The Place of the Media in the Society and How Mass Media and Society Are Utilitarian of Each Other

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On the other hand, they see media as a form of social and cultural industry which portray all aspect of the symbols through which people make sense of their daily lives. The media use its platform to showcase deeds in a society and how people live their lives in a society. This is why the media is seen as a window through which one can get to know how a society exist.

Mass media according to Daramola (2005) is a means through which social interaction is made possible as it is a means of sharing and exchanging information, ideas and opinion in a modern society. Media organizations exist in a symbiotic relationship with their environment, drawing on it not only for their economic sustenance but also forthe ‘raw materials’ of which their contents are made. Now that the mass media has made the world a global village, it is now very easy for people to express themselves better and transfer information.

Mass media also brings about social integration which is the key ingredient to the unity of a society. The mass media use their content to ensure the unity in diversity of people, despite the fact that they have varied psychographic and demographic make up.

Notwithstanding the obvious importance the media has in the society. It is also necessary to see the linkage that makes the society co-exist with the media as it is a vice-versa approach.

Media feed on happenings in any society they find themselves in. Without people to interact with each other, there would be nothing for the mass media to report on, which would seem their messages as useless. This is because there would be nothing to communicate to a wide audience, if it is ever possible for humans to seize interaction.

Activities of people and government in the society also affect the angle on type of issues the media report. The mass media operate within the milleu in the society they operate in. If certain messages are unacceptable to the people, the media would not attempt disseminating such messages. For example, the issue of homosexuality is an issue which is frowned at every corner of Nigeria. As such, the media would not come up with messages that would encourage such practice. Rather, they would promote the values of the people by discouraging the practice and expose those who indulge in such.

Conclusion:

The relationship in which exist between mass media and society cannot be over-emphasized as they need each other to stand whole. The society depends in a long run, on the media to provide them with information about happenings in their society. The media on the other hands needs people, events and phenomena around the have a message to which they feed people in a society.

REFERENCES

- Cambell R. et al (2012). Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. (8th edition). Boston: RR Donnelley and Sons

- Daramola, I. (2005). Mass Media and Society. Lagos: Rothan Press Limited

- Dominick J. (2009). The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in The Digital Age. (8th Edition). New York: Mc Graw Hill Company

- Mc Quail (2006). Mc Quail’s Mass Communication Theory. (6th Edition). London: SAGE Publications Ltd