UNIT 1 MEANING, CONCEPT AND

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Contents

1.0 Aims and Objectives

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Definition .
1.3 Elements of Communication
1.4 Communication Models
1.5 Functions of Communication
1.6 Let us Sum Up
1.7 Suggested Readings
1.8 Model Answers

1.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This unit is aimed at familiarising you with the concept and meaning of communication. You
will realise that it sounds simple but in reality the concept is complex. This is why, we break
it into its several components, an analysis of each of which will help you to understand the
whole. After going through this unit, you will be able to:

i) understand the meaning of communication;

ii) analyse the various elements making up co&unication process;
1
iii) describe communication models;
iv) show different'levels at which communication takes place;
V) map out the scope and functions of comnlunication.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

All of us are born and live in a society. As members of a society, we will have to establish
relationships withindividuals, groups and institutions either permanently or on a temporary
basis. Communication helps us to belong to a society and benefit by such relationships.
Communication simply means moving and receiving messages or information from one point
to another point. Individuals communicate with each other. They may also communicate with
others as members of a group. Individuals also comnlunicate with organisations and with
'larger audiences. Therefore, there are a number of situations in which communication takes
place.

One needs a channel or medium to move these messages. In addition to face-to-face verbal
communication (sign language in case of the deaf & dumb) a variety of other means such as
newspaper, book, magazine, radio and TV, tape recorders, VCRs, teleprinters, facsimiles etc.,
are available as other channels of communication. The advancement of technologies have
helped the speed of the transmission of messages over the different media.

Soon we will be discussing the history of communication, its several definitions, what constitutes
comnlunication, the various stages and variables in the process of communication and the
functions and effects of con~munication.

Theie is really nothing that is difficult to understand about con~municationprovided you

analyse a daily communication situation - like when you talk to others or vice-versa or ask
yourself questions like who publish newspapers, why you watch television and what benefits
do you derive from watching. It is all siinple as you will learn from the following text.
 , Basic Prillciples and
1.2 DEFINITION
Teclll~iqueso f
Co~~~n~~unication -
~ o d u n i c a t i o nis what you and I do and for that matter, everyone does everyday. When I
speak to you or you speak to me, it is communication. When I write to you, I am communicating
with ypu. Suppose I want to call a person who is not within hearing distance, I wave my hand.
This Waving also is conununication. If I draw a chart showing the increase in prices, this chart
becomes communication. You might have noticed in all these examples that someone is saying
sonletlming to someone else - transmission of a message or information.

The person who is saying sonlethng is the source; what he is saying is the message and the
person he addresses or talks to is the receiver. However, you caimot talk to another person
unless there is air which carries the sounds of your speech. The air thus becomes the channel.
Thus you will see that there are four major elements in the comnlunication process - the
source wishing to say something, the message or what the source wishes to say. the channel
or the pedium which cames the message to its destination and the receiver who is the target
of the message. So, we have (i) source, (ii) message, (iii) channel and (iv) receiver as the four
major constituents in the process of comnlunication.

No society or community can sulvive without communication. In fact, without comhunication,

every gerson becomes an island. Human beings foml a society or conllnunity with the help
of communication. The word conmlunicate is derived from the Latin word "Communis",
ineail+lg to impart or to nmke conunon. When we comnlunicate, we establish a conlnlon bond
anlong ourselves, derive a common nleaning, common understanding and so on. Communication
is an effort to explain ourselves to others and in turn understand others. In this effort, we
succeed or fail in varying degrees.

We give below a number of definitions listed by J. Black and Freed J. Whitney in their book
"Introduction to Mass Conin~unication"(Win. C. Brown Publishers. lowa, USA, 1988). Each
of them looks at conununicatioii from a different angle. They are:

Communication is the process of transmitting meaning and source between individuals;

Communication is the process by which an individual (the communicator) transmits
stimuli (usually verbal symbols) to modify the behaviour of other individuals
( m ynicatees);
Communication occurs whenever information is passed from one place to another;
I

Communication is not siinply the verbal, explicit and interaction transmission of messages;
it includes all those processes by which people influence one another;
. ~omnlunicahdnoccurs when person A communicates message B through channel C
to person D with effect E. '
-
Some authors describe conlmunication as S R for the stinlulus - response process, or the
interaction between a source and receiver, thus S and R standing for two referrants each.
Stimulub is anything that sets our sensory organs into motion and sends messages to the
mind. Flor example, fragrance stimulates our nose and sends a message to our brain. The
sensory prgans are nose, ears, eyes, tongue and skin. Response is the reaction of the receiver
to stimulus. In other words, S and R stand for sender or source and receiver. It is enough for
us to kmw at this stage that coinmunication is a process that takes place between two sides
or points between which there is an exchange of messages in the forin of illformation,
knawledge, thought, attitudes and beliefs through a variety of channels.

I These channels may be just air which carries the sounds of communication or on which
pamphlats, posters, books, magazines, newspapers, letters etc., are printed or electronic meha
like radio and TV or simple stdne (sculpture, milestones) or cloth (painting). These are
channel9 or carriers of messages. But all of us need syinbols or signs which stand for
.

! I
soinethii~gwe want,to say, We may call this language or code. We use the word "dog" to
refer to a dog. We have a word which stands for every animal, plant, thing, human being, MeaFling, Concept a ~ u l
Fullctio~~s
of
thought, idea and experience known to us. These words constitute the language of a society; Co~llnlunicatiu~~
which can be written down if that society has a script. There are societies or communities in
the world which do not have a script. In such a case, the reach of communication is limited.
Apart from the channel, a language (not necessarily spoken or written) is necessary to express
or convey the message over or through a channel.

In dance, messages are transferred or coillmunicated through body language consisting of

body postures, body stance, body gyrations, movement of feet, hand gestures, eye movements
etc., known as the language of dance. Just as spoken languages differ from one community
to the other, dance language also differs. In India, we have Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi,
etc., which are dance languages. In the West, we have Walk, Fox Trot etc. Just as commumtion
requires both the sender and the receiver to know the same or common language, in dance
too, the receiver must know the language of dance to understand (receive) the messages sent
by the dancer.

A milestone is a form of comnlunication. It tells you how many miles you are away from your
destination. T*c lights are coinmunication which tell you to stop or to go or to be ready.
The barking of a dog is a communication telling you that a stranger is on the prowl. Man also
comnlunicates with animals in a language known to him and the animal.

An angry man need not express anger in words. He can show it simply through facial
expression. just as a person can comnlunicate happiness or grief through tears.

Thus there is no end to the number of ways in which communication takes place. We will wind
up the definition of comnlunication by quoting an expert :

"Communication is the f ,rm of interaction thar takes place through .rymbols. The symbols
may be gestural, pictural, plastic, verbal or any other ~iphichoperate as stintuli to behuviour
which would not be evoked b.y the syn~bolitselfin the specral condrtions of the persons who
respond. "

Communication thus includes a v e q wide range of activity and has a variety of meanings and
covers all forms of expression ainled at achieving mutual understanding.

Thus we see that conlmunication is what keeps the society going because each of us is a part
of a society and has to communicate with its other members. This we do through speech,
writing, songs, body motion etc. We have also become familiar with definitions of communication
which tell us that a comnlunication needs a source, a message, a channel and a receiver. You
might have noted the ward "process" recurring in many of the definitions.

Check Your progress 1

Notes : a) Space is given below for your answer.

b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.

1) Define communication by identifying its main elements.

