Socialization through mass communication

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Socialization through mass communication is the work of communication scientist Franz Ronneberger on public relations published in 1971 . Many people in this field consider it a key work.

On the way to Ronnerberger's “Theory of Public Relations”, the work “Socialization through Mass Communication” can be seen as the first important station, because it gives a free view of definitions of mass communication and social processes as defined and observed by Franz Ronneberger .

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Effect of mass communication

The question of the possibilities of socialization through mass communication primarily addresses the area of ​​communication science referred to as the effect of the mass media . In this context, Ronneberger states that although the effects of mass media can be systematized and general effects can be made distinguishable from one another, it is uncertain whether the “specific conditions of mass communication, the intentions of the communicators, the situations and sociocultural determinations of the Recipients and ultimately causally verifiable changes in the recipient gets under control, [..] “Any kind of information has an effect on the recipient, regardless of the origin. According to Ronneberger, this principle can also be applied to the mass media, because the information provided by the mass media and public relations (PR) also completes or corrects one's own knowledge of certain facts or adjusts the recipient's behavior accordingly. At this point, Ronneberger also cross-references to the advertising effect and the process of diverse opinion- forming, where attitudes, socially and culturally critical views or positive expectations and hopes also play a role in the effect of communication.

Communicators naturally aim at certain effects with their communication, which is also laid down in the principle of communication: Who says what, how to whom, with what effect? Ronneberger also accepts this to a certain extent, but he also questions whether the "results and findings in the area of ​​interpersonal communication can be easily transferred to the far more complex conditions of mass communication [...]".

Basic insights into mass communication

According to Ronneberger, mass communication in its special form of journalistic communication has to do with current and contemporary topics and problems. Not only typical content is conveyed, but Ronneberger states that all of the roles involved in the mass communication process are particularly subject to the influences and constraints of the trends, models and certain fashion trends that apply in the social-cultural environment at the time of the communication act.

Even in this early publication, a tendency becomes clear that will later be of great importance in the theory of PR: The public and PR professionals are in mutual interplay and depend on one another, or they influence and stimulate one another. Neither of the two participants can thrive completely without the other, only through the exchange of information and a minimum consensus through the alignment of interests is successful PR work and information for society possible. This creation and finding of a minimum consensus finds expression in Carl Hundhausen as well as in Edward Bernays as "engineering of consent", the creation of consensus and thus agreements.

Public communication media emanate immediately observable stimulating and reinforcing effects of contemporary trends, which are all the more lasting and pronounced the more one is dependent on public communication. So the less social needs can be satisfied through direct personal contacts, the more weight mass communication receives and the better public communication media or PR can address and address them.

Conditions for organizations and journalistic activities

The conditions under which journalistic statements are produced in the organizations of the mass media not only affect the technical production, but also the journalistic and artistic activity. Ronneberger assumes that the framework for the activity is strictly prescribed in terms of time and space and then the "what" and "how" of the statements are determined according to the rules and laws of technology and division of labor, opening up new possibilities but also setting limits become.

The systematics of mass communication and the political public

Assuming that with the emergence of regularly appearing and generally available mass media, a threshold of social communication was crossed, a differentiated and condensed form of communication developed over time, which, according to Ronneberger, assumed the character of a social institution. Mass communication has become an indispensable part of today's social existence; its own structures, specific roles and a certain self-image and social awareness have developed, just as society has certain expectations of those involved in mass communication, which in turn go back to certain needs.

Ronneberger assumes a special relationship between the mass communication system and the political system, because it was primarily political interests, wishes and expectations that were linked to the effectiveness of the press in the age of the Enlightenment and in bourgeois society . Especially today, mass communication and thus PR play a decisive role in ensuring that free-democratic political systems emerge and are maintained in societies in which people can live together in freedom and peace, in security and with shared social responsibility, like no other subsystem could provide. The assumption here: the political public is no longer viewed as a public debate by individuals, as happened earlier in markets and public places , where a direct and spontaneous public could occur, but rather requires institutional maintenance.

Irrespective of this, Ronneberger states that the mass communication system has a public task, namely to take up social issues, to raise awareness and to articulate them, to pass them on to competent bodies in society and to publish and critically view decisions made in the political system. In this way, mass communication, at least in the political field, fulfills tasks similar to those which the political public would have discussed and criticized earlier. This public discussion and critical consideration can also be found in Bernays and can be understood as creating a “public conscience” as a task of public relations. In addition, Ronnebergers stated as early as 1971 that mass communication and communication to certain interest groups reflect what is already available in society as opinion and models, but is selected and processed beforehand.

Based on the previous theories, political leaders and rulers can no longer rely solely on the official authority, but have to publicly represent their cause with good arguments and also put up with criticism and control. Even so, the system of mass communication is like no other able to react to challenges and to absorb, process and discuss impulses gained from the environment, and then to release them again.

The insights and theories on mass communication and on the interrelationships that arise with society and the public, taken up in “Socialization through Mass Communication”, form an important basis on which Ronneberger later based his theory on political and social PR. Some decisive approaches have their central origin here and will also be further elaborated in later publications.

Theory term in PR

According to Hazleton and Botan, PR theories have four basic properties:

  1. First and foremost, they have a descriptive function: They provide a language for analyzing PR.
  2. Theories can explain why PR exists and thus have an explanatory function.
  3. Theories also allow prognoses and control, so they have a systematic and targeted influence (prognostic function).
  4. Finally, theories of PR also have a heuristic function, in the sense that they guide research and can stimulate the formation of further theories.