Communication is the process of creating shared meaning. Communication between a mass medium and its audience is mass communication, a primary contributor to the construction and maintenance of culture. The precise relation of culture to mass communication and its function in our lives has long been debated.

Because of the power mass communication has in shaping culture, it presents us with both opportunities and responsibilities. Media industries must operate ethically or risk negatively influencing the culture in which they exist. Consumers likewise have the responsibility to critically examine media messages.

Both technology and money shape the mass communication process. Innovations in technology bring about new forms of media, or make older forms more accessible. As profit-making entities, the media must respond to the wishes of both advertisers and audience. Ultimately, though, the consumers choose which forms of media they support and how they react to the messages that face them. Technological and economic factors such as convergence and globalization will influence the evolution of mass communication.

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