Environmental Dynamo: A Multi-Layered Approach to Mass Communication Theory Development in a Multi-Faceted Society

Emerging changes in technological and other spheres resulting in democratization of the mass media have dwindled linearity in communication and previous addiction to the traditional media. This shift has generated multiple changes and renegotiations of media contents and their effects on the audience. Other environmental constructs, including diverse cultures, psychology and political influences, and ideological propagations, have also emerged to further alter the status quo. This development is mostly traced but not limited to the revolutionary impacts of the internet, which has brought diversification and unpredictability into consumers’ media choices. It has become increasingly impossible to prognosticate which medium attracts the most consistent audience—and to what effect. This study examined three media-effects theories with receding and questionable relevance, and also investigated the perception of communication students and scholars on the alternatives. Those interrogated are the Hypodermic Needle, Framing, and Cultivation theories. Anchored on the quantitative research method, the study adopted purposive sampling technique in data collection from 670 respondents from selected universities across Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings revealed a hunger for a communication theory that connects and blends the traditional with the digital eras through unambiguous harmonization of emerging human, environmental, sociological, psychological and institutional variables. The outcome is the Environmental Dynamo Media Theory—a cross-breed of neutralized variant influences. The study makes a demand for further examination of other media-effects theories whose conceptual values and operationalization are challenged by contemporary realities. Keywords: Environmental Variables, Media Contents, Media Effects, Media Theory, Two-Step Flow