Mass Communication Interview Questions for freshers experienced :-
1.What is Mass communication?
- Communication
- Mass communication
- Mass Media
- Culture
Communication – It refers to a message which has been originated from a source /sender who send or rather encodes the data which is then received by and decoded by the target/receiver. In simple words it is the process by which humans send and receive information amongst each other.
Mass communication – Refers to the message sent by a person or a group to a large anonymous audience through a specialized medium or a transmitting device.
Mass Media – Refers to a particular specialized part of the media which is designed to reach a fairly large number of target audiences. Mass media in other words is the medium by which mass communication takes place.
Culture- Refers to the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
2.What are the various media used for mass communication?
- Print-Newspapers and magazines
- Audio visual- television, radio, films
- Mobile phones
- Video games
- Internet media- Blogs, Message boards, Personal web pages, Pod casts, Video hosting services, social networking sites.
3.What are the various elements of mass communication?
The elements of mass communication are:
- Public who has to be communicated with
- Media(Medium) which is the means of communication
- Message because of which the process has been created
- Sender of the message
- Marketing, advertising, Public relations extra can be termed as the sub elements of mass communication.
4.What is the importance of mass communication for a company?
A company is usually engaged in the process of creating and then selling products or services to earn profits. But this can only be achieved when mass production and then mass distribution accompanied by mass consumption by the public in general takes place. So in simple terms mass communication helps the company to communicate on a large level with large chunk of public to induce them to consume the product.
5.Explain the differences between mass communication and personal communication?
The most basic difference between mass communication and personal communication is the size of the audience and the source of the message. By which we mean that in personal communication the sender as well as the receiver is a person while in mass communication the sender as well as the receiver maybe a person ,a group or a huge chunk of population of a country.
The other important difference between them is the reason why the message actually originated and the conditions under which it is been communicated. For instance in personal communication the expression of certain emotions could be a reason while in mass communication it might be to induce the audience of the message to buy or try a product or service.
The tools or rather the medium in both are also different, mass communication will have print, audio visual, internet etc. but personal communication will have mobile, mail or internet as a tool to communicate.
6.Explain Direct effects theory, Two-step flow theory, Agenda setting theory,Attitude change theory, Uses and gratifications theory?
- Direct effects theory
The direct effect theory of communications says that a message is directly received and completely accepted by the receiver. The “Direct effect theory” implies that mass media always has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on their audiences. The mass media in specific is perceived as a powerful influence on culture.
- Two-step flow theory
The two-step flow theory stresses on human agency which means mass media information is channeled to the “masses” through opinion leadership. The people with most access to media, higher understanding of media content, explain and intercept the content to the public. Diffusion of innovations is the product of the two step flow theory.
- Agenda setting theory
The agenda-setting theory refers to the fact that media has a very large effect on people�s perception and mind. Agenda-setting theory�s core concept says that mass media can transfer important items on their mass agendas to the publics mind and priority.
- Attitude change theory
The attitude-change theory suggests that attitudes being functions of cognitive, affective and conative components are a part of brain�s associative networks that consist of affective and cognitive nodes linked through associative pathways. These nodes contain affective, cognitive, and behavioral components that can be altered by the activation of a single node. Thus, by activating an affective or emotional node, attitude change may be possible. So the attitude change theory suggests that targeting these emotions can help the media or the sender to actually change the attitude of general public and create a brand new dimension in terms of consumer perception
- Uses and gratifications theory
Uses and gratifications theory refers to the idea that people use the media to get specific gratifications. This is in opposition to the direct effect theory which says that people have no control over how the media influences them and brings about a change in them. The main idea of the Uses and Gratifications is that people are not helpless victims of all powerful media, but use media to fulfill their various needs.
7.How does mass communication affect culture?
Culture refers to the attributes such as lifestyle, habits and moral ethics that a population in a specific place might adhere to, as the way of life. Its ever changing and is subject to influences, this is where the mass communication can have an effect on the cultural ethos of a society.
