Explaining the Communication Process through Models

To understand better the process of communication, here are some

models as discussed by communication scholar Denis McQuail (2005) in

his book McQuail‘s Mass Communication Theory:

1. Transmission models. Perhaps the most popular among these is

Harold Laswell‘s representation of communication as an attempt to

answer the question ―Who says what to whom, through what

medium, and with what effect?‖

Fig. 1.1. Laswell's Communication Model

The model is relatively straightforward and tells you that communication

originates from someone and their message flows through a channel,

either through sound waves or light waves, and that someone on the other

end receives the message with a corresponding effect. Later

improvements in the model were introduced by other experts in

communication. One such revision is a model by Claude Shannon and

Warren Weaver which incorporates the concept of noise that refers to

anything that interferes with the message. The model is a more

mechanical look at communication. 2