Media as Communication for Dummies
The Communicator can take many different forms. With in the media artifact there are many other communicators. There are the actors, the directors, producers, songwriters, script writers, singers, and artists, just to name a few.
The message is the information that is being presented. The communicators present the message to us through the medium at hand. It is their interpretation we are observing. Their presentation of the material can alter the message. Just imagine a Sesame Street storyline presented by the kids at South Park.
The channel is the medium the message is presented in. It is the book, the television show, the song or the movie we are interacting with. Each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example some messages will fall flat in print media, but find huge success in electronic media.
The audience is of course you. The audience in any form of communication has one very important function. That function is feedback. When we ask questions, and make comments we leave our feedback. We give feedback to the communicators through what we choose to watch. Which shows can attract the best advertisers through their ratings? We also leave it though more traditional means of letters and e-mails to the networks and even comments left on message boards and forums.
Anything that obstructs the message is interference. This can take many forms. Sometimes the communicator is distracting. Maybe they just can’t act, or maybe they are over acting. Maybe the effects are horrible. Maybe the speaker is not all that eloquent. All of this things will distract you from the message.
Another problem you may run across are technical difficulties. Does the book or magazine you are reading have water damage? Is your cable out? Does the CD keep skipping? If it is live music, is the mix so horribly uneven you can’t make sense of it? These problems keep you from fully understanding the message.
There is environmental interference. Are there the people talking in the movie theater? Is your cell phone ringing as you try to read a magazine article. All these little external things can disrupt the message so much, you do not fully understand it.
Sometimes it the audience member who interferes with the message on their own. We have such a wide array of media out there, we can pick and choose which ones we want to be exposed to. We have our favorite television program, and we may only watch those show and shows like them. I hate reality television, so I usually avoid it like the plague. I choose not to watch it. We also bring out own preconceptions to the table. If I already have it in my mind that something is going to be waste of my time, it will usually live up to that expectation. Another issue is selective retention. I spent nine months with a country band. I ran sound and lights and wrote all of their promotional material. However, I hate country music. I was exposed to it for a prolonged amount of time, but I did not retain any of that information.
Another factor is that the audience attention span is getting shorter and shorter. Now material has to be face paced and entertaining, or it will not go over well. Lets honest, if the show 24 was not as fast paced, it would not be as popular.
Even if you only look at media like a mindless source of entertainment, on some level, you really are actively participating in it. The more you make media interactive, the more you will be aware of the messages you are fielding 24/7. Remember that even if you do not react outwardly, you are still returning the message through what you watch, buy, read and observe.
