The Linear Model

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In the linear model of communication (see Figure 1.1), a sender originates communication with words or action constituting the message. The message is carried through a channel (via sound waves, in written or visual form, over telephone lines, cables, or by electronic transmissions). Along the way, some interference, called noise, occurs. Because of the noise, the message arrives at the receiver changed in some way from the original (Shannon & Weaver, 1949).

The linear model has limitations. For example, it depicts communication as occurring in only one direction: from sender to receiver. Moreover, it offers no information on whether (or how) the message was received by anyone. This model helps illustrate how television and radio transmit electronic signals to the public, but it does not show the receiver’s active role in interpreting meaning. For this reason, the linear model is not useful for understanding most kinds of communication, particularly interactive forms. However, the model’s basic concepts can help us build more complex models of communication.