Difference Between Mass Communication and Journalism

Edited by Diffzy | Updated on: June 06, 2023

       

Difference Between Mass Communication and Journalism

Why read @ Diffzy

Our articles are well-researched

We make unbiased comparisons

Our content is free to access

We are a one-stop platform for finding differences and comparisons

We compare similar terms in both tabular forms as well as in points


Introduction

We, humans, are always in search of ideas, information, and entertainment. We all like to discuss the latest topics that have been covered by the media. It can be anything, be it about new technology, a political dispute, the animal kingdom, climate change, or gossip about our favorite actors from the TV and film industry. We do not just get a telepathic vision of the new happenings going on around the world. We get this information from various sources.

Mass communication and journalism are the medium of information and entertainment. They are often used interchangeably by many of us, but if we look deep into them they are distinctive from each other.

Mass communication consists of a broad range of communication, and journalism is one of the aspects of mass communication. Mass communication includes public relations, advertisements, filmmaking, reality shows, journalism, and many more fields.

Journalism mainly deals with reporting facts that are collected from multiple sources through television, radio, print, or digital media.

Mass Communication vs Journalism

Mass communication is the process of providing information and entertainment to a large audience through mass media. Journalism, on the other hand, shares limited types of information.

Mass communication covers a broad field of communication, whereas journalism is one of the fields of mass communication concerned specifically with reporting events and facts through various sources.

Differences between Mass Communication and Journalism in Tabular Form

ParameterMass CommunicationJournalism
MeaningMass communication is communication towards the masses about various fields of information and entertainment through mass media.Journalism is the process of gathering information about facts and events and reporting them to the public.
Focuses onIt focuses on broadcasting various information like movies, ads, TV soaps, news, documentaries, etc.It focuses on news reporting.
Type of ContentContent can be based on a variety of information on facts, history, geography, entertainment, politics, cinema, etc.Content is primarily based on day-to-day events, facts, and statistics.
Creative FreedomIt has creative freedom.Creative freedom is not allowed.

What is Mass Communication?

The word ‘mass’ means the public or the people in general. Communication means interaction with one another. Therefore, mass communication is a process of conveying messages and information to a large number of people at the same time. Mass communication uses mass media to share information. Mass communication has various channels for transferring information like television, newspaper, magazine, radio, and cinema. Mass communication has a huge role to play in influencing people to think in some kind of way. It can persuade people to buy a cosmetic product that they may not need. It can motivate them to form opinions about a certain topic. It can entertain the masses for hours through television soaps and cinema. It can provide the latest information about a political issue and much more.

There are three aspects of mass communication. They are:

  • Heterogeneous – Mass communication has a variety of audiences. The audience may belong to any community, ethnicity, gender, age, class, or race. Mass communication has a type of channel for each type of audience.
  • Anonymous – The audience of mass communication is not known. The information may be received by anyone, and the receivers are usually a vast number of people.
  • Mass-produced – Information is continuously and abundantly produced and reaches the public in an appropriate form.

Characteristics of Mass Communication

  1. Target – It targets a large population
  2. Transmission – The messages are transmitted publically
  3. Duration – The duration of the messages is short so that they can reach the public fast and easily.
  4. Feedback – Feedback is indirect and late.
  5. Audience – Mass communication has various types of audiences. They may be children, adults, or aged people. They may have different interests or may use different mediums to gain information from the mass media. Literate people can read the newspaper, watch TV, listen to the radio, or use the internet to get new information. While illiterate ones can listen to the radio or watch the TV to remain updated.
  6. Objective – Depending on the type of mass media, they have specific objectives. The objective can be to convey a message, provide information, spread awareness, or entertain people.
  7. Message – Mass communication shares and repeats its messages to a vast and heterogeneous group of people at the same time.
  8. Source – The source can be any person, association, or organization.
  9. Nature of message – The messages are refined and then shared through a medium.
  10. Mass media – The mass media are the mediums through which messages are conveyed. TV, radio, newspaper, internet, social media, and magazines, are some of the mediums.
  11. Impersonality – The messages are meant for everyone, hence, they are not meant personally for a single individual.
  12. Gatekeeper – A gatekeeper checks that the messages are appropriate for the public. If the messages are inappropriate, they are rejected or asked to change.
  13. Mobility – The messages are mobile and can be carried from one place to another.
  14. Permanency – The information is permanent as it gets stored in the medium through which it was shared. These may be needed for reviews or as references in the future.

Functions of Mass Communication

  1. To inform – Mass communication informs the audience about various events, facts, current affairs, policies, and much more. The public is aware of what is happening around the world through it.
  2. To educate – Mass communication is a great educator as it keeps its audience informed and educated about essential information. It educates us about history, geography, moral values, science, current affairs, etc. In fact, every piece of information works toward our education.
  3. To entertain – Mass communication provides great entertainment programs like movies, music shows, dance shows, TV soaps, magic tricks, and many more.
  4. To persuade – Mass communication can persuade people in a way. Ads of a product persuade people to buy the products, talent shows inspire people to work on their talents and try their luck in the shows, and a negative review about cigarettes in the ads would let people introspect about their choice of smoking cigarettes.
  5. To transmit different cultures – Mass communication lets people from various parts of the world connect even though they may live miles apart. An Indian would know about Japanese culture just by sitting at home and watching a show on Japanese culture. An American would get understand various cuisines of India just by watching a YouTube channel exploring Indian cuisine.

