Defining the Field

1
Chapter Overview

This chapter begins with discussing the central importance of media and communication to our so-
ciety and culture and goes on to consider the ever-shifting nature of communication media. As
means of building a common understanding of the subjects under study, two different models of
communication, as well as a number of definitions of communication media and processes, are of-
fered for consideration. Given recent changes to the media environment, the text offers an updated
definition of the term mass communication and describes three different forms of mass communication
in this context. By way of a seven-part outline, the chapter then explores the nature of mass media
and mass communication as the following:

1. a distinct set of activities;

2. involving particular technological configurations;
3. structured by particular forms of ownership;
4. acting within certain laws, rules, and understandings;
5. carried out by persons an organizations occupying certain roles;
6. which, together, convey information, entertainment, images, and words;
7. to or among members of society.

Mass media are illustrated to be woven into Canadian society through a legal and regulatory frame-
work, particular types of ownership, professions, associated institutions, particular technology, avail-
able leisure time, and content. New media are framed as extending and deepening these relationships,
with social media and other new media offering more opportunities for people to engage with each
other, create their own media products, and engage with traditional media, thus altering our tradi-
tional notions of audience.

Related Websites

 Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)

www.actra.ca

 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html

 Canadian Heritage
http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1266037002102/1265993639778

 Canadian Intellectual Property Office

www.cipo.ic.gc.ca

Mass Communication in Canada, Eight Edition

© Oxford University Press Canada, 2016
 Canadian Media Guild
www.cmg.ca

 Canadian Association of Journalists

www.caj.ca

 Canadian Broadcast Standards Council

www.cbsc.ca

 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

www.crtc.gc.ca

 CBC
www.cbc.ca

 “Journalistic Standards and Practices,” CBC

http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/reporting-to-canadians/acts-and-policies/programming/
journalism/

 CBC’s The National

www.cbc.ca/thenational

 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

www.policyalternatives.ca

 CNW Group (Canada Newswire)

www.newswire.ca

 Facebook
www.facebook.com

 Flickr
www.flickr.com

 Google Books
www.books.google.com

 Newspapers Canada
www.newspaperscanada.ca

 Public Library of Science (PLoS)

www.plos.org

 Society of Composers, Authors, and Musicians of Canada (SOCAN)

www.socan.ca

Mass Communication in Canada, Eight Edition

© Oxford University Press Canada, 2016
 SourceForge
www.sourceforge.net

 The Canadian Press

www.thecanadianpress.com

 Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.org

 Wired magazine
www.wired.com

 YouTube
www.youtube.com

Study Questions

1. Define mass communication in its three organizational forms.

2. What are the fundamental differences between the mathematical and the social models of com-
munication?

3. Define and distinguish between the mass media and the new media (in its two forms).

4. Explain the purpose of the Copyright Act.

5. How are new media influencing the structure of our society?

6. The current mass media system serves consumers—not people, not citizens, not children, not all
groups within society, but consumers. Discuss.

7. Explain the term convergence as it relates to communication technologies and the media.

8. Describe the main implications of corporate convergence for government and media industries.

9. How are technologies invented within a social context? Explain some of the main variables that
contribute to particular technological inventions.

10. Describe the various forms of media ownership, along with their individual challenges and goals.

11. Compare and contrast the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act in Canada.

12. How has the growth of new media changed traditional notions of the audience?

Mass Communication in Canada, Eight Edition

© Oxford University Press Canada, 2016