Studying new media
COMMUNICATION is the basis of human life. Even babies communicate with cries and other sounds to express a range of emotions.
From the time you were young, you were probably taught how to communicate with other people. As you grow older, the way you communicate becomes more effective.
Mass communication, which is concerned with the dispersion of information to a large audience, is a popular course option. This field of study aims to educate students on efficient, ethical human interaction.
It is defined as the imparting of information on a large scale to a wide range of people, though with advancements in the digital frontier, it now includes the exchange of information as well.
As a mass communication graduate, you have a wide range of career options to consider. The information and content industry needs creators, managers, gatekeepers, curators and distributors to sustain it, and that is where you come in.
A typical mass communication degree equips you with knowledge of communication history, theories, methods and channels, and how to use these things to most efficiently deliver a message.
Due to its vast nature, you will often be expected to choose between broadcasting, public relations, marketing and advertising to major in when pursuing your degree.
A quick search of “mass communication” on Jobstreet.com brings up positions such as copywriter, editor, sales executive, marketing manager, social media manager and digital media advisor as well as various internship opportunities.
As far as job prospects go, you have a bright future in the field of mass communication because it is unlikely that the need for it is going away anytime soon.
Jobstreet.com’s Salary Report 2018 states that entry-level jobs in the Arts/Media/Communication category fetch a minimum of about RM1,800 to RM2,600. Although the figure may not be as high as entrylevel jobs in fields such as engineering and manufacturing, there is almost unlimited potential for career growth and diversity.
In the mass communication industry, experience is everything. If you want to start working sooner, you can opt to pursue a diploma in mass communication, after which you can start working or skip to the second year of a related degree programme.
If you have an interest in mass communications, it is recommended that you have a strong command of two or more languages, be able to work irregular or long hours and be highly adaptable to change.
To be relevant in multiple areas, you can opt to diversify your skills.
You may consider picking up another language, which can open doors into another nation, or learn about web design so you can bridge the overlap between mass communication and information and communication technology (ICT).
Mass digitalisation
Mass communication is slowly but surely moving to digital media. Mass communication via digital media has some overlap with the ICT field because with online development comes the need for content, communication methods and advice on how to best present information to the audience. With this comes more diverse job options because while traditional jobs are still being maintained, their scopes are expanding to include literacy in digital media.
One may argue that the popularity of digital media is absolving the need for traditional forms of mass communication and that students should move to studying digital media, but the truth is that the emergence of new media is only pushing traditional media to evolve.
Thus, students need a strong foundation in existing processes and practices to figure out how to manoeuvre their way through the digital age. Even though the digital age seems like the final frontier, it is likely that there will be new advancements cropping up in the future.
The focus is on mass digitalisation right now but that could change, so students should prioritise the acquisition of adaptable and transferable skills such as critical thinking, sound ethical consideration and intercultural competence.
Though no one can say for sure, the fundamentals of mass communication will probably
remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.
As such, when faced with new situations and advancements in the industry, students should approach each development with a keen eye and critical mind, and make sure that what they practise stay true to the foundations of mass communication.
The necessary skills
Digital media literacy is an increasingly important subject in mass communication studies. By definition, in its capacity as a component of media literacy, digital literacy is about creating, managing and consuming content on various digital platforms. While ethics in mass communication has been widely explored, ethics in the digital frontier often fall into grey areas.
Digital media-literate graduates are expected to be able to navigate these grey areas and contribute towards establishing principles and codes of conduct that apply to all forms of online mass communication. Critical thinking is an important skill that mass communicators must possess.
This age of information overload online brings about diluted information, speculation and misinformation, and it is the digital mass communicator’s job to be able to deliver messages in a clear, concise way that mitigates those three issues. One of the most essential perspectives that you must have as a digital mass communicator is to not think of digital media as the be-all and end-all.
You must be critical of the way digital media operates and exists, just as you would other media. Overlooking the weakness and shortcomings of any media makes for irresponsible communicating because as a professional, if you ignore one part of your job, you are not doing it well.
To create and post content online, you must first know what it feels like to be part of the audience.
As just about everyone grew up consuming content in one way or another, you would think that you have no problems relating to your audience.
The reality is that mass communicators spend so much time on the other side that they forget how to engage their audiences. A good digital mass communicator should consume just as much content as she creates to gauge what kind of content is appealing to the digital masses.
At university, one or two of your professors may assign the class to watch movies or documentaries, participate in an event, or analyse news programmes so that students may immerse themselves in the view of an audience member while also learning about effective communication methods.
From a digital standpoint, however, it is less clear-cut. Therefore, it is up to the student to seek online content to consume, compare her experience with her peers’ and determine her own learning outcomes.
If all else fails, ask your lecturers for advice. As industry representatives, it is likely that they are knowledgeable in staying relevant in the shifting tides of the mass communication industry.
After all, they would not be teaching you if they had not sought to update their own skills to adapt to the digital age.