Mass Communication of Media

The mass media are vehicles that carry messages to large, diverse and heterogeneous audiences. These media are numerous in numbers and are very pervasive. From dawn to midnight, people stay in touch with some media of mass communication. The widely used media of mass communication are discussed below-

Print media

Print media are the oldest means of mass communication. Daily newspapers, periodicals, magazines, books, posters, leaflets, billboard, etc. are examples of printed mass media. Through these media, national and international news on business, politics, sports, entertainments, literary and cultural works, advertisements, etc. are transmitted to the readers. Message of print media is tangible. They are costly and are not suitable for illiterate people.

Audio media

Radio, mike, record player, etc are the prominent audio media of mass communication. Only listening is possible though these media. News, song, recitation of poem, short drama, advertisement, story etc. is broadcasted through these media. Among these audio media, radio has the largest coverage. Radio is very popular to illiterate and low-income people.

Audio-visual media

Audio-visual media are those that make visual presentation of an object. Though these media, the audiences can listen and view the images. Television, cine-complex, VCD, DVD, etc. are the popular audio-visual media of mass communication. Through these media, news, drama, film, advertisement, etc. can easily be transmitted to a large number of audiences at a time in the home and abroad. As the price is decreasing, audio-visual media is gaining more and more popularity.

Printed and visual media

Billboards, comic books, posters, cinema slides, and neon-sings etc are also used as the printed and visual media of mass communication.

Traditional media

There are also some traditional mass media such as narrative song, folk song, folk dance, Jatra, theater, drama, open-air opera etc. Though these are entertaining in nature, they also provide some practical lesson on various social issues. In this modern age, these media are still employed to increase public awareness on various issues like cultural heritage, vaccination, sanitation, trafficking etc.

In light of the above discussion, it is clear that there are plenty of mass media. Although technological advancement brings more and more new media, the conventional media of mass communication still has great appeal. In fact, no single medium can work best. Successful mass communication requires using a combination of mass media.