The term media is derived from Medium, which means carrier or mode.

Media denotes an item specifically designed to reach a large audience or viewers. The term was first used with the advent of newspapers and magazines. However, with the passage of time, the term broadened by the inventions of radio, TV, cinemas and Internet.

In the world of today, media has become almost as necessary as food and clothing. It is true that media is playing an outstanding role in strengthening the society. Its duty is to inform, educate and entertain the people. It helps us to know current situation around the world. The media has a strong social and cultural impact upon society. Because of its inherent ability to reach large number of public, it is widely used to convey message to build public opinion and awareness.

Purposes:

Mass media can be used for various purposes:

Entertainment:

The original idea behind the creation of various media means was to entertain masses. Radio, TV, cinemas and magazines spend most of their resources targeting on entertaining items and programs. Because of the growing population and developing lifestyle, the demand for more entertainment is increasing. Every year billion of dollars is traded in entertainment industry.

News & Current Affairs:

One of major duties of media today is to inform the people about the latest happening around them and the world. They cover all aspects of our interest like weather, politics, war, health, finance, science, fashion, music, etc. The need for more and more news has evolved into creation of dedicated TV & radio channels and magazines. People can listen, watch and read latest news whenever and wherever they want.

Political Awareness:

Media is the overseer of the political system. If it plays its role honestly, it will be a great force in building the nation. It plays a great role in bringing common man close to their leaders. The media focuses in bringing details of all major political situations, decisions and scenarios. Hence people can better understand their rights and make better decisions.

Education:

Because of the power of media is so extensive and huge, it can be used to educate people with very little cost. Imagine a classroom in every city with thousands of students being taught by just one teacher. But unfortunately, because of money-making approach of media and lack of interest by government, very less work is done in spreading the education.

Public Announcements:

Various authorities and agencies utilize the power of media to spread informative messages to public. This may include warning against a storm or epidemic, delay in arrival or departure of flights and trains, etc. In some cases, it is legally binding to publish notices in newspaper like tenders, change of property ownership, etc.

Advertisement:

Almost all business concerns uses the power of media to sell their products. They advertise in media for the enhancement of business purposes. Huge amounts of money are invested in media for marketing of a product. The more attractive the advertisement, the more people will follow it.

Disadvantages:

Even though there are lot of plus points for use of media but there are also many disadvantages associated with it. Media has the bad effect of inducing baseless ideas through advertisements. People are forced to buy harmful or substandard products. Sometimes, the Media develops unnecessary sensation and distortion of truth to attract attention. Because of its power to build public opinion, the influence of media can make or break the government.

Conclusion:

The media has the power of educating people, the good and the bad. Since it affect the eyes, the ears and the mind simultaneously nothing can overcome the influence of the media. The media in the advanced society should perform a noble mission of enlightening people and discourage sectarian, communal and divisive trends.

ROLE OF NEWSPAPER World Organizers Unlike online news blogs, websites, and even some online newspapers, print newspapers "organize the world each day in a coherent way," as David Thorburn, director of the Communications Forum at MIT, has noted. Newspapers create this organization through their division into sections and subsections. Online newspapers are also organized in this way, but only a hard copy of a newspaper can easily and serendipitously present articles that you might not otherwise read, because stories on various subjects cover the pages of a newspaper. Online newspapers have yet to mimic this way of presenting stories, because online newspapers tend to be customized to suit a reader's interests or only provide links to related content.

Sanctioned Platform for Opinions Blogs and personal websites give people excellent ways to share their ideas and viewpoints, but these do not usually have the same credentials as a newspaper. Newspapers have this extra credibility because, unlike personal blogs and websites, the content of a newspaper has to be approved by an editor. Therefore, if a photographer or journalist wants to have their work published in a newspaper, they need to have expertise in their field, while bloggers and website hosts do not always have such expertise.

