Citizen journalism (An Indian Perspective), Notes for BJMC students, India

CITIZEN JOURNALISM 

(An Indian Perspective)

Sr P. Michelle Mathias

The advancement of gadgets that can capture Data in an instant and transmit the same through various social media networking or Blogging platforms has led to a unique genre of journalism that is called Citizen Journalism. Citizen Journalism has led to Citizens of any given country capturing an incident and disseminating it on their Blogs, Vlogs, YouTube, Instagram Posts, Facebook Posts or WhatsApp Posts.

Sonny Albarado writes in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (www.britannica.com) that Citizen journalism is a type of “journalism that is conducted by people who are not professional journalists but who disseminate information using Web sites, blogs, and social media. Citizen journalism has expanded its worldwide influence despite continuing concerns over whether citizen journalists are as reliable as trained professionals”.

Nah (2008) defines Citizen Journalists by saying that these are Individuals who are not considered to be professional journalists, but who produce, disseminate, and exchange a wide variety of news and information, ranging from current topics to common interests to individual issues.

Mortensen, Keshelashvili, & Weir (2016) define Citizen journalist as a participant who has produced either a photo, a video, or a writing piece that has been submitted for inclusion by mainstream or citizen journalism outlets, or has been intentionally or unintentionally published by a mainstream or citizen journalism outlet.

Citizen journalism is also known as "participatory journalism", "civic journalism," "democratic journalism", "public journalism,"  "stand-alone journalism," "networked journalism," "open source journalism," "crowd-sourced journalism," "grassroots journalism," "community journalism," and so on. These forms of journalism are related to "citizen journalism",  (Baase, 2008; Cohn, 2007; Noor, 2017).

Citizen Journalism has managed to find a niche in journalism for the reason that Mainstream News channels or Journalists are unable to reach at certain spots at a certain time. Many incidents such as Natural disasters, major Hazards, accidents have been captured on mobiles and footage uploaded on Social Networking forums which led to creating of footage data.

For e.g. The London Bombings, the Tsunami in India and other such incidents were primarily conquered on their smartphone cameras by citizens and this was then taken by News Channel who played these footages.

The origin of Citizen journalism is traced to an individual named Oh Yeonho and his three South Korean colleagues who found it beyond their means to hire Traditional journalists due to their massive charges for the printing of a paper in the year 2000. In order to tackle this resource crunch they started a website called ‘Ohmynews’ that used volunteers to generate content. The firm established itself with a low budget and had an overwhelming reponse. At one point, ‘Ohmynews’ had 727 Citizen reporters, and has  grown to an overwhelming 50, 000 contributors from over 100 countries. Thus, Citizen journalism received a boost.

Citizens today have realised that Video or pictorial footage matters and this is one of the reasons why such captures have become quite prominent of News Platforms who too have realised the value of these shots and footages. During the Corona Virus scare, Nature has started reclaiming its space. And much of the footage on this topic are shots captured on their smartphones by people and circulated.

In India most of the National News Channels have become hubs of Political Discussion where prominent faces of Journalism often cantankerously rattle out words and enable debates. This has often led to very little news and more of debates and personal mouth pieces being highlighted as news. There are a few channels who air proper News, albeit in short to represent atleast a little bit of every state. However, Desktop journalism is currently at its height and Paid News at its peak. On the other hand, Local News Channels are doing the noble job of bringing news of Local areas to the people. which is a considerable deal of Information.

Despite this, often a news that goes viral is brought to the main forum due to Citizen Journalism. CNN IBN too has a dedicated channel to Citizen Journalism issues called the Citizen Journalist Show. It also teamed up with Eyeway, (a forum dedicated to help Blind people),  that committed to help specially-abled people with a series of Radio Programmes that were also shot as Vlogs for YouTube to highlight the plight specially abled people have to undergo through several Citizen Journalism series.

When something goes viral it catches the frenzy of news channel. For instance, when the prices of vegetables drastically dropped and the farmers were being driven to suicide- the video of a farmer, Premsing Chavan, from Pohegaon village of Jalna district, destroying his cauliflower became viral. The video was shot by another farmer, who while shooting the video kept on telling Premsing not to do so. Premsing was barely able to secure any money for his crop, and was worried as to how he would sponsor his kids education. He and his family would have to starve. This video went viral and all news media carried this video footage. Premsing Chavan was then invited by Udhav Thackeray who met him at his residence and handed him a check of Rs 1 Lakh from a private sponsor. In India, Citizen Journalism has often played the role of Rural journalism in being able to reach out and garner help in such cases.

Newspapers too carry columns for Citizen Journalism stories. In India this trend has been given a boost by certain newspapers, who carry special columns of Citizen journalism when they want to cater to a cause. The Times of India despite being popular for its advertorials has a regular space dedicated to Citizen Journalism in many parts of India. Thus, Citizen Journalism gave a forum for citizens of the country to voice their inconveniences of Bad roads, Garbage ridden vicinities, Pot holes which can cause accidents etc,. Tribals are rarely represented in main stream media. Citizen journalism has given the tribals a platform to speak and the demand their rights. Such reports led to actions being taken by Responsible Government machinery.

