The breakthroughs and evolution of mass media
Written by Siti Fatimah Ayuningdyah | Read in Indonesian
In 1984, the rock band Queen released a Roger Taylor-penned track titled “Radio Ga Ga” (which eventually inspired Stefani Germanotta to adopt the stage name Lady Gaga), a commentary song about how television was starting to overtake radio's popularity. It addressed the advent of music video and MTV, which was then quickly competing with radio as the most important medium for promoting music.
In the song, one may find lyrics such as “Let's hope you never leave, old friend. Like all good things, on you we depend. So stick around 'cause we might miss you. When we grow tired of all this visual”. Cited from Genius, the song reached the Top 40 of every major chart around the world that year.
Such a scenario may be hard to imagine now that, almost four decades later, television has been replaced by other types of media as the main source of information and entertainment, many of them in digital forms. But such is the cycle of mass media, in with the new and out with the old if one fails to remain relevant.
The early days
The term mass medium refers to a medium of communication (such as newspapers, radio, television, or digital platforms) that is designed to reach the mass of the people —usually used in plural as mass media. The history of mass media can be traced back to the days when dramas were performed in various ancient cultures, as that was when a form of media was broadcast to a wider audience.
Up until the 15th-century when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press, books were handwritten and no two copies were exactly the same. The printing press made the mass production of print media possible. Since then, it became significantly cheaper to produce written materials, while also being supported by new transportation technologies which made it easier for texts to reach a wider audience.
Gutenberg’s invention helped usher in massive cultural movements, such as the European Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation.
Then, in 1810, another German printer, Friedrich Koenig, made another breakthrough in media production when he hooked the steam engine up to a printing press and kick-started the industrialisation of printed media.
The breakthroughs
It was the 1920s when the phrase mass media began to be thrown around. During the twentieth century, the growth of mass media was driven by technology, including those that allowed duplications of materials, such as printing, record pressing and film duplication.
These technologies afforded huge audience access to media content at low prices. It means that most of all, a single work could make a lot of money; vast fortunes were to be made in mass media.
As the 20th century came to a close, the arrival and eventual widespread adoption of the World Wide Web marked the first era in which an individual could have a means of exposure on a scale comparable to that of mass media.
The invention of the Internet has also allowed instant spread of information on a global scale. Nowadays, the Internet has become the most popular mass medium, and mass media now include the Internet, mobile phones, blogs, podcasts and homeless media.
Purposes of mass media
The main purposes of mass media include advocacy, enrichment, entertainment, journalism and public service. Advocacy in this case, which can be used for both business and social concerns, includes advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political communication. Meanwhile, enrichment refers to the mass media’s role in educating and spreading useful information.
Now, mass media as an entertainment platform initially began through performances of acting, music and sports. In Indonesia, there is an entertainment genre that is particularly popular: infotainment. Infotainment in the Indonesian context largely refers to information and coverage on the happenings within the entertainment industry.
TFR interviewed Ignatius Haryanto Djoewanto, a lecturer of journalism in Multimedia Nusantara University, who spoke about it: “Infotainment became much more prominent after the Indonesian reformation in 1998. As an illustration, initially infotainment programmes were broadcast in the afternoon, around 4pm, but nowadays they are broadcast earlier and earlier. You can even find one at 7am right after the morning news. This shows that infotainment is rather well-liked, scheduled-wise it is now shown earlier and up to three times a day.”
He also touched on Tabloid Monitor, helmed by revered journalist Arswendo Atmowiloto, which provided a summary of TV programmes and their celebrities, as one of the pioneers of infotainment in Indonesia. The publication went south in the early 1990s, however, due to a controversial poll result it published.
Back to the purpose of mass media, journalism in this case involves the spread of news on a large scale, and a vehicle for public discussions. Lastly, public service announcements are cases of state or non-governmental agencies reaching out to inform the public of important matters.
Old and new media
Traditional – or old – media is the tried-and-true channels that have been used for years, including radio, broadcast television, cable and satellite, print and billboards. They are for the most part mass media, make use of one-way technologies, and are not interactive. It is associated with outbound marketing, or the traditional form of marketing in which a company initiates the conversation to an audience.
Meanwhile, new media refers to forms of media found in the current digital age, which in the context of advertising and marketing, may include search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, social media and email. As opposed to how old media works, new media forms are associated with inbound marketing, where customers find the business mostly through various paid and natural search engine marketing methods. Email marketing is an exception though, as it involves the business initiating the conversation.
In spite of the way they are often positioned, these two types of media do not have to go head to head. They can actually be used together to create a stronger and more comprehensive marketing campaign, each carrying out its own vital roles.
What is also interesting about new media is the fact that they put emphasis on community building. New-media companies take a lot of pride in the characteristics of their communities, especially when the general vibe is positive. This emphasis on community may be because a lot of new media mainly operates within the social media sphere. Which brings us to the concept of homeless media.
According to Remotivi, homeless media refers to media companies that are based and developed on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. Business wise, this concept has its allure; this cuts the operating costs significantly due to lack of a website, which comes with domain maintenance, hosting, server, design and developer fees.
So alluring, in fact, that some major media companies have developed some of their channels as homeless media. An example would be Buzzfeed’s Tasty, which began as a Facebook page featuring recipe videos and food-related content, largely popular now on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Mass media in Indonesia
Mass media plays a vital role in the history of Indonesia. We learn in primary school about how the news of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that eventually led to the Indonesian independence movement was first learned through the radio.
Mass media in Indonesia began a new chapter in 1998, along with the reformation movement. Before, it was largely state-controlled, but now, Indonesian media have more freedom to operate and deliver messages, as governed by the Mass Media and Broadcasting Law (UU Media Massa Nomor 40 Tahun 1999 dan UU Penyiaran Nomor 32 Tahun 2002) which guarantee the freedom and independence of mass media. As a result, Indonesia experienced a media boom after 1998, with an influx of new media companies entering the industry.
Now, with this freedom comes a new set of challenges. Impartiality and information validity are real issues these days, because people are so free to broadcast content as they please. Having said that, TFR is also a by-product of the media revolution in Indonesia, and for that we are grateful.
