Media as Communication for Dummies

Media is much more than something we passively, but that While we like to think media as something we just observe, but it is much more than that. Media is a major from of communication. Yes, media is a two way process. We receive a message. We pull the pertinent and relevant info from that message. We form an appropriate response to the message, and then we respond to the message.

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.