CONTENT

Sno. Title Page no.

1. Chapter-1 Mass Media

2. Chapter-2 Issues with Mass Media

2.1 Characteristics

2.2 Mass Media vs. Mainstream and Alternative

3. Chapter-3 Forms of Mass Media

3.1 Broadcast

3.2 Film

3.3 Video Games

3.4 Audio Recording and reproduction

3.5 Internet

3.6 Blogs

3.7 RSS feeds

3.8 POD Cards

3.9 Mobile

3.10 Print Media

3.11 Outdoor Media

4. Chapter-4 Purposes
4.1 Journalism

4.2 Public Relation

4.3 Software Publishing

5. Chapter-5 History

5.1 Mergers and Acquisitions

6. Chapter-6 Influence and Sociology

7. Chapter-7 Functions of Mass Media

8. Chapter-8 Importance of Mass Media

9. Chapter-9 Ethical issues and criticism

9.1 Criticism
 Certificate

This is to certify that the project entitled, “Mass Media" submitted by "Diyansh Nadwana" in
partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award in "Bachelor of Computer Application" at the
"JECRC University" is an authentic work carried out by him under my supervision and guidance.

To the best of my knowledge, the matter embodied in the project has not been submitted to any
other University / Institute for the award of any Degree or Diploma.

Date:

(Dr. VijayLaxmi)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

"I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks
to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Dr. VijayLaxmi for their guidance and constant supervision as well as
for providing necessary information regarding the project & also for their support in completing
the project.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents & member of JECRC University for
their kind co-operation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project.
I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to industry persons for giving me such
attention and time.

My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague in developing the project and people who
have willingly helped me out with their abilities."
 1. What is Mass Media?
Think about this for a second: whenever you want to hear your favorite song, watch your
favorite show, or see the latest current events, where do you go? You more than likely turn on
your television, radio, or computer. The source that the majority of the general public uses to get
their news and information from is considered mass media.
Mass media means technology that is intended to reach a mass audience. It is the primary means
of communication used to reach the vast majority of the general public. The most common
platforms for mass media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet. The
general public typically relies on the mass media to provide information regarding political
issues, social issues, entertainment, and news in pop culture.
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass
communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a
variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded
music, or television. Digital media comprises both Internet and mobile mass communication.
Internet media comprise such services as email, social media sites, websites, and Internet-based
radio and television. Many other mass media outlets have an additional presence on the web, by
such means as linking to or running TV ads online, or distributing QR Codes in outdoor or print
media to direct mobile users to a website. In this way, they can utilize the easy accessibility and
outreach capabilities the Internet affords, as thereby easily broadcast information throughout
many different regions of the world simultaneously and cost-efficiently. Outdoor media transmit
information via such media as AR advertising; billboards; blimps; flying billboards (signs in tow
of airplanes); placards or kiosks placed inside and outside buses, commercial buildings, shops,
sports stadiums, subway cars, or trains; signs; or skywriting. Print media transmit information via
physical objects, such as books, comics, magazines, newspapers, or pamphlets. Event organizing
and public speaking can also be considered forms of mass media.
The organizations that control these technologies, such as movie studios, publishing companies,
and radio and television stations, are also known as the mass media.
 2. Issues with definition

In the late 20th century, mass media could be classified into eight mass media industries: books,
the Internet, magazines, movies, newspapers, radio, recordings, and television. The explosion of
digital communication technology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries made prominent the
question: what forms of media should be classified as "mass media"? For example, it is
controversial whether to include cell phones, computer games (such as MMORPGs), and video
games in the definition. In the 2000s, a classification called the "seven mass media" became
popular. In order of introduction, they are:

1. Print (books, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, etc.) from the late 15th century

2. Recordings (gramophone records, magnetic tapes, cassettes, cartridges, CDs, and DVDs)
from the late 19th century

3. Cinema from about 1900

4. Radio from about 1910

5. Television from about 1950

6. Internet from about 1990

7. Mobile phones from about 2000

Each mass medium has its own content types, creative artists, technicians, and business models.
For example, the Internet includes blogs, podcasts, web sites, and various other technologies
built atop the general distribution network. The sixth and seventh media, Internet and mobile
phones, are often referred to collectively as digital media; and the fourth and fifth, radio and TV,
as broadcast media. Some argue that video games have developed into a distinct mass form of
media.

While a telephone is a two-way communication device, mass media communicates to a large

group. In addition, the telephone has transformed into a cell phone which is equipped with
Internet access. A question arises whether this makes cell phones a mass medium or simply a
device used to access a mass medium (the Internet). There is currently a system by which
marketers and advertisers are able to tap into satellites, and broadcast commercials and
advertisements directly to cell phones, unsolicited by the phone's user.[citation needed] This
transmission of mass advertising to millions of people is another form of mass communication.

