Transformation in BA in Mass Communication Syllabus: What to look for now?

The advent of technology has naturally pushed forward the prospects of the discipline called mass communication. Compared to even a couple of decades back, the percentage of students opting for media studies has witnessed an overwhelming rise. As a result of such popularity, the present and updated BA in mass communication syllabus incorporates essential changes. Alongside theoretical concepts, practical applications of the respective subject/s, via internships, seminars (and now webinars), study tours and more determine exactly how much a student needs to work to make a place in this increasingly competitive world.

Course Curriculum Structure

Ideally, BA in Mass Communication syllabus takes into account a student’s overall understanding of journalism and mass communication while pursuing the three-year undergraduate course. In several colleges and universities, the chosen path is division of three years into six semesters, which has made the study hassle-free.

In the first and second semesters, the topics mostly include:

• Mass Communication Theories & Models
• Print Journalism: Reporting & Editing 
• Broadcast Journalism: Radio Production 
• Broadcast Journalism: TV & Anchoring 
• Media Laws & Ethics 
• Folk Media/ Traditional Media 
• Photography

The next year, which marks the third and fourth semesters include:

• Understanding global media perspectives 
• Film Studies- Camera, Lights & Sound 
• Advertising & Marketing
• PR & Corporate Communication 
• New Media Technology 
• Media and Human Rights

Lastly, fifth and sixth semesters have a blend of industry skills’ acquisition, in addition to increased focus on research.

• Mass Media Management 
• Research and statistical applications in mass media 
• National and International Affairs 
• Contemporary Issues in Mass Media 
• Internships/Study Tours/ Seminars

While the course curriculum of BA in mass communication syllabus and the distribution of subjects might not be the same across all institutes dispensing the three year undergraduate course in mass communication, the syllabus is more or less similar.

 Mass Media studies at the Plus 2 level

Thankfully, many schools at the 10+2 standard have now brought to the fore media studies, even before UG students embark on the BA in mass communication syllabus in colleges. By mastering essential skill sets like creative thinking, communication, observation, problem-solving, good interviewing, networking and most importantly, the ability to work under strict deadlines- students display an added interest in choosing mass communication at their undergraduate level.

Eligibility Criteria

Ideally, a student who fulfils or displays the above-mentioned skill sets in addition to few specialized traits would be the best fit for mass communication and journalism. At the same time, opting for this much-in-demand subject as a result of peer pressure or keeping up to the trends make no sense! Eventually, the skills will be necessary in grasping the titbits of the broad discipline, especially with the current BA in mass communication syllabus.

For a better idea though, candidates who have passed Class 12 (regardless of any stream) from a recognized board with the bare minimum percentage (55-60%), as fixed by the college or university should make it through. Not to forget, during the time of admission, students should pass an entrance test too!

Important Mass Media Inventions Chronologically

 Mass Media has come a long way since paper was invented way back in China. Today, starting from newspapers, radio, television, cinema and internet, we have a plethora of mass mediums which we use and consume on a daily basis. These have practically become a part of our lives. Today, our lives seem to be impossible without these mass mediums. We are living in a information age - which is fueled by these mass mediums. Thus, in this blog I list the important mass media inventions that made today's mediascape possible. 

Tsai Lun invents Paper in China in 105BC

 

First wooden printing press invented in China in 305 AD

 

Quill pens first appear in Seville, Spain in 600 AD

 

1454: Johannes Gutenberg invents a printing press in 1454 in Germany. The printing press had metal movable types.

 

1793: Clause Chappe invents the first long-distance semaphore (visual or optical) telegraph line.

 

1814: Joseph Nicephore Niepce achieves the first photographic image.

 

1821: Charles Wheatstone reproduces sound in a primitive sound box, the first microphone in England.

 

1831: Joseph Henry invents first electric telegraph in America

 

1847: Richard March Hoe designs rotary press

 

1875: J.G.A Eickhoff builds a four-cylinder perfecting press, capable of printing two sides of paper simultaneously.

 

1876: Thomas Edison patents the mimeograph, an office copying machine in America.

 

1876: Alexander Graham Bell invents and demonstrates telephone.

 

1877: Thomas Edison and others develop carbon telephone transmitter

 

1877: Emile Berliner invents the microphone

 

1877: Eadweard Muybridge invents high-speed photography that captures motion

 

1894: Guglielmo Marconi improves wireless telegraphy.

 

1895: Lumiere Brothers of Paris develop film projector

 

1899: Valdemar Poulsen invents the first magnetic recordings, the foundation for both mass data storage on disk and tape and the music recording industry.

