Functions of Mass Media, Information, Education, Entertainment, Persuation

Functions of Mass Media

As mentioned earlier, mass media have pervasive effects on our personal and social life. The role and scope of mass media in our society are in the following areas:

Information function

Mass media carry a lot of information which are essential for our day to day life. We know exam results, weather forecasts, current affairs, traffic regulations, last dates, precautions, government policies etc. from mass media. The core of   media’s information function is performed by the media content called news. The place or time dedicated for news in a mass media is called news hole. News is the most consumed item of any media. News can be defined as reports on things that people want or need to know. Information should be accurate, objective and complete. Biased or incomplete reports will keep the audience away from the media.

Advertising is also mass media’s information function. We get much useful information from classified advertisements.

Education function

Information is different from education. Education is systematically organized information with predefined objectives. The primary source of education in our society is schools or colleges. Media also perform the functions that educational institutions do.Media are life-long educators for the society. They give us comprehensive knowledge of selected topics. Non-news content or news-based content like editorials, articles, columns in newspapers provide us with complete idea of a subject. Health Magazines, IT magazines are also examples for education through media.

Entertainment function

Irrespective of their type, mass media are wonderful entertainers. All media have entertainment content. Newspapers publish cartoons, comics, puzzles, special weekend supplements for amusing people. Lion share of magazine content such as short stories, novels, satires and cartoons are for entertainment. Movies are another big stock for entertainment. Audio-Visual media such as television and radio are also primarily concentrate on entertainment function through their programmes based on sports, film, and fashion shows etc.

Persuasion

Persuasion means influencing attitudes or opinions. Mass media have many ways to persuade people. Most people form their opinion from information they get from mass media. Media have direct and indirect methods for persuasion. For public opinion formation, mass media use editorials, news analysis and commentaries. In such cases, the purpose is clear and direct. The most obvious method of persuasion is advertising. Advertisements are direct methods to influence purchasing behaviour of the public. Some media report events hiding their vested interests in news. Such biased, subjective reports are for persuading people to form favourable attitudes towards them or their interests. Opinionated news is an undirected method of persuasion. It’s against the ethics of responsible journalism. News and opinion should be given separately.

Surveillance of the environment

Mass media observe the society and its activities and report them to make people aware of their socio-cultural environment. In other words, we as social animals are always under the close observations of mass media. Media are our watchdogs. It always watches who do good things and who do bad things, and report them to encourage or correct our deeds. Reports about corruptions are good example. Considering this watchdog function of mass media, we call the media as the Fourth Estate of our democratic political system. The other estates are Legislative, Judiciary and Executive.

Transmission of heritage

Mass media are the bridge between our past and present. They report day to day affairs which will become history of tomorrow. The best records of modern history are newspapers of yesteryears. We get our cultural tradition from history and we follow the best of them. In keeping our culture flowing, media play a vital role. It advises us which part of our culture is good and to be followed and which is bad and not to be followed.

Interpretation of information

Mass media provide us with information from every nook and corner of the world. They do not just report facts and figures of the events, rather they interpret events to make us aware of what happens, and why, where, when and how it happens. Media interpretation may be biased or not. But, it helps develop our views towards an event or object or personality. Every media report is an analysis and one version of the fact. There may be another versions and analysis.

Prescription for conduct

How should we behave in a society? What should be our approach towards something important to the society? What is good for social life? As a member of a larger social system, we face these questions every now and then. In most cases, mass media provide us answers. During the election time, we are confused of electing a candidate. But, news coverage of political policies and leaders of various parties give us an insight that helps us take decisions. This is how media prescribe our political conduct.  So do the advertising. Which product or service is better? Which is suitable to our budget? We depend on advertisements before taking purchase decisions.

Catalyst for Development

In a country like Pakistan, media’s role in national development is highly important. Media’s contributions to national development are mainly in two ways : As advocates for development and as carriers of development messages. Mass media find out problems faced by people in different walks of their life and make the administrators aware of them. Most often, media report such events and further campaign to get the grievances redressed. On the other hand, media make people aware of their rights, government subsidies, development policies and the merits and demerits of adopting or practicing them for better life. Government controlled media perform these duties better than the private media do. This development orient function of media is termed as Development Communication. Development Communication has been recognized as a special area in communication study and research.

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