Video games may also be evolving into a mass medium. Video games (for example massively
multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as RuneScape) provide a common
gaming experience to millions of users across the globe and convey the same messages and
ideologies to all their users. Users sometimes share the experience with one another by playing
online. Excluding the Internet however, it is questionable whether players of video games are
sharing a common experience when they play the game individually. It is possible to discuss in
great detail the events of a video game with a friend one has never played with, because the
experience is identical to each. The question, then, is whether this is a form of mass
communication

2.1 Characteristics

Five characteristics of mass media communication have been identified by sociologist John
Thompson of Cambridge University.

1. "Comprises both technical and institutional methods of production and distribution" – This is
evident throughout the history of mass media, from print to the Internet, each suitable for
commercial utility

2. Involves the "commodification of symbolic forms" – as the production of materials relies on

its ability to manufacture and sell large quantities of the work; as radio stations rely on their time
sold to advertisements, so too newspapers rely on their space for the same reasons

3. Separate contexts between the production and reception of information"

4. Its "reach to those 'far removed' in time and space, in comparison to the producers"

5. "Information distribution" – a "one to many" form of communication, whereby products are

mass-produced and disseminated to a great quantity of audience.
2.2 Mass vs. mainstream and alternative

The term "mass media" is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for "main stream media".
Mainstream media are distinguished from alternative media by their content and point of
view. Alternative media are also "mass media" outlets in the sense that they use technology
capable of reaching many people, even if the audience is often smaller than the mainstream. In
common usage, the term "mass" denotes not that a given number of individuals receives the
products, but rather that the products are available in principle to a plurality of recipients.
 3. Forms of mass media

3.1 Broadcast

The sequencing of content in a broadcast is called a schedule. With all technological endeavours
a number of technical terms and slang have developed. Please see the list of broadcasting terms
for a glossary of terms used.

Radio and television programs are distributed over frequency bands which are highly regulated
in the United States. Such regulation includes determination of the width of the bands, range,
licensing, types of receivers and transmitters used, and acceptable content.

Cable television programs are often broadcast simultaneously with radio and television
programs, but have a more limited audience. By coding signals and requiring a cable converter
box at individual recipients' locations, cable also enables subscription-based channels and pay-
per-view services.

A broadcasting organisation may broadcast several programs simultaneously, through several

channels (frequencies), for example BBC One and Two. On the other hand, two or more
organisations may share a channel and each use it during a fixed part of the day, such as the
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. Digital radio and digital television may also transmit multiplexed
programming, with several channels compressed into one ensemble.

When broadcasting is done via the Internet the term webcasting is often used. In 2004, a new
phenomenon occurred when a number of technologies combined to produce podcasting.
Podcasting is an asynchronous broadcast/narrowcast medium. Adam Curry and his associates,
the Podshow, are principal proponents of podcasting.

3.2 Film

The term 'film' encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in
general. The name comes from the photographic film (also called filmstock), historically the
primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms for film exist,
such as motion pictures (or just pictures and "picture"), the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema,
picture shows, flicks, and most common, movies.

Films are produced by recording people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using
animation techniques or special effects. Films comprise a series of individual frames, but when
these images are shown in rapid succession, an illusion of motion is created. Flickering between
frames is not seen because of an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a
visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Also of relevance is
what causes the perception of motion: a psychological effect identified as beta movement.

Film is considered by many[who?] to be an important art form; films entertain, educate,

enlighten, and inspire audiences. Any film can become a worldwide attraction, especially with
the addition of dubbing or subtitles that translate the film message. Films are also artifacts
created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.[who?]

3.3 Video games

A video game is a computer-controlled game in which a video display, such as a monitor or

television, is the primary feedback device. The term "computer game" also includes games which
display only text (and which can, therefore, theoretically be played on a teletypewriter) or which
use other methods, such as sound or vibration, as their primary feedback device, but there are
very few new games in these categories.[who?] There always must also be some sort of input
device, usually in the form of button/joystick combinations (on arcade games), a keyboard and
mouse/trackball combination (computer games), a controller (console games), or a combination
of any of the above. Also, more esoteric devices have been used for input, e.g., the player's
motion. Usually there are rules and goals, but in more open-ended games the player may be free
to do whatever they like within the confines of the virtual universe.