Wide-Ranging Article Collections Newspapers are also important because they contain a spectrum of articles and photographs on topics ranging from local politics to world culture that are available even to people who do not have a computer or Internet connection. The variety of newspapers' articles sets them apart from blogs, which often concentrate on a single topic. This makes blog-only news-gathering time consuming, as you would likely have to read 100 blogs every day to be exposed to the same variety of articles and stories as those contained in a newspaper. As Dante Chinni, a media columnist for the Christian Science Monitor, has noted, one blogger might have a great deal of knowledge on a single topic, but that blogger will not have the same level of knowledge of many other topics, unlike a newspaper.

News Source With a Minimal Bias Similar information may be available through online sources, but information online is more likely to be strongly biased than most newspaper reporting. Even if a newspaper contains some bias, this bias usually reflects the bias of that newspaper's subscribers. Thus, even though there is some bias in them, newspapers are especially important for a democratic society because they can be relied on to provide people with information on government and politics that does not try to sway or alter its readers' beliefs. Newspapers have also been important in maintaining the right to free and open information. Therefore, newspapers are important for maintaining a free and democratic state.

The print media continues to remain relevant despite the advent and popularity of the electronic media. People have learned the expediency of reading, and this makes the print media live on. Try as society may, it will be a herculean task to find an alternative that will manage to drive the print media out of business even as the world struggles to go paperless.

The Role of Print Media in Society Information The print media is at the forefront of disseminating information. Information is such a powerful tool and major democracies thrive on open debate and free flow of information between the governed and the governments. The development of the Internet has made it possible for print media to publish breaking news within minutes of it happening anywhere in the world. Today, all major print media outlets have websites that are updated more frequently and contain archives of information.

Entertainment Even at a time when television appears to rule the mass media, the print media maintain a niche in the world of entertainment. Humor columns, comics, feature stories, crossword puzzles and word and number games continue to stir interest for several readers. Also, several readers buy printed newspapers just for the purpose of catching up with featured sports stories.

The print media has long been used for the purpose of advertising, which simply means to inform by passing information about products and services from the manufacturers to intended consumers. The aim of advertising is to try and influence the readers to make a decision, such as buying the advertised product/services. Despite all other avenues for advertising, including social media, the print media remains particularly important owing to the vast readership it enjoys. In this way, the print media is a major mover of the economy.

Persuasion Nothing like the print media has the power to influence and change people's minds on world issues. The type of change it effects can also be used to call people to action. Many controversial topics have been put across subtly using the print media, and the results are usually long-lasting and effective. The colors, graphics and slogans of print media are used to persuade us and the messages are easily remembered. Even as technology develops new ways of communicating, the print media seems to be here to stay.

Similarities & Differences Between Print Media & Online Media

There are many similarities and differences between print and online media. Both types of media present their own advantages and disadvantages for potential publishers. Online media is fast and can be accessed at anytime, anywhere worldwide. However, this does not mean that it is stronger than print media. The slightly slower pace of print media can result in higher-quality pieces and more developed information. Publishers no longer have to choose between the two, as many newspapers and magazines can also be found on the Internet.

Uses of Print Media Print Media Vs. Electronic Media Geographical Area Print media, particularly newspapers, tend to focus on a specific geographical area. Although

magazines and other forms of print media can have a wider circulation, they can still only circulate so far. This means that the circulation of print media is fairly limited. In contrast, online media can be accessed worldwide over the Internet, giving them a larger available audience.

Images Both print media and online media can use a combination of text and still images. However, online media can incorporate moving images and video. As the content is online and not printed, the creators have the opportunity to continually update and change their images.

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Journalism Course Permanence Both types of media can be saved for future reference. People can cut clippings from newspapers and magazines or save a web page to view at a later time. In contrast, other media such as radio is perishable, as the audiences have no opportunity to save the audio; instead they have to remember it or wait for it to be played again.

Immediacy vs. Validity Online media can present the audience with information as soon as it is available. With the advances in technology many people can now access the Internet on their mobile phones, which grants them access to online media anytime and anywhere. On the other hand, print media has to go through the printing process before it is available to its audience. This is not necessarily a weakness, however, as it allows editors to check the validity of the information and produce a more developed text.