While there are many benefits of the same, Citizen Journalism has been also accused of Unprofessionalism, fake content or made-up content. Often in India fake news has led to many lynchings too. This can be a cause of alarm. Therefore, a Professional media house, who picks up a Citizen story should make sure that the story is verified, analysed, cross-checked and then disseminated. While, Technology is a boon, it has also turned out to be a bane as there are many people who in order to make a quick buck spread false information.

Citizen Journalism is often considered to be logger heads with Main stream Journalism. However, on a personal note, a professional journalist cannot be everywhere at all times. In such cases, teaming up is the best solution to provide news for all citizens, based on facts not fiction and with proper audio visual footage that is verified. Citizen Journalism and Main Stream Journalism should work hand in Hand, while one provides data the other could verify the truth and present it in the best possible manner to educate the citizens of the country and highlight issues that often get negated. 

Notes on Sting Operation for students of BJMC

Sting Operations

By Sr P. Michelle Mathias

A Sting operation is an operation implemented by undercover investigators in a covert manner to apprehend a person committing a crime through hidden or clandestine ways or through means of deception. Sting operations has led to many big-time criminals being caught red-handed. In some other cases, those doing undercover agent jobs have also lost their lives.

Sting operations are often accompanied by agents using false identities, hidden cameras in pens or buttons on clothes or in purses, etc.

The very nature of a sting operation is deception. A criminal is caught or proof is sought using deceptive means or pseudo identities. The intention of doing good using a sting is foreshadowed by deceptive means to achieve the goal, which is why, Sting operations often create an ethical and moral dilemma.

In India, there are two diverse opinions. In the article titled, ‘Are sting operations legal and moral’ by Vappala Balachandran for outlookindia.com (2019), she writes that  in India, a lawyer by name R.K.Anand was found guilty in connection with an expose case through a sting operation in July 2009. The Supreme court declared him guilty of criminal contempt. On the other hand, in another case in India, in April 2014, the Supreme court declared that Sting operations were not a legal method of law enforcement. The Court was of the opinion that perhaps the victim who could be otherwise innocent of a crime, lured into doing the crime by others. In the Unites States of America however, law is favourable towards sting operations as viable means of crime prevention.

The Supreme Court’s verdict has truth in it. There are many cases, wherein Sting operations have exposed criminal conspiracies, money rackets and bribery. However, there are also undercover investigators who do sting operations in order to derive sensational news and invade the privacy of citizens. This is an uncalled for act of deception. Given these happenings, Sting operations are categorised into two types. They are Positive Sting Operations and Negative Sting Operations.

Positive Sting Operations:

A Positive Sting operation does benefit to society by exposing the truth and eventually leading to the path of justice. For instance, the latest sting operations by Cobrapost, a non-profit news website that is known for its investigative journalism venture showed how around 36 Bollywood celebrities were willing to opine in favour of Political parties on their social networking platforms which have huge followership for huge sums of money.   

In another sting operation called Operation 136, they exposed many leading corporate News channels and Newspaper owners were willing to compromise with content, introduce communal content and speak on an issue for a price. This amount was huge. It was a serious piece of good sting operation.

Journalism is the fourth Pillar of the Indian Society. This pillar is to lead the way. However, the need for monetary gains has led most of them to compromise with the content. This is injustice to the millions of readers who watch these channels or read these newspapers as authentic sources of Information. Sting Operations like those done by Cobrapost are beneficial to the citizens of the country who deserve to know the truth.

 Negative Sting Operations:

A negative Sting Operation does harm to Society and particularly to the individual whose name gets dragged into controversy. There are cases where TV channels have gone to extremes to gain mileage by using Sting Operations for sensationalised Journalism.

For instance, In India there was the case of a teacher named Uma Khurana, who was allegedly “exposed” by a TV channel named ‘Live India’ for a sex racket which she ran by luring her pupils. Yogendra Aldak in his article, ‘Sting Operation-to be or not to be in India’ on legalserviceindia.com writes that this accusation turned out to be totally false and The Delhi High Court issued notices to the Delhi Government and City Police after taking suo motu cognisance of media reports alleging that a sting operation carried out by a TV channel. The poor teacher had a threat to life and was totally robbed of her dignity. This was a grave harm done to her by the TV channel and the State and Police who permitted this to happen.

Emerging trends in Journalism

Emerging trends in Journalism
Sr P Michelle Mathias

 

A kind request to those of you using my notes for your researches. If you find them useful, please do cite me. Thank You.

Journalism in India has had a deep-rooted history. Journalism is the fourth Pillar of democracy that keeps the three other pillars of the Judiciary, the Legislative and the Executive in check. It was the backbone during the freedom fight struggle and the dark days of the Emergency which saw the suppression of the Press. It has been the steer leader to bring the notice of Governments to hard hitting facts of Poverty, Unemployment, Bad administration, Violence, etc and has also paved the way for development through encouraging articles.