What is Journalism?

Journalism is the reporting or publishing of facts and events that have been going on around the world. It gathers information from various sources and then conveys them to the public. The information produced by journalism is usually on matters the public would be concerned about. Journalism should be impartial and straight to facts so the public can have their opinion on a particular news or event and not project the opinions of the journalists.

Journalism must follow a set of guidelines to deliver the information to the public. The information collected from the sources must be verified, documented well, reviewed, and edited to finally report it through media.

Forms of Journalism

Journalism can be of different forms, including:

  • News – This includes breaking news, featured stories, and investigative stories.
  • Opinion-based programs – These include editorials that express a publication's opinions, columns that express the writer's reporting and conclusion, and reviews of movies, restaurants, etc.
  • Discussions and blogs – Individuals or groups, often open up their websites, especially to write blogs on the latest topics. Discussions are also posted on specific topics for people to understand a topic deeper.

Journalism uses various media to communicate and spread information. Print media i.e., newspapers and magazines are the oldest mediums of news reporting. Radio came after, and then came television. As the era of the internet began, new mediums of journalism had also come up. Social media channels, websites, and YouTube channels have also become great mediums to transfer news and information at a faster pace.

Reporting

Reporting is the process of gathering information from various sources for a news story. Three main ways through which one can collect information are –

  • Interviews: We often see reporters enquiring about a certain happening or incident from others who may be eyewitnesses of the incident or just experts or investigators. This is one of the ways to gather some insight into a news story.
  • Observation: Observation is a good source of information as well. This is when one is reporting a scene live, for example, a flood, drought, devastations after an earthquake, etc.
  • Documents: This is a secondary source where old reports, public records, and other materials are reviewed for reference.

Principles of Ethical Journalism

Journalism has the power to influence its audience. When news is shared, people have faith that the news is true and unbiased. To keep journalism ethical and honest, the Ethical Journalism Network formed five principles. The following are the principles that have to be followed:

  1. Truth and Accuracy – It is expected from journalism to report the truth and check the information before terming it as a fact or reality. Due to competition to be the fastest news channel to report breaking news, journalists often do not check the data properly and report the wrong information or incomplete information. This leads to misinterpretation and misunderstanding among the viewers.
  2. Independence – Journalism should be independent of any political, corporate, or cultural interest. If a show is sponsored, it must be mentioned to the public. Journalism must not work for any special interest.
  3. Fairness and impartiality – Journalism is a huge responsibility, and one needs to be cautious of what kind of information is shared through the media. Journalists should report both sides of the story instead of propagating only one side to manipulate people. It is the duty of journalists to only report facts and leaves the judgments to experts or audiences.
  4. Humanity – Journalists should be aware of what they broadcast and report. They should understand that the world is watching them and should be careful of broadcasting and publishing anything hurtful.
  5. Accountability – To err is human. Journalists can also make mistakes, but when they make mistakes they should admit them and correct them immediately. Only then can they be trusted by the public.

Main Differences between Mass Communication and Journalism in Points

  • Mass communication is vast and covers various types of media fields. Journalism, however, is one of the types of mass communication.
  • Mass communication involves disseminating various types of messages like facts, fiction, history, present conditions, cinema, TV soaps, ads, news, etc., to the public at local, national, and international levels. Journalism, on the other hand, is the dissemination of facts and events.
  • Mass media has more creative freedom, whereas journalism does not have much creative freedom.
  • Mass communication produces and conveys messages that may influence people. On the contrary, journalism must be unbiased and straight to facts and people are allowed to form their own opinion after information is shared.
  • Mass communication students are exposed to a variety of mediums and fields of communication. Journalism students, however, have to remain focused on news publishing and reporting.

Conclusion

Mass communication and journalism are forms of communication that provide information to the people. They are connected. However, mass communication is vaster than journalism. Journalism is a part of mass communication. While journalism is limited to reporting news and events, mass communication includes a variety of forms of communication. Mass communication has various kinds of audiences who have various options to choose from for their entertainment or to gather information. Journalism, however, has audiences who are more interested in updating themselves about events and happenings around the world.

Journalism and mass communication are essential forms of communication and they have been part of our lives for centuries. The medium of transferring information has been changing but the two forms of communication have never left us since it began. In fact, no day goes by for us till we watch the news, listen to a song, watch a reel, watch a wildlife documentary, get updates about an ongoing investigation, or use any other medium of communication. Hence, mass communication and journalism are part and parcel of our lives.

References

  • https://www.jagranjosh.com/articles/what-is-better-between-journalism-and-mass-communication-1506520741-1
  • https://leverageedu.com/blog/journalism-vs-mass-communication/
  • https://asatonline.org/for-media-professionals/ethical-journalism-autism-treatment/
  • https://www.robertniles.com/journalism/

Category


Cite this article

Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:


Styles:

×

MLA Style Citation


"Difference Between Mass Communication and Journalism." Diffzy.com, 2024. Thu. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.diffzy.com/article/difference-between-mass-communication-and-journalism>.



Edited by
Diffzy


Share this article