Unit 3: Lesson 3

Health Reporting for Various Media:

Traditional and Digital Media

Dr. Rajesh Agrawal

Associate Professor, TIAS
 INTRODUCTION
 The media is a tool or vehicle that serves as a link or bridge
between the source and the receiver.
 Media denote an item specifically designed to reach a large
number of audiences.
 The primary role of the media is to inform, educate,
entertain, persuade and motivate people for an appropriate
action.
 When a message disseminates in large public at a time by
using some medium is called ‘Mass media’.
 Mass media refers to communication devices that can be
used to communicate and interact with large audiences.
 Mass media are an effective medium for communication,
dissemination of information, advertising for expressing and
sharing views, opinions, and ideas.
 Classification of Mass Media
 Traditional Media
 Print Media
 Electronic Media
 New Media/ Digital Media
 Traditional Media
 Traditional media are defined as “those media which attempt to
communicate a message to a particular group of target
audiences in a given time, in a local dialect, with entertainment”.
 Traditional media are the aesthetic components of the concepts
of belonging and affinity in a cultural context.
 Forms of Traditional Media are:
 Drama (Play),
 Song and Dance,
 Story-telling,
 Puppetry,
 Nautanki,
 Sculptures
 Fairs and Festivals etc.
 Advantages of Traditional Media
 No need for special training or technology
 Mostly embedded in one's own culture and tradition.
 Feedback is immediate and known.
 Flexibility in changing the form and content for the existing
context.
 Low cost media.
 Very easy to remember and can quickly attract the masses.
 Primary appeal is to the emotions rather than the intellect.
 Local and live, and able to establish direct rapport with the
audience.
 Easily available to their audience.
 Flexible to accommodate new themes.
 Enjoyed by all the people from different age groups.
 Print Media

Print media encompasses mass communication through

printed material. It includes:
 Newspapers,
 Magazines,
 Booklets and brochures,
 News-letters,
 Handbills or flyers,
 Posters,
 Billboards,
 Press releases etc.
 Advantages of Print Media
 Retain the information for future use.
 Can easily be referred to in the future.
 Credibility is very high.
 Can re-circulate the printed material easily
 Production is easier and simpler.
 Cost-wise, it is cheaper and
 Effective means of communication.
 Electronic Media
 Electronic media is also known as ‘Broadcast Media’. It
includes –
 Television and Radio

Advantages of electronic media

 Outreach is more and audiences are heterogeneous.
 Messages can be communicated within no time.
 Messages can be communicated to large number of people
at a time.
 Variety of audio, video, text can be used in one single
medium.
 Great possibility of recording and archiving the content for
future use.
 Digital Media: New Media
 It is not only faster than the previously popular
mass media tools, but also has a wide range.
 Mobile phones, computers, and Internet are
often referred to as the new-age media.
 It includes -
Websites, e-mail, e-forums, e-books, e-
newspapers, blogs, tweeters, social networking
sites, Facebook, YouTube, Internet TV, radio and
many others.
 Advantages of Digital Media
 It provide cost-effective platforms to
communicate with large population.
 Relies on effective and efficient
communication
 Plays an important role in informing multiple
aspects of individuals’ lives, including their
access to health information.
 Allow individuals to instantly communicate
with large networks of friends, acquaintances
and colleagues.