Begg 171

BEGG-171
Media and Communication Skills

Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
Block
1
INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION
Course Introduction 3
Block Introduction 4
UNIT 1
The Concept of Communication 5
UNIT 2
Mass Media and Communication 16
UNIT 3
Characteristics of Different Mass Media 26
UNIT 4
Writing for Mass Media 42
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: MEDIA
AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
My dear Students,
We welcome you to this course on MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS.
Through this course we propose to introduce you to the various channels of mass
media such as the newspaper, magazine, radio, television and, last but not the least,
the internet. The internet today, with things like blogs, message boards, podcasts,
video sharing, etc., has given the ordinary man and woman more power than s/he
ever enjoyed in the past and, which until recent times, was availed only by the mass
media producers.
New technologies have transformed the world of media. They have shattered the
social boundaries of the world. People now live in close proximity because of the
new inventions in technology.
It is the media that creates the experience of global shared time by informing people
about all events taking place around the world. Mass communication allows people
to be in touch with people in far flung places across the globe. Newspapers, Radio,
TV, Internet, Mobile phones are used to connect people everywhere. These also
influence people to understand their social identities and their cultures in relation
to others around the globe.
According to the definition of Mass Communication provided by Wikipedia, “Mass

Communication is the study of how information is exchanged through Mass Media
by large segments of the population at the same time. It is concerned with how the
content of Mass Communication affects the behavior, attitude, opinion or emotions
of the people receiving the information.
Globalization is the tendency of businesses, technologies or philosophies to spread

throughout the world unhampered by time zones or national boundaries. It is the
process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence
or start operating on an international scale. The proliferation of the McDonald chain
of restaurants around the world is an example of globalization. The fact that they
adapt their menus to suit local tastes is an example of glocalization.
Proponents of globalization believe that globalization has the potential to create

greater opportunities for growth throughout the world by leveling the playing field.
Opponents believe that it would prove beneficial for the rich nations to take advantage
of the poorer ones and also by leading to a humanized world culture, we would lose
out on regional diversity. These are issues that need to be discussed and debated
and I leave it to your discretion to grapple with them and come up with your own
justifications.
For the purpose of this course it is enough that we talk about the tremendous
explosion that has taken place in the domain of technology and discuss how we can
make optimum use of it for the betterment of our planet.
With these words I welcome you again to this course and wish you all the best.
Introduction to Mass
Communication INTRODUCTION TO BLOCK 1
(INTRODUCTION TO MASS
COMMUNICATION)
This block proposes to survey the various mass media such as print (newspapers
and magazines), radio, television and the Internet. Here you would get a glimpse of
their history. This will help you appreciate them in their proper perspectives. You
would discover the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of each medium. This will
help you observe the various media in use more critically and thus learn from them
for your own use. Finally, we also offer a few suggestions or techniques for the
development of your script or media text.
The Unit- wise break up is as follows:

In Unit 1, entitled The Concept of Communication, we take up the functions,
elements and kinds of communication.
Unit 2, Mass Media and Communication, speaks about the various types of Mass
Media like journalism, broadcast and telecast media, films, internet, publishing
and mobile phones. We talk about the impact and dangers of these mass media.
Unit 3 is entitled Characteristics of Different Mass Media. As the name implies

this unit takes up the essential characteristics of the various mediums of Mass
Communication.
Unit 4 is entitled Writing for Mass Media and gives you a bird’s eye view of various
strategies and rules about how to write for the different mediums of Mass
Communication.
The idea of communication may be very simple but it leads to immensely interesting
and sophisticated ramifications. Read the units but give yourself time to ruminate.
Have you observed a cow chewing cud? Do likewise. Think over the matter you
read, examine it in the light of your own observations in the media and, if possible,
discuss it with a friend at the study center. Hope you will enjoy the process.
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The Concept of
UNIT I THE CONCEPT OF Communication
COMMUNICATION
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Communication and its Functions
1.2.1 Communication
1.2.2 Functions of Communication
1.3 Elements of Communication
1.3.1 The Message
1.3.2 The Communicator
1.3.3 Transmission Medium
1.3.4 The Receiver
1.3.5 Feedback
1.4 Kinds of Communication
1.4.1 Intrapersonal Communication
1.4.2 Interpersonal Communication
1.4.3 Group Communication
1.4.4 Mass Communication
1.5 The Seven C’s of Communication
1.5.1 Content
1.5.2 Context
1.5.3 Channels
1.5.4 Clarity
1.5.5 Composition
1.5.6 Contrast
1.5.7 Consistency
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Answers to Check Your Progress
1.0 OBJECTIVES
Through this Unit we aim to introduce you to the fundamentals of communication
and its processes. The study of the different aspects of communication will help
you to understand the dynamics of the communication process and the importance
of communication in our daily life. After studying this unit you should be able to:
• Define communication and its meaning
• Explain its importance
• Define the communication process
• Identify essential elements of communication and the role that each of these
elements plays in the communication process
• Discuss the seven C’s of communication.
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Communication 1.1 INTRODUCTION
As you know, communication is very essential for the survival of human beings and
it has a very important place in our life. In fact, it regulates and shapes all human
behaviors. Man’s need for communication is as strong and as basic as his need to
drink, eat, and sleep. Moreover, in a country like ours, communication plays a vital
role in creating people’s awareness about policies and programmes of development.
It helps in motivating them to be active partners in the nation-building endeavor.
Therefore, it is important to have a clear understanding of the concepts of
communication. What is communication? How does it work? Why is it important
to us? What are the elements in the communication process and how do they transmit
and set the communication process in motion? Last but not the least, what are the
different types of communication and what are the seven C’s of communication?
Keeping these questions in mind will not only help you to understand the meaning
and process of communication but will also help you to identify tools for effective
communication.
1.2 COMMUNICATION AND ITS FUNCTIONS

1.2.1 Communication
Communication is a process that allows an individual to exchange information in
several ways such as communicating one’s own perceptions, point of view or
experiences gained in the process of living. Communication requires that all parties
understand a common tone of voice and nonverbal physical actions, such as body
language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact or the use of writing.
Person-to-person or one- to -one communication is the exchange of information,
ideas, and feelings among people. Communication takes place when you transmit a
message from one person to another person or to a group of people. Communication
is the process of sending a message through different media, whether verbal or
nonverbal, so that a person transmits a thought provoking idea, gesture, action, etc.
Communication happens at many levels, in many different ways for most human
beings, as well as for certain machines. Most studies dedicate a portion of attention
for communication, so when you talk about communication it is very important to
be sure about what are the aspects of communication. Definitions of communication
range widely, some recognizing that animals can communicate with each other as
well as human beings, and some are narrower, including human beings within the
parameters of human interaction. Communication is, therefore, a process of sharing
or exchanging of ideas, information, knowledge, attitude or feeling among two or
more persons through certain signs and symbols.
Communication is the process of sending a message, through different media whether

it be verbal or nonverbal, so long as a person transmits a thought provoking idea,
gesture, action, etc.
For a society to exist, certain communication needs must be met. These needs have
existed since early times. Primitive tribes had sentinels who scanned the environment
and reported dangers. Councils of elders interpreted facts and made decisions. Tribal
meetings were used to transmit these decisions to the rest of the group. Other
members of the tribe may have been story-tellers and jesters who functioned to
entertain the group. As society became larger and more complex, these jobs were
taken over by the mass media and this change was an important one. Sometimes,
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dysfunctions were also performed by the mass media. Dysfunctions are the The Concept of
Communication
consequences that are undesirable from the point of view of the welfare of society.
1.2.2 Functions of Communication

The following are the basic functions of communication
Information
Information as a concept bears a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to
technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related
to imparting instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception,
and representation.
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people towards
the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not
always logical) means. It is the strategy of problem-solving relying on “appeals”
rather than strength. Manipulation is taking persuasion to an extreme, where one
person or group benefits at the cost of the other. Aristotle said that one of the most
important functions of communication is to persuade the other party. Why is it so?
Because persuasion helps in reaching decisions or consensus on public policy so
that it is possible to control and govern. But it is possible that one may resort to
persuasion with an ulterior motive. The receiver must be careful about the source
of such persuasion.
Debate and Discussion

Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive argument. Debate is a broader
form of argument since it includes persuasion which appeals to the emotional
responses of an audience which enable people to discuss and decide on differences,
within a framework defining how they will interact. Deliberative bodies such as
parliaments, legislative assemblies, and meetings of all sorts engage in debates.
The outcome of a debate may be decided by audience vote, by judges, or by some
combination of the two. Formal debates between candidates for elected office, such
as the leaders’ debates and the U.S. presidential election debates are common in
democracies. It is through debate and discussion in media that the public can clarify
different viewpoints on issues of public interest and arrive at a general agreement
on matters that concern all. It is important for them to find out the reasons for such
debates and discussions. Critical appraisal of debates and discussions benefit the
users.
Instruction
An instruction is a form of communicated information that is both command and
explanation for how an action, behavior, method, or task is to be begun, completed,
conducted, or executed. One of the major functions of communication is to instruct,
educate and socialize the members of the society. All these functions start early in
life, at home or in school and continue till one completes the full cycle of life.
Communication provides a fund of knowledge, expertise and skills that enable people
to operate as effective members of society. It also creates awareness, gives direction
and opportunity to people so that they actively participate in public life.
Entertainment
Entertainment is an activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience.
The audience may participate in the entertainment passively as in watching opera
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Introduction to Mass or a movie, or actively as in games. Human beings must be entertained to break the
Communication
monotony of routine and divert their attention from the troubles and tensions of
daily life. The diversion should not be taken as a negative element. Such diversion
has a positive role in our life: it revitalizes our personality and even educates us.
You must have watched some Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy movies. They
entertain and at the same time comment on life. We can learn a lot about life from
these comedies. Communication provides boundless entertainment to people through
pictures, films, music, drama, dance, art, literature, comedy, sports, games etc.
Cultural Promotion
Communication is a major source for cultural preservation and promotion. It helps
individuals to pursue and satisfy their creative urge. Communication provides
opportunity for culture to be preserved and promoted. It stimulates individuals to
pursue and fulfill their creative urges.
Integration
Communication is a great source for disseminating knowledge and information,
which further helps in social integration. Communication is a great integrating tool.
Through a fund of knowledge or information, individuals, groups or cultures come
to know one another, understand and appreciate each other’s ways of life and thereby
develop tolerance towards one another.
Check Your Progress 1

Note: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
i) What do you understand by communication?
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ii) List the various functions of communication.

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1.3 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is a dynamic process, ongoing and ever changing, which involves
five major elements. The five elements are: the message, the sender, the
transmission medium, the receiver and feedback.
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1.3.1 The Message The Concept of
Communication
A message in its most general meaning is the most fundamental object of
communication. It is something which provides information. Therefore, its meaning
is dependent upon the context in which it is used. The term may apply to both the
information and its form.
A message can be transferred through spoken and written mediums, such as radio
programmes, films, paintings, posters, photographs etc. However, a message is not
only transferred information, but also involves the emotions that give the words
meaning. Words alone do not establish the full meaning of the message. Non verbal
communications may give clues that the receiver can use to interpret verbal messages.
1.3.2 The Communicator

The Communicator is the source of communication, which begins the
communication process by transmitting information to the receiver. Encoding the
message, whether written or oral, is a process that requires four separate steps. The
first step is to formulate the message, putting thoughts into words. The second step
consists of passing the message through many psychological or internal
communication barriers. Psychological barriers stem from the sender’s existing
knowledge, beliefs, biases and feelings. The message, once filtered through these
psychological barriers, is encoded for transmission. The encoding process ranges
from simply stringing words together, to actually putting the message into some
form of code. Transmitting the message, whether in oral or written form, might
appear to be the last step in the sender’s process, but a good communicator
immediately becomes the receiver and prepares to accept feedback for verification
of the message delivery.
This is the process of transmitting the information you want to communicate into a
form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding
depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on
your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural
issues, mistaken assumptions and missing information). A key part of this is to
know your audience. Failure to understand whom you are communicating with,
will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood. For example, an illiterate
can not understand a written message but can comprehend it well if explained.
A good communicator needs good communication skills. But what is meant by

“communication skills”? The purpose of communication is to get the message across
to others clearly and unambiguously. Doing this involves effort from both the sender
of the message and the receiver. And it’s a process that can be fraught with error,
with messages often misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn’t detected, it
can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunity.
In fact, communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver
understand the same information as a result of the communication. By successfully
getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When
not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you send do not necessarily reflect your
own, causing a communication breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in
the way of your goals – both personal and professional.
1.3.3 Transmission Medium (Channel)

The transmission medium is the pathway by which the message flows. It is the
vehicle that carries the message from the sender to the receiver and back.
9
Introduction to Mass Messages are conveyed through various channels, such as verbal, written or
Communication
electronic. Verbal would include face- to -face meetings, telephone conversations
and videoconferencing. Written, include letters, emails, memos and reports. Different
channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it’s not particularly
effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you’ll quickly cause problems
if you criticize someone strongly by email.
1.3.4 The Receiver

Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for
example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listening actively to it).
Hence it is the interpretation of the message by the receiver. Just as confusion can
arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. This is
particularly the case if the decoder does not have enough knowledge to understand
the message.
The receiver is the element in the communication process that interprets the meaning
of the message. Only when the receiver has understood the message, can true
communication take place. The receiver also goes through an internal set of processes
related to incoming messages. Upon obtaining the message, the receiver decodes it
through assimilation and interpretation. The receiving process is made up of the
following steps: receive, decode, filter, and interpret. Receiving takes place when
the receiver first perceives the message, either by sight or hearing. During this
process, the receiver filters the information through his/her own psychological
barriers such as existing knowledge, attitude, beliefs, biases and perceptions. These
barriers affect how well the message is understood, accepted and decoded. To decode
a message effectively, the sender and receiver must be communicating in the same
language. Language, in this sense, is not limited to formal language types (i.e.,
English, Spanish, etc.), but also includes the influences of technical knowledge,
field of experience and critical items called Operational definitions. The words in
the message must mean the same thing to the receiver and sender or there will be
miscommunication. Also there are other interruptions that can creep in at any point
of the communication process and make it ineffective. Environment is one major
cause that interferes with message receptions: like noises from the roadside, constant
chattering of individuals outside the communication act, blaring loudspeaker, faulty
transmission, etc. Noise can occur in other forms also, poor handwriting, heavy
accent or soft speech, communication in a poorly lit room etc. In fact, these are
barriers to effective communication. For smooth and effective communication, it is
necessary to eliminate or reduce noise as far as possible.
1.3.5 Feedback
Perhaps the greatest cause of ineffective communication is failure of the sender to
request feedback from the receiver. Feedback is the element of communication
which confirms that the message has been received and understood. It completes
the sender’s process by verifying that the meaning has not changed. In most written
forms of communication, some reply is required. It may range from specific action
to a simple receipt. Oral communication via electronic means usually requires only
a verbal repeat of the message followed by “roger”, “understand”, or “aye-aye”. In
face-to-face oral communications, feedback can be more complex. One way to get
feedback from face-to-face communication is to solicit questions from your receiver,
or each person to whom your message applies.
10
The Concept of
Check Your Progress 2 Communication
i) What steps does a communicator follow to transmit information?
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ii) What steps are involved in the receiving of a message?

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1.4 KINDS OF COMMUNICATION

1.4.1 Intrapersonal Communication
Every time an individual does something or speaks, he hears it first within himself.
Therefore, intrapersonal communication is language used or thought which is internal
to the communicator. Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement
of the individual in the symbolic processing of messages. The individual becomes
his or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to himself or herself in an
ongoing internal process.
Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or

more individuals, issues concerning the useful nature of communicating with oneself
and problems concerning communication with non-sentient entities such as
computers have made some argue that this definition is too narrow.
1.4.2 Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is defined by communication scholars in numerous
ways, though most definitions, involve participants who are interdependent on one
another or have a shared history. Communication channels are the medium chosen
to convey the message from sender to receiver. Communication channels can
be categorized into two main categories: Direct and Indirect channels of
communication.
11
Introduction to Mass Another way of defining interpersonal communication is to compare it to different
Communication
forms of communication. In doing so, you would examine how many people are
involved, how physically close they are to one another, how many sensory channels
are used and the feedback provided. Interpersonal communication differs from other
forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interactants
are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used
and the feedback is immediate. An important point to note about the contextual
definition is that it does not take into account the relationship between the
interactants.
1.4.3 Group Communication

Group Communication examines the most effective ways of communicating and
interacting within social and work groups as it provides an opportunity for direct
interaction among the members of the group which helps in bringing about changes
in attitude and beliefs, and offers a clear understanding. Group communication
occurs among three or more persons. The degree of interaction and intimation
depends on the size of the group. The larger the group the lesser the personal intimacy
and lesser is the possibility of exchange.
Communication is an important cornerstone of all groups and often the variable,

which determines their success or failure. Effective communication builds trust
and mutual respect and facilitates learning. Although communication is frequently
thought of in terms of written or oral dialogue, actions are also important forms of
communication and indicate commitment to stated agreements. Three general
categories have been identified as critical to successful group communication:
Commitment - Members’ integrity and leadership qualities
Communication- discussion, listening and facilitation
Organization - setting ground rules for communication, decision—making
1.4.4 Mass Communication

Mass communication is the term used to describe the various means by which
individuals and entities relay information to large segments of the population all at
once through mass media. It is usually understood to relate to newspaper and
magazine publishing, radio, television and film, as they are used both for
disseminating news and for advertising.
The term ‘mass’ denotes great volume, range or extent (of people or production)
and reception of messages. It 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, with the advancement
in Media Technology, people are no longer receiving gratification without
questioning the grounds on which it is based. Instead, people are engaging themselves
more with media products such as computers, cell phones and internet. These have
gradually become vital tools for communication in a society today.
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The Concept of
Check Your Progress 3 Communication
1) Write two impacts of each of the following type of communication:
Intrapersonal : a) .....................................................................................
b) .....................................................................................
Interpersonal : a) .....................................................................................
b) .....................................................................................
Group : a) .....................................................................................
b) .....................................................................................
Mass : a) .....................................................................................
b) .....................................................................................
1.5 THE SEVEN C’S OF COMMUNICATION

So far we have discussed the functions, elements and kinds of communication.
Now we shall be discussing the most important part of communication, which is
designing communication – the most complex but most interesting part of the subject.
Designing communication is a complex process. It begins at a high level, with good
questions and good listening, and ends in constructing a presentation, document,
system or user’s experience.
Here are the seven C’s, in order:
1.5.1 Content
This is the best possible measure of communication effectiveness. What do you
want your audience to walk away with and remember? Once you have defined your
prime question, set out to answer it. What information is required? Do you have the
answer already, or do you need to search it out? The content determines the audience.
Hence, the message must have the meaning for the receiver and it must be compatible
with his/her value system.
1.5.2 Context
The context must be clear and should not contradict the message. It must provide
for participation and play back what’s going on. Do you understand the situation?
Is there a dead elephant in the middle of the room that you are not aware of? Ask
good questions. You’ll need a clear goal before you begin to design any
communication.
1.5.3 Channels
Only the established channels of communication should be used — channels that
the receiver uses and respects—creating new ones is difficult. Different
channels have different effects and serve effectively in different stages of the diffusion
process.
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Communication
1.5.4 Clarity
This is one of the hardest parts of the process and most often neglected. People’s
attention will quickly drift — they expect you to get to the point. Learn to edit. The
message must be put in simple terms. Words must mean the same thing to the
receiver as they do to the sender. Complex issues must be compressed into theme
slogans that have simplicity and clarity. The farther a message has to travel, the
simpler it should be.
1.5.5 Composition
Now it’s time to design the way you will tell your story. Think in terms of both
written and visual composition. When writing, who are your main characters? How
will you set up the scene? What are the goals and conflicts that will develop? How
will the story reach a resolution? In visual terms, where will the reader begin? How
will you lead the eye around the page? In all your compositional thinking, how will
you engage your audience? How will you keep them engaged? Writing down, forces
you to think it through. Communication must break down into basic “building blocks”
of content. Formulate the information into clusters and groups. What patterns
emerge? How can you make the information more modular? Given your goal, what
is the most fundamental unit of information? You can use index cards to break
down information into modules.
1.5.6 Contrast
What are the differences that matter? Use contrast to highlight them: Big vs. little;
rough vs. smooth; black vs. white. When making any point, ask, “in comparison
with what?” Contrast is a trigger to the brain that says “pay attention!”
1.5.7 Consistency
Unless you are highlighting differences, keep things like color, fonts, spacing and
type sizes consistent to avoid distracting people. Research shows that any extraneous
information will detract from people’s ability to assimilate and learn. Communication
is an unending process. It requires repetition to achieve penetration. The story must
be consistent.
1.6 LET US SUM UP

We have spoken about the concept of communication, the way it works and the
various elements of the communication process. Now we have very clearly
understood the meaning, the functions and various kinds of communication in which
human beings are engaged. We can now very easily understand the impact of mass
media, i.e. electronic media, television channels, films and print media for mass
communication. Let’s sum up every thing in brief.
Communication is a process that allows an individual to exchange information by

several ways. Effective communication requires more than just transmitting a
message. The message must be clear, accurate and above all, understood by the
receiver.
Communication is a dynamic process, ongoing and ever changing, which involves

five major elements. The five elements are the message, the sender, the transmission
medium, the receiver and feedback.
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Designing communication is a complex process. It begins at a high level, with good The Concept of
Communication
questions and good listening; and ends in constructing a presentation, document,
system or user experience.
Communication requires at least three elements. The source may be an individual

speaking, or gesturing, etc., or a communication organization like the newspaper,
movie, etc. The message is something which can be interpreted meaningfully by
somebody else. The destination may be a person who is listening, or reading, or
watching, or it may be a group of people who are listening to a lecture, or watching
a movie.
1.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

i) Communication is a process of sending a message, through different media. It
is a process that allows an individual to exchange information in several ways.
ii) To inform, persuade, debate/discuss, instruct, entertain, promote culture and
integration.
i) A communicator is the source of communication. S/He formulates the message
after passing it through psychological or internal communication barriers,
encodes it and finally transmits it.
ii) The receiving process consists of four steps: receive, decode, filter and interpret.
Intrapersonal : a) clarity of thoughts
b) streamlining of thoughts
Interpersonal : a) exchange of information between two people
b) flow of information; immediate feedback.
Group : a) flow of information to a group of people
b) interaction with greater number of people
Mass : a) use of technology
b) dissemination of information on a large scale.
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Communication UNIT 2 MASS MEDIA AND
COMMUNICATION
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Types of Mass Media
2.2.1 Journalism
2.2.2 Broadcasting and Telecasting
2.2.3 Internet
2.2.4 Publishing
2.2.5 Mobile
2.3 Impact and Dangers of Mass Media
2.4 Impact of Journalism
2.5 Impact of Radio and Television
2.6 Impact of Films
2.7 Impact of Internet
2.8 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Through this Unit our aim is to introduce you to the various mediums of mass
communication and discuss their impact on our lives. We shall take up all these
Medias in details.
We have touched briefly on the concept of mass communication in the earlier Unit
of this Block. After going through this Unit, you would have a fair idea of the
impact of mass media in the Indian context. By the end of this Unit you will be able
to:
• Outline the development of journalism in India from a mission to an industry
and explain its present impact on people
• Describe the reach of radio and its impact on the masses
• Explain the role of films as a mirror of social realities and its effects on society
• Describe the role of TV among the Indian elite and masses and
• Describe the new technologies like the internet and identify its relevance to
the Indian media scene
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Reaching out to thousands and millions of people is accomplished through a mass
media like television or newspapers. Mass communication can be defined as the
process of using mass media to send messages to large audiences for the purpose of
informing, entertaining or persuading. In many respects the process of mass
communication and other communication are same. Some one conceives a message,
16 essentially an intrapersonal act. The message then is encoded into a common code,
such as language .Then it is transmitted. Another person receives the message, Mass Media and
Communication
decodes it and internalizes it. In other respects mass communication is distinctive.
Crafting an effective message for thousands of people of diverse backgrounds and
interest requires different skills than chatting with a friend across the table. Encoding
the message is more complex because a device is always used, for example a camera
or recorder.
We shall first take up the print media because that happens to be the original type of
mass media in India. We shall then give an account of radio, film and TV as media
of mass communication in India, their spread, reach, people’s access to these media
and their impact on the society. New technologies made their entry during 1970s
and 1980s. They are video, cable and satellite TV. We shall discuss the effect these
new channels of mass communication have on the people.
2.2 TYPES OF MASS MEDIA

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned
and designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state.
It was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-
circulation newspapers and magazines, although mass media was present centuries
before the term became common. Mass communication media makes it possible to
deliver messages to millions of people at roughly the same time. The authors of
these messages are usually organizations and the audiences are composed of
individuals.
Mass media can be used for various purposes. For instance, it can help both for
business and social concerns. This can include advertising, marketing, propaganda,
public relations and political communication. It can also be used for enrichment,
education and entertainment, through performances of acting, music and sports, as
well as for public service announcements
The concept of mass media is complicated in some internet media as now individuals
have a means of potential exposure on a scale comparable to what was previously
restricted to select group of mass media producers. These internet media can include
television, personal web pages, podcasts and blogs. The communication audience
has been viewed by some commentators as forming a mass society with special
characteristics, notably atomization or lack of social connections, which render it
especially susceptible to the influence of modern mass-media techniques such as
advertising and propaganda. The term “MSM” or “mainstream media” has been
widely used in the blogosphere in discussion of the mass media and media bias.
2.2.1 Journalism
Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying and presenting
information regarding current events, trends, issues and people. Those who practice
journalism are known as journalists.
The development and widespread use of printed text in Europe in the 1500s produced
a brand new form of communication. For the first time, a single message could be
duplicated with little error and distributed to thousands of people. First used to
propagate religious texts and arguments, this “mass” approach to communication
quickly caught on and was soon being used to distribute news, entertainment and
government regulations.
17
Introduction to Mass News-oriented journalism is sometimes described as the “first rough draft of history”
Communication
(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 proof read 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.
2.2.2 Broadcasting and Telecasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals (programs) to a number
of recipients (“listeners” or “viewers”) that belong to a large group. This group may
be the public in general, or a relatively large audience within the public. Thus, an
Internet channel may distribute text or music world-wide, while a public address
system in (for example) a workplace may broadcast very limited ad hoc sound bites
to a small population within its range.
Television and radio programs are distributed through radio broadcasting over
frequency bands that are highly regulated by the Communications Commission.
Such a regulation includes determination of the width of the bands, range, licensing,
types of receivers and transmitters used and acceptable content.
Cable programs are often broadcast simultaneously with radio and television
programs, but have a more limited audience. By coding signals and having decoding
equipment in homes, cable also enables subscription-based channels and pay-per-
view services.
A broadcasting organization may broadcast several programs at the same time,

through several channels (frequencies), for example BBC One and Two. On the
other hand, two or more organizations may share a channel and each use it during a
fixed part of the day. 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,
with one of the main proponents being Adam Curry and his associates’ the Podshow.
2.2.3 Internet
The Internet (also known simply as “the Net” or “the Web”) can be briefly understood
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 electronic mail, 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 a collection of interconnected computer networks,
linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections etc. The Web is a
collection of interconnected documents, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World
Wide Web is accessible via the Internet, along with many other services including
e-mail, file sharing and others.
18
2.2.4 Publishing Mass Media and
Communication
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, and 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.
2.2.5 Mobile
Mobile phones were introduced in Japan in 1997 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.The mobile media
content includes over 8 billion dollars worth of mobile music (ringing tones, ring
back tones, true tones, MP3 files, karaoke, music videos, music streaming services,
etc); over 5 billion dollars worth 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 a far wider
reach. Like email on the internet, the top application on mobile is also a personal
messaging service, and 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. With the inclusion
of various aps like Whatsapp or Wechat the mobile is perhaps the most popular
medium of mass communication.

i) For what purpose can mass media be used?
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Communication ii) List the various types of mass media.
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2.3 IMPACT AND DANGERS OF MASS MEDIA

While new media technology is sweeping across India, many questions about the
precise impact of mass media remain unanswered. We know that the various mass
media have an impact, but the answers to questions such as what impact they have,
why they have impact and how all that happens, remain elusive. Behavioral scientists
are examining the effects of mass media. We know that we can predict certain
outcomes in certain situations. But the variables are numerous. Two social scientists,
Bernard Beralson and Morris Janowitz, once summarized knowledge about the
effect of mass media thus in Readers in Public Opinion and Communication:
“The effects of communication are many and diverse. They may be short- range or
long run. They may be manifest or latent. They may be strong or weak. They may
derive from any number of aspects of the communication content. They may be
considered as psychological or political or economic or sociological. They may
operate upon opinions, values, information levels, skills, taste, or over behaviour.”
The growth of mass communication has made it possible for us to get far more
information today than any time before. Information is indispensable in a complex,
advanced society. We are an information-hungry society; we need an ever-increasing
amount of facts in order to maintain and enhance our standard of living. We have
often been told that information is power. The question is, what do we have to do to
ensure that the information we receive from the mass media will serve our needs,
not the purpose of someone else?
We shall now discuss the situation of mass media in India and describe the possible
impact of each one of these media- print journalism, radio, film, TV, video, cable
and satellite TV. India, towards the end of the 20th century, still largely remained an
oral society. We spent more time communicating interpersonally rather than through
the channels of mass communication. The situation in the West was different. There,
an average person daily spends at least six hours “consuming” mass media products,
mainly TV, radio, film and newspapers.
However, the situation has changed drastically now. The developments on the mass
media scene in India which we have described above are having an intense impact
on the society. The behaviour, thinking, and expectations of people everywhere
have been altered and will be molded even more extensively as the full influence of
the information flood is felt. It is claimed that this proliferation of information and
the swiftness of its distribution would certainly improve the human condition.
However, along with the positive values it fosters, the communication explosion
has created areas of danger that must be recognized and controlled.
20
Among them are these five major concerns: Mass Media and
Communication
Manipulation: Perversion of truth by electronic trickery is a major concern today
.Clever users of electronic devices can alter the meaning of recorded visual and
audio material, making it appear to be what it really isn’t.
Privacy: There have been innumerable complaints about the invasion of privacy.
The whole question of co-relating the right to privacy with public interest has become
a big problem for policy planners and social scientists alike.
Security: Violation of security, both governmental and institutional is another major

concern. Protection of secret government information, private financial transactions,
and institutional records in computer systems has become a matter of concern.
Democratic Process: It is axiomatic that democracy functions best when voters

are widely informed on all problems and issues. However, given the power to select
the information they desire with the aid of new technologies, will citizens be exposing
themselves to a sufficiently broad range of knowledge? By choosing to see and
hear only what interests them most— for example, sports, stock market quotations,
and entertainment— will they be able to vote intelligently? This power of selectivity
might actually serve, under some circumstances, as a limiting factor (rather than as
a broadening one) in the education of the citizenry.
Isolation: While the communication revolution has the power to draw the global
community closer together, simultaneously, it also isolates individuals and small
groups, Instead of mingling with crowds at movie theaters, couples and families
stay home to watch television and video on their TV screens. Both adults and children
sit for hours, aware only of what appears on the small screen. Often they seem
visually drugged, almost bewitched. A growing number of workers do their jobs at
home, linked to their offices by personal computer. This isolation from comrades,
this loss of the group dynamics, has forced some intense media users to seek
psychiatric help. The negative influence of such aloneness of a large number of
people has still not become a big problem in our country, but we are definitely
heading there. This can be seen across cities where groups of people are sitting
together, yet are busy with their laptops or mobile phones rather than interacting
with each other.
Obviously, society has a long way to go in comprehending and controlling the

communication explosion. A little awed by these feats of electronic wizardry and
new marvels just coming into use, we the people of India, are still struggling to
harness the media potentialities to improve the human condition. More than ever
before, responsible citizens need to learn how the mass Communication system
works and how to deal intelligently with the deluge of information it delivers.
2.4 IMPACT OF JOURNALISM

Newspapers in India have undergone revolutionary changes, both in form and content
since the eighties. Today, there are hundreds of dailies and magazines crying for
attention. Splashes of colour and slick typography based on computer technology
are making them brighter and visually more appealing. To keep up with TV,
contemporary journalism has increasingly become more pictorial. While still clinging
to the traditional news coverage formula with its emphasis on politics, they have
also started discussing social economic and environmental issues. This has resulted
in a drastic jump in circulations and revenues.
21
Introduction to Mass Newspaper readers, though numerically small in India, largely constitute the
Communication
intelligentsia. The influence of the press is decidedly far wider than reflected by
mere circulation statistics. It has a “multiplier effect”; its message spreads far and
wide, even into the villages.
The impact of the press can be judged only in the perspectives of current
developments and pace of change in the country. Despite its predominantly urban
and middle class moorings, the press has done a reasonably good job in highlighting
the issues of poverty, corruption and unemployment, and has given the ruling class
a sense of guilt. The power of the press is also seen to be mainly responsible for the
major political developments in India. The capacity of the Indian press to generate
a healthy debate on public issues has been only partially realized. But with increasing
literacy, it holds infinite possibilities in the future.
Barring a few instances of blatantly biased reporting, the Indian press has, by and
large, shown a high degree of social responsibility.. However, we must add that
with increasing competition, the press is increasingly being used as the battleground
for political and corporate warfare. This has inevitably led to an invasion of privacy,
smearing of reputations and even practicing of deception.
2.5 IMPACT OF RADIO AND TELEVISION

Radio programmes are received by over three crore receiving sets in India. Radio
serves as an effective medium not only to inform and educate people, but also to
provide healthy entertainment. AIR’s home-service programmes are transmitted in
19 languages and 146 dialects and Vividh Bharati Programmes of 13 hours a day
through 185 transmitters. There are external services broadcasts in 17 foreign
languages and 8 Indian languages. The external service is designed to give India’s
viewpoint on important issues to listeners abroad, and project the cultural heritage
of the country, its art, literature, music and socioeconomic developments.
Television is one of the greatest inventions of man. It has an edge over other forms
of mass media like radio and newspapers. It is multi-media system predominated
by the visual medium. There is an urgent need for mass education and it has been
accepted that communication media are needed for accelerating social change, for
creating awareness and for inculcating scientific temper among the masses. TV has
the power to instill desired attitudes (necessary for national development) among
the masses. It has greater influence than any other medium on the perception,
emotions and the outlook of the masses.
An experimental television service was introduced in India with the inauguration

of Delhi Kendra, with a UNESCO grant, on September 15, 1959. Entertainment
and information programmes were introduced from August 1965. A number of other
television centres (Bombay, Srinagar, Jalandhar, Calcutta, Madras and Lucknow)
came into existence, from 1972 onwards in quick succession.
TV can transport the viewers to the actual scene of action to see things as they
happen. But many have also come to hold TV responsible for inciting violence
corrupting the young and creating a make belief world of illusion to keep us away
from the realities of life. But if TV can distract and distort, it can also instruct and
inspire. As an instant medium, TV is ideal for news presentation. TV news gives
the audience a sense of excitement and involvement that cannot be matched by any
other medium.
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Mass Media and
2.6 IMPACT OF FILMS Communication
In India, with its cultural and linguistic diversities and the problems of illiteracy,
films are the most powerful medium of mass communication. With its universal
language, films can, to a considerable extent, cut across cultural and linguistic
barriers.
Films carry not only information but they can even create a yearning for change and
modernization. By dexterously employing the mechanical tricks of photography
and camera angles, by exploiting the ingenious use of close-ups, by building up of
suspense and illusion, and by weaving human elements and story in appropriate
sequences, films can create social awareness and even arouse strong emotions.
Films can inform, inspire and express feelings and emotions most dramatically
with lasting impact.
A film calls for creative collaboration between the filmmaker and other performing
and visual artists. Films fired the imagination of people by the closing years of the
nineteenth century. By the twenties, films came to be recognised as an art from, a
distinct mode of creative expression. They also earned universal acclaim as a versatile
means of communication. Films came to be produced on all subjects of human
interest and include, feature films, documentaries and newsreels.
The Indian film industry remains a paradox in many ways; India has entered the
21st century with the largest number of illiterates in the world. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to have proper communication among these illiterate people. Films in
many ways meet this need. Because the only meaningful access to audio-visual
entertainment for the poor people is films, which are extremely popular among the
masses. And the Indian film industry continues to be the world’s largest producer of
films, releasing on an average 750 films every year in 16 languages.
Indian films followed the Hollywood model right from the start with heavy emphasis
on entertainment. But individual filmmakers broke away from the mainstream, and
made socially purposeful films, even in the thirties.
2.7 IMPACT OF INTERNET

The Internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age, just as the electrical
engine was the vector of technological transformation of the Industrial Age. This
global network of computer networks, largely based nowadays on platforms of
wireless communication, provides ubiquitous capacity of multimodal, interactive
communication in chosen time, transcending space. The Internet is not really a new
technology: its ancestor, the Arpanet, was first deployed in 1969. But it was in the
1990s when it was privatized and released from the control of the U.S. Department
of Commerce that it diffused around the world.
The internet is so popular nowadays that almost everyone uses it. It is accessible by
almost any person who tries to connect to one of its central, main networks. Moreover,
it can be accessed by users of any age and condition. But what are the positive and
negative aspects of the internet? The Internet has some great positive effects. For
instance, Internet search engines are the best information retrieval systems available.
They bring any kind of information for internet users, from local restaurants to
international news. The Internet also provides some of the most effective means of
communication among people, including online emailing and instant messaging.
23
Introduction to Mass Thanks to the internet, people can take action and avoid adverse circumstances.
Communication
For instance, hurricane, storms and accidents can be tracked through the internet.
The internet has allowed the interchange of ideas and materials among scientists,
university professors, and students, in addition to providing servers, resource centers
and online tools for their research and scholarly activities. Moreover, millions of
books, journals and other material are available through the internet because of the
digitization of public domain material from libraries. This action enables people to
learn all sorts of new things.
However, the internet can also have certain negative effects. For instance illegal or
inappropriate materials can be found on the internet. One can also illegally download
music or other copyrighted material for free. This action has had a negative impact
on the music industry and has led to several lawsuits. The addiction to online social
networks can disturb a person’s way of living and professional activity. Some
criminals use the internet for spreading computer viruses or even intercepting credit
card or bank details for wrong purposes.
You will be reading more about the internet and all the new technologies available
to us these days in Block 4 of this course.

i) List two positive and two negative influences that TV programmes may
have on children.
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ii) List some negative impacts of the internet.

