THE MASS PUBLIC AT GRIPS WITH MASS COMMUNICATION

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 20, Heft 4, S. 625-643

Abstract

Long-time experience with the Belgian Radio & TV indicates that the reaction of the audience to the pressure of the MM is a sociol'al phenomenon of which as yet little is known. The problem must be re-examined from its most generally accepted data & bases up. 2 interrelated subjects are dealt with broadly: (a) the basic typology of the mass public, & (b) the variations in the effect of MM messages. The mass public which the sociol'ts are studying is a 'monstrous sociol'al grouping gradually crystallizing,' which receives a high intensity-level of intellectual COMM's & is exposed to multiple, diverse, incoherent as well as coherent, ephemeral as well as sustained pressures. It has no community bonds, community intimacy or primary connections. It adheres to a standardized, superficial, psychol'al penetrating & homogenizing culture, exhibits a certain facelessness & dehumanization, & has lost traditional ideologies which are replaced by concrete offers of service. It is depolitized, worships functional efficiencies, & respects things rather than persons. It is facing a growing excess of leisure & the democratization of educ as a result of demographic pressure. Among this mass public, the information media will seek their own mass public, which, however, is diff from the mass public of the sociol'ts. Under the relentless pressure of the messages emitted by the MM, this fundamentally heterogeneous audience becomes organized-at certain times & under certain circumstances-into a bona fide sociol'al category or even SC. Thus heterogeneous groups become for certain periods of time a homogeneous agglomeration. The quantitative aspect of the MM messages is one of shameless extravagance with material effort disproportionate to the results, a 'shocking waste of substance & energy.' The qualitative aspect is yet little known. It is known, however, that the characteristics observable at emission level-mass orientation, standardization, vulgarization, distortion of cultural values, etc-are not necessarily found at the registering & internalizing levels, thanks to the triple filter of external constraints, unconscious selectivity, & the defense mechanism. The resistance of the public to attempts at mass conditioning is greater than is commonly believed. A 2-dimensional schema (conjunctural & structural levels) of the effects of the MM on society is introduced which can be used as a mental frame of reference in the analysis of MM effects. It is concluded: (a) The relationship between the MM & its public must be broken down into 'sociol'al observation perimeters, which in turn must be separated into sociol'al observation units, eg, information on current events from the daily papers. (b) The largest possible number of survey techniques must be used on a continuous basis & results appraised & systematically cross-checked. A policy of multiple surveys should be adopted. 5 Figures, 1 Table. M. Maxfield.