Historically, it was the Printing Press that went through the test of fire and survived the dark days when various Press Acts were brought in by the British to suppress opinion and stoke feelings of Freedom. However, the Press survived and grew in large measure. The Radio and the Television then came in. However, in its initial stages the Government had strict control over the Public Broadcasting services and still continues to do so. Gradually, the Government opened the doors to Privatisation.

With the arrival of Privatization in India many channels jumped in with variety and were boosted with foreign investment. To rake in the moolah and survive, these channels also needed advertisement revenue. So, News and the way News was being communication went through a drastic change. Newer styles and techniques were introduced. Breaking News became an everyday issue. Globalisation too brought in a new way of looking at and doing things. In order to vie for higher ratings and provide content 24/7, channels resorted to various ideas and content. There were news debates, people’s opinion pieces, interviews, infotainment through animated series of political issues and entertainment through Qawwali styles debates by certain channels.

Technology has also paved the way for newer means and styles of Journalism. Social Media began contributing in a large way to Journalism. Technological advancement made recording expensive and so, bars were raised. More advertisement revenue was sought. However, this thirst to keep afloat also led to hobnobbing and manipulation of TRP ratings. Furthermore, News and Journalistic practices are being sacrificed at the altar of Commerce as most channels are backed by Corporates who are interested in the monetary business that these news channels bring in and not the content that can actually uplift the people of the country. There are a few channels however, who are active in good Journalism.

Furthermore, Social Media today has made news available on the go and has led to massive changes in the way people consume news today.  Emerging trends have shown, that while India has a high sale of Newspapers, both Newspapers and TV channels are in need of revenue and have resorted to paid news on one hand and have also gone online for subscribership on various Social networking platforms. A new bunch of Social media personalities have developed who not only out up videos, hey have turned into informative Opinion Leaders. While, there is a large clutter on the Social Media platform, there is also a wave of genuine journalism that has surged that depend on subscriber-ship and not on paid news.

Given this background we look at the varied trends that are emerging in journalism in India and the world at large.

 

Convergent Journalism:

Digital Technology has changed the scenario in the journalistic world. A newspaper cannot remain a printed sheet anymore. Digitalisation has led to the concept of Convergent Journalism. A concept wherein one uses more than one media platform for transmitting news. In a technologically developed arena, with a generation that is growing up with digital devices, it has become a challenge for traditional media to survive like in the yester years. Hence, many Newspaper channels are simultaneously running websites and have e-papers with subscribers. These Newspapers also tie up with various search Engines and other Social media platforms to garner viewership and hits. 

Vineet Kaul (2013) in his article, ‘Journalism in the Age of Digital Technology’, writes that Scholars have begun calling reporters “gate-watchers” (Bruns, 2005) and information “monitors” (Deuze, 2003), insisting that they share authority willingly and embrace “citizen media” (Gillmor, 2004).

It is also a challenge for many news journalists today as news journalism requires a dynamism that can cater to both written press and online press. It is also a challenge, to learn a bit of videography and photography which is extremely useful in the current times, where jobs are being cut and downsized due to economic pressures. Given the fact, that today there are numerous gadgets which are tiny, portable and user friendly, it is not a difficult task. However, multi-tasking is not an easy job, especially when there is a constant demand for breaking news.  

 

News Infomediaries:

The Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines Infomediaries as a website that collects and provides information about products and the companies that supply them (dictionary.cambridge.org). The concept of Infomediaries is very applicable in the case of the present scenario, where one finds newsfeeds while one opens, Facebook, Google or Yahoo and other social networking forums or search engines. In this case, if one is interested one will click on the news to read and gather information. The technological advancement leads to similar news being shown to you or suggested to you based on the continual choices or searches you make. Based on the click and the choice of news, the algorithms that are employed in Facebook, Google or other platforms,  provide you similar content.

The book, ‘The Future of Journalism’, edited by Bob Franklin says that two kinds of distribution have emerged: one is based on the new infomediaries (Rebillard and Smynrnaios, 2010) social media corporations which are the news mediators of news and information, and the other is a social distribution based on user’s own networks. People tend to read what others have shared on their news feeds, and then share it further, comment and like it.

This concept is beneficial to Facebook and to the News Website who has employed the use of Facebook to promote its News website or Channel. The consumer or the audience is lured. The consumer of this news may find the piece interesting and share it on his/her personal Facebook platform or other social networking platform or on the status. This garners more views, comments, likes or dislikes which means more traffic on a particular website. This can cater to advertisement revenue. The dealing of Search Engines and Social Networking platforms is also based on Revenue generation.  

