Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Communication Elements or Networks

Here we will discuss the different communication neyworks in terms of their advantages and disadvantages.

Radio:

Advantages:

1. It encourages community involvement opportunities.

2. With radio there is usually no break in transmission except during maintenance.

3. It is very cheap compared with other broadcasting media.

4. A target audience can easily be reached at a fixed date and time.

5. Information can be repeated as many times as necessary.

6. It can be transmitted over large distances and reach a large audience.

Disadvantages:

1. It has no visual component

2. One has to buy multiple stations as well as formats in order to get wider coverage of a piece of information.

3. Exposure to radio wave frequencies causes headaches, nausea, and disorientation.

4. with radio there are two peak periods, morning and evening, which can give rise to wasted bandwidth during off-peak periods.

5. Compared to other means of communication, like the television which uses visuals, it is harder to hold the listeners’ attention.

News Papers:

Advantages: 

1. Involved in broad reach and known marketing areas like sports, business, education, shopping section etc.

2. Newspapers provide information and general knowledge.

3. It is the cheapest source of news information.

4. Newspapers strengthens reading skills and vocabulary.

Disadvantages:

1. Because it is of print media, readership is low due to the fact that it is impossible to reach all places.

2. Newspapers have a short life shelf and are usually read once before been discarded.

3. There is no audio-visual element.

4. The illiterate audience are left out.

5. The reading of newspapers is in a rapid decline.

Television:

Advantages:

1. It has a wide area coverage as well as a broad audience reach.

2. There is relative ease of purchasing and post-purchase maintenance.

3. Mass consumer product promotion has been of proven success.

4. There are many educational benefits for children and adults.

5. It promotes social interaction and bonding.

Disadvantages:

1. There is selective watching of programmes. Many people are not interested in watching commercials.

2. The cost of production is very high.

3. The impact of commercials is diminishing due to the increasing use of DVR.

4. Many television shows are getting old and attract less income.

5. Excessive television watching can lead to sleep difficulties, behavior problems, obesity and other health problems.

6. Television sets can be expensive to purchase.

7. Leads to wastage of time.