Communicating on a mass level gives the sender of a message the power to alter certain things or introduce new things that might affect the cultural dynamics of a society, and it can�t happen in isolation. Every individual part of that culture is subject to the ramification. For instance coffee and coffee shops have never been a part of the Indian culture but today due to the idea been promoted in every medium of mass communication it has almost become a part of it. This example demonstrates how culture is affected by mass communication and ultimately altered
8.Explain Media Literacy, Media as place of ideas, Media Convergence and Media Consolidation?
a.) Media Literacy
Media literacy refers to the act of creating a message in all the available media. It uses an inquiry-based mode of process encouraging questions about what the target audience wants in terms of what they watch, see, and read. Media literacy facilitates an understanding as to the strengths and limitations of each medium and to create new ones.
b.) Media as place of ideas
Media as place of ideas is a metaphor to help think of ideas in a medium as products or services that are produced, imported and shared by community members. Ideas have value and cost which can be registered and protected in the form of patents, trademarks and copyrights. Ideas also have opportunity, distribution and production costs.
c.) Media Convergence
Media convergence refers to many products coming together to form one. In media convergence old and new media merge in such a way that there is a balance of power between media producers and media consumers and ultimately results into a brand new scenario of operations.
d.) Media Consolidation.
Media consolidation refers to the majority of the media means owned by a few media conglomerates who view this as detrimental and characterized ownership structure of mass media. Media ownership may refer to monopoly in a given media. Times group in India is a example of a media conglomerate.
9.Who are the major participants in business buying process?
The major participants in business buying process are
- Initiators-are the ones who initiate or recognize the need of a particular product requirement in the organization for enhancement or to combat depravation.
- Users-are the ones who are going to use the product or require it for the smooth functioning of their operations.
- Influencers –Influencers can be of different levels and the decisions that they influence might differ from person to person or post to post. These are basically the people who will influence the decision of which product to buy from where and what suitable price to buy it in.
- Deciders – they decide or have the authority to decide whether to buy a certain product or not.
- Approvers-they approve the deciders decision to by usually these people are authorized to do so.
- Buyers–They are the once who make the actually purchases from other business.
10.What do you think are the main responsibilities of a mass communication professional?
The responsibilities of a mass communication professional are as follows
- He has to understand the message of the sender and execute it effectively to have the desired results.
- He has to understand the receiver and his psychology well, to design a message to suit his taste
- He has to come up with the best possible medium that is required to transfer the message
- He has to analyze the after effect of the message and alter it to suit the target better
These are some of his basic responsibilities which might change by means of the level or sector of media he works
11. What are the basic functions and roles of mass communication?
The roles of the mass communication can be broadly categorized into the following aspects:
- To Inform: The main role of the mass communication is to inform the people of and make them aware by imparting information.
- to educate: The role of mass communication is not just restricted to impart information but to develop by instructions.
- to entertain: To entertain people which one of the major ways in which mass communication influences culture.
12. What are misleading advertisements and how do they effect the consumers?
Misleading advertisements are a common trend in mass communication. They make use of false or misleading statements to promote products and increase profit lines for a company or a brand. Such advertisements use deception to persuade people. Such advertisements completely deny the right to know for consumers and are banned in many countries. Still they have been a trend by finding legal ways to deceive people.
Misleading advertisements have the following effects on consumers:
- Confuse consumers.
- Deny the right to know for consumers.
- Deception by the use of false or misleading statement.
- in some cases even loss of money.
13. What is the pattern of evolution of mass communication and when did it start?
Mass communication originated from publishing of newspapers. The origin dates back to the 19th century from around 1835 which was the year of the invention of the telegraph which made it possible to send long distance messages.
However with time mass communication evolved in terms of medium and styles both. The evolution of the mass communication can be tracked as the publishing of newspapers. Which further evolved to publishing of magazines with which also came the concept of advertising? This was followed by films, radio, television and then internet.