In common usage, an "arcade game" refers to a game designed to be played in an establishment

in which patrons pay to play on a per-use basis. A "computer game" or "PC game" refers to a
game that is played on a personal computer. A "Console game" refers to one that is played on a
device specifically designed for the use of such, while interfacing with a standard television set.
A "video game" (or "videogame") has evolved into a catchall phrase that encompasses the
aforementioned along with any game made for any other device, including, but not limited to,
advanced calculators, mobile phones, PDAs, etc.

3.4 Audio recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanical re-creation or amplification of

sound, often as music. This involves the use of audio equipment such as microphones, recording
devices, and loudspeakers. From early beginnings with the invention of the phonograph using
purely mechanical techniques, the field has advanced with the invention of electrical recording,
the mass production of the 78 record, the magnetic wire recorder followed by the tape recorder,
the vinyl LP record. The invention of the compact cassette in the 1960s, followed by Sony's
Walkman, gave a major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings, and the invention of
digital recording and the compact disc in 1983 brought massive improvements in ruggedness and
quality. The most recent developments have been in digital audio players.

An album is a collection of related audio recordings, released together to the public, usually
commercially.

The term record album originated from the fact that 78 RPM Phonograph disc records were kept
together in a book resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an
"album" was Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, release in April 1909 as a four-disc set by Odeon
records. It retailed for 16 shillings – about £15 in modern currency.

A music video (also promo) is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music,
most commonly a song. Modern music videos were primarily made and used as a marketing
device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go
back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when Music Television's format was
based on them. In the 1980s, the term "rock video" was often used to describe this form of
entertainment, although the term has fallen into disuse.

Music videos can accommodate all styles of filmmaking, including animation, live action films,
documentaries, and non-narrative, abstract film.
3.5 Internet

The Internet (also known simply as "the Net" or less precisely as "the Web") is a more
interactive medium of mass media, and can be briefly described as "a network of networks".
Specifically, it is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer
networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It
consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and governmental networks, which
together carry various information and services, such as email, online chat, file transfer, and the
interlinked web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web.

Contrary to some common usage, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the
Internet is the system of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic
cables, wirelessconnections etc.; the Web is the contents, or the interconnected documents,
linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is accessible through the Internet, along
with many other services including e-mail, file sharing and others described below.

Toward the end of the 20th century, the advent of the World Wide Web marked the first era in
which most individuals could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass
media. Anyone with a web site has the potential to address a global audience, although serving to
high levels of web traffic is still relatively expensive. It is possible that the rise of peer-to-peer
technologies may have begun the process of making the cost of bandwidth manageable.
Although a vast amount of information, imagery, and commentary (i.e. "content") has been made
available, it is often difficult to determine the authenticity and reliability of information
contained in web pages (in many cases, self-published). The invention of the Internet has also
allowed breaking news stories to reach around the globe within minutes. This rapid growth of
instantaneous, decentralized communication is often deemed likely to change mass media and its
relationship to society.

"Cross-media" means the idea of distributing the same message through different media
channels. A similar idea is expressed in the news industry as "convergence". Many authors
understand cross-media publishing to be the ability to publish in both print and on the web
without manual conversion effort. An increasing number of wireless devices with mutually
incompatible data and screen formats make it even more difficult to achieve the objective "create
once, publish many".

The Internet is quickly becoming the center of mass media. Everything is becoming accessible
via the internet. Rather than picking up a newspaper, or watching the 10 o'clock news, people
can log onto the internet to get the news they want, when they want it. For example, many
workers listen to the radio through the Internet while sitting at their desk.

Even the education system relies on the Internet. Teachers can contact the entire class by sending
one e-mail. They may have web pages on which students can get another copy of the class
outline or assignments. Some classes have class blogs in which students are required to post
weekly, with students graded on their contributions.

3.6 Blogs (web logs)

Blogging, too, has become a pervasive form of media. A blog is a website, usually maintained by
an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or interactive media
such as images or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order, with
most recent posts shown on top. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular
subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images
and other graphics, and links to other blogs, web pages, and related media. The ability for readers
to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are
primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog,
videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media.
Microblogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts.

3.7 RSS feeds

RSS is a format for syndicating news and the content of news-like sites, including major news
sites like Wired, news-oriented community sites like Slashdot, and personal blogs. It is a family
of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news
headlines, and podcasts. An RSS document (which is called a "feed" or "web feed" or "channel")
contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it
possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into
special programs or filtered displays.

3.8 Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital-media files which are distributed over the Internet using
syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and computers. The term podcast, like
broadcast, can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is
syndicated; the latter is also called podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a
podcaster.