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2.8 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, you have been exposed to the major mass media channels available in
India, their evolution, growth and use in the Indian context. We also discussed
some of the effects these mass media have on their audiences. Because they form a
primary channel through which the various units of society communicate, the mass
media illuminate and interpret the constantly changing social relationships. Some
critics contend that the media, or at least some of the national electronic and print-
24
media, try to mould society to their own design by seeking to influence the attitudes, Mass Media and
Communication
habits, and political beliefs of those who make the society. Other observers see the
media role as more passive, reflecting rather than promoting change.
To conclude we can say that the bulk of the print, electronic, and film media does
not consciously try to shape society, although a small minority of them vigorously
and openly pleads causes dear to them. The media as a whole are concerned with
reporting and interpreting society’s conduct (information and education angles); by
presenting material that pleases audiences and earns profit (entertainment angle);
and with marketing goods and services through advertising to make a profit for
themselves (commercial angle).

i) Advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations, enrichment education,
entertainment and public service announcements among many others.
ii) Journalism; Radio and TV; Internet: Publishing and mobiles
i) Positive: 1) Children may see places that they may not get a chance to see.
2) TV programmes educate children.
Negative:1) May lessen their capacity to imagine
2) Excessive violence shown on TV can dehumanize children.
ii) There are many negative impacts. Children can access sites which may not be
suitable for them. etc
25
Communication UNIT 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT
MASS MEDIA
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Print Media: Genesis and Characteristics
3.3 New Trends in Print Media
3.3.1 Commercialization
3.3.2 New Printing Technologies
3.3.3 Need for Content Revolution
3.3.4 Professional Suffocation
3.4 Electronic Media
3.5 Characteristics of Radio
3.6 Television: Genesis and Characteristics
3.6.1 Characteristics of Television
3.7 Characteristics of Film
3.8 Internet or Cyber Media
3.8.1 Blogs (Web Logs)
3.8.2 World Wide Web
3.9 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 OBJECTIVES
Through this Unit our aim is to tell you in details about the genesis and major
characteristics of the four major media of Mass communication i.e. print, radio, TV
Films. We also aim to very briefly touch upon internet or cyber media. This will be
taken up in greater detail in Block 4 of this course.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
• describe the current status of the print media in India
• become more sensitive as a listener of radio, as a viewer of TV, and of film in
a cinema theatre
• describe the unique process of communication of radio, TV and film and
• identify the unique psychology of reception of the audiences of radio, TV and
film.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
You would recall that among the various functions of mass media, the four primary
ones are (1) to inform (2) to entertain (3) to educate, and (4) to promote culture,
goods and ideas. These functions overlap at times. Each medium tends to emphasize
one of these more than the others. The print media tends to emphasize information
whereas the focus of broadcast and film media is on entertainment. Advertising is
the most blatant form of persuasion, but much of the persuasion in mass media is
26
concealed and some is passed off as news. Finally, the media preserve culture by Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
furnishing a record of events and by noting changes in the social structure.
3.2 PRINT MEDIA: GENESIS AND

CHARACTERISTICS
Today, the print media comprise newspapers, magazines, trade journals, textbooks,
posters, leaflets, direct mail literature, and printed material and graphics of various
types shown on the slide and small screens. In addition, a variety of mass circulated
commercial items now roll out of printing presses. These include wrappers, calendars,
packaging labels, postcards, street banners, postal stamps, currency notes, cheque
books, stationery pads as also works of great art. Much of educational and cultural
system, information and promotion departments and government publishing depend
on print today.
The principal technological advances which have accounted for this growth in the
domain of the print media are computerization and automation in typesetting, image
manipulation of word processing, multi-colour scanning, processing and offset
printing. Some other sophisticated printing technologies have followed in quick
succession.
By 1989, India had become one of the ten largest publishers of newspapers and the
third biggest producer of books in English. In terms of numbers, our country produced
27,054 newspapers of, which 2,538 were dailies, 144 tri/bi-weeklies, 8,353 weeklies
and 16,019 other periodicals which included fortnightlies, monthlies, etc.
Today, newspapers are published from all the States and union Territories. Uttar
Pradesh claims the top position with 3,711 newspapers, followed by Delhi (3,565),
Maharashtra (3,137) and West Bengal (2,684). Others in descending order are
Rajasthan (1,735), Tamil Nadu (1,551), Madhya Pradesh (1,534), Andhra Pradesh
(1,399), Karnataka (1,381), Kerala (1,291) and Bihar (1,190).
True to the linguistic diversity of our country, newspapers are brought out in 93
languages and dialects, including some foreign languages. Among the 16 principal
languages. Hindi claims the largest number (20,589), followed by English (7,596),
Bengali (2,741), Urdu (2,906), Marathi (2,943), Tamil (2,119), Gujarati (2,215),
Kannada (1,816), Telugu (1289), and Malayalam (1,505).
The English newspapers enjoyed hegemony in the British period but after the
declaration of Hindi as the national language after independence, the ascendancy
of English was lost. The Hindi newspapers surpassed both in terms of number and
circulation. The other language newspapers also recorded significant progress. The
phenomenon is called a silent revolution in Indian journalism.
One of the chief characteristics of print media is that they offer extensive news
coverage and in-depth treatment of themes. They provide a larger variety of coverage,
through different kinds of writings, than any other media in India. There are plenty
of backgrounders, field based interviews, spot inquiries and feedback interviews,
and incisive comments. Besides special articles, syndicated reports, and features,
there are special sections for sports and business. Then there are review columns
for books, films, media, and art. For those seeking light reading material, there is a
great variety of humour, fun, comics, and satire. The main weakness of the print
media is that they can be read only by the literates and their number is still small in
our country. Secondly, 93 percent of the newspapers are concentrated in urban areas.
27
Introduction to Mass Thirdly, the increasing rise in the price of newspapers and magazines is preventing
Communication
a large number of our people from purchasing them.
The electronic media, especially TV, are dominating in the United States and other
Western countries by providing instantaneous news and entertainment. In India,
however, the print media still enjoys greater credibility and social respectability
than any other media. The reasons are obvious.
The print media have an added advantage and convenience in using them. People
can read newspapers and magazines wherever and whenever it is convenient for
them “ at home, in transit, in office or back at home in the evening. That is not
possible in the case of electronic media, for they are time scheduled. If one fails to
see a programme on TV at a given time, one misses it forever unless the programme
is recorded. The old issues of printed media can be easily preserved in the libraries.
The actual number of repeated readers of the magazines and periodicals is more for
they change hands at the magazine parlours as also among the subscribers. In our
country, interestingly, even the old issues of newspapers and magazines are saleable
at a discounted price.
3.3 NEW TRENDS IN PRINT MEDIA

After Independence, certain innovations in the printing technology and other socio-
economic developments have had a significant effect on the role and functions of
the print media. The two notable developments are a shift towards commercialization
and introduction of new printing technologies.
3.3.1 Commercialization
The national newspapers, during the British period, functioned primarily with a
missionary zeal and acted as the voice of the freedom fighters and stimulated the
movement through advocacy journalism. They underwent a significant change after
Independence. Having successfully helped the nation to win freedom, the missionary
zeal of the newspapers evaporated. Journalism in India, like elsewhere, had already
become a publishing industry. The cost of production and distribution was increasing
fast in India; so were the wages of journalists and others engaged in newspaper
production. The competition too was growing. Although the two Press Commissions
stressed “public utility service” as the main attribute of a good press, they did not
completely sidetrack the financial aspect because without financial viability freedom
is not possible. The theory of de-linking of the press from business houses engaged
in other industries, was not accepted by the newspaper magnates.
3.3.2 New Printing Technologies

The induction of modern printing technologies has brought about a new climate of
working in the print media organizations. It, of course varies from unit to unit,
depending upon the nature of technology employed. In big organisations, reporters
now type their copy straight on the computer linked with video terminals (that is,
the electronic type-setting machines) and not on the mechanical typewriters. The
copy, after corrections, is stored in a small computer from where it can be retrieved
by the desk for final selection and electronic editing. The next stage is to prepare
the layout, page by page, again by the video process. The final copies of pages are
sent to the bigger computer which transmits them to the especially sensitive plates
for printing.
28
The copies of newspapers, you read at home, are now elegantly printed, bearing Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
creative typographical and layout designs. In fact printing today has become a graphic
art. Whether you are browsing through The Times of India, Saptahik Hindustan,
India Today, Swagar or Nai Duniya it is a pleasing exercise to the eyes.
The newspapers at the stalls today are nearly as tantalizing as the glittering magazines.
There are elegantly produced morning papers accompanied by colourful supplements
on fixed days, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. The seductive tabloids called
the ‘eveningers’, both in English and Indian languages, have flooded the metropolitan
towns. The lure of their catchy titles and big size pictures, along with the ever-
present sparkling magazines, has so far enabled the print media to hold well in
competition with the electronic media.
3.3.3 Need for Content Revolution

However, merely good looks cannot be a substitute for professionalism and high
quality, reader-oriented journalism. The content analysis of newspapers and
magazines has revealed a lack of uniform professional excellence in the press. Most
of the newspapers concentrate on political issues and negative news (like disasters).
High class specialized or feature journalism, investigative and research-based depth
or development reporting, and incisive analysis of current national and international
news are lacking. The same few high profile commentators dominate in all the
newspapers and magazines.
3.3.4 Professional Suffocation

The trend towards commercialization became even more pronounced as the newer
printing technologies were increasingly adopted by big and medium sized
newspapers. These technologies were capital intensive and pushed the press further
in the grip of commercialism. The computer controlled photo composition, multi-
coloured offset and typographical designs made old drab newspapers look attractive.
This bestowed power on the investor and his managerial staff. As a result, contract
journalism is gaining ground and the instances of deviant editors being fired are
becoming more common. This trend of the editors being “cut to size” and diminishing
value being attached to objective and truthful reporting because of political and
commercial pressures has been considered a retrogressive development by leading
media observers. The changing relationship at the top managerial and editorial
levels has adversely affected the morale of the journalists at the lower levels within
the media organizations. Many have complained at media seminars of professional
suffocation.

i) Do you agree with the statement that there is a need to revolutionize the
content of newspapers? Give reasons for your answer.
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Communication ii) Give reasons for newspapers suffering from professional suffociation.
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3.4 ELECTRONIC MEDIA

We described the characteristics of the print media, the oldest among the four major
mass media. Now we shall concentrate on the characteristics of radio, television
and film. Television has become the most pervasive medium in most countries
today. But, radio and film were born much before TV came on the scene. We shall,
in this unit, briefly look at their origin and analyse their distinguishing characteristics.
Till the close of the 19th century, the stage provided a form for mass contact. The
stage was (and is) a live medium, with live performers, with speakers and actors
confronting live audiences. There was an instant feedback in the case of stage
communication because of the continuous interaction between the performers and
their audiences. But the size of audience was small, at best, a few thousand people.
In 1896 came films, in which the performance was caught by camera and preserved
on celluloid. It could be shown again and again, without any variation (which is not
possible in the stage medium), to different audiences. So, films could reach vast
masses. Till 1927, it was the era of the silent film. In 1927, sound was added to the
film and we got talking films or talkies. In India, the first talkie was released in
1931.
The 1920s witnessed the coming of radio broadcasting in many countries, including
India. Just as lack of ears was a limitation and a challenge for the silent film, lack of
eyes was a limitation and a challenge for the radio. But both film and radio converted
the challenge into an opportunity. That was accomplished through creative
imagination of talented men.
In the 1930s, the television made its bow in the west. Its true development took
place after the Second World War. In India, the new glamour medium came in
1959. Today, TV pervades the life of people in most nations. It has become a very
powerful medium of information, education and entertainment. Like films and the
radio, TV has its unique process of communication and psychology of reception.
All the three media (like the stage medium) have their relevance and utility.
Radio and TV are called electronic media because they are electronically operated.
Today, they are the supreme media of mass communication, leaving the other media
far behind. No other medium can reach hundreds of thousands of people with such
speed as the broadcast media of radio and TV can.
3.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIO

Unlike the live medium of the stage, where there are live performers and live
audience, radio is a sightless or a viewless medium. In radio, the performer does
30
not see his audience and the listeners cannot see the performer, the talker, the actor, Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
etc. That is why radio is sometimes called the blind medium. Since, it is a blind or
sightless medium, the performer has to creatively imagine his listeners. The listeners
too have to imagine the performance creatively. But the performer must spark off
the imagination of the listeners with expressive performance or communication. To
understand a radio communication or broadcast, you imagine two complete strangers
talking on the phone. Here are some important characteristics of radio
a) A Medium of Sound
It is an exclusive medium of sound. It is an aural or auditory medium, a medium
of the ear. There are three elements of a radio broadcast. They are the spoken
word, music and sound effects. They are all sounds carried on the air waves to
the listener. To be acceptable, all these sounds must be pleasant and expressive
for the ears of the listener. They must be artistically integrated or mixed to
provoke the imagination of the listener.
b) A Medium of Voice
Radio is a medium of the voice. The performer can use only his voice in a
broadcast. The producer mixes his voice with music and sound effects. But it
does not mean that a broadcaster, say, an actor, has only to learn a few tricks of
the voice. An actor, using only vocal tricks, would soon start sounding fake or
untruthful to the listener. A radio listener has a highly developed ear or sound
sense. It has been correctly said that an actor or any other performer must
broadcast with his mind. An actor, for radio, must express all the emotions
through his voice alone — the torture of the soul, the pleasure, the laughter
and so on. He is not wearing any costume or make-up; there is no scenery or
properties. Neither he nor his co-actors are seen by the listener. So he must
imaginatively give cues or intimations only through his voice. This he will be
able to do only if he mentally gets under the skin of his character and dialogues
or speeches.
c) An Intimate Medium
Radio is an intimate medium. The broadcaster must imagine that the listeners
are sitting by his side, shoulder to shoulder. To the listeners, it sounds as if the
broadcaster is speaking from within the sound box, the radio set or the transistor
as if the broadcaster and the listeners are made for each other, as if the
broadcaster is broadcasting for each listener individually.
Because the radio is an intimate medium, the best subjects for radio broadcasts
are those which intimately concern the listeners like the personal, the private
and family problems, family relations; the working of the soul, the innermost
feelings and intimate subjects are especially relevant to good radio drama. An
intimate style or acting is especially relevant to the radio. Words, which are
supreme or sovereign for the radio, too, must evoke intimate images on the
stage of the imagination of the listener. Silence or absence of words on the
radio is fatal. It is like an empty stage. Like the words, the manner of expressing
or articulating the words must also be intimate.
So, the rule of the oil industry applies here: if you cannot drill in the first two
minutes, stop boring. So, the text of the broadcast, a talk, a discussion, a
documentary, a feature, a document-feature, a document-drama, etc. must get
into the subject informally, intimately and interestingly right at the start.
31
Introduction to Mass d) A Mobile Medium
Communication
Radio is a mobile medium. You can have it at home, take it to a picnic resort,
listen to it while driving, and have it on land or in the sea, in public or in
private. So, it is a most convenient medium for anybody. It can accompany
you and entertain you anywhere.
It does not respect unities of time, place and action as prescribed by Aristotle,
more than two thousand years ago, for dramatic communication. Stage drama
may, even now, respect these unities because of the obvious limitations of the
stage medium. But radio drama, which is drama of the mind, may hop from
any period or place to any other period or place.
e) A Cheap and Quick Medium

Radio is a much cheaper and quicker medium than television for production
of programmes. For example, it requires a performer and a producer who may
also be a recorder and an effects man. As against this, a TV production (tele-
production) would require a costumes man, a make-up man, two or three
cameras and cameramen, a scene designer, a carpenter, several lights and light
men, several monitoring sets, engineers, a producer, performer, etc.

i) List some characteristics of radio.
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ii) What do you mean by radiogenic?

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iii) Explain why radio is called a blind medium.

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Characteristics of Different
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3.6 TELEVISION: GENESIS AND

CHARACTERSTICS
The invention of television “essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon”was the
result of a combination of earlier technological developments in the fields of radio-
broad casting, motion pictures, photography and the electronic camera. A Scottish
engineer, John Baird, is generally credited with the invention of television, in an
improvised laboratory in his lodgings in Hastings (England). In 1924 he succeeded
in transmitting the form of pictures from one place to another. In April 1927, the
American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) gave a public demonstration
in which a speech by the US secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, was broadcast
from Washington and watched in New York by an invited audience. The event
made front-page headlines in the next day’s newspapers.
The BBC, on 2 November 1936, initiated the first regular television service in the
world. In May 1937, the BBC televised the Coronation. A couple of month’s later
television cameras went to Wimbledon for the first time. The World War II resulted
in six years interruption and TV broadcasting was resumed only in 1946. The United
States launched the World’s first regular colour broadcasts in 1953. By 1955, the
“Eurovision networks” were established linking the West European nations.
The General Conference of UNESCO, which was hosted by India in New Delhi in
1956, made a provision of $20,000 to setup a pilot project to study the use of TV as
a medium of education, rural uplift and community development. Television was
introduced in India in 1959.
Development of television broadcasting proceeded at a very slow pace in the first

twenty years of its existence in the country. But right from the very beginning
Doordarshan’s role as an agent of education and social change was clearly
recognized. In 1961, Doordarshan was used as a support to middle and higher
secondary school education. Its experiments in teaching of science, mathematics
and language were proved most successful and received appreciation from many
UNESCO experts. It was only in April, 1965 that a general service was started. It
was for one hour a day on four days of the week. On 15 August 1965 the service was
made daily. It was then, under the guidance of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who at
that time was also Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
‘Krishi Darshan’ for rural viewers was inaugurated on January 26, 1967, by the
then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. It was telecast on Wednesdays and Fridays
for 20 minutes each day, and served 80 villages around Delhi provided with
community sets. This pilot project was initiated by the Department of Atomic Energy,
in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, All India Radio,
the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and the Delhi Administration. From July
33
Introduction to Mass 15, 1970 the duration was increased to 30 minutes, and the programme was also
Communication
broadcast on Mondays.
The seventies saw a major expansion of television. Doordarshan Kendra Bombay

was commissioned in October 1972 and Doordarshan Kendra Srinagar in January
1973. Subsequently Doordarshan Kendras were set up at Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow,
Amritsar and Jalandhar.
Cable Television: With the sudden and spectacular growth of satellite and cable
television network since 1991, the most dramatic revolution on the TV screen got
underway, when India ended decades of isolation from the rest of the world. Cable
Television promised multiple channels and multiple choices for the viewer. Its
introduction had profound effects on the broadcasting situation. Liberalization of
airwaves has resulted in a proliferation of satellite channels in India.
3.6.1 Characteristics of Television

Television is an audio-visual medium. We have seen that radio is a medium of
sound only. TV has both sound and sight. But TV should not be taken as radio with
sight. Radio and TV are different media with different grammar, different vocabulary,
different mechanics and dynamics. TV and radio are uniquely different from each
other all along the line. Their broadcast right from conception down to reception is
different. A “radio-broadcast” is uniquely radio-phonic or radiogenic. And, a TV
broadcast is uniquely telegenic.
a) An Audio-Visual Medium
TV is an audio-visual but predominantly visual, proportionately much more
visual than audio. A TV broadcast is conceived and produced and received in
audio-visual terms. A TV broadcast directly affects two senses simultaneously,
those of hearing and seeing. It is more effective than the radio broadcast. Radio
is a uni-sense medium, affecting only one sense,i.e. hearing. TV broadcasts
can have greater effect or influence on the receiver of the broadcast, called the
viewer. The potential of TV to have greater effect or impact is because,
according to psychologists, the eye absorbs much more than the ear in the
same time. The eyes also retain the seen image much longer than the ears can.
b) Wide Reach and High Credibility

TV is a supreme medium of mass communication. With the support of the
satellite technology today, it can reach all the corners of the globe. The TV
camera, today, goes on to planes; it goes under the earth and into the sea and
throws light on the dark areas of knowledge about our world, the universe, and
the total environment. It has brought about an information revolution and has
turned our society into an information society. Because of its reach, TV has
widened the mental horizons of man. It has become the supreme educator of
man. It has the potential of humanizing knowledge. TV is a credible and a
believable medium. Seeing is believing. Things that few people might believe
otherwise become believable when shown on the TV screen. They become
effectively truer than those that one reads about in the print medium or listens
to on the radio or learns through hearsay or word of mouth. Just recall the tele-
pictures of the upheaval in Russia after the collapse of communism, or the
visuals of the uprising in Tiananmen Square in China or those of the Iraq war,
or, the havoc caused by the earthquake in Maharashtra
34
c) A Glamour Medium Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
TV is a glamour medium. You can watch glittering personalities and events,
international conferences, sports meets and festivals, fashion shows and
banquets, travel shows and interviews with world leaders, bold and beautiful
personalities as well as rich and famous people. The great convenience of
watching all this, sitting at home, adds to its glamour. Because of its glamour,
TV has also been called the magic box. All sorts of people all sorts of times,
almost magically, seem to be appearing on the screen from within the box. It
has also been called a toy, a toy with which adults get fascinated, like the
child’s toy which fascinates the child. Incidentally, some critics have also called
it an idiot box. Very few can resist the glamour and magic of T.V. It has a habit
of attracting people to the point of addiction. Tele-addiction, in fact, has become
the greatest addiction of our times, for most people.
d) A Medium of the Close-up

TV is the medium of the close-up. Its stage is its screen, which is small. Because
of the small screen, it is not an ideal medium for spectacles or huge pageants.
It is ideal for close-up of human faces, for long shots of scenery. It is an ideal
medium for expressing reaction and interaction between people in a tele-drama,
for presenting an interview and a discussion, etc. That is why you would find
the camera catching the reaction or expression of the man who is talking at a
particular moment. If something has happened or somebody has said something,
the camera would show the reaction of several people, one by one, in close-up.
According to artistic necessity, the camera would take full close-up or half or
quarter close-up of a character or a man
e) A Living Room Medium

TV is a medium of and for the family. It is a medium of entertainment and
information at home. TV brings theatre and the cinema auditorium to the living
room. Stage drama has become a drawing room theatre. Film drama too has
become a drawing room cinema auditorium. Fewer people now go to witness
stage performances. Also, fewer people go to the cinema theatre for a movie.
The film or the theatre comes to you in your drawing room under home
conditions. Just think of street theatre in the context of stage drama. Instead of
the people going to the theatre, the street drama takes the theatre to the people.
Since TV is watched by the young and the old members of the family sitting
together, the tele-subjects have to be in tune with the culture of the particular
society. In our country, the subjects must be treated with restraint. They must
respect our cultural heritage. They should not be very explosive or provocative.
Since young girls and boys are sharing the viewing with their elders, parents,
grand-parents and parents-in-law, the essence and ethos of our cultural taste
cannot be over looked.
f) A Democratizing Medium
It is a democratizing medium. It is available to all people. Since it is a medium
of mass communication, it has to deal with the problems of all sections of the
society and democratize information and informal education, reaching out to
one and all to democratize literature by discussing it in broadcasts or by
telecasting its dramatic version. Even those who have not read literature or are
illiterate or semi-literate come to know of it. Since TV, a mass medium, has to
cater to all sections of the society, it is not uniformly very artistic. Highly
artistic things might go over the heads of the common viewer. As against TV,
35
Introduction to Mass the stage can afford to be highly artistic because the audience is selective.
Communication
Only those people go to the theatres that are ready to pay for the show. Theatres
like Broadway have select audiences who are ready to pay for artistic
productions as against commercial productions which can not choose their
viewers. And TV does not charge ticket money for entry into shows. So, most
TV programmes are for the common people.
g) A Medium of Immediacy
TV is a medium of immediacy. It captures the events even as they are happening
much before the newspaper comes out with information on events next morning.
Yesterday’s news is no news on TV. It will make TV look outdated. TV is a
super reporter. In audio-visual terms, it reports the events “here and now”.
Remember how the CNN or BBC report minute-by-minute Presidential election
results or the Olympics or even wars and insurgencies.
h) Advertiser’s Influence
TV is the great salesman of modern times. The businessman sells his products
through TV. This medium is much more effective for him to reach out to a vast
number of potential and actual customers than the newspaper hoardings. TV
advertisements or programmes sponsored by business persons can reach tens
of millions of people. No newspaper can ever dream of reaching out to such
large numbers.

i) List some characteristics of TV
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ii) Why is TV called a medium of mass communication?

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iii) Why is TV (as well as radio) called an electronic media?

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Characteristics of Different
iv) When did TV come to India? Mass Media
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3.7 CHARACTERISTICS OF FILM

Film or cinema is a highly mechanical medium. It uses so many mechanical devices
like cameras, microphones, dubbing machine, editing or cutting machine, several
lenses for cameras, projectors, mixers, sound tracks, trolleys to mount the cameras,
celluloid, laboratory equipment, etc. Film is a product of interaction between
machines and artistic and technical people. Artistic people are the actors, the
directors, costumers and make-up artists.
Film is a continuous strip of exposed celluloid. Celluloid is composed of several

reels. Reels have several shots. Shots have several frames. Frames have only images
which are static and do not move. So, film is only a sequence of static images,
recorded by the camera. These images move and come to life through projectors,
running one after the other at the end of each reel. Actually there is no real movement
of images when the projectors project them on the cinema screen. It is only an
illusion of movement of images. We have in our eyes the faculty which is called
persistence of vision. Persistence of vision has the ability of the retina of our eye to
retain the image due to the stimulus of light. So, film strips contain only static,
frozen movement and action. Fast projections of images on the screen give an illusion
of movement and action to the eye which has persistence of vision.
A motion picture is not shot as a continuous whole. It is photographed in bits and

pieces. Final scenes may be shot first and the opening scenes later. Intervening or
middle scenes may be recorded in a jumbled sequence. This shooting process is
understood completely by the director alone. Later, he may create any effect by
joining scenes in a certain sequence, through what is called the editing or “cutting”
process.
a) A Mass Medium
Film is a medium of mass communication. Millions of cine-goers watch the
movie in a country. The same movie may be seen by a very large number of
people in several countries (like Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi). Although
in a cinema hall only a few hundred people can watch a film at one time, it can
be shown in many cities, towns and villages at the same time. Any number of
copies can be made of the film for screening. Today, a film can also be
transferred from the celluloid to the CD. The CD can be played at home through
the CD player or DVD. The cable operators can transmit the film on to the TV
sets of a large number of their customers at the same time. So, a film can reach
out to a very large number of people.
b) Mechanically Reproducible
Film is a mechanically reproducible medium. So it can be preserved. It can be
seen again and again. It can be useful for research on a relevant subject. It is 37
Introduction to Mass very useful as a mirror of society of the time when the film was made. It
Communication
describes the political social, economic and cultural scene of a country. It
describes the customs, fashions and attitudes of people at a particular time. It
also throws light on the style of acting, music, dance, and direction, etc. of the
times.
Films can be watched and understood even by illiterate people. They may not
have the fortune to go to books for information to enrich their personalities.
But they can understand and entertain themselves with films.
c) A Collaborative Medium
Film is a collaborative medium. So many people collaborate to make the film
and to send it out to the people. The producer, director, writer, actor, art director,
music director, dance director, fight director, light-man, costume-man, make-
up man, scene designer, sound man, cameraman, clapper boy etc. work together
to make a film. After a film has been made, the financer, the distributor, the
exhibitor, and others work together, to make it available to the common people.
No other medium depends so much on so many people.
The director, with his artistic and technical skill, can make a good film out of
a bad script. A bad director, similarly, can kill a good script. A good director
can, by using several devices like different camera angles, editing, re-recording,
reprocessing in the laboratory, make an average performance look great on
the screen. In the cinema, camera is very important, next only to the director.
But it is the director who ultimately gives orders to the camera too.
d) An Art Medium
Film, today, has become an art medium. It was during the last couple of decades
that cinema has come to be considered as an art form. In the beginning it was
considered a medium only of cheap entertainment, even of escaping from the
harsh realties of life into the world of fantasy and dream for two to three
hours. In our times, intellectuals and serious thinkers have associated
themselves with cinema. Today, cinema is considered the seventh art like the
earlier arts of painting, sculpture, architecture, drama, poetry and music. In
fact the famous film maker Satyajit Ray made a passionate plea to introduce
cinema as an art discipline at the universities. It should be studied by serious
scholars and developed further. It should not be treated as a sub-culture and
only as an entertainment medium. That is how it was treated in the earlier
years in India and elsewhere.
e) A Medium for Development

Film is an effective medium for development. Development, in the broad sense,
means the growth of the individual and the growth of society in all aspects.
These include political, economic, social and cultural aspects. Films can
promote national and emotional integration. They can bring about a creative
understanding between different regions and their people. They can be a
medium for educating the people against superstitions and for promoting
scientific ideas, can contribute to modernizing the traditional society by helping
to change the attitudes of people. For example, a change in attitudes relating
to work, sex, religion, customs, communities, beliefs, etc. can be brought about
through films.
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f) A Medium that Demands People’s Concentration Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
The conditions under which a film is screened and is received by the cinegoers
in a cinema house, demand concentration of different sections of society, sitting
together in the same hall and constituting the audience. All these people tend
to be unified, so to speak. Everybody’s motive is the same, to watch the film.
The images, the words, the music, the sound effects are skillfully integrated.
For the audience, the integrated whole or the film becomes a total experience.
This demands great concentration from the audience. Sitting in the dark silence
of the hall, the audience is mysteriously affected by how the story and scenes
are presented. In a very indirect way, the director communicates his or the
camera’s point of view.

i) Why is film a director’s medium?
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3.8 INTERNET OR CYBER MEDIA

The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer
networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol
(IP). It is a “network of networks” that consists of millions of smaller domestic,
academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various
information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the
interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW).
3.8.1 Blogs (Web Logs)

Blogging has become a huge form of media made popular through the internet. A
Blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of
commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. Many blogs provide
commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online
diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages,
and other media related to its topic. 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 (art blog), photographs (photo blog), sketch
blog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider
network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists
of blogs with very short posts.
39
Communication
3.8.2 The World Wide Web
Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (or just the Web)
interchangeably, but, the two terms are not synonymous. The World Wide Web is a
huge set of interlinked documents, images and other resources, linked by hyperlinks
and URLs. These hyperlinks and URLs allow the web servers and other machines
that store originals, and cached copies, of these resources to deliver them as required
using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). HTTP is only one of the communication
protocols used on the Internet. Web services also use HTTP to allow software systems
to communicate in order to share and exchange business logic and data.
Through keyword-driven Internet research using search engines like Yahoo! and
Google, millions of people worldwide have easy, instant access to a vast and diverse
amount of online information. Compared to encyclopedias and traditional libraries,
the World Wide Web has enabled a sudden and extreme decentralization of
information and data.
Using the Web is also easier than ever before for individuals and organisations to
publish ideas and information to an extremely large audience. Anyone can find
ways to publish a web page or build a website for very little initial cost. Publishing
and maintaining large, professional websites full of attractive, diverse and up-to-
date information is still a difficult and expensive proposition, however.
Advertising on popular web pages can be lucrative, and e-commerce or the sale of
products and services directly via the Web continues to grow.
3.9 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit we have told your about the genesis of the various mediums of mass
communication. These are the print media, radio, television and films. We also
gave you the main characteristics of each of these media. We have also briefly
spoken about the cyber media or internet.

i) Yes there is, since a uniform professional excellence is missing. Also we need
more high class feature journalism and investigative reporting as well as incisive
analysis of current news.
ii) Political and commercial pressures lead to this suffocation.

i) Radio is a medium of sound and voice. It is an intimate and mobile medium as
well as a cost effective and fast medium.
ii) Radiogenic is a script written for the ears only.
iii) In radio the performer does not see his audience and the listener cannot see
the performer/talker/actor.
iv) They are the spoken word, music and sound effects (SFX).
i) TV is an audio-visual medium with a wide reach and high credibility. It’s a
40 glamorous and democratizing medium-among various other features.
ii) Because it can reach all the corners of the globe and has turned our world into Characteristics of Different
Mass Media
a global village. It has brought about an information revaluation and turned
our society into an information based society.
iii) Because both TV as well as radio are electronically operated.
iv) In 1959
i) Because the Director hides himself behind the actors and speaks through them.
The actors do what the director says. Also the Director, with his artistic skills,
can make or mar a good script.
41
Communication UNIT 4 WRITING FOR MASS MEDIA
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Writing for Print
4.2.1 The Inverted Pyramid
4.2.2 The Lead Paragraph
4.2.3 Developing the Story
4.3 Writing for Broadcast
4.4 Writing for Television
4.5 Writing for the Web
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim through this Unit is to familiarize you with the basic rules for writing for
the various media. Our aim will also be to show you how writing for one particular
medium differs from writing for another media. After reading this unit, you should
be able to:
• discuss how drafting news for radio differs from drafting news for a newspaper,
• distinguish between the news in the print media (newspapers) and television
news, and
• discuss the techniques of television news reporting as well as know the rules
for writing for the web.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter attempts to introduce you to the concept of “style” and what it means
to those who work in the mass media. Conforming to the rules and conventions of
the medium in which you are working is the mark of a true professional. Strict
adherence to the details of style shows that you care about what you write. Writing
for the mass media differs from other forms of writing in several aspects:
Subject matter: Writers for the mass media must take on a wide variety of subjects,
including news stories, feature stories, advertisements, letters, editorials and so on.
Purpose: Writing for the mass media has three major purposes: to inform, to entertain
and to persuade.
Audience: Mass media writing is often directed to a wide audience and this fact
dictates not only the subject matter but the way in which something is written.
Circumstances of writing: Writing for the mass media often takes place in the
presence of others who are doing the same thing. The writing is frequently done
under the pressures of deadlines and many times several people will have a hand in
writing and editing a particular item for the mass media.
42
Writing for Mass Media
4.2 WRITING FOR PRINT
Writers for the mass media always work at two tasks: gathering information and
putting that information into an acceptable form. Having the proper information –
all the relevant facts of a story, the proper identification for the people involved, the
time and the dates, accurate direct quotations, etc. – is vital to the writing process,
but it is only the beginning. There comes a time when the information gathering
must cease and the writing must begin.
The ability to write well requires that the writer has a thorough knowledge and
understanding of the subject about which he or she is writing. In addition, the writer
must understand the basic structure of the news story and the conventions or customs
of news writing in order to complete the process.
Many forms of writing – or writing structures – populate the print media, but the
most common are the news story and the feature story. These forms are found in
newspapers, magazines, newsletters and many other publications. Mastering these
two forms will give the person beginning to write for the mass media, a good
foundation on which to build on, while learning to write in other forms and for
other media.
4.2.1 The Inverted Pyramid

Once a writer has gathered the information necessary to begin a story, he or she
must decide on the structure of the story. The goal of a proper structure is to get
information to the reader quickly and to allow the reader to move through the story
easily. The reader must be able to see the relationships between the various pieces
of information that the reporter has gathered.
The most common structure for writing news stories is called the inverted pyramid.
The daily newspaper contains many stories. Most of the stories must be written so
that readers can get more information in less time. The inverted pyramid structure
concentrates on the most interesting and important information at the top of the
story so that readers can get the information they need or want and then go on to
another story if they choose. Headlines and leads should be written to describe
what the story contains as succinctly and as interestingly as possible.
4.2.2 The Lead Paragraph

The most important part of the news story is the first or lead (pronounced ‘leed’)
paragraph. The lead should give the reader the most important information in the
story. It should be written in such a way that the reader will be interested in going
further into the story.
A good news story, unlike the novel or play, is based on one main idea. That is why
it is so important to decide on a focus and stick to it. A well-focused article tells
your reader that you worked from a plan. It gives the reader a sense of completeness,
a sense that you know what you are doing.In deciding on this focus, you are also
working on your lead. By asking yourself about the main theme for your story, you
are deciding how to begin, for often the two—a statement of theme and a lead—are
one and the same.To help you decide on this theme, sometimes it helps to try the
“tell-a-friend” technique. Imagine your friend asking, “What’s your story about?”
Answer that question in one sentence that captures the essence of the entire story.
Now try to refine your answer so it can do two things: it should capture the essence
of your story and do so in a way that encourages the reader to continue. It is your
promise to the reader of what is to come. It is your lead. 43
Communication
4.2.3 Developing the Story
The inverted pyramid requires that writers make judgments not only about what
should be at the beginning of the story but also about the relative importance of all
the information they present in the story. In other words, writers must not only
decide what the most important information is for the lead, but they must also
decide what the second and third most important pieces of information are.
Developing the story in a logical and coherent way requires much skill and practice.
If the lead paragraph is the most important part of the news story, the second
paragraph is the second most important part of the story. In some ways, it is almost
as important as the lead but for different reasons. A lead paragraph cannot contain
all of the information in a news story. If it is written well, it will inform the reader
but it will also raise certain questions in the reader’s mind about the story. The real
strength of your story will come from the details that back up the promise of the
lead. This is the background material, the examples and quotes, the things you have
observed, the explanations and definitions and the sense of history. These parts
lend meaning and significance to the event or person you are writing about.
4.3 WRITING FOR BROADCAST

Broadcasting is the world’s most pervasive medium of mass communication.. A
wide variety of radio stations are available to anyone with a receiver since the early
days of the medium. Underdeveloped areas that cannot get access to even a small
newspaper will usually have a transistor radio to link it with the rest of the world.
Satellite broadcasting has drawn the world closer together by ensuring that we have
instant, live coverage of major news events from almost anywhere in the world.
Most of the news values discussed apply to news selection for broadcasting.
Broadcast journalists are interested in those events that have an impact on many
people — people in the news, current issues, events that happen close to home and
conflicts or unusual happenings. Because of the opportunities and limitations of
their medium, however, broadcasters are likely to view such events in somewhat
different ways than their counterparts in print journalism. The following are some
of the factors that broadcasters use to select news.
Timeliness: Because of the nature of their medium, broadcasters often consider

timeliness the most important news value. Broadcasters work on hourly or less
than hourly cycles. A news broadcaster may go on the air several times a day. The
news must be up-to-the-minute. News that is more than an hour or two old may be
too late for the broadcaster. When you listen to a news report on a breaking news
story, you expect to hear the very latest news-— what happened just a few minutes
before.
Information not explanation: Broadcasters look for stories that do not need a lot
of explanation in order for listeners or viewers to understand them. They prefer
stories that are simple and can be told in a straightforward manner. In some larger
markets, radio reporters are being told to reduce their story lengths to ten seconds
and actualities to five seconds. That amount of time is not enough to explain a
complex story in detail. It is enough time to give the listener a few pertinent facts.
Of course, some stories are complex and important and explanation cannot be
avoided. These are the ones the broadcaster must wrestle with and it takes practice
and talent to condense these stories to their essence.
44
Language of Radio Writing for Mass Media
The news on the radio moves fast without the facility of recall which is possible, in
the case of newspapers. Therefore, whatever is written must be clear, precise and to
the point. Sentences should be short and direct without sub clauses. Brevity is
essential as a minute of broadcast time can take about 100 words, thus giving an
editor the choice of about 1000 to 1100 words (in a 10-minute news bulletin) to
cover world, national and regional news. There is a great constraint of space in
radio, hence broadcast news must be big and important and should be put in crisp
and easily understood language. Ceremonial items or didactic speeches distract the
attention of the listener who can always switch off or change over to some other
programme.
There should be no need for a dictionary while listening to a radio bulletin. It should
be in words which are common in everyday speech. For example, “The work has
started” and not “the work has commenced”. “The play has ended” and not
“terminated”. We should acquaint ourselves with the elements of quality radio scripts.
Their success rests entirely on the right combination of words and sounds in the
narration/commentary. The shorter your sentences and crisper your narration, the
greater will be the commentary’s impact. While padding has to be avoided at all
costs, repetition of the main points is permitted and may even be necessary. This
you can do towards the end of the programme in the form of a summary. This is to
ensure that all the points that you want your listeners to remember are, in fact,
briefly expressed again.
Enliven the Script/Commentary

The wider your vocabulary, the more visual are your images. And this, in turn,
helps you to vary your form and have a firm hold over the listeners/audience. The
radio is an audio medium. The secret of the ideal broadcast is the unexpressed will
to woo listeners to stay tuned for the entire programme by simply providing the
right fare. A good radio feature or running commentary is one that strives to describe
the subject or phenomenon cogently and comprehensively. A radio feature or
commentary is written in words that create appropriate atmosphere and concrete
pictures in the listener’s mind. It is by improving the script and presenting it creatively
that a radio feature writer and commentator make even the most complex subject
appear simple. It is in their hands to make ‘hearing’ a gainful and lasting pleasure.
They have only to wield their power correctly to their audience.
Be Completely Natural
You read aloud your narration/script/commentary as you write, if it is not off- the-
cuff broadcast, e.g., running commentary. If it sounds natural, as if you were talking,
you are on the right line. If on the other hand, it sounds like formal written language,
you will immediately know you are off-the-track. Get your friends and well-wishers
to help you with their reactions. This tried and tested method will provide an immense
help to you in improving your performance. The broadcaster’s language is indeed
easy to understand because only the simplest possible terms are used. It is important
to remember that the language be intelligible to the majority of the listeners. You
must know that one picturesque phrase will do more to arouse the listener’s interest
than a bunch of literary and idiomatic expressions.
Keep Clichés Out

This applies to hackneyed phrases as much as to journalistic ones. The microphone
only reinforces their staleness. It is radio journalism at its worst. You should be
yourself and not what you would like the listeners to think you are. While the listener 45
Introduction to Mass is seldom deceived, you may flounder and reveal your true colours sooner rather
Communication
than later. Give your listeners the best of listening by being your natural ebullient
self. The art of writing a production script for the radio very often lies in the art of
knowing what not to say. It is said in the BBC TV circles that a commentator is paid
as much to comment as to keep quiet
Keep on Looking for the Needs of the Market

It is well to remember that broadcasting is essentially a family affair. Good taste is
what matters and should be the main criterion. The writer’s script should be simple
and conjure visual rather than oral images in the listeners mind. Remember: short
sentences and short words are always more effective than long-winded and pedantic
phrases.
Do not Talk down to the Audience

In any programme where the spoken word dominates, as in a running commentary
one must take precautions against any slip of the tongue that would offend a listener.
Be professional when you have to explain some matter. Do not sound like a teacher
talking down to the students. Do not patronize the listeners. At least, for having
taken the trouble to listen to you, the listeners ought to be treated with courtesy. The
listener is a friend. Would you not treat a friend in a natural and respectful manner?
So, address the listeners too on equal terms. Be friendly without being familiar. Do
not take the listeners for granted. Do not shout or preach. Speak impressively,
confidently and with dignity.

i) What are some rules to be followed while writing scripts for radio
broadcast?
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4.4 WRITING FOR TELEVISION

We do not watch news on TV just to get the latest news. Radio does a better job. We
do not prefer television because we want to get all the news: local, national and
international. The newspaper does a better job. We as television viewers, benefit
from TV newscasts because they transport us to the scene of action. The news is
packaged and delivered to us. For this, a reporter must be able to relate words and
pictures in a news story. Words fill in the factual details that pictures omit. While
the pictures are indeed important, it is the narration behind the film, in most instances,
that is responsible for the success of visual news stories on television. Poorly written
narration can hurt the effectiveness of visuals but appropriate narration can greatly
improve even poorly shot visuals. Writing to background graphics is the same as
writing a story to visuals as described above. The trick is to avoid redundancy or
46 repeating what the graphics show.
There are three basic rules which must be followed by the TV reporter writing to Writing for Mass Media
visuals:
a) Do not cram your video narration full with details.
b) Relate words to the pictures when telling the story. The narration and pictures
must go hand in hand.
c) Carry the viewer into the story by describing the way it happened. Although
the narrator may begin with a brief opening summary (without pictures) telling
the viewer the main points of the story, when the film rolls on, the story should
be told as it happened not necessarily in chronological order.
In short, writing narration to blend with the visuals is one of the most difficult skills
in broadcast reporting. The language must be crisp, the timing exact and the words
have to click with what appears on the screen.
To be able to comprehensively cover the news, television news reporters generally

employ the following techniques.
a) Piece to Camera
Of all the skills needed for television news reporting, the piece to camera is
amongst the most frequently used. The piece to camera, which is essentially
in-vision, is recorded on location. It has three advantages: it immediately
establishes the reporter’s presence on the spot, it is extremely simple to execute
and it is fast enough to be considered a kind of contingency sample. These
stand-ups are written on the scene, without the benefit of typewriters or the
other conveniences of the newsroom. Since the reporter looks straight into the
camera, the lines have to be memorized. Sometimes, the reporters read from a
note-book or a clip-board after ensuring the opening paragraph. Most stand-
ups are short – 10 to 20 seconds. On some occasions they run longer, especially
in complex stories that require a lot of explaining, but do not offer many visuals.
A stand-up can also be used in the middle of a story to “bridge” two other
sections of the report. Bridges work especially well when the report
demonstrates something.
b) Studio Spots
While the piece to camera is an in-vision news presentation by the reporter
recorded on location, the studio spot is a news item read in the studio by
someone other than the programme’s main presenter, as additional information
to the visuals. Usually, it is a special correspondent or a reporter who is called
upon to draw together the elements of a news story with or without the aid of
videotape or illustration.
Because television news is a team effort involving many persons, the chances
of human error are great in a studio set-up, particularly as an ‘on-air’ situation.
There are some simple rules that the on-camera studio reporter/ correspondent
should follow. These are
i) Maintain self-control. Expect problems and be prepared to cope with
them;
ii) Always prepare file copy. If film or video tape fails to come up, have the
file copy close at hand, to carry on the show;
iii) Be familiar with studio cue-signals.
47
Communication Check Your Progress 2
i) How is television more effective than other media of Mass
Communication?
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4.5 WRITING FOR THE WEB

In the last few years, the Internet and its publishing spin-off, the World Wide Web,
has grown from a fledgling concept to a medium that offers enormous potential for
people and organizations to connect with one another. New possibilities are arising
every day for communication through the web and with those possibilities come
employment opportunities for those who can use the language and master production
techniques.
Is there something different about writing for the web or is it just writing as we have
always done it, but now for an electronic form? Unlike any other medium, the web
is so egalitarian that the rules or conventions of writing have not yet been established
or institutionalized. Consequently, we can make only a few observations about the
directions in which the web and its content seem to be heading. Writing for the web
does not demand much more than writing for any other medium demands. Some of
the rules to be followed could possibly be:
Sensitivity to the needs and expectations of the audience; Mastery by the writer of
the subject about which he or she is writing; the ability to meet deadlines, and
clarity of expression, and precision and efficiency in the use of the language
All of these demands are common to any form of writing, whether for a book,
newspaper or broadcast, and the web is no exception. Much of the writing that you
find on the Internet looks and reads exactly like the writing that you would find in
other media. In fact, many organizations use the web to display reports and other
materials that have originally appeared in some traditional form.
Still, there is a type of writing on the web that is almost peculiarly its own. That
type of writing has its base in a concept called hypertext. Prose writing is linear,
that is, you begin at the beginning and read through to the end. That’s the way the
writer intended to write and most readers follow that pattern. Hypertext is non-
linear. The text is broken into bits and structured so that a reader can begin at any
number of points and decide which sequence suits his or her purpose. Writing for a
hypertext structure has profound implications for a writer.
Web Writing Skills

