Monday, March 22, 2010

The Hypodermic Needle Theory

Communication, which is a vast concept (theory), has been naturally founded by human. In defining it, it is the means of transforming a message and information from the source to the receiver or it’s the process of creating shared meaning. (J. Baran, Introduction to Mass Communication ).On a broader spectrum, mass communication is the process of transforming a message created and packaged by a person to a group or large audience through a transforming device which is (serves as ) the medium.

Mass Media has become a part of human life and it making great impact .Due to this, Mass Media scholars have come up with theories (or models and approaches) to help understand these theories. This content will be limited to the Hypodermic Needle Theory. Hypodermic is a piston syringe that is fitted with a needle for giving injections (relating to or located below the epidermis ,ie, the outer layer of the skin covering the exterior body surface of vertebrates, cuticles ). A theory is a well substantiated (established facts or evidence) explanation of some aspect of the natural world. A theory could also be defined as a belief that can guide behavior. This “Hypodermic Needle Theory” propounded by Harold Lasswell (1935) suggests simple concepts about the media.

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY (Injection of Ideologies)

Audiences are the receivers of the message and also are the responders. These people can also be defined in others words as a “gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance. One other person who can also not omitted in news manufacturing process is the PRODUCER. A Producer is one who manufactures something. In this context, a producer is manufacturer of news (from its raw state to a more presentable state) for broadcasting to unknown listeners. The producer draws (sketches) the format or trend the news casting should follow (ie.When, Why and How). He determines what news should be cast first or not. It is therefore essential for media producers to understand the process of manufacturing (processing), broadcasting and reception of message by the audiences. He must also put into consideration the recipients’ content, which is the state of audience, his ambience, location, mood etc. since they affect the audiences’ reaction and response to information. Various age classes, gender, location etc are elements that should be given thought by media producer since they help yield better and favourable responds and results from audiences. This study, concerning the producer’s mass audience enables him to package the message accordingly and appropriately to suit the audience. As regards the impact the media make, it is to a very large extent that the media has no idea of has no idea of. The media greatly influence the public(s) positively or negatively. Due to the power of the media, scholars of the course undertook studies, developed and designed several Effects Models. The models explained the media’s influence on the public and how they react to the message. One of these models is the Hypodermic Needle Theory or The Magic Bullet.

The Magic Bullet Theory suggests that mass comm. Is like a gun firing bullets if information at a passive audience and gradually diffuses into their system. It is one of the most famous theories that analysed the relationship between media and audience. It was developed in the early 1920s with the beginning of mass media, radio and cinema. It suggests that, mass media injects messages and information directly and uniformly into the audiences’ minds who are immediately influenced. When the media broadcasts any message, we the publics tend to accept it to be nothing but the whole and absolute truth. Notably, the theory did not agree with those who say that the audiences use their experience, intelligence and opinion to analyse the message. The media producers can manipulate the audiences by means of “Injecting” (Hypodermic) the messages they want. The model further explains that, if a person watches a violent movie, he will act as such. A typical example of this theory is the serial killer Jeffery Dahmar. This professional murderer watched a movie before each criminal act. The media men and producers know that people spend much of their time taking their information and means of entertainment from them. The commonest and effective channel of delivery is the television and radio. As the theory propounds, every news content for broadcast is injected into the listeners and viewers’ minds which influence them in one way or the other, consciously or unconsciously. The publics don’t challenge it because it is their only means or source of information and they believe anything sent to them is nothing but true. The publics tend to have no sense of doubt since it is from a reliable and famous source. For example, no publics would doubt or question news from BBC, CNN or Aljazeera. A vivid demonstration of the power of news (media) is the “war of the worlds”. On the eve of Halloween, there was the breaking news on radio saying that, Martians had begun an invasion of the Earth in a place called Grover’s Mill, New Jersey. About one out of twelve million in the U.S. who heard this news actually believed it. A wave of mass hysteria disrupted households, interrupted religious services caused traffic jams and clogged communication systems. Also, in the late 1990s, when a famous international media house aired that a big rock was expected to fall from the sky to the earth within a particular time, those who heard it passed it on as usual and were seeking for refuge. It rendered most people helpless and restless.

These examples strongly support the “Hypodermic Needle Theory” which is undoubtedly true but it is debatable in that, God dropped or granted each individual a sense of humour and reasoning which he or she could and should use to reason and make analysis.

For example, when the media aims that, henceforth Nim Trees (medicinal plant found in the tropics) who for no reason lost their medicinal values, one could analyse it before and decided whether to act accordingly or not.

No comments:

Post a Comment