Mass Media Today

Mass Media Today
Nowadays the mass media have become an inseparable part of our everyday life. The mass media report about various aspects of life, they form and affect public opinion. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, the media is the term used to cover all the organizations, such as television, radio, and the newspapers that provide information for the public.
The media include print media such as newspapers and magazines, and electronic or broadcasting media such as radio, television and the internet. And all of them have the following characteristics in common: they all are one-way systems of communication from a single source to a large number of people; mass media always involve the technology of broadcasting, or print; the mass media are usually operated for profit.
The mass media is and effective means of socializing people, because for majority of them their direct experiences are rather limited and their knowledge about the wider world comes from what they read, hear on the radio or see in films or on television. We know about politics, crimes, cultural and sporting events only through the media unless we are present.
The mass media perform several key functions, such as: giving information, interpreting information, sharpening public opinion and forming people’s views. The broadcast media, capable of mass-producing messages and images instantaneously, have been largely responsible for homogenizing cultural and regional diversities across the country. Also, the power of the media is important to politicians, who use the media to influence voters; and to businessmen, who use the media to encourage consumption of their products.
The relationship works in the other direction as well. The audience’s opinions influence the media industry. Most newspapers, magazines, radio and television networks are private commercial enterprises and must be responsive to their audience’s demands, especially for entertainment, if they are to stay in business.
In conclusion I’d like to say that mass media is the most powerful tool of communication. Even though media is linked with spreading fake news like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform us about the realities as well.