Assignment : Paper no :- 15 Mass Media and Communication)

 Name :- Dharaiya Sanjay A. 

Roll no :- 23

Enrolment no :- 2069108420200009 

Semester- M. A. Semester - 4

Paper no :- 15 Mass Media and Communication)

Topic: Functions of Mass Communication

Year :- 2020- 2021 

Words:- 1313

Email :- dharaiy9@gmail.com 

Submitted to :- S. B. Gardi Department of English. Maharaja krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar Uni.



Assignment : Functions of mass Communication


Functionalism :


Focusing on understanding the effects of mass communication, in particular its social consequences and its impact on the maintenance of the social order, led to an increase in the theoretical framework called functionality. Functionality focuses on explaining slow, evolutionary change and sudden changes. The limited capacity of functionalism to be used only in policy research, evaluation and planning has been criticized by many theories. The center of functionality is how mass communication serves society and is not responsible for how human communicates and interacts with messages. Criticism is also being leveled at maintaining the existing social order and not allowing any meaningful change to take place. Mass media serves many general and many specialized functions. In general, the mass media provides surveillance of parts of the environment monitoring, society, entertainment, information, cultural transmission, instructional, trafficking, interpretation and socialization functions:


Serveillance of the Environment:


One of the important functions of the media is to monitor all the happenings in the world and to provide information to the human society. The media has a responsibility to provide news and cover various issues which are some of the services to the society. The media helps maintain the social order by giving instructions on what to do in times of crisis, which reduces confusion among the people.


Supervision involves two major functions.  When it meets the collective needs of the people, it forms public oversight, and when it meets the needs of individual citizens, we call it private oversight. Although private supervision can lead to political activities, its primary function is to satisfy individual needs and calm personal discomfort.


For example,

In times of natural disasters, wars, health scares, etc., the media has a role to play in raising awareness about what is happening and ways to deal with disasters.



Correlation of parts of Society :


This work relates to how the selection of certain news by the media and its interpretation affect how society understands and responds to it. People’s attitudes towards political issues, occasions, public policy, etc. have an impact on the extent to which the media frames and presents the issue in their discussions and presentations.

For example,

Media reports about the Vietnam War played a role in changing the mindset of Americans who began to oppose sending troops to fight a losing war. Hitler used the media in his propaganda war against the Jews.


Entertainment :

This popular work of the mass media refers to the ability of the media to help people relax and escape the stress of everyday life. The entertainment work of mass media has both positive and negative effects. The low quality of the material is often criticized but other benefits such as helping people experience new events, stimulating emotions and helping people spend their free time show how important this work is.


For example :

Television offers people the opportunity to watch events that they would not otherwise be able to participate in, such as the Oscars, Independence Day rallies, the Olympics, and so on.


Information :

We need information to satisfy curiosity, reduce uncertainty and better understand how we fit into the world. The amount and availability of information is much higher now than it was forty years ago when a few television networks, local radio stations, and newspapers competed to keep us informed. Media saturation has increased competition for information, which makes it possible for news media outlets to report information, for example, prematurely, inaccurately or in part.


Cultural Transmission :

This refers to the ability of the media to teach the various norms, rules and values ​​that exist in a society and to ensure its transfer from one generation to another. Through television programs and reflecting the society in which they are broadcast and promoting an understanding of the cultural heritage of the society. Children's television programs are designed to demonstrate good behavior and moral standards that children can learn by watching.



Socialization :

This work of the mass media referring to Laswell in political socialization. It involves learning basic values ​​and approaches that prepare individuals to fit into their cultural sphere. Prior to the 1970s study, the mass media was largely ignored because parents and schools were considered primary agents of socialization. Research from the 1970s finally established that the media played a crucial role in political socialization. Most of the information that people get about their political world comes directly or indirectly from the media through news ing fur or entertainment shows or through social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. The media presents specific facts as well as general values, teaching the youth that the elements bring the desired result. The media also provides patterns of behavior to youth. Because young people generally have less firm attitudes and behaviors, it is acceptable for them to use such information to develop their opinions. The new directions and opinions that adults acquire during their lifetime are also based on mass media information. People do not adopt the necessary attitudes and opinions that receive the admiration of the middle but instead the mass media information provides the elements that people use to adjust their current attitudes and opinions to keep pace with the changing world.


Instructive :

Some media outlets exist to impart knowledge by imparting education instead of just running information. Major news networks such as CNN and the BBC primarily perform information functions, while cable news networks such as Fox News and MSNBC offer a mix of information and interpretation functions. In-depth coverage on the National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service, and the more dramatic but still educational content of the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Channel give more instructive functions.


Manipulation :

Journalists at leading news venues periodically become key players in the game of Politics, they don’t just play their traditional role as a sequel to the information provided by others. The most common way for a journalist to break the role of political traveler is through investigation. Many large print and electronic media industries operate their own investigative units because investigative stories are both important and popular. When media organizations are forced to economize they are also expensive to produce and tend to be scarce.

  Many investigations are aimed at muckraking. Journalists who urge the government to clean up the "dirt" exposed by investigations into corruption and misconduct are called mock crackers. The word comes from a rack designed to collect compost. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to apply the term journalism. There are so many types it's hard to say. The main purpose of a journalist may be to write stories that expose and correct misconduct in government. Or the main purpose may be to present sensory information that attracts a large media audience and increases profits. Other manipulative stories can be designed to influence politics, regardless of the political preferences of journalists.


Interpretation :

The media not only brings the day’s events to public and private attention by surveying them, they also interpret the events, keep in context and speculate about its consequences. Most events offer themselves different interpretations based on the interpreter's values ​​and experiences. This kind of interpretation affects the political consequences of media reports. 

For example,

since 1962 the way the media interprets the legal and social significance of abortion has changed significantly.  Abortion was considered murder. The abortionist was a villain and the pregnant woman was an accomplice in a deadly crime.

  Numerous circumstances influenced the type of interpretation the Finkbine story received.  Media outlets interpret messages more or less clearly and ethically. Newspaper editors have long had a clear interpretation of current events, and now cable television and radio personalities provide social, cultural, and political commentary that is full of subjective interpretations. Although some of them operate in the moral gray realm because they use formats that make them feel like traditional news programs, most are open about their motives.