Mass Media
Revision Notes
The mass media are forms of communication which reach large audiences. They can be split into two groups:
Traditional media * TV * Radio * Cinema * Music * Newspapers * Books
New media * Internet * Dvd * Digital television * E mail
In society today it is very difficult to avoid the mass media.
There is a division between the press (newspapers) and broadcasting (TV and radio)
The press in the UK
Newspapers and magazine which are privately owned and are commercially run for profit
They are financed through advertising and sales which means they are in competition with each other
Some newspapers reach a national market such as the Guardian and others a local market such as the Yorkshire Evening Post
Newspapers can be divided to broad sheets which is considered to be the quality press and the tabloids such as the Sun and the Mirror
Broadcasting in Britain
This refers to the TV and the radio. In the UK we have public television which is the BBC – this is funded by the TV licence fee. We also have commercial television which aims to make money through advertising. In recent years there has been a move towards the sponsorship of programmes – Cadbury’s and Coronation Street – and now companies can pay to see their products feature in TV programmes, this is called product placement.
Technological developments
In 1980 there were only three channels – BBC1, BBC2 and ITV – we now have additional terrestrial channels and hundreds of additional channels are available on free view or through subscriptions to satellite services such as SKY. We now have the internet, digital technology, mobile telephones and newspaper production has changed due to computerised layouts and new printing techniques.
Ownership and Control
Newspapers are ALL privately owner and potentially the owners have a lot of influence