Communication

About this unit

This unit lays the foundation for the whole subject. It explains what communication is, the different levels at which it takes place, and the models scholars use to describe it. It then links communication to culture and social change, and traces how newspapers, radio, television and new media developed in India. Almost every later unit (journalism, advertising, cinema, social media) builds on these basic ideas.

Key ideas

• Communication is the process of sharing meaning through messages sent from a source to a receiver.
• Levels: intrapersonal, interpersonal, group and mass communication.
• Models: Aristotle, Lasswell, Shannon–Weaver and Schramm, from linear to circular.
• Feedback and noise decide whether a message is understood as intended.
• Media carry culture and can create or break stereotypes.
• Media can act as a catalyst for social change.
• Indian media history: from the first printed newspaper to television and the Internet.

How to prepare

Learn the elements of each model and be able to name the model from its description. Memorise a short timeline of key landmarks in Indian print, radio and television history. Practise applying ideas such as noise, feedback and stereotyping to everyday situations, because questions are often case-based.