The Mass Media

News travel faster today than ever before. We see, hear and read more about world events than any other generation in history. Radio, newspapers, TV - nobody can live without them. But today also the Internet has become very important for business. The mass media play an immensely important part im modern society as a source of information and entertainment. In former times people generally found out what was happening in the world via the press, nowadays the main sources of information for most of us are TV, radio and the internet.

But what are the media?

Media is the plural of medium, which means a channel through which information is transmitted. But that's not very exact. It doesn't tell us what kind of channel or what kind of information. For example: are TV adverts a part of the media? Some people say yes, others say no. And what about films, novels or songs? If you include all of them, a list of the media looks like this: advertising, book publishing, cinema, newspapers, magazines and comics, radio, TV, video. But if you limit your definition of information to facts, the list becomes shorter: The Press, Radio and TV. These are the news media which tell us, day by day, what's happening in the world.

How free are the media?

Very few newspapers are affiliated directly to the governement or to political parties though the majority can be roughly classified as 'right' or 'left'. But despite the independence of the press, the readers know that newspapers can 'slant' news by overstanding or understanding certain aspects of events in order to influence, or to use more modern term, to manipulate their readers.

Well - it varies from country to country. In some cases there are very few limits on what journalists can report. Other governments are slightly less liberal. And then there's a third group of countries which control their media very strictly. In cases like this, broadcasters and journalists who break the law are frequently sent to prison or sometimes even killed.

And what's about equality?

How do the media represent women - fair or unfair? And what about ethnic or religious minorities, children, old people or the disabled? How much time do they deal with them? These days equality is a very important issue. We live in complex societies with lots of different groups  - a fact which can't be ignored. The problem is that for a long time the media did ignore it. But things have improved a lot in the last 10 years - for example, there are more women in top media jobs these days and more programs and papers for ethnic viewers and readers.

Hundreds of years ago the news were announced by ballad singers and signs. Communication has come a long way since then. Today, thanks to modern science, it's possible to send words and pictures around the world in seconds, for example via the internet. International events can be followed by billions of people every day.

But how does all this information effect society? Does it make us more aware, tolerant and peaceful? Or - on the other hand - does it make some people confused, depressed and violent? These issues are very important. The media are now studied in schools and colleges all over the world. Not only that - there are thousands of media books these days as well. In that sense, the information industry doesn't just report modern life, it's actually a part of it, too.

Now, let's go back to basics. What is news and how is it collected?

Several factors make a good newspaper story. First - obviously- it must be NEW. But since TV can react so quickly, this is often a problem for newspapers. They usually respond to it in one of these ways:

By providing extra detail, comment or background information

By finding a new angle on the day's major stories

Or by printing completely different stories which TV doesn't broadcast

But the stories also have to be dramatic, because people don't want to read ordinary, everyday life. Because of this, many stories involve some kind of conflict and danger. This is one reason why so much news seem to be bad news. Next, there's human interest. People are interested in other people - particulary lives of popstars, actors, politicians and royalty - all appear regularly in certain newspapers.

Television

Another popular form of entertainment today is TV. It has become more and more popular in the last 20 years, because it brings the world into your home. The majority of people in industrial countries own a TV set. TV can be very useful. You can see information, school programs or language programs. Many people think that TV has more disadvantages than advantages. The main effect that it produces is that owners of a set stay at home much more and tend to give up the parties, hobbies and other occupations which had previously filled their evenings. But as conservation in a darkened room is difficult, TV has detrimental effect on family life. There is, too, a real danger that TV, by constantly showing scenes of war, crime and brutality, may make people indifferent and callous to the real problems of life, turning them into non-thinkers. Since 1980 there have been 4 major developments.

The First is video, which has given viewers the power to control what they watch and when they watch it.

The second is satelite TV, available to anyone who buys a receiving 'dish'.

The Third development is cable - a system of hi-tech wires, which provides even more channel at a price.

Fourthly, there's High Definition Television (HDTV), which now offers a much clearer and more realistic picture than was possible even a few years ago.

So more channels, more choice, more clarity. What is there left for TV in the future? The answer to that is two-way communication. Viewers will be able to ask questions (via remote control) about what they are watching and the answers will appear on their screens. This idea is called 'hyper media' and it's still in an early stage. But then, as we've just seen, TV has come a long way in a short time. The hyper-media revolution could happen sooner then many people think.

The Radio

A revolutionary change in our way of life came with the development of the radio. From 1920 onward it became a fad everywhere. By the end of the 30's there was a wireless set in nearly every home and people began to turn to the radio for information and entertainment. Today we have transistors, sometimes combined with cassettes, which provide us with non-stop programmes. We can choose between broadcasts, of high cultural value, regional programmes of strong local interest, and popular music, sport and hourly new broadcasts. But the importance of the radio has diminished with the growth of television. But especially for older people it's still good entertainment. The radio is also a good way to inform car drivers what's happening on the world's streets.

The Internet

Millions of people are using the net to share information. You can do many things with the Internet. There are no limits. Companies use the Internet for advertisements or online shopping.

It allows you to exchange nearly every kind of data within a few minutes. Communication between companies around the world is nearly the same as if your partner was located next door. On the INet, there's no physical distance.

Today's offices usually have PC on every desktop. Why shouldn't we fill in forms on the screen and finally click on 'submit' instead of printing and posting them?! Teaching on the INet is much more difficult. The interaction between teacher and students can't be replaced by a machine.

Very often, 'learning by doing' must be done under the control of someone, e. g. a chemistry teacher. But there is a way of teaching on the INet. We've been using Tele teaching via television sets for many years now. Recently, an American firm has developed a product for efficient video transfer on computer networks. This could be used for teaching on the INet.

The technical possibilities are given and I think that there is much future in the INet itself. But we have to learn to use it. Of course, the Internet will grow. Today it is a highly effective tool. But, will it be the same in the future.