The Vital Questions of Mass Communication Theory

168 Pages·1.877 MB·English

by  Rizun V.V.

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Institute of Journalism

V.V. RIZUN

THE VITAL QUESTIONS
OF MASS
COMMUNICATION
THEORY

Monograph

KYIV
2009
UDC 007 : 304 : 659.3

Rewievers:

Doctor of Philology, Professor Vladymyrov V.M.
Doctor of Philology, Professor Horevalov S.I.

Edited by pr. O. M. Kholod

Rizun V.V. The vital questions of mass communication theory:
monograph / V.V. Rizun; edited by pr. O.M. Kholod / Taras
Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. – К., 2009. – 168 p.

The monograph is devoted to the vital questions of a domestic mass
communication theory.
The monograph is written for the scientists and students studying
‘social communications’.

ISBN 966-594-784-2 UDC 007 : 304 : 659.3

© Rizun V.V., 2009
CONTENT

GENERAL CHARACTERISTIC OF MASS
COMMUNICATION ACTIVITY

1. Definition of the "communication"........................................7
2. Signs of communication.........................................................7
3. Different definitions of the term "communication"................9
4. Definition of the communication............................................12
5. Communication as an influence.............................................13
6. Mass communication..............................................................14

MASS COMMUNICATION AS PROFESSION
IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

1. Specificity of the interpretation of the term "mass
communication"......................................................................17
2. The formation of mass communication as a profession.........18
3. The structure of mass communication....................................19
4. Development of information..................................................23

THE MASS INFORMATION ACTIVITY

1. The technology of information processes...............................26
2. The globalization of mass communication system.................29
3. The development of branches of information production......30
4. The producers of mass communication media.......................31
5. The governmental bodies of information environment..........31
6. The scientific researches of information environment...........32
7. The types of mass communication media...............................33

THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE
OF COMMUNICATION PROCESS

1. The communication process as a technological process.........35
2. The model of communication.................................................36
3. The nature of communication process....................................38
4. The structure, character and system of a communication
process....................................................................................39
5. Kinds of communication........................................................41
6. Types of communication according to D. McQuail (1994)....43
THE MODELS OF MASS COMMUNICATION

1. The general model of communication as transmission...........47
2. The model of the all-powerful propaganda or the model of
Chakhotin...............................................................................47
3. Model of persuasion...............................................................48
4. Model of contact.....................................................................49
5. Model of signal transmission..................................................50
6. Topological model..................................................................51
7. The two-stages flow model.....................................................51
8. Sociological model.................................................................52
9. Model of selection..................................................................52
10. The model of diverse connection..........................................53
11. Analytical model..................................................................53
12. The model of common experience.......................................54
13. The model of mosaic culture................................................54
14. The social-cultural model.....................................................55
15. The model of broaden experience........................................56
16. The expressive or ritual model.............................................56
17. The model of publicity: communication as the
demonstration and attraction of attention.............................57
18. The model of reception (perception): coding and
decoding of the expression...................................................58
19. The model of blocks.............................................................59
20. Lotman’s model....................................................................59
21. Gerbner’s model...................................................................60
22. The model of wave, or HUB model.....................................61
23. Synthetic model or the model of Goban-Klas......................62
24. Functions of communication process...................................64

THE MASS COMMUNICATION
AS A COMMUNICATION TYPE

1. Mass communication as one of communication types...........69
2. Role aspect of mass communication......................................70
3. Dispersiveness of language function and divergence of
communicator.........................................................................71
4. Globalization of mass communication system.......................72
5. Information technologies........................................................73
THE GLOBALIZATION
OF THE MASS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

1. Macdonalization and massification........................................76
2. Stages of development of mass communication systems.......78
3. Foreign media-empires...........................................................79

THE TYPES OF COMMUNICATORS. PERCEPTION AND
UNDERSTANDING OF JOURNALIST PUBLICATION

1. Communicator as a component of mass communication
system.....................................................................................81
2. Recipient and communicant: the main concepts of a
speech activity theory.............................................................82
3. Motive, purpose, sense, situation............................................83
4. Mass reaction on a journalist publication...............................86
5. Perception and understanding of a speech.............................87
6. A journalist as a professional speaker....................................90
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1. Definition of the "communication".
2. Signs of communication.
3. Different definitions of the term "communication".
4. Definition of the communication.
5. Communication as an influence.
6. Mass communication.

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Видавничий дім "КМ Academia", 1994. – 60 с.
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міжнародні відносини. – К.: Освіта, 1999. – 351 с.
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Том. ун-та, 1988. – 286 с.
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берський, В.Ф. Іванов, В.А. Вергун. – К.: Либідь, 1997. – 216 с.
10. Основи масово-інформаційної діяльності: підручник /
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"Київський університет", 1999. – 308 с.
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13. Різун В.В. Основи комп’ютерного набору і коректури: підручник.
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1. Definition of the "communication"
The word «communication» has penetrated into the English
language (communication) from Latin word “communicare”, which
means "to be in connection, to participate, to combine". The words
communicate, community, communication are related words. The
Ukrainian counterparts of this word are сполучатися, спілкуватися,
спілка, спільнота, спілкування. The Russian counterparts are
общий, общество, общаться, общение, приобщить. As we see, the
idea of unity, integration, connection with the community is crucial
for the concept of communication, or intercource. To communicate is
to become a member of the community, and it means to empathize,
to become spiritually close and to follow the norms of coexistence. A
decisive factor here is the link between community members, but
certainly this relationship shouldn’t be physical but spiritual. The fact
of a spiritual unity and existence of common forms of spiritual
connection create a community. Speaking or communication means
establishing of such a unity by means of appropriate forms of a
spiritual unity (religious affairs). This spiritual unity is the work of
heart and mind. Thus, the agreement is an important factor in
communication, as only spiritual association may indicate a unity of
society, unity of thought and deeds.