...........................................................................................................................................................
I Basic Principles a 1.2.1 Pour Characteristics .
Techniques of
Colnn~unication
In another section of this unit, we shall learn about the communication process which begins
with somebody saying something and ends with the receiver receiving it. Here let us first
discuss the chief attributes of communication. These are:

i) Communication is continuous
ii) Communication is personal
iii) Communication is circular
iv) Communication is irreversible

It is continuous because there is no time when a person stops communicating and because
every moment, we are either sending messages or receiving messages. It is obvious that we
do not talk or write all the time. Yet there is a lot of communication we do without knowing
we are doing so. We might be listening to music or watching television. Here we tell yourself
that the music is melodious or indifferent or that the TV serial is good or bad. Or, we may be
losking at a poster as we are walking. We read the poster and think about its contents. We
may see people on the road, animals, new vehicles, goods in display windows and react to
them aotively or passively.

All these responses are acts of communication known as interpersonal communication. The
source here is the poster on the wall, the people walking the streets, the goods in the display
windows etc. The messages aR what these things mean to you or even do not mean to you.
The channels are eyes and ears and the receiver is yourself. Therefore, whenever we interact
with what we see, hear or tou~h,smell and taste, it amounts to communication and there is
no such time when we are not communicating in this sense. That is why communication is
continuous, whether we are consciously speaking or listening to another person or whether
we are Interacting with our environment consciously or unconsiously.

Communication is personal because what we make of the messages or what meaning we derive
from the messages depends not on the inherent content of the message, but depends very
much on how we interpret the message. This depends on our mood, our background, our
motives etc. For example, A (boss) says to B (clerk) "come here." Whether this is a command
or a request or simply a statement depends on B, his mood, his background etc. B may do
as A demands of him in their office. B may regard the message "come here" as an insult if
A werd to say it to B when he is outside his office and amidst his friends. Thus what meaning
is attached to communication is very much a personal matter. The same message may mean
different things to the same person depending on time, mood, place etc. We also learn from
this that there are many variables in the communication process which determine the result
- that is, how we understand a message or information.

Communication is circular because it is difficult to identify the point where it begins and
where it ends. When you say good morning to B, verbally you might have begun the
commvnication. But long before your greeting, B might have smiled at you which is as good
as beginning a communication. This is haw communication is not only continuous and
~ r s o n a but
l also circular.

Communication is irreversible because once something is said or written and reaches the
receiver, the act become irreversible. You cannot take back what you have said:You may take
back the note you have written, but its contents or messages have already been consumed
by the receiver. Once a message leaves the source and reaches the receiver, communications
become irreversible.

1.2.2 Levels of Communication

There are basically four levels at wluch communication takes place : i) Interpersonal, ii) Group,
iii) Ofganisational and iv) Mass or Society-level. Some people also add v) Intrapersonal and
vi) Intragroup.
 - -

Interpersonal means between persons. When you communicate with other people in a face- Meaning, Concept and
Functions o f
to-face situation, it is interpersonal communication. More than the number of persons involved Commuaicatior
in an interpersonal communication, it is a one-to-one relationship that is crucial. The key
element in such communication is the scope for direct interaction. Communication within a
group, called intragroup communication, is similar to interpersonal communication because of
the elements of one-to-one situation and room for direct interaction among the members of
the group.

Intrapersonal communication takes place within a person when stimuli are received. It is also
known as information processing. When you see a goodcrop, you may share your joy with
some person if one is around. Otherwise, you keep your joy to yourself, think how lucky you
are and so on. This internalisation of external stimuli is known as intrapersonal comniunication.
All thinking is intrapersonal and is conscious.

Subconscious intrapersonal communication is dreaming, over which we have no control. In

intrapersonal comknication, the sender and the receiver are the same. Suppose you see a
bus you have been waiting for speeding past, you ask yourself shall I run and catch it '? You
tell yourself : No, it is dangerous, I shall not do it. Thus there is a dialogue insidk you in
intrapersonal communication.

Everyone of us belongs to more than one group. The family is the primary group into which
we are born and with which we associate for a longer time than with other groups.'Family is
the primary group in the sen$e that it gives the individual his earliest and complete experience
of social unity. There arq casual, temporary and permanent groups. Casual groups are
spontaneous formations ag when people come together to fight a fire. For the time being the
group may have a leadet who directs the operations. When the fire is put out, the group
disbands and the leader' ceases to be.

Temporary groups are generally formed for a time-bound purpgse. You and your friends in the
village may form a group to launch a literacy drive.'This group may disband itself when it is
satisfied that it has generated enthusiasm and response for literacy.

Legislatures appoint committees to survey, say, the banking needs of rural people. The
committee dissolves itself after the report is submitted to the legislature. 411 these are
temporary groups. Most of us belong to specific groups that have specific tasks to perform.
Such groups have structures and procedures. In such groups, some members lead and the
others follow.

A group is formed when we establish interaction bonds with other persons. This interaction
consists first, of a common problem or situation on which there is a joint focus of interest -
and attention; second, it consists of the behavioural claim of each member because as two
persons interact, each develops an expectation of how the other will act and react. The third
is the establishment of the group. This is one of the significant factors which transforms a
collection of individuals into a group.

Permanent groups are trade unions, student bodies or academic associations, libraries etc.,
where th; group exists permanently though the membership and the leadership keep on
changing. They establish permanent structures and are governed by rule, procedure,
conventions etc. These rules can be changed only according to rules governing such change.
New members enter the group ready t o abide by the rules. Influential and dynamic persons
among the groups get elected to posts of power and authority. 0iher examples of permanent
groups are churches, clubs, corporations etc.
I
Kow effective a group is in coppleting its task or achieving its objectives depends on the
. group communication process: the relationships between niembers, between the leader and the
rest of the group, the group structures, its nornls and rules etc. Tbe greater the avenues for
free and open communication within a group, the brighter the chances of that group. The flow,
fluency and frequency of communication inside a group depends upon its size.
Basic Principles and An organisation is a structure which has mechanisms to discipline the behaviours of all its
Tecl~niquesof
Conl~~~unication member$ to achieve objectives. There might be several groups within the organisation
coo~din$ing with each other in the interests of the organisation's goals. The structure is
hierarchical in authority XICI responsibility which hatre well-defined limits. While the herarchy
represents a formal organisation, there is informal organisation inside the main structure as
a result of interpersonal relationships among the members. Communication channels follow
both the formal and informal organisation structure.

Let us take a newspaper organisation. A general chart of the organisation may be We the one
given below :

Owner / Publisher

+
Gbneral Managers
I
+
Editors
I

C, Personnel

~hsiness

Circulation Dy News Editors Special Correspondents

Advertising

Cdrporate Affairs

Print Shop

Engineering sub-Editors Reporters

Camputer Systems
*
Chief Proof Reader

proof Reader
The l i b r m photo and processing sections are not shown in this chart, which is illustrative
in purpost.

Groups within an organisation are the departments, sections, subgroups etc. The advertising
departmeat, the personnel department, the news department, etc. are all groups under which
there are lsubgroups like the editing, reporting and proof-reading sections inside the bigger
news department.

Infonnal organisation within the fonnal organisation is generally parallel to the fonnal hierarchical
structure. For example, all assistant editors, news editor, chiefs of bureau etc. may meet and
interact iriformally on an equal level. In leisure time, they may take lunch together or sinlply
gossip away the time. But a member of another informal, but subordinate grpup also may find
- access to a hgher informal Formal groups, hierarchically structured, are not accessible
to mambqrs of groups in the lower notches of the ladder. We shall discuss more about
orgmisational conlmunication in Unit3 of Block3 of this course."

