THE MEDIA

1. WHAT ARE MASS MEDIA?

1.1 Discuss the following questions:

1) How would you define ‘mass media’? huge mass to communicate such as de radio,
television… All the media to reach a big audience to communicate something

2) What do you think is the difference between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media? Can you
provide an example? The technology

1.2 Which of the words can be regarded as old and which as new media?

BOOKS / BLOGS / CINEMA / EMAIL / GAME CONSOLES / INTERACTIVE KIOSKS /

INTERACTIVE TELEVISION / MAGAZINES / MOBILE PHONES / NEWSPAPERS / PODCASTS /
RADIO / TELEVISION / WEBSITES / SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

OLD MEDIA NEW MEDIA

books Email
Magazines Game consoles
Newspapers Interactive kiosks
Radio Interactive television
Cinema Mobile phone
Television Podcast
Websites

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 Social networking sites
blogs

1.2 Listen carefully and complete the text about the media:

Where would we be without the media? How would we get information about the world? all
of us are interested in the news. We all __want to know what’s happening around the world.
We switch the tv on just to watch the news. It seems as though every train passenger has a
newspaper. The journalists who bring us the news do a very important job. Many risk their
lives bring us the news from the world’s danger zones. Unfortunately, many reporters are
killed while they are covering a war. The media make us feel we are part of the world. We
become experts on other countries and on the big news stories. The media also bring us many
unforgettable images, such as a man walking on the moon. Really, the media show us history
as it happens.

What do you think of the last sentence of the text? Do you agree?
I do not agree with the last sentence because nowadays there are a lot pf fake news.

1.3 Skim the text below and choose the most appropriate title:

A. The history of the mass media

B. Forms of mass media
C. The advent of the Digital Media Age
D. Means of mobile communication

1.4 Match each of the following words which appear in the text with their correct definition:
A. 3 B. 4 C. 7 D. 2 E. 1 F. 5 G. 6

a. audience (n) 1. to cause (someone) to laugh, smile, or the like

b. broadcast (v): 2. the ordinary people in society who are not leaders or who are
transmitir considered to be not very well-educated
c. advert (n) 3. The people who watch or listen to a particular programme (a
play, concert, talk, etc.)
d. the masses (n) 4. send out programmes on TV or radio
e. amuse (v) 5. the time when something first begins to be widely used
f. advent (n) 6. to invent; to fabricate
g. coin (v) 7. a notice, picture or film telling people about a product, job or service

The mass media are means of communication, such as books, newspapers, recordings,
radio, movies, television, mobile phones and the Internet, that can reach a large audience.
Although the first printed books had appeared long before in China, the term “mass media”
we use today was coined with the creation of print media, which started in Europe in the

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Middle Ages. This is also considered the first example of mass media due to the large
number of readers then.
Since the mid-twentieth century new technologies have been developed, which helped to
diversify mass media and make them an inseparable part of our lives. The role of the mass
media is not only to entertain and amuse the masses. Its most important role is to provide
information and news about events in different parts of the world as they occur. Educating
people about their rights and responsibilities is another function of mass media.
Until recently, mass media forms were classified into six categories according to the
sequence of their advent: print, recordings, cinema, radio, television and the Internet. Each
form has its own characteristic content types, creative artists and business models. In the
early 21st century, with the explosion of mobile communication technology, the mobile
phone has emerged as a new and unique media channel. Video and computer games have
also developed into a mass media form.
The Internet and mobile communication are now the most popular means of receiving
information and interacting with people through email, instant messaging, apps, search
engines, blogs, social networks and other services. Most print and broadcast media have a
presence on the web by having video adverts or Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) that
link to specific websites.
Each form of mass media has had an important impact on society; for example, books have
helped people to educate themselves, while newspapers have recorded daily events.
Magazines were the first visual medium before the advent of television, which together with
radio, brought entertainment and news programmes into people’s homes. However, all these
media had to change and adapt to the advent of the Internet and digital Media Age. New
digital media forms are more personal and social as they allow people to connect with each
other, collaborate and share information and personalize their experiences.