2. Signs of communication
Communication has the following features:
1) communicators – those between whom communication
occurs, namely a communicant – a person who initiates the
communication process and acts as a sender, and communicate – a
person whom the communication is directed and serves as an addressee;
8
2) spiritually intellectual unity of those, who communicate
– common consciousness, common culture;
3) common form of a spiritual being – language;
4) sign systems understandable for everyone sign systems,
if it’s necessary, it may replace a language in some situations –
writing, foreign languages and other sign systems;
5) means of communication created by a community –
books, periodicals, etc.
6) social-psychological ability to communicate – ability to
speak, to express opinions, feelings regarding the social function
implemented and social instructions, ability to listen, to perceive and
understand everything expressed depending on a social function of a
listener/reader and on social requirements.
The main results of the successful communication are mutual
understanding and consent: consent of a listener with a speaker,
consent to act according to the demands of an interlocutor and
situation. The process of communication may be complicated with
arguments or misunderstandings but communication should be ended
with a kind of an agreement. 30% agreement means that the
communication occurred only for 30%. That’s why very important
things during the communication are ability and methods of
conviction of the interlocutor to ensure an absolute agreement and
avoid conflicts in a communicative situation.
These methods of conviction are the basis of professional
knowledge of a specialist. The main conflict during the
communication is the conflict between interlocutors with the absence
of consent because of misunderstanding. Communication is a long
process which is on the stage of search of understanding and consent.
Communication is not a result; it’s a result of a searching process.
We draw our attention only on a brief description of the
phenomenon of communication. In our opinion, the intercourse as a
term is a full synonym to the term communication. But why do we
prefer the word communication?
We will give the reasons of our choice.
1. The most important reason is the prevalence of the term
communication in science and industrial areas to describe the process
9
of communication connected with the activities of mass
communication and journalism. Note the existence of even such
names of international non-governmental organizations – the
International Association of Media and Communication Studies,
World Association of Christian Communication, Center of
Communication and Human Rights, and others; monographs,
scholarly books, textbooks – Theoretical and Methodological
Foundations of Mass Communication, The Elements of
Communication, Theory and Practice of Communication,
Communication Theory, Mass Communication, Values and Symbols
in Mass Communication etc.
2. Some limitations of the word “спілкування” concerning
its functioning in the scientific and industrial areas. This word has a
non-terminological nature of usage due to an expansive intrusion of
the loan translation of the international word “communication”
through English and other languages into our science and practice, as
the issue on studying of communication processes studying in the
Western science was brought up much earlier than in Ukraine or
Russia. In the beginning of the XX century, "the rapid development
of the press, which achieved mass circulation, as well as
documentary and feature films, active introduction of radio into
people’s life drew attention to these phenomena and produced the
conviction that these media had a great power over the mass
audience, influenced public opinion, changed attitudes and behavior
and imposed political orientations (O.V. Zernetska). These reasons
led to the interpretation of the English loan word “communication”
as a term with a meaningful structure and a limited use of the native
word спілкування to describe the processes of mass communication.

3. Different determinations of the term “communication”
Nowadays our science includes more than one hundred of
determinations of the communication. In 70-es of the XX century F.
Dance fixed 95 definitions in the article on the notion of
communication and grouped them into 15 categories [Dance F.]. The
Polish researcher H. Walinska de Hackbeil in 1975 in her doctoral
dissertation "The concept of communication in American mass
10
communication theory" presented more than 200 definitions, found
in the American literature, and distinguished 18 semantic categories.
The Polish specialist in mass communication T. Goban-Klas in his
book "Media and Mass Communication" gives seven common
definitions of communication [Goban-Klas T., 42-43]:
communication as a transmission (broadcasting, transfer) of
information, ideas, emotions, skills; communication as understanding
of others when we want us to be understood (communication as a
mutual understanding); communication as the influence of signs and
symbols on people; communication as an association (creation of
community) using a language or symbols; communication as an
interaction with the help of symbols; communication as the exchange
of meanings between people who have something common in
perception, aspirations and positions; communication as a component
of a social process which expresses the group norms, provides public
control, distributes roles, achieves coordination of efforts and so on.
Analyzing these definitions we may draw a conclusion that
these definitions do not contradict one another, they only
complement each other, every definition covers a certain side of the
phenomenon, giving a deeper understanding of communication. The
Ukrainian researcher of communication H. H. Pocheptsov remarks
that it’s worthless to be agitated because of existence of hundreds of
definitions [H. Pocheptsov, 1999, 18]. Even the fact that the
communication has been understood for a long time as means of
transport, physical connection (mail, telephone, cart, horse, boat,
train, river, canal, sea, sewage, etc.), does not mean that the physical
and sign communications are completely different terms. The idea of
connection in communication is dominant, and this idea gave the
reason to use the term communication for indication of means of
connection at all. An interesting case occurred in 1935 with the
American critic and philosopher K. Burke, who wrote the book "A
Treatise on Communication". The publisher compelled the author to
change the title of the book because of the fear that readers would
take this as secret service by mail or telephone. But that was a book
about understanding between people [Goban-Klas, 41].