In mass communication the source is not an individual, but a formal organisation. The sender
generally is a professional. The message is processed, standardised and in some cases
multiplied. The relationship between the sender and receiver is one-directional and rarely Meaning, Concept and
Funcfions of
interactional. The message does not reach the receiver directly but through the mediation of Communication.
other agencies. The sender and the receiver are separated by thc nledium. Each does notknow
the other as participants do in interpersonal communication. The carriers of mass communication
are called mass media. They are the publishing industry, newspapers and magazines, films,
radio, TV, etc. -

Let us see the case of a newspaper first. An earthquake takes place at Latur. .Informationabout
the event is transmitted to the newspaper by a reporter as he 'sees' it. At the newspaper office,
the information as the reporter sends, is "processed" or edited. The report is printed and
appears in the newspaper in the company of several other "stories" or news items. .The Latur
reality suffers in or changes its originality in the process of reporting and editing. Further
the newspaper does not have any individual in its mind when it publishes information. It is
printed to reach "unknown" millions or receivers. There is no immediate and direct interaction
between the receiver and the sender in the newspaper organisation. The reader may send a
letter to the editor, which is a delayed response.

While a newspaper has to print as many thousands of copies as there are buyers, in the case
of TV and radio, there is single transmission from the studios and anybody who has a TV
set or radio set can receive the signals or messages.

But as ~ l n i McQuail
s says in his book Mass Communication Theory, a "Communication
science as a whole inclines to iden* a set of questiohs, common to all levels, which theory
and research try to answer. These are :

- Who communicate to whom ? (sources and receivers)

- Why communicate ? (functions and purposes)
- How does communication take place ? (channels, languages, codes)
- What about ? (contents, objects of rekrence, types of information)
- What are the consequences of communication (intended or unintended)

Therefore, when A and B or A, B and C or more persons talk to each other or among
themselves in a one-to-one or face-to-face situation, it is interpersonal communication.
Communication within a group (primary, casual, temporary or pennanent) is known as either
group or intragroup communication. Communication inside bigger, formal and hierarchically
structured groups called organisations is known as organisational communication where
senders and receivers have different sktuses inside the organisation and this fact influences
the nature and course of communication. In mass communication, messages pass from a single
sender organisation to masses of people in a one-way direction. The sender of the messages
.
does not aim them at any particular individual or receiver.

Check Your Progress 2

Notes : a) Space is given below for your answer.

b) Check your answer with the one at the end of this unit.

1) Explain the four main levels at which communication takes place.

Basic Principles and
Techniques of 1.3 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
We have earlier learnt that the major components of communication process are sourcelsender,
message, channel, receiverlaudience. Let us take example of the Krishi Darshan programme or
a newspaper. The process can be i!lustrated in the following manner.

. T
Doordarshan Krishi Darshan T.V. set %ewer

NEWSPAPER

Newspaper Firm News Newsprint ~eader

We can add four more sub-elements to the four major elements in the con~municationprocess.
Together, the entire process consists of a serial, beginning with the sender/source and will
look like this:

We take the example of a simple conversation between persons A & B to show this profile
of thecommunication process. Let us say A says Good Morning to B. A is the sender, Good
Morning is the message. w e all know that we need air to transmit sound. So air is the channel
which carries the words, Good Morning. B is the receiver. Suppose, a mobile without a silencer
passes by at the time of A greeting B; B cannot hear A. This is called mechailical or channel
noise which prevents A's greeting from reaching B. Or, suppose B is a person who does not
understand English; in that case also the message does not reach B because B does not
understand English. This is called semantic noise, noise whch is associated with the message.

You niay not be able to watch and comprehend a TV progranlnle if the transmission is bad.
This'i$ channel noise. Or you may not understand it because you do not have the background
to understand it. The latter is semantic noise or sonletiines known as interpersonal noise.
Therefore, noise is anything that distorts a message or interkres with the understanding of
the Wssage like a badly printed picture in a newspaper, a spelling mistake, ghost images on
TV, and so on.

There are ways of tackling noise problems. Repetition is one way of handling channel noise,
like a mutilated message on the teleprinter can be repeated. Another remedy is improving
channel performance. If the channel noise is produced by the sender or the transmitter, he
should repair the transmitter. Newspapers can take care to print words and piciures clearly.and
distinctly. Or the receiver may have to change the power of his glasses, or correct-tune of his
receiving set and so on. Semantic noise, as we have read earlier, is noise within the
communication process itself and within the receivers themselves. There are so many sources
of such noise. It may arise from the different expectations that receivers have of the mass
media, or vice-versa. Semantic noise is different quantitatively and qualitatively in the context
of mass communications.
 Meaning, Concept and
Sensory receptors are those sensory organs you use to receive messages. You use your ears Functions of
to listen to music from a tape recorder, eyes to watch a TV programme, eyes and hands to Coeuounica tion
read and hold a newspaper and so on. Some part of the body is used to receive the messages.

Response is the reaction of the receiver to a message. This can be internal or external. Take
the earlier case of A saylng Good Morning to B. If B does not say anything, the silence is
a response. On the other hand, if B returns the greeting by saylng Good Morning that also
is a response. Feedback is what A (source) makes of B's silence or return greeting A may
interpret the silence as the continuation of B's old hostility to A or may Interpret the return
greeting as not a warm enough response to be happy about. In any case, what A, the source,
makes of B's response is feedback.

The silence of B to A's greeting could be the result of an old misunderstanding between the
two. Or A's interpretation of B's return greeting as lacking In warmth may also be due to the
same reason. This only shows that communication, beginning with the sending of a message
and ending wth the feedback, takes place in a context, which determines the transmission and
accon~plishmentof meaning in a message

Since we have said a lot about the communication process, let us pause and remember what
we have said. A sender or source sends a message whlch 1s transmitted through a channel
to the receiver. Thls message may not reach the recelver in its original form due to two types
of noise, namely, semantic and channel. When a message is received, the receiver reacts to
it which we call response. Depending on the context or setting or situation in whlch the
response has been transmitted, the sender interprets the response, which we call feedback.

Each of these eight elements of communication process is related to the other or others in
a unique manner. Let us take the example of a conversation between two persons, called
interpersonal communication. A, the sender, wants to call B, who is within heanng range, to
tell hlm something. If B is a suborhnate, A would call B aloud to come and listen to what
A wants to say. However, if B is A's boss, A himself would go to B and give him the
information

That is. the sender changes the Inanner of conveying the message depending on the stAtus
of the receiver. A may use the channel of telephone to talk to B who is an employee of
an equal rank. He wlll not use a telephone to talk to B if B happens to be his chairman.
However, B as chainnan can always use a telephone to ask A to come and meet him. Therefore,
. the choice of the channel and the form of the message depend on the relationship between
the sender and the receiver.

Let us now take an example from mass comnlunication. A is an organisation working to nuke
a success of family planning drive. Since literate persons are more motivated and aware than
illiterate persons, A would choose the illiterate secttons of the society as the audience to reach.
Since illiterate persons cannot read, the channel A uses obviously cannot be books, pamphlets,
newspapers or magazines. A will choose radio or TV as the channel. This choice has been
determined by the nature of the message and by the nature of receiverlaudience. Therefore,
the source has to reconcile each element of the communication process with the other in the
interest of successful communication.

