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. But
people aren't interested in ordinary events. That is 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.
Some people say that journalists are given too
much freedom. They often intrude on people's private lives. They follow
celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or
half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The
question is — should this be allowed?
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 things happen in real life and you
don't have to wait for news time on TV.