 

'Clickbait' Journalism:

While using search engines or social networking platforms or some online service, we come across pictures with catchy headlines. This has often lead to the user clicking on the particular link. The 'clickbait' journalism has often landed in controversy as the catchy headline does not make-up to the content that the user gets to read. Headlines are often constructed in a way that sensationalises a particular event. In India, we often see that many users get duped on platforms like YouTube when the title does not match the content that has been uploaded. However, these articles succeed in getting clicks and the necessary traffic as the person gets hoodwinked in reading and gradually realises that the content is bogus. This type of journalism, builds a wrong image in the long run about the website that hosts such news pieces.

 

Subscription Based Audience:

Many Newspapers have now released online newspaper versions and invite subscribers. Thus, garnering subscribers and getting subscription revenue has become important in order to survive the rat race.

On the international platform, popular journalistic stalwarts amongst newspapers, ‘The Guardian’ has managed to carve a niche for itself through subscribership. Nic Newman in writes in Journalism, Media, And Technology Trends And Predictions 2018 (The Reuters Institute For The Study Of Journalism) states statistics from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report. The report “showed a 7% increase in subscription in the US last year led by the New York Times and Washington Post.” He further added that ‘The Guardian’ has surged ahead in defying its critics to report 800,000 paying customers, which include half a million subscribers and 300,000 one-off donations. For the first time, the Guardian is attracting more revenue directly from readers than from advertising. However, the same cant be spoken in the Indian Context. News is still at the mercy of Subscribership and most people still want to read News free.

Many News Channels, both with written content or News videos on YouTube request subscribers in view of non- biased news and to be free from political pressures or corporate pressure for advertisements in order to bring in genuine news. News channels like ‘The Wire’ have created quite a buzz in India with some good journalistic opinion and pieces. The Quint and others like Firstpost too are churning out many good articles. TV channels too have their websites and do massive news hour uploads on YouTube. Some of these channels are very popular and have a huge subscriber base.  

 

News in Snippets:

The generation of millennials seem to be waning away from Newspaper reading towards reading news on the Net especially in shorter snippets. Primarily because of the many portable devices they use which make news accessible on the go. The Internet also makes it possible to verify other news pieces that are similar. The concept of Google news and other major newspaper forums today provide news both in newspaper format for subscribers and in short snippets to garner readership, subscribers and revenue for the hits as it rakes in advertisement. Jorge Vázquez-Herrero writes that mobile adopters are searching for short-up-to-date news, media should produce native formats adjusted to these usage information patterns characterized by faster access and greater timeliness (Wolf & Schnauber, 2015, Vázquez-Herrero 2019).

The concept of News in Snippets on a Mobile or a Smartphone has encouraged the use of Algorithms that trace your liking for particular kind of news based on your scrolling or reading habits on the smartphone and bring you more content of similar types. This concept is at time a bit dangerous as Media brings you what you desire or like and not what you really need to know.

Furthermore, this concept of reading News in snippets has garnered terms like Ephemeral Journalism, Micro-journalism, Glance Journalism or for that matter Instagram stories. We will also take a quick look at these emerging trends.

I have explained each terminology in short for the convenience of students referring to this blog. Often different terminologies may indicate the same or almost similar concept. I have tried to define various terminologies that indicate almost the same concept, perhaps in different format. So that you become aware of these concepts.

 

Ephemeral Journalism:

The word ephemeral means something that is transient, short lived or that which lasts for a short while. Ephemeral journalism is the product of a generation that relies on smart watches and other digital devices that provides news in short snippets, news in images or in a few words. With the trend of Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram stories, that do not have a very long shelf life and are short-lived, News channels too have begun using these platforms to create such stories and reach out to newer audiences and the millennials. News Channels also lure leaders through hyperlinks.

Jorge Vázquez-Herrero (2019) writes in his research paper, ‘Ephemeral Journalism: News Distribution Through Instagram Stories’ that these new incidental and ephemeral users’ consumption habits are the reason for the different “know-how” of the media (Larrondo et al., 2017), as these intensify their efforts to produce native formats (Newman et al., 2017). For instance, adaption to the web would require ‘Short videos for web and Facebook profiles’ (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2016) or the creation of journalistic microformats (Silva-Rodríguez et al., 2017).

Given the fact that most people access news or other information and OTT content like videos or films or micro films through Social networking platforms or streaming platforms on gadgets like a Notepad, digital watches or Smartphones, Vázquez-Herrero (2019) adds that the shape of the news changes to accommodate navigation through them (Newman, 2018), thus. prioritizing the use of “horizontal storytelling mode” and Snapchat’s “tap to advance mode,” Twitter moments, Facebook and WhatsApp status, as well as Instagram Stories (Online Journalism Blog, 2017). Instagram stories, Glance journalism, etc are outcomes of such Ephemeral trends in journalism.

 

Instagram stories:

Researches have shown that today’s generation, especially the urban lot is prone to use Instagram. While Facebook was a choice, today, Instagram (IG) stories are taking over with their huge audience amongst the millennials. Many News channels are today building their brand on Instagram by creating Instagram stories.

