The 101 on mass comm
MASS commmunication is not a homogenous field. In fact, it could not be further from that.
To help you figure out which area of mass communication you want to pursue an interest in, below is a crash course on the four main components of the field.
Print – Books, newspapers, magazines, journals and pamphlets are part of this industry. These publications are used to share news, opinions, stories and research material, among others.
Print publications cannot be updated in real time, so they function as records of past events.
One would expect the print industry to have become obsolete in the digital age, but it is still relevant. Its careful curation and analysis of information appeals to people in this era of information oversaturation online and higher political interest.
Print media is a valuable, credible resource that carries recognition and clout for authors.
There is a certain element of nostalgia among the audience for print publication, and a lot of people enjoy having hard copies as keepsakes. Jobs in print publication could be as straightforward as printing press manager and reporter, or as niche as sustainability officer.
Radio – Another area that was expected to fade with age, radio broadcasting is still going strong. It is one of the oldest forms of auditory communication and remains among the most costeffective. Even with online music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, radio has a vast, enduring audience.
Spoken word, music and other sound bites form the basis of radio broadcast. Radio programmes today are based on the belief that people listen to the radio while driving, so segments include topics such as news updates, popular music, traffic updates and public service announcements.
It is amazing how much information our memories retain from auditory input. Think about the last time you had a radio jingle stuck in your head.
For this reason, advertisers view radio as a highly effective medium to send messages that, when done right, stay with their audiences for a long time.
As an advertising major, you have the advantage of knowing how audiences may react (through personal experience) and how to take advantage of those reactions to deliver messages effectively (through professional skills).
Television and cinema – These media are saturated with moving images and sounds that are highly engaging and entertaining.
Television broadcasts almost everything that happens in the world, including live events, soap operas, films, advertisements and news.
Careers in television include news producer, camera operator, lighting manager, storyboard artist and actor, some of which overlap with cinema.
Cinema is a thriving industry and with the enforcement of illegal movie taping bans and crackdowns on movie-streaming sites, filmmakers’ creations are becoming increasingly protected.
Undoubtedly the more creative part of broadcast media, films are a powerful medium that can move and influence audiences. Cinema also involves front-end jobs such as cinema manager, projectionist and event manager.
Internet-based media –The Internet hosts a convergence of all three media forms mentioned above. It is an important medium of real-time information, which makes it especially useful in news dispersion and story bites of current events.
With the Internet’s huge population and accessibility from a range of devices such as computers and smartphones, news can spread like wildfire, satisfying audiences’ information needs during crises or important events.
The Internet is seemingly unlimited in the number of ways people can communicate on it. Instant messages, e-mails, live chats, websites, videos and social media are just a few of the ways you can communicate on the Internet.
Due to this overwhelming diversity, mass communication courses today include new media studies, digital reporting and web design principles so that graduates are caught up with current trends in the job market.