1.3.1 Factors ~ n f l u e n c i nPerceptions

~

Since the target of all communication is the receiver, how he sees or perceives the message
is important because there can be a difference in the meanlng perceived by the receiver though
the message may be the same. Suppose a Telugu-speakhg person welcomes a Hindi-speaking
person with the word "Randi", the Telegu speaking person's intended message is 'you ure
welcome'. However, the message perceived by the Hindi speaking person, or the meaning he
derives,.is 3ro&ute1. Thus every message has a meaning, but that may not be a meaning
'Ornmon to both the and the receiver. The meaning of a message m a ron~~~~unication
depends On Our perception We daily see hundreds of things. These are sensoy sgjmuli,
that is' IbngS which sUnulaie activate our senam organs, These
Of 'lghtS'
smeJJs&tes and textures. We r a c i l y are fhc form
and mar ignore others
Basic Principles and But how we respond to the stimuli depends on how we perceive them. Different people
Techniques of
Communication perceive the same stimuli differently. A and B may respond differently to the same stimulus
of a song by Lata Mangeshkar. A may like it but B may not like to listen to it because it is
not sung by his favourite, Asha Bhonsle. According to experts various factors influence our .
perceptions. These include:

i) SEL~CTIMTY:'Because there are thousands of stimuli around us craving for our attention,
we caa respond only to a few of them. Why do we notice certain things and not others?
Physicd and psychological factors explain selective perception. On a physical level, our
seasory organs have certain limitations. For example, the eyes can see wliat is before them
and not behind them. The ears cannot capture certain high-pitched sounds. Psychologically,
we pay attention to stimuli we want to perceive. Our cultural background too plays a role in
how we perceive the stimuli. Some foreigners come to Boinbay evey year to see and enjoy
rains, bvt some locals regard them as a nhisance. This is how experience and attitudes
d e t m i n e our perceptions.

ii) PSYCHOLOGICAL SET: It is the tendency to see the outside world in a certain way.
Certain experiences create a mindset in us, which we carry with us. Psychological sets .
influence our daily communication. This may be due to personal experience or hearsay etc.
Many of us try to be cautious when an insurance man calls on us, because most of us believe
that an in$urance man has a knack of persuading us to buy a policy. You may have been told
by a friend that B had cheated him. This puts you on the alert when B meets you. This leads
to difference in intended and perceived messages.

Selectivity and psychological sets also prevent us from interacting with others. When we see
a film star or famous editor we are afraid of talking to them, thinking that they are overbearing
persons whp would not talk to common people. Most of us are not even aware that we have
these tendencies to prejudge or view the world around us in a certain way.

iii) SENSORY ORGANISATION : When we see, hear, taste, touch or smell, we organise the
information supplied to us by our sensory organs. We do this on the basis of proximity and
resemblance, form, closure, and common fate. We group together things which look alike. This
is resemblance. We also classlfy sensory data which are close together into groups.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2
. - .
 In Figure 1, by resemblance we group the square at the top and bottom together and the circles Meaning, concept and
Functio~~s
of
in the middle together. We also group (see fig. 2) the 2s together and 3s together because Co~nmunicatioi~
they are arranged close to each other.

iv) FORM: It is easier to notice what is organised and structured than what is not. Because
of this, we also remember things which are organised. We identif) Raagas because they have
a structure and logic. We remember things fihich have regular and logical forms, and structures.
We unconsciously impose meanings on outside stimuli and reject such of those stimuli which
do not answer*to these forms, logic and structure. For example, if a musician steps out of
the Raaga structure, or changes the pitch of his voice, the listener stops paying attention. It
is the end of communication between the musician and the listener.

v) CLOSURE: Closure refers to ~ u ability

r to fill up gaps according to the logic of the message.
When a boy draws the picture of a human face with only one ear, you point out to him that
he has forgotten to draw the second ear. This is because from experience you know the human
face has two ears. When someone tells you "I coining to see you" you know he is trying to
say "I am coming to see you". This is because you have stored the structure of sentence
'inside you which imposes itself on a bad sentence.

vi) COMMON-FATE: In organising the stimuli we receive, we tend to notice and remember
figures which have a common fate. For example, if two or more objects are moving in the same .
direction, they are sharing the same fate. Thus, the manner in which we perceive and organise
them or internalise them, influences our communication with others.

.Check Your Progress 3

Notes : a) Space is given below for your answer.
b) ' Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
1) Draw a figure of the four main elements and four sub-elements in the process of
communication.
..........................................................................................................................................................

1.3.2 Deriving Meaning

Communication is the conveying of meaning between two individuals. This is not as simple
as sending and receiving a message. Earlier, we have seen how there can be a difference
between an intended message and a perceived messa$e. In a face-to face communication, the
outcome is negotiated. That is, if B does not understand what A is saying. B may ask him
for clarification. If A is trying to tell B something complicated, both A and B can cooperate
with each other to see that B gets the message A intended to communicate. The outcome and
nature of interaction between A and B depends on the history of perceptions, social norms,
customs and understanding both have.

Communication is an interactive process at the interpersonal level which achieves meaning

based on three conditional factors: a) a base of common experience to communicate, b) some
system to reference the base, and c) a relationship that leads to the achievement of meaning.

All of us are born into a society which has many things common for all its members-
language, ways of life, attitudes, behaviour, music, literature, media, etc. In short, we draw on
Basic Principles and Referential system 1s a system ot creating and m t a l m n g slgns. A sign is something that come
Tecl~niquesof
Con~~~~u~~ication
to stand for something else, whether a thing or an idea. Signs include words, pictures, icons,
textures, colours, creatures, melodies, in short, anything that is used to refer to something else.
The way in which one thing becomes a sign for another is called significatioA.

A sign @stem would include a set of rules governing the relationship anlong its signs. A
dictionaq is a collection of signs - words standing for thinks, persons, animals, etc. This
helps users of the system to achieve understanding with the available sign resources. Language
is the most perfect of the sign system. Signification begins with experiencing internal or
external stimuli and giving names to such stimuli. It depends on differentiating between each
item of experience and giving different names to different experiences.

Sig~ficationis needed to move away from face-to-face communication. Language helps to

transfer our understanding to others and vice-versa. It is a system of signs common to all
users of that language, which is the product of social agreement. The general science of signs
is called semiology or semiotics. We are born as parties to this social agreement. Every time
we are using a word to mean sometlung common, we are confirming our membership of that
system.

Semiotic systems are independent of time and space, of particular conditions and of particular
individuals and surroundings. It is this independence which distinguishes signification from
meaning. Meaning is a sense-inaking act and depends on several variables like the users of
the signs, the place, and the conditions surrounding the use. For instance, the Sanskrit word
"Sansar" is used to mean World in the North and Family in the South.

Meaning, however, is linked basically to signification. Signification is the representation of

human reality and meaning is interpretation of that reality. The signs we use have common
references and yet yield a variety of meanings. So we create signs first and meanings come
from interpretation based on a knowledge of the signs, the situation, the players or participants
in communication etc.

The conaept of meaning remains extremely vague and poorly developed. Dictionary meanings
help us only to understand the reference systems. The meaning depends on the conditions
in which the sign is presented. If A refers to 'that dog' wlule speaking to B, B knows the
dictionary meanings of both the sign "that" and "dog". Yet he may not know which dog A
is referring to unless that dog refers to some dog to which A has referred to earlier or in face-
to-face situation A points out to dog which both A and B can see.

Meaniilg is the product of sense-nlaking in which individual collsciousness plays a major part.
Howeyer, individual consciousness is the product of semiotic community. Meaning emerges
from interaction. Meaning includes the sign given to a thing or idea in a dictionary as well
as the complete understanding of the sign for you. A sign is capable of yielding multiple
meanings depending on experience. Though signs have references, their outcome is
unpredictable. In short, if we have a common system of signs, their meanings can be realised
only in the .conditions surrounding their presentation.

