2. THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDIA
MEDIA
BINDING
INFLUENCE
PERVASIVENES
S
INFORMATIO
N SOURCE
ENTERTAINM
ENT SOURCE
PERSUASION
FORUM
3. THE CONCEPTS OF MASS MEDIA AND
MEDIA DEMASSIFICATION
• MASS MEDIA – REFERS TO THE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
THAT INVOLVE TRANSMITTING INFORMATION IN SOME WAY,
SHAPE OR FORM TO LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE. DUTTON ET
AL (1998) SUGGEST THAT TRADITIONALLY THE MASS MEDIA
HAS BEEN DIFFERENTIATED FROM OTHER TYPES OF
COMMUNICATION IN TERMS OF FOUR ESSENTIAL
CHARACTERISTICS:
4. DISTANCE: Unlike face-to-face communication, there is
considerable amount of distance between the sender and
receiver of the information in mass media. This makes mass
media impersonal, lacking immediacy, and one way.
TECHNOLOGY: TV and radio networks won’t be able to
transmit information without satellites. Connecting to the
Internet requires electronic equipment like laptops and
smartphones. Mass media communication is only possible
through technology.
SCALE: Mass media communication deals with broadcasting
information to the masses simultaneously.
COMMODITY: Due to its massive scale and the technological
equipment it requires, mass media is an expensive type of
communication.
5. MEDIA DEMASSIFICATION
Demassification is derived from the word demassify which means to
divide or break up (a social or political unit) into its component parts.
Unlike to mass media communication where the target is everyone,
demassification divides the masses into segments before choosing
which segments to target. In specifically determining the target
market, media demassification can tailor fit their message and delivery
according to their target market and achieve the intended response.