Mass Media
Mass media (that is, press, radio and television) play an important role in the life of society. People are united into one global community with the help of mass media. They inform, educate and entertain people. We can learn about what is happening in the world very fast using mass media. They also influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views. Mass media mould public opinion. Millions of people in their spare time watch TV and read newspapers.
The earliest kind of mass media was newspaper. Newspaper is a publication that presents and comments on the news in much detail in comparison to radio and TV newscasts. Newspapers play an important role in informing people of current events, they can cover much more events and news.
There are daily newspapers and weekly newspapers. Daily newspapers print world, national and local news. Many dailies are morning papers, others are afternoon papers. Sunday issues of the dailies are usually larger than the weekday ones. They may include special sections on such topics as entertainment, finance and travel, a guide to TV programmes, colored comics. Weeklies report of weddings, births, deaths and news of local business and politics. Most weeklies do not print world or national news.
Magazine is one of the major mass media. Magazine is a collection of articles and stories. Usually magazines also contain illustrations. Magazines do not focus on daily, rapidly changing events. They provide more profound analysis of events of proceeding week. Magazines are designed to be kept for a longer time so they have cover and binding and are printed on better paper.
The most exciting and entertaining kind of mass media is television. It brings moving pictures and sounds directly to people's homes. Commercial TV stations broadcast mostly entertainment programmes because they must attract larger numbers of viewers in order to sell advertising time at high prices. These programmes include light dramas called situation comedies; action-packed dramas about life of detectives, police officers, lawyers and doctors; shows featuring comedians, dancers and singers; movies; quiz shows; soap operas; cartoons. There are also sport programmes and brief summaries of local, national and international news. Advertising is an important part of TV. Commercials appear between and during most programmes. They urge viewers to buy different kinds of products — from dog food to hair spray, and from cars to insurance policies. Sometimes it’s quite annoying.
Radio is widespread for its portability. It means that radios can easily be carried around. People like listening to the radio on the beach or picnic, while driving a car or just walking down the street. The main kind of radio entertainment is music.
There is a lot of advertisement on mass media. Some of the TV and radio stations and newspapers are owned by different corporations. The owners can advertise whatever they choose. But it is hardly fair to say that mass media do not try to raise cultural level of the people or to develop their artistic taste. Mass media brings to millions of homes not only entertainment and news but also cultural and educational programmes.
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