https://padlet.com/danieljknight1995/w2rv2bohs97t Where the media is mass and the mass is media. en-us 2017-03-06 12:09:44 UTC 2025-12-30 22:04:22 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Pizza.png danieljknight1995 https://padlet.com/danieljknight1995/w2rv2bohs97t/wish/157986414
Mass - Mass, when related to mass media and sociology can be defined as something that can reach, be consumed by or affect a large number of individual people, groups or societies.

Media - Media can be defined as the main means of mass communication and encompasses the internet, television and radio broadcasts, and book and newspaper publications.

What is the mass media? - The mass media is defined as large-scale organizations which make use of one or more media technology to communicate with large numbers of people (Marshal, 1998). Internet news sites, such as Reddit, television broadcast stations such as the BBC and newspaper publishers such as News Corp are all examples of mass media outlets.

Mass media makes use of modern technology to spread information to large numbers of people, often internationally (Marshal, 1998). Since the advent of radio and the increased commodity of newspapers in the 1930s, mass media has become the only source of media for many individuals around the world; especially since the introduction of widespread internet access (Marshal, 1998).

Mills (1956) argued that mass media had two important sociological characteristics. The first being that it allowed a small number of people to communicate to a much larger number; and the second that the larger audience had no effective way of responding (Mills, 1956) However, in the years since, social media and internet communication have altered this further, allowing the audience to respond to and comment upon the media (Marshal, 1998).

Who owns the mass media? - The ownership of mass media; across the spectrum from newspaper to television in modern times is concentrated around a small number of corporations founded by powerful 'press barons' (Curran and Seaton, 2010). Corporations such as ITV plc, News Corp, BSkyB and Virgin Media control large swaths of the media, controlling what is published or broadcasted to the public (Bagdikian, 2004).

Curran and Seaton (2010) noted that in 1937 four men owned half of all local newspapers across Britain and in 2009, all national and Sunday newspapers in Britain are controlled by seven powerful individuals. Examples of these individuals in modern times include Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corp and Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Media (Curran and Seaton, 2010).

Likewise, television in the UK is almost entirely controlled by three corporations: ITV plc, who own the vast majority of terrestrial television, BSkyB and Virgin media who own the majority of British cable and satellite television (Curran and Seaton, 2010)

The number of corporations controlling the media has shrunk dramatically as mass media has grown and increased in influence over the population. Bagdikian (2004) noted that in 1983 the vast majority of all news media in the USA was controlled by 50 corporations, but as of 2004 that ownership had been consolidated down to just seven major corporations (Bagdikian, 2004).

What is one-to-one communication? - One-to-one communication is the act of communicating from one person to one other person, via speech or writing. One-to-one communication can occur in person or electronically via telephone or internet communication (Marshal, 1998). One-to-one communications are more likely to be read and responded to by the recipient than one-to-many communications due to their personal nature (Browne, 2014).

What is one-to-many communication? - One-to-many communication is where one person or entity such as a corporation communicates the same information to many individuals at once (Browne, 2014). One-to-many communications is the traditional way in which newspapers, television broadcasts and advertising direct messages to their audiences (Haralambos et al., 2009). One-to-many communications are one directional and it is often difficult to know if specific individuals in the audience have received the commutation as the audience cannot directly respond (Browne, 2014).

Is there a different type of communication? - Another form of communication is many-to-many communication. Many-to-many communication allows a group of people to share information and communicate with each-other all at once (Browne, 2014). One individual within the group can send a message that can be viewed and responded to by all other members of the group (Browne, 2014). Many-to-many communication largely occurs online in the form of forums or social media groups such as on Facebook or reddit. As social-media has grown and become widespread throughout society, many-to-many communication has become commonplace and has begun to be integrated into the mass media, allowing the audience to comment and respond to the media in ways that were not possible until recent years (Browne, 2014).

Referencios -

Bagdikian, B. (2004). The new media monopoly. 1st ed. Boston: Beacon Press.

Browne, K. (2014) Sociology for A2 AQA. 2nd edn. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Polity Press

 Bruce, S. and Yearley, S. (2009). The Sage dictionary of sociology. 1st ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Curran, J. and Seaton, J. (2010). Power without responsibility. 1st ed. London: Routledge.

Haralambos, M., Langley, P., Pilkington, A. and Yeo, A. (2009) Sociology in focus for AQA A2 level. United Kingdom: Causeway Press.

Marshall, G. (1998). A dictionary of sociology. 1st ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mills, C. (1956). The power elite. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


 


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