The medium demands that information and ideas be broken into smaller blocks.
48 These blocks should be related to the whole but they also need to stand by themselves
within the context of the entire article or website. They are generally hierarchical Writing for Mass Media
that is, they go from the general to the specific. But because the web offers readers
the opportunity to move quickly from one item to another, the writer must also look
for opportunities to “link” parts of the writing with other parts to make it easier for
the reader to move around. This means the writer needs to anticipate how the reader
might navigate within a website.
Another demand on writers using the hypertext structure is the ability to write
headlines, subheads and summaries. Writing headlines and subheads for the web is
far less restrictive than writing them for newspaper or magazines in terms of making
them fit into a certain space.
Web writers are likely to have many more options and fewer typographical rules
than the headlines writer for newspapers. But their abilities to summarize, whether
in headline, subhead or summary form, will be severely tested, just as they are in
traditional media. Summaries demand precise and concise use of the language.
They also demand that the writer understand the material being summarized so
well that he or she can do it accurately. Summarizing is a skill that is essential to the
web writer.
Another characteristic of the web is the integration of graphics and text. The best
websites are built around graphical elements because from a reader’s point of view,
websites are visual before they are textual. Graphics, then, are a vital part of web
production and people who are involved in this medium must be fluent in the use of
both graphics and text. With proper study and practice, anyone can become a better
writer. Writing is not simply an inherent talent that some people have and others do
not. There are steps that each of us can take to improve our writing. Writing is a
process. That is, the rules, techniques must be mixed in with the individual’s style,
thoughts and methods and with the subject and form of the writing. They all should
work together to produce writing that is good. Writing requires discipline. Most
people give up writing as soon as they can because it is such hard work. It is
physically, mentally and emotionally demanding. The person who commits to writing
must marshal all of his or her resources for the task. Writing is building. Good
writing doesn’t happen all at once. It is formed, word by word, sentence by sentence
and thought by thought. The writing process is often slow, tedious and frustrating.
But the product of this process of good writing is well worth the effort.
Finally, reading good writing is the next step. If you are interested in learning to
write well, in any form, you should read as much as possible— newspapers,
magazines, books, and anything else you can get your hands on. Then there is the
writing itself, one has to “sit down and write.” That is the only way to become a
good writer.
4.6 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit we talked about some rules that one needs to follow to write for the
print media, radio, television and the web. Language for radio scripts needs to be
simple and the sentences need to be short and crisp. So brevity and clarity is
important. TV language should be written in the active voice and in the present
tense. Similarly the print and web writing have to be well researched and well
presented.
49
Communication 4.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
i) Language for radio broadcasts should be simple and sentences should be short
and crisp.

i) Television with its visuals, cuts across all barriers. The visuals make a more
instant and powerful impression than the black and white newspapers. The
visual images supplement as well as complement the sound and make it more
effective than radio.
50
BEGG-171
Indira Gandhi
Block
2
ADVERTISEMENTS
UNIT 1
Types of Advertising 5
UNIT 2
Public Service Advertisements 19
UNIT 3
TV Ads and Story Boards 32
UNIT 4
Ethics in Advertising 46
INTRODUCTION TO BLOCK 2:
ADVERTISEMENTS
This block proposes to survey advertising as a powerful mode of mass

communication. The social and economic significance of advertisements is immense.
Advertisements are not only commercial in nature but they perform a public service
as well. These are called PSAs or Public Service Announcements, and are an effective
means of reaching the public with information which is necessary for the citizens
of a country. Therefore, one can say that while commercial advertisement is
essentially a piece of persuasive paid communication, because it seeks to influence
people into buying what it has to offer, PSAs are communications which urge people
to support some social cause deemed beneficial to the general public.
Advertisements can appear in any medium of mass communication. In this block

we will be taking up advertisements as they appear in the print media, on radio as
well as on television. Mass Media has the power to effect and manipulate society.
For this reason it should be used with a sense of responsibility. Advertising must
have an ethical value and be subservient to ethical principles.
In Unit 1 we take up Types of Advertising
In Unit 2 we take up Public Service Advertisements
In Unit 3 we take up TV Ads, and Story Boards and show you how to prepare
advertisement and storyboards for TV.
In Unit 4 we speak about Ethics in Advertising
We hope you enjoy reading this Block.
Advertisements
4
Types of Advertising
UNIT 1 TYPES OF ADVERTISING
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Advertising
1.2.1 What is an Advertisement?
1.2.2 Who Advertises?
1.2.3 The Best Medium
1.2.4 Types of Advertising
1.3 Headlines in Advertisements
1.4 Direct Mail Advertising
1.4.1 Leaflets and Letters
1.4.2 Folders and Brochures
1.5 Idea Advertisements or PSAs
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit we shall introduce you to a powerful mode of mass communication,
namely advertising. Here we shall be chiefly concerned with advertising as it appears
in the print media such as newspapers and magazines. We shall also give you a
chance to look at a number of advertisements as well as talk about direct mail
advertising.
After reading this unit, you will be able to judge the:
• objectives of advertising;
• types of advertising;
• social and economic significance of advertising;
• language used in advertising; and
• merits of direct mail advertising.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
If you are looking for a suitable small apartment in a big city like Delhi or Chennai,
what do you do first? Perhaps you go to your friends and colleagues for help, who
in turn ask around, talk to apartment owners and finally fix you up in a cozy corner.
But what do you do if this strategy doesn’t work? You may think of the advertisement
column in the daily newspaper. You look at various advertisements for houses
available on rent (the concerned column is entitled “Accommodation Available” or
“To-Let”); you make your choice and reach for the telephone or contact the advertiser
in other ways. With some good luck and the right kind of property owner, you do
find something to your satisfaction.
5
Advertisements The help that the advertisement column provides is by no means confined to a
selection of houses; it also extends to other spheres of life--jobs, choice of a bride
or bridegroom, sale and purchase of property, business offers, consultancy, etc.
Depending upon your needs and requirements, you choose the appropriate item
and get in touch with the advertising party. Very often it works. It brings the advertiser
a potential customer, and it brings the customer the goods and services he requires.
You feel obliged to the whole business of advertising which, in this vast society
with its multiplicity of problems, comes to your rescue in your hour of need.
Advertisements may be short or long, clear or vague, in small or big boxes, spread
over half a page or a full page of the newspaper or the magazine. Why do so many
advertisements appear every day in newspapers? To whom are they addressed?
What colossal amounts of money are spent by advertisers as fees to get their items
published and why? These are important and interesting questions, and we shall
consider them in this unit.
1.2 ADVERTISING
Advertising is a powerful form of social and commercial communication through
any of the established mass media such as press, radio, television and film. It has
developed in modern times as a necessary accompaniment to commerce and industry
all over the world. In fact, it has become an industry in its own right. Consider the
large number of professional advertising agencies and the vast sums of money
involved in running them or utilizing their service.
Think of all the space advertisements occupy in the daily newspaper. Look at the
regularity, often irritating, with which advertisements appear on the TV screen.
You will begin to realize the magnitude of the advertising industry soon.
1.2.1 What is an Advertisement?

An advertisement is essentially a piece of persuasive communication – persuasive
because it seeks to influence public opinion by coaxing people into accepting what
it has to offer. An advertisement is also a paid announcement intended to promote
the sale of a product or service, to advance an idea or bring about some other effect
desired by the advertiser. It is a general message, not forcing anyone to buy anything,
but inviting everyone to identify, understand and adopt the use of goods, services
and ideas. The advertiser pays the medium (press, radio, television, etc.) to deliver
the message. He chooses the paper, or a number of papers simultaneously, or the
issue of a magazine that will publish his message. If the medium chosen is TV or
radio, he enjoys the freedom to select even the timing of the broadcast. But he has
to pay heavily for exercising his choice. In this sense, newspapers, if not the other
media, owe their existence to advertisers.
The product advertised may vary from matches and toothpaste to farm houses and
automobiles. The services may range from restaurants and laundries to foreign
tours. The ideas may be as simple as personal integrity and love-thy-neighbor themes,
or they may be issues that affect society at large, such as fire prevention, afforestation,
rehabilitation, of the old and disabled, traffic rules, drug abuse, crime control and
universalisation of elementary education. Whatever the product, service or idea
advertised, the advertisement seeks to point out its qualities so that it becomes
attractive to the group of consumers whom the advertiser wishes to influence.
6
1) Define an advertisement, as you find it in print, in two or three sentences
of your own.
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2) What do you think are some of the broad objectives of advertising?

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3) In what sense does a newspaper owe its existence to advertisements?

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1.2.2 Who Advertises?

Who are the possible users of advertising? Let us begin with individuals. You and I
can put a small advertisement in any newspaper wishing a friend a happy birthday,
or offering our services as teachers, doctors and skilled workmen. Some of us may
advertise our qualifications inviting others to consider us for suitable jobs. Then, a
department store may advertise to keep its regular customers informed of the
availability of its wares. A restaurant may advertise to build and improve its
patronage. The manufactures of a toothpaste or a soap may wish to motivate
consumers to prefer their brand. Big business houses may advertise to prepare
suitable markets and to elicit appropriate consumer responses with regard to their
products. Banks, insurance companies, government bodies and voluntary
organizations may advertise their services and ideas to educate the public, thereby
improving the quality of life and in the process making their names well-known
and highly respected. The motive in almost all the cases is to awaken the people to
the merits of what is being advertised, and to motivate them to make use of it in the
long run. The motive is both commercial and educative. It is commercial in the
case of products and services and educative in the case of ideas.
7
Advertisements 1.2.3 The Best Medium
A number of advertising media are available, but it is difficult to say which one of
them is the single best medium for all advertisers. A medium may be good for one
advertiser but it may have its limitations for another.
Once again newspapers with their varied items of information and entertainment
come to mind. On account of their wide circulation, and the growing rate of literacy
among people, they are likely to reach the remotest corners of the country. Thus,
they seem to have the potential for acting as a good medium for most advertisers.
They have also the advantage of combining business with pleasure – advertisements
interspersed with news of what is going on in the world and the editor’s comments
and features of entertainment. An advertisement in a newspaper or a magazine
becomes part of the general reading matter. It is printed permanently. One can’t
ignore it. If one misses it in the morning, one may glance at it in the evening. And
lastly, depending upon the space the advertisement occupies, newspapers are by
and large the most economical medium for advertising and, therefore, are within
the easy reach of most advertisers.
1) State two reasons why newspapers can be the most suitable medium for
most advertisers.
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2) Which of the two advertisements is likely to be more effective – a

newspaper advertisement in black and white or an illustrated advertisement
in colour published in a magazine? Why?
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1.2.4 Types of Advertising

How many types of advertisements do you find in newspapers and magazines? Is
there any difference between the ones published in newspapers and those published
in magazines? As you might have noticed, one obvious difference between that two
is that a magazine advertisement is generally in colour and therefore more attractive.
Very often it is illustrated also. Since magazine paper is of superior quality, the
advertisements appear glossy and bold. Most of these are normally large size ads
covering the entire page. The typical newspaper advertisements are the ones which
8
occupy, though it may not always be the case, the second page of the paper (except Types of Advertising
on Sunday when they run into several pages); they are set in small print and have
nothing attractive or aesthetic about them. They are concerned with utilitarian
motives such as announcing jobs, houses to let, motor vehicles for sale, poultry and
farming, and other mundane areas of our day-to-day life. It is only the highly
motivated reader who would go through them with interest and enthusiasm. Their
main purpose is to provide information about opportunities available.
The other type of newspaper advertisement is the one which appears in bold letters
arranged in a box. It looks much more prominent than anything else on that page,
unless of course there are too many boxes of the same size. It also costs much more
than the routine 14 word small-type ad on the second page. There are some still
bigger than the box item and occupy half a page, even a full page, of the newspaper.
Let us now put advertisements in broad categories according to the messages they
convey. The following are a few categories:
i) Classified advertisements:
These are the ‘Want’ ads in newspapers. They are short statements set in very
small type. Some of them may be larger than others. They appear dull, but
they are the ones most sought after. When you complete your studies, you
would also want to look at them regularly in the daily paper. The message of
these advertisements is: Get in touch with me for what you want.
ii) Product advertisements:

They are intended to present goods and products, point out their qualities, and
promote their sale. The product may be soft drink, soap, or toothpaste. The
message is:
Buy our product. It is the best in the market.
iii) Institutional advertisements:

The objective here is not to introduce or sell a particular product but to build
up the image of the manufacturing company or firm. The main purpose is to
acquaint the public with the name of the institution, and what it is doing, and
how its services are better than those of others, thereby stepping up the prestige
of the institution or firm. The general message is: Know us and how good and
efficient we are.
iv) Non-commercial or ‘Idea’ advertisements:

Government bodies, charitable institutions and other voluntary organizations,
etc. often publish advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Their main
objective is to acquaint the people with the ‘cause’ or the ‘idea’. They wish to
inform and educate the public. Sometimes they wish to raise donations also.
To follow traffic rules, to avoid smoking and drinking, to keep your city clean,
to improve the quality of life: these are some of the ideas advertised by different
agencies. The message of such advertisements is: Accept our idea or help our
cause.
Advertising flourishes most in profit-oriented and market free societies (societies

where the production and distribution of goods and services is not directly or solely
controlled by the state, but is open to private enterprise also). Advertising promotes
competition among producers and brings about awareness among consumers. It
9
Advertisements quickens the pace of distribution and consumption of products and thus helps to
raise the general standard of living.

1) Read the following and then answer the questions.
I am the senior Partner of the well-known firm of Surveyors and Estate
Agents.
I cannot think how I can attract a fully-experienced secretary to apply for
an arduous and challenging job which calls for a high output of first-class
shorthand and typing, responsibility for other secretarial staff and
considerable P.A. duties.
If you telephone my present secretary, she may be able to explain how she
survived 8 years and has enjoyed the work and is leaving only to be married
shortly.
She may attribute this to the high salary, fringe benefits, pleasant working
conditions and a convenient location.
If you are interested, telephone her and she will arrange your interview.
i) Who is the letter addressed to?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
ii) What is being advertised?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
iii) What are some of the requirements?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
iv) What makes the offer attractive?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
v) What do references to the present secretary prove?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
10
vi) Is it a good advertisement? If so, why?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
vii) Which sentence in the letter do you like best, and why?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
viii) Change this letter into a normal advertisement in the classified
column. Do not omit any important point.
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
2) Write two or three sentences to say what you understand by institutional
advertising.
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
3) Look at the following headlines from ads:
a) Hello! Its time you got connected to more places through direct
dialing.
b) Good News Travels Fast: Apollo Tyres
i) How is ‘a’ different from ‘b’?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
ii) Which one is a product ad?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
iii) Which is better from the point of view of language? Justify your
answer.
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
11
Advertisements
4) Read this:
Nurse a sapling each –
i) What is being advertised?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
ii) What type of an ad is it?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
iii) How is it different from 3 ‘a’?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
iv) Does the headline bring to your mind something other than trees? If
so, what?
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
1.3 HEADLINES IN ADVERTISEMENTS

Into how many parts can you possibly divide an advertisement? Generally it consists
of three parts – the headline, the copy (reading matter that follows the headline),
and an illustration. The illustration may or may not be there, but the headline and
the copy are essential items. The copy is arranged differently in different
advertisements. Some of it may be above, and some below the illustration. Part of
it may be on either side of the illustration. It may be just a phrase, or a sentence, or
a few sentences, but it is always there to clarify and reinforce the main idea embodied
in the headline.
The most important part of an advertisement is its headline – call it the telegraphic
message which the advertiser puts in big print for the public to read. The majority
of people, it seems, read little else. That shows the importance of the headline in an
advertisement.
A combination of a good headline and an attractive illustration is what makes the
advertisement click. The reader will be compelled to read the copy if the headline
is catchy and the illustration is attractive.
A good headline should have the following features or qualities:
i) it appeals to the reader’s self-interest – in other words it offers the reader
12 exactly what he wants.
ii) it gives something new – either a new angle/idea or a new product. In other Types of Advertising
words it has news value.
iii) it arouses the reader’s curiosity so that he is compelled to go on to the rest of
the matter.
iv) it suggests a quick and easy way out of the tight spot the reader may be in –
baldness, failing eyesight, how to invest one’s savings.
v) it uses simple, direct, interesting and effective language.

1) What are the three most important components of a successful headline,
as discussed in this section?
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
2) It has been observed that in advertisements language is often used
creatively. Explain in very simple terms what you understand by a creative
use of language.
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
1.4 DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING

What is direct mail advertising? It refers to all the printed matter—cards, letters,
leaflets, folders, booklets, and brochures—that is sent directly by mail to individual
‘prospects’, that is, persons whom one hopes to have as buyers of one’s goods. It is
an effective way of attracting individuals’ attention to the message advertised. The
advertiser feels fairly certain that his material will be at least partly read by the
recipients and that it will be read on the date it is received. If the letter is addressed
to the recipient by name, the message becomes personalized and has a better chance
of appealing to the recipient’s interest than if it had appeared elsewhere as a non-
personal announcement. Often the language and style of the letter is very close to
that of a personal letter laying a special claim to the addressee’s attention and
magnanimity.
Sent to school, office or home, direct mail provides the advertiser with effective
timing and presentation of the message, and a way of selling directly to the people.
13
Advertisements 1.4.1 Leaflets and Letters
Leaflets
A leaflet is a single sheet of paper which carries printed matter on it with or without
a design or illustration. Its purpose is to inform the recipients of the availability of
goods or services in a particular area. Its circulation is limited, often confined to a
single locality within a radius of one or two kilometers. (Some leaflets can be of a
general nature and are sent to people everywhere.) The reading matter (copy) is
usually better and in bold type. Such leaflets, it is noticed, are not very imaginatively
or carefully prepared in our country. You may come across spelling mistakes and
other signs of indifferent printing in them.
Mostly there are no interesting headlines, nor is there such reading matter (copy) as
would immediately capture the readers’ attention. It seems the advertiser has tried
to economise on composing, editing and printing. Such leaflets come with the
morning paper, and very often get thrown away without the courtesy of a careful
look. But they do serve the purpose of the sender, or else they wouldn’t be there at
all. Someone may casually look at them, and may inform others of the services
advertised.
This is not to suggest that all leaflets are ineffective or indifferent as the ones spoken
of above. If you go to a reputed department store (the stores often mail their
advertising materials to people directly also), you may be given, at the entrance, a
leaflet that gives details of an interesting scheme initiated by that store. You require
some time to go through its contents, which eventually interest you.
Letters
Like the leaflets, letters are also mailed or distributed to people by advertisers.
Carefully drafted and neatly printed, these letters are essentially informative in
nature. Their tone is polite and persuasive and the message is clearly and directly
presented.
Such letters are not mailed indiscriminately. The advertiser carefully chooses special
groups of recipients who may have a professional interest in the services offered.
Depending upon what is being offered, the language of some letters may be technical
or jargon-ridden while that of others may be similar to that of private communication.
1.4.2 Folders and Brochures

Folders
A folder can be best described as a folded circular. It can also be a small file or an
envelope for holding loose sheets. It is sent by mail to people, or can be given
directly to them at shops, emporia, concert halls, etc. A folder serves the same
purpose as a leaflet or a letter, only in greater details and more methodically. As
pointed out earlier, it can come as an enclosure with a letter.
Most folders are commercial. Their main aim is to persuade people to buy goods
and services. Magazines issue folders to their readers to promote their sale by offering
new schemes, or to introduce a new magazine or supplementary material like audio/
video cassettes.
Brochures
A brochure is a pamphlet or booklet which contains summarized or introductory
information about an institution and its programmes. The institution can be an
academic one like a college or university, or it can be a tourist organization which
14
conducts individual or package tours in or outside the country, or it can be a Types of Advertising
consultancy office or any private or public undertaking. For instance, the Delhi
Development Authority (DDA) issues, from time to time, brochures about its
schemes of house-building and house allotment. So do all colleges, universities
and other academic and research organizations publicizing their work and
programmes.
The purpose of a brochure is to inform the people of the services organized by the
institution which prepares and releases it. In other words, it is advertising. But a
brochure is very different from a usual advertisement that appears in a newspaper
of a magazine. For one thing, it is far too big in size to be published in a newspaper;
for another, it is meant to be carefully studied, and may be more than once, for the
useful information it contains. A brochure is carefully prepared and clearly presented.
It is meant for wide circulation and large specialized readership. Its quality of
printing, which reflects the status and prestige of the institution, is usually of a high
order. It is difficult to come across an indifferently prepared brochure issued by a
prestigious organization.
A brochure is an advertisement in spirit though not in form. It advertises things and
ideas in the sense that it creates awareness among people by informing and educating
them, and also by inviting them to join the organization in carrying out its ideas and
programmes. A good brochure is an interesting piece of extended writing. Since a
brochure is like a very short book (booklet), it has a title, which is a substitute for a
headline in an advertisement. It may or may not contain pictures, but it must have
instructions at the end as to how the services offered can be utilized, the addresses
of officials to be contacted and their telephone numbers. By its very nature, a brochure
is a complete, though short, document on a given topic.
1.5 IDEA ADVERTISEMENTS OR PSAs

Given below are some ‘idea’ advertisements for you to read. They appeared in The
Times of India recently, and contain very useful ideas for the public. Notice that
none of these has an axe to grind (nothing to sell or propagate). There is no sales
talk. Yet they are very important from the social point of view. The main objective
is to educate the people, to awaken them to some important social issues. We are
asking you to read them with attention so that you may understand (a) what ‘idea’
advertisements are like and (b) what kind of ‘idea’ are advertised by different
agencies, and how they can be useful. The advertisers are Indian Cancer Society,
Delhi Water Supply and the Ministry of Welfare, Government of India.
Advertisement 1
Are you forcing your child to smoke?
Every time you smoke, your loved ones are forced to breathe in the dangerous air
you breathe out.
Cigarette smoke contains over 100 deadly chemicals. These poisons slowly destroy
your family’s health, corroding the lungs, weakening the heart, and bringing on
heart attacks, paralytic strokes, and cancer of the throat, lungs, pancreas and bladder.
Stop smoking. After all, do you love cigarettes more than your family? Go for a
cancer check-up today, and follow it up once a year.
Indian Cancer Society
Early discovery, early recovery
15
Advertisements (Times of India,21nd July, 2017.)
Advertisement 2
Don’t Waste Water
Save it
Here are some ways we can save water.
• Check your taps. : A slowly dripping water wastes
about 4 gallons of water a day.
• Close taps during shaving and brushing. : Use a mug instead.
• Sweep and mop floors. : Don’t wash the floors with
drinking water
• Hold back the hose. : Wash your car or scooter with a
sponge or a piece of cloth and a
bucket of soapy water.
• Wash vegetables and fruits in a bowl. : Avoid cleaning vegetables
under a running tap. It wastes
water unnecessarily.
• Public Hydrants. : Close the tap when it is not in
use.
Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking
(Times of India, 30 June, 2017.)
Advertisement 3
By the time you get to the fourth praragraph you’re hooked.
It begins as a lark. Someone, probably a friend, offers you an experience. It’s Smack.
You’re not too sure, but what the heck, you only live once. It’s pleasurable, you
discover, drowsy, dreamy. You do it again. But you’re not going to get hooked, you
resolve.
Of course you’re not getting hooked. You’re only getting to like it more and more.
Smack lulls you into a floating high. You may lose some friends, but so what?
You’ve now got a different gang. If college, work or games suffer, it’s okay, you’ll
get around to them.
You need more. The same pleasurable drowsiness needs more Smack. You’re listless.
Your mouth feels dry all the time. Your body feels warm all the time. You want
Smack all the time.
It’s too late . You crave for the stuff. If you can’t get it, your body gives way. You
vomit, shiver, sweat. There’s an excruciating pain in your bones. Your eyes and
your nose water all the time. It feels like a living death. You’re hooked, because it’s
time for a fix.
It’s like sliding quickly into quicksand. You sink deeper and deeper. Life is one fix
after the other. Somewhere along the line, you lost your parents, your family, your
friends. And what you thought was paradise, becomes a living hell. And the loneliness
hits you like a sledgehammer. It’s time for a fix.
You’re doing things you’d not even dreamt of doing earlier. Stealing money from
home, pawning valuables, borrowing. It’s that fix. You need it at any cost. Physically
16
you’re a ghost of your former self. You have lost weight; your clothes hang on you. Types of Advertising
Your mind is screaming at you to have the will. But the voice gets fainter and
fainter…. It’s time for a fix.
Smack
It’s quicker than quicksand.
Stay away from drugs. It is never too late, to help yourself or to help someone
afflicted with Smack or any other drug addiction. Contact any of the de-addiction
centres for counseling and therapy. (Time of India, 16th June, 1017)
1.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have discussed the aims and objectives of advertising along with
various types of advertisements. We have also discussed the social and economic
significance of advertising as well as the importance of headlines in advertisements.
We have also spoken about direct mail advertising. We have reproduced three ‘idea’
advertisements or PSAs for you to read and think over. Hope you have enjoyed
going through the unit.

1) An advertisement is a group of words published in a newspaper or a magazine
to publicise a commodity, a service or an idea. Often words are accompanied
by an illustration.
2) i) to produce awareness among consumers,
ii) to create a liking and preference for a particular product, service or idea,
iii) to stimulate thought and action about it.
3) A great deal of money is earned through advertisements, without which the
printing cost of the paper would be impossible to meet. Money paid by
advertisements keeps the price of the paper very low, so that everybody can
easily buy it.

1) a) They have a wide circulation.
b) Their rates are not as high as those of other media.
2) The coloured and illustrated one. It is bigger. It looks better. It stays in one’s
memory longer than the usual black-and-white ad. The illustration makes the
idea look concrete and the ad effective.
1) i) It is addressed to anyone who is qualified for, and interested in, the post
of Secretary in a firm of Surveyors and Estate agents.
ii) the job mentioned in (i)
iii) shorthand and typing, previous experience as Secretary, managing other
secretarial staff, P.A.’s duties, etc.
17
Advertisements iv) high salary, other benefits, good working conditions, convenient location
of office, and perhaps a good boss to work with.
v) She was very happy with her work and salary. So will the new Secretary
be! She is leaving not because of job dissatisfaction but for personal
reasons Only someone efficient like the present Secretary can be appointed.
vi) It is an unusual advertisement. It is very good because it is very clear. It is
likely to stimulate a good response.
vii) The sentence about the secretary surviving 8 years and enjoying the work
too. It is a very nice way of saying she has successfully completed eight
years of services and gets good salary.
(You may make your own choice.)
viii) Wanted an experienced Secretary for a firm of Surveyor and Estate Agents
Good shorthand and typing essential. Experience of personnel
management and duties of Personal Assistant also essential. High salary,
pleasant working conditions and other benefits. Telephone secretary for
interview.
2) Institutional advertising is directed mainly at image building. It also seeks to
inform the public of what the institution is doing or can do for the betterment
of all. Such an advertisement can appear in the form of an appeal or notice
also.
3) i) ‘a’ has news value, whereas ‘b’ is publicising a product. ‘a’ is a ‘service’
advertisement and ‘b’ is a ‘product’ one.
ii) obviously ‘b’. Tyres are being talked about so that they should sell better.
iii) Both are good. ‘b’ is more idiomatic. ‘Travel’ and ‘fast’ indicate speed.
Tyers are also associated with speed. ‘News travels fast’ followed by
‘Apollo Tyres’ gives us a complete picture. The use of language in ‘b’ is
creative.
4) i) Afforestation, or planting trees is being advertised
ii) It is an ‘idea’ advertisement.
iii) 3 ‘a’ is announcing a service. This one is advancing an idea or a cause.
iv) ‘to nurse’ someone is ‘to look after someone with care and affection’. It
also means ‘to help someone regain health’. One may think of nurses and
patients and health. One may also think of parents looking after their
child. The word ‘each’ may bring to mind the small family consisting of
mother, father and one child.
1) Self-interest, curiosity and news.
2) In a creative use of language, words are often not used for their literal meanings
but for their connotative meanings. For example, ‘rose’ is a flower, but in a
particular context it can suggest a beautiful, but shortlived object, or the
springtime. The image and pictures that a word or a group of words in a given
context is capable of evoking is its connotative meaning.
18
UNIT 2 PUBLIC SERVICE
ADVERTISEMENTS
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Advertisement: Need and Function
2.2.1 Advertising Campaign
2.2.2 Advertising Classification
2.3 Public Service Announcements
2.3.1 What is PSA?
2.3.2 Difference between Commercial Advertisement and PSAs
2.3.3 Themes in PSA
2.3.4 Regular PSA
2.3.5 Current PSA
2.3.6 Public Service Announcements/Campaigns
2.3.7 Audience Research
2.4 Radio Advertisement vis-à-vis Press/TV Advertisements
2.5 Scripting the Advertisement
2.5.1 Target Audience
2.5.2 Creative Strategy
2.6 The Selling Approach
2.6.1 Appeal Strategy
2.6.2 Humour Strategy
2.6.3 Comparative Advertising as a Creative Strategy
2.6.4 Samples of Radio Advertisements
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• define advertisement and state its need and function;
• explain the two types of advertisements: commercial and public service;
• describe the different social themes taken up for public service campaigns;
• state the differences between radio and press/TV advertisements; and
• script a radio advertisement.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit we spoke about advertising with special reference to print
advertising. Here we are going to take up Public Service Advertisement—mainly
for radio.
Radio has a significant role to play in the shaping of our society. This is especially
true of our country where more than 95% of the population listens to the radio. Till
19
Advertisements a few decades back, radio was primarily used as a medium for mass entertainment
and for broadcast of news and features. But today it is being increasingly used in
the service of the public to communicate important messages, announcements and
information. In this context, we shall discuss the effective use of radio for public
service announcements and commercial advertisements. You are well aware of the
strengths and limitations of radio as a medium of mass communication. We shall
also discuss the specific use of language in the preparation of the copy for radio
advertisement and announcements.
2.2 THE ADVERTISEMENT: NEED AND

FUNCTION
What is advertisement? It is a means of communicating to people on a nonpersonal
basis. It uses the media of mass communication such as radio, television, newspapers,
magazines and public display hoardings. Advertising is defined as “…paid,
nonpersonal communication through various media by business firms, nonprofit
organizations and individuals who are in some way identified in the advertising
message and who hope to inform or persuade members of a particular audience.”
(S.S.Dunn and A.M.Barban p.8)
From the above definition, it is clear that advertising is not restricted to products
but encompasses services and ideas also. It is also evident that the two basic
functions of advertisement are (2) to inform and (2) to persuade. Thus advertising
leads to promotion of sales, change of attitude and arousal of awareness. Because
of its persuasiveness, advertising has to be specially concerned with the economic,
social ethical and moral issues of advertising.
2.2.1 Advertising Campaign

There are many types of advertising campaigns. But basically any campaign strategy
has to address the following questions:
1) Who is advertising?
2) For whom is the advertisement intended?
3) What is being advertised?
4) What is the purpose of the advertising campaign?
5) Which geographic area does it cater to?
6) Which medium is to be used?
The process also involves five important decisions to be made— namely, advertising
objectives, estimation of the budget in the selection of the medium, creative strategy
as to how to communicate the message, media strategy with reference to the delivery
of the message and evaluation of the effectiveness of the message.
2.2.2 Advertising Classification

Advertising can be classified into a few broad categories. These are:
1) Product Reputation Advertising: Here the word “product” includes both
goods and services. Firms that produce or distribute goods or provide a service
devote the major portion of their advertising efforts to selling these. (Examples:
Consumer goods, Courier Services etc.)
20
2) Institutional Advertising: Here advertising is towards selling ideas. There Public Service
Advertisements
are three forms of Institutional advertising:
a) Patronage Institutional Advertising which sells the ideas of patronizing
a producer or retailer other than specific product merits. For example
“Ford has a better idea” without mentioning the individual product (Car/
Truck/Bus) tells the listener the importance of the manufacturing firm
FORD, so that he or she patronises the firm.
b) Public Relations Institutional Advertising: Designed to improve a firm’s
image or reputation either through presentation of the firm’s point of
view in any labour dispute or through an elaboration of the benefits and
utilities for the public by the firm’s concern. Examples are the
advertisement releases given by major Public Sector and Private Sector
firms such as BHEL, OIL INDIA, Larsen and Toubro etc.
c) Public Service Advertising: This is a means of using advertising to
promote non-controversial causes in the interest of the public such as
road safety, cleaner environment, hygiene, family planning, child welfare
etc.
2.3 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Radio, more than any other medium of mass communication reaches more than
95% of the public and hence its use in making Public Service Announcements
(PSA) is more effective than that of newspapers and television. If PSAs are carefully
and precisely worded for broadcast over the radio medium they are likely to reach
a large segment of our population and to be equally well understood by it.
2.3.1 What is PSA

The main purpose of a PSA is the dissemination of information on a public problem
and in the public interest.
For example,
“THERE IS ONLY ONE INDIA. IT BELONGS TO ALL OF US. WE THE PEOPLE
MUST ACT FOR UNITY” (National Integration Campaign)
“SIGHT —— YOUR CHILD’S MOST PRECIOUS GIFT. PROTECT IT”.
(Eye Donation)
These are advertisements issued in national/public interest.

Communications which urge its audience to implement or support some kind of
social or economic cause deemed beneficial by the consensus of the general public
is Public Service Advertising. It is also likely that most of the PSAs do urge some
kind of action.
2.3.2 Difference between Commercial Advertisement and PSAs

In elementary terms, we can say that commercial advertisement seeks to share the
market while PSA seeks to share the mind. By advertising specific consumer
products, commercial advertisement satisfies a felt need of the consumer. In contrast,
PSA provokes the audience to recognize a need. For example, by advertising a
slogan “Save Water” the PSA makes its audience recognize the need to save water
for a dry season. So the arousal or awakening of one’s awareness is primarily a
21
Advertisements function of the PSA, while the commercial advertisements cater to the felt need of
the consumer. PSA is created by advertising professionals and exhibited free of
charge by the media which donates both space and time. Many business firms sponsor
PSAs without any reference to their own sale products. This is a manifestation of
the new philosophy of business.
PSA by Eleemosynary institutions: Besides business firms, PSA is done by

charitable institutions, known as Eleemosynary institutions such as Helpage, Care,
Unicef etc. Their messages are sometimes contributed to by business concerns, but
more often, they are funded by these charitable organizations themselves.
PSA by Government: Developing countries have the need for an informed citizenry.
PSAs are effective means of reaching the public with necessary information. Such
advertising is used to promote issues without any bias and partisan slant in the
interest of public good.
2.3.3 Themes in PSA

We can look at the theme from three aspects — regular PSA, current PSA and
Public Service Campaign. They all deal with affairs related to our daily living,
social issues and information on essential matters. Through electronic media, these
PSAs reach out to all segments of society all over the country. For the PSAs to
make an impact on the listeners and for them to be effective, the time of broadcast,
and its duration are of considerable importance and the message has to be precise
and in unambiguous terms. Often it is said that television, being an audio-visual
medium, can prove more effective than radio which has no visuals to support it.
But television can only cater to a few inches of one’s imagination but the appeal of
radio gives full scope for the free play of imagination.
2.3.4 Regular PSA

1) Railway bulletins
2) Inter-state bus timings
3) Employment news
4) Weather bulletins
5) Market rates/Bazaar rates
6) Announcement of new policies, programmes and proposals on important days.
7) Book reviews/ New publications
8) Lost persons
9) Highlights of the day’s broadcast programmes
While preparing the text for such announcements, care is to be taken to provide
correct information and details so as to leave no doubt in the minds of the listeners.
In preparing Railway bulletins, the name of the train — mail or express, the
destinations, both to and fro, the number of the train and the time are to be given in
a serial order. Instead of making announcements in terms of “a.m.” and “p.m.”, it
will be better to give the time in figures. For examples, 4 p.m. can be stated as 16
hours. If there is a delay in the arrival or departure of a train, the original scheduled
time and the new time have to be given.
All India Radio has a special form to be filled in for “Lost Persons” announcement.
22
This form has the following format: Public Service
Advertisements
Name of the person : Mahesh
Father’s Name : Sunderlal
Age : 10 years
Name of the place where he disappeared from : Kanpur
Dress worn : Blue shorts and checked
bushshirt
Identification Marks : A cut on the right cheek
Colour : Wheatish
Height : 4 feet
Places where he is likely to be found : Kanpur, Lucknow and Allahabad
Address for intimation : Sunderlal, House No. 32, Gali
No. 22, Station Area, Kanpur
The copy to be made for the announcement from the above form will run thus:
Shri Sunderlal informs that his son, Mahesh, aged 10 has been lost since April 23,
2018 from Kanpur. He is of wheatish complexion and is four feet tall, with a cut on
his right cheek. He had worn blue shorts and a checked bush shirt. If you have any
information about his whereabouts, please pass it to Shri Sunderlal at the following
address: (Address)
The following points are to be borne when preparing the announcement:
• Easy language — simple and direct sentences
• Precise and clear diction
• A certain degree of friendly appeal without being casual and informal
2.3.5 Current PSA

Under this category, information and announcements relating to basic daily amenities
are given:
1) Water supply at low pressure in certain areas
2) Dates of examinations/results
3) Security warnings to workers in factories
4) Warning about weather— floods/storm/hurricane/earthquake etc.
5) Latest sports results
6) Blood donation for a patient in need in a hospital
7) Power cuts
8) Road and traffic jams and diversions
On the radio, there are specific times allotted to such PSAs. Usually these
announcements are sandwiched between two programmes i.e., at the conclusion of
a programme and before the commencement of the next programme. The most
important announcement is given precedence over the others and the rest made
according to their order of importance. If there is time left at the end of all these
announcements, the first and the most important one is repeated. Here is an example
of a current PSA:
23
Advertisements This is All India Radio, Gwalior. Here is an important announcement.
Jiwaji University, Gwalior announces the 2017 B.A. and B.Com. examination
dates. They are to begin from March 24, 2017. Candidates have been sent all
information regarding time and place of the examination along with their
respective hall-tickets. Those who have not received our mail can contact the
University directly and get the necessary information. (Contact number and
university e-mail ID to be included)
This can be given a second repeat before the end of the programme announcements.
2.3.6 Public Service Announcements/Campaigns:

This does not provide information, but is more in the nature of persuasion. The aim
is to make the listeners aware of certain basic issues and principles governing the
health and welfare of the society. For example, given below are a few of such
PSAs:
1) Use/Waste of water
2) Observation of rules (traffic)
3) Blood donation
4) Eye donation
5) Family welfare
6) Health and environment
7) Wild life
In preparing these slogans, the following points have to be kept in mind:
1) Absolute precision
2) Clarity of expression
3) Appeal to emotion
4) Friendly intimacy
For example, on “Eye donation”, we have these slogans: (2) “All that stands between
darkness and him is your signature” (2) “Set your sights on the nearly blind. Give”
(3) “They walk by faith, not by sight, let us give that they may see”.
“Blood donation” “Your blood….someone’s life-blood.”
On “Helmet wearing” :”Accidents get either your head or your helmet”/ “Keep
your head, wear your helmet”.
2.3.7 Audience Research

For a successful campaign on the radio, audience research has to be made at frequent
intervals with reference to important announcements. The research should relate to
1) The area covered by the broadcast
2) The degree of clarity of the message in its apprehension by the audience
3) The percentage of audience who listen to the message
4) What special groups have felt its impact
5) The utility value of such PSAs
In India, PSA on radio have been less than adequate in comparison with PSAs
24 through the other media. For example, the cyclone warning for fisherman on radio
or farm news for the farmers have not had as much desired impact on the respective Public Service
Advertisements
class of people for lack of forceful and mind penetrating copies.

i) What do you understand by the term Public Service Announcements? How
does it differ from commercial advertisement?
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ii) Prepare a copy for a PSA on radio on a free eye clinic to be held on 24
October, 2018 at Govt. Boys’ School, Napier town, Jabalpur.
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2.4 RADIO ADVERTISEMENT VIS-À-VIS PRESS/

TV ADVERTISEMENTS
Advertisements, as you have seen, have two functions——to inform and to persuade.
They draw the attention of the audience (listener/viewer/reader) to any particular
issue and then give the relevant information. A successful communication is
measured by the degree of persuasion it achieves. On All India Radio, advertisements
are broadcast on the Vividh Bharati channel and they are made between programmes
either at the commencement or at the conclusion of a programme. This maximizes
the number of listeners for they tune into the radio for those programmes. Some of
the important PSAs are now made through the primary channel as well.
Advertisements are made through all the major media of mass communication—
the most important are newspapers, cinema, radio, television and hoardings both
on public sites and buses.
But radio, amongst all these, has got its own characteristics with its plus and minus
points, its limitations and scope. Even though radio suffers from its lack of visual
appeal, it has certain distinct advantages which gives it an edge over the other
media in relation to advertisement. Let us see the difference between radio
advertisement and press advertisement:
25
Advertisements Radio Advertisement Press Advertisement
1) On the radio, time is precious. 1) Here, space is precious.
Advertisements are time-bound. Advertisements are space-bound.
2) Music and sound are used. 2) Cartoons and pictures are used.
3) Radio advertisements reach all 3) Press advertisements are only for
segments of people. the literates.
4) Audio medium 4) Visual medium.
5) Does not call for concentrated 5) To read the advertisement, you
attention to hear the advertisements. need concentration and time.
6) Advertisement announcements are 6) One can pick up the paper
fleeting advertisements any time and read
them.
Let us see the difference between Radio and TV advertisement:
Radio Advertisement TV Advertisement
1) Only an audio medium. 1) Both an audio and visual medium.
2) You can listen to it even outside 2) You have to sit before your TV
your room/home. Even when you set to follow the advertisement.
are moving,
3) Sound is important. 3) Visuals are important
4) Music and sound are used. 4) Here also sound and music are
used.
5) Jingles are specially made for radio 5) Jingles are used, though they are
advertisements. not very essential.
6) Time factor is significant. 6) Time factor is equally significant.
7) This is an inexpensive set. 7) TV is an expensive item.
8) Production is less expensive. 8) Production is very expensive.

i) Give three distinguishing features of Radio, TV and Press advertisement
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2.5 SCRIPTING THE ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement is a form of communication. Communication, says Wilbur Schramm,
the noted communication specialist, “is a fundamental social process.” It is a
relationship between the sender and the receiver, “an act of sharing”. This means
26
that the receiver is not a passive decoder of information and the effort should be to Public Service
Advertisements
get the message through, getting it accepted and getting it decoded in approximately
the same form as the sender intended.
Thus the communication objectives are a two way process and the advertiser (sender)
has to meet the objectives and felt needs of the audience (receiver).
2.5.1 Target Audience