1.5 Read the text again and answer the following questions:

2. What was the origin of the term ‘mass media’? the printed books that appear firstly in
Europe at the middle ages
3. What is the role of mass media? Communicate people and give information.

4. Which new form of mass media form has become the most special? Why? The new
technologies because they can inform and be in contact with all the people.
Specially the mobile phones because is the fastest way, entertainment…

5. How are traditional media surviving in the digital age? They still surviving
nowadays because there are so important for our education or get information for
example. And lot of people still want the traditional media.

6. Do you think that traditional media such as the radio or the press will eventually
disappear? I don’t think so because there’s a lot of people in contact with these
medias and are so important.

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 1. THE POWER OF THE MEDIA

2.1 Look at the image and read the quotation below. What thoughts do they evoke
in you?

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent
guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of
the masses.” (Malcom X)

2.2 Go to the ‘Virtual Campus>Tests and Questionnaires’* and answer the questions
about the reading below:

THE POWER OF THE MEDIA

A young TV star, Matt Grant, committed

suicide after the “popular press” had reported
his history of mental illness”.

This evening Robin Knight’s TV discussion

programme is dealing with this sad story. His
guests include David Elliot, editor of the

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popular Daily Record newspaper, and Sarah Duncan, leader of the Campaign against Media
Power.

Robin K. Our next question is form Miss Sally stark, a student. Miss Stark.

Sally S. Thank you, Robin. My question is this: would Matt Grant have taken his life if the
media had left him alone?

Robin K. A hard-hitting question. David Elliot, as editor of the Daily Record, I’m sure you’ll
want to reply first.

David E. Thank you. Well, first I’d like to say how sad I was at the terrible news of Matt
Grant’s tragic death. However,…

Sarah D. Oh, come on! Your paper was one of the worst. Your reporters followed him
everywhere for weeks and you had front-page headlines like “Mad Matt Hides Secret
Past!”. I really don’t think he would have killed himself if you hadn’t printed those stories.

David E. We can never be sure, can we? But what I do know is this: people who live in the
public eye must expect media attention. Ordinary people want to know about them.

Robin K. But don’t you think people have the right to privacy? Why should the world know
everything about someone just because they are well-known?

David E. Look, we have a free press in this country and it’s our job to report freely. That’s
our responsibility…

Sarah D. Responsibility? The truth is, you just ran those stories to sell more newspapers.
What you were really responsible for was his death. This was murder by the media! And if
the press can’t control itself, we’ll have to pass new laws to control it.

Robin K. Well, alright, now let David Elliot answer.

David E. What you say is very unfair and it’s also dangerous. If you say the press can’t
investigate, what do you say about all the political scandals which the press has uncovered
in the past few years? If we had ignored those stories, we would have failed in our duty.
The people had the right to know because it was important. And I say this: the public had
the right to know about Matt Grant. He was important, too. He was part of millions of
ordinary people’s lives.

Robin K. So… we need the press to tell us the truth. What do you say to that, Sarah
Duncan?

Sara D. I agree completely about the political scandals. If we ever lost good investigative
journalism, we would also lose an important part of our democracy. However, I totally
disagree about the connection with Matt Grant. Those were unnecessary, cynical stories
about one person’s difficult private life.

David E. Look, the stories about Matt Grant aren’t important. The important thing is this:
for the press to do its job it must be free. You can’t make it half free. It just doesn’t work.

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* In case you don’t have access to the Virtual Campus, answer the questions here and send
them to me through email: irati.diert@udl.cat

1. Why are Robin Knight’s guests discussing about Matt Grant?

2. Why do you think that Robin Knight asks David Elliot to answer the question first?

3. Why is Sarah Duncan angry when David Elliot says he was sad about Matt Grant’s
death?

4. Why does David Elliot feel that it is fair to print stories about people like Matt Grant?

5. What sort of story do David Elliot and Sarah Duncan agree that the Press should
report freely?

6. What sort of reporting to they disagree about?

7. Why do they disagree?

8. What is your opinion on the whole thing? If you had to pick sides, would you agree
more with David Elliot or with Sarah Duncan’s position?