Modern Mass Media

Modern Mass Media

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Modern Mass Media

Mass media refers to a various range of media technologies that influence an enormous
audience by way of mass communication. Under mass media we have broadcast media, digital
media, and internet media on one hand and on the other; we have outdoor media and print media.
A good example of broadcast media is television and radio. Internet media encompasses services
like email and websites, outdoor media transmit information via billboards while print media
entails information transfer via newspapers, magazines among many more others.

Modern mass media is characterized by a number of factors. These are convergence,

increased mobility, multiple platforms, user-generated content, increased audience control,
audience segmentation and social media. Mass media convergence is the blending of multiple
media forms into one platform for purposes of delivering a dynamic experience. It involves
merging of mass communication outlets for instance radio, television magazines along with
portable and interactive technologies through various media forms into one platform. Another
characteristic of modern mass media is multiple platforms. This feature has seen many media
houses expand their operational bases in order to accommodate several platforms. This has
largely reduced monotony to the audience. Thirdly, we have increased control of audience.
Unlike in the initial years, modern social media has come up with ways of taking control of the
interaction between the media and the audience through the introduction of channel subscription
in order to access some media platforms. User-generated content is another characteristic that
involves the use of the audience to create information and use the media to air it. By so doing the
audience market the media brand rather than itself. The fifth characteristic is increased mobility.
In the recent years media houses have been able to avail their services to audiences’ portable
devices so that they can have access to information wherever they go. Sixth is audience
segmentation. Employing customer data bases that cater for detailed segmentation of markets
tend to provide some personalization of offers by media houses. Finally, we have social media
and this is a very popular docket under mass media. It entails interaction effected via computer-
mediated technologies that facilitate the creation or sharing of information through virtual
communities and networks. It is the trend that has the greatest effect on the society nowadays
because of its widespread nature and accessibility ease.

The decisions made for advertisements heavily rely on the way mass communication is
perceived in terms of functionality and criticality. In the functional aspect, there is
commodification of symbolic forms. The production of materials depends on the 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 reason. Critically, there is a
difference in existence in the context of information between the production and the reception. In
the social aspect, we talk about information distribution. A one-to-many form of communication,
whereby products are mass-produced and disseminated to a great quantity of audiences. The
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three aspects immensely contribute to the decisions made by advertising companies because they
are directly involved in the whole process of advertisement.

Media technology has had both negative and positive impacts on the culture and society
of today. The good news is that the merits outweigh the demerits. One advantage that comes with
media technology is raising the standards of living of people in the society. This is because of the
introduction of online shopping and up-to-door delivery services. This has eased matters since
people do not have to visit different shopping centers that are sometimes far apart. Online
shopping gives one a chance to select all he wishes to buy and then they are delivered all at once
at the door-steps. A common disadvantage of the technology is the introduction of video games.
These games have led to addictions especially among the youths and hence they will spend many
ours on the screens of computers just playing games. This promotes laziness in the society but
everyone is embracing it anyway. The older forms of communication have lost value since the
emergence of the new media technology into the market because they are found to be slow and
provide poor quality output

Advertising is the action of calling public attention to an idea, good or service though
paid announcements by an identified sponsor. On the other hand, propaganda is information used
primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may
be presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded
language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to information presented. We
also have promotion strategy and advertising strategy and their difference is; while advertising
strategy is a plan to reach and persuade a customer to buy a product or service, promotion
strategy is designed to inform, persuade or remind target audience about products.
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References