Radio reaches a large segment of the lower income groups and, therefore, is a very
effective medium for dissemination of information to the illiterate poor. The PSAs
over radio can make this group aware of issues and motivate it towards action. So
those who write and design advertisements —— commercial and PSAs – must
know the consumers who are expected to listen to them. The target group should be
measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.
2.5.2 Creative Strategy

Creative strategy is related to the content of the message. The basic message content
is to be understood and analysed before preparing the copy. The creative message
is usually based on such questions as
1) What features of the product are unique to the product? (in the case of PSA,
what features of the message are to be highlighted?)
2) What features or attributes of the product are important to the consumer?
3) What attributes of the product are to be highlighted in relation to other
comparable brands?
4) What ‘position’ has the product in the consumer’s mind?
5) What benefits are the consumers likely to get?
The creative process of a copy involves six phases:
1) Orientation: Pointing to the problem.
2) Preparation: Gathering pertinent data.
3) Analysis: Breaking down the relevant material.
4) Hypothesis: Piling up alternate copies to convey the ideas.
5) Synthesis: Putting the pieces together.
6) Verification: Judging the resultant ideas.
2.6 THE SELLING APPROACH

The basic purposes of advertising messages (commercial/PSA) are to inform, to
persuade and to remind. All advertising messages have one or two or all these
elements embodied in them. The objectives of the messages are to stimulate a
demand for a commercial product and develop awareness (PSA), to promote a
brand/idea and to cause direct or indirect action to be taken by the consumer (buy/
motivate to act).
The role of the informational aspect of an advertisement is to build awareness in

the consumer. This is done by introducing a product or an idea. The persuasion
aspect concentrates on why the consumer should buy the product/idea. The consumer
is first made aware of a problem and then he is told how to solve the problem. The
goal here is to influence his attitudes. The reminder advertising is to make the
27
Advertisements consumer take, not necessarily, direct and immediate action, but to bring a gradual
change in his attitudes so that he takes to a new idea through his own reasoning.
Any strategy for advertising a product or an idea has to have (2) Appeal strategy,
(2) Humour strategy and (3) Comparison advertising.
2.6.1 Appeal Strategy

Advertisement, if it has to have an appeal, should engage the attention of the
consumer, create interest in the idea or message, promote his desire or awareness
and motivate him/to take action. For example, a statement “Tomorrow morning
when you open your eyes, think of those who can’t” arrests the attention of the
listener. He wonders what the message is aiming at. After a pause, comes the rest of
the PSA: “Sight”. “A gift only you can give.” Yet another begins thus: “On your
birthday, give the earth a present” ….(pause) follow it with “Plant a tree”. A few
more examples:
“Don’t just practice, Preach” ….(Pause) “Tell someone who is less aware, less
experienced, less educated how simple it is to plan a family”
“Your daughter will never be as good as a son” (Pause). “unless you give her a
chance”
“We are two; we are three” (Pause) “We are one. Let us act for unity.”
“The only thing Priya can do with her eyes….is cry” (Pause) “You can give her
sight.”
2.6.2 Humour Strategy

Humour as a strategy enhances the audience’s attention, at least when they listen to
the advertisement, for the first few times. Those who advocate humour in an
advertisement, say that the consumer will accept the message. There is the opposite
view that humour detracts attention from the message.
The advertiser who prefers humour as a creative strategy should bear in mind the
following points:
1) Humorous messages attract attention.
2) They may detrimentally affect comprehension.
3) Humour increases persuasion.
4) Humour tends to enhance source credibility.
5) A humorous context may increase liking for the source and create a positive
mood.
6) To the extent that a humorous context functions as a positive reinforcer,
persuasive communication placed in such a context may be more effective.
One of the effective slogans with humour as its creative strategy is that of Limca,
which presents the conversation of a few collegians. One of them tries to give a
rational explanation as to why he drinks Limca —— because it contains isotonic
salts….He is intercepted by another who gulps Limca down saying “I drink Limca
because I like it” followed by laughter. Onida’s advertisement with the devil beating
the drums to the chant of “give us work”, suggesting that Onida TVs don’t require
after service care, is equally humourous and stays in the viewer’s mind.
28
2.6.3 Comparative Advertising as a Creative Strategy Public Service
Advertisements
While in commercial advertisement, this strategy generates heated controversy in
respect of advertising ethics, in PSAs, this comparative strategy does enhance the
audience’s attention. In the family planning advertisements, the comparison between
a planned family household to the disadvantage of the latter is more effective than
a slogan that says “a small family is a happy one”. The slogan can be an effective
punch line, but its message gets credibility and authenticity through an institution
of comparison between the two types.
2.6.4 Samples of Radio Advertisements

In conjunction with the strategies given above, let us see what are the different
kinds of radio advertisements that prove effective:
Simple and direct slogan: “The tyre that never tires” (Modi tyres)
“Utterly, butterly delicious – Amul”
“Neighbour’s envy – Owner’s pride – Onida”
Dialogue/Dramatisation: This can be a 30 seconds ad. With two or three engaged
in a conversation. This is useful more in PSAs than commercial. Example: Limca
ad (see 2.6.2)
On Eye Donation:
A: “If your heart goes out to the blind during your lifetime
B: Let your eyes go out to them after death
C: Donate your eyes today
D: It may be the most important gift you can give.”
Jingles: Sung to the accompaniment of music, jingles prove effective.
Example: “Don’t let litter spoil the glitter”
“Don’t tap your life in ashes. Devote it to your country”
(anti-drug campaign)
“Keep your house clean. Keep your country green”.
“Keep your head. Wear your helmet”
“Woman is more than man’s equal-
If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be here”
“Mango Frooti fresh and juicy”
On the whole, the points to remember while preparing radio advertisements are:
1) Use of short simple sentences to make the maximum impact.
2) Clear and simple diction that can be easily understood.
3) Conversational tone to increase sense of involvement and participation.
4) Appeal both to emotion and intellect.
5) Urgency to invoke action.
6) Presentation with maximum conviction.
29
Advertisements
Make copies for radio advertisement for the following products/issues:
i) A detergent powder
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ii) Promotion of awareness about environmental pollution
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iii) Communal harmony
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2.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, you learnt about:
• The need and function of advertisement.
• Advertising campaign strategy.
• The definition of public service announcements and the difference between
commercial advertisement and PSAs.
• The themes taken for public service announcements.
• Radio advertisements and their distinct characteristics vis-à-vis press and TV
advertisements.
• How to write a copy incorporating three strategies appeal, humour and
comparative advertising.

i) PSAs i.e. Public Service Announcements disseminate information on a public

problem and in the public interest. They differ from commercial advertisements
in the sense that PSAs provoke the audience to recognize a need whereas
commercial ads satisfy a felt need of the consumer. In short the awakening of
one’s awareness is the primary function of PSAs while commercial ads cater
to the felt needs on the same lines.
ii) Read 2.31 again and prepare a PSA on the same lines.
30
Check Your Progress 2 Public Service
Advertisements
i) Radio Ads: On radio, time is precious, music and sound are used;
announcements are fleeting.
ii) TV Ads : Visual medium, expensive medium, time factor is important.
iii) Press Ads: Space is precious; press ads are only for the literates; Visual medium.
For this you will have to let your creative juices flow.
31
Advertisements
UNIT 3 TV ADS AND STORY BOARDS
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 The ‘Idiot Box’
3.3 Pictures and Words
3.3.1 Writing Pictures
3.3.2 Painting Words
3.3.3 Reinforcement and Counterpoint
3.4 Selling Line
3.4.1 Copywriting
3.4.2 Storyline
3.5 A TV Advertisement
3.6 Structuring a TV Advertisement
3.7 A Storyboard
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit you will be introduced to the format of TV ads. We shall also analyse
what makes a TV advertisement tick and how it has become a distinctive genre. At
the end of this unit you should be able to:
• distinguish a TV ad from a film or print ad;
• visualize an ‘ad’; and
• provide the matching copy.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Advertising (L. advertere; ad-to vertere-turn)-to turn one’s attention; inform, give
public announcement or commendation of; any device for obtaining public favour!
Advertising is an integral part of selling. Ever since man began to sell, he wanted
another to buy. He exhorted the buyer through gestures, signs and words. He extolled
the virtues of what he was selling and this in turn became the process of selling.
The need to manufacture (or procure), sell and consume, became a condition of the
human existence. With industrial growth and the organisation of the manufacturing
process, we have now moved into the era of consumerism. The effort is on to find
audience in order to sell products to mass clientele. The content of our lives is to a
large measure conditioned by media messages of what we ought to buy- from junk
foods to everlasting peace. Advertising has come to stay.
With over two billion people watching it everyday, television is unquestionably the
prime advertising vehicle of our times. It is the ultimate opinion maker, and it holds
captive an amazingly diverse and huge audience in previously unknown communion.
Within the charmed magic circle of this idiot box the essence of an insidious sales
message descends and perhaps settles.
32
TV Ads and Story Boards
3.2 THE ‘IDIOT BOX’
Television has been derisively called the idiot box. It is also known as the tube, the
telly, simply ‘TV’ and by many other such names. Some of these names and
definitions have a pejorative connotation, some others—grudgingly admiring. But,
almost universally, we are still a bit overawed by the technology which brought
moving pictures into our houses for collective viewing. We still regard this box as
something of a visual oracle. Whether we are complaining or complacent at times,
we still do not turn off our sets. It is a habit hard to beat and we follow it like
zombies. Unthinking, automatic. The term ‘idiot box’ has stuck and it will perhaps
never come unstuck. We have come to regard the box as a thing that cannot lie; for
is not seeing believing? A twentieth century phenomenon which is essentially
technological in nature, television basically consists of electronic transmission of
picture (and sound) from one place to another.
This can be done in a variety of ways like:
• Broadcast mode transmission
• Cable TV
• Closed Circuit TV (CCTV)
• Facsimile transmission (FAX)
• Satellite transmission
• Optical Fibre transmission, etc.
Broadcast TV (which may include one or several of the above modes in combination
before, or in conjunction with, final wireless transmission) is now mostly known
by the generic term TV. It has grown rapidly into a prime communication medium
in just over half a century, creating its own grammar and identity in the wake of its
phenomenal growth. In some countries, TV is controlled by the government, while
in others, it has been given to private organizations. But, all in all, TV has become
a major medium of mass communication all over the world. From its earliest days
it has attracted commercial messages (ads.). Actually, the roots of these messages
go back to the days before television. In USA, commercial radio was the natural
outcome of the growth of stations in the early 1920s. President Herbert Hoover
stated that he could not envision the corruption of this new medium by commercial
appeals, but sales promotion through radio began for the first time in USA in 1921.
The returns funded the then burgeoning industry. When TV became a national system
of communication in the US in the 1930s, it simply borrowed the concept from
radio. This was reinforced in part by the fact that advertising through film clips was
an accepted and well-known practice by that time. These clips would be shown in
movie theaters and were also used in field situations during World War-II, as
messages for enlisting in the army.
The advertising-television nexus had begun. It was soon realized that film clips
meant for movie halls were not particularly well suited to the new medium, the
idiot box. It required a different selling line.
3.3 PICTURES AND WORDS

When Eadweard Muybridge made multiple pictures of a single object in the early
days of photography, he used exposures measuring fractions of a second and multiple
cameras to study locomotion. These were dramatic stop motion pictures of people
33
Advertisements in movement which when seen together, gave an idea of locomotion. These were
eloquent pictures and had scientific applications besides. The earliest ‘tachyscopes’
produced the illusion of movement in a series of scenes mounted on a rapidly rotating
disk. These were quite common in the late 19th century and were the natural
precursors of the cinematheque of the brothers Lumiere. A series of pictures seen in
rapid succession seem to blend into a seamless whole since a rapid flicker produces
persistence of vision. Television is achieved by a highly complicated form of
intermittent visual stimulus. The picture is built up in strips (scan lines) which are
designed to keep flickering at a rapid enough level to achieve an image without
annoyance.
With moving pictures, a whole new sensory experience unfolded for man. With the
concept and refinement in editing, largely due to the work of D.W. Griffith, a complex
psycho-physiological area of visual stimulation took shape. The work of Eisenstein
and Pudovkin explored this area further and helped delineate its basic parameters.
With the integration of sound and motion pictures, the so-called ‘talkies’ arrived. It
was natural that these concrete inputs (pictures and sounds) suggested independent
manipulation and rearrangement of the audio-visual structures. This created a cinema
language. And the biggest beneficiary was the ‘smallest’ film-the ad film.
3.3.1 Writing Pictures

Suppose I want to sell a pair of shoes. How do I begin to sell it? A close scrutiny of
its physical form would suggest the initial sales pitch. I have begun the process of
writing pictures! An object can be seen from many angles, in different light, in
many settings and with varied incidental detail or positioning. When we structure
these inputs to match our target market and highlight a particularly strong selling
point—we have a pictorial representation of a sales promotion activity. This is a
basic substrate.
3.3.2 Painting Words

When we speak eloquently about the virtues of a particular object, its beauty and
charm—we are arousing a basic human instinct—the instinct to own. It is not
perchance that most of the advertising copies use adjectives. Free association of
ideas, evocation of a mood, reflections of human impulses—these are all tools
when one writes words for an advertisement. Using words in conjunction with
pictures and other sounds provides an almost infinite possibility (theoretically) of
creating an adroit or artistic mix. You can paint words using the whole palette of
the lexicon, sometimes unconventionally and very often in an unorthodox manner.
3.3.3 Reinforcement and Counterpoint

When a verbal (or aural) cue runs concurrently with a visual cue, it can reinforce
the latter positively. A pastoral scene with the sound of a flute in the distance is a
compelling mix. At times the cues may cancel each other out—providing negative
synergy. Structuring sounds and pictures in a manner where they reinforce each
other provides positive synergy. This synergy can be achieved through a parallelism
in the sets of cues, a serial succession or a deliberate distancing. This latter case is
known as counterpoint and can be very telling if used properly. Its use should,
however, be kept to a minimum. In a party scene where sounds of clinking glasses,
convivial laughter and music is heard, the picture of a crying child is accompanied
by silence! The synergetic message here is ‘Don’t neglect children’. Conversely,
the same party scene is accompanied by a sound track of a person recounting the
34 travails caused by drought and here the message is ‘Adopt austerity!’
3.4 SELLING LINE
Through the ages the subconscious has expressed itself pictorially, Symbolism in
painting is as ancient as in literature. Men have used sculpture and painting of
thousands of years to capture the image of what they see. Also what they feel. Cave
paintings and modern graffiti are expressions of the same kind. It is not unusual
that man wanted to verbalize his pictures as well. To him the two share the essence
of being pictorial. Before the advent of the spoken word in films, captions were
used rather freely. The practice of having posters and billboards has been as old as
organized commercial activity. With the integration of sound and pictures in cinema,
the aural selling line left the domain of the megaphone advertising travelling circuses
and became an important input in cinema of the market-place—the vocalized selling
line. The text of a film or TV ad is not always mouthed. Some of it may be used as
a caption or one might use both the caption and voice sustaining the same text. The
total text (mouthed or otherwise) of an ad is known as the copy.
3.4.1 Copywriting
Writing copy is arguably the most creative aspect of an ad film. Juggling with
words, making the perfect choice, using the perfect conjunctive, playing on meaning,
punning on words, using double entendres which fall just short of being risqué—
this is the stock in trade of the copywriter. He is, typically, never without his thesaurus
and is armed with a dozen reference tomes and innumerable clippings of print ads
he would have wanted to write. Actually, the copywriter is a creating writer who
has perfected the technique and craft of writing successful copy through endless
years of routine hard work. His is a two-fold brief—to hawk his wares in the most
comprehensible, distinct and lucid manner, and to create a dramatization of ideas
through a fresh insight, a haunting image or a daringly different symbol. This has to
be done in rarely more than three or four short sentences and almost entirely through
inner play of words. This a daunting task indeed and it is often impossible to blend
the two briefs in a harmonious manner. The copywriter who is satisfied with his
own work is rarely popular with the client. Also vice-versa—such are the vagaries
of the market-place.
In a consumer society where durables and perishables tend to replicate, there is

hardly any Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that can serve as a peg for our
copywriter to hang his copy on. Yet a copywriter must start with the USP as his
basic reference. He has also to know his submarket and the positioning of the product
therein, to choose the right cues. We shall know more about this when we structure
a TV ad.
Let us try to identify some of the literary devices most frequently used in copywriting.
All examples are taken from existing print ads.
Alliteration: Is a universal favourite of copywriters. In their quest for catchy
alliterations, unorthodox coinages or conjunctions are often used.
Example: Tingling, tangier taste!; Better buy Binatone.
Rhyme: Another favourite. Goes well with pithy messages.
Rhymed copy set to music is called a jingle.
Example: Stayfree…that’s the way you ought to be!
Assertion: Usually with direct address mode.
Example: In every party that I host, the chief guest is Amul Cheese.
35
Advertisements Endorsement: By a personality; direct mode of address.
Example: ‘I have just one complexion. And so, no ordinary soap will do. I trust
only ‘Lux’.
Punning: Quite popular with copywriters. Requires careful handling.
Example: Now, another addition to the hit list. Fine Things-the latest bestseller!
Circumlocution- just to be different.
Example: We don’t have to say anything. Products with an identity need no headlines!

List all the adjectives in a bunch of print ads and arrange in the following
manner:
1) Repeats or pairs
2) Opposites
3) Adjectives used in alliteration with other words
4) Unconventional usage
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3.4.2 Storyline
A copy is only a part of a storyline, much like the skeletal structure of a body. The
body of an ad is its storyline. It is where the ad is conceptulised and capsuled. In a
film or TV ad, in particular, a storyline may consist of little or no copy and yet be a
complete communication. A storyline is a setting. An evocation. It is what the French
call a misen scene-a mounting. It is within this mounting that we must embroider
our words and pictures, our sounds and random utterances. How does one make a
storyline?
To answer this question, we have to understand some marketing principles. When

a manufacturer decides on manufacturing a product he undertakes a market analysis.
Only after being convinced that his product has a market does he think of formulating
it. The formulation is done on the basis of a submarket segmentation—identifying
the actual potential buyers, their class characteristics, purchasing power, level of
literacy and need of buying. A survey of competitive products is undertaken. An
attractive price is formulated and within these economics a product starts taking
shape. Its wholesale marketing possibilities are carefully assessed. A launch is slated
after the test formulation and manufacture. A trial launch usually proceeds a full-
scale marketing activity. This is done in selected locations and the results are carefully
monitored and the feedback used for appropriate changes in the product or marketing
strategy. This can be illustrated in the following manner known as the:
36
Reliability Programme TV Ads and Story Boards
Market Specifications → Design Specifications (Formulation) → Prototype

Manufacture → Product testing → Feedback
A full-scale launch is usually preceded by an advertising campaign which may
consist of hoardings, neon sign display, radio and TV ads, cinema hall ads, print
media advertising and display at retail outlets. The TV ad is a part of the whole
campaign and has to work in close tandem with other forms of advertising. This
coordinated activity is undertaken in cooperation with the manufacturer by a
specialized agency—the ad agency. The agency has copywriters, visualisers, creative
artists etc., on its staff but may use the services of independent professionals as
well.
The basic information, besides the product name and target market, is the strongest
selling point which makes it distinct from other such products. This is called the
Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This may be in the form of a lower price, better
attributes or, a new feature. This is where a storyline begins. One may not start with
a USP in the linear structuring of a storyline.As a matter of fact, it is usually saved
for the last as a punch line, yet its influence on the storyline is seminal. This quality
suggests a variety of settings or moods which are consistent with the cultural values
of the target market. A language gets suggested and a plot develops. The storyline
is basically a graphic description of an ad incorporating copy.
3.5 A TV ADVERTISEMENT
What is a TV ad? How is it different from a film ad? An ad created for cinema hall
audiences (theatre release) is sometimes aired on TV. Does it become a TV ad? Can
it be called a TV version? Let us try and answer these questions.
These are fundamental questions that have been carefully researched over the years.
The answers are by no means standardized or universally applicable. For the most
part, client or agency preferences, budget constraints and the success of earlier
campaigns play a major role in the airing of theatre release ads over TV. Some
salient features are, however, noteworthy; and these have dictated the structuring
of TV ads in the recent past.
Television is an intimate medium. It responds well to intimate, personalized

messages. Mystique does not work very well on TV.
• Television, because of its size, is a medium of close ups and detail. Panoramic
views do not create the same feeling as they would on a large screen.
• Television magnifies blemishes. It does not gloss over them.
• Television has immediacy to it. Short, crisp, fast paced messages work well on
it. A twenty or thirty second ad is ideal.
• Television ads aired at fixed time slots make for best recall values.
• Television works best when it is unpretentious.
Television commercials are usually very short, so that the trickier they look, the
better. A technical device can easily be abstracted from its context and duplicated
in whatever terms are desired. What cannot be stolen, on the other hand, is the
precise imaginative context in which the device appears, for that context is the
original art—that is, the very opposite of a technical device. Interestingly, in the
context of political advertising in U.S., it is increasingly the view that thirty second
37
Advertisements ‘spots’ should be replaced by longer commercials so that sloganeering is kept to a
minimum.
3.6 STRUCTURING A TV ADVERTISEMENT

Let us structure a TV ad. Let us suppose that M/s Pluto industries wants to launch
an instant coffee. They tentatively call it ‘gold blend’. They have Nescafe as their
competitor. Nescafe has a near monopoly in the market as an instant cent- per- cent
coffee. Most other brands are coffee-chicory blends.
Product profile: What is the USP? It is a coffee with higher aroma. A cent- per- cent
premium coffee.
What is the price? Slightly higher than Nescafe.
What are the distinctive features?
What is the wrapper colour shceme? Blue and white. Also white lid.
Let us structure a framework. With the given inputs in the product profile, we have
tired to structure a suitable campaign for the market segment identified. It is
reasonable to assume that literacy will be fairly high among the market segment in
question—i.e. the Indian urban, upper middle and upper class. The choice of the
medium of the ad is thus made automatically—English, which also reinforces the
product identification with occidental cultural values that appeals to the target
segment.
This literate group is able to respond better to incidental triggers than direct cues. If
the film is slick and competent it should at the same time guard against being
spectacular. Surfeit of special effects and gimmickery are usually relegated to the
realm of science fiction by the target market. Our suggestion is a refined, aristocratic,
slightly understated film.
The USP has been given as a “coffee with a higher aroma. “The word “aroma” is
stronger in specific association of ideas, unlike the word “flavor”. Since the USP is
non-visual, associative ideas can be used as trigger cues. Again aroma is a word
with typical masculine orientation. This gives us the referential aspects of the film.
Colour scheme of the wrapper and lid tend to suggest visual aristocracy. This is
also in tune with the pricing. A few observations:
1) Higher Aroma is strong USP in the case of any coffee. The reinforcement
would be complete if the coffee is called Aroma.
2) Incorporating certain incidental visual cues on the label would create positive
synergy. Examples:
a) The acronym TM (Trademark) just after the brand name
b) Computer classification stripes
c) Prominent display of the word Instant
d) An airtight lid (which requires pressing before unscrewing).
Let us now work on alternative storylines incorporating copy. Please note the way
music is used. Atmosphere sound effects also play an important role. Also note the
variations in copy. The following five storylines broadly represent different genres
of TV ads. Note the use of close-ups and attention to detail. Each storyline is of 30
secs. duration.
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STORYLINE-1 One shot only – 30 secs. TV Ads and Story Boards
Exterior. Late afternoon. Portico of a very impressive house. The door is gleaming
mahagony and brass. A liveried footman (face is not seen) is standing on the steps
leading to the door. A luxury limousine glides into view. The sound of car doors
opening and closing and firm authoritative footsteps going up. The persons are not
seen. The door opens (opening sound). Camera glides past the car fender taking in,
in incidental detail, the gleam and high polish of the car—preferably light blue –
and ascends the steps in a fluid unbroken movement. Going into the house it
encounters impeccable taste in flooring, walls, objects fixtures etc. Also music.
Each visual cue encountered by the camera signifies taste. The music builds up.
Camera lazily pans. A beautiful male hand is in the process of moving across the
field of vision. Elegant shirt cuff and a cufflink are also seen. The hand moves
towards the background revealing a jar of coffee from which he has just withdrawn
coffee in a spoon and put into a cup. A liveried hand enters the top of the frame with
a silver coffee pot. Pours steaming water. Music goes lower and on the sound of the
pouring water a voiceover:
THE AROMA OF GOOD LIVING GOLD BLEND-THE PREMIUM COFFEE

(Freeze)
STORYLINE -2
Exterior. Late afternoon/early evening. The rolling lawns of a private estate. A horse
with a rider—handsome, not so young, and macho looking—comes into view. The
horse is paced at an easy canter-NOT galloping. The rider comes towards the camera
and dismounts. He hands the reins to a syce and joins a girl who, like him, is
dressed for outdoors. They link hands and go towards a table set in the shade of a
tree. Beautiful table linen, a food hamper, distinguished crockery etc. They settle
down to a repast. Not a word has been spoken. NO MUSIC. Only natural sound and
sound effects, occasional laughter.
The girl makes coffee for the man and for herself, handling everything with loving
care. Coffee jar is seen in closeup. The horse neighs in far distance, very low.
VOICEOVER-THE AROMA OF GOOD LIVING GOLD BLEND THE PREMIUM

COFFEE
STORYLINE-3
Interior. Early evening. A table set alongside a French window of Highland Park
Hotel at Gulmarg-Kashmir. A panorama of hills and meadows is visible beyond.
Soft music playing—can be a jingle. Misty feeling indicates autumn.
A man and a woman-sitting at the table frame the panorama beyond. A waiter’s
hands are seen in the foreground (leading edge of the table) making coffee. He
pours out the water after taking coffee from the jar with a spoon. He asks –out of
vision-‘Milk ma’am?’ She nods slightly—looking up. The man looks up and says
‘No milk for me.’ The waiter adds milk to one cup and places the cups in front of
the two. Withdraws. The emphasis and play is on the vapour issuing from the cups.
The man inhales deeply. The girl smiles. Camera is shuttered down till the couple
appear in silhouette, at the same time getting the jar in the foreground in sharp
focus.
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Advertisements VOICEOVER—FOR THAT SPECIAL AROMA GOLD BLEND THE PREMIUM
COFFEE
STORYLINE-4
A well-known personality is weighing two jars in jeweller’s scales. One jar is GOLD
BLEND. The label of the other is averted. GOLD BLEND side is heavier. The man
is puzzled. He addresses the camera:
‘How could it happen? Well! It is not as if one is more by weight than volume. They
are both coffees and both are instant. Same weight too. But wait-aren’t these quality
scales?
Now obviously this is having a problem, (points to the lighter jar).
Several shots of product, coffee in closeup heaped on a spoon. Dissolving under a

stream of water in a cup etc. Music.
VOICEOVER-(same person as above)-GOLD BLEND is not just another coffee. It

is the higher aroma premium coffee.
Closeup of product slowly revolving. The final freeze comes when the product is
perfectly in head-on position.
VOICEOVER-2
ENTER THE WORLD OF AROMA GOLD BLEND
POSSIBLE MODEL CHOICES;
• Nawab of Pataudi Saif Ali Khan
• Kabir Bedi
• Sunil Gavaskar
• Amitabh Bachchan
STORYLINE -5
Several coffee jars are lined up together. The labels do not show the trade name. We
see drawings representing facial features. The bottle at the end has its label averted.
Each lid pops open in turn and the mouth on the label gets animated on voices (All
female)
Bottle 1-I am filter coffee
Bottle 2- I am south Indian coffee
Bottle 3-I am smooth
Bottle 3-I am creamier coffee
Bottle 5-I am select.
The sixth bottle swivels around. We see the product with the label representing the
tradename.
VOICEOVER—Base Male VOICE— GOLD BLEND THE AROMA COFFEE
40
1) Write a 30 sec. TV ad for Chery Blossom shoe polish based purely on
music and effects. No voice.
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2) Write a 30 sec. TV ad (endorsement) for Cherry Blossom shoe polish
without music and effects.
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3) Write a 30 sec. TV ad for Cherry Blossom shoe polish without models.
(No human beings)
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4) Write a 30 sec. TV ad for Cherry Blossom shoe polish using a jingle.
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3.7 A STORYBOARD
A complete storyboard for the promotion of handcrafted Indian jewellery exported
by H.H.E.C. to the Middle East under the Gold Export Scheme is to be shown on
Middle East TV. Time: 35 seconds.
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Advertisements Note: no overt representation of the female form or figure allowed due to religious
and cultural reasons.
SCENE 1: Exterior, Closeup. The contours and a female face in silhouette.

Background suggests that she is sitting on a parapet at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. A
slightly displaced veil. The right-hand of girl glides up and into the frame to adjust
the veil. A narrow shaft of light illuminates the wrist, covered and wearing a bracelet
set with precious stones. Slow dissolve to scene 2.
Sound: Music, Single pluck instrument, preferably rabab.
Time: 3 seconds, dissolve over 1 second: total 5 seconds.
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Scene 2: Interior. Lal Qila. Diwan-e-Khas. Long shot a regally dressed woman, TV Ads and Story Boards
fully veiled, sitting on the central platform. Camera tracks in –taking the splendor
of the setting. As the camera moves up close, the veil is drawn back a little revealing
the lower half of a face and a covered neck, primarily with elegant white lace-but
poised over it majestically an exquisite handcrafted necklace in meena, kundan
and inset with rubies. Slow dissolve to scene 3.
Sound: Music. Rabab continues. Strains of desert flute lending a faraway quality in
time with the camera tracking in.
Time: 7 seconds, dissolve over 2 seconds: total 9 seconds.
SCENE 3: Interior. Closeup. A beautiful feminine hand with delicate tapering fingers
is bare except for a glittering diamond ring. No nail paint, only neutral gloss. The
hand is in the process of closing a beautifully ornate book bound in red leather and
gold embossed margin line on the outside suggestive of Islamic calligraphy. No
text. The book is closed ceremonially, almost! Dissolve to scene 4.
Sound: Music continues. Female voiceover: Royal splendor
Time: 3 seconds, dissolve over 2 and half seconds: total 6 and half seconds.
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Advertisements SCENE 4: Interior. Taj
Mahal. Closeup. Marble
latticework on one of the
chamber walls. A female
face enters the frame from
right. The face is seen only
in fuzzy profile in a
silhouette. As camera
focuses on the face, its
outline,still in silhouette,is
seen sharply. As this
happens, a pencil beam of
light gets faded in to light
up only a small portion in
the region of the ear
showing a beautiful
earlobe and a handcrafted
earring dangling from it.
Slow dissolve to scene 5.
Sound: Change in the
tempo of music. Music
continues. Female
voiceover:
Traditional handcrafted
jewellery, specially
created.
Time: 8 seconds, dissolve over 2 and half seconds: total 10 and half seconds.
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SCENE 5:exterior. Moonlit night. Taj Mahal. A girl is walking away from the TV Ads and Story Boards
camera and towards the monument. Wearing a full robe she looks like an ethereal
presence gliding towards the monument. She starts from close to the camera when
the frame is filled with an ornate and elegant cummerbund which she is wearing.
On her way she walks through crisscrossing shafts of light all along her path. As
she recedes, the only visual cue that stands out besides the monument is her
shimmering and glittering cummerbund. To achieve this effect the cummerbund
will be strapped on a specially designed belt which carries numerous point sources
of light powered by a battery contained within the belt. These point sources will
light up the tones from behind.
S/I Assorted items of jewellery zoomed in from distance and out of frame. S/I
HHEC Logo. Fade out.
Sound: Music towards crescendo. VOICES: Brought to you directly from India by
HHCE.
3.8 LET US SUM UP

This unit introduced you to TV ads and their genesis. It showed you how, either the
ad appeals to a need already there or creates a need, if the product is relatively new.
The visual and the aural—both aspects are important in a TV ad. The illustrations
are merely suggestive and not prescriptive. Basically, if you are able to sketch
matchstick figures, you can conceptualise an effective ad. We strongly suggest that
you continue to collect TV ads—the script and the visuals (Sketched briefly) and
maintain a file. This is the only way you can do the Check Your Progress exercises
given in this unit.

1) Stunning, yet Stylish—Double Bull
2) Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride
3) Tyres that never Tire
4) Money is merely Printed Paper.
Please refer to the five storyline examples given in 3.6 and structure your ads on
similar lines.
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Advertisements
UNIT 4 ETHICS IN ADVERTISING
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Broadcast Advertising
4.3 Outdoor Advertising
4.4 Advertising Ethics
4.4.1 Moral Principles
4.4.2 ASCI
4.4.3 Advertising Some Products
4.5 Some Model Advertisements
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.7 Answers to Check your Progress
4.8 Appendix:General Rules of Conduct in Advertising
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim through this Unit is to introduce you to what is ethical as well as unethical
advertising. After reading this unit you will be able to differentiate between an
advertisement that is ethical and one which is not. You will also be able to get a
sound knowledge of broadcast as well as outdoor advertising. You will also be
qualified to judge what products should be advertised and what should preferably
not be advertised. We have also given examples of some advertisements which are
progressive and promote social causes.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Advertising is a form of marketing communication used to persuade people to buy
a particular product or service. It is extremely important that whatever has been
advertised in the commercial is true. For this reason, organizations such as Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) are there to monitor the commercials on television and
radio. This ensures that the advertisers are not making any false claims to lure
consumers to buy their products.
What is ethics? Ethics means “Good Conduct” or “Conduct which is right in view
of the society and the time period”. By common consent, various modes of behavior
and conduct are viewed as “good” or “bad”. In other words, we can say that Ethics
are moral principles and values that govern the actions and decisions of an individual
group. Ethics is a choice between good and bad, between right and wrong. It is
governed by a set of principles of morality at a given time and at a given place and
in a given society. Advertising has ethical value. The mixing of art and facts in
advertising communication are subservient to ethical principles. In today’s
competitive and buyer’s market, advertisements have to be truthful and ethical. If
an advertisement is misleading, the credibility of the organization is lost. To view
the truth in advertisement, it has to be seen from a consumer’s point of view rather
than from a legal point. The advertising industry has been frequently criticized for
putting out misleading or exaggerated claims in respect of products, goods and
services.
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Mass media has the power to effect and manipulate society. For this reason, mass Ethics in Advertising
media should be used with a sense of responsibility and in accordance with judicial
restriction. This is also valid for advertising which gives messages to society and
tries to convince them. The message of an advertisement is no different from the
news or comments in a paper or a program on TV. The responsibility expected from
mass media should be in conformity with ethical values and within judicial limits.
The same responsibility is also expected from the advertisers. In the advertising
sector, the core values stem from personal, organizational and professional ethics.
The source of personal ethics is primarily an individuals’ conscience. Each advertiser
should determine the positive and negative effects of advertising messages for the
social structure and humanity in his own conscience. If an advertiser personally
determines his own ethical values and presents his own ethical codes, it is always
easier to determine organizational and professional ethical values.
4.2 BROADCAST ADVERTISING

Generally speaking, broadcast advertising is radio, television, and Internet
advertising. The commercials aired on radio and television are an essential part of
broadcast advertising. The role of broadcast advertising is to persuade consumers
about the benefits of the product. It is considered as a very effective medium of
advertising. The cost of advertising on any channel depends on the time of the
commercial and the specific time at which it is aired. For example, the cost of an ad
in the premium slot will be greater than in any other slot. The broadcast media like
radio and television reaches a wider audience as opposed to the print media. Radio
and television commercials fall under the category of mass marketing as the national
and global audience can be reached through it.
A radio ad must be aired several times before it actually sinks into the minds of the
consumers. Thus the frequency of the ad is important. The target audience is also
important. Therefore, one must do a research on which type of audience listens to
which channels if they want the ads to be successful.
Television advertising is usually considered appropriate for advertising for the big
corporate sectors, though even small businesses can benefit from it. A strong audio
and video combination is a must for the success of the commercial. But it is also
important that the audio and video should function well without each other. For
example, if a person is not viewing the TV but just listening to it, s/he should get
the idea and vice versa. Most of the radio and television advertisements are paid
for, though there are some public service ads which can be aired for free. The
advertisers usually have to pay for the spot which lasts for 40 to 60 seconds.
These days radio and television ads are prepared by advertising agencies for their
clients. They understand the need of the client and make the commercial keeping
in mind the current state of affairs. Broadcast advertising has become a very essential
part of marketing in recent times. Companies allocate specific budget for radio and
television ads and make an estimate of how much revenue they can earn through
broadcast advertising. For example, marketing consultants are hired to determine
the return on investment for spending on radio and television ads. Sometimes the
marketing consultants of these businesses run sample ads to judge its popularity
among the viewers.
Internet or online advertising uses the Internet or the World Wide Web for the purpose
of attracting consumers to buy their product and services. Examples of such
advertising include ads on search engine result pages, rich media ads, banner ads,
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Advertisements social network advertising, and email marketing and so on. Online advertising has
its benefits, one of them being immediate publishing of the commercial along with
the availability of the commercial to a global audience. But along with the benefits
come some disadvantages too. These days, advertisers put distracting flashing
banners or send across email spam messages to people on a mass scale. This can
annoy the consumers and even real ads might get ignored in the process. Whatever
the mode of advertising, broadcast advertising is an inherent part of any advertising
campaign these days. Therefore, ethics in advertising is very important for it to be
successful.

1) What is advertising?
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2) How would you define broadcast advertising?

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4.3 OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

Outdoor advertising communicates the message to the general public through
highway billboards, transit posters and so on. Outdoor advertising is a very important
form of advertising as the ads are huge and are visible to one and all. The important
part of the advertising is that the message to be delivered should be crisp and to the
point. Though images can be used, they should not be used in excess. Everything
should be presented to the viewer in such a format so that the viewers make up their
mind to buy the product or service.
The message to be delivered can be an advertisement to buy a product, take a trip,

vote for a politician, or donate to a charity. According to a recent survey done in
Delhi this year, it was seen that millions of rupees are being spent on outdoor
advertising each year and the figures are expected to grow. This is due to the fact
that outdoor traffic keeps on growing every year and hence the target audience for
outdoor advertising is ever increasing.
Even though print and newspaper advertising takes up a huge part of an advertising
budget, outdoor advertising is unique in its own way. It is an extremely cost-effective
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method of advertising. All you need to do is to design a billboard and get it printed, Ethics in Advertising
as compared to television advertising where an entire 40 second commercial has to
be designed. If the outdoor advertisements are strategically placed, it can guarantee
substantial exposure for very little cost. That is why outdoor advertising is very
cost-effective.
Different industries make use of outdoor advertising in their own different way. For
example, eating joints and eateries on the highway make use of highway billboards
to draw the customer to have a bite and rest a little at their joint. McDonald’s and
Subway are excellent examples. The automobile and tourism industries make use
of billboards to advertise their products and tourism plans. These are also very
successful because of the fact that people on the highway are on the lookout for
such information.
Apart from the billboards, there are several other forms in which outdoor advertising
can take place. For example, beverage companies make use of sporting events and
arenas to showcase their products. For example, Coca Cola was one of the FIFA
World Cup sponsors. Other places where you can see outdoor advertising are
taxicabs, buses, railways subways and walls on which murals are painted. All these
forms of outdoor advertising are very popular and extremely cost effective.

1) Outdoor advertising is both an effective way to advertise as well as cost
effective. Do you agree?
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4.4 ADVERTISING ETHICS

Ethics means a set of moral principles which govern a person’s behavior or how an
activity is conducted. And advertising means a mode of communication between a
seller and a buyer.
Thus ethics in advertising means a set of well defined principles which govern the
ways of communication taking place between the seller and the buyer. Ethics is the
most important feature of the advertising industry. Though there are many benefits
of advertising, there are also some points which don’t match the ethical norms of
advertising.
An ethical advertisement is one which doesn’t lie, doesn’t make fake or false claims
and is in the limit of decency. Nowadays, ads are more exaggerated and a lot of
puffery is used. Puffery is a promotional statement or claim that expresses subjective
views rather than objective ones. Puffery puts up an exaggerated image of what is
being advertised. These views are not to be taken literally. Sometimes the advertisers
49
Advertisements lack knowledge of ethical norms and principles. They just don’t understand and are
unable to decide what is correct and what is wrong.
The main interest for advertisers is to increase their sales, gain more and more
customers, and increase the demand for the product by presenting well-decorated
and colorful advertisements. They claim that their product is the best, having more
unique qualities than the competitors, along with being more cost effective, and
more beneficial. But many of these ads are found to be false, and unethical. They
only serve to mislead customers. The best examples of these types of advertisements
are the ones which show snacks for children. These advertisements use bright colors
and glossy pictures to make the product look attractive to the consumers who are
watching the advertisements on television and convince them to buy the product
without giving a second thought to the nutritional value of the food being shown.
Ethics also depends on what one believes. If the advertisers make the advertisements
on the belief that the customers will understand, think, and then act on their ads,
then this will lead to positive results and the advertisement may not be called
unethical. But at the same time, if advertisers believe that they can fool their
customers by showing impractical things, like “just clicking your fingers will make
your home or office fully furnished” or “just buying a lottery ticket will make you
a millionaire”, then this would be unethical advertising.

1) What is ethical advertising?
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2) How is it different from unethical advertising?

