UNIT 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF MASS
MEDIA AUDIENCES
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Meaning of Mass
3.3 Emergence of the Theory of Mass Society
3.4 The Concept of Audience
3.4.1 Medla Reach
3.4.2 Media Access
3.4.3 Media Exposure
3.4.4 Media Effects
3.5 ~ u a l i t yof Audiences
3.5.1 Rise of Audiences
3.5.2 Audience q p e s
3.5.3 Audiences as Markets
3.6 Nature of Audience Experience
3.7 Audience Feedback Systems
3.7.1 Market-based Feedback
3.7.2 Research-based Feedback
3.8 Audiences of Various Media
3.8.1 Multlple Medla Usage
3.8.2 Newspaper 8nd Mapzine Readership
3.8.3 Radio Listeners
3.8.4 Television Viewers
3.8.5 Film Audiences
3.8.6 Book Readers
3.9 Let Us sum Up
3.10 Check Your Progress: Model answers
,
\
3.0 OBJECTIVES C
, 1
This unit discusses the origin, composition, and nature of the mass media audience.
For effective mass communication it iS essential that mass communications have as
much information as possible about the audiences or receivers. Although mass
audience for each medium is seen as a large group of unknown people, there are also
specific audience for particular co,ntents. By the end of this unit you should be able
to:
a define the terms "mass" and "mass audience"
a describe the origin and nature of mass society
a describe the rationale of the existence of different types of audience
distinguish between reach, access and exposure of the mass media
a explain how the audiences are treated as markets
a describe the various methods of audience feedback
, ewmeratc thc features of the audiences of newspapers, magazines books, radio, ~haractedsttcs O* Mass
television and films Audtences
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Information technology has advanced so much in the recent years that it is now
possible for people, while sitting in their drawing rooms, to witness the events
taking place in any part of the world or even in space. We can watch the live coverage
of sports events or music concerts taking place thousands of miles away. Indira
Gandhi was able tu talk to Rakesh Sharma in the space shuttle and the whole of the
world could watch them in conversation. The war in Iraq was shown live by CNN.
Telcoonferencing makes it possible not only to watch events far away but also t o
participate in the action.
Techaology has expanded the audiences manifold. Today we think in terms of
audiences spread over thc whole world, a phenomenon which Marshall McLuhan
called gloval village. National boundaries hold no barriers for mass communication.
Still communication cannot be without targets. Mass communication is effective if it
is produced for specific groups of people. Thus, on the one hand, audiences of mass
communication are spread across the national boundaries; on the other hand, media
content has to be target oriented. We shall attempt to explore all these issues in this
unit.
In Units 1 and 2 of this block, we learnt the special features of the print media, radio
broadcasting, telecasting and films. We have seen that each of these media has
certain advantages over the others. We have also seen that different people exhibit
different preferences for media use. In thissunit, we will mahe a study of the nature,
origin, features and behavior of the audience of mass media. In unit-4, we shall
discuss the characteristics of mass media messages.
Before you proceed further engage yourself in an activity. Your family consists of '
a few individuals. You have something in common, but individually each one of
you have some characteristics, likes and dislikes. In the space provided below;
please write: 1)a quality which you all have in common and 2) mention a unique
quality each of you have,
1) Common Quality (Characteristic):
2) Individual Quality (Characteristic):
Name Quality (Characteristic)
,Elements in Mass Medial
3.2 MEANING OF MASS
The term mass is used to denote different things. In physics, the word mass refers to
the quality of matter or material contained in an object. It may also mean a quantity
of matter of indefinite shape and size- a lump.
Sometimes the word mass is used to refer to common people, specially the lower
classes. Mass also has both negative and positive meanings. In the negative sense, it
refers to the ignorant and unruly mass. Mass implies a lack of culture, intelligence
and even of rationality. In socialist tradition, mass has a positive meaning. It
connotes the strength and solidarity of ordinary working people when organised
together for political ends.
In general usage, the word mass refers to people in a large number. If we say masses
are ignorant, we mean that a very large proportion of the population is ignorant.
Similarly, when we say mass destruction, it means destruction on a very large scale.
Mass awareness programme refers to a programme that aims to create awareness
amongst a very large number of people.
In fact, the most important feature of mass is its very large size in terms of the
number of individuals. It will be appropriate if we say thai mass refers to an infinite
number of individuals. The size of mass is very large and unknown.
