17-mass-media

17. maturitní otázka z angličtiny

Mass media

Introduction

Everybody needs to be in touch with the outside world. To get information, we use mass media. It is not difficult to use them, mostly the ability to read or listen is enough. Mass media are everywhere around us and it is no problem to get access to them. There are various types of media, different people prefer different ones. However, we cannot say, that the media are completely different in different countries – the basic characteristics are everywhere the same.

Newspapers and magazines

Newspapers are a traditional and still widely used source of information. Many people buy a copy of them regularly, some newspapers are distributed free. The newspaper consists of articles. Some are serious (news, reviews, sports page), some not (feature articles, gossip column). An editorial is an article written by the editor (person in charge of the newspaper) to explain his/her opinion about something. Every article needs a headline and the name of the journalist (reporter) or correspondent from abroad who wrote it. The newspaper usually contains other things, like crosswords, horoscopes, weather forecasts, comic strips, letters pages, obituaries or classified ads. The pictures (with captions under them) among the columns of the text make it look interesting.

U.S. newspapers: the ones which come out every day, are called dailies. USA Today is the only national (anywhere in the country) daily, some other examples are The Washington Post, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in large cities). Regionals are newspapers, which come out only in certain regions, for example Salt Lake Tribune and also The New York (or Washington) Times.

British newpapers: they can be divided into broadsheets and tabloids. Broadsheets (also called quality papers) contain important and serious news, the examples are The Times, The Guardian, The Observer. Tabloids (also called popular papers) are full of stories about famous people, gossip, they have usually large headlines and many colours (The Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror).

There are various types of magazines, some come out weekly, some bi-weekly, some monthly. We can read about different topics, like fashion, hobbies, cars, nature, animals, people, or science and education (these are called journals).

Radio

Since the invention of radio wawes, there have been radio stations. Some are only regional, some are national or even international. To listen to the radio, we need only a receiver (we should pay a fee for it) and to know the frequency – number at which the station broadcasts. There are various types of stations with various programming (type of news or music played). Somebody likes listening to news and sport, somebody prefers music – and can choose his favourite kind. Radio has also an important role in our safety, because by public service announcement we can get emergency information about the traffic or weather.

Television

The television combines both picture and sound. It is used for showing different types of programs, it depends on the TV station. There are stations which broadcast general information – it contains news, political debates, documentaries, movies, shows, competitions, entertainment, sport and also some programs only for the adults. Of course, advertisement is everywhere now. The other stations are specialized in only some topics, many of them are international.