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4.4.1 Moral Principles

Advertisemnents should follow three moral principles - Truthfulness, Social
Responsibility and Upholding Human Dignity.
Honesty and Truthfulness: Advertisements should be so framed that they do not

abuse the trust of consumers or exploit their lack of experience or knowledge. The
50
elements affecting the purchase decision of consumers should be presented in a Ethics in Advertising
proper way to the consumers. Advertisements should be truthful and never have
misleading messages. In advertisements, expressions, sounds and visuals which
may mislead the consumers by wrong information or by creating ambiguity or
claiming exaggerated messages should not be used. The principle of honesty and
truthfulness are really important in advertisement as the consumers firstly expect
trust from the brands. The image and prestige of brands will be damaged by abusing
the trust of consumers.
Social Responsibility: Advertisements should not give any message that promotes
discrimination, based upon race, nationality, religion, sex, age, social and economic
status or disability. Nor should they in any way undermine human dignity.
Advertisements should not play on fear, appear to condone or incite violence, nor
abuse the suffering of people. Ethical principles remind the advertisers of their
social responsibility and underline that they not only sell goods or services but also
protect the society. In the last few years, applications in digital media platform
have increased and most of these applications have started to disturb the consumers.
In this sense, some practice such as unwanted e-mails, including consumers’ name
in marketing lists have grown. These need to be strongly kept in check.
4.4.2 ASCI
In order to ensure ethics in advertising, in India we have the Advertising Standards
Council of India (ASCI), which has one major aim—to maintain and enhance the
public’s confidence in advertising. The ASCI sees to it that all advertisements
conform to certain basic principles, like honest representations. This implies that
the ads should convey a truthful and honest message to the consumers and even to
competitors. Advertisements should also remain within the bounds of generally
accepted standards of public decency and propriety and be non-offensive to the
public. Ads should not be used indiscriminately for the promotion of any products
which may be harmful to society or any individual. There should not be any
plagiarism in advertisements which means that the advertisements should be original
in their creativity and subject matter. According to the ASCI, advertisers are
encouraged to show ads which promote safe practices, eg. Wearing of helmets,
using seatbelts while driving, not using mobile phones while driving etc.
Another area that needs constant supervision these days is the educational sector.
Education has become a major commercial activity these days and educational
institutions spend huge amounts on advertising their educational programmes. These
need to be monitored carefully so that parents do not get cheated while choosing an
educational programme for their children.
Yet, another area that needs a lot of monitoring is food and beverages. Advertisements
can have a positive influence by encouraging a healthy well-balanced diet and good
eating habits while stressing on appropriate physical activity. Therefore, it is
imperative that only healthy foods should be advertised and not ones that contain
high quantities of fat, salt, sugar and other substances that may be harmful to the
health of the consumers.
4.4.3 Advertising Some Products

Pharmaceutical Advertising helps to create awareness about latest medicines and
other innovative medical procedures. However, there are certain issues that one
needs to be very careful about here. The advertisers show what the medicine can
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Advertisements cure but never talk about the side effects of the same or the risks involved in the
intake of it. This should be checked and both pros and cons of the product should
be communicated. Also drug companies don’t advertise their cheapest products.
They promote the more expensive ones. Ethical advertising requires that if you
promote the benefits of your medicine, you must also reveal any significant risks or
side effects. Recently it was seen that a weight- loss drug introduced in the market
had to carry a disclaimer. The medicine worked miracles, but the company was
also obliged to mention its unpleasant side effects.
Many advertisers wrongly feel that women and children have the power to convince
the buyers. Therefore, they use them in their advertisements indiscriminately. But
when advertisers use children in their ads, they should remember not to show them
unattended, doing their work on their own, like brushing teeth, playing with toys,
or infants holding their own milk bottles as everyone knows that no one will leave
their kids unattended while doing all these activities. So showing parents also
involved in all activities or things being advertised will be more logical. As for
women, they have been majorly exploited for advertising products that they have
nothing to do with. For example one often comes across advertisements for cars or
other unrelated things which have scantily clad women endorsing them. This is
gross violation of the female gender and should be checked.
Alcohol, cigarettes and tobacco should never be advertised as consumption of these

things is directly responsible for cancer and other severe health issues. These
advertisements are already banned in countries like India, Norway, Thailand, Finland
and Singapore. However an alarming trend these days in India is on the rise. Liquor
companies are coming up with mineral water or sodas in their advertisements under
the same brand name. These ads are called surrogate advertisements and are
totally unethical, because under the garb of water/soda they are actually promoting
alcohol.
Advertisements for social causes are ethical and are accepted by the people and
should be shown frequently in order to provide direction to the society towards
progressive change. Advertisers spend a lot of time trying to anticipate what their
audiences will want and how they’ll react. Many times their efforts bear fruit, but
sometimes the advertisements they come up with, turn out to be completely unethical
and in bad taste. Looking at all these points, advertisers should start taking
responsibility by self regulating their ads by:
• Designing self regulatory codes in their companies based on ethical norms,
truth, decency, and legal points.
• Keeping track of their advertising activities and removing advertisements which
don’t fulfill the codes.
• Informing the consumers about the self regulatory codes of their company.
• Paying attention to the complaints coming from consumers about their product
advertisements
• Maintaining transparency throughout the company and their systems.
If all the above points are implemented, it will result in making the company
answerable for all its activities and will reduce the chances of getting caught out by
the critics or any other regulatory body. This will help gain the confidence of the
customers, and make them trust the company and the product.
52
Ethics in Advertising
1) What role does the ASCI play as far as Indian advertising is concerned?
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2) What are some products that need constant supervision while advertising?
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4.5 SOME MODEL ADVERTISEMENTS

Advertising is often criticized for being a very insidious vehicle for pushing agendas
to sell products to unsuspecting masses. However, every now and then an
advertisement comes out with a strong social message attached to it. It tells such a
powerful story that the message and the brand stays on in our heads.
One such advertisement is for a popular soap brand. Every year, millions of children
in rural India under the age of 5 years, die due to infections like diarrhea and
pneumonia and from unhealthy living practices. This advertisement film is set in
Thesgora, an Indian village with one of the highest rates of diarrhea in India. The
ad starts with a man walking on his hands, followed by his son Muthu, and then
slowly accompanied by a big mob. He walks miles and finally reaches a temple to
thank the god and priests as his son has reached five years of age. It is significant to
note that none of his previous children lived to the age of 5 years. This advertisement
is of a brand of soap and promotes healthy hand washing habits. For some time
during the viewing one is not sure where it is heading. But once the ad film reaches
the end, the message is not only clear but the horrifying statistics of child deaths
jolts one out of ones comfort zone and sense of complacency.
Then there are a series of ad films which are promoting social causes in a big way.
They are breaking new grounds and leading to a great deal of progressive thinking.
An example could be taken from the ad films by Havells, a popular brand for
appliances. Their catch phrase of their advertisements is “Hawa Badlegi.” This
series of ads is a classical example of overcoming the boundaries and stereotypes
imposed by society. In one instance, a newlywed couple walks into the registrar’s
office in which the husband wishes to adopt the last name of his wife. In the second
instance, a baby girl is delivered to a Hindu-Muslim couple and the father explains
that the girl child can adopt any religion she wishes to when she grows up. In yet
53
Advertisements another incidence, a domestic servant is asked to dine in with the rest of the family.
This series crosses the boundaries of gender, religion and class. It depicts that it is
time to move on from certain orthodox beliefs and make society a better place to
live in. Finally, a coffee maker advertisement by the same brand takes up the cause
of women empowerment. The advertisement shows a typical Indian setting where
the prospective groom’s family has come to “see” a girl. The boys’ overconfident
mother states with complete arrogance that they want an early marriage as her poor
son is tired of making coffee for himself—implying that they now need a bride to
do this job of coffee-making. The girl quickly hands him a coffee-making machine
and says cheekily that it would come in handy for him as clearly he has no need for
a “wife” since it is only coffee that he apparently wants. She goes on to say that she
is no household appliance!
Another very effective advertisement is by a popular jewellery brand which features

a dusky skinned mother getting married. Her little daughter walks along with her to
the mandap for the traditional ‘pheras’. The daughter asks if she can join her mother
in the pheras. Amidst a stunned silence, the groom steps up and lifts up the little
girl and carries her during the pheras. The advertisement, very subtly displays a
message of the meaning of true love. It does not see colour or age. It is solely based
on emotions. Being a second marriage for the lady, the advertisement beautifully
exhibits the possibility of happy endings and second chances. The social message
of the skin colour being of no importance is aptly displayed. Also, in the Indian
society, divorce is still looked upon as a matter of shame. This advertisement counters
and challenges the stereotypes associated with divorce and exhibits the benefits of
ending an unproductive marriage to move towards a new, productive one. Thus it
breaks new ground and leads to progressive thinking.
Another ad by the same jewellery brand shows popular actress Deepika Padukone
buying jewellery while her mother is busy with household chores at home. When
she reaches home the mother is a little upset that Deepika has no time to spend with
her. However, Deepika Padukone hands her the box of jewellery which she had
actually bought as a gift for her mother. The advertisement very subtly reminds us
that the bustle and stress of daily life often sees many of us falling behind in our
duties towards our parents. Through this advertisement we are reminded of the
necessity of remembering and celebrating our parents.
There may still be some fairness-advertisements that equate success and happiness
with the skin tone of a woman but by and large Indian advertisements are really
coming of age and are addressing vital social issues. The Indian advertising industry
is talking business today. It has evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-
fledged industry. It has emerged as one of the major industries and has broadened
its horizons, be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of personnel
involved. The Indian advertising Industry in very little time has carved a niche for
itself and placed itself on the global map. Indian advertising has every reason to
celebrate. Businesses are looking upto advertising as a tool to cash in on lucrative
business opportunities. Growth in business has led to a consecutive boom in the
advertising industry as well.
4.6 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit we have spoken of the importance of ethics in advertising. Mass media
plays a very important role in influencing societies. Hence it is imperative that only
things that have a positive influence on people be shown. Things that have a negative
impact should not be advertised.
54
Ethics in Advertising
1) Advertising is a form of marketing communication used to persuade people to
buy a particular product or service. It is a mode of communication between a
buyer and a seller.
2) Broadcast advertising is radio, TV and internet advertising. The commercials
aired on radio, TV or the World Wide Web for the purpose of attracting
consumers all come under the purview of broadcast advertising.
1) Yes I agree. Outdoor advertising immediately catches the attention of
consumers. The cost proves to be less than an advertisement on TV, the cost of
which is much higher even for a 40 second advertisement.
1) Ethical advertisement is clear about its intentions and refrains from messages
that have hidden agendas.
2) Unethical advertisement often distorts or misrepresents its product to influence
people.
1) Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) sees to it that all advertisements
conform to certain basic principles like truthfulness, social responsibility and
the promotion of human dignity.
2) Food and beverages, education, pharmaceutical products, among many others,
need a great deal of supervision while advertising.
4.8 APPENDIX: GENERAL RULES OF CONDUCT

IN ADVERTISEMENT
General Rules of Conduct in Advertising – Please see AIR advertising for
Commercial broadcast 2008.
(Verghese Committee Report, 1978)
1) Advertising should be so designed as to conform to the laws of the country and
should not offend the morality, decency and religious susceptibilities of the
people.
2) No advertisement should be permitted:
i) Which derides any race, caste, colour, creed, nationality except wherein
such usage would be for the specific purpose of effective dramatization,
such as combating prejudice;
ii) Which is against any of the objectives, principles, or provisions of the
Constitution of India;
iii) Which will tend to incite people to crime or to promote disorder, violence
or breach of law;
iv) Which presents criminality as desirable, or furnish details of crime or
imitation thereof;
v) Which would adversely affect friendly relations with foreign States;
55
Advertisements vi) Which exploits the national emblem, or any part of the Constitution, or
the person or personality or national leaders or state dignitary;
vii) On cigarettes and tobacco products;
viii) No advertisement shall be permitted the objects whereof are wholly or
mainly of a religious or political nature; advertisements must not be
directed towards any religious or political end or have any relation to any
industrial dispute;
ix) Advertisement for service concerned with following are not acceptable:
(a) Money lenders; (b) Chit Funds and saving schemes other than those
conducted by nationalized or recognized banks; (c) Matrimonial agencies;
(d) Unlicensed employment services; (e) Fortune-tellers or sooth-sayers,
etc. and those with the claims of hypnotism would be excluded from
advertising on T.V.;
x) Betting tips and guide books, etc. relating to horse-racing or other games
of chance shall not be accepted;
xi) No advertisement shall contain references which are likely to lead the
public to infer that the product advertised or any of its ingredients has
some special property or quality which is incapable of being established,
e.g. cure for baldness;
xii) Scientific or statistical excerpts from technical literature, etc., must be
used only with a proper sense of responsibility to the ordinary viewer.
Irrelevant data and scientific jargon must not be used to make claims
appear to have a scientific basis they do not possess. Statistics of limited
validity should not be presented in such a way as to make it appear that
they are universally true;
xiii) Advertisers or their agents must be prepared to produce evidence to
substantiate any claims or illustrations;
xiv) Advertisements should not contain disparaging reference to another
product or service;
xv) Imitation likely to mislead viewers even though it may not be of such a
kind as to give room for legal action or be deemed as breach of copyright
must be avoided;
xvi) Visual and verbal representations of actual and comparative prices and
cost must be accurate and should not mislead on account of undue emphasis
or distortion; and
xvii)Testimonials must be genuine and must not be used in a manner likely to
mislead the viewers. Advertisers or the agencies must be prepared to
produce evidence in support of any testimonial and any claims it may
contain.
3) In all other aspects, the DG AIR/DD be guided for purposes of commercial
broadcasting and telecasting on AIR/DD by the Code of Ethnic for Advertising
in India issued by the Advertising Council of India, as modified from time to
time.
4) Notwithstanding anything contained herein; this code is subject to such
modification/direction as may be made/issued by the Government of India
from time to time.
56
BEGG-171
Indira Gandhi
Block
3
MEDIA WRITING
UNIT 1
Script Writing for Radio and TV 5
UNIT 2
Writing for News 17
UNIT 3
Editorial Writing 27
UNIT 4
Editing for Print and Online Media 36
INTRODUCTION TO BLOCK 3: MEDIA
WRITING
Welcome to the third Block of this course on Media and Communication Skills.
This Block is entitled MEDIA WRITING and has four Units. In order to view
media intelligently, we need to develop ‘media literacy.’ We are literate in print and
so can read and judge the merits of what we are. Similarly we need to become
acquainted with the electronic media. Familiarity with media literacy may also be
useful if we ever need to take part in a media programme or arrange one.
In Unit 1, entitled Script Writing for Radio and TV we have focused on what
kind of language should preferably be used while scripting for the media.
Unit 2 entitled Writing for News takes up the process and principles involved in
news scripting for the broadcast media. Broadcast copy is written for the ears rather
than the eyes. Therefore, the writer must always be aware that the consumers of
broadcast news will be listening to what they write, rather than reading it.
In Unit 3 which is entitled Editorial Writing, we have discussed the importance

and validity of Editorials in the print media. This will help you to read editorials
with a critical and analytical eye.
Finally in Unit 4, entitled Editing for Print and Online Media we have taught you
how to edit material for print and online media.
We hope you enjoy studying this block.

Media Writing
4
Script Writing for Radio
UNIT 1 SCRIPT WRITING FOR RADIO and TV
AND TV
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Unscripted Programmes: Interviews, Discussions, Audience Participatory
Programmes
1.2.1 Preparing for Unscripted Programmes
1.2.2 Setting up a Panel
1.2.3 Some Questions and Answers
1.3 A World of Many Voices
1.4 Some Popular Formats in Television
1.5 The Grammar of Television: Shots and Transitions
1.5.1 Shot Sizes
1.5.2 Camera Movements
1.5.3 Transitions
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 OBJECTIVES
Out aim through this Unit is to help you to develop ‘media literacy’, by
• Understanding the various kinds of formats for media programmes,
• Understanding the process of preparation for an ‘unscripted’ programme,
• Illustrating the differences between ‘real’ speech and written language, using
actual examples,
• Becoming familiar with the basics of the language of television, and
• To change how one views a programme or listens to a programme, by
understanding these formats, processes and issues.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Not all of us will become producers for the media. But all of us are viewers and
consumers of media programmes. If we know a little about how these programmes
are produced, it will help us to judge the merits of what we hear and see on the
media.
In order to view media intelligently, we need to develop ‘media literacy’. We are

literate in print and so can read and judge the merits of what we read. In this century
we need to similarly become acquainted with the electronic media. The basics of
media literacy may also come in handy if we ever need to take part in a media
programme, or arrange a programme in our own institutions for a live audience.
In this unit we will reflect on how careful preparation and imagination can raise the
quality of even a programme that is ‘unscripted’. We shall look in some detail at
5
Media Writing how a panel discussion may be set up. We shall also illustrate how the natural,
spontaneous spoken language differs from written language. Finally, we shall
mention some of the formats of television porgrammes, and familiarize you with
the basic “grammar” of television – the elements of its “visual language”.
Throughout this unit, we invite you to watch television, or listen to the radio, to
understand and reflect on the points we make. Much of the work required for this
unit, therefore, is recreational. Happy viewing!
1.2 UNSCRIPTED PROGRAMMES: INTERVIEWS

DISCUSSIONS, AUDIENCE PARTICIPATORY
PROGRAMMES
1.2.1 Preparing for Unscripted Programmes
Interviews, panel discussions or group discussions, and audience participatory
programmes are the prime examples of unscripted radio and television programmes.
Unscripted does not mean unprepared for. If you are to be the interviewer or the
moderator or the anchor, you will have to do a bit of homework about the subject,
find out as much as you can about it, and think of how to approach the topic. This
preparation will help you to guide the interview or the discussion in a focused way.
If the interview or discussion has no focus and rambles on, the audience will lose
their way, and lose interest.
In the media, there are two catchphrases for producers:
1) Well begun is half done; ill begun is undone.
2) Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; and tell them what you’ve
told them.
The first slogan emphasizes the necessity of catching the listeners’ or viewers’
attention right at the beginning, when they have the choice of switching to some
other channel. Why should they listen to your programme? Ask yourself this question,
narrow down the answer, and begin the programme with that point, which emphasizes
the uniqueness of your programme. In advertising circles they talk of a USP or
unique selling point. The advertiser is forced to think about and articulate to herself
the one point which differentiates her product from all other products. Once you
have caught your audience’s attention, the chances are that they will stay with you,
unless you really have nothing more to say!
The second slogan points to the temporal nature of these media. When people are
watching a broadcast, they cannot stop and go back to refresh their memory. It is
therefore good practice to introduce the programme with a brief overview, present
the main points, and conclude with a recapitulation of the main points.

i) From your experience of watching television or listening to radio, name a
programme which in your opinion illustrates slogan number 1 given above.
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6
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ii) Which of these two slogans is illustrated by the daily news on radio or
TV?
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1.2.2 Setting Up a Panel

Let’s suppose you want to host a panel discussion about how to prepare for an
interview. How large should it be? Apart from yourself, the anchor or the moderator,
you need at least two others (if you have only one other person, it will be simply an
interview). But perhaps two is too few. Your two guests may agree totally with each
other (which makes it a little dull and boring), or they may disagree so much that
you are caught in between. Two guests, then, do not allow much scope for interaction
and debate; a minimum of three would be better. What about a maximum? It may
be difficult to manage more than four people: to give them each enough time for
their say, and to remember each person’s opinions and react to it, in a fifteen or
twenty minute programme. So let’s say you settle on a panel of three or four people,
and yourself.
You then have to think of the kind of people you want on the panel, A panel is
supposed to be representative of the people connected with the topic. So there should
be different kinds of people who are connected with interviews, on the panel. You
may want to start with the interviewers themselves: Who better than them to speak
about how an interviewee should prepare? One kind of person on your panel,
therefore, could be the executive of an important company, the kind of person who
interviews candidates for the most sought-after kind of jobs. Then you may want to
include a representative of the government, or a public sector enterprise; for the
perception of the public and private sector interviewers may differ. For a third, why
not look for a placement consultant, or the kind of person who trains candidates in
communication skills and helps them prepare for the interview? The fourth member
of the panel – if one is required – could then be a candidate: either someone who is
disillusioned after a number of failed attempts to get a job, or someone who seems
to have the magic wand that opens all doors after every interview. In this way you
could get four perspectives on the panel.
Now that you have your people together, you must think of what to say.
• How should you begin the programme?
• How should you introduce the panelists, and in what order?
• Most importantly, what questions do you ask, and in what order?
• What do you think the answers are likely to be?
This imaginative exercise is the crucial preparation for the panel discussion. It does
not mean you should make a rigid plan and stick slavishly to it. But with this 7
Media Writing preparation, you will be a good host who can better listen to what the panelists say.
You can react to them better, because you will have thought about what they may
say.

1) Watch a discussion in English, on TV, or listen to a discussion in English
on the radio. Then do the tasks suggested below.
Note: You may not be able to do all these tasks if you are watching or
listening to a live programme, and all alone. If possible, work with a
recorded programme, and in a group.
If this is not possible, you may have to watch or listen to three or four different
discussion programmes. Try answering only one of the questions each time.
i) Note down how many discussants there are, and who they are.
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ii) Note down the topic, and how the anchor introduces them.
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iii) Finally, note down the questions the anchor asks the discussants.
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1.2.3 Some Questions and Answers

Continuing with our example, let us now look at how one anchor prepared for this
panel discussion on how to prepare for an interview. She noticed from her research
that three kinds of preparation for interviews were often mentioned:
• Intellectual preparation,
• Physical preparation and
8
• Mental preparation (attitude, control of nerves, and so on). Script Writing for Radio
and TV
So the questions to the panelists begin – which of these topics should be addressed
first? Should the discussions begin with tips about how to control your nervousness,
or with tips about how to dress for the interview, or with tips about how to study
your subject for it? Notice that these three kinds of tips relate to the three areas
mentioned above, of mental preparation, physical preparation and intellectual
preparation respectively.
Here the anchor asked herself: if I were going to take an interview next week, and
I was watching this programme, what would I be most interested in? The answer:
I’d love to know what kinds of questions I will be asked. Indeed, the books on
preparing for interviews encouraged candidates to think of and predict questions
they would be asked. So she decided to begin with the broad and general question:
“What are the kinds of questions you would ask a candidate?”
Notice that this is a general, broad question, which doesn’t relate to any particular
kind of preparation by the candidate. But the panelists’ answers indicated that the
questions would mostly be about the candidate’s background, and abilities. That is,
the answers related to intellectual preparation. This helped her to ask the next
question.
Her second question was: “Is the focus on a person’s knowledge, or the ability to
communicate?” Then she asked questions about self-confidence and nervousness:
“What if a candidate fumbles at an interview?” These questions all addressed the
area of mental preparation. Finally, she asked: “Do dress and appearance matter?
To what extent are you influenced by it?” This was a question about physical
preparation.
Notice that the anchor asked five questions during this twenty minute programme.
These five questions covered the three areas of preparation she had identified during
her research. Notice too that her questions rearranged the points she had noted
during her research, and that she did not use bookish words such as “intellectual
preparation, mental preparation, and physical preparation”.
1.3 A WORLD OF MANY VOICES

Unscripted programmes present speech in its most natural, everyday form. We have
already learned that spoken language is a little different from written language.
When we speak we may pause to think. We may correct ourselves as we speak. We
may hesitate or discontinue a thought; we may repeat ourselves. All this makes
unscripted spoken language a little different from the neatly thought out and well
arranged sentences we see in our textbooks and in print.
What would our speech look like if it were written down (“transcribed”)? Here are
a few examples of real speech, taken from a discussion about how to face an
interview.
“The questions will go on changing depending upon the candidate, his background
– particularly his educational background, and his past experience, if any.”
When written down, this sentence might read: “The questions will go on changing
depending on the candidate’s educational background and past experience, if any.
The spoken sentence expresses each thought and afterthought as it occurs: the
candidate, his background, his educational background……When writing these 9
Media Writing thoughts down, they are presented in a complete form, without repetition for
television.
“We probe. We probe in the sense we try to see whether the candidate knows what
he’s going in for.”
Notice how the speaker expands and explains his idea of ‘probing’, and uses the
phrase ‘in the sense’ to signal this.
Notice the parallelisms in sentence structure in these examples:
“He has to give his opinions; he has to make some decisions….”
“How well aware is he? How much does he know about what is happening not only
in this country but also in the world?
“Nothing too loud, nothing too jazzy, nothing ‘mod’ at all”.
Notice the parenthetical thoughts in the transcript below. The speaker explains who
he means by “we”. He adds the emphasize “believe me” to break the sequence of
three parallel phrases introduced by the words “half …. One-fourth …. One-fourth.”
“Looks are fairly important and we, all of us who deal in personnel recruitment,
believe that half the interview is over when you enter, one-fourth is what they talk
to you and believe me, the last one-fourth is again how you rise and get out.”
The speakers quoted below put the main word first in the sentence.
“Dress, I don’t think it is very important.”
“Ambition – ambition was a bad word till recently.”
And this speaker begins with a half-sentence. Moreover, this half sentence seems to
end with an extra word, “candidates”, which strictly belongs to the next sentence;
the first half-sentence would be fine if it ended with “looking for”. Such mix ups
and slight ungrammaticalities often occur in speech.
“Depends on which function you’re looking for in candidates. For example, if you
are looking for candidates for the marketing department, yes, it has a higher
weightage than if he has to be working in R & D for example”.
Here are some examples of words repeated for emphasis.

“At the bio-data stage, the prospective employer doesn’t know you at all, at all,
absolutely. All he has to go by is your bio-data that is in front of him’.
Words like “absolutely” occur more often in speech to emphasize a point. Again,
there is a frequent occurrence of words like “well”, “now”, and other such adverbs
which allow the speaker to take some time to think, as in this example.
“Well, one standard question is “where do you see yourself five years from now?’
Now, when I got this question first I said, ‘I’m looking at myself in your seat’. I got
the job.”
In short, speech has characteristics of spontaneity and thinking while we speak that
get reflected in hesitations, false starts, self-corrections, and sentences that do not
strictly ‘hang together’ grammatically. Because even the most proficient language
user does not speak English “like a book”, these errors and inadequacies are forgiven
in speech. So also many learners sound alright when they speak, but fare very poorly
when they have to write!
10
Check Your Progress 3 and TV
i) Read the spoken discourse given below, about the importance of the
biodata, and identify the words and phrases and other aspects of language
that strike you as ‘spoken’ rather than ‘written’.
“You see the one thing one should always remember the bio-data reaches
before the person comes. So unless we do campus recruitment where also
we do ask them to fill up personal data forms the individuals must always
realize that the bio-data is going before he goes so the bio-data should be
able to carry as much about the person as it can. (Pause)
So while there are lots of bio-data we see where a lot of irrelevant
information is given which doesn’t impress at all –but a crisply presented
bio-data which tells everything the interviewer would like to know about,
is extremely important-format, the neatness, the details….”
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ii) Try to analyse and ‘edit’ this passage to make it appropriate for a book.
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1.4 SOME POPULAR FORMATS IN TELEVISION

The format of the programme we have been discussing until now may be termed
the ‘expert panel’ or the ‘studio discussion’ (if the panel includes non-experts). We
have also referred to audience participatory programmes, and studio based discussion
programmes. There are some other well known formats in television programming.
Given below is a list that includes the formats we have discussed. Can you say
which of these formats allow for unscripted programmes, and which are likely to be
scripted? Remember that it also possible to have a part of a programme scripted:
e.g. in a quiz show, the quiz master has prepared questions, alternative choices for
answers, and the correct answers. (S)he might even have rehearsed or scripted some
light-hearted talk to introduce the questions. But the audience comes without a
script, and the quizmaster must have the presence of mind to react appropriately to
what the audience says and does.
1) Audience participatory: e.g. game shows, quizzes, skills (music, comedy,…)
11
Media Writing 2) Expert panel: e.g. election coverage, issues related to education, gender, etc.
3) Studio based discussion programme: e.g. weekly discussions with an invited
audience and an anchor, on some issue of general interest
4) Field documentaries: e.g. on wildlife, on social or political issues, on travel
5) Folk-forms: e.g. puppetry, folk theatre
6) Demonstration: e.g. cookery
7) Live programmes: coverage of sports, parliament, election news, disasters,
etc.
8) News and current affairs
9) Drama
1.5 THE GRAMMAR OF TELEVISION: SHOTS AND

TRANSITIONS
1.5.1 Shot Sizes
News programmes, and some discussion programmes, are the reason why television
is sometimes called a medium of ‘the talking head’. You do not often see a ‘talking
head’ in a film or movie; the screen is too large, and the size of a talking head would
be intimidating. The television screen can project an image of a person upto their
bust or chest, which is almost the size of a person sitting across you at that distance;
television is an intimate medium. It has been said that a discussion programme on
television should have the atmosphere of an intelligent after-dinner conversation.
Now think of the picture of the talking head – or watch a news presenter sitting at
her or his desk as (s)he presents the news. How much of the person do you see? We
have suggested above that you see the face and head, and below that, the neck, up
to the chest. This picture size is called a ‘bust shot’, and it is standard size of the
image for television presenters.
Suppose you are watching a family drama. You see a clever villain planning and
plotting some mischief; you see from the expression on the actor’s face. To show
you this, the camera moves ‘closer’ to the actor, to give you a ‘close up’ shot of just
the face, with a little bit of the neck. The camera can move even closer and give you
an ‘extreme close up’ of just the persons’ eyes and forehead, for example, if the
moment is dramatic enough.
On the other hand, suppose you are watching a ‘walking interview’, where the
interviewer and the interviewee are touring a house, or walking in a garden. To
begin with, you need to know where these people are. So you might be looking at a
picture which shows you some of the background – the landscape or scene where
the interview is taking place – and the full height of the interviewer and interviewee.
This is called a ‘long shot’. It is the typical shot to begin a programme that is not set
in a studio. If much more of the scene and background is shown than the people, we
have a ‘very long shot’.
The other two shot sizes are the ‘knee shot’ (an image of a person up to the knee)
and the ‘mid shot’ (up to the waist).
In this way the television camera can look at only a part of the human body. It must
take care not to cut the picture at a joint of the body; as long as care is taken about
12
this, the viewer will not have a feeling of seeing a cut-up body! The viewer’s mind Script Writing for Radio
and TV
will ‘fill in’ what his eye cannot see. But if the camera frames the picture in such a
way that the edge of the frame cuts the picture at one of the joints of the body – the
knee, the elbow, or the shoulder – then the picture will tend to make a person look
like an amputee.
We have described the ‘shot sizes’ in television in terms of the human body, and
this is the standard practice, perhaps because television is more about people than
anything else. But the terms we have introduced apply to all shots on television – of
places, of things, of events. So in a cricket match you can have an extreme long shot
of the entire stadium, or a close up of a ball passing next to the bat of the batsman,
to let you see whether he ‘nicked’ it.
By now you must have understood that the ‘size’ of a shot is the extent of the image
that is framed by the camera lens.

i) Name the various shot sizes and describe them.
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1.5.2 Camera Movements

To attract our attention and to keep it, the picture on the television screen must
show movement of some sort. Otherwise it becomes a still image, a photograph.
In the case of talking head programmes, sports programmes and the like, the
movement is provided by the subjects themselves: people speaking, laughing,
gesturing; players moving around, and so on. But in addition to such intrinsic
movement, the image on your television screen can be kept alive by using a variety
of camera movements.
To understand the movements being described now, you must watch television with
these descriptions in your hand. Suppose the camera shows you one end of a room
– its left wall, perhaps, and a window – and then starts to move sideward, as if you
are looking around a room till it comes to the right wall. This movement of the
camera is called ‘a pan’. Why did the camera make you look along the room from
the left to the right? Perhaps at the right edge of the room you discovered – the
camera discovered for you – an intruder, waiting to pounce on whoever came into
the room. The dramatic effect is heightened by panning across the empty room
until you suddenly see the intruder. This is why the pan is often called movement of
discovery. In sports programmes, the camera might pan along the path taken by a
ball, or the players, and let you discover where the ball went, or the players.
The position of the camera does not change during a pan: only its lens moves, as if
a head turns. But in a ‘track’ shot, the camera moves along with a moving subject,
13
Media Writing keeping it in sight. Think of a jogger in a park, or a car on a road. You can shoot
these by moving alongside them as they move – by tracking them.
The camera can move not only sideward, but also up and down. Again, the camera
itself may be fixed in its position, but tilt its lens upwards to look at a man on a roof
about to jump: this is a ‘tilt up’. Or it may tilt its lens down to look at a borewell
hole on the ground: a ‘tilt down’. On the other hand, the camera may rise along
with a subject (‘elevate’), or move downwards on the vertical axis along with a
subject (‘depress’).
Finally, how does the camera go closer into a subject? It can move physically closer
(‘track in’), or it can use the zoom lens to zoom in. The zoom lens also allows the
camera to zoom out.
1.5.3 Transitions
A transition links the end of one shot and the beginning of another. It is comparable
to punctuation, and shows to what degree each shot or scene is related to the next.
The grammar of television is made up of shots, sequences and transitions. Shots are
like words, the basic building blocks of the visual language. The way they are
composed leads to sequences. The manner in which shots are put together into
sequences is the transition.
The cut is the simplest transition. One image is replaced by another. When you
watch the news, the image often cuts from one newsreader to the other or from a
newsreader to a news item on location.
An inexpert cut can be the most abrupt way of putting two images together. But
used appropriately, it has great visual impact, and quick cuts can give a very dramatic
impact. Alfred Hitchcock is reputed to have used the cut to great effect in the shower
scene from Psycho. It is also used in montages, as it can give a sense of movement
to images that are static.
The fade (out) means the image disappears gradually by fading away, often to a
black screen (“fade to black”). It signals an end to a statement, like the end of a
paragraph. An image can also gradually appear on the screen: This is a fade in.
The mix or dissolve is a fade out accompanied by a fade in. This is a very useful
transition technique to signal, for example, that a person is remembering something.
The scene of the present dissolves into the past. Again, you can mix from a
photograph of a person to the person himself. It can also be used instead of a zoom
to go to a small detail of a larger object: for example, an image of the Taj Mahal
may dissolve into an image of some intricate carving at its entrance arch.
There are other transitions called ‘wipes’ and ‘flips’ that are done electronically at
the editing stage.
1.6 LET US SUM UP

• In order to understand the electronic media and its programmes, we need to
develop ‘media literacy’. This involves a knowledge of how media programmes
are produced so that we can judge the merits of what we hear and see on the
media.
14
• The format of the media programmes can be scripted, as in the case of news Script Writing for Radio
and TV
presentations, or documentaries; or unscripted, like in interviews, group
discussions, or panel discussions; or partly scripted, like in a quiz show where
the quiz-master has prepared questions and their correct answers, while the
audience comes without a script.
• The grammar or the basics of television programmes comprise shots, sequences

and transitions—all based on the movements of the camera.
• The extent of the image framed by the camera lens decides the ‘size’ of a shot.
• The picture on the TV screen must constantly show movement of some sort
otherwise it will be like a still image or photograph and cease to hold our
attention.
• The end of one scene on the TV screen and the beginning of another is called
transition. When the image disappears gradually from the screen it is called
‘fade out and, its gradual appearance is the ‘fade in’; ‘the mix’ or ‘dissolve’ is
a ‘fade out’ accompanied by a ‘fade in’.

i) Choose any programme you have liked.
ii) The news begins with the headlines, which tell us what they are going to tell
us. It then tells us each item in detail. Finally it reannounces the headlines. So
it illustrates the second slogan.
Please provide your own answers based on your listening.
i) Words and phrases like “you see”, “so”, “the one thing”, “a lot of”, “doesn’t.”
occur more often in spoken language. Notice also the repeated use of emphasis:
“always remember”, “always realize”, “where also we do ask them”, “Doesn’t
impress at all”.
ii) In the first sentence, it is not specified where the biodata “reaches” or the
person comes” –this is obvious from the context. Such omissions are not allowed
in written language. The omission of “that” in the phrase “one should always
remember (that) the biodata reaches before the person comes” is acceptable in
spoken language, where a slight pause and a change in the tone of the voice
signal the beginning of a new clause. It is not acceptable in written English,
unless there is an appropriate punctuation mark (‘always remember: the
biodata…’).
Even more striking is the way the thoughts tumble out and run into one another,
resulting in sentences that start in one way and end in another. The second sentence,
for example, begins with “unless we do….” The subject of this clause is “we”. But
the main clause tells us what the “individuals” must realize—the thought has shifted.
Similarly, the last sentence collapses two thoughts, and the speech trails off. This
vagueness of ending is quite polite in conversation, where it is seen as an invitation
for someone else to take a turn; but it is hardly appropriate in writing.
15
Media Writing A written version of this spoken discourse might read as follows:
“Remember that the biodata reaches your prospective employer before you get
there. So the biodata must carry as much about you as a person as it can except
perhaps in campus recruitment, where you fill up personal data forms, but are
physically present when you do so. We see many biodata with a lot of irrelevant
information, which does not impress us at all. A neat, crisply presented biodata in
the right format, with relevant details that the interviewer would like to know about,
is extremely important.
The ‘long shot’ is the typical shot to begin a programe that is not set in a studio. It
shows you some of the background—the landscape or scene where the people are—
and their full height.
If much more of the scene and background is shown than the people, we have a
‘very long shot’.
The other two shot sizes are the ‘knee shot’ (an image of a person upto the knee)
and the ‘mid shot’ (upto the waist).
In a ‘bust shot’, you see the face and head, and below that, the neck, up to the chest.
This picture size is the standard size of the image for television presenters. To show
you the expression on the actor’s face, the camera moves ‘closer’, to give you a
‘close up’ shot: of just the face, with a little bit of the neck.
The camera can move even closer, and give you an ‘extreme close up’ of just the
person’s eyes and forehead.
16
UNIT 2 WRITING FOR NEWS and TV
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 What is News?
2.2.1 Elements of News
2.2.2 Gathering of News
2.2.3 Sources of Information
2.3 Scripting for Broadcast
2.3.1 Selection of News
2.3.2 Characteristics of News Writing for Broadcast
2.3.3 Story Structure
2.3.4 More Writing Tips
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of your study of this unit, you will be able to:
• State the meaning of the term “News” and describe its elements;
• Explain the process involved before scripting news for broadcast; and
• Describe the principles of and process involved in news scripting for the
broadcast media.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this unit is to help radio journalists to improve their skills as writers
and anchors for Radio broadcast. This unit is organized to include the following:
1) The fundamentals of radio broadcast writing.
2) The style of radio news writing.
3) News judgment.
4) Some features of a newsroom.
The public, in any society, gets most of its information on current affairs through
the various media of mass communication – such as the newspapers, magazines,
radio, television, internet, documentary films and occasionally even through motion
pictures. But the effectiveness of any single medium for the dissemination of
information is related to certain inherent characteristics of the medium. For example,
print medium can be effective only if people are literate. They should also have the
money to buy the dailies and magazines, which are priced high in a developing
country, like India. In the countries with high illiteracy rates and with low average
family incomes, the print medium has not served well as a means of mass
communication. In the case of television, the cost factor is prohibitively high for
the majority of the rural poor to buy a T.V. Unless rural community centres are
activated and galvanized to help the poor towards T.V. viewing, T.V. will remain
the monopoly of the urbans. Nevertheless, both T.V. and radio score over the print 17
Media Writing medium. First, with receiving sets in about 80% of Indian urban homes, radio and
television can reach a majority of the urban listeners. Secondly, because of the
existence of national network, radio and television cut across regional barriers.
Thirdly, in broadcasting news and in the coverage of special events, radio and
television have a distinct time advantage over the print media.
Broadcasting stations can provide up-to-the-minute news, almost as it happens,

while there is a delay of several hours before a newspaper can bring a news item to
its readers. Moreover, it is axiomatic that in a democratic country like ours, citizens
who participate in the political process should be well informed. Keeping in view
the aforementioned factors, we shall, in the forthcoming section, examine the process
of news casting in general, discuss the differences between news writing for different
media, and finally study the special demand for scripting radio news.
2.2 WHAT IS NEWS?

