LESSON 25
Mass Media in the USA. Newspapers, Television and Radio
The power of press in the USA is enormous. The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of
press and the press media act as a check on governmental action. Media of the United
States consist of several different types of media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers,
magazines, and Internet-based web sites. After being widely successful in the 20th century,
newspapers have declined in their influence and penetration into American households over the
years. The U.S. does not have a national paper. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today are the most circulated newspapers in the United States and are sold in most U.S.
cities. The largest daily newspapers published in the USA are The Wall Street Journal, The New
York Times (which was published in 1851 by Henry Raymond), The Washington Post, The Los
Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and many others. All these are serious „quality papers“ or
broadsheets, which offer more serious information about politics, home and national news, also
information about sport, art, music.
American newspapers get much of their news from large news agencies just like newspapers
of other countries of the world. The two U.S. news agencies are there: AP (Associated Press) and
UPI (United Press International). These agencies have strict rules. These prevent newspapers
from changing the original AP and UPI news stories too much and still claiming these agencies
as their source. And also the International News Service we can include to the largest
international agencies of the English-speaking countries.
Since World War II Television has developed into the most popular medium in the U.S.,
with enormous influence on the country´s elections and way of life. There are three privately
owned networks which offer free programming financed by commercials – NBC, CBS and ABC.
There are 335 public television stations across the U.S. and each of which is independent and
serves its community´s interests. Cable News Network (CNN) is an American news-based cable
and satellite television channel, founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner as a
24-hour cable news channel. Upon its launch, CNN was the first television channel to provide
24-hour news coverage, and was the first all-news television channel in the United States
The beginning of commercial radio broadcasts in 1920 brought a new source of information
and entertainment directly into American homes. Besides the 10 000 commercial radio stations
are also 1 400 public radio stations, which published for educational purposes and are financed
by public funds and private donations.
The Internet has provided a means for newspapers and other media organizations to deliver
news and keep archives public. Revenue is generated through advertising or subscription
payments. Aside from web portals and search engines like Google and Yahoo!, the most popular
websites: YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, IMDb, Reddit, Pinterest, eBay,
TripAdvisor,etc.
