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Mass Media topic

Mass Media topic 

The term “media” is a general term describing newspapers, magazines, radio and television. It is also called “mass media”, because it brings information to the masses of people. The media’s importance is rather simple – they are our source of information, easily available, complex and cheap. Through newspapers, radio and television we can learn about the world around us, important events, new technologies and unique achievements. The media plays an important role in our society and some experts say they are too powerful and too influential today. How they present information can decide about people’s lives and the development of our society.

You can buy newspapers and magazines from a newsagent, news-stand or a kiosk. Most newspapers appear daily or weekly. Magazines are usually produced weekly, fortnightly or monthly. In many countries, the press is independent, and newspapers may be right-wing or left-wing. In some countries, the press is controlled by the state and may be censored. There are different kinds of newspapers:

They are large size with many detailed articles about national and international events. They usually have editorials, which comment on important issues and also reflect on the political views of the editor. They also contain financial and sports news, articles, obituaries, TV and radio programmes, theatre and cinema shows, comic strips, advertisements, the weather forecast, crosswords.

They are smaller in size, have more pictures, often in colour, and contain shorter articles, often about less important events or about the private lives of well-known people. These newspapers generally focus on crimes, scandals, injustices and gossips about famous people. They are normally written in sensational style, with large headlines, and emotive, bombastic language. These newspapers also rely on so-called paparazzi pictures.

These are usually either dailies delivered in the evening or weeklies. Whether daily or weekly, they cover local news as well as some national and international stories. They give information about movies, concerts and other events that are or will be happening in the neighbourhood, including e.g. information about local people who have been married or died recently. They publish advertisements for local businesses and real estate agencies… My most favourite part of the newspapers is the puzzle section, for example Sudoku.

They are larger, often having 2-3 sections. There is also often a magazine, called "Colour supplement".

There are many specialist weekly and monthly magazines for women and teenage girls, for people interested in various kinds of sports and hobbies, such as yachting, tennis, model railways, gardening, cars, an ideal home, food, mother and baby, DIY, cinema. Fanzines are cheap magazines produced by fans of a singer, group or sports club. Magazines such as Time, The Economist, The Scientist and National Geographic have a more intellectual content and include current affairs, analyses, reports and reviews. Women’s and men’s magazines (Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Arena) have a more chatty style and contain articles on fashion, make-up, food and fitness, cars, music, sports and an agony column, which includes replies to readers‘ letters on personal problems. Teen mags have information and advice about clothes, school, friends, entertainment and stories about love. Special-interest magazines can be found on about any subject, including photography, fishing, electronics, computing, etc. And are targeted especially for enthusiasts of the activity. Magazines are now increasingly available on the Internet and are called “inzines”/Wired, Toxic/.

People who do not like reading newspapers or think it’s too expensive to buy a newspaper every day and then throw it away, they listen to the radio to be informed. The news is read by a presenter and there is also a lot of good music. There is usually a variety of radio programmes to choose from – news programmes and weather forecasts, chat shows, educational programmes, quiz show, morning show, phone-in programmes.

In Britain radio and television is provided by the state-owned BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), which has a high international reputation for impartiality and objectivity. Besides BBC there are also other radio and TV broadcasting services. Unlike the press, which is free in Britain, radio and TV broadcasting have always been subject to some state control.

TV is a media through which we can see amazing places and things. Most people use it for relaxation and for fun. But there are also educational channels like Discovery where documentary movies can be seen, commercial TV where they usually play sitcoms, shows, popular programs or live broadcast. There is a lot of advertisement. TV isn’t healthy for our body especially eyes and it also isn’t suitable for children because they can find there a lot of shows and movies with violence, strong language, gore, that can alter in a negative way children’s behaviour.

There is a wide choice of programmes: movies, TV shows, soap operas, news, weather forecast, sports programmes, live broadcast of sports game or another event, music programmes, games, talk-shows, quiz shows, special programmes for children, educational programmes, panel discussions, and of course, a lot of commercials.

We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep moving in the right direction and to do our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we have to do. Young people are in a stage of life where they want to be accepted by their peers, they want to be loved and be successful. The media creates the ideal image of a beautiful men and women and tells you what the characteristics of a successful person are, you can see it in movies and TV. It’s a subliminal way to tell you that if you are not like them you are not cool yet so it’s time to buy the stuff they buy and look like they look. Another negative influence in teenagers that has grown over the last years are anorexia and obesity. There are millions of adolescents fighting obesity, but at the same time they are exposed to thousands of advertisements of junk food, while the ideas image of a successful person is told to be thin and wealthy.

Also more women are obsessive with losing weight even when they are not obese, there are many thin women that want to look like the super models and thin celebrities so they engage in eating disorders which leads to severe health issues and even death. Like children and youth, mass media influences adults as well, although perhaps not that much. Most adults with a platonic view of things will resist the temptation of being consumed by what the mass media has to offer. While men usually find it difficult to hold themselves back in the face of the sexuality lure. Other subjects which also appeal to men are financial security and a luxurious hassle-free lifestyle. Women on the other hand are more tempted towards products which guarantee immunity from aging and not just what the previous generation called “aging gracefully”. Mass media can yet be used constructively to teach the adults about the importance of insurance, financial education and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

They have also a huge impact on society and public opinion. They can shape the public opinion in different ways depending of what is the objective. For example, after the attacks of 9/11 the media gave a huge coverage of the event and exposed, that Osama was guilty for the attack as they were told by the authorities. This shaped the public opinion to support the war on terrorism, the same happened with the war on Iraq. The problem is that if media received inaccurate information then the public opinion supported a wrong cause, this is the power of public opinion influence. Other ways, how to influence are with polls and trends, especially in political campaigns. The candidates that can pay for more TV and media exposure have more influence on public opinion and thus can receive more votes.

The latest technological contributions to media development is the Internet and e-mail which tend to replace classical media – newspapers, television and radio and other means of communication such as telephones. All of the main newspapers and magazines now have websites, TV and radio stations as well. These “new media” are starting to get similar numbers of readers as the “old” media, forcing publishers and broadcasters to think seriously about how to make money and reach audiences in the digital world. Nowadays you can be online all the time throughout the day thanks to the rapid developments in cellular networks and wide availability of internet connection either optical or other metallic and wireless technologies. The youth can become more and more invested into the world inside their smartphones, often ignoring the world around them. This also allows to create so-called NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training). NEETs are people shut-in their homes isolating from society and many of them because of the internet. All they need for life is some basic income, food, computer, internet, place they can hide in. There is no unified solution to prevent these pathological conditions. And it is often pretty hard to get someone like that back to the society.

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