is the notion that internal mental states are an essential part of this process.
Finally, this theory recognizes that just because something has been learned, it does not mean that it will
result in a change in behavior.

Bandura noted that external, environmental reinforcement was not the only factor to influence learning and
behavior. And he realized that reinforcement does not always come from outside sources.1 Your own
mental state and motivation play an important role in determining whether a behavior is learned or not.
The following steps are involved in the observational learning and modeling process:

• Attention: In order to learn, you need to be paying attention. Anything that distracts your attention is going to have
a negative effect on observational learning. If the model is interesting or there is a novel aspect of the situation, you
are far more likely to dedicate your full attention to learning.

• Retention: The ability to store information is also an important part of the learning process. Retention can be
affected by a number of factors, but the ability to pull up information later and act on it is vital to observational
learning.

• Reproduction: Once you have paid attention to the model and retained the information, it is time to actually
perform the behavior you observed. Further practice of the learned behavior leads to improvement and skill
advancement.

• Motivation: Finally, in order for observational learning to be successful, you have to be motivated to imitate the
behavior that has been modeled. Reinforcement and punishment play an important role in motivation.

While experiencing these motivators can be highly effective, so can observing others experiencing some type of
reinforcement or punishment. For example, if you see another student rewarded with extra credit for being to class on
time, you might start to show up a few minutes early each day.
Social learning theory in media cannot be overlooked, especially as the forms of
media have increased manifold in the last decade. Initially it was only through television
or newspaper or radio that the media could reach adolescent minds, manipulating their
social learning abilities.

But with the foray of the Internet and speedy broadband into our lives, the significance
of social learning theory in media has grown and its influence can hardly be filtered.

Easy access to today's social networking sites helps in shaping the behavior of
adolescents. Since the virtual world is largely without restriction and without physical
identity, it is easier to don a fictitious identity and get involved in activities that could be
prohibited in the real (non-virtual) world.
Lev Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory

Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky formulated his own theory about social learning.
His focus was about how conversation and community are integral parts of learning.
He thought that without the input of other human beings, we would not develop.
This also includes the importance of the spoken word for learning and thought
processes.
Public Sphere and Public Opinion

Manufacturing Consent/ Propaganda Model By Noam Chomsky

• Manufacturing Consent : The Political Economy of the Mass Media is a 1988 book by
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky,in which the authors propose that the mass
communication media of the U.S. "are effective and powerful ideological institutions
that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces,
internalised assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion", by means of
the propaganda model of communication
The propaganda model for the manufacture of public consent describes five editorially distorting
filters, which are applied to the reporting of news in mass communications media:

1. Size, Ownership, and Profit Orientation: The dominant mass-media outlets are large profit-
based operations, and therefore they must cater to the financial interests of the owners such as
corporations and controlling investors. The size of a media company is a consequence of the
investment capital required for the mass-communications technology required to reach a mass
audience of viewers, listeners, and readers. The news selection and policy of a newspaper or
organisation thus be made in such a way to cater the interests owners so as to achieve profit.

2. The Advertising License to Do Business: Majority of the revenue of major media outlets
derived from advertising. Media outlets are not commercially viable without the support of
advertisers. News media must therefore cater to the political prejudices and economic desires of
their advertisers. This has weakened the working class press, for example, and also helps explain
the attrition in the number of newspapers.
3. Sourcing Mass Media News: Herman and Chomsky argue that “the large
bureaucracies of the powerful subsidise the mass media, and gain special access
[to the news], by their contribution to reducing the media’s costs of acquiring and
producing, news.
• The large entities that provide this subsidy become 'routine' news sources and
have privileged access to the gates. Non-routine sources must struggle for access,
and may be ignored by the arbitrary decision of the gatekeepers.” Editorial
distortion is aggravated by the news media's dependence upon private and
governmental news sources. If a given newspaper, television station, magazine,
etc., incurs disfavour from the sources, it is subtly excluded from access to
information.
• Consequently, it loses readers or viewers, and ultimately, advertisers. To
minimise such financial danger, news media businesses editorially distort their
reporting to favour government and corporate policies in order to stay in
business.
4. Flak and the Enforcers: "Flak" refers to negative responses to a media statement or program
(e.g.letters, complaints, lawsuits, or legislative actions). Flak can be expensive to the media, either
due to loss of advertising revenue, or due to the costs of legal defence or defines of the media outlet's
public image. Flak can be organised by powerful, private influence groups (e.g. think tanks). The
prospect of eliciting flak can be a deterrent to the reporting of certain kinds of facts or opinions.
When the media – journalists, whistleblowers, sources – stray away from the consensus, they get
‘flak’. This is the fourth filter. When the story is inconvenient for the powers that be, you’ll see the
flak machine in action discrediting sources, trashing stories and diverting the conversation.

