MASS MEDIA IN OUR LIFE

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 shape our views.

The list of the titles of the newspapers, TV and radio programmes may seem endless. They satisfy different tastes. People subscribe to various papers, they change channels using their remote control. But they have one common aim: they want to keep informed on the topical issues of the day. Mass media carry information on different home and international affairs. They are the window on the world which gives us an opportunity "to travel" all over the world, to meet celebrities, to see the best actors, to watch sport matches, to learn more about arts, customs and traditions of other nations, thus becoming more intelligent people. Television and periodicals educate us and broaden our minds, help us to relax after a hard day's work and escape from reality.

Many people prefer television because they can see everything with their own eyes. TV is also a cheap form of entertainment for millions of people. There's always a great variety of programmes on TV: news and sports programmes, talk shows and TV games, documentaries and feature films, concerts and theatre performanc­es.... Of course, not all programmes are good. But many are made in good taste and with great professional skill.

Some people argue that television is a terrible waste of time. It makes us lazier. We stay at home instead of going out; we read less or don't read at all. We think less. We even talk less. Some TV - addicts spend hours in front of the "box" watching whatever's on. People forget that watching TV for a long lime may lead to poor health and ruin eye-sight. The trick is learning to control television and use it intelligently.

Violence on TV is another problem that worries people; TV teaches us "how to kill, to rob, to shoot and to poison." But the same can be said about com­puter games and many films and books. And if you don't like a certain programme, nobody makes you watch it.

Newspapers don't react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra details, comment and background information. Newspapers of any country can be classified into two major groups: quality and popular papers. A quality paper is a serious national paper that aims at the educated reader. It contains detailed news coverage and comments, authoritative editorials, a wide range of topical features written by experts in their field, arts and literary reviews and much professional advertising. These papers are bigger in size than popular ones, with longer articles and a wider coverage of events. They have different pages for home news, foreign affairs, feature articles, fashion, business, sport and so on. The most famous British quality newspapers are The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent and The Financial Times.

Popular papers give more space to opinions than to news; they often contain little real information and are designed for the undemanding reader. Most popular papers are tabloids (i. e. papers with small-size pages, usually about 30 cm by 40 cm) with lots of pictures, big headlines and short articles. They usually have "human interest" stories, stories about ordinary people and events, which are included because they are amusing or odd. Emphasis is made on sensational stories, specially involving a figure in the public eye. The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror are popular newspapers published in Great Britain.

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

Still, many people prefer the radio. It's good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.

No doubt that all media influence the way we see the world and shape our views. Of course, events are not always reported objectively by the media, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14