To achieve meaning, the communicants must recognise the intelit to comn~unicate;grant the
effort to find the means for exchange; work to develop same comnlon meaning for the content
exchanged; make performance sensible within the conlmon meaning.

Since maaning is not a package to be delivered, it is mutually accomplished between the

communicator and the communicatee. All communications are initiated with an intent to
accomplish a mutually understood meaning. Without intent, it is not communication. For
example, a professor lecturing away without the intent to know if the students are sharing any
meaning but of it, is not communication.

Means of Accomplishment: The means available to A to communite do not ensure that B

received the meaning A wantedat,oconvey. Communication calls for a commitment to discover
 the intended meaning and an ettort ro supervise the construction of meaning by the other. Mqanlng, Concept and
Functions of
This is easily done in face-to-face communication but not in mediated comnlunication, in which Comn~unlcntion
the source or the communicator transmits content, but does not know what the receiver has
made of it. The meaning intended by the communicator may not match with the meaning
derived by the receiver. There is also no interaction between the two which is necessary to
, .
accomplish meaning.

Words alone do not lead to understanding. A communicatio~levent is a holism whose

outcome cannot be willed merely by considering the content that is presented because the
end-meaning is the product of sense-making performance embedded in interpretive frames of
action. Meaning-making is an ongoing process, inevitable and incessdnt.

The following is an example of.110~one cannot predict or know in advance the communication
outcome until after the communication event. A 'says 'Dad. I want to see your book'. Dad says
'let me see'. Here Dad may mean let me consider or let nle see the book before I give it to
you.*A has doubts about what Dad means. The conversation takes another turn when A says
'1 will be careful Dad'. Dad says 'you can take it, but let me first see it'. Here he assures the
son that he is not against giving the book, but wants to see it before his son can have it.
Dad and son achieve the same comnlunication outcome because they are face-to-face and
operate in a context which helps both to acco~nplishthe same meaning.. Thus you can see
how content itself does not produce meaning. It interacts with the receiver in the process of
interpretation. When A says to B "Come here!". B knows what "here" means from the context
which includes the location of A and B and any gesture A might have made to point out
to a place.

1.4 COMMUNICATION MODELS

A model explains what takes place when messages are transferred from one point to another.
Models are important first, to know the interrelated behaviour needed for communication and
secondly, to know that a model singles out each part of the communication process so that
it can be examined separately. Harold Lasswell, designed one of the earliest models of mass
communication by posing the serial question "Who says what, in which channel, to whom,
with what effect?" The Lasswell model is still widely cited and imitated. Lasswell's model
,
implies that more than one channel can carry a message. The "Who" raises the quesiion of
control of messages (gatekeeper role). "Says what" is the subject of content analysis. "To
whom" deals with receivers and audience and "With what effect" relates to credibility of the
message as well as the status of the receiver.

A graphic idea of the Lasswell model is given below :

Who Says what In which To whom With what
I I channel I effect

1.4.1 Shannon-Weaver Information Model

Later came the information model designed by Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver (The
Mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, Urbans, 111. 1949). They
used communication to mean "all the procedures by which one mind may effect another".
They believed that their model characterised communications in a very general way.
Clmnel
Information Source Transmitter Receiver Destination
,

-Message I
Message
Noise
Sourpe
Basic Principles and Shannon and Weaver emphasised that the word information in h s theory is used in a special '
of
Tecl~~iiques
Commu~~ication
sense and that it must not be cofised'with "meaning". They introduced the idea of entropy
and redmdancy. Entropy refers to uncertainty; redundancy to certainty. The goal of
comrnu~~ication is to reduce entropy. Finally, "noise" increases entropy. The greater the noise
in the channel, the greater the need for redundancy which reduces the entropy of the message.
In the dhannon-weaver mode, information source produces a message in any system of
signification (spoken or written words or music or pictures etc.) The transmitter chooses
sigdals to represeit the 'message' suitable for the channel to be used. For example, radio
cannot be a channel for pictures. Channel is the carrier which transmits the message. Paper,
for example, is the channel for the written word. If you take conversation as an example, the
information source is the brain, the transmitter is the voice mechanism or vocal system which -
produces the signal (spoken word). The channel is air and the signal is the varying pressure
passing from the vocal system of one persoK to the ear of the other person. The transmitter
encodes rbe message and the receiver has to decode the message (convert varying sound
waves into natural impulses). Between the transmitted signal and the received signal is the
noise source which is likely to interfere with the reception of the message. The received signal
is what the receiver receives and what he makes of it is the message. Destination is the person
or thing for whom it is intended. Destination can also be a thing like a teleprinter, receiving
electric impulses and converting them into Roman characters.
4

Though Claude Shannon developed the theory for the engineering field, it has significance also
for Communication theory. Con~municationin this model is described as a linear one-way
process. This is known as the Mathematical Theory of Conlmunication, now also known as
the Information Theory. ~ c c o r d i nto~Tankard and Seveiin, the most important fealure and
valuable contribution of this theory to our understanding of the communication process is its
approach to what constitutes information. There is a tendency to use mfornmtion and meaning
as interchangeable terms. Informatioil is the source from which we derive whatever meaning
we can under the circumstance. We have discussed this aspect in the section on accomplishment
of meaning. The Shannon-Weaver model is a technological model concerned more with
transmission of the message through humans, machines and other means. In this model, there
is no probision for either feedback or context.

1.4.2 Social - Psychological Model

Another model called the social-psychological model emphasises interpersonal aspect,
particulaqly on individals "strain towards symmetry". Symmetry is defined as individual
orientatiohs towards an object. For example, A and B are good friends. Their attention is drawn
to an object C (say a camera). A likes C but B does not. Since both are friends, B may try
to like C or may simply be neutral: Thus there is an effort to bring the situation into balance.
This effort is known as strain towards symmetry. There is a tendency among individuals to
establish relationships with persons who have similar orientations. This model is adopted from
Theodore M. Newcomb (An Approach to the Study of Communicative Arts in
Psychological Review 60-1953). ,

X
A likes B

What will be done to reduce the.discomfort of being at odds with a friend ?

Tankard and Severin say that in this social-psfchological mode, individuqs orient themselves
to enviroment through communication and that the model implies that any change in any part
of the system will more often induce balance or symmetry because inhviduals are uncomfortable
with imbalance or lack of symmetry and will work to restore balance and symmet~y.
- - -- - - -
 -2 -

1.4.3 Westley-Maclean Model Meaning, Concept and

Functions of
Communfcation
Bruce Westley and Malcolm MacLean (A Conceptual Model for Commun'ication Research,
-
Journalkm Quarterly 34 1957) offered the most widely used model of mass communication.*.
It conceptualises the process of mass communication and focusses on the specific parts of
. the process (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
It is an extension of the Newcomb model expanded from the two person model to a mass
communication model. Because of their interest in news, Westley and MacLean realised that
the communication process can be started by an event as well as by an individual. The model
suggests that person B receives stimulilmessages from communkat6r C about object X in the
presence of person A. Let us assume that C is a radio station, B is you. A is a friend or relative
of yours, and X is an event or an object. The point is that C has to select from the field of
Xs, A may be in the presence of either C or B. B may communicate back to C or to A (feed
back), and/or Xs may be perceived directly by C without intervention to A. Denis McQuail
writes "One of the most useful models of communication was that of Westley and MacLean
who conceived of the professional mass communicator as occupying a "channel role" in
between those who want to 'speak' in society ('advocates') and the public they want to reach.
This role according to Westley and MacLean is typically neutral and purposeless, although
it involves selecting from advocates what is thought to be of interest to the public."