5. Anti-Communism: This was included as a filter in the original 1988 edition of the book, but
Chomsky argues that since the end of the Cold War (1945–91) anticommunism was replaced by the
"War on Terror" as the major social control mechanism. To manufacture consent, you need an enemy
— a target. That common enemy is the fifth filter. Communism. Terrorists. Immigrants. A common
enemy, a bogeyman to fear, helps corral public opinion.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LGPIXvU5M
Indian Communication Theory – Concept and Process
• Indian communication theories are rooted in Indian religious
literature, Indian philosophy and fine arts. It was first used in the 10th
century commentary called “Natyashastra” by Bharata, the principle
source of information for the Indian theory of communication.
• The closet word to communication in Indian classical literature is
“Sadhranikaran.” This Sanskrit term comes closest to the sense of
common or commonness usually associated with communication.
• The most important assumption in the process of “Sadhranikaran” is
that it can only be understood by the ‘Sahridayas’. It literally means
one heart, or one who has the capacity to receive the message.
• Communication according to “Sadhranikaran” is a relationship based
on common and mutual understanding and feeling for Sahridaya. This
innate ability is acquired through culture, adaptation and learning
• The goal of “Sadhranikaran” is not persuasion but the very enjoyment
of disseminating and receiving the message. Here the source is
perceived as having the higher status, and the relationship is
hierarchical of domination and subordination. The source is held in
high esteem by the receiver of the information, a relationship that is
idealized and romanticized.
• Indian communication theories are also grounded in fine art
traditions. It is composed of permanent mood called “bhava” and
illustrated through the dance form. The essence of communication lay
in achieving commonness and oneness as stressed in Bharata’s
Natyashastra.
• These moods are capable of arousing corresponding state of feelings. There are
nine permanent moods that give rise to nine forms of aesthetic pleasure. For
example; ‘harsha’ joy, ‘hasya’ laughter, ‘irsha,’ jealousy, ‘karuna’, compassion
etc
• The entire range of human emotions is compressed in this categorization. The
nine permanent moods are accompanied by many feelings and are secondary
moods that are common to several dominant moods. It serves the purpose of
completely manifesting the permanent mood and make the communication
process complete.
• Indian communication theories are also identified through mass communication.
It is synonymous with the simplification and illustration. Saints and Sufi’s
propagated their message of peace and harmony through simplification and
illustration of their messages.
• Sadharanikaran model of communication (SMC), was proposed by Dr. Nirmala
Mani Adhikari on 2003. It is a systematic representation of communication process
from a Hindu perspective.
• It illustrates how the communication parties interact in a system for the attainment
of commonness or oneness. Sahridayata and Sahridayas are the core concepts upon
which the meaning of sadharanikaran resides. The sender and receiver attain
sahridayata or become sahridayas only when they accomplish the process of
sadharanikaran. Thus, sadharanikaran is the attainment of sahridayata by
communication process.
• Sadharanikaran is rooted in Natyashastra of Bharata. Scholars widely believe that
Bhattanayaka introduced the concept of sadharanikaran. He is credited for the use of
the term in his commentary on Natyashastra to explain the concept of rasa.
Sadharanikaran word is derived from the Sanskrit word sadharan; which means
‘commonality’ or ‘simplification’ in English. The true essence of sadharanikaran is
to achieve commonness or oneness among the people. Sadharanikaran model is the
first ever model of communication in diagrammatic form proposed from the East.
Sadharanikaran model comprises of the following elements:
1. Sahridayas (Preshaka, i.e. sender and Prapaka, i.e. receiver)
2. Bhava (Moods or emotions)
3. Abhivyanjana (Expression or encoding)
4. Sandesh (Message or information)
5. Sarani (Channel)
6. Rasaswadana (Firstly receiving, decoding and interpreting the
message and finally achieving the rasa)
7. Doshas (Noises)
8. Sandarbha (Context)
9. Pratikriya (Process of feedback)
• Sahridayas are the people with a capacity to send and receive messages. They
are the parties engaged in communication, and capable of identifying each other
as sender and receiver of the process.
• If communication Is taken as a step-by-step process, which is just for the sake
of easy understanding, the sahridaya-preshaka (sender), who has the bhavas
(moods or emotions or thoughts) in mind, is the initiator of the process.
• It is the sahridaya-prapaka (receiver) with whom the bhavas are to be shared.
He or she has to pass the process of rasaswadana. Abhivyanjana refers to the
activities that a source goes to translate bhavas into a form that may be
perceived by the senses. It can be understood as expression or encoding in
English.
• Simplification is the essential dimension here. In the communication process;
the complex concepts and ideas are simplified by the speaker(source) with
illustrations and idioms appropriate for the understanding of the listener
(receiver of the message).
• With the completion of the process of abhivyanjana, bhavas are manifested as
sandesha. In other words, sandeha is the outcome of abhivyanjana process. For
the transmission of sandesha, there needs to be a sarani (channel or medium).
• The channels may be natural such as auditory, tactile, visual, olfactory and
taste channels. They may be artifactual such as paintings, sculptures, letters,
etc. Rasaswadana is the receiving of the message by the receivers, decoding it
and finally enjoying the rasa of the sandesha.
• Doshas are those noises which distort the message and leads to
miscommunication. The model should be interpreted to include all of the
noises, such as semantic, mechanical and environmental.
• Sandarbha is context and the effectiveness of any message depends on the
communication environment. Same message may have different meanings in
different contexts.
• Pratikriya refers to the responses of the receiver after receiving the message. It
is the process of feedback, which allows the receiver to have active role in the
communication process.
 International Theories

