“The medium is the message” is a popular phrase often discussed in the media and outside of it. The importance of media cannot be overlooked but one cannot help but wonder whether the message might not be more important? Nowadays newspapers, the radio and television are not the only media we know and use. With the development of technologies came other media, such as the internet, which influenced how we perceive and understand the world around us. This paper analyzes the debate that the message is in the content vs. the medium is the message. It builds upon Marshall McLuhan’s 1964 book Understanding the Media: The Extension of Man and brings the topic in relation to public relations.
Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian professor and …show more content…
However, it must be noted that this does not mean that the used medium or its form are more valuable than the content. As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, people tend to pay more attention to the medium’s form than the purpose of its existence and the message it carries. Developing a deeper understanding of the medium itself, changes our perception not only of the medium but also of the content. The significance of the medium is not contained in its content but rather in the fact that every medium is a message in itself and its effect is measured by its overall impact on society. This can be observed on the example of various companies’ social media presence and the channels they use to transmit news and/or information to their audience. Messages are interpreted differently by the audience depending on where they are published. A message published on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn will cause different reactions among the public. E.g. Twitter allows only 140 characters per Tweet, can a message be accurately transmitted in only 140 characters? Are Facebook and Instagram legit platforms for serious news or are they simply casual social media sites for millennials to publish pictures from their life? On the other hand LinkedIn is mostly used for business related purposes and implies a sense of professionalism. The right choice of a medium can be …show more content…
Some agree with McLuhan and believe that the medium used is far more important than what is contained in the message while others claim that the message is more influential than the medium itself. A consensus on this topic will probably never be reached. The development of technologies brought forward new ways of communication and dissemination of news and information and hence caused a change in how we perceive and understand the world we live in. What is certain is that messages and the media carrying them, whatever form that media might have taken, have influenced our societies and contributed to many outstanding events throughout
Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian professor and …show more content…
However, it must be noted that this does not mean that the used medium or its form are more valuable than the content. As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, people tend to pay more attention to the medium’s form than the purpose of its existence and the message it carries. Developing a deeper understanding of the medium itself, changes our perception not only of the medium but also of the content. The significance of the medium is not contained in its content but rather in the fact that every medium is a message in itself and its effect is measured by its overall impact on society. This can be observed on the example of various companies’ social media presence and the channels they use to transmit news and/or information to their audience. Messages are interpreted differently by the audience depending on where they are published. A message published on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn will cause different reactions among the public. E.g. Twitter allows only 140 characters per Tweet, can a message be accurately transmitted in only 140 characters? Are Facebook and Instagram legit platforms for serious news or are they simply casual social media sites for millennials to publish pictures from their life? On the other hand LinkedIn is mostly used for business related purposes and implies a sense of professionalism. The right choice of a medium can be …show more content…
Some agree with McLuhan and believe that the medium used is far more important than what is contained in the message while others claim that the message is more influential than the medium itself. A consensus on this topic will probably never be reached. The development of technologies brought forward new ways of communication and dissemination of news and information and hence caused a change in how we perceive and understand the world we live in. What is certain is that messages and the media carrying them, whatever form that media might have taken, have influenced our societies and contributed to many outstanding events throughout