4. nature of broadcast media

• Characteristics of mass media

  • Universality
  • Popularity
  • Diversity
  • Immediacy
  • Use of sound
  • Impermanence
  • Reusability
• Universality


  • Readily available throughout the country
  • Found in the homes of the masses, the elites, restaurants, salons, buses, and schools
• Popularity


  • Enjoyed by many on a regular basis
  • Staple in daily activities
• Diversity


  • Offer a wide range of program content
  • Different programs cater to the specific needs and interests of specific audiences
• Immediacy


  • Present live broadcasts of news, sports, and other special events
  • Live component adds an aura of excitement and perception of being "with" the performers
• Use of sound


  • Establish rapport with the audience
  • Credibility is enhanced and interest is sustained
• Impermanence


  • Impermanent, perishable images and sounds in the audience's mind
  • Unlike newspapers and magazines that can be retrieved
• Reusability


  • Can be recorded, edited, and duplicated for multiple playbacks
• Can reach a large number of people at one time
• A single copy of a newspaper or magazine can be read by only a few individuals, radio programs on the other hand, can reach hundreds or thousands of listeners
• A single copy of a newspaper such as the PDI can be read by 3-4 people simultaneously, while a radio program can be heard by 50 students in a room simultaneously
• Can transmit message immediately


  • Events can be reported simultaneously as they happen without the intricacies of setting up equipment
• Transcends illiteracy and inadequate schooling


  • Suitable for audiences with low literacy
  • Radio can reach far-flung areas where the quality and standard of education may be inadequate
• More intimate and personalized than the print medium


  • Human voice gives warmth that a print medium does not possess
• Has emotional impact


  • Effective in arousing dramatic feelings using voice, music, and sound effects more than print
• A companion medium


  • Can be used almost anytime in any location because of its portability and mobility
• Relatively inexpensive


  • Cheaper to buy a radio set than subscribe to a newspaper or buy a TV set
• Can still be functional even without electricity


  • Most widely used mass medium, especially realized during calamities and emergencies
• If a listener misses a point


  He/she is likely to miss the essence of the broadcast
• This limitation can be addressed by recording the program. Once recorded the listener can have "full control" over the broadcast material
• Being a companion medium


  Attention level is divided
• Frequent repetition of messages helps
• Discussions of complex actions or processes are discouraged in radio
• Lacks personal contact compared with face-to-face communication


  • Absence of pictures, actions, and gestures affects reception of messages intended for the listeners
• Does not allow immediate feedback


  • Broadcaster cannot see audience and adjust at once to suit their moods, interests, and desires
• With social media and mobile phones, feedback has become much quicker and easier
• Visual component


  • Permits instantaneous transmission of sight, sound, motion, and color
  • Comes closer to the ideal face-to-face communication than any other medium
• Great potentials for education


  • Popularity of TV, a suitable medium for learning
• Broadcast programs can be enjoyed by many people at the same time


  • Ideal for presenting complex concepts or processes
  • Effectiveness is further enhanced by using appealing graphics and animations
• Impossible to ask the TV performer to repeat what has been said
• Higher production costs than other media
• Cost of production is offset by the big amounts of advertisement
• TV production is more time-consuming than radio and print production
• Electricity-dependent


  • Radio can still be used by using batteries