mass medium

noun

plural mass media

: a form of communication (such as newspapers, radio, television, or the Internet) that is designed to reach many people

Television emerged as a mass medium during the 1950s, just in time to help fuel early Cold War hysteria.

—Joel Mathis

—usually used in plural

contemporary mass media

Even in an age of mass media and digital outreach, U.S. presidents are estimated to shake hands with some 65,000 people a year.

—Megan Garber

He witnessed tremendous technological changes in his lifetime, from mass media to transportation, plastics, computers and fast food.

—Marshall Button

Examples of mass medium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But democracy on a mass scale depends on mass institutions—mass media, mass education, mass culture—that seem likely to fracture or mutate with the arrival of A.I. The forms of government that flourished in one info-epoch may not thrive in the next. —Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2024

What is the most important legacy of the Watergate experience on today’s events that are often declared by both political parties and the mass media to be the most dangerous and important in the history of the United States? —Jim Prochnow, The Denver Post, 1 Sep. 2024

This ingrained point of view comes as no surprise, considering the standardization of Western culture and beauty ideals in mass media go as far back as the 1920s, way before TikTok and Instagram existed. —Humeara Mohamed, refinery29.com, 1 Aug. 2024

Representation matters in mass media, and tribal members from Wisconsin are continuing to ensure that Indigenous peoples are seen and heard on big and small screens this year. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mass medium

noun

plural mass media

: a medium of communication (as newspapers, radio, or television) that is designed to reach many people

—usually used in plural