The Westley-MacLean model represents the role of the communicator as a broker between
the would-be advocates in society with messages to convey on the one hand and the public
seeking to satisfl its information and other communication needs and interests on the other.
McQuil says that there is a tendency among researchers, practitioners and even the general
public to deploy one predominant model which is in the form of a linear process from a sender,
by way of channel, in the form of a message, to a receiver, to achieve some kind of effect,
intended or unintended.This was the basic model which gave direction for thinking about
communication. The Westley and MacLean model conforms to this model in being linear,
sequential and characterised by the transfer of messages from 'A to B.

The Westley-MacLean model has five elements similar to the Shannon-Weaver model. The
sender encodes a message, which is passed through a channel and is decoded there for its
meaning drawn after which the message is clear to the receiver.

Encoder Channel
-+
James Carey (The Ambiguity of Policy Research, Journal of Cobzmunication 28 (2) 1978)
says that this linear process amounts to taking a "transmission" view of communication
"which is the commonest inour culture and is defined by such terms as sending, transmitting
or giving information to others. The centre of this idea of communication is the transmission
) of signals over time for the purpose of control." Carey points to an alternative ritual view
accarding to which "communication is linked to such terms as "sharing", participation,
association, fellowship, and the possession of a common faith. A ritual view is not directed
towards the extension of messages in space, but the maintenance of society in time, not the
act of imparting information, but the representation of shared beliefs.
Basic Pri~tcipIesand There is a third concept bf the comnlunication model called the attention model according to
Techniques of which the essential comnlunicative activity of mass media is to attract and keep attention
Comnlunication
rather than transmit meaning or provide a platfornl or increase expressive capacity or provide
shared rituals. The three models-transmission, ritual and alternative can be visualised in the
illustration below, indicating what each model implies for the sender and the receiver :
Sender's Receivers's ,
Orimtution Oiientution
Transmission Transfer of Cognitive
meaning processing
Expression/Ritual Perfomnnce Shared experience
Attention-gaining ~is~iay Spectatorship

Transnlission model is drawn from other institutional contexts like education, religion and
government. It is, however not relevant to most media activity which is not exclusively
purpo$ive information-giving or instructional. The ritual model shares some elements with the
transmission model, but emphasises more on external interpretation by observers than the
stated purpose of receivers and senders. The attentibn model comes closest to the main me&a
goal of attracting audiences and to the audience view of the media as escapist and diversionary.
It conflicts with the elements of the other two models. Media culture and practice have a lot
to do with the attention-holding goal. Attention is measurable in the time allotted and the
intensity of involvement with the type of content. Attention-display fornls and associations
are associated with the service mode. The mass con~municationmarket is mainly concerned
with attention more than anything else. This is what sells the medium to the advertisers.,

These features are exclusively associated with communication as a process of display and
attention-holding. The priority to attentionJdisplay is natural because the main goal is to have
an audience.

while models help us understand the elements in the conm~unicationprocess and the interaction
involved, they also help us know the significant aspects of the process and illuminate the
nature of communication. There are many models. We examine- here a basic model of
communication provided by Black and Whitney called the interactive model. In this, the two
principal factors are the source and the receiver. Between the source and the receiver are the
message and the channel. A pop music number originates from a single source, but the
message is received by the receivers in a variety of ways. Some may dance to that nlusic, some
may switch off the music in disgust, some may simply let the music play but pay no attention
to it and yet some may turn violent and dash the trapsistor to the ground.

Black and Whitney say : "That these messages were received differently is the crux of
communication. Reception and, consequently, reaction and effect d e e r according to each
individuals's orientation. Orientation, in turn, depends on many factors that can be reduced to
the individual's experience-the sum total of all that-has gone before. Since a good deal of thal
experience had been communication, the complexities of that process and circularity become
appafent."
BASIC COMMtJh'ICATION MODEL
Sender Channel Receiver
Source Medium Decoder
Encoder Noise Effect
Purpose . Semantic Cognitive
Inform Channel Affective
Per shade Behavioural '

Ente~ain Message Response

Feedback
Receiver * Sender
20
 MASS COMMUNICATION MODEL (BLACKAND Meaning, Concept and
J' Functions of
Conln~unication
Message is
carried by Each audience niember receives
medium 1 1 1 of

Source wishes to affect the
"mass audience" with one
message
\
a 'different' message because , ,
each receiver has unique
interests and needs and because
each attends to 'the media
. uniquely. Some members of the
mass audience may share
common ideas.

' original message.

In the mass communication model, messages are mass-produced to large "heterogeneous"

audience. By "heterogeneous" Black and Whitney mean that the messages have been sent "to
whom it may concern" -to people from all walks of life, with unique characteristics, and not
necessarily a single homogeneous type of audience". In the mass communication model, the
sender is called the source and the receiver is known as the audience. The difference between
the interpersonal model and the mass communication model is the multiplicity of receivers.
Audiences come in different sizes, froin the nullions viewing a TV programme, to the hundreds
reading Will Durant's Story of Civilisation. These audiences may be individuals, families,
groups, etc. reacting to the message in a hundred different ways, deriving different meanings. .
The reactions may be individual or collective. For example, while viewing a TV serial, say
Sansar, each viewer may have his own views. But after the programme is over several viewers
may exchange notes and arrive at a consensus on the quality of the serial.

Therefore, though messages are mass-produced and reach millions of people, the reactions
necessarily may not be mass. Even in mass communication, the effect of the nlessage differs
and it is possible that because of the size of the audience there may be subaudiences
nunlbering several thousands who have reacted to the message in the sanle way. There might
also be secondary audiences who hear of the nlessage fro& those who have already directed
viewedheard the message. The primary audience and the secondary audience constitute
elements in pIanning commu&cation strategies. The source, being aware that his audience
will share the message with others, designs the message keeping the secondary audience also .
in his view. It is the personal experience of everyone that A tells B something intending that
B should or knowing that B would tell C about it.

1.5 FCTNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

There have &en attempts to systematise the filnctions of communication beginning wit11
Harold Lasswell. He sumrnarised them as surveillance, corklation, and transmission of cultural
heritage. Charles Wright added entertainment to this kist. McQuail added yet ,another, that of
mobilisation, which is of special interest to third world countries. Nearly everyone of these
functions has also a dysfunction. The filnctionalist perspective distinguishes between those
consequences that seem significantly useful to the maintenance and well-being of a system and
those that seem hannful to it. The positive consequences are known as functions and the
harmfql consequences as dysfunctions.

For instance, the media, in discharge of their surveillance (watchdog) function, alert the
society of the danger of cluld-lifting. While it helps parenfs to take care of their children, some
overentllusiastic Rersons inay lynch innocent vagrants, suspecting them to be child-lifters.
This is a dysfilnction.
Basic Principles and Paul Laarsfeld and Robert K. Merton identify what they call a 'narcotic dysfunction "when
Techniques of
Co~nmunication
individuals fall into a state of apathy or passivity as a result of too much information to
assimilate". This may lead to a loss of perspective. The Indian media's reporting of conmunalism
as a problem is a fine example of narcotic dysfunction. Another example of dysfunction is:
as more and more information is provided by the media, it is picked up by the "infomlation-
haves" which increases the knowledge gap between them and the "information have-nots".
Informtion about the rich may lead to discontent among the poor, which is a dysfucntion.

