The production, distribution, and consumption of media products on a global scale, facilitating the exchange and diffusion of ideas cross-culturally.
Published in Chapter:
Communication and Media: Types, Functions, and Key Concepts
Bradley Freeman (American University in Dubai, UAE)
Copyright: © 2018
|Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-4059-5.ch002
Abstract
The field of communication is large and varied. There are different types and levels of communication. Mass communication allows for mass media: books, newspapers, magazines, recorded sound/music, film, radio, television, video games, and the internet. Scholars have identified a handful of common functions of the media. The chief function of media is that of entertainment – providing diversion. Though it varies from country to country, people are spending much more time with the media than at any time in history, often spending more time with media than sleeping. This chapter discusses a number of concepts and terms related to contemporary mass media: globalization, digitalization, convergence, consolidation, fragmentation, personalization, and (hyper) commercialization.