 

1899: Loudspeakers invented

 

1906: Lee De Frost invents the electronic amplifying tube; this allowed all electronic signals to be amplified improving all electronic communications i.e. telephone and radio in America

 

1914: Oskar Barnack exhibits small hand-held camera

 

1921: Wirephoto, the first electronically – transmitted photograph dispatched

 

1923: Vladimir Kosma Zworykin invents television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode ray tubes

 

1925: John Logie Baird transmits the first experimental television signal

 

1926: Warner Brothers studios invent a process to record sound separately from the film on large disks and synchronized the sound and motion picture tracks upon playback – an improvement on Thomas Edison’s work

 

1933: FM Radio patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong

 

1934: Joseph Begun invents first tape recorder for broadcasting

 

1938: Television broadcasts able to be taped and edited, rather than only live

 

1949: First commercial electronic computer produced

 

1966: Xerox invents Telecopier, the first successful fax machine

 

1969: ARPANET – the first internet started

 

1979: First cellular phone communication network starts in Japan

Characteristics of Scientific Method in Communication Research

There are six basic characteristics, or tenets, that distinguish the scientific method from other methods of knowing. A research approach that does not follow each of these tenets is not a scientific approach.

1.      Scientific research is public: Advances in science require freely available information. Researchers, especially in the academic sector cannot plead private knowledge, methods, or data in arguing for the accuracy of their findings; scientific research information must be freely communicated from one researcher to another.

2.     Science is objective: Science tries to rule out eccentricities of judgment by researchers. When a study is conducted, explicit rules and procedures are developed and the researcher is bound to follow them.

3.     Science is empirical: Researchers are concerned with a word that is knowable and potentially measureable. Empiricism comes from the Greek work for ‘experience’. Researchers must be able to perceive and classify what they study and reject metaphysical and nonsensical explanations of events. To do this, they must define problem they are researching.

There are two basic types of definitions – Constitutive definitions and Operational definition.

Constitutive Definition – It defines a word by substituting other words or concepts for it. For example, the definition for a Mobile may be a technological device which can receive signals from far regions through towers and let people communicate with each other.

Operational Definition – In contrast to constitutive definition, operational definition specifies procedures that allow one to experience or measure a concept. For example, Go to the shopping mall and find a mobile phone shop. Look for the sign ‘mobile phone’; what’s underneath the sign is a mobile phone. Although the operational definition assures precision, it does not guarantee validly. This is because it is possible that the shopkeeper kept a pen drive beneath the sign instead of a mobile phone. This possibility of error underscores the importance of considering both the constitutive definition and the operational definition of a concept to evaluate the trustworthiness of any measurement.

Any question can be answered as long as there as operational definitions for the independent or dependent variables.

4.     Science is systematic and cumulative: No single research study stands alone, nor does it rise or fall by itself. Researchers always use previous studies as building blocks for their own work. One of the first steps in conducting research is to review the available scientific literature on the topic so that the current study will draw on the heritage of past research. This review is valuable for identifying problems areas and important factors that might be relevant to the current study.

In addition, scientists attempt to search for order and consistency among their findings. In its deal form, scientific research begins with a single carefully observed event and progresses ultimately to the formulation of theories and laws.

A Theory is a set of related propositions that presents a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relationships among concepts. Researchers develop theories by searching for patterns of uniformity to explain their data. When relationships among variables are invariant under given conditions, researchers may formulate a law.

A Law is a statement of fact meant to explain, in concise terms, an action or set of actions that is generally accepted to be true and universal.

Both theories and laws help researchers for and explain consistency in behavior, situations, and phenomena.

5.     Science is predictive: Science is concerned with relating the present to the future. In fact, scientists strive to develop theories because, among other reasons, they are useful in predicting behavior. A theory’s adequacy lies in its ability to predict a phenomenon or event successfully. A theory that offers predictions that are not borne out by data analysis must be carefully reexamined and perhaps discarded. Conversely, a theory that generates predictions that are supported by the data can be used to make predictions in other situations.

6.     Science is self-correcting: The scientific method approaches learning in a series of small steps. That is, one study or one source provides only an indication of what may or may not be true; the ‘truth’ is found only through a series of objective analyses. This means that the scientific method is self-correcting in that changes in thoughts, theories, or laws are appropriate when errors in previous research are uncovered.

YouTube video on communication research: 

You can buy Mass Media Research: An Introduction by Wimmer and Dominick here: https://amzn.to/31lEPOv

[Article] Mass Media and Communication Research and the Methods of Knowing

Scientific research is an organized, objective, controlled, qualitative or quantitative empirical analysis of one or more variables. The terms that define the scientific research method describe a procedure that has been accepted for centuries. In the sixteenth century, for example, Tycho Brahe conducted years of organized and controlled observation to refute many of Aristotle’s theories of the solar system and the universe.

All research, whether formal or informal, begins with a basic question or proposition about a specific phenomenon. For example, why do viewers select one television programme over another? Which sections of the newspaper do people read most often? Which type of magazine covers attracts the most readers? What type of radio format will attract the largest number of listeners? Which websites attract the most visitors? Which types of advertising are most effective in communicating messages to consumers? These questions can be answered to some degree with well-designed research studies. However, the task is to determine which data collection method can most appropriately provide answers to specific questions.

