Mass Media

17. Mass Media

1. Let’s talk about mass media: TV, newspapers, radio. Which of these does your family like?

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.

What concerns my family, my parents like to read newspapers. My father prefers to read "Komsomolskaya Pravda", "Argumenty i Fakty', “SB”. These newspapers contain and give coverage of local, home and foreign affairs. Their publications deal with very burning problems of our country, latest events and forecasts for future. They also touch upon cultural and sport news. My parents subscribe to some periodicals, sometimes they buy newspapers and magazines in a kiosk.

We all like to watch TV. I like educational and entertainment programmes like “Umnitsy i umniki”, “Odin protiv vsekh” and many others. My mum is fond of watching series; my dad usually watches the latest news. We also enjoy watching a good film together.

We don’t listen to the radio very often. It usually occurs when we travel somewhere, especially on long distances. Sometimes I turn on the radio when I do something about the house.

2. Is there any means of communication you can’t live without? Why (not)?

I think it’s television. Nowadays television is the main source of news for millions of people. People like TV because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing.

However, watching television has both advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, TV keeps people informed of current events; it gives us wonderful possibilities for education. We can choose any programme according to our interests, mood and needs. There is a great amount of channels which are specialized in various spheres: politics, news, sports, animals, feature films, soap operas, art, talk-shows, cartoons, educational programmes, music, fashion and many others.

The second advantage of watching television is that it gives families an opportunity to spend some time together. Nowadays adults are often too busy. When they come home from work in the evening, so tired and exhausted, — the only possible way to relax for many is just to lie on the sofa in front of TV.  In such situations it's good to choose a family comedy and see it together with your spouse and children.

Moreover, television is a great source of entertaining. Every day there is a wide choice of films and series on TV — detectives, dramas, comedies, action films, thrillers, horrors, cartoons and others. If you have some spare time, switch on your TV-set and see a good movie with famous and talented actors or actresses. Besides, sometimes television is the only opportunity to watch concerts of world-famous celebrities, like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Pink, Britney Spears or others.

However, watching television has its negative side. It is well-known that television can be harmful for our health. Spending too much time in front of a TV screen may affect our eyesight badly.

There are also many cases when children become TV-addicted.

Moreover, nowadays some TV programmes and films include a lot of violent scenes that can have a negative influence on a child's psychic development.

Finally, many children nowadays would rather spend a day glued to a TV-set than go outdoors to play with their peers.

Undoubtedly, we need TV, for it is one of the main and most convenient means of mass media. However, taking into account all its merits and drawbacks, we must try to organize our time in the right way so as not to become a TV slave.

3. Which questions will you ask the participants of Dom 2, a TV reality show?

Is it difficult to live in front of the cameras?

How did you decide to become a participant of a reality show?

Do you feel pity for having become the participant of a reality show?

If you had a chance would you change your decision?

4. I’d like to watch an interesting programme on TV. What can you advise me?

As I have already said we can choose any programme according to our interests, mood and needs. There is a great amount of channels which are specialized in various spheres: politics, news, sports, animals, feature films, soap operas, art, talk-shows, cartoons, educational programmes, music, fashion and many others. Such channels as "History", "Discovery", "Animal Planet", "365", enrich our knowledge in different fields. There are also channels which offer some educational programmes for children and adults, for example "Happy English" — a programme focused on teaching the English language, "Memory" — a programme which offers a number of exercises for children in order to develop their memory. I especially like the programme  “Smart boys and smart girls”. It is an educational programme which is usually on “ONT channel” on Saturdays. The participants of the programme are school-leavers who want to enter the university. Each programme has its own topic and the participants answer the host’s questions about different historic and cultural events, famous people and so on. The host of the programme is Professor  Yuri Vyazemsky.

5. Many people say that newspapers and radio are not as popular as TV and very soon they will lose their importance. What is your point of view?

I don’t think so. Everybody can find something interesting for them. We know that newspapers and radio appeared before television. And still they are popular with the public.

There is another important source of information that can replace radio, newspapers and television. It is the Internet. 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, radio or a newspaper.