Communications and Media

Societies have grown accustomed to rely on information and communication to aid in its growth and development. For most people, they depend on these to keep moving according to what is believed to be the right direction and to continue to do their daily activities such as their personal relationships with other people, healthcare, education and the like. Everyday decisions and common beliefs are based on the information relayed by mass communication. Much of what men do today are controlled by what the media wants us to be aware of or wants us to know. Because of the growth of technology, a mean for communicators to address their information to a large group of people, information are passively consumed by everyone. Flow of information and ideas have become the driving force of a society.

Meaning of information is made, circulated and regulated by the mass media. Mass media manipulates the society to think about what is right. Moreover, media provides a central site for defining social position and status which is very apparent in every society today. Media becomes a factor for social stratification as it is controlled by those whom are in power.

In the book The Media and Cultural Production, Eric Louw (2001) viewed the process of how cultural production affects society in a macroscopic view. Cultural production is seen as the information that eventually moulds the beliefs of the society. Louw explained that the creation of meaning is the product of what mass communicators wish to address to everybody. Meaning-making are dependent on the people with power or the power elites such as those who are in the position to carry legitimate information by reputation. Moreover, these are people who have access to resources or occupy a social position known by most people in the society. Louw believed in the hegemonic process of mass communication wherein meaning is delivered by those who have the power with the help of interest groups. This process presents to be less hierarchical compared to other mass media models as it is considers the constantly shifting of power based on the meaning that is being conveyed. Each meaning have to be built to the people and maintained by reputation. Meaning making eventually becomes the function of people working within institutionalized sites who have been trained for the purpose of mass production of professional communication (Louw, 2001). As the number of professional communicators increase and with the help of technology, people or the masses have become passive receivers of meanings made by others.

Louw (2001) also stated that shifts in power are results of contradictions made by other groups and circumventions. Since meaning is relative to every society, relational shifts cannot be prevented. A permanent control over a specific meaning is impossible as meaning is continuously challenged by others whom wish to take control. An example for the shifts in power over meaning and over people is are those running for the Presidentiable elections. Political figures running for the title of a President would be most apt to explain Louws idea of mass communication because they possess power or status over other people which they use to persuaded others. Their process of promoting their ideas shows a struggle for power to create meaning of what a good president would be like. Meaning, therefore, tends to change almost continuously and is power is shifted between the competing presidentiables. Meanwhile, the citizens of the country act as the masses or the audience for mass communication. Technology, such as newspapers, fliers, television appearances, and radio interviews, provides several means for those running for elections to address their concerns. Because of the overwhelming means of mass production people become the passive receivers of their meaning. In one hand, there is an increase number of opportunity for power elites to manipulate the dominated people and reduce space for other people to think. On the other hand, these power elites and mass producers become agenda setters or elites who tell people what to think about. They are the ones who trends or mainstream information for others.

In the aspect of law-making, they are made by people in legislative position. They produce meaning thru the use of mass media. These laws are believed to be what is dutiful of a person within a country and following one would be the most acceptable act to do. Otherwise, there will be penalty.

Those in power use the basic need of man of sharing common process and information. Through mass media, it enables the ability to present ideas and information in order to manipulate what a society should believe. It enables those in power to communicate with the population of people in a more convenient manner. Eventually, it controls what people should believe as these information are flooded by mass media.