Theories of Communication for Social and Historical-myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theTheories of Communication for Social and Historical. Answer: Introduction For quite some time, the term media is commonly used to signify the intermediary between the sources of communication message (object) to the receiver of the message (target audience). Hence, media has been seen as the technology used to communicate messages to the target audiences in various parts of the world. Contrary to the perception mentioned above, Dan Laughey came up with the media theory with the aim of looking at the media from another angle and deviate from standard thinking by putting in place all the other possible reasons for the existence of media[1]. Media Theory In order to develop an argument and support the media theory, various aspects have been covered[2]. The aspects form the basis of media theory and act as the themes put across for the purpose of looking at media in a totally different dimension. The aspects covered in media theory include technical, capitalist, cultural, political, social, and historical[3]. Therefore, the above listed aspects help to understand the media in a deeper perspective away from the common perception within the public domain. In the historical aspect, it entails focusing attention on the historical sense of medium, which is the singular form of media. With some common types of media like television, radio, newspapers and internet being referred to as mass media, it is evident that there is a common belief that messages from the media must be received by a mass audience[4]. However, it is imperative to note that the use of the term medium before the age of mass media referred to something or someone found in between the message being sent and the receiver of the message. Thus, according to above argument, it is evident that television, radio, and internet remain as means of communication and it is not a must for them to stay as tools of mass communication[5]. A tool can be a medium of communication between the object and the receiver of the message. The technical bit of media seeks to look at the press as the means by which the object communicates the desired messages to the target audience. For instance, the object can be a tool of communication such as radio or television. Hence, it is important to understand that the means by which the media communicates the messages to the audience can either be analogue or digital. Thus, the media theory looks at media as the means by which messages are delivered to people from the object but not the object itself. Before the 19th century, the media was seen as the means of communication only, and some forms of mass media like newspapers relied on sales as the only way to raise income[6]. After the 19th century, the media became more commercial as the aspect of capitalism started to set in. The media began making more money from advertisements and media was transformed into a lucrative business venture. Thus, the capitalist aspect looks at the media as more of the business building venture other than a mean of communication. The media in most countries operate according to the political nature and structure in countries. For instance, there are countries where the government fully controls media while other countries, government partially control the media. The media is perceived as a political tool more than a mean of communication. Thus, the political aspect portrays press as a tool of spreading propaganda and control the society in favour of the government[7]. Hence, media theory tries to unmask the media in various ways apart from how individuals perceive. It goes out of the box to give a critical view of the media that most people in the contemporary world cannot understand easily[8]. From that dimension, it can see how media serves other purposes other than being a mean of communication. The media theory goes further to give reliable and relevant information to back up its hypothesis and arguments. Behaviourism and Media Effects As the media develops from one form to another, it is vital to measure and establish their effect on human being behaviour and the well-being of the people in the society, that is, the recipient of the media content. Hence, as media transformed from the traditional forms of using fire to the present era of internet, their effects on the general public cannot be underscored. It is vital to look at how media affects the way people think, feel and act including the media impact on social, moral and political behaviours of the people. Thus, to deeply understand the effects, it is important to explore various theories which fall under the behaviourism and media effects. The first theoretical model that supports the media effects is the Lasswells formula or the chain of communication[9]. The model emphasizes the assumption that media messages have always had an impact on the receiver. The communicator of the posts has the intention of influencing the receiver of the messages, and thus the messages must be persuasive to win the spirit of the receiver and convince to borrow from the messages. The model is applicable mostly in politics where the propaganda by politicians is expected to generate a particular stimulus from the target audience making them act in a certain way. Another famous model in understanding the media effects is Fredric Werthams Seduction of the Innocent model. The psychiatrist argues that most of the programs shown on the television have a direct influence on the minds and behaviour of children who come into contact with such media. Wertham maintains that innocent children will tend to believe each and every scene they watch on televisions directly[10]. Consequently, most of the children end up being influenced to understand and practice such views. The other model forming the basis of the media effects is the Cantrilss model of The Invasion from Mars[11]. The social psychologist Hadley Cantril maintains that media is having an indirect impact on its audience. In his argument, Cantril observes how a fiction radio play Evil Martians caused a lot of panic among the people. Cantril suggests that most people at that time believed that radio was the only mean of communication. The people could not also ascertain that the play was fiction. Hence, most people tend to think of the messages they listen and hear from the media. The Cultivation Theory is another model suggesting that television messages seem to cultivate certain behaviours on the substantial viewers over an extended period[12]. For example, the children who have grown up watching television and their exposure to it might end up nourishing and affecting their values and perspectives in the long run[13]. Thus, TV has a long-term effect on how society views the world. Agenda-setting and social functions model state that the media shapes the public opinion and other