3.9 Mobile

Mobile phones were introduced in Japan in 1979 but became a mass media only in 1998 when
the first downloadable ringing tones were introduced in Finland. Soon most forms of media
content were introduced on mobile phones, tablets and other portable devices, and today the total
value of media consumed on mobile vastly exceeds that of internet content, and was worth over
31 billion dollars in 2007 (source Informa). The mobile media content includes over 8 billion
dollars wort h of mobile music (ringing tones, ringback tones, truetones, MP3 files, karaoke,
music videos, music streaming services etc.); over 5 billion dollars wort h of mobile gaming; and
various news, entertainment and advertising services. In Japan mobile phone books are so
popular that five of the ten best-selling printed books were originally released as mobile phone
books.

Similar to the internet, mobile is also an interactive media, but has far wider reach, with 3.3
billion mobile phone users at the end of 2007 to 1.3 billion internet users (source ITU). Like
email on the internet, the top application on mobile is also a personal messaging service, but
SMS text messaging is used by over 2.4 billion people. Practically all internet services and
applications exist or have similar cousins on mobile, from search to multiplayer games to virtual
worlds to blogs. Mobile has several unique benefits which many mobile media pundits claim
make mobile a more powerful media than either TV or the internet, starting with mobile being
permanently carried and always connected. Mobile has the best audience accuracy and is the
only mass media with a built-in payment channel available to every user without any credit cards
or PayPal accounts or even an age limit. Mobile is often called the 7th Mass Medium and either
the fourth screen (if counting cinema, TV and PC screens) or the third screen (counting only TV
and PC).

3.10 Print media

3.10.1 Magazine

A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles, generally financed by

advertising or purchase by readers.

Magazines are typically published weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly or quarterly, with a
date on the cover that is in advance of the date it is actually published. They are often printed in
color on coated paper, and are bound with a soft cover.

Magazines fall into two broad categories: consumer magazines and business magazines. In
practice, magazines are a subset of periodicals, distinct from those periodicals produced by
scientific, artistic, academic or special interest publishers which are subscription-only, more
expensive, narrowly limited in circulation, and often have little or no advertising.

Magazines can be classified as:

• General interest magazines (e.g. Frontline, India Today, The Week, The Sunday Times
etc.)

• Special interest magazines (women's, sports, business, scuba diving, etc.)

3.10.2 Newspaper

A newspaper is a publication containing news and information and advertising, usually printed
on low-cost paper called newsprint. It may be general or special interest, most often published
daily or weekly. The most important function of newspapers is to inform the public of significant
events.[10] Local newspapers inform local communities and include advertisements from local
businesses and services, while national newspapers tend to focus on a theme, which can be
exampled with "The Wall Street Journal" as they offer news on finance and business related-
topics.[10] The first printed newspaper was published in 1605, and the form has thrived even in
the face of competition from technologies such as radio and television. Recent developments on
the Internet are posing major threats to its business model, however. Paid circulation is declining
in most countries, and advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of a newspaper's income, is
shifting from print to online; some commentators, nevertheless, point out that historically new
media such as radio and television did not entirely supplant existing.

The internet has challenged the press as an alternative source of information and opinion but has
also provided a new platform for newspaper organizations to reach new audiences.[11]
According to the World Trends Report, between 2012 and 2016, print newspaper circulation
continued to fall in almost all regions, with the exception of Asia and the Pacific, where the
dramatic increase in sales in a few select countries has offset falls in historically strong Asian
markets such as Japan and the Republic of Korea. Most notably, between 2012 and 2016, India’s
print circulation grew by 89 per cent.

3.11 Outdoor media

Outdoor media is a form of mass media which comprises billboards, signs, placards placed inside
and outside commercial buildings/objects like shops/buses, flying billboards (signs in tow of
airplanes), blimps, skywriting, AR Advertising. Many commercial advertisers use this form of
mass media when advertising in sports stadiums. Tobacco and alcohol manufacturers used
billboards and other outdoor media extensively. However, in 1998, the Master Settlement
Agreement between the US and the tobacco industries prohibited the billboard advertising of
cigarettes. In a 1994 Chicago-based study, Diana Hackbarth and her colleagues revealed how
tobacco- and alcohol-based billboards were concentrated in poor neighbourhoods. In other urban
centers, alcohol and tobacco billboards were much more concentrated in African-American
neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods.
 4. Purposes

A panel in the Newsuem in Washington, D.C shows the September 12 headlines in America and
around the world.

Mass media encompasses much more than just news, although it is sometimes misunderstood in
this way. It can be used for various purposes:

• Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising,
marketing, propaganda, public relations, and political communication.

• Entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting, music, and TV shows along

with light reading; since the late 20th century also through video and computer games.

• Public service announcements and emergency alerts (that can be used as political device
to communicate propaganda to the public).[13]

Professions involving mass media

4.1 Journalism

Journalism is the discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting information

regarding current events, trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as
journalists.
News-oriented journalism is sometimes described as the "first rough draft of history" (attributed
to Phil Graham), because journalists often record important events, producing news articles on
short deadlines. While under pressure to be first with their stories, news media organizations
usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication, adhering to each organization's
standards of accuracy, quality and style. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of
holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have
raised questions about holding the press itself accountable to the standards of professional
journalism.

4.2 Public relations

Public relations is the art and science of managing communication between an organization and
its key publics to build, manage and sustain its positive image. Examples include:

• Corporations use marketing public relations to convey information about the products
they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers to support their direct sales
efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short and long term, establishing and burnishing the
corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing market.

• Corporations also use public relations as a vehicle to reach legislators and other
politicians, seeking favorable tax, regulatory, and other treatment, and they may use public
relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in support of human-resources
recruiting programs.

• Nonprofit organizations, including schools and universities, hospitals, and human and
social service agencies, use public relations in support of awareness programs, fund-raising
programs, staff recruiting, and to increase patronage of their services.

• Politicians use public relations to attract votes and raise money, and when successful at
the ballot box, to promote and defend their service in office, with an eye to the next election or,
at career's end, to their legacy.

Publishing

Publishing is the industry concerned with the production of literature or information – the
activity of making information available for public view. In some cases, authors may be their
own publishers.
Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books and newspapers.
With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet, the scope of publishing has
expanded to include websites, blogs, and the like.

As a business, publishing includes the development, marketing, production, and distribution of

newspapers, magazines, books, literary works, musical works, software, other works dealing
with information.

Publication is also important as a legal concept; (1) as the process of giving formal notice to the
world of a significant intention, for example, to marry or enter bankruptcy, and; (2) as the
essential precondition of being able to claim defamation; that is, the alleged libel must have been
published.

4.3 Software publishing

A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer
and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined (and
indeed, may reside in a single person, especially in the case of shareware).

Software publishers often license software from developers with specific limitations, such as a
time limit or geographical region. The terms of licensing vary enormously, and are typically
secret.

Developers may use publishers to reach larger or foreign markets, or to avoid focussing on
marketing. Or publishers may use developers to create software to meet a market need that the
publisher has identified.

Internet Based Professions

A YouTuber is anyone who has made their fame from creating and promoting videos on the
public video-sharing site, YouTube. Many YouTube celebrities have made a profession from
their site through sponsorships, advertisements, product placement, and network support.
 5. History

The history of mass media can be traced back to the days when dramas were performed in
various ancient cultures. This was the first time when a form of media was "broadcast" to a wider
audience. The first dated printed book known is the "Diamond Sutra", printed in China in
868 AD, although it is clear that books were printed earlier. Movable clay type was invented in
1041 in China. However, due to the slow spread of literacy to the masses in China, and the
relatively high cost of paper there, the earliest printed mass-medium was probably
European popular prints from about 1400. Although these were produced in huge numbers, very
few early examples survive, and even most known to be printed before about 1600 have not
survived. The term "mass media" was coined with the creation of print media, which is notable
for being the first example of mass media, as we use the term today. This form of media started
in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press allowed the mass production of books to
sweep the nation. He printed the first book, a Latin Bible, on a printing press with movable
type in 1453. The invention of the printing press gave rise to some of the first forms of mass
communication, by enabling the publication of books and newspapers on a scale much larger
than was previously possible. The invention also transformed the way the world received printed
materials, although books remained too expensive really to be called a mass-medium for at least
a century after that. Newspapers developed from about 1612, with the first example in English in
1620;[17] but they took until the 19th century to reach a mass-audience directly. The first high-
circulation newspapers arose in London in the early 1800s, such as The Times , and were made
possible by the invention of high-speed rotary steam printing presses, and railroads which
allowed large-scale distribution over wide geographical areas. The increase in circulation,
however, led to a decline in feedback and interactivity from the readership, making newspapers a
more one-way medium.

The phrase "the media" began to be used in the 1920s. The notion of "mass media" was generally
restricted to print media up until the post-Second World War, when radio, television and video
were introduced. The audio-visual facilities became very popular, because they provided both
information and entertainment, because the colour and sound engaged the viewers/listeners and
because it was easier for the general public to passively watch TV or listen to the radio than to
actively read. In recent times, the Internet become the latest and most popular mass medium.
Information has become readily available through websites, and easily accessible through search
engines. One can do many activities at the same time, such as playing games, listening to music,
and social networking, irrespective of location. Whilst other forms of mass media are restricted
in the type of information they can offer, the internet comprises a large percentage of the sum of
human knowledge through such things as Google Books. Modern day mass media includes the
internet, mobile phones, blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds.

