Communication can be defined as transmissions of information or knowledge between people or things. There is most commonly a transmitter and a receiver in communication. Chandler came to the conclusion of using a Sender and a Receiver instead of a transmitter and a receiver. He states that communication consists of a Sender who passes a message to a receiver.(1) Chandler based this conclusion off of Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s model of communication. Their model shows how communication is broken down, and how it is received.
Michael Reddy has thought of a metaphor that sums up how communication works. He states that the 'the conduit metaphor' describes communication in which " The speaker puts ideas (objects) into words (containers) and sends them (along a conduit) to a hearer who takes the idea/objects out of the word/containers".(2) This leads to the Shannon and Weaver model in a way. The Shannon and Weaver model states that the perfect example of communication would be "a model that reduces communication within the process of transmitting the information."(3) Though Chandler did critique this model because of the fact that it was "a one-way model".(1) this is where mass communication comes in.
Mass communication does differ from that of communication because of the fact that with mass communication there are a large amount of people communicating together whereas communication has to do with a transmitter and receiver. Hardt states that the "revolutionary shift from communication to mass communication finally overturned a delicate balance between the authenticity of individual expression and the in authenticity of institutionally manufactured articulations of reality in the twentieth century."(4) Hardt also states that the difference of mass communication and communication is "between the definition of democracy and individual participation"(4).
Mass communication makes it possible to interact on the internet and through the media like the world does today. The world is much more advanced than they were when the printing press was first invented. With the new advancement in computers and smart-phones it is easier for people to get access to each other and interact with each other. With social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace and other sites including Wikipedia it is easy to have mass communication because there are millions of people that interact on those sites and when you post somehting you are interacting with those millions of people. With the internet only a touch away on a phone or a click away on a computer it is easy to have mass communication. With phones people can reviews on sites about a restaurant or a hotel and that alone will be shown to a large group of people which again helps to create mass communication. Communication now-a-days is easier than it has ever been. It has come a long way since letters were written and the printing press was invented. It was made possible to have such mass communication by the advances in the economy and in society.
(1) Chandler, Daniel. "Transmission Model of Communication." Prifysgol Aberystwyth / Aberystwyth University. 18 Sept. 1995. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/trans.html 04 Jan. 2011. Web.
(2) Reddy, Michael J. (1979): 'The Conduit Metaphor: A Case of Frame Conflict in our Language about Language'. In Andrew Ortony (Ed.): Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [for commentaries see: Bowers 1988: 38ff; Lakoff & Johnson 1980: 10-12]
(3)Shannon, Claude E. & Warren Weaver (1949): A Mathematical Model of Communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
(4) Hardt, Hanno. Myths for the Masses: an Essay on Mass Communication. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2004. Print.
I really like the quote used from the Hardt piece... "between the definition of democracy and individual participation"(4)."
ReplyDeleteWhen analyzing mass communication it is so glaringly obvious that we are given a right to freedom of speech because of the way our government is run. I am no world-government extraordinaire, but I am pretty sure other countries dont run that right as freely as ours does. Does that have any effect on what mass communication is like for other countries? Are they as mass communication-aly advanced as the rest of the world (USA, China...)??
I agree with what you are saying about how most countries dont run that right as freely as ours. I think that does have a great effect on what mass communication is like for other countries. I think that because they don't have that freedom as freely as the United States does they aren't as inclined to have great mass communication. I don't think that most countries are as advanced as United States or China.
ReplyDeleteThe point you made about mass communication making it possible to interact with millions of other people really comes into play with this class. We are all able to take this class from the comfort of our own home, whether that be in NY, WI or even another country or continent. Like you stated, phones now have internet-capability and many of us may even be posting our homework blogs using our phone rather than computer.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it has many advantages, do you think it holds any disadvantages for a class such as this one?
It is pretty cool when you think about it, that we can all take this class without ever setting foot in a classroom (I am visiting my grandmother in Florida right now and believe me, it is blowing her mind). I think it is great to be able to take an online class, people have really different schedules with work and families and other responsibilities that they may not have time to designate a few hours a day to learn in a classroom. However, I do think it holds its disadvantages. First off, especially for this class, you have to be computer literate to be able to navigate around this blog. Also, some people learn better with live interaction with an instructor and students rather than communicating with emails and blogs.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the convenience outweighs any disadvantage because this blog allows us all to share our ideas with each other just as we would in a classroom, maybe not as instantly since we are all on different schedules, but then again, that is what is great about online classes.
I agree with all of you. I think it is amazing that we are allowed to take classes online. And have a virtual class. It amazes me what people can all do in the world today. We can carry around a cell phone and be connected to the internet pretty much anywhere we go. I also agree with Danielle, when you say that the convenience outweighs the disadvantages. Though there are many advantages like being able to contact people from the other side of the world with just the click of a mouse, we do need to examine the disadvantages too. With the internet and communication the way it is the personal communication is down. There is less talking on the phone and more emailing or texting. Communication has come along way but we have to look at the downfall that it has with the connection we lose with the person to person contact.
ReplyDeleteThe convenience of this arrangement takes on new heights when extrapolated to other fields. Nowadays,surgeons can carry out surgical procedures on patients using robots controlled in another geographic location. Telemedicine is another example of clinical care merging with communication and information technology.
ReplyDeleteI still prefer a real classroom setting because I believe we learn more that the day's lesson from a classroom but I have to admit that the convenience is unmatched.
I agree with Biribwa on the fact that we prefer a real classroom setting. I believe that with a real classroom setting it is easier to understand fully what the course is offering. It gives a personal touch to everything. I believe that though it is harder to interact in a classroom full of people rather than in a cyber classroom. Personally I seem to voice my opinions, questions, etc more when I am not in a classroom. I agree that yes, it is more convenient to have an online forum but I think that it is more beneficial to have a real classroom setting.
ReplyDelete