public issues[14]. The media gives the public the real problems trending, and the public will have to think and give their verdict on various issues set up by the media. The uses and gratifications model suggest that the people use the media in a way that they will fulfil their psychological needs. According to the theory, the press has some impact on how the media will influence the audience to view or listen[15]. The public will take in all the media content that fulfils their psychological needs. Modernity and Medium Theory The term modernity refers to the political, social, economic and technological advancements that are as a result of the transition from the traditional to the modern ways of doing things[16]. Thus, in the modernity and medium theory, various models stated capture the broad impact of the current advancements and their effect on the development of mass media. The invention of new forms of media changed how communication took place. According to Innis model of The Bias of Communication, the emergence of print media or press helped in devolving information since materials were distributed using the printed form from one region to another[17]. The introduction of the print media also led to rise of literacy among the people who embraced print media. It also helped the communities become more united through the use of the same language contained in the written material. Media has powerful effects on various societies. According to McLuhan, the nature of the media has a massive impact on the target audience. The medium has become the message, and the medium will control how the audience will connect[18]. The emergence of new media has changed the way people control the contemporary public and political sphere. According to Habernas, development of capitalism has hindered the rational-critical debate in the media[19]. The public area has been turned into a field of advertising and public relations. The public has no opportunity to engage their politicians, and the press has blocked the people from participating in a more developmental exchange of political and essential views. The development in the mass media has affected the culture of many societies[20]. The growth in mass media and technology has led to lack of real sense of identity and belonging. The impact of international content consumption as opposed to the local content has highly affected peoples culture. Thus, the modernity has eradicated local content and hence affecting the culture of people consuming the international content. According to Leavises and the Lynds, the minority culture of the elites dictates the moral guidance to other cultures and also the matters of mass civilisation[21]. Thus, media is bringing out some strong standardised forces that threaten the perception of other people. Media tends to effect on communities on the standardised perception according to the media view. Hence, many cities tend to change their nature of existence according to the media and all because of the press. The modernity theory has profoundly affected the media and the content it offers to its target audience[22]. The technological advancements have profoundly influenced the form and the environment into which the press operates. Therefore, it has also changed the media content offered for consumption by the target audience. The people have also been influenced to change with modernity and change in the mass media. Structuralism and Semiotics Theory Structuralism is the theoretical framework that seeks to understand how systems work to structure their individual at any given moment in time. [23]Semiotics, on the other hand, is a method used to study structuralism. It is used to analyse language as one of the systems that organise its components in units of meaning. Style is a system that forms part of other systems like social and political systems. Media is also the part of a social network and influenced by social system as well. According to Saussure and Barthes theories of language and myth, Saussure explains that language reflects both the reality and also operates in its system which brings meaning to the word[24]. However, a message referring to an idea can only make sense once it is different from others. According to Barthes theory of myth, belief and sound are related to making a meaning. Thus, media can develop myths and decide to nurture some of them and discard other. According to Hall, a doctrine is a discursive sense of ideas, meanings, conceptions, theories and beliefs and the form of consciousness which are appropriate to them[25]. Hence, the relationship between the ideology and the media can only be analysed using semiotics. Also, the press is structured in such a way that they deliver much thinking and myths. Hegemony is when political, social and economic values bring about an ideological struggle for leadership. Thus, the media will encode messages to serve the interests of the hegemonic forces. According to Glasgow Media Group, media remains ideological since they stay discriminatory and they present their view of things in favour of some interests over others. Although news is presented truly and impartially, they sometimes convey the ideological ideas of the dominant cultural groups. Thus, the GMGs Ideology of News concludes that in the long run, media remains biased to favour dominant ideological interests. Hence, media continues at the centre stage in determining the truth and effectiveness of certain communication messages. As presented by Williamson, The Ideology of Ads states that advertising creates a structure of meaning[26]. Adverts present an ideological significance on the level of a communicator. Thus, the ads can only be understood once received. The receiver struggles to decode to get the intended meaning. However, the adverts seem to convey the message through the media for the benefit of the advertiser, and it is through the media that the advertiser can influence the target audience without their consent[27]. In some instances, media can only produce ideologies and present them in such a way that the intended audience understands them. Some messages seem to confuse the audience due to their different culture and subculture. Thus, in the process of designing, producing and distributing such words, it is imperative to note that the media should present such words in a way that they will be understood by various people with various cultures and subcultures. Structuralism and semiotics theory is developed to help the media and the source of the messages in structuring the words in such a way that the target audience can understand them[28]. The communication process is completed if the ideologies sent to the viewer are decoded successfully, and the messages understood. Bibliography Berger, Arthur Asa. "Theories of Communication." InMessages, pp. 16-33. Routledge, 2016. 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