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For discussion of the actual means of mass communication, see Mass media.

Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various means by which individuals and entities relay information to large segments of the population all at once through mass media. It is usually understood to relate to newspaper and magazine publishing, radio, television, and film, as they are used both for disseminating news and for advertising.

In the United States, many university journalism departments evolved into schools or colleges of mass communication or "journalism and mass communication," as reflected in the names of two major academic organizations. In addition to studying practical skills of journalism, public relations or advertising, students also may major in "mass communication" or "mass communication research." The latter is often the title given to doctoral studies in such schools, whether the focus of the student's research is journalism practice, history, law or media effects. Departmental structures within such colleges may separate research and instruction in professional or technical aspects of . Mass communication research includes media institutions and processes, such as diffusion of information, and media effects, such as persuasion or manipulation of public opinion.

With the Internet's increased role in delivering news and information, mass communication studies -- and media organizations -- have increasingly focused on the convergence of publishing, broadcasting and digital communication.

The academic mass communication discipline historically differs from media studies and communication studies programs with roots in departments of theatre, film or speech, and with more interest in "qualitative," interpretive theory, critical or cultural approaches to communication study. In contrast, many mass communication programs historically lean toward empirical analysis and quantitative research -- from statistical content analysis of media messages to survey research, public opinion polling, and experimental research.

Interest in "New Media" and "Computer Mediated Communication" is growing much faster than educational institutions can assimilate it. So far, traditional classes and degree programs have not been able to accommodate new paradigm shifts in communication technologies. Although national standards for the study of interactive media have been in place in the U.K. since the mid-nineties, course work in these areas tends to vary significantly from university to university.

Graduates of Mass Communication programs work in a variety of fields in traditional news media and publishing, advertising, public relations and research institutes.

Such programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication^[1]. The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication^[2] is the major membership organization for academics in the field, offering regional and national conferences and refereed publications. The International Communication Association^[3] and National Communication Association (formerly the Speech Communication Association) include divisions and publications that overlap with those of AEJMC, but AEJMC historically has stronger ties to the mass communication professions in the United States.

The term 'mass' denotes great volume, range or extent (of people or production) and reception of messages.^[4] The important point about 'mass' is not that a given number of individuals receives the products, but rather that the products are available in principle to a plurality of recipients.^[5]

The term 'mass' suggests that the recipients of media products constitute a vast sea of passive, undifferentiated individuals. This is an image associated with some earlier critiques of 'mass culture' and Mass society which generally assumed that the development of mass communication has had a largely negative impact on modern social life, creating a kind of bland and homogeneous culture which entertains individuals without challenging them.^[6] However, with the advancement in Media Technology, people are no longer receiving gratification without questioning the grounds on which it is based.^[7] Instead, people are engaging themselves more with media products such as computers, cell phones and Internet. These have gradually became vital tools for communications in society today.

The aspect of 'communication' refers to the giving and taking of meaning, the transmission and reception of messages. The word 'communication' is really equated with 'transmission', as viewed by the sender, rather than in the fuller meaning, which includes the notions of response, sharing and interaction. ^[8] Messages are produced by one set of individuals and transmitted to others who are typically situated in settings that are spatially and temporally remote from the original context of production. Therefore, the term 'communication' in this context masks the social and industrial nature of the media, promoting a tendency to think of them as interpersonal communication.^[9]Furthermore, it is known that recipents today do have some capacity to intervene in and contribute to the course and content of the communicative process.^[10] They are being both active and creative towards the messages that they are conveyed of. With the complement of the cyberspace supported by the Internet, not only that recipents are participants in a structured process of symbolic transmission^[11], constraints such as time and space are reordered and eliminated.

'Mass communication' can be seen as instituionalized production and generalized diffusion of symbolic goods via the fixation and transmission of information or symbolic content. It is known that the systems of information codification has shifted from analog to digital.^[12] This has indeed advance the communication between individuals. This can be demonstrated not only through the cyberspace which is supported by both local and universal networking, cell phone indeed serves as an example of microscopic computing technology which we are able to create big, powerful deeds with tiny and limited space required. With the existence of Infrared, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, cell phone is no longer solely a tool for audio transmission. We can transfer photos, music documents or even games and email at any time and any where. The development of media technology has indeed advance the transmission rate and stability of information exchange. Although there are still rooms for refinements existing in the system, making reference to the Hacker Ethic of Steven Levy^[13], computers are really capapble of creating art and beauty and in hope of changing our life for the better.

Five characteristics of mass communication are identified by John Thompson.

Firstly, it comprises both technical and institutional methods of production and distribution^[14]. This is evident in the history of media, from print to the Internet, each able to be utilized commercially. Secondly, it involves the 'commodification of symbolic forms'^[15] as the production of materials rely on its ability to manufacture and sell large quantities of the work. Just as radio stations rely on its time sold to advertisements, newspapers rely on its space for the same reasons. Mass Communication's third characteristic is its separate contexts between the production and reception of information^[16]. The fourth feature is in its reach to those 'far removed' in time and space, in comparison to the producers^[17]. Lastly, Thompson notes the fifth characteristic of mass communication, involving information distribution. This is a 'one to many' form of communication, where products are mass produced and disseminated to a great quantity of audiences^[18].

• Hartley, J. 1997, “Mass communication”, in O’Sullivan and Fiske, eds., Key Concept in Communication and Cultural Studies (second edition), Routledge, London and New York.
• Mackay, H and O’Sullivan T. 1999, The Media Reader: Continuity and Transformation, Sage, London.
• McQuail, D. 2005, McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (fifth edition), Sage, London.
• Thompson, J. B. 1995, The Media and Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge.
• Levy, Steven 1984, "Hackers:Heroes of the Computer Revolution, Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York