During the 20th century, the growth of mass media was driven by technology, including that
which allowed much duplication of material. Physical duplication technologies such as printing,
record pressing and film duplication allowed the duplication of books, newspapers and movies at
low prices to huge audiences. Radio and television allowed the electronic duplication of
information for the first time. Mass media had the economics of linear replication: a single work
could make money. An example of Riel and Neil's theory. proportional to the number of copies
sold, and as volumes went up, unit costs went down, increasing profit margins further. Vast
fortunes were to be made in mass media. In a democratic society, the media can serve
the electorate about issues regarding government and corporate entities (see Media Influence).
Some consider the concentration of media ownership to be a threat to democracy.

5.1 Mergers and Acquisitions

Between 1985 and 2018 about 76,720 deals have been announced in the Media industry. This sums up to an
overall value of around 5,634 bil USD. There have been three major waves of M&A in the Mass Media Sector
(2000, 2007 and 2015), while the most active year in terms of numbers was 2007 with around 3,808 deals. The
U.S. is the most prominent country in Media M&A with 41 of the top 50 deals having an acquiror from the
United States.

The largest deal in history was the acquisition of Time Warner by America Online Inc for 164,746.86 mil
USD.

6. Influence and sociology

Limited-effects theory, originally tested in the 1940s and 1950s, considers that because people
usually choose what media to interact with based on what they already believe, media exerts a
negligible influence. Class-dominant theory argues that the media reflects and projects the view
of a minority elite, which controls it. Culturalist theory, which was developed in the 1980s and
1990s, combines the other two theories and claims that people interact with media to create their
own meanings out of the images and messages they receive. This theory states that audience
members play an active, rather than passive role in relation to mass media.

In an article entitled Mass Media Influence on Society, rayuso argues that the media in the US is
dominated by five major companies (Time Warner, VIACOM, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney
and News Corp) which own 95% of all mass media including theme parks, movie studios,
television and radio broadcast networks and programing, video news, sports entertainment,
telecommunications, wireless phones, video games software, electronic media and music
companies. Whilst historically, there was more diversity in companies, they have recently
merged to form an elite which have the power to shape the opinion and beliefs of people. People
buy after seeing thousands of advertisements by various companies in TV, newspapers or
magazines, which are able to affect their purchasing decisions. The definition of what is
acceptable by society is dictated by the media. This power can be used for good, for example
encouraging children to play sport. However, it can also be used for bad, for example children
being influenced by cigars smoked by film stars, their exposure to sex images, their exposure to
images of violence and their exposure to junk food ads.

7. Functions of Mass Media

There are four major functions of mass media. The first is for surveillance. This is to provide
information about issues, events and developments in society. The second is correlation. Media
must interpret events and issues and ascribe meaning so that individuals understand their roles in
society. A term that best fits with correlation is agenda setting, which means the media doesn’t
tell you what to think, but what to think about. Media tells you what is and isn’t important and to
what degree, but that will be covered in a later chapter. Next is cultural transmission. This is
where the media aids the transference of dominant cultures and subcultures from one generation
to the next or to immigrants. The last function of mass media is to simply entertain (Pavlik &
McIntosh, 2004, p. 24-25). According to Pavlik & McIntosh, 2004, there is a standard,
overarching model for mass communication that has been used since the invention of the first
printing press. The model has four main points. The first is “communication flow is largely
oneway, from sender or source to receiver or audience” (p. 22).

The second, “communication is from one or a few to many” (p. 22). Third, “communication is
anonymous (sources generally do not know their audiences and audience do not know the
sources, except at a general level)” (p. 22). Fourth, “audiences are largely seen as passive
recipients of the messages distributed by the media, with little opportunity for feedback and
practically no opportunity for immediate feedback or interaction with one another” (p. 22). So
what does this all mean? This model refers to movies/films, books, newspapers, television, radio,
or any other form of mass media. It states that mass communication isn’t interactive, audiences
and senders are unknown to one another and it can only flow one way. Digital media and
convergence (terms that will be covered later in the chapter) of media changes all of that.
Consumers aren’t just passive.

They are actively participating and not just consuming media; an example of this is through
blogs (“a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations,
opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites”) (Blog, 2013, p.1). What
about email? It’s possible for me to send a mass email to all of my contacts (a total of 739
people) stating that I am having a Christmas party and that I want everyone to attend. Well,
that’s sending a message to a large group of people in a relatively short amount of time.