New World Order and Post Cold War Developments

• The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s has had a dual impact on international
relations. On the one hand, the Soviet military withdrawal from Eastern Europe and
the Third World brought an end to the Cold War, allowed democratization to
proceed in many states previously ruled by Marxist dictatorships, and led to
significant progress in resolving several Third World conflicts that had become
prolonged during the Cold War.
• The reduction in East-West tension also resulted in a great decrease in inter-state
conflicts, some of which occurred due to the superpower ideological rivalry during
the Cold War. Even it became fashionable to argue that force, used here as military
power, has run its course in international politics
• In discussing the post-Cold War developments and the emerging world order in that era, several
concluding remarks can be drawn from the above analysis, summarized as follows:
• The new international system in the post-Cold War period has been marked by a seeming
contradiction: on the one hand, fragmentation; on the other, growing globalization. This trend
will likely to be holding.
• On the level of the relations among states, the new world order is based on major power
cooperation. The international system contains at least five major powers –the United States,
Europe, Russia, Japan, and China. There appears to be no serious challenger to these powers.
That means the world politics in the near future will largely be shaped by the above-mentioned
major powers.
• Among major powers, the United States will continue to be the greatest hegemonic power in
the short run, but its military and economic power will gradually decline. In the long run, some
growing states or integrations will likely to get close to the United States’ power. Hence, the
international system will possibly gain a multipolar character in the future, though it may take
some decades to reach that point.
• International relations have become truly global in the post-Cold War world.
Communications are instantaneous and the world economy operates on all
continents simultaneously.
• A whole set of issues has surfaced that can only be dealt with on a worldwide basis,
such as nuclear proliferation, the environment, the population explosion, and
economic interdependence.
• In conjunction with increasing international cooperation, inter-state wars have
declined and “low politics” gained greater importance in international affairs. The
years to come, however, are likely to witness severe competition of major powers on
natural resources, particularly, energy resources.
• In this regard, disputes about unfair trade practices and worries about dependence on
externally concentrated or monopolistic sources of goods, services and technologies
will remain to be addressed. But the prospects for collective rules and regulations,
rather than unilateral accusations and restrictions, will seem to be improved.
• With the spread of global market economy and rapid expansion of foreign investments,
developing countries, though they are cautious about foreign investments, are likely to be
doing better in the future. But structurally rooted North-South inequalities will seem to
remain as a potential source of international conflict.
• The North-South conflict aside, the post-Cold War world faces several other threats, most
notably, ethnically-driven conflicts, religious militancy and terrorism, supported by some
revisionist powers. These are particularly challenging threats as they are beyond the full
control of nation-states, calling for international cooperation if they are to be effectively
dealt with. Thus, the future of the world will depend on whether major powers, in
particular, and the international community, in general, are able to show the will to
cooperate on these serious problems.
• The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) was a political proposal
concerning media and communication issues emerging from international debates in the late
1970s.
• The term originated in discussions within the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), following the
proposal for a “new international economic order,” and became the expression of the
aspirations of many countries in the global south to democratize the international
communication system and rebalance information flows worldwide.
• UNESCO played a major role in fostering the debate until the early 1980s, especially through
the work of an independent commission chaired by Irish diplomat Sean MacBride (→
UNESCO). The commission's report, Many voices, one world (MacBride Commission
1980/2004), outlined the main international problems in communication and summarized
NWICO's basic philosophical thrust.
• It was adopted at the twenty-first general conference of UNESCO in Belgrade (1980) and still
remains a milestone in the history of global debates around communication issues
 Globalisation and Soft Power
The concept of soft power first appeared in the 1980s in the work of the renowned American
political scientist, leading expert on international relations, as well as Professor of the Harvard
Institute of Public Administration Joseph Nye. In his speeches and publications, he gave several
definitions of soft power at once.
• For example, soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others, or the ability to make
others want what you want by being drawn to your culture and ideology.
Or
• the ability to influence other states in order to realize their own goals through cooperation in
certain areas, aimed at persuading and forming a positive perception
Mass media and popular culture are two major factors contribute as a source of soft power.
Globalisation has initiated the soft power to a larger extend