What is news? News pertains to some recent event which is a matter of interest to
readers or listeners. Also, news implies new or the latest information. News relates
to information from North, East, West and South. There are many definitions of the
term “News”. These definitions can be summed up thus:
“News is anything that is timely and significant to readers in respect of their personal
affairs or their relation to society, and the best news is that which possesses the
greatest degree of this interest and significance for the greatest number.”
Some of the important news-on-air include All India Radio News, BBC News,
Internet Radio News, CNN News, Ham Radio News etc.
News should be:
a) accurate/authentic
b) of interest to the public
c) timely
d) significant in relation to matters of interest to the greatest number of people
and
e) unbiased in its account or events or affairs.
Further, the standard definition that only ‘man bites dog’ is news is obsolete and
inaccurate. With fairly good communication facilities in our country, news reporting
has gained considerable importance today.
Most of the definitions of “news” repeat that news is of interest to the public. The
interest, however, differs from person to person and place to place. The two important
things about news are its immediacy and authenticity.
2.2.1 Elements of News

News is built on some news values which you should know. These news values are
the basis on which journalists decide whether or not an event is news. There are
millions of ‘events’ which take place everyday. Only those few events which have
at least one of the following criteria can be classified as news:
Impact: Events that affect people’s lives are classified as news. The event itself
may involve only a few people, but the consequences may be wide-ranging. For
example, if the Parliament passes a bill to raise taxes or to suddenly go in for
18
demonitisation, or if a researcher discovers a cure for a form of cancer; both are Writing for News
significant events that have a wide ranging impact. Hence these events are to be
classified as news.
Timeliness: Timeliness is a value common to almost all news stories. It refers to
the recency of an event. Without the elements of timeliness, most events cannot be
considered news. For example, a trial that occurred last year is not news; a trial that
is going on presently is news. 9/11 trial may be of interest, but is not news today;
but if a 26/11 criminals are tried today for their Mumbai attack, it makes news.
Prominence: Prominent people, sometimes even when they do trivial things, make
news. The actions and speeches of the Prime Minister of India are important to us
in India. But they will not be news in USA or U.K. When prominent people undergo,
a medical treatment, it is covered in great detail by the news media of India. People
are very interested in matters concerning even their health. Movie stars, famous
politicians, advocates of social causes, sports personalities all these people make
news simply because they are well known.
Proximity: Events that occur close to home are more likely to be news than the
same events that occur elsewhere. For example, a car accident killing two persons
that happens on a road in our town is more likely to be reported in the local news
media than the same kind of accident which occurs 1,000 miles away. We are
interested in the things that happen around us.
Conflict: When people disagree, when they fight, when they have arguments – that
is news. The demonetization announced by the government is a major issue debated
by all political parties. This was an important news item that had to present both
sides of the argument.
The bizarre or the unusual: A rare event is sometimes considered news: Like the
sighting of a new star or planet or a new form of bloodless surgery with the help of
laser technology or the birth of octuples.
Currency: Issues that have current interest often have news value, and events
surrounding those issues can sometimes be considered news. For example, a
conference on medical technology will be of interest to medical practitioners, but
not to journalists, unless the discussion topic was “The Morality of Abortion”. Then
the news value of the conference will change and there will be a number of journalists
covering it.
You must assess the news value of events – if you want to be a news writer on the
basis of the criteria given above.

i) What are some of the news values on the basis of which one can decide
whether or not an event is news?
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19
Media Writing
ii) Read the item given below. Does it constitute a news item? Give your
arguments in favour or against it.
How can a man make his wife financially secure in his lifetime? He can
assure that she is adequately provided for and she can handle her own
investments after his death. But during his own lifetime, he can see to it
that she is made financially independent in the manner suggested for the
daughter’s economic security. If a sum of Rs.10, 000 is invested in the
daughter’s name at birth and allowed to double itself every five years she
gets a sum of rupees 2,00,000 free of income tax at the age of 25. Similarly,
if the same amount is invested for the wife at the time of getting married
she has much money by the time she is 45 or 50, since most women in the
investing class marry between the age of 20 and 25, the wife can enjoy the
income accrued from it. What is given to a wife at the time of marriage is
considered streedhan and only she has the right to it even under the law.
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2.2.2 Gathering of News

A journalist gathering information tries to answer the following six basic questions
for the reader:
Who: Who are the important people related to the news story? Is everyone included
so that the story can be accurately and adequately told? Is everyone properly
identified?
What: What is the major action or event of the story? What are the actions or
events of lesser importance?
When: When did the event occur? The ‘When element’ is rarely the best way to
begin a story because it is not often the most important piece of information, but it
should come early in the story and should be closely stated.
Where: Where did the event occur? The location or locations of the event or action
should be clearly written.
Why and How: If a story is about something bizarre or unusual, the writer should
offer some explanation, so that the questions the event raises in the listener’s or
reader’s mind are answered. The writer also needs to set the events or actions in a
story in the proper context. Reference should be made to previous events or action
if they help to explain things to the listener or reader.
20
2.2.3 Sources of Information Writing for News
Before we begin gathering news, we should find out where the information in a
news story comes from.
A news reporter has three fundamental sources of information for a news story. (i)
People, (ii) records (any information that is written or stored), and (iii) personal
observation. In this section, we shall discuss these sources.
i) People: People provide most information in most news stories. A news reporter
is likely to spend most of his or her non-writing time talking to people either
personally or over the telephone. In fact, the more people the reporter talks to,
the better the story is likely to be, because of the variety of information and
views the reporter can obtain.
To make things easier, reporters have to develop the information sources from
among the people whom they contact regularly, that is, the reporters will have
to identify people who have information and are willing to talk to the reporter
about it. Reporters know that many people can provide them with information
and sometimes that information can come from totally unexpected sources.
For instance, most reporters who are assigned to a beat – (a term in journalism
meaning a place or topic a reporter must write regularly about) – learn that
personal secretaries, other than their bosses, are the best sources of information.
As reporters and sources deal with each other, they should develop a relationship
of mutual credibility and understanding. Reporters find out whom they can
trust among these sources, and the sources realize that the information they
give to reporters will be used wisely.
ii) Records: The second major source of information available to news reporters
is records or stored sources. This type of information includes books, reports,
articles, documents, and press releases.
iii) Personal Observation: The third major source of information for the reporter
is personal observation. Wherever possible, news reporters like to attend the
events they are writing about. They like to see for themselves and understand
what happens even though they rarely write from a first person point of view.
The personal observation is factual, authentic and accurate but care is to be
taken not to introduce subjective assessments or judgments to bear on news
reporting.

i) Look at three news stories in your local English newspaper. What news
values are present in each of them?
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21
Media Writing
ii) Why is it important for a journalist to get information from more than one
source?
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2.3 SCRIPTING FOR BROADCAST

There is very little doubt that broadcasting on radio and TV is a potent means of
mass communication in the world today. Underdeveloped areas which cannot get
access to even a small newspaper will usually have a transistor radio which serves
as a link with the rest of the world. Moreover, with the advent satellite broadcasting,
it has become possible to knit the world and relay information from anywhere to
everywhere on the globe. Those who write news broadcasts must be good at the use
of language that is comprehensible to all listeners. The language must be simple
and direct. They should be willing to research their subjects thoroughly and
understand them well, to report on them with clarity. Often the news writers may
have to edit and rewrite main stories so as to prune them of any ambiguity. In
addition, they should be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
2.3.1 Selection of News

Most of the news values discussed previously apply to news selection for
broadcasting. However, news writers for radio and TV are likely to view events in
a slightly different way than those who write for the print media. Listed below are
a few points that every news writer must bear in mind:
Timeliness: This news value is even more important to the broadcast journalist
than to the print journalist. Print journalists tend to work on daily cycles, broadcast
journalists work on hourly or less than hourly cycles. News that is more than an
hour or two old may be too stale to broadcast over the radio or TV. When you listen
to a news report on a breathtaking news story, you expect to hear the very latest
news, and that is what a broadcaster must try to give.
Information and explanation: News writers for the broadcast media look for stories
which do not need a lot of explanation for listeners to understand them. They prefer
stories which are self explanatory and which can be told in a simple, straight forward
manner. The maximum length for any story or a radio newscast is two minutes; the
normal length is 20 to 30 seconds. Some stories, of course, are complex and
explanation cannot be avoided.
Audio impact: Broadcast journalists should select stories which will make an impact
on the audience. For example broadcasting a part of the President’s Budget Session
address is much more dramatic than a news reporter summarizing it. Whatever
news is to be broadcast must have the dramatic element to sustain the listeners’
interest.
2.3.2 Characteristics of News Writing for Broadcast

While print journalism has the five Ws (namely – Who, What, When, Where, and
22 Why), broadcast journalism has four Cs—Correctness, Clarity, Conciseness, and
Colour. These four Cs serve as the basis for broadcast writing and form a good Writing for News
frame-work for our discussion here.
The broadcast journalist is first and foremost a journalist, and the first commitment
of a journalist is to accuracy or correctness. Everything that a broadcast journalist
does, must contribute to the telling of an accurate story. Even though the broadcast
journalist must observe some strict rules about how stories are written, these rules
must contribute to, not prevent an accurate account of an event.
One important characteristic of writing for broadcast is the emphasis on the

immediate. As we mentioned earlier, broadcast news must be up-to-the minute. It
should also be written as if it is updated to the last minute. While the past tense for
verbs is preferred in the print media the present tense is preferred when news is
broadcast concurrently with the event happening. Consequently a newspaper story
has to use past tense as the print begins after the event. For example in a newspaper
we will have an item “The Prime Minister said yesterday that he would support the
hiking of petrol prices….”
The broadcast news story if relayed when the PM is making speech in the Parliament
will use present tense.
“The Prime minister says he is for the hiking of petrol prices.”
Another way of emphasizing the immediate is to omit the time element in the news
story and assume that everything happened today. As we can see in the example
above, the broadcast version has no time element since it would probably be heard
on the day the Prime Minister made that statement. Of course, news which does
occur on a day other than the day of the broadcast will have the time element.
Another important characteristic of writing for Radio is the use of conversational

style. Writing for radio is writing for the ear. This is different from writing for print
medium which is writing for the eye. Even the clearest, simplest newspaper style
tends to sound a little stilted when it is read aloud. Broadcast news should be
written for the ear not the eye. The writer should bear in mind that someone is
going to read the news and others are going to listen to him/her. The writing style
should be easy, direct and without any flourish and complexity. This does not give
the writer freedom to break the rules of grammar, to use slang or off-colour phrasing
or to use language which may be offensive to listeners. The style, in short, should
be racy, lively and elegant.
Use word economy. Do not use ten words if you can effectively communicate with
five words.
The tight phrasing which is characteristic of broadcasting writing is one of its
chief assets and one of the most difficult things for a beginner to achieve. As time is
short, the broadcaster cannot waste words. Hence the news scripter must work
constantly to simplify and condense without losing out on significant and essential
detail. There are a number of techniques for achieving this:
a) Eliminate all but the most necessary adjectives and adverbs. Every news
writer should know that the stories are built on nouns and verbs— the strongest
words in the language.
b) Avoid using the passive. Instead of saying “a meeting was held under the
auspices of the Ministry of Human Resources Development”, it is better to
say “The Ministry of Human Resources development held a meeting at Vigyan
Bhagwan today.”
23
Media Writing c) Use short and simple sentences. Broadcast news does not need the variety of
length and type of sentences which print journalists need to make their copy
interesting. The news bulletins on radio and TV can give information to the
listeners in short, simple sentences which get registered in their minds at once.
One of the characteristics of good broadcast writing is its clarity. Listeners
and viewers cannot go back and re-hear news broadcast in the way they can
re-read a newspaper. This is like listening to dialogues on stage as against
reading a play from a printed book. The listeners respond to the news as it is
broadcast.Broadcast writers achieve clarity by using simple sentences and
familiar words, by avoiding the use of pronouns and repeating proper nouns if
necessary and by keeping the subject close to the verb in their sentences.
d) Don’t be repetitive because it wastes air-time. The lead should serve for what
is to follow.
e) Avoid clichés.
f) Only mention what is necessary.
g) When it comes to numbers, don’t say “193 men”, instead mention “about 200
men”.
h) Downplay unconfirmed facts and information.
i) Ensure clarity and flow.
j) Deadline. Another characteristic of broadcast writing is that it has to meet the
deadlines. Deadlines are far more important to the broadcast writer than to the
print journalist.
2.3.3 Story Structure

Most straight news stories for the print media are written in an inverted pyramid
style, that is, the most important information is presented at the beginning and
information of less importance is given later in the story. If necessary, a story may
be cut form the bottom and essential news item still remains.
Broadcast journalists do not use the inverted pyramid story structure. In its place,
they use something known as dramatic unity. The dramatic unity structure has three
parts; climax, cause, and effect.
The climax of the story gives the listener the facts of the story in about the same
way the lead of a print news story does; it tells the listener what happened. The
cause portion of the story tells the cause-—why it happened, and the circumstances
surrounding the event. The last part of the story is related to the effect and gives the
listener the context of the story and possibly some insight about what the story will
mean for the future.
Broadcast journalists should think of their stories as completed circles rather than
inverted pyramids. While the pyramid may be cut without losing the essential facts,
the broadcast story, if written in the unified fashion, cannot be cut from the bottom
or anywhere else. It stands as a whole unit.
Broadcast news stories must gain the attention of the listeners from the beginning.
The first words in the story are extremely important. Getting the attention of the
listener is some times more important than summarizing the story or giving the
most important facts of the story.
24
Writing for News
i) Take a lead story of a newspaper and compare it with radio broadcast of
the same.
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2.3.4 More Writing Tips

Titles usually come before names: Just as in print journalism, most people
mentioned in broadcast stories need to be identified. This identification is handled
differently in broadcast news writing. While a print story might have “P.N.Haksar,
former Principal Secretary”, the broadcast journalist would say “Former Principal
Secretary P.N.Haksar”.
Avoid abbreviations, even on second reference: Only the most commonly known
abbreviation should be used in broadcast writing.
Avoid direct quotation, if possible: Unless a direct quote is essential to tell a story
accurately, a broadcast writer should not use it. Paraphrasing quotes is preferred.
Use as little punctuation as possible but enough to help the newscaster through the
copy. The excessive use of commas, dashes, and semicolons will not help the
newscaster.
Avoid extended description: Don’t say: “Former Principal Secretary to the Prime
Minister and Former Chairman of the Finance Commission, P.N.Haksar.”.
Avoid pronouns, and when you have to use them, make sure it is clear to whom
you are referring. Avoid writing sentences like the following: “The Prime Minister
and the Foreign Affairs Secretary met yesterday. They discussed his trip to Japan”
(whose trip?) such confusion should be avoided.
Other Script Writing Tips:

a) Know the length of the programme. A typical news bulletin on radio is between
5 and 30 minutes.
b) Decide on the length of each news item in relation to the total duration of the
news. Most of us can speak at the rate of three words per second. So the script
for a 30 second report should be approximately of 90 words.
c) Write as you speak. This means you need not be restrained by formal language.
d) When you read your scripts after writing, you can check how they sound.
e) Liven up your reports with interviews and sound clips. Remember to mention
the names of the interviewed persons and also give credit to the sources of
your sound clips.
25
Media Writing f) Presentation of script to the news reader should highlight the words at the
beginning (in words), words at the end (out words) and the length in minutes
and seconds (duration) so that the presenter knows the beginning and end of
each news item.
g) Different styles for different networks and different duration. If it is a 30 minutes
bulletin, more details have to be deployed.
h) Don’t write coarsely or colloquially nor sound heavy and stuffy.
Dos and Don’ts
1) Don’t clutter the text with statistics. Instead of saying “19 percent”, say “one-
fifth”.
2) Be specific about time references – say “this evening” instead of “at 17 hours
or today”.
3) Don’t express your judgment. If a news item speaks about steps to thwart
terrorism, say that “the government has announced steps to thwart terrorism”.
Don’t make out a general statement, but pinpoint the source.
4) Avoid use of jargons and clichés and abbreviations, for listeners do not
understand them.
2.4 LET US SUM UP

• Writing for broadcast places a different set of demands on the writer.
• Broadcast news is written in a different form than the inverted pyramid
structure.
• Broadcast copy is written for the ear rather than the eyes; that is, writers must
be aware that the consumers of broadcast news will be listening to what they
write rather than reading it.
• Finally, in writing broadcast copy, the writer is less concerned with relating
the details of a story than with making sure that a story is told as completely
and clearly as possible in a short amount of time.

i) Impact, timeliness, prominence, conflict, the bizarre and issues of current
interest are some values which decide whether an event is news or not.
ii) This does not constitute a news’ item as it does not have even one of the “news
values” inherent in it.
i) For this answer you will have to take today’s newspaper and comment upon
the three stories chosen.
ii) This helps the journalist to verify what s/he has picked up and not rely on only
one source which may be incorrect.
Your answer will focus primarily on the language used. Focus on the voice used i.e.
active or passive. See whether more nouns and verbs have been used in the radio
broadcast. Also notice whether the inverted pyramid style has been used for the
26 print story and dramatic unity for the radio broadcast.
Writing for News
UNIT 3 EDITORIAL WRITING
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 What is an Editorial?
3.1.2 Importance of an Editorial
3.2 Parallels of Editorials in other Media
3.2.1 Television Editorials
3.2.2 Radio Editorials
3.2.3 Internet Editorials
3.3 Writing an Editorial
3.3.1 Length of an Editorial
3.3.2 Language of an Editorial
3.3.3 Glossary
3.3.4 Steps to Writing Your Editorial
3.4 Types of Editorials
3.4.1 Staff Editorials vs. Front Page Editorials
3.4.2 Signed Vs Unsigned Editorials
3.4.3 Third Editorial or Entertainment Editorials
3.4.4 Critical Editorials
3.4.5 Persuasive Editorials
3.4.6 Interpretative Editorials
3.4.7 Advocacy Editorials
3.5 Structure of an Editorial
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After having read this unit you will be able to
• Read and analyze an editorial in a news paper;
• Identify the various types of editorials;
• Understand the different styles of editorial writing; and
• Write an editorial.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Newspapers report the news. When newspaper reporters tell a story, it is only facts
and we readers can form our views. Journalists generally have to leave their opinions
out of their writing. They have always been told to be unbiased and not to take a
stance. Yet most newspapers do have opinions. This is a class of writing called
“editorials” found in your newspaper every day.
Where can you find them? Are they on the same page everyday? Who writes them?
Who is offering this opinion? Why do we need to write the editorials? This unit will
answer all these questions.
27
Media Writing 3.1.1 What is an Editorial?
An editorial is an article that states the newspaper’s views on particular news, events
or an issue of concern. It is the official stance of the publication.
You can find them at the same place on the same page of the newspaper, everyday.
This page is called the editorial page and the place is the left hand column of the
page, from top to bottom.
3.1.2 Importance of an Editorial

An editorial is usually written by the editor, one of the associate or deputy editors or
one of the writers on behalf of the editor. These opinions reflect the stance of the
newspaper and do not have bylines.
Politicians, bureaucrats and the common people – all want to know the stand of the
newspapers on matters which make a difference to society. Why is this view so
important? Well, the press is the fourth estate and the watch dog of society. The rest
of the world would definitely want to understand the policy of the newspaper, on
issues of importance. The editorials not only persuade the reader to change their
views, but also help them to form views. This creates a major public opinion and
public wave. Hence, the interest of politicians and bureaucrats in editorials is
justified.
The editorial acts as:
• A voice of the common man.
• Advocate of human rights
• Critique of government policies
• Interpreter of the Constitution
• Forecaster of political and social changes
• Informer and analyst of complicated issues
• Promoter of worthy activity
• Problem solver of any issue of social importance
3.2 PARALLELS OF EDITORIALS IN OTHER MEDIA

By now it must be clear to you, that the editorial is not only the view point of the
media organization, but is also an important and essential part of the newspaper
and is found in every issue. Does this mean that only the print media enjoys this
privilege of commenting? Do we see editorials on the television? Do we hear them
on the radio and in the virtual world do we read these on the internet? This section
will answer all the above questions.
3.2.1 Television Editorials

It is surprising, but there is no exact parallel of a print editorial in the television
news channels. There are panel discussions and analysis programmes, which are
conducted by anchors of the channel and the expert is also a journalist working for
the channel. These are the nearest television got to editorializing.
Some channels have fixed slots for these programmes whereas some do not.
Television news channels, being guest and expert based, most of the times have
outsiders commenting on various issues and the channel bears no responsibility for
these comments.
28
In the case of Doordarshan, the official government media, the stand Government Editorial Writing
of India has to take on various issues, are telecast as statements made by the ministers
or government public relation officers.

i) Do you listen to the radio?
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ii) AIR, BBC, VOA or private FM channels, which of these channels do you
listen to?
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iii) Which one do you like the most and why?

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iv) Does it have serious or light content?

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3.2.2 Radio Editorials

By now you must have understood that radio is a medium which is most convenient
for information gathering and has the maximum reach. But one fact is also true that
the private FM stations have not been granted the rights to broadcast news. So most
of the serious and developmental content is audible only on All India Radio, the
29
Media Writing official radio. AIR is the news station and broadcasting serious content along with
entertainment is its agenda.
The private stations like Red FM, Big FM, Radio Mirchi and others have only
entertainment based programmes but many a times as a humor or pun an issue is
commented upon by the jockey. This is the nearest these stations can come to
editorializing.
It is surprising, that no views of the government or the AIR are broadcast as editorials.
Statements of ministers or government Public Relation Officers, on issues of
importance are aired from time to time and analysis of these, as a part of news
bulletin, is done sometimes. This is the nearest AIR gets to being a parallel of a
newspaper editorial.
3.2.3 Internet Editorials

Internet or web journalism has its vestiges in the print media. If it is a website of the
newspaper or magazine the editorial column is absolutely there at the allotted space,
every day.
In case of other websites, the views of the organization are put on the site and
regularly updated. In fact most of the content could be opinionated. Cyber media
can also be called a comment based media.
Exact parallels between editorials cannot be drawn on the cyber media but comment
is free here.
Blogs initiate a debate on an issue where the owner of the site gives his or her
points of view and invites comments from the audience
3.3 WRITING AN EDITORIAL

An editorial is one of the writing styles used to express an opinion or reaction to
timely news, an event or an issue of concern. Most editorials are used to influence
readers to think or act the same way the writer does. Not all editorials take sides on
an issue but have one of the following four purposes:
i) Inform: The writer gives careful explanations about an important issue.
ii) Promote: The writer tries to promote a worthy activity.
iii) Praise: The writer praises a person or an event.
iv) Entertain: The writer entertains the reader with light and humourous issues.
3.3.1 Length of an Editorial

An editorial is averagely of 500 words. Three editorials of 500 words each can fit
into a full page editorial column of, for example The Economic Times. Some
newspapers have editorials of 750 words. In such cases there are only two editorial
columns, for example The Indian Express. There are exceptions to the rule when
one editorial fits the complete length. This is normally in stories of grave importance.
3.3.2 Language of an Editorial

There are some magic tricks which when used can make a most effective editorial.
These are clarity, rhythm, good word choices, active sentence construction, seamless
transition and evocative phrasing. The assumption is that an editorial writer knows
the language well.
30
Simple tips Editorial Writing
1) Get the reader’s attention quickly by the first paragraph being written in
attractive language.
2) Write short paragraphs and vary the length of sentences for effect.
3) Write with strong verbs and adjectives.
4) Use transitional devices for continuity.
5) Avoid redundancies in an editorial.
6) Use of one word substitution is prominent in editorials
7) Use active verbs while writing an opinion
8) Use concrete nouns while writing a comment.
Special tips
1) Both direct and indirect speech can be used while writing an editorial.
2) Metaphors and similes or both to be used if required
3) A mixture of abstract and concrete expresses better while commenting.
4) Rhetoric can be used.
5) Direct affirmations and negations too can be written.
6) Use of exclamations is justified in persuasive writing.
7) Apostrophe and within quotes can be paraphrased.
8) Dangling modifiers are helpful in editorial writing.
9) Inadvertent comment can be written in loaded words.
10) Sequence of tenses can be past – present – future to create effect.
3.3.3 Glossary
Editorial : An article expressing opinion of the newspaper on certain
issues.
Masthead : The information printed on the first page on the top with
the name, ownership, logo, rate and date of the newspaper.
Op-ed page : Page opposite the editorial which contains nationally
syndicated columns and good writers pieces.
Editor : A person who decides what news will go in the paper and
where it will appear.
Editorial board : A seven member board headed by the publisher which
decides what issues the newspaper will offer an opinion
on.
Editorial policy : Policy of coverage of news and stances of the newspaper
decided by the editorial board.
Column : An opinion piece that expresses the writer’s own view and
carries his or her name and often a picture.
Syndicated column : Columns sent by associations which buy and sell stories,
features, etc.
Letters to editor : Letters of feedback or opinion on various issues by the
readers.
31
Media Writing Middle : A humorous write up in the centre of the editorial page in
a box.
Editorial writer : Any member of the editorial board who researches and
writes the editorials that represent the newspaper’s position
on most issues.
3.3.4 Steps to Writing Your Editorial

Selection: Choose an issue—your editorial could be about how the readers could
help the environment and ecology sustenance, inform the public about a particular
scam, praise, an effort by a group who has helped to remove garbage dumps and
recycle it or make the people aware of a social worker and his campaign on abolishing
child labour or any other idea that can be used as an editorial.
Collecting: Gathering support – gather as many details to convince others about

your opinion. These could be facts or evidence, written statements from sources or
authorities on the subject, comparisons to similar situation to support your argument
and be able to counter argue.
Connecting: Remember to brain storm before you write the first draft . The main
body should have clean accurate details and examples. Give strong examples at the
beginning and at the end. Show the opposing arguments and their weaknesses.
Offer a solution in the end.
Correcting: Getting it right – your editorial should be clear and forceful. Do not
preach. Be honest and accurate.
Sample of what could go into the five paragraph editorial:
i) A personal experience, a thesis statement
ii) Explanation of the other side of the issue
iii) Examples to support your view points
iv) Reasons for your view point
v) The last paragraph should restate your thesis statement and end on a positive
note.
Tips for writing Editorials
1) Don’t use the word I. Your life is not interesting. Your personal experiences
are tiresome. Using the first person also sounds preachy and righteous, which
alienates readers.
2) Avoid sarcasm. You aren’t very funny. Too much sarcasm comes off as
immature and can ruin your credibility.
3) The sky is not falling – do not exaggerate. It makes you sound too emotional
and irrational.
4) Challenge authority not personality. Attacking coaches or politicians simply
attract letters to editors but attacking their ideas, policies and actions is great
editorializing.
3.4 TYPES OF EDITORIALS

An editorial as a genre is considered a type of opinion discourse, that arms to persuade
the reader to accept new opinions. Although the editorial is thought to be the personal
32
opinion of the newspaper, it is based on social opinions. It also evaluates news Editorial Writing
events and propagates ideologies. Let us see how the editorials can be classified.
There are several parameters on which editorials are categorized. The first one
being their location, the second one their bylines and the third their content.
3.4.1 Staff Editorials vs. Front Page Editorials

Staff editorials comment on the opinion page written by the editors or writers working
for the newspaper.
Front page editorials are opinions of the editor-in-chief or owner of the newspaper
in an editorial column format on the first page of the newspaper. These are written
only in great emergencies or on topics of supreme importance.
3.4.2 Signed vs. Unsigned Editorials

The staff editorials are unsigned editorials, which mean that the name of the author
is not given. It implies , that it is the opinion of the newspaper. Front page editorials
are usually signed and this is to stress the importance of the viewpoint of not only
the newspaper but also of the editor-in-chief or managing editor. Generally these
people are persons of stature, with importance in society and their opinion makes a
difference. After the cease fire of the Gulf War , Times of India’s front page editorial
Pax Americana signed by the Editor-in-Chief Dilip Padgaonkar was very popular.
Events like September 11, deaths of nation heads and change of governments have
also seen front page signed editorials written.
3.4.3 Third Editorial or Entertainment Editorials

Traditionally on the opinion page there are three editorials. The first two are on
serious news issues. The third editorial often is humor based and entertains. Many
a times newspapers follow this in their policy and other times they don’t. At least
once a week the edit pages of newspapers have a third editorial. This can or cannot
have a byline, depending on the policy of the newspaper.
3.4.4 Critical Editorials

As the name suggests a critical editorial seeks to point out a flaw, judge severely
and find fault. This is likely the type of editorial you are used to seeing.
3.4.5 Persuasive Editorials

A persuasive editorial seeks to persuade the readers about a sensitive issue. Is it the
best way to convince the masses that your opinion is better? Yes, normally it uses
valid examples that play on your emotions and also make sense. Remember, it is an
editorial where the writer presents both the sides of the issues and illustrates why
your opinion is logically better.
3.4.6 Interpretative Editorials

An interpretative editorial takes a complex issue and breaks it down. It tries to
answer questions like why, how, whom, what, when and where. In addition such an
editorial will also comment on the positive and negatives of the issue.
3.4.7 Advocacy Editorials

These are editorials which advocate certain causes or issues. These explain the
significance of an idea and tell the reader, why whatever happened is important.
Such editorials promote or advocate changes. They may also add solutions and 33
Media Writing recombine a course of action. However, the overall tone of the editorial is neither
negative nor is it point-by-point criticism.

i) How many types of editorials are there?
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3.5 STRUCTURE OF AN EDITORIAL

• The editorial is first of all a text. So remember no pictures or graphs can go
into it.
• It will have an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
• Introduction – In the introduction answer the 5 Ws & 1H to attract the reader’s
attention.
• Body – In the body persuade the reader by identifying the opposition, show
why it is wrong and give your reasons for not supporting the issue.
• Conclusion – Prompt the reader into action by giving solutions. You can end
with a famous quotation or a rhetorical question.
Use the SPECS formula:
• State the problem.
• Position on the problem.
• Evidence to support the position.
• Conclusions: Who’s affected and how.
• Solutions to the problem, at least two should be given.
3.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you learnt the importance of editorials in newspapers and their placement
every day on the same page and same columns.
You have also learnt of the parallels television, radio and internet have of editorials
and how they differ from newspapers in content and style.
This unit also teaches you to write editorials in correct length, language and usage
akin to the policy of the organization.
In the second part of the unit you have seen the various types and styles of editorials.
By now it must be clear that editorials are written with different slants and objectives,
putting forth the views of the organization on a particular topic or event.
34
We hope now you will not skip the editorial page and will read the editorials Editorial Writing
judiciously. Also you will be able to write editorials with a critics’ view point.

The answers to all these questions from i) to iv), will depend entirely on your
preferences.

There are many types of editorials eg. Staff, Front Page, Signed, Third, Critical,
Persuasive etc.
35
Media Writing
UNIT 4 EDITING FOR PRINT AND ONLINE
MEDIA
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.1.1 What is Editing?
4.1.2 Why do We Need to Edit?
4.2 Editing for Different Areas
4.2.1 Television Editing
4.2.2 Radio Editing
4.2.3 Web Editing
4.2.4 Photo Editing
4.3 Sub-Editing or Copy Editing
4.3.1 Good vs Bad Editing
4.3.2 Barriers Removed by Editing
4.3.3 Role of a Sub-Editor
4.3.4 Qualities of a Sub-Editor
4.3.5 Duties of a Sub-Editor
4.4 How to Edit a Copy
4.5 Editor’s Tool Box
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Through this Unit our aim is to give you an idea of how the raw creative input by
reporters is converted into a finished well tailored output.
By the end of this Unit you should be able to:
• define news editing;
• describe the principles of editing;
• describe the functions of news editing;
• describe and discuss the problems encountered in news editing;
• describe the duties, responsibilities and qualities of a sub-editor ; and
• edit a Copy.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In a newspaper, editing plays a pivotal role. A news item or a news story, as it is
called, is written by reporters who are on endless assignments and never have the
time. So they give a rough draft to the story. The sub-editor gives finesse to this
draft and polishes it to perfection. What you see as a reader in your newspaper is the
effort of the desk editors. The desk ensures that you can read your paper along with
the morning tea. This unit will give you an idea of how the raw creative input is
converted into a finished well tailored output.
36
4.1.1 What is Editing? Editing for Print and
Online Media
News stories come in from various sources. If you pick up your newspaper and just
read the first page, you will find that it has stories which are credited to either
individuals or news agencies like PTI, UNI, AFP, UPI, TASS and many more, or to
the correspondent or reporter. These stories are tailored to the required shape and
size by using the right kind of symbols and expressions with news sense in mind.
And all this happens before they come to you. This process of checking stories for
grammatical errors, syntax or sentence structure and style, facts and figures clarifying
for easy understanding, and condensing for economy of space is editing.
It also means writing the headlines, paraphrasing the story as per the style book of
the organization, writing an attractive lead and allotting the story to a particular
page
4.1.2 Why do We Need to Edit?

We need to edit because the first version is never perfect. The more you chisel the
diamond, the sharper it gets. There are also other reasons listed below which will
tell you of the need to edit.
• Because of lack of clarity in the writing the tone or mood may not be as it is
intended to be. The story may not seem to be reader specific.
• There may be lack of space on the page and the story may be long. On the
other hand there may be lots of space but the story may be short.
• Spelling mistakes need to be located and corrected
• There could be grammatical errors. One would need to check the verbs, nouns,
adverbs and other parts of speech for their positions and usage
• Syntactical changes, if required would need to be made.
• Adhering to the rule book or style book of the newspaper is necessary. Checking
and cross checking facts, numbers and names also has to be done.
• Writing headlines and subheadings, choosing appropriate pictures, and graphic
representations need also to be done

i) Why is editing required?
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Media Writing
4.2 EDITING FOR DIFFERENT AREAS
Editing doesn’t mean deleting your words - it is actually a skilled exercise to align
your grammar correctly. And it also means giving the final shape to a programme
on radio, a television programme, an internet story or a picture for publishing and
telecasting. Editing print copy is not the same as editing a web copy. The text must
wrap correctly, the kerning and leading must be perfect, the style cannot be
compromised with and all this to manage two extra words of hanging text. The
television and radio editing means not only editing the script but also editing the
audio and visual components by using softwares specially created for this task.
Let’s take an insight into the editing processes for these media and photographs.
4.2.1 Television Editing

Editing is often done to correct mistakes, by cutting out the bad parts, and/or replacing
them with good ones. This can be quite simple and may only involve cutting out a
few seconds during which the participant made a mistake. It also can become quite
challenging, especially if the retakes do not quite fit the rest of the recording, as to
color temperature, background sounds, continuity, or field of view.
The most difficult, but most satisfying editing assignments are those in which you
must build a show from a great many takes. In this case, the edit is the major
production phase. This is especially true in EFP post production, when all takes are
shot with a single camera to be combined later.
On-Line and Off-Line: Off-line editing produces a work print, a preliminary and
usually lower-quality tape dubbed from the higher quality master. On-line editing
produces that master copy that is used on the air or for dubbing off copies. The
terms off- line and on-line don’t refer so much to the tape format used, but rather
the intent of the edited product.
The major advantage of off-line editing is that you can take time for reviewing the
unedited material and deciding where to cut, without tying up expensive equipment.
With burn-in dubs (those with a window featuring time code numbers “burned
into” the bottom of the frame), you can identify the exact spot where you’ll cut, and
note these decisions on an editing shot list. Later, you can proceed with the actual
editing.
Too many times, however, people start editing without having properly thought
about the editing sequence. This can sometimes help to save time, but more often
than not you will get lost in a maze of detail. In all but the most routine editing jobs,
you will need to do an editing outline, a list of the desired event sequences and the
necessary transitions
4.2.2 Radio Editing

You must have listened to the radio and wondered how the sound comes into it.
Well it is nothing but recording of the matter on tapes and transmission via radio
waves. One of the advantages of working with reel-to-reel audiotape is that you can
edit program material easily. You can remove mistakes and unwanted material from
your program to form a cohesive, polished product. The editing process also will
allow you to adjust the run time of a program by shortening or lengthening a taped
segment. In addition, you may add taped material to another taped program through
the editing process. The editing process consists of the most common method of
editing audiotape ie. for the unwanted material to be cut out. Although this method
38
has been in place since the introduction of magnetic recording tape many years Editing for Print and
Online Media
ago, the “cut and splice” technique is still the preferred editing method of the
broadcast industry. The manual reel- to-reel tape edit is simple, requires no expensive
or exotic equipment, and depending on the skill of the editor, can produce a clean
and extremely accurate edit.
4.2.3 Web Editing

REMEMBER THE WEBSITE. We want the maximum number of readers to
enjoy what we publish. It is already a fact that now more people read newspaper
content online than in our newspapers. And it is also the case that more visitors
arrive at our website via search engines and aggregators than any other route. It is
therefore important, and likely to grow even more so, that when writing for the
internet we “optimize” our copy so that the likes of Google can find articles and
display them prominently. The easiest way to do this is to write headlines (and
intros) that are “keyword-rich”. The sort of punning wordplay and vivid quotes that
help make for an excellent, arresting headline on the printed page do not work
online. On the internet, the priority for any headline is to inform search engines
(and therefore, readers) what the article is about. Its language should, therefore, be
concrete, not abstract, and contain full names. Thus “Brown will let Darling swing
in the wind” is fine for the newspaper; online it would be better rendered as “Gordon
Brown shuns Alistair Darling after Budget row”. (Courtesy: Telegraph, London)
Are you a frequent internet user? Do you like reading the news on the web? Does it
attract your attention more than the hard copy newspaper? In any web content,
designing plays a very important role. The parts of almost any kind of a document
can be broken down into five main sections— Artwork, Titles, Body, Navigation,
and Credits. Not every document will contain all these parts or may contain only
some aspects of each. Let us try and understand each of these elements of web
design.
• Artwork: Even before reading the headlines, readers are often drawn to the
visuals on a page. Both the choice of images and their placement within a
document provide information about the document, the purpose, and its
organization.
• Titles: Typical headlines and titles are larger and more prominent than other
text. These visual cues signal the start of a book, a magazine, an article, or a
major division in a publication such as a chapter of a book or a sub-section of
a report.
• Body: Body copy is the main text found in the publications we read. It is the
text of the stories and articles. Body copy is not the headlines. Beyond the
actual words, the body of a document uses paragraph and character emphasis
and organizational elements to aid in the reading and comprehension of the
material.
• Navigation: Longer publications such as books, newsletters, and annual reports
need some way to help readers find specific information within the document.
From a table of contents to page numbers, sectional elements provide a means
of navigating through and finding specific portions of a document.
• Credits: Differnet types of publications have credits or other informational
elements that contain such items as the name of the advertiser, publisher, or
other entity, an address, a logo, copyright information, and other notices. The
number of parts and where it appears varies by publication type.
39
Media Writing 4.2.4 Photo Editing
Pictures submitted for publication in the newspapers and magazines have to be
edited to fit into the layout of the page, and also the unnecessary portions cut off,
which the photographer might have added in the actual composition. The competent
photo editor’s job is to keep the essence of the subject intact. This reduction process,
keeping the essential parts of the photographs intact, is called cropping. Since the
photographers are emotionally involved in shooting their pictures, they might think
whatever they have added in a picture would be published. This aspect is left to the
judgment of the photo editor, when the final composition of the photograph for
publication is made.
It is the job of the photo editor to select the best photograph which tells the story on
its own. The photo editor edits it to suit the space in the page without destroying or
distorting the essence of the picture, and gives it a good display. It is not always to
the liking of the photographer, but the photo editor has to do his job. A good photo
editor always takes the photographers into confidence, holding frequent discussions
with them from the time the assignments are given to them till the final outcome of
the photograph on the photo editor’s desk. It is the photo editor’s duty to give the
photographers ideas about the picture possibilities. While the photographers are in
the dark room with the enlarger, he joins them in composing the picture on the easel
board, which saves a lot of time, and leaves no ill feeling with the photographers.
What most of the photographers hate is when the picture is trimmed and edited in
their absence.
Computer applications in photo editing: The latest technology enables one to

use sophisticated equipment for photo editing. The selected negatives are scanned,
the contrast adjusted, and the picture cropped on the computer video display terminal
as required. Then, the image is directly transferred to the page. The elimination of
the intermediary procedures, used in the conventional system until now, avoids
handling of the negatives or transparencies, thus making sure that the reproduction
is of a high class. A very important aspect of such a method is that the picture
quality in terms of tones, density, color sharpness, and so on, can be reproduced to
near perfection, which was not always possible in the previous conventional methods.
This also applies to the ‘Photo Fax’, where photographs are faxed from outstation,
and are transmitted directly to the computer, from where all necessary adjustments
can be made. Photos can be stored and recalled on the computer as and when required.
Photo editing is one of the most powerful tools at the photographer’s disposal. In
classic photography, the term photo editing can refer to everything between
processing the film in chemicals and seeing the final print. In modern digital
photography most of the processing magic happens in the computer. This is good
news for people without a studio and darkroom. Before digital technology came
along, there was a limited amount that could be done using an enlarger with filters,
masks and other manual devices; but the era of film and smelly chemicals seems to
be drawing to a close. Nowadays we have computer software which we can use to
achieve far more—ranging from simple improvements to dramatic effects. Photo
editing techniques can be applied to all photos, whether taken by a digital camera
or scanned from the negative or print from a film camera. The software which is
used by most professional photographers is Adobe Photoshop. There are essentially
two versions - the professional one which is very costly and Photoshop Elements
which does most of the things an enthusiast could wish for at about one tenth the
price.
40
Editing for Print and
4.3 SUB EDITING OR COPY EDITING Online Media
Copy editing is the editorial work that an editor does to make changes and
improvements to a story. This is for the print media. Let us see what it is.
The “5Cs” summerise the copy editor’s job:
a) clear
b) correct
c) concise
d) comprehensible
e) consistent.
These emphasize “make it say what it means and mean what it says”.
Copy refers to the written or typewritten text for publication. An editor who does
the task of refining the copy is called the copy editor or sub editor. He renders the
text to flow sensibly, fairly and accurately so that it poses no legal problems for the
publisher.
Copy editors are also responsible for selecting which news agency’s wire copy the
newspaper will use and for rewriting it to house style. Often, the copy editor is the
only person, other than the author, to read an entire text before publication.
4.3.1 Good vs Bad Editing

Robert Gredy of The New Yorker said that the work of a good editor, like the work
of a good teacher does not reveal itself directly. It is reflected in the accomplishments
of others. There are no good or bad writers; there are only good or bad editors.
Editing is “quality control” for the written word. A good editor is one who
communicates effectively with the writer, consults about the theme, beefs up
description, rearranges sequences, checks facts, corrects the language and conforms
to the newspaper’s style. A bad editor does none of the above but just checks the
copy for spelling mistakes.
4.3.2 Barriers Removed by Editing

• People do not want to read a document which is messy
• A structure which is hard to follow is an excuse to stop reading further
• Too much or too little content
• Bad headlines
• Inappropriate language
• Long, complicated sentences
• Lack of headlines and subheadings
• An inappropriate tone of voice
• Factual errors leave a bad taste in the mouth
• Legal repercussions as per rulings of Indian Penal Code or Press Council of
India to be kept in mind
• Defamation liability to be removed
41
Media Writing Certain redundancies should also be avoided while editing. Many a times we describe
planes which are “totally destroyed” or a meeting where we “assemble together”.
Remember when we refer to something as having got destroyed it means complete
destruction. So the word totally is not required. Similarly, when you assemble, it
means coming together and the word assemble need not be written. Such needless
repetitions are called redundancies. Beware of these redundancies. Here is a list of
the most common redundancies seen in the newspapers. You may add your own to
the list:
• Absolutely necessary
• Advance planning
• Ask the question
• Assemble together
• Cancelled out
• Carbon copy
• Cooperate together
• Exactly identical
• Necessary requirements
• Postpone until later
• Temporarily suspended
• True facts
• Honest truth
• Fair and just
• Fall down
• Friend of mine
4.3.3 Role of a Sub-Editor

In the news business, presentation is everything and the correct use of language is
its cornerstone. The sub-editor is responsible for ensuring every story that goes to
print is in clear language that maintains the credibility and reputation of the
organisation they work for. Many of you will want to become sub-editors. Come
let’s find out the role of the sub-editor. These are listed below:
• Editing copy to remove spelling mistakes and grammatical errors;
• Rewriting material so that it flows or reads better and adheres to the house
style of a particular publication;
• Ensuring that a story fits a particular word count by cutting or expanding
material as necessary;
• Writing headlines that capture the essence of the story or are clever or amusing;
• Writing stand-firsts or sells (brief introductions which sum up the story);
Liaising with reporters or journalists to clarify facts and details about a story;
Editing press releases or reports;
• Compiling routine information, such as tables of sports results or financial
data;
• Checking facts and stories to ensure they are accurate, do not break the law or
42 go against the publication’s policy;
• Cropping photos and deciding where to use them for best effect; Writing the Editing for Print and
Online Media
captions for pictures;
• Discussing concerns with editors;
• Proofreading complete pages produced by other sub-editors;
• Working to a page plan to ensure that the right stories appear in the correct
place on each page;
• Laying out pages and, depending on the nature of the role, playing a part in
page design;
• Adding last minute news stories;
• Keeping up to date with issues, e.g. by reading publications.
• Gate keeping – selection of a story which is print-worthy
• Paraphrasing and Rewriting
Some common Proof reading symbols are also necessary for sub-editors. These are
as follows:
4.3.4 Qualities of a Sub-Editor

The production of a newspaper calls for undivided attention of 200 to 300 people in
different departments, as it is a delicate and complex process. There is tension
since a deadline is to be met. In a news agency, the deadline is ‘now’. Amidst this
tense atmosphere, the sub-editor has to perform his job meticulously. He should
possess certain qualities to discharge his duties efficiently. Some of these qualities
of a copy editor/sub-editor are:
Calmness : Be calm and composed, come what may. You should not
get excited when a big story breaks – be it a disaster,
calamity, the assassination of a big political leader or the
collapse of a government.
Decisive : Take quick and correct decisions. The editorial department
has no place for indecision.
43
Media Writing Non-partisan : Never take sides; be non-partisan.
Memory : Have a sharp memory for counter-checking facts, if
necessary.
Grasp : Size up the situation as it unfolds, and estimate its relevance.
Know your reader : Know the particular readership. This means you should
engage one hand with subbing, and the other with the pulse
of the reader.
Self-confidence : Have confidence enough to correct a bad copy written by
anyone, even the senior most reporter or the paper’s editor.
Mature : Be mature enough to correct only bad copy, and not just
make changes for the sake of changing.
Skeptical : Do not accept anything at face value. You should approach
everything as a source of potential error.
Knowledge : Be a Jack of all trades, because a sub- editor handles a wide
range of stories (from killing, to all prices, to a satellite
launch). You are required to have some knowledge about
these, including how these compared with the past events,
how the names of different nationalities are spelt. A good
editor should store most of the information as it comes
across, and search for more.
Stability : Have enough stability to work under pressure.
4.3.5 Duties of a Sub-Editor

Every sub-editor had a set of duties which are not a part of the rules and regulation
book but are still there to enhance his professional performance. These are unwritten
duties, more ethical in nature. As a sub-editor you have to remember them whenever
you sit down to edit the story. With the passage of time they will get so engrained in
the mind that you will not even have to remember them. These duties are to simplify
the write up: Rewrite the story in the common man’s language. Replace difficult
words with easy ones. Shorten sentences so that it becomes easy to read.
Clarify the story: As a sub-editor you will have to give clarity to the story by making
the story readable in writing style. Remove ambiguous words, and change sentence
patterns to remove fog index, which is the measure of abstraction and complexity
of words. Abbreviations, if less known should be elaborated and popular elaborations
can be abbreviated.
Verify the facts: Be 200% sure of the facts in the write up you are editing. Check
and cross check before finalizing the story.
Avoid sensationalizing the strong sentiments in the write up: Never play up or
exaggerate facts in a news story. It not only puts a doubt on the authenticity of the
write up but also reflects badly on the ethics and reputation of the organization.
Cut out on gender bias in the news item: The write up should neither be too anti-
women or anti-men. Also objectionable pictures of women and comments on them
should be avoided.
Remove leanings of class, caste, religion and creed from the story: Any write up
should not instigate negative feelings for any class, creed, caste or religion in society.
Also the story should not have obvious and apparent leanings to any of the above.
44
Keep stories akin to the policies of the newspaper: While writing and editing a Editing for Print and
Online Media
news story the policies of the organization on various issues of importance should
be kept in mind.

i) What is the difference between a good and a bad editor?
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ii) What are the qualities of a good sub-editor?

