With the development of the society and the progress of science and technology, the news delivery system is bound to change. I have seen that the information communication media has changed step by step from printing to broadcast, then to television, and then to online, but ultimately we, as an audience, focus on the function of these media. Have their functions changed as well? Do they serve us better?
The five functions of Journalism is: Journalism informs, explains, investigates, creates a public conversation, else the generate social empathy, and encourages accountability. Different media focus on showing different functions. Functions like “inform” and “explain” are possessed by all media, while functions like “generate social empathy”, I think video will have a better effect than text.
Mass media can be divided into two main categories, print and electronic. In today’s “fast” culture of pursuing efficiency, most people choose electronic media as the way to obtain information. But I always have a soft spot for traditional media, so what I want to talk about today is the functions and advantages of print media.
First, the reader has the initiative. When readers are exposed to print media, they can choose when and where they want to read, which is better than electronic media. The audience of electronic media is in a passive position, the audience must be in a certain time or place to access to its content. Since the transmission mode of electronic media is linear, the audience must pay extra price if they want to watch again, such as recording the TV program. It can be said that the print media has fully taken care of the audience’s selectivity.
Second, print media are portable and easy to store. The content of electronic media such as radio and television is ephemeral and will soon disappear unless it is specially recorded. The printed media, such as newspapers and books, can effectively preserve information. Because of this, the print media can better achieve the cumulative effect of repeated exposure to the audience.
The two advantages of print media I mentioned above are relative to radio and television media. The flexibility of storing information and timing is not a problem if it is a online medium. This brings me to the third advantage of print media, which is that print media are better able to adapt to the trend towards fragmentation. With the exception of some comprehensive newspapers, the print media do not emphasize standardized content as much as others to suit the common interests of the majority of the audience. In order to gain the largest number of audiences, electronic media strive to adapt themselves to the tastes of the public, emphasizing that both the old and the young are suitable, and appreciating both the refined and the popular, which leads to the trend of homogenization in content. The specialized and specialized printing media, such as newspapers, magazines and books, tend to have a specific readership and exert special influence on them in a certain aspect due to their targeted content, which meets the special needs of specialized and specialized audiences. In the intellectual and educational circles, print media has a wide range of typed audiences.
To sum up, the print media has its advantages and functions. Even if the Internet and TV are the main sources of information for modern people, the print media will not be obsolete.In addition, as a college student with a high degree of myopia, I know what is the culprit that has ruined my eyesight. Therefore, I suggest that you should read more printed texts, calm down your impetuous mood, feel the charm of the words in the books, and protect your eyesight. Why not?