Characterizing the Mass Media

Abstract

Communicators today have a bewildering array of media choices for transmitting messages. Even the tried-and-true term “newspaper” might mean a city daily, a neighborhood or rural weekly, a national daily such as the Wall Street Journal or USA Today, an alternative weekly, a school newspaper, or any other regularly printed, newsprint-based publication. Advances in computer technology have created opportunities for communication far surpassing those of just a decade ago. Too often, a mode of communication is chosen without analyzing whether that particular medium is best for achieving the communication’s goal. If your planning process has been thorough, then choosing among media choices will be based on your goal and objectives, target audiences, message characteristics, and budget. All of these are made explicit in a well-done communication plan. Do you job well in formulating the plan, and media selection will be smooth. Fail to write a sound plan, and you will be confused and dazed by the myriad of choices out there. In this chapter, we will analyze the communication media, characterizing them not by type: newspapers, magazine, newsletters, billboards, radio, television, interpretive talks, etc. Using such a typology now strains its usefulness. Distinctions among types have blurred and computers connected to the Internet have expanded the modes available dramatically. Is an on-line magazine more a magazine or a digital news service? Are advertising panels in shopping carts more like billboards or display ads in print media? Compiling an inclusive list of types of media is no longer possible.