Mass media

Mass media – we can devide them into:

- The press - tlač
a) Newspapers - noviny
b) Magazines - časopisy

- The television
a) Public - verejná (the national TV – národná / verejnoprávna TV - e.g. STV in Slovkia)
b) Private - súkromná
c) Regional- regionálna

- The radio

The importance of mass media – they are our source of information. They are easily available, complex and cheap. Thanks to the press, radio and television we learn about the world around us, important inventions, new technologies and everything that happens in the world.

1. THE PRESS – newspapers and magazines – they have a great influence (veľký vplyv) on public opinion (verejnú mienku) and they also influence the political life.
Newspapers can be:

- National – Mladá Fronta
- regional /local/ - Nehvizdský kurýr
- broadsheets – Hospodářské noviny
- tabloids - Blesk

Newspapers are published every day, some of them are published even at weekends – for example Aha!

- Broadsheets they are printed on large pages and are serious in tone = they bring information that is serious and objective = for example national and political news, financial and economical news, sports news, listings of television and radio programmes, the weather forecast, crosswords, advertisements and so on. They are usually published daily, and so we call them dailies.
- The tabloids (bulvár) - they have a smaller size and bring less serious news = they bring entertaining articles = these are usually “human-interest stories” and often discuss the personal lives of famous people – gossips from the famous’ people lives.
- Regional /local/ newspapers /Kysuce, Kysucké noviny, Žilinský večerník.../ - they are weeklies and they contain news of local events and sports, publish advertisements for local businesses and real estate agencies.

Magazines
they are more expensive than newspapers, but they have more pages and they are also more colorful. Magazines can be specialized for children, teenagers, men, women for people with special interest. Children magazines have many pictures; teenager magazines have lyrics of songs, problem pages, pictures and posters of pop-stars. Magazines can be about gardening, health, cars or computers. Magazines can appear weekly, monthly or one a fortnight.

- Women`s and men`s magazines contain stories, articles on fashion, make-up, food and fitness, cars, music, sport and so on
- Children`s magazines publish short fairy tales, short poems, simple crosswords and so on.
- Magazines for specialists in a particular field – for example computer programming, fashion, medicine, biology, etc.
- Journals – serious magazines – they publish articles written by experts – e.g. doctors, scientists, teachers etc.

2. THE TELEVISION
Television is the most popular source of information for people and many people spend most of their free time watching TV.
On TV we can watch:

- news programmes – správy
- the weather forecast – predpoveď počasia
- talk shows
- quiz shows
- documentaries – dokumentárne programy
- educational programmes – vzdelávacie programy
- soap operas – telenovely
- films
- cartoons – kreslené filmy a rozprávky
- sitcoms – an amusing series in which there is a different story each week about the same group of people – e.g. Friends, Married With Children, Beverly Hills …

On TV I like watching films because it is a good way of relaxation and I can discuss the film later with my friends at school or with my family. I also like watching news programmes because I can learn a lot of new information and I can be informed about the life and events in the world. Sometimes I also watch sitcoms and documentaries, especially documentaries about animals and wild life. I never watch soap operas because I think that they are boring.

is a media through which we can see amazing places and things. Most people use it for relaxation and for fun. But there are also educational channels like Discovery where documentary films can be seen. There can be state channels where government has ultimate control and where more serious programs are and also commercial TV where are played usually sitcoms, shows, popular programs or live broadcast. There is a lot of advertisement. TV isn’t healthy for our eyes and it also isn’t suitable for children when they watch crime films- they think that what is showing in TV is real life.
Disadvantages of TV
Many people watch TV long hours and until late night and become addicted to it. The next day they are tired and cannot concentrate at work or at school. Their eyes suffer and they can have health problems. They should listen to radio or read more books and go to bed early.

In Czech republic we have:
a) Public television
- Česká televize, 4 channels, sport, news, cultural+educational
b) Private television – in the Czech republic it is for example Nova, Barrandov… Private televisions are less serious than the national TV and broadcast many films, shows and entertaining programmes. There is a lot of violence shown on private televisions.
c) Regional televisions /regionálna TV/ – e.g. the Voice of Liberec- they usually broadcast news about the region and events that happened in the region. Sometimes there are interviews with people who are well-known in the particular region – e.g. the Mayor of a town, village, owners of local companies…
The importance of Movies. Movies, even though they might not be considered the right example of mass media, can have great influnce. If there is a publicly known and beloved actor who wears pink shoes, see what happens after a half of the planet watches the movie…
YouTube
- Videos
- Many genres of videos: educational, explorational, musical, fun, life style, game, hobby
- Like a new encyclopedy
- Share videos all around the world
- Comment, like, dislike, subscribe
- Upload videos
- Get money


3. THE RADIO
Some people prefer listening to radio to watching TV or reading the press. There is a lot of good music. The news is read by a presenter and the radio offers many good programmes:

- news programmes – správy
- weather forecasts – predpoveď počasia
- chat shows – ako talk show – people speak about their problems
- quiz shows - kvízy
- educational programmes – vzdelávacie programy
- breakfast / morning shows – ranné vysielanie
- phone-in programmes – people telephone in to give their opinions or get advice
- documentaries – dokumentárne seriály


Many people listen to radio all day long – at work, when they cook dinner, work in the garden and so on. Young people usually listen to a lot of music – e.g. Express, Fun Radio and so on.
In the Czech republic, there is a vast range of radio station which differs with regards to the kind of music they broadcast: Fajn, Evropa, Country radio, Beat,…

The power of an individual
- One has great influence when he is famous
- Especially YouTubers whose videos are watched by millions of young chlidren
- When a children spent 3 hours a day watching it, we can surely say that they must have some influence on the kid
- The problem is that many those video creators do not realise their power and they keep telling things young kids shouldnt hear /showing see