Mass Media and Communications – CBSE Notes for Class 12 Sociology
CBSE NotesCBSE Notes SociologyNCERT Solutions Sociology
I. Mass Media
• Mass Media-Organisation which reaches out to thousands of people residing in different parts of the country, nowadays one of the major factors of our life.
• It has become a very integral part of our lives e.g. Newspapers, TV, radio etc especially after globalisation.
• Keeps in touch with reality and what is happening around the world.
• Mass media also includes telecommunications inter-connectivity through cell phones and advertisements.
• Fardoonji Murzban was the pioneer of the Gujarati Press in Bombay (now Mumbai). It was as early as 1822 that he started the Bombay Samachar as a daily.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar started the Shome Prakash in Bengali in 1858.
Mass Media and Sociology
• Mass media has not only expanded tremendously. But it has a good impact on the majority in some way or the other.
• Mass media is of interest to us because:
1. When we study mass media we come to know that mass media adapts itself to the political, cultural, social and economic aspects of life.
2. The relationship between society and mass media is interconnected.
This is a dialectical relationship (mutually dependent relationship)
• Asa society cannot serve without mass media because life would be boring and dull.
• Similarly mass media can only serve if it embraces the cultural aspect of society.
• Mass media is a huge organisation (print, AV, audio). Each branch is a huge organisation involving a lot of capital, management and employees working in different branches.
• Mass media targets different sections of the society, eg. some ads target the youth, some the housewives and some the business class.
Rural and urban area ads are different in urban areas, children, youth and housewives ads are different.
Mass Media Before Globalisation
(1) Beginning of Mass Media
• Mass media started off with the development of the printing press in the mid 15th Century (1440) by Johann Guterberg.
• Only with the coming of the industrial revolution in the 18th century, the demand for printing press increased.
• It was only in the 19th century that the literacy rate went up, population increased and new developments came up, that newspapers started reaching a much bigger population.
• Initially the newspaper had only religious discussions other than actual news and one of the reasons for the popularity of the newspaper is that people in different parts of the world can hear the same news at the same time.
(2) During Colonial Rule
• Newspapers in different languages came up (vernacular, newspaper) of Matrabhumi, Amrita Bazaar, Kesari.
• Through these newspapers they tried to promote the freedom struggle, national movement to instigate people to fight the British but the British disliked this censoring.
• Hence even though newspapers were not under the British government they monitored them through censorship.
• There were not many literate people. Hence many did not read the papers.
• Because of monocular languages, their influence was widespread among the people.
• The underlying news was to fight for the freedom of the people.
(3) All Independent India
• Nehru called media the ‘watchdog of democracy’ Why?
• It observes as well as we expect of democracy in society.
• He wanted the media to inform the public of the developmental projects being taken by the government.
• Focussed on the development of the country e.g. Metro dams.
• He wanted the media to inform the public/promote jobs so that everyone can be self sufficient.
• He wanted people to be aware of all the social evils that are present.
Radio
• In 1920 developed in India
• Started in Kolkata and Chennai
Colonial Rule
• 1940 during the World Weft” II, radio became worldwide in India.
Alter Independence
• There were 6 broadcasting stations of AIR.
• They broadcasted, News, Entertainment (Bollywood songs), Current affairs, Sports news, Announcements for farmers, Task slower.
• The early years of Independence, AIR had to tell the people about the government activities pertaining to development.
• Farmer’s were told about new techniques (Insecticides, pesticides etc.)
• Popular channel-Vividh Bharati (purely entertainment radio channel).
Film songs, interviews, film quotes
• Vividh Bharati started advertising in Radio.
• The government decided that radio broadcasting has to exist in all major cities, towns and important districts (border areas).
• Spread all over India.
• Present at three levels—National, Regional – local language and Local – city radio.
• All programmes cater to the diversity of India in terms of language, region and culture and specially national and regional.
• By the end of the 20th Century it was broadcasted in 24 languages and 146 dialects.
Globalization and Mass Media
• Till globalization in 1990’s each industry in mass media was separate
• After globalization, Radio, TV, newspapers came together, e.g music & film industry
National —> international
(A) Print Media Advantages
• Despite coming up of TV and radio, newspapers was popular because it was easily accessed, cheaper, monocular.
Changes
• Using modem technology, attractive advertisements, separate sections/ categories, Supplements
Disadvantage
• Only literate people could read.
• Different states have-regional newspapers.
• Information and Entertainment, Infotainment (newspapers cater to this)
• Once upon a time newspapers used to values, but now they are purely commercial.
(B) Television
• In 1991 there was one state controlled TV channel Doordarshan in India. By 1998 there were almost 70 channels came into existence.
• Star TV -Caters to different demands and Categories of people, Zee TV and Sony too.
• Regional networking started e.g. STAR Bengali, Sony TV in Tamil Nadu.
• Z also started regional networking.
• The 1990’s cable operators were popular and catered to people of their area.
• One of the reasons for popularity – English serials dubbed in regional languages.
• One major channel became 24 x 7 news channel
• TV changed a lot
(C) Radio
• FM came after globalisation in the beginning of the 20th Century.
• Privately owned radio channels started and are purely for entertainment purposes.
• They cannot broadcast any political views and cannot speak against the government.
• Each FM has their own tagline.
Words That Matter
1. Adoptation of localization: The most dramatic adoption of localization was carried out by STAR TV. In October 1996, STAR Plus, initially an all English general entertainment channel originating from Hong Kong, began producing a Hindi language belt of programming between 7 to 9 PM.
2. Cultural modernization: The changes occurring in culture of a community or group of a country from traditional to modem are referred to as cultural modernisation.
3. Mass Communication: It includes the transfer of messages and information from a sender to a mass audience. The transfer is done through the technologies of the mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television programmes, films, computer networks and so on.
4. Mass media: Mass media means the media such as print (press, newspapers, magazines), radio, television and films (movies shown or screened in a cinema hall or otherwise) which are used to communicate to a large number of people.
5. Local Culture: Every society has its own culture with its own feature. The regional differences, however, do occur in culture within a single society.
(a) There are different traditions in these cultural regions. We may call them sub-cultures.
6. Ramoji Rao: The founder of Eenadu, had successfully organized a chit-fund, before launching the paper in 1974.
7. Talkies: Replaced the era of silent films in 1931 when Adeshir Irani produced Alam Ara (movie with dialogue).
8. Transistor Revolution: The major constraint for the popularization of radio initially was the cost of the radio set. The transistor revolution in the 1960s made the radio more accessible by making it mobile as battery operated sets and reducing the unit price substantially.
<!–
–>