MassmediaMassmediaareinstitutionsofmasscommunication;theyserveasthechannelsthroughwhichmessagesarepassedfromthesourcetothedestination.FromthefoundingoftheUnitedStatestothepresentday,massmediahaveplayedanimportantroleinnearlyalltheimportanteventsofthenation.Nowadays,newmediahasbecomeasignificantelementineverydaylife.TheglobalnetworkoftheInternetconnectspeopleandinformationviacomputers.Massmediaunquestionablyinfluenceeverydimensionofpeople’slives.Massmediadenotesasectionofthemediaspecificallydesignedtoreachalargeaudience.Thetermwascoinedinthe1920swiththeadventofnationwideradionetworks,mass-circulationnewspapersandmagazines.However,someformsofmassmediasuchasbooksandmanuscriptshadalreadybeeninuseforcenturies.MassmediaincludesInternetmedia(likeblogs,messageboards,podcasts,andvideosharing)becauseindividualsnowhaveameanstoexposurethatiscomparableinscaletothatpreviouslyrestrictedtoaselectgroupofmassmediaproducers.Thecommunicationsaudiencehasbeenviewedbysomecommentatorsasformingamasssocietywithspecialcharacteristics,notablyatomizationorlackofsocialconnections,whichrenderitespeciallysusceptibletotheinfluenceofmodernmass-mediatechniquessuchasadvertisingandpropaganda.Thetermpublicmediaislessusedandisdefinedas"mediawhosemissionistoserveorengageapublic."MarshallMcLuhan,oneofthebiggestcriticsinmedia'shistory,broughtuptheideathat"themediumisthemessage".Massmediaareveryimportanttoolsofcommunication,throughwhichinformationispassedtoeventhefarthestendoftheworld.Theyenableustocommunicatewitheachotherbyhelpingustoovercomethebarriersoftimeandapace.Kinds1、TVAfterWorldWarII,people’shomeswereinvadedbyapowerfulnewforce--television.Theideaofseeing"live"showsinthelivingroomwasimmediatelyattractive.Theeffectsofthispowerfulmediumarestillbeingmeasured.TelevisionhasdevelopedsinceWorldWarIIintothemostpopularmediumintheUSandUK,onethathashadgreatinfluenceonAmericanwayoflife.VirtuallyeveryAmericanhousehold--98%in1999--hasatleastoneTVset.SevenintenEnglishmenin1991reportedgettingmostoftheirnewsfromTV.Threelargeprivately-ownednetworks--NBC,CBSandABC--claimed90percentoftheTVmarketfromthe1950sthroughthe1970swithfreebroadcasts.CableTelevisionHowever,therapidspreadofpaycableTVinthe1980sbrokethehegemonyofthebigthree.By1999,closeto70%ofAmericanhouseholdshadsubscribedtocableTV.CableTV,carriedbycoaxialandfiber-opticcables,originatedin1948tobetterserveindividualsinmountainousorgeographicallyremoteareaswhocouldnotreceiveover-the-airTVstations.Thegenesisofcableasitisknowntodaystemsfromdevelopmentofthedomesticcommunicationssatellite,approvedbytheFederalCommunicationsCommissioninJanuary1973.Thenewtechnologyofferedcableprogrammersacost-effectivemethodofnationalandinternationaldistribution.InDecember1975,HomeBoxOffice,anall-moviechannelownedbyTime,Inc.,becamethefirstprogrammertodistributeitssignalviasatellite.ThenextservicetousethesatellitewasalocaltelevisionstationinAtlantaownedbyTedTurner.Itbecameknownasthefirst"superstation,"bouncingitssignaloffasatellitetoreachanationwideaudience.ThesametechnologyallowedTurnerin1980tofoundtheCableNewsNetwork,CNN,theworld'sfirst24-hourall-newschannel.Byearly1993,MTV,theleadingAmericanrockmusicTVnetwork,hadanaudienceof46millionintheUnitedStatesand32othercountries.Cabletelevisionhasalsobeensuccessfullyusedtoreachverydefinedaudiences.Beginninginthelate1970s,agrowingnumberofU.S.cablesyst...
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