Secbndly, masses are geographically distributed. Very large number of people may be
attending a public meeting. They are physically present at one place and they are
called a public. The individuals of mass may be present anywhere and everywhere.
When we say masses in developing countries are poor we refer to the people living in
Africa, Asia, Latin America and perhaps some other pans of the world as well.
Since the masses are very large in size and in physical terms the people are
distributed.all over, they are anonymous to each other. The individuals in a mass
society are not known to each other. They are not even conscious of the presence of
one another. There may be a vague f&ling of others like us but it is not well defined.
Since the people are anoRpous to one another, the masses are unorganised. Unlike
the people in a public meeting, the masses do not have any common goal to achieve.
There is no organisation and therefore no leadership or hierarchy in mass. Further,
the masses are not capable of behaving as one unit.
We can concludethat for our purpose that mass refers to an infinitely large number
of people who are physically located at different places and are not organised at all as
a group. In fact scholars like Roymard Williams have summarised that masses
actually do not exist, it is only a way of conceiving large groups of people as masses.
3.3 EMERGENCE OF THE THEORY OF MASS SOCIETY
Society is a large and complex system. With modernisatiat\ the complexity of the
society further increases. The traditinmi society has a well defined social system in
which individuals are clowly tled to each other, mainly through kinship ties. But
industrialisation and urbanisation lead to the formation of society where
interdependence of members in economic terms increases manifold but kinship ties
gradually fade away. The individuals become more self centred. The social, economic
and political groups become very large and the individuals become socially and
psychologically isolated. The modernising societies experience an increases in
individuality. The individuals develop a strong alienation with the community as a
whole. There is an increased growth of segmental and contractual relationships. Such
a society which is very large in size but where members are isolated and relationships
are contractual is called a mass society.
, Charactedstics of Mass Media
However, the concept of mass society is not to be equated with that of massive.
Audiences
society. It is more than the massive society. There are many traditional societies that
are very large in numbers but are not necessarily mass societies. The individuals in a
traditional society behave more as members of the group rather than individuals.
Brown and Selznick have explained the concept of mass society as follows:
"Modem society is made up of masses in the sense that there has emerged a vast mass
of segregated, isolated individuals interdependent in all sorts of specialised ways, yet
lacking in any central unifying value or purpose. The weakening of traditional bonds,
the growth of rationality and the division of labour, have created societies made up
of individuals who are only loosely bound together. In this sense, the mass society is
something closer70 an aggregate than to a tightly knit group.
In fact, as stated earlier, mass society has no continuous existence, except in the
minds of those who want to reach as many people as possible. It will be useful to
further understand the concept of mass socikty using a set of contrasts with other
kinds of units in social life, like group, crowd and public.
In a small group all members know each other. They are aware of their common
membership, share the same values, have a certain structure of relationships which
are relatively stable. The members of a group interact with each other for a purpose.
The crowd is a spontaneous collection of individuals. It is temporaly and never
reappears with the same composition. Members of a crowd may strongly identify with
each other. More important, they share the same mood. But there exists no order or
structure in the crowd. In many cases the actions of the crowd are emotional,
sometimes irrational also. Crowd is physically present within observable boundaries,
that is,'at a particular place.
Unlike crowd, public is widely dispersed. Its size may be small or large. Generally,
public is identified with some cause, purpose or activity. Public _maybe quite
heterogeneous and members may not be aware of each other. ~ s u a lpublicl ~ is
identified by the people who want to preceive a large number of people as targets.
Let us illustrate each of the above discussed concepts 4 t h examples from our day to
day life. Each one of us belongs to many groups simultaneously. Fam1.j 1. I .
ixk23ly unit and basis for all social life. We are all members of our families. Along
with this we are also members of a class, team, peer group, club etc. On a railway
platform vs% are a part of the crowd. A crowd is also formed when we get together to
protest against the non-availability of goods.
Political parties treat us as public when they tell us aboit their policies and plans.
We are public for police when it informs us about the imposition of curfew. We move
in small groups of friends or families in a mela. In the mela, we become a part of the
crowd but for those displaying their items we are a public.
5
( Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.,
1) Mention three definitionsAnterpretations of the word 'mass'.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
2) Write two characteristics of 'mass society.
.............................................................................................................................................*
I
L-. .--
..........................................................................................................................................