8. Importance of Mass Media

“Media” is one of the most useful essence of human life. We speak of mass media, of media
revolution and of living in a media society. We are overloaded with all these letters, sounds and
films, pixels, headlines, jingles. When we use the term media in this context we speak of print
and electronic media, the so called mass media. Media affect our modern life in nearly every
way. With a turn of a magazine page or an easy flip of the TV channel there at our disposal is a
huge array of potential identity replicas. In contemporary society, identity is continuously
unstable; it must be selected, constructed and created with reference to inevitable surrounding
media traditions.

There are a variety of mediums from which people can pick and access information from
such as radio, TV, Internet, or even cell phones. Consequently, the media holds a very powerful
capacity to set a social issue for mass audience to assume and talk about. Often, media do not
intentionally set the agenda and resolve the pros and cons of that particular matter, so it
repeatedly causes terrible consequences towards public as well as establishes ‘moral panics’,
which can sometimes direct to mob violence. This writing will argue that identity is a social
construction, managed primarily by the contemporary media and created in relation. An
individual’s identity is formed by society in which media plays a predominant role. There is a
daily interactive relationship between the subject and the object, that is, human agents and the
conditions of their subsistence, respectively. Theories of the individual emphasize on differences
between people and deem these differences as natural. Individuals are “constituted” as the
possessors of positions throughout the effects of social relations. Alternatively, other theories of
the topic concentrate on people’s general experiences in society through watching TV, surfing
the internet or reading the newspaper. It is these general experiences that are the most significant
way of distinguishing who we are. Thus, subject identity is a social construction, not an ordinary
one. When we connect with the media, we act and are acted upon, use and are used by the
system. The following text deals with the importance of media to politics and society. Main work
of media is to inform the people. This relates to our form of government: In a democracy the
“demos” should know what goes on in the world as it is the one, that decides. A modern
democracy cannot work without the media which are an agent between public and state, the
Latin word “medius” describes a status in the middle and that is exactly where we can find
media: between two entities of communication. You could counter that nor the ancient Greeks
for example needed the media in their democracy, and it was a really excellent type of
democracy, when we look at its structure. Something like that is unimaginable for modern polity.
Since we cannot organize a meeting between 50 million people to inform them orally, we need
an instrument, the media.

That is the precondition for political participation of the people. Information as a main task
of media sounds easy but in my opinion it is not that simple at all. Information is always a
balancing act between objectivity and subjectivity. On the one hand media have to inform about
all important happenings and keep the information as neutral as possible. On the other hand
media should also be a platform for groups and organizations that are not mainstream. It should
control and criticize not only political parties but also society. Concerning this control function it
is important to have a variety of media horizontal and vertical, both different types of media such
as TV and newspapers and different providers of information. Due to the control function we call
media the forth force in a contemporary democracy. Media have also an economic side. The
German TV system consists of public and private stations. In my opinion it is necessary to have
both, for both have advantages and disadvantages. Private TV stations can decide freely what
they want to present. As they live on advertisement fees and earn the more the higher their
ratings are, a market arises. That has the inescapable consequence of a reign of market’s rules:
We are talking about the law of supply and demand. To reach good ratings private TV stations
broadcast what people want, some problems can result from this point: There is the danger of
delivering stereotypes or superficiality and indifference in general, TV becomes a dumping
machine, as some people claim. “Infotainment” instead of information, “politainment” instead of
policy. Besides there are public TV stations, and the main difference is that they are not really
free, their program is created under a certain standard and the directors are from different groups
such as political parties or labour unions.

But then they do not have to look on ratings and can really achieve media’s aim of political
education. We need both, public TV stations not to become too superficial, and private ones to
be aware of a state TV monopoly which might exist in dictatorships for example, a historic
example is the Third Reich, where the Nazis’ most important propaganda machine was the
“Rundfunk”, controlled by propaganda minister Goebbels in person; a contemporary example
could be the situation in Tibet, where both internal and external media have no permission to
film and no access at all respectively. Not for nothing one of the basic principles of democracy is
freedom of press. Media have two further important tasks: entertainment and creating topics of
conversation. It sounds sarcastic but this is a main reason why people for example watch TV: to
be able to have conversations with lots of people, even if they have no other similar hobbies.
Furthermore it raises your status if you are informed, to be subscriber. Sociologists warn against
a so called knowledge gap. This means that a gap develops between people who are informed
and take part in cultural and perhaps intellectual life and people who are not. Perhaps you could
compare this knowledge gap to the often recited poverty gap. Mass media have big influence on
our all day life, whether we want it or not. They set trends and spread them, they influence our
way of thinking in an enormous way and they have a long arm in political issues.

