Denis Mcquail Definition Of Communication

[Denisha Padley]

DenisMcQuail was born in Wallington, London on 12 April 1935 to Irish immigrant parents Annie (ne Mullan) and Christopher McQuail.[4] After schooling at St Anselm's college in Birkenhead, where he showed an aptitude for languages, he spent his national service in the Intelligence Corps learning Russian and studied history at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[4] McQuail obtained his BA in Modern History from the University of Oxford in 1958, and the next year his MA in Public and Social Administration. He obtained his PhD in social studies from the University of Leeds in 1967 with the thesis, entitled Factors affecting public interest in television plays.[5]

McQuail started his academic career in the UK. On 1 August 1977, he was appointed Professor at the University of Amsterdam, where on 6 November 1978 he spoke the inaugural lecture, entitled "The historicity of a science of mass media: time, place, circumstances and the effects of mass communication."[1] After his early retirement on 1 January 1997, he was appointed Emeritus Professor. He was also Visiting Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Southampton.[6]

McQuail published extensively in the field of political communication and communication theory. Best known is his contribution to the education of the public, concerning communication theory. His work has centred on explaining communication theories and their applications. He is adamant about informing the public on the benefits and dangers of mass communication.

In the early 1980s he and Dr. Sven Windahl published a book Communication Models. The book details basic communication models (Lasswell model, Shannon and Weaver's model, Gerbner's model), theories of media, audience-centered models, and mass media systems in general. In textbook style, the book outlines each topic: it is a compilation of existing communication theories with the author's own thoughts.

McQuail's next book, Mass Communication Theory, discusses in greater detail the mass communication concept. Specifically, it talks about the significance of mass media and how it affects the individual and society rather than focusing on the definitions of the models in general. "The three primary objectives: to update and take account of recent theory and research; enlargement, to reflect the continuing expansion of the field; clarification and improved presentation (pg. 13)". In Chapter 10, McQuail discusses the future of mass communication and states that it is either socially fragmenting or unifying. He makes several points on how the media needs to be socially responsible to be effective.

The sequel was Media Performance (1992). In it, previous theories are taken more for granted, and applied. He discusses at length the importance of an informed public. He states that the more aware a public is, the less likely it will be affected by media.

In 1993, communication scholars Denis McQuail and Sven Windahl referred to Lasswell's model as "perhaps the most famous single phrase in communication research." McQuail and Windahl also considered the model as a formula that would be transformed into a model once boxes were drawn around each element and arrows connected the elements. In 1995, Stanley Baran and Dennis Davis recognized it a verbal model of the communication process. In 2008, Greenberg and Salwen acknowledged that Lasswell's model of communication has been widely adopted, but expressed: "Although Lasswell's model draws attention to several key elements in the mass communication process, it does no more than describe general areas of study. It does not link elements together with any specificity, and there is no notion of an active process.

McQuail makes special mention in Mass Communication Theory of the difficulty that surrounds identifying specific uses of media, as well as the difficulty of understanding the reception that any specific medium may have. McQuail uses the medium of the television as an example and notes that despite the many changes and extensions that the occurred, the television is still primarily seen as a medium of family entertainment.

Have you ever noticed how we express ourselves or interact with each other? Have you ever wondered what communication is and what role it plays in our lives? One may wonder if communication is so omnipresent and integral to our lives, why study communication at all? We need to study communication because it is a complex process that consists of many elements and is also beset with a number of barriers and there is a need to remove the barriers so that the communication process is effective.

We all engage in communication with others right from birth. When we interact with others we are communicating with them. It is an integral part of our lives and is intertwined with all the activities undertaken by us. Human beings communicate right from the moment they are born till death and it will not be an exaggeration to say that communication is indicative of life itself. Thus communication can be equated with other basic needs of life such as food, clothes, and shelter as any person, group, or community cannot survive without communication.

Communication is more than just messaging or swapping information. Human communication is much too complicated and involved. There are thousands of unconscious nonverbal behaviors involved in even a single conversation and we are usually aware of only a few of them during the course of the conversation. Communication facilitates the sharing of common experiences with others. It involves sharing an idea, thought, feeling, or information with others, which includes thinking, dreaming, speaking, arguing, and so on. Thus the scope of communication is very wide.

It involves not just words, but the use of all our senses. With face-to-face dialogue, our facial expression, tone, body language, ability to listen with patience, all contribute to the conveying of messages and information between people. We may communicate with ourselves while thinking, dreaming, reading, watching something, or listening to something. We communicate face-to-face with another person or speak with people in group situations. Communication is both an individual and a collective necessity. Human beings cannot be fully human without communication.

Now we live in an age of communication characterized by speed, efficiency, and the ability to transcend physical or geographical limitations. We can also communicate with people located in widespread places, who may be from a heterogeneous group and be anonymous to each other, with the help of technology. Being able to share information quickly between people has meant that a disaster in one part of the world can be responded to in another; it has led to the fall of corrupt governments, as people have been able to unite in challenging authoritarian regimes. People in remote areas fighting injustice have linked up with people on the other side of the world who can support their cause. As with everything, new technologies such as e-mail and text messaging have the potential to be positive or negative.

Communication generally means the exchange of messages with others but it can also be with one's own self where the self is the sender and receiver of messages. Communication is part skill, part art, and part science. It is a skill as it involves certain fundamental techniques, it is an art as it involves creative challenges, and it is a science because certain verifiable principles are involved in making communication more effective. All this makes communication a complex process. Once a human being has arrived on this earth, communication is the single most important factor determining what kinds of relationships he makes and what happens to him in the world.

We need to understand the basic principles of communication in order that we may grasp the way communication influences the lives of individuals and society. It is also necessary to understand the way the various instruments of communication (traditional and modem) function. Different scholars have defined communication in various ways. Some of them describe it as 'the transfer of meaning', 'transmission of stimuli', 'one mind-affecting other' or 'sharing of experiences on the basis of commonness'. To understand the concept of communication, let us examine the various definitions of communication as given by different scholars.

The word communication has its origin in the Latin word 'communis' which means 'to make common'. When we communicate we are trying to establish 'commonness' with someone. That is, we are trying to share information, an idea, or an attitude.

The New Webster's dictionary defines communication as "the act or fact of communicating transmission, the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing or signs that which is communicated or imparted; a document or message imparting views or information."

According to the Oxford dictionary "communication is the imparting, conveying or exchanging of ideas, knowledge, etc., by means of speech, writing or any attempt to define communication, has to take into consideration the idea of mutuality and commonness, an exchange, a shared environment, a social relationship among the participants and the existence of a common need, urge, aim or goal.

Communication is not a static act but a dynamic process, which is continuous in nature and vital for teaching and learning. It involves the usage of a channel. This channel could be signs, symbols, or verbal/written language. For communication to be complete and effective it has to achieve the desired objectives as intended by the communicator.

Schramm, (1971) conceived of communication as a process of transferring feelings, motivations, ideas, and knowledge from one mind to another, in a way in which the receiver was seen as a passive agent.

Baker Brownell uses the terms "direct" and "indirect" communication. Direct communication is a function of 'identification of people with one another. Indirect communication is a "process wherein something converted into symbols is carried over from one person to another."

3a8082e126