Surveillance: This function obliges the media to alert the society to expected dangers such
as a growing health hazard, threat to environment deals aimed at swindling the public and
the government, espionage activities or growing social unrest. People who are warned nlobilise
resources to avert the crisis. This threat of a common danger integrates the society. People
need warning not only on major disasters, threats or hazards but also on minor inconveniences.
A warning of a bus strike helps citizens to organise alternative means of transport. The
surveillance function is perfomled mainly throtlgh a continuous and regular supply of infomlation
and news about society. All of us know how as a result of weather satellites, media are able
to warn people of impending cyclones, such as the one which struck Andhra Pradesh in 1971.

A second consequence of the surveillance communication is its contribution to the day-to-

day working of the society or to one's ability to. organisg daily life.

Correlation : This function includes the selection, evaluation and interpretation of events. It
imposes order on the overwhelming flow of information by packaging it in intelligible units.
Media set events in their historical context, source the information so that the reader can make
compldte sense of the information provided. This function takes the form of co~nnlentand
interpwtation to make sense of the fragments of information and also the formation of
consensus. The media guide the public, offer advice etc. .

Expert$ made a study of what missing a day's newspaper would mean for the readers. Readers
camplained that not only did they miss information but also the evaluation and interpretation
of the news provided by the media, editorials, short editorial comments, news analyses and
backgrounders which are some of the forms the correlation function takes. One of the
dysfunctions people associate with the correlation role is that much of editorial matter
buttreses social conformism while glossing over social change.

Mediaalso perpetrate stereotypes like some communities in India are backward and some are
advan$ed. Dysfunctions also occur when media minimise dissent, enforce majority views at
the ex@nse of minority opinions which are not aired. They also preserve and promote power
which need to be checked.

Daniel Boorstin identifies another correlation dysfunction which is the creation of psuedoevents,
image$ or personalities by the media. The heavy reliance of mass media on institutionalised
sourceb for information and interpretation results in such dysfunctions as prominence for the
dominant viewpoint and neglect of weaker sections. Charles Wright thinks that too much
reliancte of the public on mass media interpretation and analysis of the environment is likely
to reduce their ability to find, sift, sort interpret and evaluate news for themselves.

Transmission of Culture: Severin and Tarkard say "the mass media function to conlmunicate
information, values and norms from one generation to another or from the members of a society
to the newcomers. In this way they serye to increase social cohesion by widening the base
of con)mon experience. They aid the integration of individuals into a society. It has been noted
that tHe media can reduce an hlividual's sense of estrangement or feeling of rootlessness by
providing a society to identify with."

Charles Wright calls this transnlission of culture function as socialisa~ionfunction, which

helps unite the society and increase social cohesion by providing a broad base of common
social norms, values and collective experiences to be shared by its members. But the transmission
finction may become a dysfunction when it leads to the de-personalisation of mass society.
That is, there will be less reliance on inter-personal communication arising from an increased
relianbe on or attention to mass communication.
T
Mass media may also reduce the variety of subcultures and create a mass society. There will Menning, Concept nlld
Functions. of
thus be loss of, particularly, cultural pluralism. Severin and Tarkard say that "because of the
mass media, we tend to speak more and more the same way, dress the same way, think the
same way an,d act and react the same way. It is based on the idea that thousands of hours
of media exposure cause millions of people to accept role models presented by the media."

Entertainment: There is a greater need today for entertainment than ever because of the
complexities and tensions of modem life. People need diversion, amusement and relaxation.
More than newspapers (which devote space mainly to news and comment) radio and TV allot
a lot of time for entertainment in the form of music, drama; humour etc. Being audio-visual,
film, radio (only audio) and TV are better suited for entertainment than print media. There are
however more dysfunctions associated with mass media.

Broadcast media have diverted, through their entertainment function, public attention from
important social problems. There is less time to be spared for socially useful activity. For
example, an average American spends five hours watching TV. Tlus keeps him away from
purposeful activity. The ads appearing in mass media arouse desires that cannot be fulfilled.
Either the viewer is frustrated or persuaded to commit crime to buy the goods advertised. The
ads also increase the sense of helplessness among the poor.

In a countIy like India, outside TV signals have the ability to set a wrong agenda for the
viewers. Excess of sex and crime on TV may lead to their replication in real life. Some of these
fears, especially effects on children, have been confirmed in the west by research. No such
studies have been undertaken in India. The signals @rogrammes) from outside have the
potential of diverting people's attention from the country's development objectives.

For instance, there are many dysfunctions connected with Indian films. They inflate male egos
and make women believe there is no life without men, that a home-bound woman is a paragon
of virtue, that her primary goal in life is child-bearing and so on. The films also create
stereotypes of Christians, Muslims, South Indians and so on. Except for those films which are
known as art films, the fornlula films kill the critical faculties of the spectators. The films in
India, as in America, have helped heroes and heroines to be regarded as supermen and
superwomen.

Mobilisation: This is a function Denis McQuail attributes to mass media: He says "nearly
everywhere, the media are expected to advance national interests and promote certain key
values and behaviour patterns, but specially so in crisis times. And in certain developing
societies as well as in many socialist states, a mobilising role is formally alloted to the media."

This is very much so in India where both All India Radio and Doordarshan and a number of
other govenunent media are used for development purposes. These media are used for
popularising family planning progranlmes, spreading literacy, promoting national integration,
creating awareness regarding the status of children and women, creating pride in the country's
cultural heritage etc. The list is endless.

Despite mindless criticism of the state inedia and senseless comparison of these media with
private print media and satellite and cable TV, it ca&ot be denied that lakhs of farmers derive
benefit from prograinmes for villagers on AIR & DD and lakhs of students benefit fiom special
schools and university programmes. DD & AIR have not been set up for making profit. Their
objectives are different from those of private print media. Their bad management does not
detract form their potential as agents of mobilisation and development. .

Let us list the summary of media functions by McQuail :

I) Infomation
Providing information about events and conditions in society and the world;
Indicating relations of power;
Facilitating innovation, adaptation and progress. ,
Basic Principles and 11) Correlation
Techniques of
C o ~ n n ~ u n ition
ca
Explaining, interpreting and commenting on the meaning of events and information;
Providing support for established authority and norms;
Socialising;
Co-ordination of separate activities;
Consensus building;
Sotting of priority and signalling relative status.

m) Continuity
Expressing dominant culture and recognising subcultures and new cultural
developn~ents;
Forging and maintaining commonality of values;

IV) Entertainment
pfoviding amusement, diversion, the means of relaxation;
Reducing social tension;

V) ' Mobilizatipn
Campaigning for societal objectives in the ,$here of politics. war, economic development
work and sometimes religion.
,
The media are used by individuals, groups and the society for different purposes. Paul
Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton have raised important questions about the use of media in our
society. They see media serving other functions such as status conferral and enforcement of
social norms.

Status conferral indicates that one is inlportant enough to single out from the mass and that
one's bebviour and opinions are significant enough to demand media attention. By legitidsing
the statlps of individuals and groups, media confer status and prestige on them. Mass media
also enforce social norms as a result of their exposure of conditions which deviate from
professional public morality.

Lazarsfild and Mcrton assert that the media are owned by the corporate sector, which again
is the result of the social and economic system, which the meha unfailingly support. They say
that "tluis support comes not only in the form of advertisements, but also in the content of
the media which usually confirms and approves the present structure of the society." This
comes about not only through what is said, but more importantly from what is not said, for
the media fail to raise essential questions about the structure of the society. They also say
thAt social objectives are abandoned by the commercial media when these objectives interfere
with profits. .

Pteserving Status Quo: A very important contribution to analysing the function of the media
in maintaining the status quo comes from Warren Breed, a former newspaper reporter. Breed
points out that in a conflict of values, the mass media sometimes sacrifice accurate reporting
of significant events for the vi&es of respect for convention, public decency and orderliness.
Certaip areas are taboo because of their conflict potential.