The Difference Between Print Media & Broadcast Media

Print and broadcast media supply us with the same kind of information. We get the latest news updates, the latest products on the market and are given the opportunity to enjoy interesting stories. Although print is an older medium, both print and broadcast media have established a place in society. There are, however, clear differences between the two media that should be noted by both advertisers and prospective journalists.

Sensory Experience The main difference between print and broadcast media is that the mediums appeal to different senses. Print media is a visual medium only, while radio has audio and television has audiovisual impact. Advertisers use this information to focus on the specific sensory quality of their product fitting to the medium. In print advertisement, a picture speaks a thousand words. For example, in an ad for an automobile, the focus will be on a car's outer design qualities like "shiny" and "sleek." For a radio advertisement the focus will be on how the car sounds and in a television clip there will be more opportunity to tell a more complete story about the car using sound as well as visual imagery to influence the viewer's experience.

Length of Exposure In a newspaper article, journalists often have the opportunity to provide more in-depth information about a certain event, while a news broadcast has a limited time frame in which information has to be supplied. This substantially influences the article structure, as print media has more opportunity to include detail and description while a broadcast piece typically is a brief summary of accounts.

Audience Although the target groups of print and broadcast media could be the same, there is a significant difference in how the audience treats the different media. With print media, readers choose the information they want to read. With broadcast media, the audience is exposed to advertisements and news articles chosen by the broadcaster. This influences the impact of the media, as information you read because you find it interesting is often easier to recall than information received involuntarily.

Appearance of Reporters With broadcast media, the audience often judges the credibility of a story based on the appearance of the reporter---the tone of voice, clothing and physical characteristics. In print media, the reader does not see the reporter so the impression the article leaves will depend solely on the writing style of the journalist.

Content The content of news stories differ between broadcast media and print media. Only the latest news get broadcast daily, so the stories have to be fresh. Broadcast journalists have very little

time to prepare their story and to get extra information on it. Newspapers, however, often contain day- or even week-old news and have more opportunity to elaborate on events. Newspaper articles are thus often more detailed and more informative than broadcast stories.

The Difference Between Print Media & Broadcast Media Print and broadcast media supply us with the same kind of information. We get the latest news updates, the latest products on the market and are given the opportunity to enjoy interesting stories. Although print is an older medium, both print and broadcast media have established a place in society. There are, however, clear differences between the two media that should be noted by both advertisers and prospective journalists. Sensory Experience The main difference between print and broadcast media is that the mediums appeal to different senses. Print media is a visual medium only, while radio has audio and television has audiovisual impact. Advertisers use this information to focus on the specific sensory quality of their product fitting to the medium. In print advertisement, a picture speaks a thousand words. For example, in an ad for an automobile, the focus will be on a car's outer design qualities like "shiny" and "sleek." For a radio advertisement the focus will be on how the car sounds and in a television clip there will be more opportunity to tell a more complete story about the car using sound as well as visual imagery to influence the viewer's experience.

Length of Exposure In a newspaper article, journalists often have the opportunity to provide more in-depth information about a certain event, while a news broadcast has a limited time frame in which information has to be supplied. This substantially influences the article structure, as print media has more opportunity to include detail and description while a broadcast piece typically is a brief summary of accounts.

Audience Although the target groups of print and broadcast media could be the same, there is a significant difference in how the audience treats the different media. With print media, readers choose the information they want to read. With broadcast media, the audience is exposed to advertisements and news articles chosen by the broadcaster. This influences the impact of the media, as information you read because you find it interesting is often easier to recall than information received involuntarily.

Appearance of Reporters With broadcast media, the audience often judges the credibility of a story based on the appearance of the reporter---the tone of voice, clothing and physical characteristics. In print media, the reader does not see the reporter so the impression the article leaves will depend solely on the writing style of the journalist.

Content The content of news stories differ between broadcast media and print media. Only the latest news get broadcast daily, so the stories have to be fresh. Broadcast journalists have very little time to prepare their story and to get extra information on it. Newspapers, however, often contain day- or even week-old news and have more opportunity to elaborate on events. Newspaper articles are thus often more detailed and more informative than broadcast stories.