Which of the following are essential elements of mass communication? A.…

Concept

Mass communication is the process in which a formally organised institution uses trained specialists and a technological channel to send a standardised message simultaneously to a large, heterogeneous, geographically scattered and anonymous audience. Its defining elements are therefore the structural parts of that process: the channel that carries the message, the audience that receives it, the people who professionally produce it, and the organisation that stands behind them. A technique used to watch, record or study communication is a research or monitoring tool, not a constituent of the communication process itself.

Application to this item

Test each listed item against that definition:

• Technological medium — a mass message cannot travel face to face; it needs a mechanical or electronic channel (printing press, radio, television, internet) to reproduce it and carry it to dispersed receivers. This is a defining element.

• Large audience — the 'mass' in mass communication: the receivers are numerous, heterogeneous, geographically scattered and anonymous to the sender. This is a defining element.

• Professional communicators — reporters, editors, producers and other trained specialists shape and package the message; a private individual speaking for himself is not engaged in mass communication. This is a defining element.

• Organizational structure — the message issues from a complex, costly formal organisation (a newspaper house, a broadcasting network, a production studio) with division of labour and gatekeeping. This is a defining element.

• Electronic observation — this names a method of watching or recording by electronic means. It belongs to the vocabulary of research and surveillance, not to the constituents of the mass-communication process. It is not a defining element.

Cross-check

The four defining elements are exactly the technological medium, the large audience, the professional communicators and the organizational structure, so the correct combination is 'Only B, C, D, E'. Every combination that retains 'Electronic observation' therefore drops out: 'Only A, C, D, E' still omits the technological medium, while 'Only A, B, E' and 'Only A, C, D' each omit two of the four genuine elements.