Target Audiences

Some media are best fitted to an audience that consists of individuals, each of whom is more or less alone when the message arrives. Other media are better fitted to an audience that gathers in groups.

Books, newspapers, magazines and direct mail are usually read by individuals. Film, on the other hand, is shown in theaters which gather audiences together in fairly large groups. Radio, television, and recordings are often delivered in group settings, but these groups are usually smaller than those who attend the showing of a film, and the three are also often used by individuals.

The relationship between the target audience and the delivery medium are especially important to commercial media organizations because they must compute the cost and effectiveness of their media products. Media organizations that use advertising to offset their costs must pay particular attention to their target audiences because their advertisers are often interested in presenting their ads to particular groups of people. For example, the recent trend in magazine publication has been towards an increase in the number of different magazines each of which appeals to a narrow audience that is desirable to a particular set of advertisers.

Functions of the Mass Media

The following are the basic functions performed by the mass media:

1. Information: Surveillance of the environment relates to news about the happenings in society. The mass media carry out this function by keeping us informed about the latest events in and around the world.

2. Entertainment: Mass media help us relax with family and friends and pass time. They also fulfill our psychological and social needs.

3. Symbolic Function: Mass media provide a shared symbolic environment. E.g. George Gerbner sees television as the central symbol of American culture.

4. Development: The mass media in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America perform the function of facilitators of the development, focusing on the socio-economic needs of the backward sections of society.

5. Advertising: This is a commercial function that helps keep the economic status of a country healthy. At the same time it would be suicidal to let this function dominate over the other functions of the mass media.

II. DISCUSSION