Презентация «Средства массовой информации», 9 класс

Mass media.

What do we have in mind when we talk about mass media? Mass media include all the people and organizations that provide information and news for the public. Such means of communication are television, radio, magazines and newspapers. The most recently invented mass medium is the Internet, which combines the benefits of the more traditional ones. The mass media surround us all our lives. They influence the way we look at the world and very often are able to change our positions and opinions.

The printed media, that is newspapers and magazines remain very popular nowadays. The English word "newspaper" does reflect its content quite accurately. On the one hand, newspapers and magazines do tell us about the latest developments in all areas of life, such as politics, culture, and the like. On the other hand, they may have deep analysis of a situation, advice relating to health-issues, advertising and other types of information apart from purely news articles. There are hundreds of newspaper and magazines specialized, so to say, in a specific area: in sports, gardening, politics or child-raising.

Radio and TV are probably among the most important inventions ever made by man. Listening to the radio does not require complete concentration. You can continue whatever you are doing at the time and still be able to follow the broadcast programmes. Although radio is able to educate and to inform, to my mind today radio plays primarily the role of entertainment. Every town has a dozen of musical radio stations catering to different musical tastes, from classical music to pop and rock music. As for television, it is probably the most popular from all mass media. There is hardly a household without a TV-set. Television is always available as a source of education and entertainment, although to my mind the entertainment-related programmes are too many. For instance, lots of people find "soap operas" too boring and banal. A soap opera is a serialized drama, which usually deals with domestic themes. It is characterized by sentimentality. The history behind this genre is very interesting. Soap operas are called so because companies producing soap were typical sponsors of the first television serials. TV talk-shows are very popular nowadays. Talk-shows are programmes in which hosts invite guests who give their opinions on a chosen topic and take part in the following discussion with the audience or with other guests. Different quiz-shows are also generally liked by the viewers. In quizzes, players have to answer a number of questions testing their general of specific knowledge and the best player gets some kind of reward, usually an amount of money.

The Internet is an amazing combination of the three traditional mass media, that is the press, the radio and the television. You can read on-line versions of papers and magazines in any language. If you have special software you can even listen to the radio online. As for me, every morning I listen to the BBC radio programmes over the Internet. For learners of English it is a very effective way of getting familiar with different dialects and accents. Moreover, in the nearest future everybody will be able to watch television broadcast in the Internet. Besides, the Internet is a very democratic means of communication. If you think you have something interesting to tell to others, or you want to share your expert knowledge online, you can easily create your own site and change it regularly as needed just like a real newspaper or a magazine. You can send messages any place in just several seconds and talk to other people in online chats or forums. The Internet is believed to have become a world of its own, with specific rules of etiquette, and particular language.

There are people who think that with the invention of the Internet all other kinds of mass media will disappear very soon. I absolutely disagree with that and believe that all of them will continue to have their own dedicated users for many years.

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