Methods of knowing in Communication Research  

There are several possible approaches to answering research questions. Kerlinger and Lee (2000), using definitions provided nearly a century ago by C.S. Peirce, discuss four approaches to finding answers, or methods of knowing: Tenacity, Intuition, Authority and Science. To this list, Wimmer and Dominick added Self-discovery.

v  Method of Tenacity: A user of the method of tenacity follows the logic that something is true because it has always been true. The idea is that nothing changes – what was good, bad or successful before will continue to be so in the future. For example, a business owner might say, “I don’t advertise because my parents did not believe in advertising.”

v  Method of Intuition: In the method of intuition, or the priori approach, a person assumes that something is true because it is ‘self-evident’ or ‘stands to reason.’ Some creative people in advertising agencies resist efforts to test their advertising methods because they believe they know what will attract customers. To these people, scientific research is a waste of time, and their advertising effectiveness usually suffers as a consequence.

v  Method of Authority: This method promotes a belief is something because a trusted source, such as a parent, a news correspondent, or a teacher, says it is true. The emphasis is on the source, not on the methods the source may have used to gain the information. During the late 1990s, this was shown not to be true.

v  Method of self-discovery: This method refers to things we learn and know without intervention from an outside source. While we may use information gathered from other sources to provide an answer to a question or problem, self-discovery is evident when a person synthesizes a variety of information to come to a decision about something, or maybe even to invent a new product or service. Self-discovery involves using one or more of the other methods of knowing, but the difference is that the discovery was made alone.

v  Scientific Method: This is a series of small steps, and unlike the other methods of knowing, it has several definable characteristics.

Communication Research YouTube Video:

You can buy Mass Media Research: An introduction by Wimmer and Dominick by clicking here: https://amzn.to/31lEPOv

Mass Media Research by Wimmer and Dominick

[Article] Phases of Mass Media Research - Summary of Mass Media Research by Wimmer and Dominick

Research is an attempt to discover something. Research can be very informal, with only a few (or no) specific plans or steps, or it can be formal, where a researcher follows highly defined and exacting procedures. Both procedures can be good or bad – it depends on how the research is conducted. The important thing for all researchers to understand is the correct methods to follow to ensure the best results.

Two basic questions a researcher must learn to answer are 1) How to use research methods and statistical procedures and 2) When to use research methods and statistical procedures.

Both statisticians and researchers are involved I producing research results, but their functions are quite different, even though one person may sometimes serve in both capacities. Among other complex activities, they generate statistical procedures, or formulas, called algorithms. Researchers use these algorithms to investigate research questions and hypotheses. The results of this cooperative effort are used to advance our understanding of the mass media.

Phases of Mass Media Research

Mass Media research has evolved in definable steps, and similar patterns have been followed in each medium’s needs for research.

In Phase 1 of the research, there is an interest in the medium itself. What is it? How does it work? What technology does it involve? How is it similar to or different from what is already available? What functions or services does it provide? Who will have access to the new medium? How much will it cost?

In Phase 2, research begins once the medium is developed. In this phase, specific information is accumulated about the uses and users of the medium. How do people use the medium in real life? Do they use it for information only, to save time, for entertainment, or for some other reason? Do children use it? Do adults use it?  Why? What gratification does the new medium provide? What other types of information and entertainment does the new medium replace? Were original projections about the use if the medium correct? What uses are evident other than those that were predicted from initial research?

In Phase 3, includes investigations of the social, psychological, and physical effects of the medium. How much time do people spend with the medium? Does it change people’s perspectives about anything? What do the users of the medium want and expect to hear and see? Are there any harmful effects related to using the medium? In what ways, if any, does the medium help people? Can the medium be combined with other media or technology to make it even more useful?

In Phase 4, research is conducted to determine how the medium can be improved either in its use or through technological developments. Can the medium provide information or entertainment to more types of people? How can new technology be used to perfect or enhance the sight and/or sound of the medium? Is there a way to change the content to be more valuable or entertaining?

 

The above figure is not intended to suggest that the research phases are linear – that when a phase is over, it is never considered again. In reality, once a medium is developed and established, research may be conducted simultaneously in all four phases.

Research is a never-ending process. In most instances, a research project designed to answer one series of questions produces a new set of questions no one thought of before.

YouTube Video on Communication Research. 

You can buy Mass Media Research: An introduction by Wimmer and Dominick by clicking here: https://amzn.to/31lEPOv

Chronology of Newspaper Publication in the world and in India - Part 4 (Final) (76 - 86)

Srl No	Name of the Newspaper	Year of Publication	Founder	Place
76	Nabayug	1940	A K Fazlul Huq	Kolkata
77	Dawn (mouthpiece of Muslim League)	1941	Mohammad Ali Jinnah	New Delhi
78	Dainik Jagran (Hindi daily)	1942	Puranchandra Gupta	Jhansi, UP, India
79	Le Monde	1944	--	Paris
80	Ittefaq	1953	Maulana A H Khan Bhasani	Dhaka
81	Granma	1965	--	Cuba
82	Ms. (Magazine to serve primarily as a forum for women’s liberation)	1972	--	--
83	India Today	1975	Living Media Limited	Mumbai
84	China Daily (China’s first national English language newspaper)	1981	--	China
85	China Daily Website	1995	China’s first news website	--
86	Kuensel (Initially an internal government bulletin)	2009		Bhutan