For instance, Channels like BBC produce Instagram stories, which when swiped leads you to the hyperlink of the BBC website. Mark Frankel, the social media editor from BBC News said in an interview with Caroline Scott, "There is a young, vibrant audience for BBC News that doesn't necessarily come directly to our website, television channels or radio stations to consume new stories, so we need to find ways to capture their imagination, bring them in, and encourage them to explore more." (www.journalism.co.uk, 2017) Furthermore, BBC also engages its viewers on IG with tags, hashtags and quizzes.

In India, too, we see a trend among the youngsters to create IG stories. Many actors and actresses are constantly uploading videos and pictures on their IG accounts. It is also known that they get paid for it. Meanwhile, these posts also generate news and advertisement revenue for many News channels, who use IG posts of actors and actresses to write Entertainment news pieces. The articles are short in nature and primarily interspersed with the IG post pictures and loaded with advertisements.

 

Micro  Journalism: 

The term Micro Journalism is similar to what is called Ephemeral Journalism or Glance journalism. The term indicates the use of wearable devices which allow you to take a quick look at the headline or news in short.  (Silva-Rodríguez et al., 2017: 187) writes that ‘technology producers and users, have both welcomed smartwatches as a new device for total communication’.  

 

Glance Journalism:

Glance Journalism is a concept that arose from the Apple’s concept of ‘Glance’ technology in their smartwatches. This is another concept in the Micro-format genre of journalism. Those using smartwatches have a unique way today of reading news at a glance. The news is brought to you through a picture with a caption, a headline and few words of narrative. The Times of India, India’s largest selling English newspaper has actively employed this concept of Glance Journalism to reach out to the millennials along with al the other concepts running simultaneously.

Bilge Narin, (2018) in her research paper, ‘Less is More or Less is Biased: Glance Journalism’ that was presented at the Proceedings  of the 16th International Symposium Communication in the Millennium defines “Glance journalism as a new storytelling form on smartwatches which is fundamentally based on the news headline with an instant update. She further adds that Glance journalism is a new way to spread the news quickly with solely the keywords and audible and/or vibrating alerts via smartwatches as a type of wearable technologies.”  

The idea is to get an instant update on the go. One can decide looking at the instant update, whether or not, one is interested in reading the entire article. ‘These stories are basically “microsummaries” of major stories and contain bite-size news being directed at consumers.’ (phys.org, 2015) The entire concept is based on the fact that people will constantly be glancing at news and getting updated with the addictive format of the smartwatches.

Glance Journalism has led to corporate who run newspapers vying for it as a new means to attract the attention of an audience to its app thus increasing its subscriber base or viewership base.

However, Glance Journalism may or may not be the way to a very informed journalism. A well-researched piece with verified data is educative and informative. The glance journalism keeps one upbeat of incidents occurring across the world but need not necessarily be educative in approach. In a country like India with a large population, the Press plays an important role of being informative and educative by nature. However, the concept of Glance Journalism is the new trend that is catching up. And news at a glance may not ideally be educative, it could be updation and awareness of the occurrence of an incident.  

 

Mojo Journalism:

In a world of portable devices like Notepads, iPhones or Smartphones along with wireless or broadband technology, journalism has discovered a new way of transmitting news at a lower cost and instantly. Many journalists today carry their smartphones to record videos, pictures and interviews which is transmitted instantly using wireless technology. These portable, gadgets are lighter and user friendly as compared to the heavy cameras used in yester years. So, many reporters and journalists make use of Mobile Technology to communicate or transmit news which they have recorded, edited and revamped using mini gadgets and devices like smartphones.

NDTV has an entire series called Gadget 360 which was shot on a Samsung notepad 10. Hosam El Nagar in his post, Mojo: from periphery to the mainstream of journalism’ writes about how Nicholas Garnett from BBC who was among the early adopters of mojo and its benefits recalled how during an earthquake in Nepal, when the infrastructure collapsed, he was able to shoot, go live and transmit the message because of his mobile. Hosam further adds that a similar experience was narrated by Siobhan Heanue of ABC Australia when her mobile provided coverage of the earthquake and its aftermath. (www.thomsonfoundation.org)

 

Paid News:

On the negative side, India is also seeing a surge in Paid news and bias in news production and news transmission. In an arena of severe competition and deteriorating revenue packages, Journalism has stooped down to a level where news is presented with a bias towards the corporate or the political party funding the same. This has become a trend. In the bargain, to support the opinion or create an opinion which at times has severe bias, journalists turn rogues on screen indulging in verbally violent debates. This is a trend that has caught up in India.

Amidst the cantankerous cacophony of words that many big channels are doing today by bringing an esteemed panel to the table for debate. Often the journalist turns into a subjective accuser pinpointing fingers, shouting allegations, making incessant demands of the guest and heading to the point of insulting the guest and even showing them the door. Print on the other hand can be considered more stable, trustworthy and informative. However, the need to survival has over the years gradually led Print journalism too, to becoming a victim to Paid news, Advertorials and advertisement. 