14. What is grapevine communication and how can it effect mass communication?
Grapevine communication is a form of communication channel used for communicating gossips. It bypasses the formal structure of communication and thus is an informal form of communication. These days such communication channels can be noticed easily on social networking sites and other mediums. The news revolved in these channels turns out as rumours and sometimes even make it to the headlines of papers. The major disadvantage of grapevine communication is that it cannot be filtered and when on a large scale it is impossible to identify the source. Thus this form communication mostly leads to mislead or deceive the end consumer by false news or rumours.
15. In what ways does newspaper effect the development of a nation?
Newspaper is one of the most instrumental form of mass communication till date. It influences the culture, mentality and the view of its readers in many ways. Today newspaper itself falls into many categories. From regional to national, newspapers have been evolving fast according to the needs of its readers. The local news comes up with depth information reports with local happenings for regional readers and the business papers feed to the ones wanting an edge in the market. News papers thus play a very important role in shaping the community by informing and educating the people of a country.
16. What are the current characteristics of news?
The characteristics and trends and news change with time and the intended audience. The characteristics of news are majorly influenced by the human interest, proximity, current trends, consequences, intelligence, current affairs.
The current characteristics of news are majorly based on entertainment to target a bigger audience. To increase the appeal of the news various trends are being followed to make the news more interesting and gain more attention from the readers. News which are based on disasters, scams, crimes, war, violence and drama are the one which are rated high by news firms as they gain more audience.
17. What are the different promotion strategies used in mass communication?
Mass communication helps in reaching out to the masses and promote various products. Promotional strategies generally used in mass communication are as follows :
- Sponsorship : Many channels of mass communication are sponsored by companies and make good money to promote there products in return. This is a very general trend followed by marketing experts these days.
- Advertisement: Advertising is another promotional strategy used in mass communication to promote products and generate money.
- Public relations: Mass communication uses this strategy to build positive relation with public to favor the growth and demand of product or features. This can be also done other way round by increasing negative attention in order to gain publicity.
18. Which are the most dominating companies in the field of mass communication?
The mass communication sector is dominated by five major companies. These companies contribute to a total of 95% of the market in the mass communication sector.
- Time Warner
- VIACOM
- Vivendi Universal
- Walt Disney
- News Corp
19. How does social media effect youth?
The youth is majorly affected by social media. They buy, look and like what they see on television. Teenagers look forward to be dressed as what there favourite celebrity is dressed like and . The social media thus has a very major effect on the dressing culture of the youth. In the negative effect side, the influence to drug abuse and adulteration at a young age can be counted as one of the major. While on the positive side the want to become an athlete or play a sport that is gaining popularity can be taken. Thus social media has positive as well as negative effect on youth.
20. How does mass media act as a link between the government and the people?
The mass media affects the view of politics in peoples mind by its news, reports, analysis and presentations. On the other side it informs the government about the needs of people and the problems faced by the general public via different surveys conducted by the news channels or papers. Reports of injustice, abuse and exploitation sometimes catches the eye of the government via these channel of communication when news and reports are published or displayed. Mass media also informs the society and gives them an insight of the government, politics and the officials running them. Thus the media acts as a government watchdog and also keeps public aware of the politics and maintains a link between both.
21. What is mass media law and how is it involved in mass communication?
Mass media law is designed to set limits and guard mass media from wrong use. It encompasses a variety of communication industries which involve news papers, magazines, other forms of print media, films, Internet and other forms of electronic media. As mass media and communication and media reach out to a very large number of people it has the ability to affect these masses too in a variety of ways. So to govern these communications the process can be very complex and have far reaching results. The main laws involved in the mass media law are copyright law which is designed to protect the creativity and the defamation law which is further divided into slender and libel and are related to inappropriate or offending statements or visuals which can create a negative impact on reputation of individual or an entity.
