UGC NET/JRF EXAM, Mass Communication & Journalism,December-2019*

to realize their full potential and be engaged in their own welfare". Participatory communication initiatives create opportunities for people to articulate their views, identify common concerns, and seek solutions from within their community.

Participatory approaches are highly valuable in development communication, or the use of communication to advance social development goals. These goals may include raising awareness around critical issues,

improving access to information, increasing the use of available services, or mobilizing people around a common purpose. In most of these cases, communication activities seek to encourage certain changes in attitude or behaviour at the individual, family,

and/or community level. Related terms include information, education and communication (IEC), information and communication for development (ICD), behaviour change communication (BCC), and communication for social change.

He calls it "cultivation of dominant image pattern". According to this theory, a long, persistent exposure to TV is capable of cultivating common beliefs about the world.

Gerbner and his associates are of the view that the messages of television do not portray reality in society; repeated exposure to such distortions leads to development of particular beliefs about the world; and these beliefs get reinforced once they are developed.

For example, repeated viewing of glamorous locales, big houses, clothes, toys, chocolates, fast foods, electric and electronic gadgets may lead viewers to believe that they can expect such things in life but such messages are not beneficial for the poor and underprivileged majority.

Gerbner also strongly suggests that the powerful effect of mass media act as moulders of society.

It is also via the news that governments, parties and interest groups seek to exercise power and influence. This line of thinking assumes that news is an informative, credible and effective means of communication and a good deal of research has been devoted to testing this assumption.

Television news has been a particular object of research given the fact that a few national television channels often dominate as the channels of public communication. Mass mediated news is a distinctive form of information communication, with the following general features:

• news is rarely ‘purposeful’ communication (news services are usually information brokers trying to match the needs of suppliers and consumers of news);
• public attention is always voluntary;
• attention is also often unspecific, guided by a wide range of motives or simply a general one of environmental ‘surveillance’;
• much of the information provided is perishable and always changing from day to day.

Because of these features, we may expect that the cumulative learning from news and what is learnt is often not applied in everyday life. News media are not usually regarded as public educators and the criteria of success or effectiveness applied to the news information process are usually limited to two matters: the degree of audience attention received; and the degree to which news is understood by its audience. The three main measures applied in news effect research are

1. the extent of audience reach;
2. audience recall of news content;
3. audience comprehension of particular items of news.

Diffusion: Diffusion is formally defined as a process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time, among the members of a social system.

The four main elements in this definition are innovation, communication channels, time and the social system. The key members of the social system are innovators, diffusers and adopters.

These are creators of innovations, intermediaries who assist in diffusing innovations, and target users of innovations, respectively. Rogers’ framework identifies the characteristics of these elements and provides an understanding of the role they play in the diffusion of innovations.

Innovation: Innovation is defined as an idea, a practice or an object which is perceived to be new by the persons who are targets for its adoption.

Communication Channel: Diffusion uses a communication process that results in the transmission of new ideas. In a diffusion context, this involves diffusers, adopters, and communication channels that connect them.

Time: Time is an important dimension in the study of diffusion for at least two reasons. First, diffusion is a continuous process which takes place over a period of time with a predictable life cycle of distinct stages.

Second, the level of adoption of any innovation as a function of time turns out to be a S-shaped curve, which has interesting implications.

Social System: The fourth element in Rogers’ framework is the social system. It is the environment in which diffusion processes take place and it includes aspects such as social structures, cultural norms and value systems.

• the media should support democratic political principles;
• the media are under an obligation to create a forum for different viewpoints;
• the independence of the media should be emphasised in relation to their responsibility towards society;
• the media should meet certain standards.

McQuail (ibid.) identifies the following basic principles of the social responsibility theory:

• The media should accept certain responsibilities towards society.
• The media should fulfil their responsibilities mainly by setting professional standards with regard to the supply of information and the truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance of the reporting.
• The media should self-regulate within the framework of the law and established institutions.
• The media should avoid publicising information that can lead to crime, violence or social disruption, as well as information that can offend ethnic or religious minorities.
• The media collectively should represent all social groups and reflect the diversity of society by giving people access to a variety of viewpoints and the right to react to these viewpoints.
• Society is entitled to expect high professional standards and intervention is justifiable if the media fail to meet these standards.