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Issues of words and language
As the media of mass communication spread
in the early 20thcentury, scholars questioned
mass medias influence and potential toeffect change. This led to different:
a) communication models
b) the components of the process
c) the process itself
d) the context in which communication takes
place
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2NDhalf of the 20thcentury brought a tradition of
communication research and practice geared
toward Third World development needs, an area
that has come to be known as development
communication.
1stDevelopment Decade in the 1960s.
Since 1970s these approaches have been
challenged.
Many large and expensive projects promoting
social change have failed.
Focused largely on economic needs and ignored
other non material aspects of human need.
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Earliest models of communication assume a
relatively linear process.
Someone sends a message to someone else
via a channel and gets a response, calledfeedback.
Interference in the process is often called
noise.
This exchange process may occur on more orless equal basis.
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But its different in mass communication.
How?
The media create and send messages, with
few opportunities for feedback fromaudience members and seldom via the same
channels.
Early theories assumed that mass media had
considerable power to inform and influence.This was roughly around 1950s and 1960s.
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Much has happened since then which has
shown flaws in these early models:
1) Research has shown flaws in these ideas
2) Enormous advances have been made incommunication technologies resulting in
rapid increases in information flows
globally. This is a result of 3 technological
inventions:a) computers
b) satellites
c) digitization
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New communication theories are more
sophisticated and address problems with the
early theories and also account for the
increased complexity of the communicationenvironment.
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Studies based on these new theories support therole and power of mass media in:
1) Setting an agenda for public discourse
2) Influencing public opinion
3) Persuading or educating in the context ofplanned campaigns
4) Providing role models for children and other toimitate
5) Providing varied gratifications that may meetaudience needs
6) Cultivating audiences perception of society in amanner more consistent with media contentthan statistical reality.
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Scholars have also challenged the relatively
linear nature of the models and their
isolation from economic and political
processes in society. These scholars assumed links between
culture and communication in the ideas of
communication as shared meaning versus
information transmission or persuasion.
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Communication is the maintenance,
modification and creation of culture.
These scholars also argue thatcommunication reinforces the views of the
dominant group.
Powerful groups in society decide what isshown on television and how its shown and
this has an influence on the entire society.
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The language and the selection of labels by
the mainstream media shapes society and in
fact creates reality.
For e.g. Islamic Extremism / Terrorism. Similarly, the way words such as
development/underdeveloped have been
used by the media conjures up a certain
imagery in our minds. Balochistan is underdeveloped
Balochistan is overexploited
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So there is a concern that large political and
corporate institutions, which are controlled
by the West, are influencing global cultural
change supportive of Western economic,political and ideological values.
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So the new studies in communication point
out the following:
1) Considerable role and power of mass media
in delivering information and persuading2) Process is not linear there is a relationship
between communication and culture
3) The power of the dominant discourse
4) Role of large institution in controllingglobal communication
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Old thinking about communication:Communication is a relatively linear porcessof information transmission, causing orcontributing to change in knowledge,
attitudes and behaviors.
New thinking about communication:
Communication is a much more complex
process, inseparable from culture, which issustained and challenged by global and localeconomic, political and ideological structuresand processes.
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Like communication, development meansdifferent things to different scholars.
Development means improving the livingconditions of society
But what constitutes improved livingconditions and how they should be achieved?
Three perspectives or ways of thinking aboutand practicing development:
1) Modernization
2) Critical
3) Liberation
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Modernization assumes that the Western
model of economic growth is applicable
elsewhere.
The introduction of modern technologies isimportant in development.
Supports capitalist economic growth.
Evidence of modernization can be observed
in development projects by aid agencies thataim to persuade people to adopt
technologies and sacrifice education and
human services for economic growth.
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Liberation perspectives based on liberationtheology.
Which assumes that all people want tobecome fully human, which means free and
self reliant and that they have the internalcapacity to develop themselves on their ownterms.
However internal and external forms of
oppression restrict their ability to do so. Therefore the purpose of development is
liberation from oppression with a focus onboth individuals and communities.
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Large western governments and corporationsconstitute one major source of oppressionbecause they are motivated by a desire tomake a profit which usually means that
workers, consumers and others are exploitedin the process.
The basic goal is spiritual not economic but itdoes not ignore material realities.
It recognizes links between material and nonmaterial needs and the impact of unmetmaterial needs and economic exploitation onspiritual growth.
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Those who view communication as a process
of message delivery view development as a
process of modernization via the delivery and
insertion of technologies and/or inculcating
certain values, attitudes and behaviors in the
population.
Communication and information are
persuasive tools that can assist in themodernization process.
It sells development ideas and associated
technologies to target audiences.
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In this sense, development communication
under the modernization framework is often
viewed as a process of persuasive marketing.
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Critical framework reject marketing models
that aim to spread and support Western
technologies and economic and political
values.
CP also view persuasive campaigns as
manipulative and potentially harmful with
inadequate attention the large cultural
context in which people live.
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For those with CP, development
communication is a process of consensus
building and resistance.
It is not a linear process but must behistorically grounded culturally sensitive and
multi faceted with attention to all the
political economic and ideological structures
and processes that comprise society.
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Liberation perspectives:
As the purpose of development is assumed to befreedom from oppression, and personal andcommunal empowerment the development
communication process must support thesegoals.
Therefore development communication is notmessage exchange but rather emancipatorycommunication that will free people to
determine their own futures. Many projects grounded in liberation
perspectives include spiritual practice consistentwith the religion of the group involved.
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