- ,'
MEDIA AUDIENCES
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Meaning of Mass
3.3 Emergence of the Theory of Mass Society
3.4 The Concept of Audience
3.4.1 Medla Reach
3.4.2 Media Access
3.4.3 Media Exposure
3.4.4 Media Effects
3.5 ~ u a l i t yof Audiences
3.5.1 Rise of Audiences
3.5.2 Audience q p e s
3.5.3 Audiences as Markets
3.6 Nature of Audience Experience
3.7 Audience Feedback Systems
3.7.1 Market-based Feedback
3.7.2 Research-based Feedback
3.8 Audiences of Various Media
3.8.1 Multlple Medla Usage
3.8.2 Newspaper 8nd Mapzine Readership
3.8.3 Radio Listeners
3.8.4 Television Viewers
3.8.5 Film Audiences
3.8.6 Book Readers
3.9 Let Us sum Up
3.10 Check Your Progress: Model answers
,
\
3.0 OBJECTIVES C
, 1
This unit discusses the origin, composition, and nature of the mass media audience.
For effective mass communication it iS essential that mass communications have as
much information as possible about the audiences or receivers. Although mass
audience for each medium is seen as a large group of unknown people, there are also
specific audience for particular co,ntents. By the end of this unit you should be able
to:
a define the terms "mass" and "mass audience"
a describe the origin and nature of mass society
a describe the rationale of the existence of different types of audience
distinguish between reach, access and exposure of the mass media
a explain how the audiences are treated as markets
a describe the various methods of audience feedback
, ewmeratc thc features of the audiences of newspapers, magazines books, radio, ~haractedsttcs O* Mass
television and films Audtences
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Information technology has advanced so much in the recent years that it is now
possible for people, while sitting in their drawing rooms, to witness the events
taking place in any part of the world or even in space. We can watch the live coverage
of sports events or music concerts taking place thousands of miles away. Indira
Gandhi was able tu talk to Rakesh Sharma in the space shuttle and the whole of the
world could watch them in conversation. The war in Iraq was shown live by CNN.
Telcoonferencing makes it possible not only to watch events far away but also t o
participate in the action.
Techaology has expanded the audiences manifold. Today we think in terms of
audiences spread over thc whole world, a phenomenon which Marshall McLuhan
called gloval village. National boundaries hold no barriers for mass communication.
Still communication cannot be without targets. Mass communication is effective if it
is produced for specific groups of people. Thus, on the one hand, audiences of mass
communication are spread across the national boundaries; on the other hand, media
content has to be target oriented. We shall attempt to explore all these issues in this
unit.
In Units 1 and 2 of this block, we learnt the special features of the print media, radio
broadcasting, telecasting and films. We have seen that each of these media has
certain advantages over the others. We have also seen that different people exhibit
different preferences for media use. In thissunit, we will mahe a study of the nature,
origin, features and behavior of the audience of mass media. In unit-4, we shall
discuss the characteristics of mass media messages.
Before you proceed further engage yourself in an activity. Your family consists of '
a few individuals. You have something in common, but individually each one of
you have some characteristics, likes and dislikes. In the space provided below;
please write: 1)a quality which you all have in common and 2) mention a unique
quality each of you have,
1) Common Quality (Characteristic):
2) Individual Quality (Characteristic):
Name Quality (Characteristic)
,Elements in Mass Medial
3.2 MEANING OF MASS
The term mass is used to denote different things. In physics, the word mass refers to
the quality of matter or material contained in an object. It may also mean a quantity
of matter of indefinite shape and size- a lump.
Sometimes the word mass is used to refer to common people, specially the lower
classes. Mass also has both negative and positive meanings. In the negative sense, it
refers to the ignorant and unruly mass. Mass implies a lack of culture, intelligence
and even of rationality. In socialist tradition, mass has a positive meaning. It
connotes the strength and solidarity of ordinary working people when organised
together for political ends.
In general usage, the word mass refers to people in a large number. If we say masses
are ignorant, we mean that a very large proportion of the population is ignorant.
Similarly, when we say mass destruction, it means destruction on a very large scale.
Mass awareness programme refers to a programme that aims to create awareness
amongst a very large number of people.
In fact, the most important feature of mass is its very large size in terms of the
number of individuals. It will be appropriate if we say thai mass refers to an infinite
number of individuals. The size of mass is very large and unknown.