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4.4 HOW TO EDIT A COPY

A news story must play upon the event reported therein. Ideally, read every story,
preferably thrice-—once for familiarization, once while you edit, and the third time
to check your work. If the story has no glaring problems, and if you fully understand
it, you would be ready to edit it. Now, you are concerned with spelling, punctuation,
grammar, consciousness of expression, smoothness of writing, general accuracy
and comprehensibility.
Format: A news story is divided in to two parts – the opening para called the
“intro” (introduction) or the “lead”, and the body. The lead describes, simply and
briefly, what happened. The body documents and elaborates the lead. Adequate
attention should be paid to the lead, the most vital part of the story. Written in a
single sentence, it should grab the reader and compel him to read the body. Normally,
the lead is in about 25 words, or may be less. At the maximum, it should be limited
to 40 words. The intro should be concise and crisp. It should not meander or puzzle
the reader, but summarize the story. Details should be dispersed and blended in the
subsequent paragraphs.
There is a famous example of an eye-catching introduction:
“James Wilson lit a cigarette while bathing his feet in gasoline. He may live.”
This is a masterpiece of economy of words in writing. It tells the whole story at
once: the careless stupidity of the act, the swift act of retribution and the terrible
consequences, all conjured up in our minds in vivid detail.
45
Media Writing In a sense, we do not need to read on but we all would. We would want to know
more about James Wilson, why he was soaking his feet in gasoline, where he was
performing this act, and so on. And, all this would be told in subsequent paragraphs,
in a logical order. This particular example is what is called a “teasing” intro, for it
arouses our curiosity and makes us read on.
Opening para: Conventionally, the news story has followed the “inverted pyramid”
structure. The most significant information is placed at the top, the story’s beginning
and other details follow in their order of importance. Thus the story tapers to smaller
and smaller details, until it disappears. It may begin with the five Ws and one H,
i.e., the who-what-why-when-where and how. Basically, a news story should answer
what, when and where. The answers should find place in the opening paragraph.
The three other questions – who, why and how – do not necessarily arise in all the
news copy. In case they do, the answers are accommodated in the subsequent
paragraphs. Each succeeding paragraph should add an essential detail without being
dependent in content or style on what follows.
The inverted pyramid style enables:
i) a news story to be self-contained, even if paragraphs are deleted at the bottom
due to space shortage [consequently, a coherent story is left at each point
where it could be cut];
ii) a hurried reader to skip over many stories in a short time by just reading the
opening paragraphs [those with greater interest could read a story completely];
iii) a sub-editor, to write the headline in the gist in the first few paragraphs; and
iv) a sub-editor to change the order of paras or insert new material, even after the
matter has been sent to the press for composing.
If the news is not in the opening paragraph, trace out where it is buried. Bring it to
the top, and also locate its supporting details. If there are two important news points
or angles that vie for the top spot, assess and evaluate which one is better and
catchier. This could call for rewriting the entire news item.
4.5 EDITOR’S TOOL BOX

A copy editor must have aids which are indispensable to editing. Often you will
come across mistakes both factual and grammatical, which you need to correct. For
this the copy editor will require a set of tools, the lack of which may lead to the loss
of valuable time while subbing the copy. These aids are indispensable. Often, you
may come across problems of spelling and facts, arising out of an average day’s
handing of the news. You should focus on the errors, and correct them. All this can
be done with the help of some tools which should always be handy with you
As a budding journalist and a future sub-editor you should be aware that there are
standards set by responsible news organizations for the guidance of their staff and
by news agencies for their members and clients. These are available as booklets
and are given to an employee when he or she joins.
Editors write stylebooks, copyeditors use them and reporters hate them. Probably
they curb the independence of writing and reporting. Style books work as authority
to usage but it cannot be a substitute for the hard work, acquired skills and natural
artistry of the writer.
46
Dictionary and Thesaurus Editing for Print and
Online Media
These are the Bible for any sub-editor. Remember to keep a dictionary and a thesaurus
handy at all times. Good editors always keep a pocket sized dictionary and Roget’s
Thesaurus in their bags.
A dictionary explains the meanings and a thesaurus gives synonyms to all possible
listed words. They will help you greatly in sub-editing and re-writing. A thesaurus
will give you numerous alternatives both easy and difficult to choose from. It will
help you to write better.
Some Do’s and Dont’s

Remember to break up long quotes where several sentences run together.
Avoid the gratuitous use of “woman” as in “a woman doctor/a woman Army officer/
a woman scientist”. The person should simply be described as a doctor/Major/
scientist: the use of her full name and the ensuing text will make it clear that we are
talking about a woman.
Similarly, we do not make gratuitous reference to a person’s ethnicity or sexual

orientation.
Companies, groups and organisations etc are inanimate. They take “that” or “which”,
depending on the syntax, and not “who”. They take a singular verb. (But Sport uses
plural verbs for teams).
Quotes must be accurate. While it is permissible to clear up illiteracies it is not

permissible to alter words or sense. Inevitably, some quotes will include words
disapproved of by this style guide. That they are within quotation marks makes it
clear, however, that the words are not ours.
Yesterday. Increasingly, as the distinction between publishing the newspaper and

producing the website fades, we will stop using such words as “yesterday” and
“today” in copy except when necessary to avoid confusion or to promote exclusive
stories. When we do use them, they should be put in the right place. Many
introductions and captions are spoilt by the misplacing of these words, which makes
the sentence sound like a translation from German.
Add a Note when something is correct but looks as though it may not be. Reporters
can save news desk staff and production journalists (and themselves) much tedious
secondary researching by noting unusual spellings or apparent contradictions in
text.
4.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you read about editing and learnt the what, why and how of subediting
and learnt to differentiate between good and bad editing. The unit also explained
how editing for print is different from editing for radio, television and internet. You
must have understood that for electronic media editing is a technical task whereas
in the print media editing has a language orientation. The use of editor’s tools like
style sheet, thesaurus, editing symbols and grammar books is stressed on. By now
you will be able to reunite passages, edit teleprinter copies and correct printed
copies. You also learnt to catch printed grammatical and factual errors in the
newspapers. We now hope you will read the newspaper with a vigilant eye.
47
Media Writing
i) Editing is required to give a final shape to the work ; to check for errors of
grammar, syntax and spellings.
i) A good editor beefs up descriptions, rearranges sequences, checks facts, corrects
the language etc. A bad editor just checks the copy for spelling mistakes.
ii) The qualities of a good sub-editor are that s/he needs to be calm, decisive, non
partisan, confident and a mature person who knows his/her target readership
and is knowledgeable.
48
BEGG-171
Indira Gandhi
Block
4
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL AND CYBER MEDIA
UNIT 1
Types of Social Media 5
UNIT 2
The World Wide Web 18
UNIT 3
Internet and Impact on Journalism 28
UNIT 4
Impact of Social and Cyber Media 38
INTRODUCTION TO BLOCK 4 :
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL AND CYBER
MEDIA
Welcome to the last block of our course on Media and Communication Skills. This
Block is called Introduction to Social and Cyber Media and as the name implies –
we introduce you to the various social media that are so much a part of our lives
today. The pace of innovation in this line is so rapid that the slogan for information
technology is “If it works its obsolete”! This means that even as a product is being
perfected to be put in the market,an advanced version is already being developed.
We live in a world where communication happens in many different ways, across

multiple channels and in many forms. Our relationships are held together by speech,
writing on paper, images on screen transmitted by satellite links, words in text
messages on cell phones and emails etc. But perhaps the biggest transformation in
our communication landscape has come from the development and spread of the
Internet or what we now know as the World Wide Web.
In Unit 1 we talk to you about various types of social media and their uses.
In Unit 2 we take the discussion further and give you more details of the World
Wide Web.
In Unit 3 we discuss the impact that the internet has had on Journalism.
And last but not the least, in Unit 4 we discuss the overall impact that the cyber
media has had on our society.
And with this we come to the end of our fourth block as well the entire course on
Media and Communication Skills. We hope you enjoyed studying this Course as
much as we enjoyed putting it together for you.
Introduction to Social and
Cyber Media
4
Types of Social Media
UNIT 1 TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Computer Network: Email, Internet, Intranets, Multimedia
1.2.1 Information Explosion, Control and Dissemination
1.2.2 Uses of Computer Networks
1.2.3 Words for The Web
1.2.4 Languages for The Computer
1.3 Multimedia
1.3.1 Uses of Multimedia
1.4 The Spread of Information in Corporates
1.5 Text Messages
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will allow you to:
• Understand that computers provide rapid access to up-to-date information by
networking
• Find out what a computer network can do for organizations and for individuals
• Look at some of the ordinary words used by computer users, as well as less
well-known words connected with computing
• Begin thinking about information sharing in corporate communications, and
the use of sms or short messaging services
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The slogan in the information technology is “If it works, it’s obsolete”. Such is the
pace of innovation today that even as a product is being perfected and made available
to the market, the research and development wing of an organization is already
working to improve it!
Computers provide a speed of access and a universality of access to information

that drives continual improvement in other fields as well. Information sharing among
special interest groups is now instantaneous. In my personal experience, a surgeon
in India performed a complicated surgery that was simultaneously available for
viewing at a teaching hospital in the United States. Another surgeon, faced with a
stubborn though minor problem in after-surgery healing, put his case on the Internet
and was able to tell his patient that around 8% of people undergoing that surgery
had a similar problem, but went on to recover fully.
This sense of a global community is made possible by the Internet and email, where
interest groups are only a click away. Such is the growth in the use of computers
that many of you are probably good users of the Internet already. On the other hand,
many of us use a facility without knowing much about it. We ride in cars and airplanes
5
Introduction to Social and without thinking about the internet combustion engine or the aerodynamics of flying.
Cyber Media
In this unit we attempt to refresh our basic knowledge of systems that most of us
now use everyday, without thinking.
1.2 COMPUTER NETWORKS: EMAIL, INTERNET,

INTRANETS, MULTIMEDIA
1.2.1 Information: Explosion, Control and Dissemination
Nearly a million articles a year are published now in science alone. Rapid advances
in research are possible because scientists get information faster. So there is a great
need in today’s world for storing information, packaging and processing it, and
disseminating it or making it available.
You are familiar with the idea of a library as a place for storing knowledge. Books
are stored under a system by which you can find them easily by author, title or even
subject: the system allows you to identify and retrieve the information you need. It
has been pointed out that these are also the functions of a computer! It can store
information, and it has a system by which you can identify and retrieve the
information you need. And it can do this much faster than the process of printing
and publishing.
A database is an organized, integrated and inter-related collection of computer-

based data. It has records or information that is machine-readable and it can be
searched from a remote terminal, i.e. a computer that can connect with the database
may be physically very distant from it. Databases can be internal to an organization
(its accounts, its activities and plans, its history, for example). They can also be
external, and they may be regional, national or international.
For example, the Books in Print database is the world’s largest list of books currently
available in the market. This database contains information pertaining to over 10
lakh books!
The USA has a database of Federal Research in Progress that provides access to
information about government-funded-projects in the physical sciences, engineering
and the life sciences.
In India, NISSAT is a National Information System for Science and Technology.

This database was established in 1977.

1) State if these statements are true or false.
i) Computers can function as libraries by storing and retrieving
information. T/F
ii) A database can be searched from anywhere in the world provided a
computer is connected to it. T/F
iii) Databases are only internal to an organization T/F
6
2) Name some databases and say what kind of data they store and provide.
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1.2.2 Uses of Computer Networks

Networking of computers allows an automated sharing of resources.
A LAN is a Local Area Network that has a range of less than 10 kilometers.
Computers in this network are linked by telephone cable or by fiber optic cable. It
is usually a privately-owned network within a single building, or within a small
campus such as a University or institution.
A MAN is a Metropolitan Area Network with a range of 10-100 Kilometers. It uses
dedicated telephone lines (telephone lines reserved only for the network) or fiber
optic cable. It is a bigger version of a LAN.
A WAN is a Wide Area Network, with a range starting from 100 kilometers. It uses
telephone lines, or more usually, satellite links. A WAN spans a country or a
continent!
The Internet or the World Wide Web, known as www. is a way of accessing
linked documents spread out over thousands of machines all over the world. The
idea of the web actually began in 1989 at CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear
Research. Its large teams of internationally dispersed scientists and researchers
needed to interact with each other in the minimum of time. They needed to exchange
and work together on reports, blueprints, drawings, photographs and so on. A
prototype of a computer network to enable such sharing of information was made
operational and a public demonstration was given at a conference in Texas in
December 1991. A company called Netscape Communications Corporation was
formed. In 1994 CERN and MIT set up the www consortium, which was joined by
hundreds of universities and companies.
Up until the early 1990s, the Internet was largely populated by academic, government
and industrial researchers. One new application, the World Wide Web, changed all
that and brought millions of non-academic users to the net.
Networks for Organizations

Why do organizations use computer networks?
• Resource sharing: computer networks make data available to everyone in the
organization, no matter where they are. This ends “the tyranny of geography”.
All members of an organization can check their pay slips, the status of the
organization’s inventory or stock of items, or statistics relating to orders
received and items delivered, for example, from wherever they are on a
computer linked to the company’s network.
Another example of such networking is that of libraries. If a book you need is
not available in your local library, the librarian can check the database of a
networked library. If that library has the book in their collection, you may be
able to get the book on an inter-library loan. 7
Introduction to Social and • Reliability: information storage for industries like banking or air traffic control
Cyber Media
has to be reliable and unified. A network makes sure that all organizations
within an industry have access to the same reliable information. Bankers can
check the day’s currency exchange rates. Air traffic controllers are linked the
world over, to keep track of the airplanes that fly to destinations all over the
world.
• Communication: two people separated in space can write a report together!
When one of them makes a change, the other can see it immediately.
Networks for People
Our everyday lives are impacted by computer networks in a variety of ways.
• Access to remote information: electronic billing, banking, shopping on-line
newspapers.
Many people receive their telephone bills via the computer. They may also
have an arrangement with their bank for the bill to be paid electronically, by
debiting their bank account. These days we are all familiar with on line shopping
facilities. You can purchase books and airplane tickets on line. You can have
flowers and gifts delivered in another city as a gift, by placing an order on
line, and paying for it electronically as well!
Many people who work with the information technology industry read
newspapers on line while they are at work. (In this Block we will again touch
on this topic, when you are asked to compare the print and online editions of
popular daily newspapers.)
• Person-to-person communication: E-mail or electronic mail is now widely
used by millions of people. Many of them send messages that contain an audio
or video clip in addition to text.
• Interactive entertainment: You can choose a video (such as a movie) to watch
from a central service provider using the remote control of your television.
Video servers can store and output a large number of movies simultaneously.
They are programmed to accept user requests, locate the movie from the storage
device and play it in the output device, and bill the customer. The video servers
can store a large number of movies. There is also a mathematical way of
computing the probability of how often a particular movie is requested by the
customer. Suppose the server stores seven movies. By Zipf’s law, “the most
popular movie is seven times as popular as the number 7 movie”

1) Say whether True or False.
i) The Internet was invented to sell things across the globe T/F
ii) A LAN is smaller than a WAN. T/F
2) Name and briefly describe some uses of networking for an organization
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
8
3) List and describe some uses of networking for individuals.
...................................................................................................................
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...................................................................................................................
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Personal e-mail has become a way of life in the 21st century. A newspaper
report from the New York Times News Service (Published in The Hindu on
May 30, 2007) says that the British Library, which has a collection of such
historic objects as the Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta and Shakespeare’s
First Folio, is collecting e-mail notes for a month. The projects is known as
Email Britain.
The Library wants “memorable or significant e-mail” messages that fall into
any one of these 10 categories:
Blunders, complaints, spam, humour, life-changing e-mails, news, love, and
romance, everyday e-mail, world around you, tales from abroad.
Here is an example of an email – company network (the person was later
fired!):
“To: All Users
Subject: The person who ate my muffin!!!
It would have been better if U asked for one of my muffins instead of just
taking it without permission.”
(A muffin is a small round cake or bun, often eaten with butter)
Here is an example of a complaint, a note sent to a restaurant:
“I really really ridiculously enjoy eating chicken and bacon sandwiches…
Unfortunately however, a Chicken and Bacon and Salad sandwich that I
purchased today … was not only an insult to man’s greatest edible
achievement, but also taints your own brand’s impeccable reputation for
excellence and customer satisfaction.”
And this is a description of a life-changing moment. [Note: The London Eye
is a giant wheel installed during the millennium celebrations (the year 2000).
A work “do” is an informal British way of referring to a party at work. You
will find this meaning listed in the dictionary under the entry for a do as a
noun.]”
Last night Dave surprised me and took me on the London Eye (I thought I
was going to his work do.) Anyway to cut a long story short… he asked me to
marry him – after lots of really girly behaviour of sobbing my heart-out I
nodded my head!”
1.2.3 Words for the Web

Many words relating to computers have become part of our everyday language. A
Desktop computer sits on your desk, and a laptop is meant to sit on your lap. The
screen has icon or images that symbolize the programs installed on your computer.
These programs or instructions in the brain of the computer constitute the software. 9
Introduction to Social and The hardware is the machinery of the computer: its motherboard, for example.
Cyber Media
To start a program, you click on an icon, which opens a window or a screen. The
computer’s memory is of two kinds: the long term memory is data stored on a hard
disk. You can also make your data portable by storing it on a CD, a DVD or a pen
drive (also called a zip drive).
From the user’s point of view, the Internet or the World Wide Web consists of a vast
world wide collection of documents, usually called pages. A web page may contain
links or pointers to other pages anywhere in the world. You can get this linked
page by clicking on the link, a hyperlink, which is usually underlined or in special
colour. Pages that are linked in this way form a hypertext. That is, they are not a
single text, but the pages can be put together by the user while reading, to from a
large text of the user’s choice.
You search the web or find your way through it (navigate the web) using a browser.
The browser has a button on which you click, which lets you return to a previous
page, save a page or print a page. To surf the Internet means to rapidly look through
its sites (just as one surfs the ocean, or rides its waves using a surfboard). To surf
the Internet, you need to be connected to it with a modem. You will also need a
browser, which is software that enables you to view the web pages. To go to a
particular website you need to type in its URL or web address. If you are not sure
of the address, or not sure on which site or sites you can find, you can browse the
page using menus links. You can scroll up or down the page (move the text up or
down on your screen) by using a button or mouse.
You can download programs and information from the Internet. Freeware is what
you don’t pay for; shareware can be tried for free for a certain period, and then has
to be paid for. You must be careful not to get a computer virus from the Internet.
You can buy anti-virus software to protect your system against viruses. Otherwise,
your computer might crash!
Activity
How many of the words in bold do you know? Try to learn the words that are
new to you, using a computer to do the activities of surfing, downloading etc.,
suggested by the words. (Visit an internet café if you don’t have a computer of
your own.)
1.2.4 Languages for the Computer

The Web is basically a “client server” system of networked computers. The languages
in which web pages are written are HTML and Java. HTML is a “markup language”.
It contains explicit instructions on how documents are to be formatted, just as a
copy editor in a publishing house “marks up” a document to tell the printer how to
format a text.
So in HTML,
<B> means : start boldface mode
<?B> means : leave boldface mode
<I> means : start italics mode
</I> means : leave italics mode
Documents written in a markup language contrast with documents like this one,
10 produced in a “What You See Is What You Get” or WYSIWYG mode using Microsoft
Word. In the file you are now reading, the “markup” or the set of formatting Types of Social Media
instructions is stored in a hidden or embedded mode, or it might even be kept in a
separate file.
Java allows highly interactive Web pages. Using Java you can design a web page
with which a user can play noughts and crosses, or chess. Or you can get an income
tax form, fill in items, and see the calculations made instantly. This is possible
because Java uses “applets” or small applications that your computer downloads
along with the Web page. For example, a game-playing program, written in Java, is
downloaded along with the Web page.
1.3 MULTIMEDIA
What is Multimedia?
Multimedia has been called “the rising star in the networking firmament”. It allows
audio and video to be digitized and transported electronically.
What is a digital signal? It is a signal that is not continuous (an analogue signal is a
continuous signal). Think of a light switch: it is either on or off. It is digital. But
some switches rotate continuously, to allow the light to grow gradually brighter or
dimmer. These are analogue switches. (The American spelling is analog.)
The difference between analogue video and digital video is the following. Analogue
video scans an image in horizontal lines. Digital video is a sequence of “pixels”,
that is, “picture elements”, or small “dots of information” in a rectangular grid.
Today the term “multimedia” is restricted to mean “two or more continuous media”,
that is, “media that have to be played during some well-defined time interval, usually
with some user interaction”. So this term is used for a computer that has audio and
video capability, and with which a user can interact.
Literally, however, multimedia is just two or more media. Even a simple book with
illustrations uses “multi media”! Books have had pictures in them, to decorate or to
illustrate the text, from earliest times. Then came a time when a book would be sold
along with a cassette which had the book read out – a “talking book”, as it were.
Can you think of some uses for talking books?
Children used to have grandparents or parents read out stores to them; now they
can use the cassette instead, looking at the pages of the book – the print and the
illustrations – as they listen. The read-out version of the book usually has a bell or
a small sound to indicate at what point the child should turn the page to the next
page.
Many people spend a lot of time driving to and from work. They find talking books
a useful way of catching up with their “reading” : a cassette plays in the car as they
drive. Or a CD (compact disc)!
And of course, talking books help the blind or the “visually challenged” to read.
The well-known writer Ved Mehta describes how he used to listen far into the night
to the great English and Russian classics in translation on gramophone records,
read out by the best actors of the day. Ved Mehta is probably one of the most well-
read people today!
In education, radio broadcasts have been used along with course books for distance
education programmes. As video and television became available, these visual media
were also integrated into courses. 11
Cyber Media
1.3.1 Uses of Multimedia
Who uses multimedia?
Companies use it to make presentations. Sales charts and other graphics can be
animated, given attractive music and voice over, and interwoven with video clips
showing actual product use, customer responses, or projections for the future; and
all this can be combined with the sales executive’s own voice or visual presence.
Institutions use it to give “visitors” a guided tour. Multimedia can create a “virtual
world”, which can take you on a tour of the institution. Many institutions now have
their “prospectus” on a CD which tells you what the institution stands for , lets you
see who its officials are and listen to them, show you the campus and the buildings,
and talks with the customers or students of the institution.
Advertisers use it sell their product. They can mix animation and real-life video,
fantasy and reality, using multimedia. Text can be animated, and so can pictures.
One advertisement has a car that winks at us with its headlight. One of the earliest
enduring images of Indian advertising was a little girl in a white frock for a popular
brand of soap powder. The girl twirls her dress, and as she does so, she turns into an
image on a packet of soap! You see these advertisements on television, of course,
but also on the internet.
On-the-job training and updating is done with multimedia. Demonstration and

introduction to new technological advances, product guides, procedures for using
machinery, demonstrations of equipment, and knowledge renewal are some of the
ways in which this technology is used. Since this technology can be interactive,
individual trainees can take a course at their own pace and in their own time, to
renew their knowledge and keep up-to-date. Aircraft mechanics, fire fighters, and
industrial workers can now learn while on the job.
Educational multimedia is an entire industry in itself. Children in many countries

– even India— now spend more time at a television or computer screen than with a
book. The concept of “edutainment” allows the child to learn while “playing”. One
award-wining interactive game taught simple geography in the guise of a detective
game. The user registered as a detective. (S)he had to solve a crime by pursuing the
members of a gang who flew to destinations all over the world. Clues were given to
the destination (e.g., “They have gone to climb Mount Everest”, “They are enjoying
the beach at a French-speaking part of India”), and the user had to book air tickets
to the correct place by using the clues. In this way, the user picked up some basic
geographical knowledge. Other more straightforward multimedia packages are
available for learning and checking your knowledge of biology or mathematics, of
cricket or chess, and so on.
Multimedia is used for learning languages! Learners’ Dictionaries for English (for
example) now come with CDs that “speak” a word you choose, in two accents:
British, or American.
People like you and me can send an animated greeting card through email for
birthdays, anniversaries and festivals, which will sing and dance at the user’s end.
These cards are created using multimedia. So multimedia is used for general social
interaction.
12
i) What is multimedia?
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ii) What are some of the uses of multimedia? If you have any experience
with multimedia, please give your own examples as illustrations.
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1.4 THE SPREAD OF INFORMATION IN

CORPORATES
As corporates get larger, so do their needs to communicate, both internal and
externally. The communicative potential of video has made it a perfect business
partner to the corporate world. Video is used for annual reports and for new magazines
within corporations. Video conferencing has made possible instant interactive
communication within the country as well as globally. The use of video in training
has been taken to a very advanced stage. There may be a training video to familiarize
the staff of a company with a new telephone system, for example or about a bank’s
plan to relocate its employees. Corporate health videos are also attested, such as a
video on the hazards of drunken driving (useful during the holiday season of
Christmas and New Year), or an exercise video that encourages staff to keep fit.
Many of these videos are produced by specialized production houses that make the
videos professionally comparable with network programming. Corporate videos is
thus a good example of a parallel narrowcasting network that has sprung up. The
tapes are distributed to various employees or groups, or else the company may have
an intranet or even a satellite it leases for its offices in various cities.
1.5 TEXT MESSAGES

Text messages are short written messages between mobile phones. Text messaging
is popularly called ‘sms’ or short messaging service’. Because it takes a long time
to type full messages, and because space on the mobile phone is limited, the size of
the message is better kept small. So text messages have evolved to use abbreviations.
13
Cyber Media Check Your Progress 4
i) Here are some common abbreviations used in sms. Do you know what
they stand for? Check your answers with our answers, given at the end of
the unit.
CU @ CU@7
R B 4 How RU 2
Text messages often leave out vowels and other letters judged to be
redundant, or unnecessary. For example:
txt msg xmpl
Can you write the full words that these letters stand for?
Other common abbreviations are:
b4 l8r 4U 2day 2morrow gr8
Write out their full forms and check your answers with those at the end of
the unit.
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...................................................................................................................
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Be careful not to use these sms forms in formal writing, such as in your examinations,
formal letters, reports, and so on. There is nothing wrong in inventing such new
forms for a new medium of written communication. Writing systems have arisen in
response to the needs of communication on the one hand, and of the materials
available for writing on the other.
However, we must stress the need for you to choose the appropriate style of
communication for the appropriate occasion. Knowing the sms forms in addition to
ordinary English spelling maybe essential, but do not think of substituting text
messaging for educated written English!
1.6 LET US SUM UP

• There is a need today for storing information, packaging and processing it,
and disseminating it or making it available.
• A computer can store information, and you can identify and retrieve the
information you need. It can do this much faster than the process of printing
and publishing.
• A database is an organized, integrated and inter-related collection of computer
based data.
• The networking of computers allows an automated sharing of resources. A
14 LAN is a Local Area Network that has a range of less than 10 kilometers. A
MAN, a Metropolitan Area Network, has a range of 10-100 kilometers. A Types of Social Media
WAN Wide Area Network, with a range starting from 100 kilometers.
• The Internet or the World Wide Web, known as www. allows access to linked
documents spread out over thousands of machines all over the world . The
idea of the web actually began in 1989 at CERN, the European Centre for
Nuclear Research.
• Until the early 1990s, the Internet was for academics, government and industrial
researchers. The World Wide Web brought millions of non-academic users to
the net.
• Organizations use computer networks for resource sharing, reliability in
information storage, and for communication.
• Our everyday lives are impacted by computer networks in access to remote
information, person-to-person communication by E-mail or electronic mail,
and for interactive entertainment.
• Many words relating to computers have become part of everyday language.
• The languages in which web pages are written are HTML and Java. HTML is
a “markup language”.
• Multimedia allows audio and video to be digitized and transported
electronically, Multimedia is used by companies, institutions, in advertising,
for training and knowledge updating in certain jobs, in education, and for
social interaction.
• As corporates get larger, so do their needs to communicate, both internally
and externally. Corporate video is a good example of a parallel narrowcasting
network. The tapes are distributed to various employees or groups, or else the
company may have an intranet or even a satellite it leases for its offices in
various cities.
• Text messages are short written messages between mobile phones. Text
messaging is popularly called ‘sms’ or ‘short messaging service’. Text messages
use abbreviations.
• It is essential to know the ordinary English spellings of sms forms.

1) i) True
ii) True
iii) False
2) The Books in Print database is a list of books currently available. It contains
information about more than 10 lakh books. NISSAT in India is a National
Information System for Science and Technology. The USA has a database of
Federal Research in Progress which has information about projects funded by
the government in engineering and the physical and life sciences.
i) False
15
Introduction to Social and ii) True
Cyber Media
2) All members of an organization can check their pay slips, the organization’s
inventory of goods, or statistics relating to orders received and items delivered,
wherever they are, if the information is available on a network.
Another example is libraries that are networked. If a book you need is not
available in your local library, the libraries can check the database of a
networked library, and may be able to get the book for you by inter-library
loan.
Information storage for industries like banking or air traffic control has to be
reliable and unified. A network makes sure that all organizations within an
industry have access to the same reliable information. Bankers can check the
day’s currency exchange rates. Air traffic controllers are linked the world over,
to keep track of the airplanes that fly to destinations all over the world.
Communication on network is instantaneous across the globe. So two people

separated in space can write a report together: when one of them makes a
change, the other can see it immediately.
3) Computer networks provide access to remote information and so make possible

electronic billing, banking, shopping, and on-line newspapers.
Many people receive their telephone bills via the computer. They can arrange
with their bank for the bill to be paid electronically, by debiting their bank
account. On line shopping facilities allow you to purchase books and airplane
tickets on line. You can have flowers and gifts delivered in another city as a
gift, by placing an order on line, and pay for it on line as well!
Many people read newspapers on line while they are at work. E-mail or
electronic mail is now widely used by millions of people. These messages can
contain an audio or video clip in addition to text. It is now also possible to
choose a video to watch from a central service provider. Video servers are
programmed to accept user requests, locate the movie from the storage device
and play it in the output device, and bill the customer.
i) Multimedia allows audio and video to be digitized and transported

electronically. So this term is used for a computer that has audio and video
capability, and with which a user can interact.
Today the term “multimedia” is restricted to mean “two or more continuous

media”, that is, “media that have to be played during some well-defined time
interval, usually with some user interaction”. Literally, however, multimedia
is just two or more media.
ii) Multimedia is used by companies, institutions, in advertising, for training and
knowledge updating in certain jobs, in education, and for social interaction.
Companies use it to make presentations. Institutions use it give “visitors” a
guided tour of the institution in a “virtual world”. Advertisers use it to sell
their product.
On-the-job training and updating is done with multimedia. Demonstration
and introduction to new technological advances, product guides, procedures
16
for using machinery, demonstrations of equipment, and knowledge renewal Types of Social Media
are some of the ways in which this technology is used. Since this technology
can be interactive, individual trainees can take a course at their own pace and
in their own time, to renew their knowledge and keep up-to-date. Aircraft
mechanics, fire fighters and industrial workers can now learn while on the
job.
Educational multimedia is an entire industry in itself, and multimedia is used

for learning languages. Animated greeting cards that can be sent through email
for birthdays, anniversaries and festivals, illustrate the use of multimedia in
social interaction.
Answers to sms or text messages
C (see) U (you) @ (at) CU@7 (see you at seven)
R (are) B (be) 4 (for) How RU (how are you)
2 (to or too)
Text message example
b4 (before) l8r (later) 4U (for you) 2day (today) 2morrow (tomorrow)
gr8 (great)
17
Cyber Media UNIT 2 THE WORLD WIDE WEB
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The World Wide Web
2.3 The Web as a Medium
2.4 Creating Content for the Web
2.4.1 Elements of the Web
2.4.2 Building a Site Map
2.4.3 Writing in Screen-Sized Chunks
2.4.4 Hyperlinks and Pop-up Windows
2.5 Writing for Browsers
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit will allow you to:
• understand the Internet as a medium of communication,
• identify the main elements of the World Wide Web,
• understand how writing for the Web differs from writing for print media, and
• learn how to create simple content for the web.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
We now know how the computer can help us communicate with people around the
globe and those not as far away, and how networking has made a difference to the
case and speed of such communication in both professional and personal spheres.
In this Unit we will go on to talk about one aspect of computer networking –
increasingly important activity, as more and more people look to this medium as
their main source of information and entertainment. This unit introduces you to the
process and principles of writing for the Web.
2.2 THE WORLD WIDE WEB

We live in a world where communication happens in many different ways, across
multiple channels and in many forms. Our relationships are held together by speech,
writing on paper, images on screens transmitted by satellite links, words in text
messages on cell phones and emails, as well as face-to-face conversation. But perhaps
the biggest transformation in our communication landscape has come from the
development and spread of the Internet – or what we now know as the World Wide
Web.
The Internet, which was first developed in 1982, is a “mega” network of computer
networks spread across the world. Originally used mainly for information sharing
between research institutions, the Internet gradually became a popular medium for
18
communication, first among universities, then spreading to the information The World Wide Web
technology corporate before hitting the general public in the mid-1990s. Since then
it has grown rapidly, and current estimates are that nearly 1.8 billion people use the
Internet for some form of communication and research (www.internetstats.com).
In India, perhaps similar to the rest of the world, more that 60 percent of users are
below the age of 30, and about 25 percent are below 21 (www.sify.com).
The World Wide Web is the part of the Internet that is visible to us – it provides the
‘face’ of this network and links the thousands of information sources contained on
the computers that form the network. It is organized sources contained on the
computers that form the network. It is organized in a way that can be accessed
easily by users. It provides the interface between the physical network of wires and
satellite and microwave links and servers and the information contained within,
and the user. Now, however, we tend to use the terms ‘Internet’, ‘Web’, ‘Net’ and
‘Cyberspace’ more or less interchangeably to mean the online space that we access
to find information, communicate with friends and colleagues, or be entertained
through multimedia content.
While we do not need to know much about the technical details that make the Web
possible, it does help to understand how information is organized in this medium,
so that as writers we can create material that best utilizes its capabilities.
Activity
Observe and discuss: What are the different kinds of ‘sites’ that one finds on
the Web? How is your reading experience different on the Web as compared to
other texts such as books, newspapers, or magazines? Which do you prefer and
why?
2.3 THE WEB AS A MEDIUM

One of the things that makes the Web different is the fact that it is not just text we
are dealing with; it brings together text, sound and images and in a way that allow
us to switch from one to the other easily. This is why the Web is called a ‘convergent’
medium, because it brings together the characteristics of other media – print and
audiovisual – onto a single platform. We therefore refer to people who make use of
the Web as “users” rather than “readers” because they not only read text, but view
pictures and listen to sound on this medium. This makes the reading or “using”
experience quite different from say, reading a newspaper, or magazine.
Readers can also move through a web text in different directions, accessing
information in “layers” of detail according to need and convenience. What does
this mean for a writer? It means that the structure of the writing must take into
account how a Web user approaches a piece of writing. If, like most media writers,
your intention is to keep the reader on your page, then the page must be written and
presented in a way that keeps the reader interested enough to not switch to another
site.
The writer must also consider the potential of the medium and make full use of it.
So while in a printed text, one can illustrate ideas or enhance them with pictures
and graphics, on the Web, you can use not only illustrative graphics, you can also
animate them. You can plug in video and sound, and link to other resources that
will help you explain your subject better.
19
Introduction to Social and However, this convergence also can be a bit distracting. A person who is reading
Cyber Media
something on the computer screen, on the Web, can have at any moment several
windows open, engaging in a different kind of interaction in each. He or she could
be simultaneously reading the online version of a daily newspaper, searching for
information on a certain topic using a search engine like Google, listening to music
from a digital radio channel or from a CD, and chatting with a friend on an instant
messaging service, all while working on a document using the computer’s word
processor. The text on your web site competes with all these things for attention, all
of which are available on the same physical interface, all instantly accessible to the
user. Attention spans therefore, are considerably reduced. So the writer must be
able to package information into small, easily digestible units
Another major distinguishing feature of the Internet is its non-linearity. This means
that a text can be constructed in small units that do not necessarily flow in a sequential
order, and which may link to other short units in related but separate subject heads.
The same property which allows a user to go from text to image to sound, also
allows the user to go from an article on sports in India to a related piece on cricket,
to another on politics and funding in performance sports, or yet another on the
history of women’s cricket, all beginning with the same set of key words. This
movement can happen either because a search engine such as Google will throw up
a variety of related articles or because articles are linked to each other and to extended
bits of text (called hypertext). You may have noticed certain highlighted terms in a
Web document that show up as “links” when your cursor moves over them. Each of
these highlighted terms leads to an article that expands the term or explains it further
or leads to related information – these are hyperlinks.
Activity:
Go to a company web site or to a portal such as yahoo.com or rediff.com. Can
you identify the hyperlinks? Do you come across any hypertext that pops up
as your mouse goes over the words?
And what does this mean for the writer? It means that texts are not planned in
single long units, but as blocks of related sub-texts that can be linked in a variety of
ways depending on how people might wish to access the information in them. This
again means that writers generally create short pieces of text that can function as
independent units or can be linked together to form a longer unit.
Of course, there are spaces on the Web that allow for more lengthy, detailed
documents, and there are users who require these, but by and large, writing for the
Web must keep in mind the characteristics of the medium and the needs and usage
patterns of the majority of readers.
Activity
Look at the front page of a newspaper and the home page of the electronic
version of the same paper. How are the two ‘fronts’ organized? What are the
major differences in organization and in structure? Is the language any
different? How does the ‘look’ of the page differ and does this influence
readability in any way?
The web page of The Hindu, a daily newspaper, has a listing of the main sections on
the left and a panel with short introductions to the main stories, indicating that there
is more if readers want to read further. If you visit the site (www.thehindu.com) you
20
will see that there is a ticker running below the main story much like the ones on The World Wide Web
television, giving the breaking news. Below the main story is a listing of other
major stories in the issue, readers can click on if interested.

1) The _______ or the ____________ is perhaps one of the major
developments that has influenced how we access information and
communicate with each other.
2) The Internet is a network of ______________________.
3) The first use of the Internet was in ________________ for information
sharing among researchers.
4) The _______________ is the part of the Internet that is visible to us.
5) The bringing together of text, images, video and sound is known as
____________.
6) ____________ is a major characteristic of the Internet, which allows people
to move in several different directions through a document.
7) Texts are planned as ___________ of __________ linked in several ways.
8) Words that “pop up” as your cursor moves over text on the screen are
called __________.
2.4 CREATING CONTENT FOR THE WEB

While writing for the Web is, in essence, no different from any other good writing
there are a few things to keep in mind while structuring the information for the Web
user. The characteristics of the medium – convergence, non-linearity, and hyper-
textuality – influence the way people read, and therefore the way writers put together
material.
2.4.1 Elements of the Web

First, it is important to understand the components of the Web. A few of the structural
elements that make up the World Wide Web are listed below.
A web browser is an interface tool that allows you to see and read content from the
Internet. It is a user friendly device that converts code into text and images in a way
that makes it possible for us to read, listen or see material. Commonly used browsers
are Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla Firefox.
A web page is a discrete unit of content, usually limited to one screen or a little
more. A web page has a specific address – a ‘url’ (uniform resource locator) that is
assigned to it and that makes referencing easy.
A web site is normally made up of several pages of related content that are linked
together.
A home page or landing page is the main introductory page of any site. It usually
contains information that tells users what the site is about and links to the various
21
Introduction to Social and parts of the site. It is somewhat like a combination of a magazine cover and its
Cyber Media
contents page.
A portal is a web page that leads to several other sites or information sources tied
together by a theme or common structure. The term portal signifies that these pages
are like ‘gateways’ to the collection of information. The portal of rediff.com, for
instance, does not have any introductory text, but simply links to other parts of the
site and to stories of the day.
A ‘window’ is a frame that is open on your computer screen, usually corresponding

to a location on the Web or a document from your computer.
“URL” is uniform resource locator, is an ‘address’ on the Internet that identifies

the location of a document. The URL helps us access material on the Internet.
It usually appears as a string of letter and numbers following the term http://www.in
the address box of your browser.
Hypertext is information linked to a word, image or phrase that appears as a pop-

up box inside the page you are viewing. Sometimes this appears even as you move
your mouse over (known as a ‘mouse over’ effect) the highlighted term, or it may
appear only when you click on it.
A hyperlink is a link to another page or a document related to the one you are
currently viewing. When you link on a highlighted term or an image, the browser
takes you to this other document, or other ‘location’ on the Web. Hyperlinks represent
a method of cross-referencing that allows you to easily access related content on
the Web.
Activity
Spend some time browsing the Web and see if you can identify these various
elements. Write down the urls of some web sites that you like to visit often.
Can you see how the home page differs from the “inside” pages of a site?
So when you create content for the Web, you must think not only of what information
is going into the document, but how it is to be organized and linked with other
information.

