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Communication Theory
All About Theories for Communication.
The 1940s and 1950s saw the beginnings of increased research into the functions of mass
communications. Post the Second World War, there was widespread interest in trying to
understand the impact of mass media messages on society.
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The focus on understanding the effects of mass communications, especially its social
consequences and its impact on maintenance of social order gave rise to a theoretical
framework called functionalism. Functionalism focusses on explaining slow, evolutionary
change and not sudden changes. The limited capacity of functionalism to be used only in
policy research, evaluation and planning has been criticized by many theorists. The focus of
functionalism is on how mass communication serves society and fails to account for how
humans interact with mass communication and construct meanings from messages. The
focus on maintaining the existing social order and not allowing for any meaningful change
has also being criticized.
Merton’s Contribution
According to Merton, the functions of mass communication can either be manifest or latent.
Manifest functions are the readily observed and intended consequences of the media. Latent
functions on the other hand refer to the impacts that are not as easy to be observed or those
which are unintended.
Example: In times of natural disasters, war, health scares, etc., it is the role of the media to
create awareness by providing information on what is happening and of ways in which the
disaster can be faced.
2) Correlation of parts of Society: This function relates to how the media’s selection of
certain news and its interpretation affects how society understands and responds to it.
People’s attitudes towards political issues, events, public policy, etc. are influenced to an
extent by how the media frames and presents the issue in their discussions and presentations.
Example: The media’s reporting on the war in Vietnam played a role in changing the
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3) Cultural Transmission: This refers to the ability of the media to teach the various
norms, rules and values that exist in a society and ensure its transfer from one generation to
the next. Television programmes by and large reflects the society in which they are broadcast
and promote the understanding of a society’s cultural heritage. Children’s television
programmes are designed to showcase good behaviors and moral standards which children
can learn by watching.
Example: Shows like Lassie, Full House, Seventh Heaven and the Brady Bunch promoted
family values.
4) Entertainment: This popular function of the mass media refers to the ability of the
media to help relax people and create a means of escape from the stress of everyday life. The
entertainment function of mass media has both positive and negative effects. The low quality
of content is often criticized but the other benefits like helping people experience new events,
stimulating emotions and helping people pass their leisure time show how important this
function is.
Example: Television offers opportunities for people to view events that they would otherwise
not be able to participate in like the Oscars, Independence Day Rallies, the Olympics, etc.
Gbemiro Esther
May 6, 2016, 1:48 pm
This is a nice piece, its concise and precise, straight to the point, it really helped me.
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Kumba sesay
June 3, 2016, 2:35 am
Thanks for helping me out in my research for mass media and it’s functions
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Shahzaib Hassan
July 7, 2016, 11:23 am
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Archa
July 30, 2016, 10:12 pm
Neat and accurate to the point.thank u for helping me with this for my assignment related to
mass communication
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Richard
November 3, 2016, 1:10 am
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Judie
November 11, 2016, 2:19 am
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Judie
November 11, 2016, 2:22 am
How do I answer the question about the mass media not existing in a vacuum
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nati
November 12, 2016, 12:32 am
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Yeshwanth Gollapalli
December 22, 2016, 4:05 pm
Thank you very much.I’d prefer this website than my text. Helpful.
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chileshe Musonda
March 6, 2017, 4:14 pm
what is the importance of the surveillance function of the media?how would it affect
communication if it had never existed?
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Thanks for giving us such an opportunity to know about Mass Communication Theory and its
functions.
LINK
Montseng
April 5, 2017, 2:19 am
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sajid maqbool
May 8, 2017, 5:12 pm
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David Jena
November 8, 2017, 8:00 pm
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M. Farooq
February 17, 2018, 8:44 pm
WeLINK
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sunny
April 1, 2018, 1:38 am
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This is an excellent research which has further widen my horizon as a Nass Communication
scholar
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David wanami
August 7, 2018, 12:26 pm
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Bako
August 14, 2018, 7:35 pm
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Elsie Maduko
October 20, 2018, 3:03 am
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Nimra
December 24, 2018, 8:05 pm
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Fanekiso Enhle
March 24, 2019, 9:22 pm
So profound
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