The Mass Media

The mass media play an important part in our lives. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and shape our views.

Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.

It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. People aren't interested in ordinary events. That’s why there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders, and robberies. Good news doesn't usually make headlines. Bad news does.

The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it's much more difficult for politicians to lie in front of the cameras than on the pages of newspapers.

Still, many people prefer the radio. It's good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.

Newspapers don't react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information.

The Internet has recently become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as the things happen in real life, and you don't have to wait for news time on TV.

Vocabulary:

advantage [əd'va:ntid3] – преимущество

background information ['bækgraund infə`mei∫n] – "закулисная" информация

crash [kræ∫] – авария

comment [`komənt] – комментарий

disaster [di'za:stə] – бедствие

event [i'vent] – событие, происшествие

extra detail [,ekstra 'di:teil] – дополнительные сведения, подробная информация

fair [feə] – честный, справедливый

mass media [,mæs 'mi:diə] – средства массовой информации

murder ['mə:də] – убийство

possibility [,posə'biliti] – возможность

to inform [in`fo:m] – сообщать, информировать

to report [ri'po:t] – сообщать, писать (о)

objectively [əb'd3ektivli] – объективно

ordinary ['o:dnəri] – обычный, заурядный

politician [,poli'ti ∫(ə)n] – политик

private ['praivit] – частный, личный

reliable [ri`laiəbl] – надёжный

recently [`ri:səntli] – недавно

robbery ['robəri] – грабёж, ограбление

seeing is believing [`si:iŋ iz bə`li:viŋ] – Лучше раз увидеть, чем сто раз услышать.

sensational [,sen'sei∫(ə)nl] – сенсационный

source [so:s] – источник

to do the work about the house – делать что-то по дому, заниматься хозяйством

to go on – зд.: происходить, случаться

to lie [lai] – зд.: лгать

to make headlines – попасть в заголовки газет, вызвать сенсацию

to prefer [pri'fə:] – предпочитать

to print – печатать

to react [ri'ækt] – реагировать

to see with smb’s own eye’s – увидеть (чьими-л.) собственными глазами