Mass communication is the study of mass media. Mass media includes newspapers, magazines, television, films, radio etc. Mass media relay information to a large number of people at the same time.
Mass media has several functions. It can be used to highlight issues, create awareness, entertain people, analyze political developments, and it is even known to generate new trends in society. Mass media can influence people’s actions in both good and bad ways. So they have a responsibility to exercise care and caution while disseminating information.
For example, in the Aarushi murder case (Noida) which shocked the nation last year, some news media went too far, to the extent that they overstepped their traditional roles and took on the roles of the investigating agencies. Things reached a point where some sections of an incensed public called for government regulations on the media for slandering the parents of the dead girl.
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In this case, initially, the mass media, with the help of unsubstantiated facts and false information, was able to influence public opinion for a while leading them to believe that the parents were the killers. This is mass media reporting at its worst. At the same time, in the Jessica Lall and the Nitish Katara cases, the mass media played a laudable role in bringing the culprits to book. What emerges from this is that the mass media can play an important role in society provided they are responsible and unbiased.
In recent times, the media has become very proactive in dealing with issues. The days of mere reportage are gone. In its place is a newly vigilant media which seeks to become an active participant in solving the burning issues of the day. The ‘Times of India’ is an excellent example.
Its ‘Lead India’ campaign for identifying Indians with leadership qualities to lead the nation and its more recent ‘Teach India’ campaign for involving all people in its quest to promote literacy among underprivileged sections are highly commendable initiatives. This is mass media at its best. Today the media has become a platform for the common man to voice his problems in a way that it will be heard by those who matter.
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During the Great Depression in the 1930s, US President Roosevelt used mass communication like radio broadcasts to boost the morale of the American people. But in Germany, Hitler used mass media to gain legitimacy for his brutally repressive Nazi regime. Thus mass media can a tool to achieve both good and evil ends.