Artificial Intelligence

Conclusion:

Journalism is a must in this country who depends on it for information, news and education. There is a constant battle of choices between the genuine News Channels and those that crop up in large numbers to make money through views on videos often at the cost of truth. There emerging trends are to lead a nation to an informed public and not an ill-informed Public.

 

 

 

Mass Communication, Characteristics or Features of Mass Communication,

Mass Communication

The concept of Mass Communication entails the transmission of messages to a large number of assorted, heterogenous people who are anonymous using technological tools called mass media. The recipients or receivers of the messages delivered through the process of Mass communication are also called the Audience.

The word ‘Mass’ in this context of Mass Communication studies would mean a large number of people who are heterogenous, assorted and anonymous in nature.

‘Large’ here would mean a relatively big audience or people who are many in number. However, it does not include everyone. People have their own choices in the consumption of Mass mediated messages.

‘Assorted’ here would mean a varied lot. Mass Media Channels have a huge audience but they are often assorted and spread out. They need not always be accumulated in the same place. The audience for a particular Media channel can differ not just from place to place but even in the precincts of a house. For instance, the children in the house may only prefer to watch cartoons on a particular channel, however, the parents may want to watch news, sports or any other tele-serial. The audience is scattered. Children in different homes from all across India may be watching a particular cartoon. Due to satellite Technology, this serial could even have an audience across countries. They may or may not be from a particular geographical context. They are assorted and from different places. However, for a Mass Media channel like a Community Radio, the audience is normally a particular community of people to whom the channel caters.

 ‘Heterogeneous’ here would mean that the audience includes different types of people. A Mass Media channel may have viewers from rich or poor backgrounds, educated or uneducated based on the content, it could be youth or adults, bureaucrats or ordinary middle- class family members. 

‘Anonymous’ would mean that the audience is nameless and unspecified.  While analysis can predict the number of hits a channel gets or the popularity a particular serial or book garners, once cannot identify the specific characteristic of every individual audience member. You may identify the place in which your audience exists but you will not be able to identify the person by his or her name. The Audience is Anonymous.

Keval Kumar: The process of delivering information, ideas and attitudes to a sizeable, diversified audience through use of media designed for that purpose is called Mass Communication.

C.V Nasimha Reddi: Mass Communication can be defined as ‘a process whereby mass produced messages are transmitted to large, anonymous and heterogenous masses of receivers’. By ‘mass produced’ we mean putting the content or message of mass communication in a form suitable to be distributed to large masses of people.

Littlejohn and Foss: The process whereby media organizations produce and transmit messages to large publics and the process by which those messages are sought, used, understood, and influenced by audience”.

McQuail: “The only one of the processes of communication operating at the society-wide level, readily identified by its institutional characteristics.”

Berger: Mass communication is the public transfer of messages through media or technology-driven channels to a large number of recipients from an entity, usually involving some type of cost or fee (advertising) for the user. “The sender often is a person in some large media organization, the messages are public, and the audience tends to be large and varied”

Tim O Sullivan, Hartley, Saunders and Fiske, (1983): Mass Communication is the practice and product of providing leisure entertainment and information to an unknown audience by means of corporately financed, industrially produced, stage regulated, high technology, privately consumed commodities in the modern print, screen, audio and broadcast media

Thompson (1995): Mass communication is the “institutionalized production and generalized diffusion of symbolic goods via the fixation and transmission of information or symbolic content”.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THESE DEFINITIONS WERE WRITTEN PRIOR TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MEDIA AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY. SO, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE CONCEPT OF MASS COMMUNICATION THAT HAS ARISEN POST ARRIVAL OF THE INTERNET, CELL PHONES, CD ROM GAMES AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING FORUMS AND OTT PLATFORMS.

Rowland Lorimer in his article title Mass Communication- redefinitional notes writes a very apt definition for Mass Communication. He does not confine Mass Communication to a single definition. Rather, he explains and includes the old and new forms of Mass Mediums in his concept of Mass Communication. He says:

Mass Communication is state- and interstate- organised transmission of intelligence, including -

(1) Centralised Mass information or entertainment dissemination (encompassing radio, television, newspapers, film magazines, books, recorded and performed Music and Advertising) (Lorimer)

(2) Decentralised information or entertainment dissemination: On the World Wide Web by individuals or organisations either through ready to access to, or wide distribution of information or entertainment products through sometimes state regulated, publicly accessible channels like the web or email. (Lorimer)

(3) Public Mass Communication- Wherein the exchange of intelligence at the societal level among individuals or small or large groups is by means of publicly accessible, sometimes state- regulated channels. (Lorimer)

Mass Communication thus includes:

·        Print Media- Newspapers, books, Magazines, Journals, Brochures, Pamphlets,

Newsletters, documents, etc.

