Mass Media topic (0)

Mass Media
Mass media is a term used to describe those means of communication which can reach large or mass audiences. The most important are probably Television , Radio , the Press and the Internet .
Britain and America invented a lot of the technology used by the various modern communications media. In 1829, the typewriter was invented in America. In 1837 , the telegraph was invented in Britain. In 18 76, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in America. This made it possible to talk to people thousands of miles away . The telephone is a telecommunications device , which is used to transmit and receive sound . It’s one of the most common household appliances in the world today .
The English -speaking peoples have always allowed more freedom of speech and of the press than most other countries. This gave them an advantage from the start in communications. Book-publishing grew rapidly in early modern England and America. So did newspapers , which were the first kind of mass media.
A newspaper is a written publication containing news, information and advertising , usually printed on low- cost paper called newsprint. Newspapers often include articles on political events , crime , business, art, entertainment, society and sports . Most traditional newspapers also contain columns which express the personal opinions of the writers . The first newspapers were probably handwritten newssheets that governments posted in public places .
There is a fundamental distinction between daily papers : quality and popular . Quality papers cater for more sophisticated readers. They contain detailed information and analyses of a wide range of issues. There is little use of colour , and a fairly discreet use of photographs and other illustrations, but they make great use of colour supplements, especially on Sundays when people have time to read more. (The Sunday Times is so big that it takes almost a whole week to read it!) They are usually printed in a larger ’’broadsheet’’ format .
Popular papers are generally cheaper , smaller (tabloid format), and easier to handle. They present news in a more direct way, with large headlines, lots of colour and photos and relatively little in-depth analysis. They often feature games and competitions (where readers can win mouth-watering prizes) and are designed to be read quickly – perhaps even flicked through on the way to work . There are a lot of stories about TV and showbiz personalities as well as ’’human interest ’’ stories about ordinary people.
The first newspaper in Estonian was Tarto Maa-Rahva Näddali-leht, which started in 1806. Perno Postimees started in 1857 and it has a very important role in creating the Estonians ’ national feeling . For example, it was the first newspaper which referred to the people in Estonia, who used to call themselves countryfolk, as Estonians and it also emphasized on requiring education. Later Perno Postimees changed its name to Eesti Postimees and today it is still one of the most subscribed to newspapers in Estonia. Other important daily papers are Eesti Päevaleht and SL Õhtuleht. The most popular weekly national newspaper is Eesti Ekspress .
Lately it has become very popular to read the news on the internet instead of reading it in the newspapers. Also more people have started to listen to different radio stations and watching TV shows over the internet.
New mass media were invented with radio and television. The first radio broadcasts were transmitted in the USA in 1916. Television was invented in Britain and America in the 1920s .
Radio is generally the first of the news media to report a local story or a news service bulletin. A radio announcer can interrupt a programme with a new flash as soon as the report comes in. Millions of people depend on the radio for regularly scheduled news bullets. However , most radio news bulletins do not report the news in detail. In five -minute broadcasts, for example, the stories average less than 30 seconds . Many people also rely on radio for weather forecasts and traffic reports.
Television is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance . Millions of people watch television for amusements during their free time. But television provides viewers with more than just entertainment. Most people get a large proportion of their news from TV news broadcasts. Television also broadcasts programmes that help explain a story or subject . Such programmes include documentaries and interview programmes. Television allows one to follow the much more real science and politics and offers an endless series of programmes which are both instructive and stimulating. The most distant countries and the strangest costumes are brought right into the sitting- room .
Watching TV is almost certainly the biggest leisure pastime in Britain. At the moment there are five main national channels : BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel Four and Channel Five. National Tv gets its money from two main sources . the BBC channels are mainly financed by a compulsory licence fee. There is no advertising on the BBC. On the other hand, ITV and Channels Four and Five rely on advertising for their survival. Generally speaking, BBC1 and ITV produce and show programmes of wider appeal, while BBC2 and Channel 4 cater more for minority interests and have a strong cultural component. Channel Five, instead, has a lot of ’’ soap operas’’, chat shows and reality TV shows.
ETV was the first public TV channel in Estonia. It was launched in 1955. Its goal was to entertain Estonian people and to give them information about different cultural events. It broadcast the Estonian song festival and showed a lot of new Estonian films.