Distinctive Characteristics Of Mass Communication (4)

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The Sources
The sources of messages in the mass media are also distinctive. Because sending such messages is costly and technologically complex, the sources for traditional media were organizational or institutional. Historically, the sources of mass communication have been large organizations, such as radio and television networks, newspaper chains, publishing firms, and conglomerates that own different media or a variety of industries including one or more mass media outlets. Of course, there Cartier Replica are variations in size. Some stations are independent; some newspapers are family firms; some magazines are produced by small, cohesive groups. But even in these smaller versions, mass communication is the product of an organization. The 1995 merger of Capital Cities and ABC is a dramatic reminder that key sources of mass-mediated messages are very large organizations that not only produce programming but also distribute it. In a political climate favoring deregulation, similar mergers will occur.

Production and distribution require a ...
... division of labor, highly trained specialists, and elaborate and expensive equipment. For this reason, very few individuals, as individuals, have direct access to the mass media. Those who speak or write through them represent teams, organizations, groups, or the public. In this sense, traditional mass communication is impersonal, produced by a unit of people with varied skills.

The sources of mass communication, then, are organizational and, because of that, impersonal or anonymous.

These characteristics of audiences, messages, and sources differentiate mass communication from face-to-face communication. But there are areas in which these distinctions blur. As networks such as CNN and MSNBC integrate e-mail questions and comments from viewers into their programming and call-in shows such as CNN's Larry King Live take calls from around the globe, an individual personal source be-comes, at least for a moment, a producer of mass-mediated content.

How is one to classify an outdoor concert by a rock group using sophisticated sound equipment to produce music for an audience of tens of thousands (especially since the performance may also be sold as a record and marketed as a video)? What of a filmed theatrical production or operas Tag Heuer Replica Watches and concerts televised live? Obviously, mass communication is part of and related to other kinds of communication. Although we can indicate distinctions, we must also acknowledge similarities and interrelationships.