Mass Media

Mass media can be defined as the media used for addressing or communicating with the masses. Anything that serves the source for communication amongst a large audience is included in the category of mass media.

Mass media is a broad term under which includes every thing or anything that conveys a message to the masses is included. From news papers to books, from radios to televisions, form the mobile phones to ipods and to the internet, all are included in the category of mass media.

Though the term was coined in the 1920’s when the radio and the television were revolutionizing the world into modern times, the concept of mass media is as old as the human civilization itself.

The only difference is that the lives of the past people did not depend on the mass media like our lives do today. We can not live without mass media as it surrounds us like a shadow.

The mass media is used by the masses for the following basic purposes:

To get news and information

For entertainment i.e. music, movies, sports and drama

For communicating with other people.

Serving the above purposes, below given are three broad categories of mass media:

Publishing Media

The publishing media is the oldest form of mass media. This media includes books, news papers and magazine. The concept of books is not new.

It is believed that the first ever book in the world was printed in 863 AD in China. Though it was the first book to be officially published, many historians claim that books has been released way before this time.

News papers are also not new. They were developed during the 17th century in England and by the 19th century were common mass media.

The publishing media or the print media is now are the only source of mass communication any more therefore there has been a decline in its popularity but still is a very important source of mass media still popular amongst the huge masses.

Broadcasting Media

The broadcasting media includes radio and television.

These two media are probably the most highlighted inventions of the 20th century. The invention of radio changed the face of the earth forever.

People could now hear news form around the world live sitting at their homes.

Where radio initiated the concept of audio mass communication, television revolutionized the visual form of communication. Now the people could not only hear the news but they could also see it.

Although drama and plays had been popular even before the concept of any particular mass media, they were revolutionized into movies, films, and tele serials to be displayed on TV.

Sports were also recorded or broadcasted live via radios and televisions making the life of people easy who had to go to stadiums and buy tickets to watch a match of their favorite sport.

Similarly music videos, soaps, various talk shows started to become popular on televisions.

Today the broadcasting media is the most popular media amongst the masses.

News channels cover a story and an event within seconds of their occurring, keeping people updated minute by minute details of all the important events occurring in the world.

The Electronic Media

The electronic media is the new age media which includes computers, mobile phones, internet, ipods, CD players, tape recorders etc.

The electronic media is what our world revolves around today. Internet is believed to be the services of the services.

It is the media which connects the entire globe. It is the wonder of the modern world on which our modern age largely depends on.

If you want to search for something Google finds it for you in less than a second, through emails you can get connected to some one form another part of the world in just few seconds.

Another marvel of the modern age is the mobile phone. Mobile phones were first introduced in 1979 in Japan but they weren’t popular amongst the masses until the mid ‘90s.

Within the span of ten to fifteen years mobile phones have become so popular that the young generation can actually not live without it. Today mobile phones are not just simple portable telephones but they are more of computers.

Cassette players which have now been revolutionized into ipods and CD players were also an important invention.

The most important invention of them all is perhaps the computers which not only turned the electronic media around but also changed the face of modern technology. Without computers internet would have been impossible.