Plan of your topic:
1. Introduction. Role of mass media in modern life. Types of mass media.
2.Mass media in your life. How do you get news?Press or the Net (why). Do you watch TV? (Why? Why not?)
3. Mass Media in Britain. All the types + examples+ main facts about Mass Media. Mass Media in Belarus
4. Future of Mass Media
5. Conclusion.
by N.Myrenia
Mass media are one of the most characteristic features of modern civilization. People are united into one global community with the help of mass media. People can learn about what is happening in the world very fast using mass media. The mass media include newspapers, magazines, radio and television. The earliest kind of mass media was newspaper. The first newspaper was Roman handwritten newssheet called “Acta Diurna” started in 59 B.C. Magazines appeared in 1700′s. They developed from newspapers and booksellers’ catalogs. Radio and TV appeared only in the 20th century.
TV is the source of valuable information. It brings the world to our living room, where we can see people of other countries; learn their customs, traditions and problems. We can see great events and famous people. The choice of programmes, modern television provides, is really wide: the news, feature films, talk shows, music programmes, documentary films, educational programmes, serials, interviews.
On the other hand, people tend to spend more and more time in front of the box glued to the screen watching their favourite programmes or just switching over from channel to channel with the help of remote control. Recently the public has grown quite concerned about people’s addiction to television and the Internet. Television and the Internet encourage passive enjoyment. They cut us off from the real world. Sometimes there is too much violence and crime on TV and on the Internet. Parents worry about the effect that television has on children. If parents are not careful children get to see programmes which are not suitable for them. That’s why we should be selective in our choice of programmes and the Internet sites. The mass media is not bad unless we make ourselves bad.
Speaking about my personal preferences on TV, I wouldn’t say a lot, as I’m not a TV fan. But some of my peers still watch TV, often tuning into a particular season of TV show or sporting event like football. The members of my family also demonstrate great diversity in their tastes. My mother enjoys watching lifestyle programmes, talk shows, soaps, drama and sitcoms. My father prefers news and sports programmes. Sometimes I watch music programmes.
To tell you the truth, I’m not really interested in any traditional media. Television, radio and newspapers are becoming less and less popular. I don’t read newspapers. Instead I watch the news summarized on the Internet. Sometimes I enjoy reading magazines or cheaper tabloids.
Nevertheless, newspapers are worth buying! My father thinks they are a daily source of news, education and fun that no home should be without. He is sure that every home should have at least 3 different newspapers a day to get a balanced opinion of world events. So my father buys newspapers to do our bit for the local economy. As for tabloids, as my Mum says, sometimes they come up with good stories. Just imagine the political scandals that would go unnoticed without reporters.
But, to tell you the truth, today’s teens are not really interested in any traditional media. Television, radio and newspapers are becoming less and less popular. Teenagers don’t read newspapers. Instead they watch the news summarized on the Internet or TV. You would think that teens would be adopting the latest new media crazes like Twitter. Apparently, that’s not the case. They see no point in using Twitter. Most teens use “Vkontakte”, “Facebook” for social networking, they search and research topics with Google, watch videos on YouTube, and download music and films from file-sharing sites, watch films on-line. Teens use their smart phones as a source of information, for sharing music files with their friends using Bluetooth, since the service is free.
