MASS MEDIA IN THE USA

Mass media refer to channels of communication that involve transmitting information in some way,
shape or form to large numbers of people (although the question of exactly how many a “large
number” has to be to qualify as a “mass” is something that’s generally left undefined
The functions of the media:
-entertainment; provide information about political and social issues; weather reports; carry
advertising; education; provide a forum for people to write letters or phone in to express their views
or seek advice, culture.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law impeding the
free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press
There is no official or government-owned news agency in the U.S., there are no official or
government-owned newspapers. There is no state censorship, no „official secrets act.“

Newpapers
The power of press in the USA is enormous. The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of the press
and the press media act as a check on governmental action.
The largest daily newspapers published in the USA are The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,
The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and many others. All these are
serious „quality papers“ or broadsheets.

The New York Times is ranked as „the world´s top daily.“ The New York Times (NYT) is an American
daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18, 1851. It
has won 112 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization. Its website is one of America's
most popular news sites, and the most popular among all the nation's newspapers, receiving more
than 30 million unique visitors per month as reported in January 2011

The Wall Street Journal is a daily business and financial newspaper edited in New York City and sold
throughout the United States. Other daily editions include The Asian Wall Street Journal, edited in
Hong Kong, and The Wall Street Journal Europe, edited in Brussels.

The Wall Street Journal was founded by Charles H. Dow, of Dow Jones & Company, primarily to cover
business and financial news. The first issue was published on July 8, 1889. The newspaper’s accuracy
and the breadth and detail of its coverage won it respect and success from the start. From its
founding until early in the Great Depression, the Journal rarely ventured beyond business and
economic news. Then, however, it began to carry occasional feature articles on other subjects. After
World War II this trend increased, and by the 1960s the Journal regularly carried two feature articles
on page one that only occasionally addressed business subjects

Tabloids
The National Enquirer (also commonly known as the Enquirer) is an American supermarket tabloid
now published by American Media Inc (AMI). Founded in 1926,the tabloid has gone through a variety
of changes over the years.
The Enquirer openly acknowledges that it will pay sources for tips, a practice generally frowned upon
by the mainstream press.

Magazines
There are over 11 000 magazines published in the United States. They cover all topics and interests
and some have also international editions, e. g. National Geographic or Vogue. Magazines have
smaller circulation but are perhaps more influential b/c political/opinion elites read them and then
communicate the ideas to mass audiences
Time is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It was founded in 1923 . A
European edition (Time Europe, formerly known as Time Atlantic) is published in London and also
covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition (Time Asia) is based in
Hong Kong.
Time has the world's largest circulation for a weekly news magazine, and has a readership of 25
million, 20 million of which are in the US

Radio and television

There is a great number and variety of different types of radio and TV stations in the USA. All radio
and television stations in the United States of America must be licensed to broadcast by the Federal
Communication Commission (FCC), which is an independent federal agency. Each license is given for a
few years only and can be taken away if a radio or TV station does not keep the regulation of the FCC.

TV –
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 335 public television stations across the U.S. and each is independent and serves its
community´s interests.
ABC
American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is major American television network that is a division of the
Disney Company (since 1995). Its headquarters are in New York City.
ABC’s golden era began with the arrival of programming executive Fred Silverman in 1975.
Establishing a schedule of audience-pleasing situation comedies (Happy Days [1974–84], Laverne and
Shirley [1976–83], and Three’s Company [1977–84]) and (Charlie’s Angels [1976–81]
ABC also earned praise as the first network to hire a woman (Barbara Walters) to anchor its nightly
newscast, although its news division did not fully blossom until the advent of the current-events
series 20/20 (1978– ) and Nightline (1980– ).
The network continued to flourish into the 21st century with prime-time series such as Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire (1999–2002, 2009), Lost (2004–10), Desperate Housewives (2004–12), Grey’s
Anatomy (2005– ), and Dancing with the Stars (2005– ), along with long-running daytime dramas such
as One Life to Live (1968–2012) and General Hospital (1963– )
CNN
The Cable News Network (commonly referred to by its initials, CNN) is an American basic cable and
satellite television channel that is owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner.
The 24-hour cable news channel was founded in 1980 Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to
provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United
States.CNN is sometimes referred to as CNN/U.S. to distinguish the American channel from its
international counterpart, CNN International. As of August 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million
U.S. Households CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and
territories.

RADIO -
The beginning of commercial radio broadcasts in 1920 brought a new source of information and
entertainment directly into American homes. Radio could hardly compete with television´s visual
presentation of drama, comedy, and variety acts, many radio stations switched to a format of
recorded music mixed with news and features. Starting in the 1950s, radios became standard
accessories in American automobiles.
The expansion of FM radio, which has better sound quality but a more limited signal range than AM,
lead to a split in radio programming in the 1970s and 1980s. FM came to dominate the music side of
programming, while AM has shifted mainly to all-news and talk show formats.
Hundreds of radio stations of USA broadcast in other languages than English for minorities.
The Federal Communications Commission has announced the following totals for broadcast stations
licensed as of March 31, 2004:
AM STATIONS - 4781
FM COMMERCIAL - 6224
FM EDUCATIONAL - 2471
TOTAL: 13,476

Internet
The history of the Internet began with the development of electronic computers in the 1950s. The
first message was sent over the ARPANet, which evolved into the internet, from computer science
Professor Leonard Kleinrock's laboratory at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), after the
second piece of network equipment was installed at Stanford Research Institute (SRI).

In 1993, TIME became the first magazine to offer an on-line edition. Most American newspapers are
now available on the Internet, and anyone with a personal computer and a link to the Internet can
scan papers from across the country.