Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Revisiting “Mass Communication” And The “Work” Of The Audience In The New Media Environment, Philip M. Napoli

McGannon Center Working Paper Series

This paper revisits the concept of mass communication, which has faced persistent challenges to its continued relevance in light of changes that have taken place in the media environment. This paper offers a counterpoint to claims of the term’s diminished relevance, as well as to some recent efforts to reposition the term, by putting forth an interpretive approach that is not exclusive to the “institutional communicator” and that allows the term “mass” to extend to both the senders and receivers of messages. This paper argues that this interpretive approach is in keeping with some early interpretations of the concept’s meaning, …