Media are the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver information or data. It is either associated with communication media, or the specialized communication businesses such as: print media and the press, photography, advertising, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), and/or publishing.

The word media is defined as "one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television."

The beginning of human communication through designed channels, i.e. not vocalization or gestures, dates back to ancient cave paintings, drawn maps, and writing.

The Persian Empire (centred on present-day Iran) played an important role in the field of communication. It as the first real mail or postal system, which is said to have been developed by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great (c. 550 BC) after his conquest of Media. The role of the system as an intelligence gathering apparatus is well documented, and the service was (later) called angariae, a term that in time turned to indicate a tax system.

The word communication is derived from the Latin root communicare. This was due to the Roman Empire also devising what might be described as a mail or postal system, in order to centralize control of the empire from Rome. This allowed for personal letters and for Rome to gather knowledge about events in its many widespread provinces. More advanced postal systems later appeared in the Islamic Caliphate and the Mongol Empire during the Middle Ages.

The term "media" in its modern application relating to communication channels is traced back to its first use as such by Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, who stated in Counterblast (1954): "The media are not toys; they should not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists, because they are art forms." By the mid-1960s, the term had spread to general use in North America and the United Kingdom.

Media planning and selection are of top significance once the advertising goals and the organisation have been set. Media planning and selection deals with media identification, identification of factors governing media and vehicle choices, laying down criteria for media selection and evaluation of each media against another, developing media-mix, resources allocation and media scheduling.

Media selection is possible when one knows about the ‘reach’ and ‘impact’ of each medium and media vehicle. Media planning, therefore, is the study of different advertising media and media vehicles in depth that facilitates media selection and development of media-mix that is most suitable for the firm in question.

A ‘medium’ is the carrier of advertising message. It is the means to deliver the advertising message. Each advertiser is to go in for right massage carrier or a set of carriers keeping in mind the cost, efficiency and specialties of the medium or media.

Every advertiser has good many media for his selection. Broadly, these can be classified as indoor, outdoor, direct and display. Each media has sub carriers called vehicles.

Following is the brief description of each media and media vehicles:

A. Indoor advertising media:

Indoor advertising media represents the use of those vehicles by the advertisers that carry the message right into the houses or indoors of the audiences.

These vehicles are:

(1) Newspapers

(2) Magazines

(3) Radio

(4) Television and Film.

Here, the message reaches the audience indoors when it is cozy and in receptive mood because, house is the resting place for the inmates to relax.

1. Newspapers:

Life without newspapers is like life without a cup of tea or coffee. Newspaper is one that gives news, views, interpretations, opinions, comments and explanation regarding social, economic, political, cultural, moral, ecological, meteorological and wide variety of walks of fast changing life. In India, there are 21 major languages, published in 91 languages, India has 20,000 newspapers. For every 40 literate persons there is one paper.

The merits of news-paper as a medium of advertising are:

1. Wide coverage.

2. Quick response.

3. Regularity and frequency.

4. Flexibility and speed.

5. Economical.

The relative demerits are:

1. Shortest life.

2. Lack of quality reproduction.

3. Waste in circulation.

4. Possibility of duplication.

2. Magazines:

Magazines are the periodicals published weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly and annually. They cover a wide variety of topics providing light leisure reading in easy chairs. Well known, though provoking and authentic articles from almost all branches of human knowledge are given along with entertaining items like puzzles, cartoons, comics and the like.

Indian magazine-world supplies at present 4,200 weeklies, 2,000 fortnightlies, 7,800 monthlies, 400 quarterlies and 10,000 annual numbers totaling 22,600. For every 35 literate persons, there is one such magazine.

The relative merits, are:

1. Longer life.

2. Visual display.

3. Selectivity.

4. Loyalty and prestige.

5. Geographic flexibility.

The relative demerits are:

1. Inflexibility.

2. Waste in circulation.

3. Costlier.

4. Restricted frequency.

3. Radio:

Radio advertising can be aptly called as ‘word of mouth’ advertising on a wholesale scale which was accepted in 1920. It has a history of 71 years to-date. India, as a late beginner, started commercial broadcasting only in 1967 by now radio has covered 100 per cent of population. At present, there are 175 medium wave transmissions, 60 short wave transmitters and 110 F.M. transmitters.

At present, there are 60 million sets which work out a set for every two people. The advertisements may be straight commercials dialogue, commercials dramatised , commercials integrated commercials and musical commercials.

The relative merits of radio advertising are:

1. Human touch.

2. Flexibility and timing.

3. Mass coverage.

4. Economy and

5. Selectivity.

The demerits are:

1. Message perishability.

2. Lack of illustration.

3. Limited time.

4. Wastage.

4. Television:

Radio ruled the scene between 1920 and 1970. Its greatest and latest rival has been television that smashed its supremacy from 1950s.

In India, it was commissioned for the first time in 1959 and went commercial in 1976 and transformed into colour in 1982. By now, 90 per cent of the population is covered by the way of television.

We have 10 million sets working in India giving a figure of one set for every 100 people. Television advertisements are called as television commercials lasting for 10, 15, 20 and 30 seconds. These may be ‘stop motion’, ‘puppets’, ‘cartoons’ or ‘line-action type’.

The relative merits are:

1. Deep impact.

2. Selectivity and flexibility.

3. Mass communication media.

4. Upper hand in