·        Electronic Media- Radio, Television, Fax, Movies/ Cinema, Audio-visuals, etc

·    New Media- Cell phones, Smart Phones, world wide web, Internet, Social Networking Forums, OTT ( Over the Top Content) etc

Mass Communication is possible only in the presence of Technology. In many remote corners of India or in the world at large where there is no permeation of electricity, leave alone technology, Mass Communication cannot happen. Even in case of Mass Communication, many countries have bans on certain channels and only certain state permitted content can be shown or is shown. However, for those who have access to it, Mass communication has made communication easier and simpler for ordinary individuals, in spite of a complex organisation behind the scenes.


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Characteristics or Features of Mass

 Communication

Communication scholars have suggested various characteristics of Mass Communication. We look at some of them in this chapter.

Dutton et al (1998) suggests that Mass Communicaton has a number of characteristics that sets it apart from other types of communication:

• Impersonal: The sender of the message does not know the receivers
• Lacking in immediacy: the audience has no involvement in the production of a media message
• One way from the producer/creator to the consumer/audience
• Physically and technologically distant: everyone receives the same intended message
• Organised: It requires a vehicle, such as a television receiver, printed page or internet connection, which allows a message to be sent or received (Livesey, 2014)

·       Mass Audience: Large and scattered, Anonymous and Heterogenous Mass Audience.

·        It is Public. The communication reaches to a huge mass which is unknown and is available for

      public consumption.

·     

       Impersonal: The sender of the message does not know the receivers. Dutton et al (1998) However, what they do know is the area from which a particular programme gets more hits due to high definition technological advancement. This leads them to knowledge about their target audience, the place and the culture and the advertisements that can be slotted for the same.

·    

         Feedback in Mass Communication can be One Way or Two way depending on the choice of

      Media.

v  One-way Communication in most Traditional electronic media with an occasional delayed feedback.

v  Two-way Communication in New Media with instant feedback in many cases. Today a small video posted on social networking forums or by huge media houses on their web forums can garner immediate feedback and response on social networking forums such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

·    Mass Mediated: Use of Technological devices which may be mechanical, technical, electronic or Digital. (Printing Machines, Television, Radio, etc)

·     Speed/ Rapid Dissemination to a huge Mass Audience. Mass media permits the content delivery in the fraction of a second due to the massive technology employed. E.g. A football world cup final, A Grand Slam or a Cricket match final is watched by billions across the world at the same time.

·    Varied Content: Mass Audiences have a huge availability of varied content to choose from. For instance, there are a huge number of Television channels or Radio FM channels for an individual to choose from. The same goes for the large amount of content on forums like YouTube or OTT content like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot spot, Alt Balaji, etc.

·     Gate Keeping of content: Gatekeeping is the filtering of messages before release of content by Media houses or individuals in some cases of New Media. So, whether in a newspaper, or a news channel, news arrives through various sources. This news is filtered or controlled at different levels by reporters, journalists, sub editors, news editors, editors and the channel owners. Only certain content is allowed to be published while other content is discarded or not given paramount importance. This process is called Gatekeeping.

·     Persuasive in Nature: Mass Mediated messages can Influence society and are in turn influenced by Society. A large amount of content is produced in a manner that facilitates advertisement revenue. Advertisement is persuasive in nature. State Governments too have often used Mass Media to encourage cleanliness drives, vaccination drives and other health-related habits on Television and Radio.

·    Target Audience: Concept of a Target Audience influences Mass Communication due to the growing demand of study on Audience Research and its impact. For instance: If a particular channel is showing a popular serial than this is placed in a prime- time slot which targets the required audience and garners huge Ad Revenue due to multiple TRP ratings.

·      Complex: The traditional form of Media and New media to a certain extent is Complex in nature. It involves a largely industrialised and complex technology involving satellites, digital networks, management structures, marketing chains, advertisement revenues, etc.

                           
                     
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Uses and Gratifications Theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory

The Uses and Gratification theory is based on the tenet that explains what people are prone to do with media as compared to initial studies which highlighted the phenomenon of what media did to its users. The theory proposes that people use media in order to gratify their own needs. An individual may watch media for the simple purpose of entertainment or for information. It could also be in order to escape from boredom or stress or for other human needs. The needs could vary and so could the choice of Media content. 

Mathew Pittman and Kim Sheehan, (2015) quote McQuail (2010) and say that “In an overview of how audiences use media, they suggest that audiences tend to look for five basic gratifications: to be informed or educated, to identify with characters of the situation in the media environment, to simply be entertained, to enhance social interactions, and finally, to escape from the stresses of everyday life.” 

At a time when studies were focusing on what Media can do to people, Uses and Gratifications presented another tenet of highlighting the fact that People are not passive consumers of media. Rather, they are active consumers, who based on their need chose the media and the type of content they wish to indulge in based on their personal requirements.  

This perspective of Media being consumed by an active audience as compared to a passive audience arose due to the research of Elihu Katz, Jay Blumler and Michael Gurevitch. However, varied scholars have related to this theory having ideated over the years. Mathew Pittman and Kim Sheehan, (2015) state that “Although initial attention to the gratifications that media provide came from Lazarsfeld and Stanton in the 1940s, Katz and others (Katz, et al., 1973) concretized the guiding theoretical framework of U&G in 1974”. 

