Mass Media

People can’t imagine their life without watching television, listening to the radio and reading newspapers or magazines. The mass media play an important part in our lives.  Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and influence our opinion. 
 
Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.

It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren't interested in ordinary events. That is why there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn't usually make headlines. Bad news does.

Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They often intrude on people's private lives. They follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is - should this be allowed?

The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it's much more difficult for politicians to lie in front of the cameras than on the pages of newspapers.

Still, many people prefer the radio. People listen to the news broadcast on the radio in their cars.  It's also good to listen to in the open air, or when you do something about the house.

The Internet has become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don't have to wait for news time on TV.

Newspapers may be daily or weekly, so they don't react to events as quickly as TV or the Internet, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information. My family don’t read newspapers or magazines very often, but sometimes we buy them. Besides the news, everybody can choose what they want to read: fashion reports, gossip columns, film and book reviews, sport news, advertisements, weather forecasts, horoscopes, anecdotes, crosswords and so on. 

Надіслано вчителем міжнародного ліцею „Гранд” Афанасьєвою Л.А.