Secbndly, masses are geographically distributed. Very large number of people may be
attending a public meeting. They are physically present at one place and they are
called a public. The individuals of mass may be present anywhere and everywhere.
When we say masses in developing countries are poor we refer to the people living in
Africa, Asia, Latin America and perhaps some other pans of the world as well.
Since the masses are very large in size and in physical terms the people are
distributed.all over, they are anonymous to each other. The individuals in a mass
society are not known to each other. They are not even conscious of the presence of
one another. There may be a vague f&ling of others like us but it is not well defined.
Since the people are anoRpous to one another, the masses are unorganised. Unlike
the people in a public meeting, the masses do not have any common goal to achieve.
There is no organisation and therefore no leadership or hierarchy in mass. Further,
the masses are not capable of behaving as one unit.
We can concludethat for our purpose that mass refers to an infinitely large number
of people who are physically located at different places and are not organised at all as
a group. In fact scholars like Roymard Williams have summarised that masses
actually do not exist, it is only a way of conceiving large groups of people as masses.
3.3 EMERGENCE OF THE THEORY OF MASS SOCIETY
Society is a large and complex system. With modernisatiat\ the complexity of the
society further increases. The traditinmi society has a well defined social system in
which individuals are clowly tled to each other, mainly through kinship ties. But
industrialisation and urbanisation lead to the formation of society where
interdependence of members in economic terms increases manifold but kinship ties
gradually fade away. The individuals become more self centred. The social, economic
and political groups become very large and the individuals become socially and
psychologically isolated. The modernising societies experience an increases in
individuality. The individuals develop a strong alienation with the community as a
whole. There is an increased growth of segmental and contractual relationships. Such
a society which is very large in size but where members are isolated and relationships
are contractual is called a mass society.
, Charactedstics of Mass Media
However, the concept of mass society is not to be equated with that of massive.
Audiences
society. It is more than the massive society. There are many traditional societies that
are very large in numbers but are not necessarily mass societies. The individuals in a
traditional society behave more as members of the group rather than individuals.
Brown and Selznick have explained the concept of mass society as follows:
"Modem society is made up of masses in the sense that there has emerged a vast mass
of segregated, isolated individuals interdependent in all sorts of specialised ways, yet
lacking in any central unifying value or purpose. The weakening of traditional bonds,
the growth of rationality and the division of labour, have created societies made up
of individuals who are only loosely bound together. In this sense, the mass society is
something closer70 an aggregate than to a tightly knit group.
In fact, as stated earlier, mass society has no continuous existence, except in the
minds of those who want to reach as many people as possible. It will be useful to
further understand the concept of mass socikty using a set of contrasts with other
kinds of units in social life, like group, crowd and public.
In a small group all members know each other. They are aware of their common
membership, share the same values, have a certain structure of relationships which
are relatively stable. The members of a group interact with each other for a purpose.
The crowd is a spontaneous collection of individuals. It is temporaly and never
reappears with the same composition. Members of a crowd may strongly identify with
each other. More important, they share the same mood. But there exists no order or
structure in the crowd. In many cases the actions of the crowd are emotional,
sometimes irrational also. Crowd is physically present within observable boundaries,
that is,'at a particular place.
Unlike crowd, public is widely dispersed. Its size may be small or large. Generally,
public is identified with some cause, purpose or activity. Public _maybe quite
heterogeneous and members may not be aware of each other. ~ s u a lpublicl ~ is
identified by the people who want to preceive a large number of people as targets.
Let us illustrate each of the above discussed concepts 4 t h examples from our day to
day life. Each one of us belongs to many groups simultaneously. Fam1.j 1. I .
ixk23ly unit and basis for all social life. We are all members of our families. Along
with this we are also members of a class, team, peer group, club etc. On a railway
platform vs% are a part of the crowd. A crowd is also formed when we get together to
protest against the non-availability of goods.
Political parties treat us as public when they tell us aboit their policies and plans.
We are public for police when it informs us about the imposition of curfew. We move
in small groups of friends or families in a mela. In the mela, we become a part of the
crowd but for those displaying their items we are a public.
5
( Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.,
1) Mention three definitionsAnterpretations of the word 'mass'.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
2) Write two characteristics of 'mass society.
.............................................................................................................................................*
I
L-. .--
..........................................................................................................................................
- ,'