1) The main characteristics of the Web as a medium are _________.
__________ and _____________.
2) A __________ allows you to see and read content from the Internet.
3) The introductory page of any web site is called the ____ or _________. or
_______.
4) A page that leads to several other sites or units of information is called a
_________.
5) URL stand for __________________________________.
6) ____________ on a web page are devices that allow you to move from
one page or document to another and represent a form of cross-referencing.
22
2.4.2 Building a Site Map The World Wide Web
The first step in creating material for a web site is to build what is called a site map.
This is an outline of all the elements that will go into the site, sort of like a list of
chapters in a book.
The site map not only shows the listing of topics that will be included in the site,
but also the “levels” of access. In other words, the site map shows which will be
primary links direct from the home page, and which pages will be linked through
the secondary or inside pages, and so on. The main effort in creating content for the
web lies in this stage. Once the structure is clear and makes sense, then filling in the
details is done.
At this stage you must decide how you want to direct the user through your site, and
also how most people might ‘navigate’ or make their way through the site. Your
decision on how to build the site map may take into account the following –
• What information are most people likely to want?
• What information does the organization want people to have at first glance?
• What is needed to show people at first glance what this site is about?
• What kind of information can be put together?
• What level of detail is required in each part of the site?
2.4.3 Writing in Screen-Sized Chunks

Once you have built a site map, the next step is to fill in the outline. Each section of
the site map will have a specific url, which means that a user may come directly to
that page if his or her search has used keywords present in the section. This means
that the writer must include enough contexts that allow the reader to understand
how this page relates to the rest of the content on the site. At the same time, this
section of the site must make sense to a reader without having to go back to the first
page, or the home page.
Basically, writing for the web is like packaging information into small, related chunks
which fit with each other – people can then take the chunk they want and go into
more details if they wish. But each chunk should make sense in itself. This is why
it is important to have a good, logically organized site map that can direct the way
you write up the content. Ideally, each section should be no more than a screen in
length – this is about 250 to 300 words. If more detail is required, then encourage
the interested reader to go to one more level in the site rather than burdening all
readers with too much information. Suppose you were writing an article on career
options in the broad field of communications. If you were writing this article for the
education supplement of a newspaper, you would perhaps plan a 500 word article
that began with a general overview of what the study and practice of communications
is all about, and then lead into specializations and sub-specializations, and what
sorts of career opportunities exist in each of these, ending with a summary of future
directions in the field.
If you were to convert the same topic for use on a web site, you would first section
the whole article into meaningful units, and then write the units in a way that they
can make sense independently. This would mean a small amount of repetition in
terms of setting the context and providing a sense of linkage with the other links.
The introduction would necessarily have to include a mention of the other sections
so that they can be hyperlinked either directly through the text or listed as links on
23
Introduction to Social and the side or at the bottom/top of the screen. The outline may look something like
Cyber Media
this:
Career Options in Communications

Overview of the field
The study of human communication
Interpersonal communication
Mass communication
Advertising
Public relations
Journalism
Print journalism
Elections journalism
Communication for social change
Film studies
Audio-visual production
New media and their applications
Media convergence and its impact on the job market
Profiles
Future outlook
Frequently asked questions
When you expand this site map, the first section may read something like this, with
the terms in blue linking to inside pages
Careers in communications
Communications is a broad and diverse field of study and practice. It rages
from the study of interactions between two or more people in various settings,
to information and entertainment targeted at large groups. It includes
commercial applications such as advertising and public relations, as well
as public service or public interest applications like journalism and
communication for social change. It occurs over a variety of media, from
print to electronic (radio and television) to new technology (the Internet)….
Of course, there are sites that offer lengthy content under a single link, for instance
stories in online newspapers and magazines. These too tend to have short (one or
two line) descriptions on the home page of the publication, with word “more” at the
end for users to click on in case they wish to read further. These lengthier links
assume that only interested or dedicated readers would read on further and, therefore,
would not mind scrolling down the screen to read the whole article.
Activity
Take a long feature from a newspaper or magazine and see how you can rewrite
if for a web site by breaking it up into Sections. Then go to a web site and see
how a long piece of text has been cut into Screen-sized Segments. Try to
reconstruct the outline based on the structure of the units. Can you comment
on the logic of the structure and how it reflects a web user’s preferences?
24
2.4.4 Hyperlinks and Pop-up Windows The World Wide Web
As you create content for a web site, you must keep in mind that it is not necessary
to elaborate into short notes that can appear as pop up windows or linked as hypertext.
This allows you to write spare, skeletal text that addresses the general reader who
can go to the next level or click on these hyperlinks if he or she requires more
detail.
What this means for you as a writer is that you have to think about your text at
different levels of complexity. At the first level is the most basic information. The
next level can elaborate on this basic information, or go into different aspects of the
topic, and different levels of detail can be accommodated through hyperlinks and
pop up boxes
Activity
Look through a reference book such as an illustrated encyclopedia or a user
manual. You will probably notice several boxed items and illustrations that
go with each chapter or block of text. How would you recreate this text for the
web? Which items would go into pop up windows or be packaged into
hypertext?
2.5 WRITING FOR BROWSERS

Most web users don’t really read every word on a page. They browse cyberspace
looking for things of interest; they scan text and focus on small parts of it that
interests them. So writing for this kind of a user is a bit different from writing for a
reader of printed matter. Here are some things to keep in mind as you create content
for the Web.
Make it scannable
The text should use key words so that someone who is quickly going through it will
be able to pick up on what the main theme or topic is. Think about how users might
search for this kind of information. What are the key words they are likely to search
by? Who is your article or web site aimed at and what are their key interests?
Because information on the Web co-exists with so much material, it is often difficult
to get people to stop and look at your material – unless it is clearly marked out by
common key words that most people interested in the topic would use. Another
device that makes text easily scannable is good sub-headings and bulleted lists.
Such highlighting pulls the eye toward the information and makes it instantly
understandable.
Make good use of hyperlinks

As mentioned in the pervious section, the nature of the medium allows you to
package information in small clusters and not clutter up the main text with too
much detail. Use the hyperlinks function to provide details that not all readers would
be interested in, but which is important to include nonetheless.
Provide sufficient context

Remember that we users can reach any part of a web site directly without going
through the home page which might have all the introductory material. So you
should make sure that each page has enough contexts to tell the reader where they
are and how this information makes sense.
25
Introduction to Social and Know your potential audience
Cyber Media
Like all good writing, web writing must keep in mind the average reader; this can
be difficult because the Web is an international medium, its users may be anywhere
on the globe. If your web site is not targeted at any particular geographically situated
community, then you can take time to ensure that it address the needs of a global
audience. This information must be as widely applicable as possible, and understood
by people from everywhere.
In summary, writing for the Web does not require any specific skills that are different
from any other form of writing. It takes good organizational skills, the ability to
structure information in a logical and efficient manner, and clarity of expression.
Perhaps there is more emphasis on structure and conciseness than in other media,
because of the nature of this medium.
2.6 LET US SUM UP

• The World Wide Web is an increasingly important medium of information and
entertainment.
• The World Wide Web is the document delivery system that resides on the
Internet, which is a global network of computers.
• The Web is a convergent medium, which brings together text, sound and images.
• Users can access information in layers of detail, according to how a web site
is organized.
• The Web is a non-linear medium, which means that readers can move back
and forth and to different sites to access information, all very quickly.
• Web content takes the from of short blocks of text linked together
• Hypertextuality is a feature of the web that allows related content to be linked
together and for the user to navigate between different bodies of related material.
• The first and most important stage of created material for a web site is to build
a site map, which is like a detailed outline.
• The site map is filled in with short chunks of information, usually no more
than one screen in length.
• Each screen of information should contain key words to make it searchable
and scannable.
• Use graphic devices like bulleted lists and sub-headings to help a reader scan
the text efficiently.

1) Internet; world wide web
2) computers
3) universities
4) World Wide Web
26
5) convergence The World Wide Web
6) Non-linearity
7) Blocks; sub-texts
8) Hypertext
Check our Progress 2
1) Convergence, non-linearity and hypertextuality
2) Web browser
3) Web page or home page or landing page
4) Portal
5) Uniform resource locator
6) Hyperlinks
27
Cyber Media UNIT 3 INTERNET AND IMPACT ON
JOURNALISM
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 A Brief History of the Internet
3.3 Journalists and the Internet
3.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages
3.4 E-mail
3.5 Internet addresses or URLs (Universal Resource Locators)
3.6 Operating Systems, Web Browsers and Search Engines
3.7 Blogs
3.8 Let Us Sum Up
3.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit familiarizes you with the role of the Internet in writing and media.
After having read this unit you should be able to:
• Understand the niceties of the Internet
• Its role in the Media
• Blogging/ New Media/ Participatory Journalism
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Writing paper, pen, a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia or an almanac are the
basic tools of a writer. The latest but most effective addition to this list is the Internet,
almost encompassing all other mentioned tools. It can be described as a worldwide
system of computers connected to one another, allowing the transfer of information
in seconds. Most people think the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) are
the same thing, but the Web is a subset of the Internet. And, like such systems as e-
mail, Usenet, FTP (file transfer protocol), the Web requires certain software for
Internet users or surfers or netizens (citizens who are net savvy) to access it.
3.2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

The Internet was the brainchild of scientists who wanted to build computer networks
so that researchers worldwide could share ideas. This project was named ARPANET,
in honour of the agency that paid for it – The Advanced Research Projects Agency,
a unit of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. In 1969, the
network connected four computer sites only. When the World Wide Web (WWW)
was developed in 1993, interest in the Internet exploded. The Web uses HTML
(hypertext markup language), which enables a person to find information on any
28 subject worldwide by simply clicking the mouse on a word that leads to another
document in a different computer. By the end of 2016, as many as 14 crore Indians Internet and Impact on
Journalism
were using the Internet. The number is fast increasing day by day.

i) What is APRANET?
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...................................................................................................................
ii) What does the term “HTML” stand for?

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iii) When was the World Wide Web developed?

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iv) How many Indians use the internet?

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3.3 JOURNALISTS AND THE INTERNET

Journalists use the Internet daily as a tool for reporting events and issues
comprehensively to viewers and readers. The Internet helps every stage of the
reporting process from thinking of a story idea to presenting the story. Reporters
also go to the Internet to find story topics, identify experts and monitor a subject.
They use it to check names, addresses and other facts. The Internet helps journalists
29
Introduction to Social and tackle broad themes, find background information on unfamiliar people or issues
Cyber Media
and keep up with the developments.
3.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many effects which the internet has on journalism and most of them are
positive although some have proved to be harmful as well. One of the more positive
effects it has had is that it actually is one of the easiest ways of having content
distributed on a large scale. It is the chosen way for journalists to reach out to a
larger and more diverse targeted audience. Another advantage is that the content
can be updated very fast and the web design can be changed very easily. Any
“breaking news” can be announced almost instantly without having to wait for
papers and other publications to be printed and delivered. Journalists now have
smart phones, tablets and I pads and other such devices so that they can provide any
news within minutes. Many journalists are now even choosing to tweet while on
the move to keep people up to date.
It goes even further because by placing news online it means that people can leave
comments and start a discussion with other people about an article. Previously
people would have to write in to the editors or phone-in which was a lengthy process.
The Internet saves journalists’ time and news organisations money. Only a few
years ago, journalists found information only by visiting libraries. Many towns lack
good libraries with reference materials, so reporters had to travel to nearby cities or
settle for incomplete information. Even with the telephone, journalists had to make
many calls, leave messages and wait for return calls before finding the information
they needed. With the Internet, reporters can find diverse voices and up-to-date
information quickly, and at their fingertips. The Internet enables reporters to write
more stories and better stories.
The Internet also has some disadvantages. The users may have a hard time sifting
through the mountains of information on the Internet. And some of the information
may be questionable. Furthermore, journalists should not solely depend on online
sources as many important documents are not online. In spite of the drawbacks, the
Internet gives reporters new choices for finding information. They can use e-mail,
go directly to a Web site, browse the Internet, and explore a search engine, read
newspapers and magazines online or on ‘blogs’.

i) Why do journalists depend so much on the Internet these days?
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30
Internet and Impact on
ii) What are the disadvantages of the Internet? Journalism
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3.4 E-MAIL
The advent of telephone service in the 19th century revolutionized newsgathering.
Electronic mail (e-mail) is doing the same thing in the 21st century. Reporters use e-
mail to contact hard-to-reach or reluctant sources. Even people who travel a lot
make time to check their e-mail. In fact e-mail is a way of keeping in touch with
sources, exchanging ideas with colleagues or communicating with readers or viewers.
There are several free e-mail sites such as gmail.com, aol.com, rediffmail.com,
hotmail.com, yahoo.com, etc. to feed the increasing demand of email service seekers
in the world. But the romance with emails has its pitfalls too.
Keep in mind what Eliot Spitzer, the former New York governor said on the subject:
“Never talk when you can nod. And never write when you can talk. My only
addendum is never put it in email.”
However, in this age of web, it is not possible to avoid email communication. Emails
have become an integral part of our daily life, whether we like it or not. Is it not
better to understand the niceties of this boon of technology?
Rule 1: MOST IMPORTANT - Replying
If a mail is sent to you by your supervisor, team lead manager or just a senior, you
have to reply to him. Examples of some simple replies are:
1) “Thanks got it”.
2) “OK”
Even in the case when people who are reporting to you send you an email a prompt
reply or even acknowledgement is highly recommended.
Rule 2: Using Cc and Bcc field
To: Your actual main recipient (to whom this email is a must read)
Cc: (send a Carbon copy) of the email to the parties whom you want to inform.
Bcc: (send a Blind Carbon copy) of the email to some other party that you think
needs to know about the subject, without letting other parties (i.e. the To and Cc
recipients) know about this person’s knowledge.
Rule 3: Attachments, use sparingly

Only include attachments when it is absolutely necessary that the receiver should
have the original file. Instead paste the entire content of excel or word document in
the mail body itself.
1) PDF and PPT can be sent as attachments, as they can’t be copied entirely in
the body.
31
Introduction to Social and 2) Larger excel and word files which can’t be copied should be send as
Cyber Media
attachments.
3) Use JPG instead of GIF format while sending an image as an attachment.
Rule 4: Include clues in the “Subject” field
Action Required,
Please respond by xx/xx/xx,
As Requested,
Time sensitive,
Feel free to change the title in a response or forward if it will clarify your expectations
for the recipient
Rule 5: Avoid Capital letters/words in your email.

Never use capital letters while typing an email message to anyone. For starters,
caps are considered impolite and resemble shouting in speech.

i) What do you understand by the term “E-mail”?
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ii) Give the names of some E-mail sites?

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iii) What are the golden rules for E-mail communication?

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iv) What do you understand by the term ‘Bcc” and “Cc”?

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32
3.5 INTERNET ADDRESSES OR URLS Journalism
(UNIVERSAL RESOURCE LOCATORS)

The amount of information on the Internet is hard to imagine. Some experts say
that Internet volume doubles every 90 days. Everyone has a reason to put information
on the Internet. Because so many people use the Web for so many reasons, journalists
must question the reliability of Web-delivered information. Reporters need to find
out who put the information on the Web and why, and then verify any information
they use.
Every screen of information on the Internet has an address, called its URL or universal
resource locator. The “http” (hypertext transfer protocol) is the protocol or computer
scheme used to access information. This protocol allows computers to move
information (text, graphics, audio and video) around the Web. It allows a person to
click on words to find another document residing in another computer. The “www”
is part of the host computer’s name. But keep in mind, that not every address on the
World Wide Web has “www” as its prefix.

i) Explain what do you understand by the terms Internet address and URL
(Universal Resource Locator)?
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ii) Why is an internet address or URL important for an Internet user?

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3.6 OPERATING SYSTEMS, WEB BROWSERS AND

SEARCH ENGINES
The Internet is a repository or mine of information. Internet users depend on operating
systems, web browsers and search engines for finding information.
The commonly used operating systems belong to the family of Windows operating
systems having different versions such as Windows 98, Windows XP (2000) or
Windows Vista (2007). Linux, a new entrant, is successfully challenging the
monopoly of the Windows family. 33
Introduction to Social and It is hard to imagine how the usage of Internet resources would be possible without
Cyber Media
web browsers. A web browser is a software application which enables a user to
display and interact with text, images, videos, music and other information typically
located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network.
Web browsers format HTML information for display. Therefore, the appearance of
a Web page may differ between browsers.
Some of the Web browsers currently available for personal computers (PC) include
Internet Explorer (with several versions; the latest IE8), Mozilla Firefox (also with
several versions, Safari (developed by the Apple and used in the iphone), Netscape
and Opera etc. The latest to join them is the Chrome, developed by Google. It has
unleashed a browser war. Browers do not get talked about much. A lot of people
simply click on the “icon” on their computer that take them to the Internet—and
that is as far as it goes. And in a way that is enough. Most of us just get into a car and
turn the key. We do not know what kind of engine we have or what features we
have. We are just happy that it takes us where we have to go.
The process of surfing on the Internet and finding information is facilitated by

search engines. At present there is a variety of search engines but the most popular
one is Google, which is used by a record number of Internet visitors. Indian search
engines are not popular. A very small proportion of Internet visitors use the Yahoo
and MSN search engines. Microsoft has also introduced “Bing”, a search engine.
Internet surfers depend on web search engines for searching information on the
World Wide Web.
Search engines are not thinking people. Unlike librarians, they cannot ask a journalist
to tell them more about the topic or ascertain what way the journalist is using a
keyword. The search engine identifies all web sites containing that keyword, no
matter the definition or context. It then lists the Web sites containing the keyword,
according to how pertinent the Web site is to the journalist’s keyword search. This
is called relevancy ranking.
But do not forget the Wikipedia, the biggest single mine of information on any
subject or prominent individual. However, the web space does not only contain a
mine of information but it is also full of misinformation. The internet users are
expected to use their discretion while navigating the web world in search of
information.

i) Why are search engines important for journalists or writers?
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34
ii) Give the names of some search engines. Journalism
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3.7 BLOGS
Blog term is a mash up or blend of website-logging. It is a shortened term of Weblog.
It is not something new. Comments are what make blogs really different from a
web site as interaction is unique with blogs. Jorn Barger coined the term Weblog on
Dec. 17, 1997. It entered into lexicon – Webster’s word of the year -2004. The entry
says “Blog noun (1999, a web site that contains an online personal journal with
reflections, comments, and other hyperlinks provided by the writer”. It was in 1999
that Peter Merholz shortened it to blog.
By mid-2001 blogging as an activity was gaining momentum but blogs still

represented an extremely small slice of the internet pie. Blogging has come a long
way from its modest beginnings. These days, there is money to be made, fame to be
earned and influence to be gained.
BLOG HOSTS: Starting a basic blog is no more difficult than registering for an
email address. Within a few minutes you can start blogging. All you have to do is to
sign up with a blog host, pick a name and you are ready to start posting. If you are
new to blogging or not particularly computer-savvy, the best way to start blogging
is to begin simply- and that means signing up with a blog host. The host will provide
a web address for your blog, various ready-made page templates and easy-to-use
online tools for adding or updating posts. You won’t have to worry about anything
vaguely technical such as registering and managing a domain name, learning HTML,
or installing special software. Blogger allows you to use your own domain name.
Blogger was started in August 1999. It was acquired by Google in 2003.
WHY BLOGGING?
1) Exploring a hobby or passion
2) Sharing information
3) Making money (Advertising on blogs reached $283 millions in 2007)
4) To fight injustice
5) As a substitute for therapy
6) To know you are not alone
7) To tap the creative inner spirit
BUT
A) Choose a subject that genuinely interests you
B) Decide whether any topics are off limits.
C) Think about your potential readers. (Choosing what to blog about when you
start)
35
Introduction to Social and SETTING GOALS:
Cyber Media
• Writing Well
• Posting frequently
• Interacting with comments
Bloggers speak truth to powers that be, and are starting to fill the checks and balances
role formerly performed by the conventional press. The best in blogging pursues
the truth, with fact-checking comparable to the best of the press. Phile Meyer, a
journalism professor claims in “The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism in
the Information Age” that the last print edition of a newspaper will be published
some morning in April 2043. MSM (Mainstream Media, like newspapers, news
channels) have been described as dinosaur media by some of the Web enthusiasts.
But its extinction is not imminent. Lots of bloggers comment on MSM stories. If
the dinosaur media disappears like the giant lizards after an asteroid strike, bloggers
could be bound for a similar fate. Fascinating hybrid of old-style news and blogging,
newspapers are picking up on blogs. Everyone can be a reporter. It is a sort of
“court of appeals in news judgements
3.8 LET US SUM UP

Internet and Web have revolutionized journalism. In fact journalism has today
become a multidirectional force field, rather than the one-way street of the traditional
newspaper or television news bulletin. Moreover, today’s newsrooms are essentially
collections of networked personal computers.
At the same time, the Internet is something which everyone has access to these
days. It is a crucial part of our society. It has changed how we communicate and
interact with each other. In fact it has become the vital medium. People visit websites
for information, entertainment and news.
Also, because the technology of news-making and distribution is much cheaper

and simpler, almost everyone can join the journalistic melee. Every citizen can be
a reporter and can take on the powers that be. The difference between the internet,
television and radio, magazines, newspapers is the two- way communication.
Blogging, the new avtar of media known as the New Media or participatory
journalism permits anyone to establish a real-time, on-line personal platform, for
use as a public diary or pulpit to the world. But blogging is a gem which takes a
minute to learn and a lifetime to master.

i) The Advanced Research Projects Agency
ii) Hypertext markup language
iii) In 1993
iv) in 2016 approx 14 crore Indians were using the net.
i) It saves time as journalists do not have to visit many libraries to find information.
So it is an important tool for them.
36
ii) Sometimes it is cumbersome to sift through the overload of information Internet and Impact on
Journalism
available. Sometimes the information is also questionable.
i) Email stands for electronic mail
ii) Some popular email sites are gmail.com; aol.com; rediffmail.com;
hotmail.com; yahoo.com. These are all free sites.
iii) A reply to an email must always be sent. Attachments should be sent sparingly.
The “subject” field should contain clues as to the subject matter of the email.
One must avoid capital letters in an email as that is equivalent to shouting in a
speech.
iv) Bcc stands for Blind carbon copy and Cc stands for carbon copy.
i) Every screen of information on the Internet has an address, called its URL or
universal resource locator. The “http” (hypertext transfer protocol) is the
protocol or computer scheme used to access information. This protocol allows
computers to move information (text, graphics, audio and video) around the
Web. It allows a person to click on words to find another document residing in
another computer. The “www” is part of the host computer’s name. But keep
in mind, that not every address on the World Wide Web has “www” as its
prefix.
ii) Because reporters/users need to find out who has put the information on the
web. This can give them an idea as to the reliability of the information.
i) Search engines are important for journalists or writers because they facilitate
finding and accessing information across the world.
ii) Some search engines are Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet explorer and
Google.
37
Cyber Media UNIT 4 IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND CYBER
MEDIA
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Social and Cyber Media
4.2.1 Social Networking Sites
4.3 Characteristics of Cyber Media
4.4 Impact of Social & Cyber Media
4.4.1 Impact on Education
4.4.2 Impact on Youth
4.4.3 Impact on Society
4.4.4 Impact on Politics
4.4.5 Impact on Business
4.5 Cyber Crime and its Prevention
4.6 Let Us Sum Up
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim through this Unit is familiarize you with the characteristics of social and
cyber media as well as talk about the impact that it has had on our lives. By the end
of this Unit you will be able to judge for yourselves, the great impact that cyber
media has had on our society. You will also be able to see the positive as well as
negative effects of cyber media. Finally you will also be able to take general
precautions to protect yourself from cyber crimes.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The very definition of communication and social interaction has changed in today’s
world by the rise and evolution of social and cyber media. Social media platforms
like facebook and twitter have revolutionized the way we communicate with each
other. In the previous unit we saw the impact that the internet had on journalism. In
this unit we will see the tremendous impact that cyber media has had on our social,
personal and professional lives. However, where there are plus points of any new
invention—there are bound to be some misuses too. Pros and cons, use and misuse
always go hand in hand. It is up to each individual as well as institution to see that
they do not get conned by cyber criminals. A number of people in today’s’ world
have been duped and have had to pay a heavy price both in terms of finances and
violation of their privacy. They have realized only too late that they have fallen prey
to cyber predators, and there is nothing they can do about it apart from deactivating
their social media accounts. However, some small precautions go a long way in
preventing such crimes. We will be taking about them in details in this Unit.
38
Impact of Social and Cyber
4.2 WHAT IS SOCIAL AND CYBER MEDIA? Media
To understand how the social and cyber media has impacted today’s world, we first
need to know what exactly Social and Cyber media means.
Cyber media is the medium of communication through internet or cyberspace. These

days most communication between organizations, establishments or individuals
takes place through the Internet and the World Wide Web which is the part of the
Internet that is visible to us. Since this form of communication, (that is published
on the Internet or in Cyberspace and portrayed through electronic devices), takes
place through the various websites of the World Wide Web, it is also referred to as
Web media. We tend to use the terms “internet’, ‘Web’, ‘Net’ and ‘cyberspace’
more or less interchangeably to mean online space that we access to find information
or to communicate with others or to be entertained through multimedia content.
Cyber media is also referred to as social media, as it offers a platform to users for
socializing with each other. It has influenced the lives of people and society in a big
way.
Cyber media is, thus, the Internet-based form of communication that allows the
Web-users to converse with each other or share and exchange information, ideas
opinions, feelings, pictures etc. through a particular network or web. Cyber media
comprises blogs, micro-blogs, instant messaging, wikis, photo-sharing and video-
sharing sites, podcasts, widgets, virtual worlds and social networking sites.
4.2.1 Social Networking Sites

Most of us today are extensively using social networking sites like Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, You Tube, LinkedIn, Tumbler, Pinterest, and many more,
for various purposes.
Out of these Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube are perhaps the most frequently
visited networking sites.
Facebook is a socializing networking site that allows people all over the world to
relate with friends, relatives, companies and organizations. Twitter is an informative
micro-blogging website that allows people to post updates in 140 characters or
less. You Tube is the world’s largest video-sharing site. Some other Social networking
sites are the LinkedIn which is a business related site used mainly for professional
networking; Instagram enables users to share pictures and short videos using their
mobile device; Pinterest is a website that offers inspirational and creative content
such as fashions, recipes, event-planning and the likes, and draws a large female
audience.
The benefits of using Social and Cyber media can be seen at many levels. On a
personal level, it helps people to interact with family and friends, to learn new
things, to develop their interests, share information and be entertained. Facebook,
Twitter and You Tube carry a lot of entertaining content shared by billions of people
around the world. On a professional level, networking sites help to add to people’s
knowledge in a particular field and build their professional network by connecting
with other professionals in their field. Cyber media is also of great help to the
corporate companies. Thus at the Corporate level, it helps the companies to converse
with their customers and clients, gain their confidence, get a feedback from them
and promote and elevate the company’s brand and services accordingly.
39
i) Name some networking sites that are commonly in use these days.
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ii) List some benefits of networking sites both at a personal as well as at a

professional level.
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4.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CYBER MEDIA

Cyber media is the new media as differentiated from the old or traditional or
conventional media. Whereas cyber media consists of the internet mobile phones,
social networking sites, emails etc., conventional media comprises the broadcast
media (radio and T.V.) and the print media (newspapers and magazines). Sometimes,
the users of conventional media take the help of Cyber media as well for the success
of their stories. For instance, they get information for their stories from the Internet
or depend on the images and videos on their mobile phones or on information from
their emails to cover stories that are hard to access. Even the BBC prefers its
correspondents to be well versed in both traditional as well as online media.
Some characteristics of Cyber media are as follows:-

• Hypertextuality is one of the major characteristics of Cyber media. Any
information on the net can be substantiated by other relevant material, linking
web pages in one website to those of any other website on the World Wide
Web.
• Online readers have the option to interact with Cyber writers in any and every
website in the World Wide Web. Online readers can give their views and receive
replies from the Cyber writers instantly.
• Cyber media is multimedia as one can supplement ones content with video
footage, images, pictures etc.
• Cyber media is accessible twenty-four hours a day. A web page can be accessed
by anyone though the Internet at anytime. It is, therefore, not time-bound and
has no time limitation.
40
• Cyber media also has no space limitation as it is borderless. Users of this Impact of Social and Cyber
Media
media in any part of the world can access information or communicate with
anyone without restrictions of borders that divide countries.
• The new media is much more difficult to regulate and censor, unlike the old or
the traditional media. It is difficult to censor or silence Cyber media as
governments cannot easily prosecute someone for posting links on a social
networking site or intercept emails, or close down websites or take legal action
against Internet service providers. The governments also do not have the
infrastructure to control the vast amounts of information flowing constantly
through the wide spread networking sites and websites.
• New media, that is Cyber media, is often audience-created and user-driven.
• Cyber media uses digital, online and mobile technology.
4.4 IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND CYBER MEDIA

Cyber media has influenced our lives in many ways and the world without it is
simply unthinkable today. In the following passages, we shall discuss how every
section of society and every sphere of life has been impacted by social and cyber
media.
4.4.1 Impact on Education

Social and cyber media has had a tremendous impact on our systems of education.
Students can now browse sources like Wikipedia, Google, and others, anytime to
get the information they want. Teachers too are taking the help of You Tube to
show their subject-related videos to the students. As most of the students use
Facebook nowadays, teachers can send them updates on school events, class
schedules, dates for assignment submission etc. by making a common page for all
the students to share. Students too can keep in touch with their teachers to solve
their difficulties in their course of study from home if they are homebound for some
reason. They can also give online presentations, take examinations online and receive
feedback from the teachers. They can also easily communicate, discuss and share
information for a group project they are to submit through various social sites like
Orkut, Facebook and Instagram etc. This promotes team work. Social networking
sites also help students to download matter from the internet or to purchase online
goods and also to read e-books on kindle.
On the negative side, all the information available on the Internet may not be a
hundred percent reliable and needs to be cross-checked before one downloads it.
Also children can access any type of reading material on social sites, including
explicit pornographic material that may harm them in the long run. Some of the
games children access on these sites are extremely violent in nature and can influence
their minds and social behavior adversely. Plagiarism is another bane of the internet.
The information on any topic under the sun offered by the Internet is so vast that
students are easily tempted to copy some of it and pass it off as their own. Sometimes,
they use it to do their assignments and homework, thereby killing the initiative to
think for themselves.
4.4.2 Impact on the Youth

Today, teenagers and young adults are the most frequent users of online Social
media and it has become a way of life with them. It has made their lives easier and
efficient. With tight working schedules, the young rarely have time to meet up with
41
Introduction to Social and friends. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter etc. help them to socialize
Cyber Media
with their old friends and also give them a chance to make new friends. Moreover,
through Social media, they remain updated with what is happening around the world.
It also helps them to stay connected even when they have moved away from each
other. Further, it provides them with a platform to create groups having common
interests which help them to find opportunities through discussions to promote
their respective careers. Social media also helps the young to refine and develop
their artistic abilities. Their creativity gets a boost from the creative comments,
poems, statements etc. posted by other users and from the encouraging feedback
they get from family and friends for their own posts. This also helps to build their
self-confidence and make a career choice.
On the negative side, however, the impact of cyber media on the youth does not
appear to be all rosy. Accessing social platforms with their computers, tablets, or
cell phones and chatting for hours together with cyber friends not only makes them
lose many hours of productive work but may also make them incapable of face-to-
face interaction. Young ones with a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account are
logged in all the time which curbs their physical movement. Eye strain and backaches
are a common complaint of the cyber addicts. Cyber addiction can also lead to
social isolation which in turn, may impair their emotional and mental health resulting
in conditions like anxiety and depression.
Sharing of their personal details online by the young users can increase the risk of
identity theft, and of exposing them to outside predators and to Cyber bullying.
Hackers have been known to have emotionally blackmailed young web users leading
to disastrous results like mental agony and even suicides in some cases. A lot of
sexually explicit content is easily available online which leads to its gross misuse
by the youth.
4.4.3 Impact on Society

The internet has reduced the world to a global village where millions of people are
connected with each other through one of its most innovative technologies—Social
media. Social networking sites have become the most visited destinations on the
Internet. These websites allow users to connect easily and share ideas, feelings and
messages very quickly with other users. Verbal communication has given way to
online messaging. Whereas sites like Facebook and Twitter use writing as the mode
for communication, Skype connects people by word of mouth. The incorporation
of webcams by most social sites enables people to talk with and even watch each
other. The interaction on social sites between friends, relatives, co-workers etc.
promotes social behavior and fosters a profound sense of community. Important
issues can be discussed on various sites and opinions and judgments can be formed
by a variety of people. Groups of people with similar interests can interact with
each other thereby ending their isolation.
Sites like You Tube are a constant source of entertainment and offer a platform to
users to upload and share videos with one another. The You Tube is also a great
platform for film producers and musicians as their fans can easily access their music
videos. My Space and other such sites enable easy access to a variety of videos like
movies, music, sports and documentaries. News can reach the farthest corner of
the world in no time. Some social networking sites are slowly replacing television
because they can provide news at a faster rate. In fact most of the news channels
and newspapers also have Facebook and Twitter accounts that provide news stories
as they are unfolding.
42
Social networking sites have been instrumental in providing a voice to segments of Impact of Social and Cyber
Media
society whose voices might otherwise not be heard. For instance, in the UK a site
called Mumsnet’s forced politicians to address parents as equals. In Libya civil
society members along with disabled persons’ organizations, launched an innovative
multimedia compaign called Zaykum Zayna (“As You are, We Are”). Through
messages on social media, this conveyed democratic values of equality and
highlighted the rights of persons with disabilities.
Although the advent of Cyber and Social media has offered us numerous advantages,
yet there are still groups around the world, such as the elderly the illiterate and the
poor who have limited or no access to social sites. Also, like the young, other age-
groups too in society are becoming addicted to social sites resulting in the same
ailments that afflict the youth. Similarly, people have also become vulnerable to
cyber crimes as hackers are breaking into their accounts and accessing crucial
information like bank account details etc. to con them.
4.4.4 Impact on Politics

The evolving role of social and cyber media in elections and in the functioning of
world democracies cannot be denied. The networking sites are being creatively
used for political campaigning around the world. During the 2016 Presidential
elections in the USA Social networking sites, were used extensively by the leading
presidential candidates, Trump and Clinton. These played a decisive role in the
final outcome. Twitter was used aggressively by Republican presidential candidate,
Donald Trump, to run down his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, and also to
strike a one-to-one rapport with the American people, even if sometimes his tweets
were offensive and violated the standard campaigning norms. Former USA President
Barack Obama, took the help of Facebook to raise funds for his elections and to
send messages to the American public while campaigning for the Presidential
elections in 2008 which he eventually won. Social media also played a major role
in the 2014 Indian elections, won by Narender Modi, whom the citizens on Facebook
voted as the second most “liked” politician in the world after Obama. Like Obama
did during his presidency, Modi as Prime Minister is making extensive use of the
Social and Cyber media to reach out to the Indian masses to promote his cherished
goals of development and innovation.
The social sites also play an indispensable role in the proper functioning and
strengthening of democracy. They act like a “watch dog” to oversee the election
processes. By using text messages, they gather and relay information on irregularities
that political parties and contesting candidates commit during elections, thereby
bringing transparency in the election processes.
Social and Cyber media also educates the voters on how to exercise their democratic
rights. They provide a platform both to the political parties and candidates for
communicating their manifestos to the electorate; and to the people to air their
views and needs, and interact with leaders to debate key election issues.
Social media has also been instrumental in bringing about political change in world
governments. The Arab Spring uprisings, since 2011, are an example of how digital
media enabled communities to unite around shared grievances and mobilize against
dictatorial rules in their respective countries. Social protests against unjust rulers in
the Arab world spread from country to country because social sites carried
documented evidence of the tragedies being suffered by people at the hands of
dictators in the Arab countries. The new information technologies and social media
networks, not easily controlled by the States, helped the activists, to come together
43
Introduction to Social and and rise against dictators resulting in holding of democratic elections in their
Cyber Media
countries after the Arab Spring revolutions.
But social media can also play a negative role in the election processes.
Dissemination of misinformation, relayed easily and very fast by the cyber media,
can at times lead to civil unrest and rioting etc. and at other times endanger the
freedoms of speech and the press. Sometimes, social media poses risks for the
contesting candidates when their comments posted on social sites backfire. At other
times, the predictions on social sites, regarding election results, can go terribly
wrong as the number of twitter mentions received by a candidate may not translate
into electoral success.
4.4.5 Imapct on Business

Business establishements and organizations are turning to social and cyber media
to advertise their goods, to increase their performance in various ways to accomplish
business objectives and to increase their annual sales. Marketing is one of the most
important and common use of social media that businesses make. Today, every
brand has a target section of online audience. Professional networking sites are also
being used by businesses to connect with their clients. Businesses and organizations
reach millions of users by creating pages and offering promotions and discounts to
them. These users, in turn, reach out to their friends and so on. Networks also help
businesses to acquaint them with the likes and dislikes of their prospective customers.
They also help businesses to increase their market insight to get ahead of their
rivals.
Networks can, at times, play spoilsports for some business ventures. An online user
may post a negative comment about a business organization which can snowball
into adverse publicity for it, leading to its shut down. Hackers are known to have
diverted companies of their investment and profits by entering into their personal
accounts on social sites. Sometimes a wrong online brand strategy can also destroy
a company.

i) List some benefits of cyber media in the field of education.
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ii) What impact has cyber media had on the youth?

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44
Impact of Social and Cyber
iii) How is world politics impacted by the use of cyber media? Media
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iv) List some negative impacts of cyber media on people.

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4.5 CYBER CRIME AND ITS PREVENTION

As mentioned in Section 4.4 of this unit, the impact of cyber revolution, in the field
of education, society, business and politics, has also given rise to corresponding
cyber crimes that are increasing at an alarming rate. We mentioned online financial
frauds, violation of privacy of net users, cyber bullying, identity thefts, sex crimes
like trafficking in child pornography, rise in cases of violence, murders, burglaries
etc. and also the menace of plagiarism. A large number of criminals, who are
exploiting the ease and speed of the internet, are indulging in nefarious cyber crimes,
taking advantage of the anonymity offered them by the Internet. Listed below are
some preventive measures that can minimize the threats posed by cyber attacks on
web-users.
• One should be very careful what personal details one posts on the Net because
these will permanently remain there. While making online purchases, one
should see that details like one’s name, age, address, mobile number, bank
details etc. are given only after making sure the websites are secure otherwise
hackers can easily hack into the information provided.
• The safety of one’s personal computer should be ensured by putting in a strong
password and by using an anti-virus software. Also, one should always activate
one’s computer firewall. These measures will prevent any virus from infecting
one’s computer and corrupting files and data.
• One needs to be careful while downloading material and applications because
these are the channels from where viruses may enter one’s accounts.
• One’s social networking sites and profiles should have security settings.
• One should never click on, or open a file of an unknown origin. Neither should
one open emails from strangers. One’s e-mail password should be protected
strongly otherwise email accounts can be easily hacked.
• Incidents like cyber bullying, threats or harassment over the Internet, hacking
and financial frauds, sex crimes, theft of identity etc. should at once be reported
to the site administrator or to the police. 45
i) What preventive measures can one take to keep one safe from cyber crimes?
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4.6 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit we learnt about the basic characteristics of social-cyber media as well
as its impact on our society. We also spoke about the positive and negative effects
of cyber media on our lives. The concept of cyber security is a major concern in our
times because of massive online financial transactions that are taking place these
days. Therefore, we also cautioned against the use of posting personal information
on open sites. Lastly we have provided some crucial ways by which to prevent
cyber crime.

i) Some networking sites are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram

and You Tube.
ii) At a personal level, networking sites help people to interact with family and
friends, learn new things, develop their interests, share information and be
entertained. Professionally, these sites provide knowledge to people and help
them to connect to other professionals.

i) Wikipedia and Google have helped students to work out their assignments etc
by providing them with unlimited material which they can use in a judicious
manner.
ii) Helps the youth to stay connected with each other Provides common platforms
to pursue their interests. Can help them to gain confidence by posting their
stories/poems and getting feedback.
iii) Cyber media can impact politics by acting as a watch-dog for various political
activities. They can influence public opinion and thus change the opinion of
voters. Can galvanize support against dictatorial leaders etc.
iv) If not used judiciously—can curb creativity in children. Can lead to cyber
addiction which in turn leads to lack of physical exercise and related problems.
Can fall prey to cyber bullying. Misinformation can also be relayed via this
media.
46
Check Your Progress 3 Impact of Social and Cyber
Media
i) One should be very careful about the personal details one posts on cyber media.
All these should have strong security settings. Cyber staling and cyber bullying
should be reported immediately.
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BEGG-171

Media and Communication Skills

According to the definition of Mass Communication provided by Wikipedia, “Mass

Globalization is the tendency of businesses, technologies or philosophies to spread

Proponents of globalization believe that globalization has the potential to create

The Unit- wise break up is as follows:

Unit 3 is entitled Characteristics of Different Mass Media. As the name implies

1.2 COMMUNICATION AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Communication is the process of sending a message, through different media whether

1.2.2 Functions of Communication

Debate and Discussion

Check Your Progress 1

ii) List the various functions of communication.

1.3 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

1.3.2 The Communicator

A good communicator needs good communication skills. But what is meant by

1.3.3 Transmission Medium (Channel)

1.3.4 The Receiver

ii) What steps are involved in the receiving of a message?

1.4 KINDS OF COMMUNICATION

Although successful communication is generally defined as being between two or

1.4.2 Interpersonal Communication

1.4.3 Group Communication

Communication is an important cornerstone of all groups and often the variable,

1.4.4 Mass Communication

1.5 THE SEVEN C’S OF COMMUNICATION

1.6 LET US SUM UP

Communication is a process that allows an individual to exchange information by

Communication is a dynamic process, ongoing and ever changing, which involves

Communication requires at least three elements. The source may be an individual

1.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

2.2 TYPES OF MASS MEDIA

2.2.2 Broadcasting and Telecasting

A broadcasting organization may broadcast several programs at the same time,

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

Check Your Progress 1

2.3 IMPACT AND DANGERS OF MASS MEDIA

Security: Violation of security, both governmental and institutional is another major

Democratic Process: It is axiomatic that democracy functions best when voters

Obviously, society has a long way to go in comprehending and controlling the

2.4 IMPACT OF JOURNALISM

2.5 IMPACT OF RADIO AND TELEVISION

An experimental television service was introduced in India with the inauguration

2.7 IMPACT OF INTERNET

Check Your Progress 2

ii) List some negative impacts of the internet.

2.8 LET US SUM UP

2.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

3.2 PRINT MEDIA: GENESIS AND

3.3 NEW TRENDS IN PRINT MEDIA

3.3.2 New Printing Technologies

3.3.3 Need for Content Revolution

3.3.4 Professional Suffocation

Check Your Progress 1

3.4 ELECTRONIC MEDIA

3.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF RADIO

e) A Cheap and Quick Medium

Check Your Progress 2

ii) What do you mean by radiogenic?

iii) Explain why radio is called a blind medium.

3.6 TELEVISION: GENESIS AND

Development of television broadcasting proceeded at a very slow pace in the first

The seventies saw a major expansion of television. Doordarshan Kendra Bombay