Mass media
Media are an influential force in society, shaping people’s attitudes, beliefs and aspirations as well as shaping cultural norms and values. Their effect can both positive and negative; therefore concerted efforts must be taken to mitigate its impact. Individuals should become media literate in order to participate effectively in media discussions in order to lessen its negative consequences.
Mass media refers to any institution that communicates information to large numbers of people through multiple mediums such as text, film, music or social media; transmission can take place through both print media as well as digital transmission such as the internet. There is no limit on who may receive this type of mass communication and therefore making up mass media an essential form of mass communication.
Mass media is often seen as the fourth estate in democratic nations; as they provide coverage of political affairs and influence public opinions. Unfortunately, mass media can often be biased or uncritical when reporting controversial topics to their audience.
Mass media development was enabled by advances in technology such as photography, cinematography, phonographs and radio. Their introduction coincided with an explosion of leisure industries as capitalism thrived.
Private media
Their main goal is attracting large audiences that generate greater profits for media owners; therefore, large audiences become the focal point for marketing activities on these outlets, instead of quality programming focusing on audience size as before – this has caused public and community media in many countries to decline significantly in popularity and impact.
Private media have an evolving role to play in public sphere, depending on their context of operation. They typically offer news and entertainment programming, as well as serving as sources of public information. Furthermore, they contribute significantly to democratic processes by giving citizens access to diverse perspectives.
Although private media have many positive effects, their influence on political process remains controversial. Therefore, it is crucial that we understand the differences between private and public media to make informed decisions regarding their roles in democracy. Furthermore, it must be remembered that private media are not inherently neutral but may pursue political agendas, threatening public trust in press.
Public media
Public media entails giving members of society access to forums where they can discuss matters of public concern and make decisions on how best to act upon them. It can exist in any medium; all it requires is focus on issues and commitment to understanding that people use media collectively.
Communication also involves being open to new forms of communication and willing to assist the public in crafting media that meets its needs. Media makers must abide by democratic and civil society principles while being aware that media may be used for political gain.
this purpose – these behaviors help create a community of practice and professionalism which marks media for public knowledge and action. But such projects must also include policies which foster participation as well as address the costs involved with creating media for the public – from servers to electricity costs.