MAC 212 MEDIA AND SOCIETY

members of the society. It is also known as folk media or trado-

communication.

Below are modes or forms of African communication system.

6. The town crier or gong man: Is a messenger who goes about with
his iron gong to call people in order to announce to them
whatever message they have for the society.
7. The Hornman: Uses the elephant tusk (horn) to call the people's
attention whenever the need arises e.g. when the king or chief of
a town has any message to pass across to the entire community.
8. The minstrel: Is a singer who communicates with the people
indirectly through songs.
9. The story teller: tells stories about the society and in this way
passes valuable information across especially to the young ones.
10. Traditional leaders: These are used as modes to get information
across to their communities from a larger forum
11. Social groups: These are the different groups in the society who
represent different interests. Through them, information could
equally be passed across to their group members.

Sounding a little bit advance, Wilson (1990:281-282) captures six

modes of traditional communicating system. These are:

i. Instrumental Mode of Communication

ii. Demonstrative Mode of Communication
iii. Iconographic Mode of Communication
iv. Extra-Mundane Mode of Communication
v. Visual Mode of Communication
vi. Institutional Mode of Communication

• Instrumental Mode of Communication consists of modes which

use idiophones, aerophones, membranophones and symbolography.
It is important to dilute the above high sounding words as explained
by Wilson (1990:281-2).

Idiophones are self-sounding instruments which produce sound when

they are beaten, pricked, struck or plucked by hand or by the use of a
stick. They produce sound without the use of an intermediary medium.
They include instruments such as the mental gong, woodblock, wooden
drum, bell and rattle.

Aerophones are instruments which produce sound as a result of the

vibration of a column of air in them. The sound produced may also be a
message or may serve as signal. They include whistles, flutes and horns

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from plants and animals. Some of the best known ones are cows, ivory
and deer horns.

Membranophones are communication instruments which are made from

the skins of animals. When the membranes are struck or beaten they
produce sound which may act as signal or may serve as the message
itself. The best known is the ‘talking’ drum commonly used among the
Yoruba-speaking people both for music and communication.

Symbolography is the use of cryptic representation in the form of

writing (pseudo-writing) made on surfaces (hard or soft) like the rind of
the bamboo, walls, cloth, or the ground. This is a symbolic writing mode
or representation which may be employed in communicating among
members of an exclusive club. The best known example is the Nsibidi
writing is found among the people of the Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo
and Anambra States and even beyond to the Camerouns.

• Demonstrative Mode of Communication consists of the use of

music and signal in communicating with the people.

• Iconographic Mode of Communication consists of the use of

objects (objectified communication) and floral media.… the
presentation of a bowl of kolanut has significance with the context of
the presentation and also has symbolic meanings…floral
communication involves the use of selected floral of the local
vegetation for the purpose of communicating specific meanings or
ideas to members of the community.

• Extra-Mundane Mode of Communication is a mode which is

believed to take place between the living and the dead, or between
the living and the supernatural or Supreme Being. On the surface, it
usually seems unidirectional but participants at religious crusades,
prayer sessions, rituals and other religious and pseudo-spiritual
activities know there is often a form of feedback which may come
through intrapersonal processes, physical revelations or magical,
other-worldly verbalizations.

• Visual Mode of Communication consists of the use of colours and

dressing, appearance and general comportment to communicate
certain feelings and attitudes.

• Institutional Mode of Communication consists of the use of

certain traditional institutions symbolically. The most important of
such traditional institutions are marriage, chieftaincy, secret
societies, shrines, masks and masquerades.

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African communication system by way of strengths reinforces and

promotes a sense of nationality and nationhood in Africa; forms the
basis for diffusion network; avoids empty waste in information
dissemination and is simple and less costly.

Critics of trado-communication see its communication process as been

tiresome and tedious in nature. It is also been criticized on the ground
that the communication system is limited to a group of people who
speak the same language or dialect.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

Outline the modes of African traditional communication system.

3.2 Modern Communication

This has to do with communication through the mass media. The mass
media refers to communicating with large number of people without
direct contact. They include TV, Radio, newspapers, magazines, comics,
books, films and advertising bill boards. (Haralambos, M. et al
1986:28).

Conventionally, the mass media inform, entertain and educate the

people. They are the major source of information and ideas in modern
society. They shape people’s attitude and direct their behaviour to a
greater extent. They are the instrument of social control.

Apart from the mass media, other tools of informatics and computopia
like telephones, walkie-talkie, the internet, satellite to mention only a
few are useful channels of communication in modern society. By
extension, these tools of informatics facilitate the process of mass
communication.

Modern means of communication is faster and attends to a large number

of people irrespective of distance almost simultaneously.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2

Discuss the modern means of communication

3.3 Relationship Between Traditional and Modern Systems

of Communication

Both traditional and modern man communication are systems of

communication. The former is simple while the latter is complex and
sophisticated.

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The mass media can address the communication needs of diverse

audience within a short period. They preserve and refine the trado
modes of communication with a view to addressing the entertainment
and education needs of the people. The mass media can initiate social
change in the society using any of the forms of traditional
communication in a globalised manner.

The mass media overcome the challenges of trado-communication by

opening 24-hour vistas of communication to anonymous, heterogeneous
and large audience across national frontiers.

Both the trado-communication and the mass media can re-engineer the
society depending on how they are used. The mass media are wider in
concept, sophisticated in the process and dynamic in operations. The
reverse is almost the case in traditional communication.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 3

Discuss the relationship between trado-media and the mass media.

4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, we have looked at some basic definitions of communication,
identified some traditional and modern modes of communication.
Finally we tried to establish the link between both of them.

5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, I discussed the meaning and modes of African traditional
communication. I also examined the concept of modern communication
and established its relationship with the folk media.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Distinguish traditional communication systems from the mass media.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Ate, A.A (2006). “African Communication Systems.” Lecture
Monograph.

Haralambos, M, Holborn, M and Heald, R (1986). Sociology: A

New Approach. Lancashire: Canseway Press.

Wilson, D (1990). “Traditional Communication Media Systems” in

Akpan (ed.)

Communication Arts: Principles, Applications and Practices. Uyo:

Modern Business Press.

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UNIT 3 THE MASS MEDIA – CLASSIFICATION AND

CHARACTERISTICS

CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Meaning of the Mass Media
3.2 Classification of the Mass Media
3.3 Differences between Print and Electronic Media
3.4 Characteristics of the Mass Media
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we shall take a look at the mass media, its various
classifications and characteristics. This will enable the student to
appreciate the nitty-gritty surrounding the general operations of the mass
media.

2.0 OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:

• define the mass media

• discuss the various classes of the mass media
• explain the characteristics of the various classes of the mass media.

3.0MAIN CONTENT

3.1 What is the Mass Media?

McQuail (2000) describe mass media as a means of communication that

operates on a large scale, reaching and involving virtually everyone in a
society to a greater or lesser degree. Media is a plural of medium, which
means a channel or vehicle through which something is carried or
transmitted. In other words, mass media are channels of communication
in a modern society, primarily the print and the electronic media.
McQuail further describes the mass media as the organized means for
communicating openly and at a distance to many receivers within a

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