LEARNING COMPETENCY:
The learner discusses the principles, features and process of TV broadcasting.
At the end of the module, you are able to:
1. Determine why television is a medium.
2. Discuss the different types of media television is.
Task 1: Match the characteristics shown in Column A with the type of media TV is in
Column B.
1. TV production entails a a. Live Medium
great number of human b. Domestic Medium
resources and technical c. Transitory Medium
as well as physical d. Expensive Medium
requirements. e. Mass Medium
2. TV has impermanence f. Audio Visual Medium
as its feature. What is
shown today may no
longer be viewed
tomorrow.
3. TV is characterized by
the combination of
sounds and images.
4. TV reaches a wide range
of audience from
different places.
5. TV has immediacy. It
may show exactly what
happening right at a
specific moment in time.
6. TV may be accessed
and enjoyed right at the
comfort of one’s home.
Task 2: Give words or phrases that you can use to show your understanding of the word
“television.”
Task 3: Place a check (/) on the item if it is a fact about television and a cross (X) if it
isn’t.
1. Keeping a TV station is easy.
2. The TV involves the complex process of fusing audio and video files as its
output.
3. Like radio, TV has a wide reach especially those with receivers/ signals.
4. TV is a form of broadcast media.
5. TV content can be accessed anytime, anywhere through the TV receivers.
Now, let us learn more about the characteristics of television as a medium.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TELEVISION AS A MEDIUM
AUDIO VISUAL MEDIUM
While radio has sound, television content includes both sound and visuals. This audio
visual character of television makes it a magic medium which allows us to watch the
world from our drawing rooms. This powerful visual nature helps television to create
vivid impressions in our minds which in turn leads to emotional involvement. The audio
visual quality also makes television images more memorable.
DOMESTIC MEDIUM
To watch television, we need not leave your drawing room. No need of going to the
movie theater or buying tickets. We can watch television in the comfort of our home with
our family. This is why television is generally regarded as a domestic medium. It
provides entertainment and information right inside our homes and has become an
integral part of our everyday lives. It can actually pattern our daily activities. Even our
family makes it a point to watch their favorite serial at a particular time and adjust dinner
timings accordingly. This domestic nature of television influences the content also. We
have noticed that a newspaper report has an impersonal tone, whereas the television
anchor addresses us directly. The domestic nature of television makes it an intimate
medium. This makes the viewer’s experience a sense of closeness to the Television.
LIVE MEDIUM
The important characteristic of television is that it is capable of being a live medium.
This is because the live nature of television allows it to transmit visuals and information
almost instantly. The visuals of an earthquake in Indonesia can reach our television set
in almost no time. This capacity of the medium makes it ideal for transmitting live
visuals of news and sports events. If we are watching a cricket match in a television
channel, we can almost instantly see the wicket hit by our favourite player.
The television allows you to witness events which happen thousands of miles away.
MASS MEDIUM
All of us know that there are a large number of people who cannot read or write.
Such people may not be able to read a newspaper, but they can watch television.
Anyone with a television receiver can access the information shown on television.
This makes it an ideal medium to transmit messages to a large audience. In a country
like ours, with a huge illiterate population, this characteristic of television makes it an
ideal instrument for transmitting social messages. Television also has a very wide
output, range and reach. It is truly a mass medium.
A TRANSITORY MEDIUM
Television programmes are not easy to be recorded by viewers. It may be practically
impossible to record every programme which appears on your television. Therefore,
television is generally identified as a transitory medium.
EXPENSIVE MEDIUM
There is need to large amount of machinery and expertise needed to run a television
station. We can write articles and stories and draw our own pictures. All we need will be
paper, pen, drawing instruments and time. However, a television programme can never
be made this. However, a television programme can never be made this easily. It
requires lots of money, machinery and experienced people. Broadcast media in general
and television in particular involves complex technology and organization. We will need
cores of rupees to start a television station.
Source: https://wecommunication.blogspot.com/2012/03/characteristics-of-television-as-
medium.html
Task 4: Provide your own understanding on the characteristics of television as a
medium.
Characteristics of TV as a Medium Your Thoughts
Audio Visual Medium
Domestic Medium
Live Medium
Mass Medium
Transitory Medium
Expensive Medium
Task 4: Fill out the table below.
What I have learned What I find difficult What I find interesting
Task 5: Tell which characteristic of television as a medium is best exemplified for each
context and state your reason why.
1. State of the Nation Address
2. Documentary of Martial Law in Mindanao
3. NBA Playoffs
4. WHO Covid Update
5. PNP Blotter Reports
Answer key:
Task 1:
1. D 2. C 3. F 4. E 5. A 6. B
Task 2: Answers may vary
Task 3:
1. X 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. X
Task 4: Answers may vary
Task 5: Answers may vary
Task 6: Answers may vary