These characteristics are more positive than negative as long as some conditions are fulfilled:
first a wide diversity of media, second no oligopolies/monopolies and of course freedom of
press, third fulfillment of media’s main tasks information, political education and control. “In
former times politicians made policy and the media reported on it. Today media makes policy
and the politicians put it into execution.” In this manner mass media has many needs and
importance too in people’s daily life: Mass media has become an integral part of our lives and
can no t be separated from our life.

Particularly for the urban people, the need for information is more important than ever. Our
values and way of life in the society in this information era are strongly influenced by the mass
media like newspapers, TV, radio, video, and the internet. Mass media’s influence on people’s
lives is even greater and deeper than many kinds of state indoctrination or priest’s sermons from
the pulpit in the church .The full range of unfiltered media is now available to most of us by
using a parabola and satellite transmission. We can buy many kinds of videos freely. Access to
the internet is easy and inexpensive almost everywhere. We can find many kinds of information
using the internet technology. It is worth remembering that there have been three important
revolutions in recent history, i.e. agrarian revolution in farming, industry revolution in mass
production and information revolution that provides global access.

We are now in the midst of the information revolution. Due to continuing developments in
media technology, we are flooded by a huge volume of non-stop information. Most of this
information comes to us without a filter or censor. The information can be positive and negative.
It is important for all, and particularly teenagers, to be able to look critically at the information
and the sources and make positive choices. Having a critical attitude means that we can
distinguish between positive and negative information and make choices that will give us
information that will benefit us and our society.

Media is the most powerful tool of communication. It helps promoting the right things on right
time. It gives a real exposure to the mass audience about what is right or wrong. Even though
media is linked with spreading fake news like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform
us about the realities as well.
 9. Ethical issues and criticism

Lack of local or specific topical focus is a common criticism of mass media. A mass news
media outlet is often forced to cover national and international news due to it having to cater for
and be relevant for a wide demographic. As such, it has to skip over many interesting or
important local stories because they simply do not interest the large majority of their viewers. An
example given by the website WiseGeek is that "the residents of a community might view their
fight against development as critical, but the story would only attract the attention of the mass
media if the fight became controversial or if precedents of some form were set".

The term "mass" suggests that the recipients of media products constitute a vast sea of
passive, undifferentiated individuals. This is an image associated with some earlier critiques of
"mass culture" and mass society which generally assumed that the development of mass
communication has had a largely negative impact on modern social life, creating a kind of bland
and homogeneous culture which entertains individuals without challenging them. However,
interactive digital media have also been seen to challenge the read-only paradigm of earlier
broadcast media.
 Whilst some[who?] refer to the mass media as "opiate of the masses", others[who?] argue
that is a vital aspect of human societies. By understanding mass media, one is then able to
analyse and find a deeper understanding of one's population and culture. This valuable and
powerful ability is one reason why the field of media studies is popular. As WiseGeek says,
"watching, reading, and interacting with a nation's mass media can provide clues into how people
think, especially if a diverse assortment of mass media sources are perused".

Since the 1950s, in the countries that have reached a high level of industrialization, the mass
media of cinema, radio and TV have a key role in political power.

Contemporary research demonstrates an increasing level of concentration of media

ownership, with many media industries already highly concentrated and dominated by a very
small number of firms.

9.1 Criticism

When the study of mass media began the media was compiled of only mass media which is a
very different media system than the social media empire of the 21st-century experiences. With
this in mind, there are critiques that mass media no longer exists, or at least that it doesn't exist in
the same form as it once did. This original form of mass media put filters on what the general
public would be exposed to in regards to "news" something that is harder to do in a society of
social media.

Theorist Lance Bennett explains that excluding a few major events in recent history, it is
uncommon for a group big enough to be labeled a mass, to be watching the same news via the
same medium of mass production. Bennett's critique of 21st Century mass media argues that
today it is more common for a group of people to be receiving different news stories, from
completely different sources, and thus, mass media has been re-invented. As discussed above,
filters would have been applied to original mass medias when the journalists decided what would
or wouldn't be printed.

Social Media is a large contributor to the change from mass media to a new paradigm
because through social media what is mass communication and what is interpersonal
communication is confused. Interpersonal/niche communication is an exchange of information
and information in a specific genre. In this form of communication, smaller groups of people are
consuming news/information/opinions. In contrast, mass media in its original form is not
restricted by genre and it is being consumed by the masses.