Meaning of Media & Features of Media

In mass communication, media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital media, and advertising.

The development of early writing and paper enabling longer-distance communication systems such as mail, including in the Persian Empire and Roman Empire, which can be interpreted as early forms of media. Writers such as Howard Rheingold have framed early forms of human communication as early forms of media, such as the Lascaux cave paintings and early writing. Another framing of the history of media starts with the Chauvet Cave paintings and continues with other ways to carry human communication beyond the short range of voice: smoke signals, trail markers, and sculpture.

The Term media in its modern application relating to communication channels was first used by Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, who stated in Counterblast (1954): “The media are not toys; they should not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists because they are art forms.” By the mid-1960s, the term had spread to general use in North America and the United Kingdom. The phrase “mass media” was, according to H.L. Mencken, used as early as 1923 in the United States.

The term “medium” (the singular form of “media”) is defined as “one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.”

Media simply refers to a vehicle or means of message delivery system to carry an ad message to a targeted audience. Media like TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor and Internet are instruments to convey an advertising message to the public.

The main task of media planners is to select the most appropriate media channels that can effectively communicate the advertising message to a targeted audience. Hence, it is essential for media planners to:

• Keep up with New technological developments.
• Keep up with latest media trends.
• Determine long- and short-term effects of different media.
• Analyse Strengths and Weaknesses of different media.

Factors determining Media selection

• Market requirements
• Nature of product
• Advertising objectives
• Nature of message and appeal
• Distribution strategy
• Advertising Budget
• Media availability
• Competitor’s choices
• Penetration
• Size and Nature of business

Functions of mass media

Mass media in written, spoken, or broadcast forms has a significant impact on the masses. Commercials on TV, billboards, and social media platforms allow brands to build brand awareness. Companies search for the most effective ways to convey their message when it comes to branding, including sites, social media channels, blogs, and forums. When they find the right type of mass media channel for their businesses, they can communicate their ideas and conduct branding campaigns.

Mass media informs, educates, and entertains people in a wide variety of ways. Brands can educate users to get the most of their products. The majority of companies now use social media platforms, create blog posts on their sites, and launch commercials on YouTube to describe their best features, the problems their products can solve, and provide step-by-step guides.

Features of mass media

Over the years, the impact of mass communication has increased drastically because of the improvements made.

• It communicates a public message.
• It can appeal to a wide target audience.
• There’s a distance between a source of information and people who obtain it.
• It has a heterogeneous audience.
• It can be transmitted through various channels, such as tv, the internet, radio, and newspapers.
• News or information communicated through tv, radio, and print media can’t receive feedback.