22. What is sociology of media and what are its basic roles?
Sociology of media is a study of the mass media communication ie. the study of mass communication and different trends followed by it. It is a sub field of sociology and concerns to how mass media relates to features like transmission of information and the accessibility of information to groups of people. It focuses on how digital or mass communication is different from face to face communication and how does it influences the people via various concepts involved such as advertising , entertainment , education and information. Sociology of media includes the study of different forms of mass communication and media and the different structures of mass communication. Measuring of impact, case studies and neutrality of media are also issues covered under this subject.
23. What is cultural globalization? How does mass communication promote it?
Cultural globalization is the unifying of culture across the globe. It is about bringing cultures together and creating a unified culture across the globe. Mass media and communication are key promoters of cultural globalization and unification. As we see today many channels run globally such as CNN global news, which report which report news and events occurring across the world, even the most remote locations. This globalisation of news interconnects people and helps bringing exposure to countries about foreign ideas, practices and lifestyle.
24. What is the concept of imperialism in media?
The theory of loss of identity due to dominating media from larger countries. This mainly concerns to the growing or developing nations with not much developed media being overpowered by foreign media. This theory can be better understood by the example of small community shops being over taken by mall or shopping complexes which have a large scale production and influence. The imperialism of media causes the media from developing countries to be swallowed of forced under by media of larger nations with heavy influence. This causes the basic loss of identity of the country’s media and thus the loss of country’s identity.
25. What does democracy refers to with respect to mass communication and how does it relate to consolidation of mass media?
Democracy in mass communication refers to the freedom of speech and right to know. This enables people and the media to practice there right of freedom to speech by giving out there independent view point and there take over the society, politics or various other issues. The right to information allows the media too publish or inform the public about the view points or the current status of the society. These rights are practicable till they do not offend or go against the society. This relates to media consolidation as media consolidation talks about combining peoples view point or there take on the society.
26. Give a brief on Shannon weaver model.
Shannon weaver model is considered as one of the most important model of communication via which others have been developed. The model primarily focuses on the key roles involved in the communication which are sender, receiver, the medium or channel via which communication is established, the message being transferred and the noise channel. This model is not much useful in today’s time as it focuses on key roles such as sender, receiver and message and does not focus on the issue and the right of accessibility to the issue and who will handle it.
27. What is Press council and how does it help the current scenario of media?
The body that governs the conduct of the print media in the country is called press council. It is very important as it has the highest power with respect to the media to ensure the democracy of media covering the right to speech and the right to information in order for media to give out different views on various aspects of a society. Another role of the council is to maintain a limit to the print media by practicing media law so as to ensure that it does not offend or hurt cultural or religious sentiments of people. The Press council helps the current scenario of media as the freedom of speech often leads to cases of defamation. To tap such issues in current trends of media the press council plays a major role.
28. What are the roles of an editor of a newspaper?
The roles of a newspaper editor is related to the language and the grammar of the content published in the news paper. The editor of the newspaper has to make sure there are no errors in the punctuations or spellings in content and has to review the content in order to see if the article makes sense and is written right with no errors. At higher levels the newspaper editor also provides help in smooth operation of news along with editorial direction to the news paper.
29. What is dependency theory in mass communication and how does it differ from modernization theory?
The dependency theory was developed as a response to the modernization theory which also relates to mass communication. The theory states how the rich countries rich and the poor countries are turning poorer as the later is not integrated well enough to the world and thus is a victim of the wealthy nation and there influence over it. Dependency theory against the view of modernization theory that all societies develop through same stages. It stresses on the underdeveloped countries being different and backward with respect to world economy which makes them what they are today.
30. What is bullet theory?
Bullet theory is also known as magic bullet or hypodermic needle theory of mass communication. It talks about reception of message by the receiver or the intended audience as as a whole. Under this theory the media is taken as a gun and the message sent out by media as a bullet which is considered as penetrating into the audience to which the message is sent thus noting their response as due to their biological nature and considering all humans uniformly