Agenda-Setting Function : Agenda-setting is only an extension of the status conferral function.

The term was coined by Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald C. Shaw in 1972, to refer to the
power of the media as a structure issue. Agenda-setting function, according to Severin and
Tankard, is the capability of the mass media to select and emphasise certain issues and thereby
cause those issues to be perceived as important by the public. As McComb's and Shaw say:

"This notion of the agenda-setting functipn of the mass media is a relational concept
specifying a strong, positive relationship between the emphasis of mass cornmupication
and the salience of these topics to the individuals in the audience. This concept is
stated in casual terms. Increased salience of a topic or issue in the mass media
influences (causes) the salience of that topic cr issue among the public".
 Bernard Cohen said much earlier that "it may not be successful much of the time in telling Meaning, Concept and
Functions of
people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling what to think about." More Comrnunicatiol~
precisely the term refers "to the ability of the mass media to influence the level of the .
knowledge about those issues."

Gate Keeping : The limit on the number of pages.a newspaper prints or on the time available
'
on TV or radio demands that a lot of information that reaches these media from several sources
will have to be rejected. This raises several questions like what should be selected for
and what should be rejected? Who does this job? How does he do it? Why does
he do what he does?

Some persons in the media make choices about what p k s of a story are to be used and what ,
stodes are to be used. Si~icethese persons check entry of information into media, they are
called gate-keepers. The act of such checking is called gate-keeping. There are several gates
in the media, manned by a variety of persbns and institutions at various levels. First, the
publisher or the owner of the media organisation lays down a policy, which is a kind of a gate
which allows entry to certain categories of information only. For example, eulogy of an
opppition leader will not appear in a newspaper known to be a supporter of the establishment.

Re~ortersof all varieties are gate-keepers, making choices about unscheduled events. For
example, a reporter has no choice about events he is scheduled or assigned to cover, though
he makes editorial judgments in including and excluding facts for a scheduled story. But when
something happens, which is not scheduled, he takes a decision to cover it or leave it. He thus
becomes a gate-keeper on his own. For example, on his way to cover a farmer's meeting, he
sees a great fire enveloping the municipal offices complex so he decides to skip the farmer's
meeting knowing that it will be covered by a news agency and report the municipal fire. This
decision making is gate-keeping.

The desk people's main job is gatekeeping. Space and time, besides the policy of the media
organisation, oblige the desk person to accept some and reject many stories. Even regarding
the story the desk person accepts, he may reject certain parts of the story. This is gatekeeping.
,
However, we can see that the desk does the gatekeeping job only in relation to stories that
have managed to pass the reporter's gate or the gates of the reporters of news agencies which
supply news to the media organisation. Suppose, the Times of India subscribes to Press Trust
of India (FTI) news. But before PTI news reaches the Times desk, it would have gone through
the gates of the FTI bureau (reporter's) and desk (subeditors).

Thus there are several gatekeepers in the media organisations who decide what stories should
be printed or broadcast and which facts of a particular story should be accepted or rejected
for publication. There are several gates outside, media organisations controlling the flow of
information.

Mass media serve several functions. Some of them are :

1) Surveillants--to keep a continuous flow of information to society so that it can protect

itself from any threat or danger or take measures to nip it in the bud. News is the chief

threats to environment.

benefit of the society. This is necessary because advances in technology and science,
have made the world so complex that the average person does uot know how they
bezefit him or harm him. The common man also needs to know the significance of
economic and political measures and decisions. Correlation generally takes the form of
editorials, news analyses, backgrounds etc.
3) Transmission of culture is a function aimed at projecting the cultural kaleidoscope of
a society so.that people on the periphery like immigrants or sojourners or deviants know
how to adjust to the social mulieu they do not belong to or to which they do not want
to belong.
Basic Prillciples and 4) People need a lot of entertainment to relax, to forget the strain of work, to escape
T e c l l ~ ~ i q u eof
s
Co~~~r~~u~~ication
te~bionsetc. The entertainment function takes care of these needs of the society.

5) D~velopingcountries cannot <afford to squander their emotions and energies. The

mobilising function seeks to build consensus and support in developing countries in
favour of developing and nation-building.

Check Your Progress 4

Notes a) Space is provided below for your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one at the end of this unit.
1) What do you inderstand by surveillance function? Give example.
I
........................................................................................................................................................
..I 8 .

1.6 LET US SUM UP

In this qait we have discussed the concept of communication. Communication is a process with
which ail qf us are familiar. It begins with a source or sender transmitting a message through
a chandel to a receiver or audience. This process takes place at four levels primarily. They
are interpersonal communication, group comnlunication, organisati~nalcommunication and
mass cobnnlunication.
"3

The baslc aim of conununication is to deliver a content and wit11,it a meaning. Meaning is not
the same thing as content or message because different persons derive d e r e n t meanings
froin the same message or content.

. Comqqnication is a social activity and has becorhe the subject of research and theory-building
for sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists etc.

Every society attributes certain functions to public activity. Media, as sources of mass
co~~inluhication,
.seek to inform, educate, entertain, mobilise etc. As a result, certain effects flow
I
from such mass communication. The functional aspect becomes important because of the
effects mass communication produces in fact or in theory.
This unit, therefore, limits itself to explaining key concepts in communication process, their
inter-relationships and the significance of eAch element of the process to the other.

1.7 'SUGGESTED READINGS

Kunlar, Keval J. 1981. Mass Communication in India, Jaico Publishing House, Bombay.
Theory, Sage Publications ( P ) Ltd., India,
MkQuil, Denis, 1987. Mass Commu~~ication
New Delhi.
Black j and Whitney, Fred J, 1988. Introduction to Mass Cowrw~unication,Win. C. Brown
Publishers, Iowa, U.S. A..
Severin, Werner J and Tankard, Jr., James, W. 1979. Conrnrunication Therories. Hastings
House publishers, New York, U.S.A.
Wright, Charles R. 1986. Mnss Conrnrunication, Rand0111 House, New York, U.S. *..
1.8 MODEL ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1

Communication means transmission or transfer by a source or sender of messages or information

tllrough a channel, with the help of a code or language to receiver. It involves external stimuli
(sounds, snlell, sights. touch, taste), cllannels carrying them, languages or codes to understand
then1 and absorption of such stilnuli by the receiver and his reaction or response to tlle stimuli.

Check Your Pi-ogress 2

Conununicauon takes place chiefly at four level$ : (a) Interpersonal level in which co1lm1tmication
occurs betveen two or lllore persons in a face-to-face and one-to-one'situation and in which
the sender and the receiver eachange roles. (b) Group comnlunication is a process which
occurs between individuals as members of a group and bears the stamp of tlie group. (c)
Organisational conimunication is conmlunication within an organisatlon which is hierarcliically
structured, who says what to whom and how depends on the hierarchy. (d) Mass conununication
consists of transmission of illessages from a single organisatibnal point to lllass audience
(receivers) who do not have direct coiltact with the sender.

Check Your Progrcss 3

C SOURCE -----)MEs SAGE ------)CHANNEL -b RE-

1
FEEDBACK
...................... SENSORY RECEPTORS

1
E
$
N
T

Check Your Progress 4

By supplying infornlation on a day to day basis to the 'society, the media keep its ~nenibers
informed of threats, hazards or danger to its health, unity or stability. This lielps the members
to protect thenlselves fro111 such threats. Frequent reports about a disease alert the society
to the possibility of an epidemic. Weather reports wan1 of inlpending heavy rains or cyclone
etc.