54. Mass media

Mind Map

MASS MEDIA

Mass media (that is the press, the radio and television) play an important role in the life of society. They inform, educate and entertain people. They also influence the way people look at the events and sometimes make them change their views.
Millions of people watch TV and read newspapers in their spare time. People listen to the radio while driving
a car. On the radio one can hear music, plays, news and various discussions of current events. Lots of radio or TV games and films attract large audience.
Newspapers give more detailed reviews of political life, culture and sports. Basically they are read by the people who are subscribers and those who are interested in politics.
There is a lot of advertising in mass media. Many TV channels, radio stations and newspapers are owned by different corporations. The owners can advertise what­ever they choose.
But we cannot say that mass media do not try to raise the cultural level of people or to develop their tastes. Mass media bring to millions of homes not only entertaiment and news but also cultural and educational programs.
There is a great number of TV channels, cable TV, sat­ellite TV and lots of radio stations and newspapers now. 

Words
mass media — средства массовой информации
society — общество
to entertain — развлекать
to influence — влиять
events — события
view — точка зрения
spare time — свободное время
current events — зд. новости
audience — аудитория
detailed review — подробный обзор
subscribers — подписчики
advertising — реклама
to own — владеть
satellite — спутник
 
Questions:
1)  What is mass media?
2)  How does mass media influence people?
3)  What is the difference between radio and TV programmes?
4)  Does the audience of TV and radio differ?
5)  Do you think that advertising is useful?

TELEVISION 

Television is one of the most important mass media. People with a television set can sit at home and can see and leam about people, animals, and things in faraway lands. Millions of viewers around the world can watch sports events and other events of worldwide interest. TV brings its viewers a steady stream of programmes that are designed to give information and to entertain. In fact, television provides more entertainment programmes than any other kind of mass media. The programmes include sports events, variety shows, quiz shows, feature films, cartoons, fictional serials called soap operas, etc. There are two main kinds of television stations: public stations and commercial stations. Public television stations are supported by the government. They usually broadcast more educational programmes and programmes on cultural subjects. News and current affairs programmes make up an important section of programmes for most public television stations. Commercial television stations are run by private companies. They sell advertising time to pay for their operating costs and to make a profit for the companies that run the stations. People can also subscribe to сable television system. Viewers pay a fee for this service. Cable television signals are delivered to home TVsets of their customers by cables. Some cable systems carry more than one hundred channels - far more than can broadcast even in the largest urban areas-Satellite broadcasting is another form of subscription television. The signals arc transmitted to home TVsets from a direct broadcasiing satellite in space. The viewer must have a dish-receiver aerial to receive the programmes. We may speak about different advantages and drawbacks of television but almost every home has at least one TVset. On average, a TVset is in use for about 7 hours each day. Thus, television is the most effective means of mass communication known to mankind. It has become the people's eyes and ears on the world.

RADIO 

Radio is also one of the most important mass media. Radio broadcasts news, discussions, interviews, description of sport events, drama, religious programmes, music, and advertising. There is at least one radio station in every country in the world, and altogether there are more than 25,000 stations all over the world. Radio stations compete with one another. Radio programmes vary from country to country. But in all countries, programmes primarily provide information and entertainment. Programmes that provide information include news and current affairs, live broadcasts of sports events, weather forecasts, talk shows. Many talk shows allow listeners to take part in the programme by telephoning the radio station to ask questions or give their opinions about the topic. Such programmes are sometimes called phoneins. In most countries up to 90 per cent of all programmes are designed for entertainment. Music is a popular kind of radio entertainment. Most music stations specialize in one kind of music, such as pop, classical, jazz or folk music. Some stations broadcast several kinds of music. There are also comedy shows and plays performed «live» or recorded in the studio by actors.A major reason for the widespread use of radios is their portability, which means the ability to be carried around easily. People listen to the radios almost everywhere - at home, in parks, at beaches and picnics, while driving a car, and even while walking along the street. 

Internet

We can’t imagine our lives without the internet, computers and other gadgets, which unite all the users of World Wide Web. The internet is a very important source of information for people. Nowadays, you can find there any necessary information not only for education, or work but also for entertainment. Nowadays people communicate with each other, using the internet, social networks are very popular and people can’t imagine their lives without online communication.
But we must say, that using the internet has both advantages and disadvantages. The internet influences us very much, especially young people. There exist dozens of diseases that are the result of playing computer games, and spending too much time in networks. We do sport and walk less and less and spend time, sitting at a computer. Also, using a computer, there exist a possibility to become a victim of online fraudsters, which can try to steal your money.
Internet became so popular nowadays because people can use it not only at home, in the personal computer, but also they can go online, using their mobile web. So we can get any information we want, no matter, whether we are at home or not. And in addition, the price of such mobile web is not so expensive.