Transcript Communication Theory

COMMUNICATION THEORY
And News Values


a.
b.
c.
Mass communication is a powerful source in modern
society and radio, television, newspaper, magazines
etc. all shape the way we react to the world around
us.
3 Functions of the mass media according to Harold
Lasswell:
Surveillance of the environment
Correlation of the parts of the society in
responding to the environment
Transmission of the cultural heritage from one
generation to the next

1.
2.
3.
What to do to make media messages successful?
Wilbur Schramm said that they must:
Be designed and delivered in ways that gain
attention
Use language commonly understood by
communicator and audience
Arouse needs and present ways to meet them.

Do the propositions about mass media above
remain a valid description of the task facing today’s
media writers remembering that they were first
offered more than 50 years ago?
Communication Challenges
Perceptual Distortion:
- The tendency to introduce inaccuracies in perceiving
what the writer or announcer said.
Why does this happen?
1.
Denotative and connotative meaning:
Denotation: standard, descriptive names to things,
concept and ideas
Connotation: interpretations of meaning or value

2. Cognitive Dissonance:
- People can tolerate only so much emotional upset and
when information we receive is different from that which
we accept or with which we are comfortable, our mind
seeks a balance by rejecting or modifying the dissonant
information.
3. Noise:
a.
Physical noise: anything that distorts the reception of
the message.
b.
Semantic noise: confusion caused by using words or
phrases that the audience cannot understand or might
misinterpret
What Makes news?

1.
-
2.
-
Criteria of news value (news pegs) on which the
story is ‘hung’:
Timeliness
Immediacy is the most important criterion of news
value.
Proximity:
Giving the local angle, telling about an event near
the readers, listeners of viewers, and explaining
how closely it touches their lives.
3.
4.
-
5.
-
6.
-
Prominence:
“names makes news”
Consequence:
The more people affected , generally the greater
is the news value
Conflict:
A universal news value, ex. Sporting events,
political contest etc.
Suspense:
Related to conflict.
7.
8.
-
9.
-
Human interest
People like to read about other people.
Feature treatment that emphasizes human nature
Novelty:
An unusual or strange aspect will help lift a story out
of the ordinary.
Progress:
The most upbeat news and feature stories are often
about people accomplishing goals an making their
communities better places in which to live or work.