“Studies have shown that audience gratifications can be derived from at least three distinct sources: media content, exposure to the media per se, and social context that typifies the situation of exposure to different media.” (Blumler 24)  It is clear that audiences spend time using the media in various ways.  Whether they are killing time or using it as a social tool, each medium is unique in its purpose.

“The following are the five assumptions made by Elihu Katz, Jay Blumler and Michael Gurevitch:

1)         “Audience is conceived as active.” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch 15)

2)         “In the mass communication process much initiative in linking need gratification and media choice lies with the audience member.” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch 16) 

3)         “Media competes with other sources of need satisfaction.” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch 16)

4)         “Many of the goals media use can be derived from data supplied by the individual audience members themselves.” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch 17)  

5)         “Value judgments about cultural significance of mass communication should be suspended while audience operations are explored on their own terms” (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch 17).”

                                                                                                                                    (E.Rossi, 2002)

The above five tenets explain that the three eminent Communication Researchers highlighted the fact that Media was not consumed by an audience that was totally passive, rather, the audience was active and chode the type pf media r communication it wanted to indulge in.

Gratification or satisfaction could be attained through varied means of communication, media happened to be one among these choices. Hence, media had to compete with other sources in order to be in the list of things an audience would want to choose for the gratification of a particular need.

The Audience was active and intelligent enough to perceive their need and choose the media they wanted to. This choice and the data for the choice could be attained from the active audience themselves. Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch believed that the audience and the choices they made had to be explored in their terms rather than including every connotation of “cultural significance of mass communication” that was available to justify the same.

Ruggiero (2000) mentions Blumler’s writings from 1979 and says that the “Uses and gratifications theory mostly focuses on Cognitive needs, (People use media for knowledge, information etc). Affective needs, (emotions, pleasure and other moods of the people).  Personal Integrative needs, (people change their life style and media helps them to do so), Social Integrative needs, (to socialize with family, friends and relations in the society), Tension free needs, (People tend to relax watching TV, listening to radio and for satisfying their need for entertainment there by relaxing from all the tension, people watch films, films on TV etc.).”

Play Theory by William Stephenson

Play Theory by William Stephenson

William Stephenson published the ‘Play Theory of Mass Communication’ in 1967 wherein he pointed out that one of the significant functions of Mass Communication is to provide people pleasure, in other words a “Subjective Play”, which provided an interlude from the pressing matters that concerned them.   

While, most studies in this field had been focusing on the factual and sociological perspectives, he channelised his contribution based on the subjective and the Psychological aspects involved in the use of Mass Communication.

Arthur Asa Berger in his book, ‘Essentials of Mass Communication Theory’, writes Stephenson sees mass communication as serving two functions. While the first one is to provide play, to influence customs, normalize manners, give people something in common to talk about, so as to foster mutual socialization. 

Stephenson highlights that most studies have been always aimed at pointing out that behind Mass communication was always this “lurking of “hidden persuasion” and tyranny over the mind” (a view expressed by Aldous Huxley)”; He differs from it and points out that Mass Communication can also be chosen by a Media Recipient for the reasons of play, i.e., entertainment and a bit of Socialisation. This entertainment which provided for pleasure and play was an end in itself. Stephenson believed that not every media content consumed by the audience of media took a toll on their behaviour or drastically impacted their lives. Certain media was watched for the purpose of play.  

Arthur Asa Berger further writes that, "In the words of Stephenson, the other purpose of Mass communication is to “rock the boat,” to be in the forefront of change in status quo conditions. The press, traditionally has served revolution and revolt. It is important to notice that it is difficult to change basic beliefs, though in a revolution that is perhaps exactly what happens willy-nilly. It takes a cataclysmic event, however, to bring this about. The achievement of Mass communication lies in the way it short-circuits older beliefs, substituting new values for them." (Stephenson, 1967/ 1988, p.65)

The above theory was criticised as it lacked a working model. Stephenson’s understanding that media provided ‘subjective play’ and contributed to ‘Self Enhancement’ was sceptically viewed by many scholars. 

Julian Kücklich in her article, ‘Play and Playability as Key Concepts in New Media Studies’ writes that “According to Stephenson, communication pleasure leads to a 'self-enhancement' that seems to be akin to a form of catharsis. But ultimately, Stephenson fails to explain why news-reading is pleasurable even when one reads 'bad news'; and he does not arrive at a working model of play in mass communication. Although he comes to the conclusion that "the communication situation is not one in which information is passed from a communication source to a receiver; it is one in which the individual plays with communication", he fails to come up with convincing examples”. [1] 

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[1] Julian Kücklich, Play and Playability as Key Concepts in New Media Studies, https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.94.4169&rep=rep1&type=pdf