COMMUNICATION THEORY And News Values a b c

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