Media is all about connecting people and mirroring the society that we live in. Media is all about reflecting on daily happenings around the globe. People are not just the audience but also an essential element of news in itself! So what is the importance of public opinion in media? Be it journalism¹ or entertainment, the increasing importance of public opinion in media is evident everywhere! Well, if you are still unaware² of the increasing importance of public opinion in mass media, then just take a look around you.

 First of all let us talk about the print media like newspapers and magazines. The newspaper content, which was wholly and solely the product of reporters and journalists³ in the office, has now gone a radical change into an amalgamation of news and public opinions. The letters to the editor written by the readers are also an instance of acknowledgment⁴ of the importance of public opinion. In addition to the readership polls, and questionnaires, there are also columns, which are contributed by the audience themselves - a phenomenon that is now known by the name of citizen journalism.

In case of the World Wide Web or the Internet, the websites were already using⁴ the public polls. In addition to that, the rise of blogging and public forums has paved way to increased exposure to individual opinions and has hence strengthened the importance of public opinion on the web as well.

In many news channels across the globe, public polls are a common affair and are considered as an important tool to measure public opinion. It reports public opinion about several issues and news. In case of the entertainment channels, public voting for reality shows like American Idol explains the importance given for public opinion. In case of movies and films, what would be the success of a great movie if it had no audience? Although movies are about expression of views and ideas on a particular subject - the moviemakers also considered it as their livelihood. Thus it depends on the public reviews, the word of mouth publicity of the audience which is instrumental in the success/failure of a particular movie.

 Importance of public opinion is the effect of increased public participation⁵ in the media. This is an era where media has awakened to the fact that no matter what they are dishing out - news, views or entertainment - they need to keep it interactive. In case of the news industry, the public opinion is not just a way to validate and supplement the news but also a great way to increase the awareness⁶ of people about a particular topic. In addition to that importance of public opinion in media, it is also a great step towards strengthening the democracy of a nation.

 The TRPs for the television channels or the readership⁷ counts for the print media are crucial when it comes to measure overall success of the media. Since it is the public that is instrumental in shaping up the readership rankings or the TRP rankings, the media is left with no choice but to acknowledge⁸ the importance of public opinion. It is the public opinion that decides the success of media popularity and the eventual media success.

What are the Effects of Media

Today we live in a world, which has been closely knit with a wide network of different types of mass media. Although many people blame the media for invasion of privacy and even trivializing of news, we fail to realize that media is a mere reflection of the society we live in, the society we created ourselves. Media has several advantages as well as disadvantages in day-to-day life. Here are some of the effects of the media:

 Shaping the public opinion: The media is an important medium which informs the people about the latest news and happening around the world. According to the agenda-setting theory of mass communication, the media plays an important role in shaping the public opinion.

 Providing Entertainment: According to the uses and gratification theory of mass media, it is believed that the audiences use the media according to their own needs and requirements⁸. Many media users make use of media as a form of entertainment by means of television shows, movies, or even music.

Disseminating Information: Media is an extensive resource of information for millions of people across the world. Be it the Internet, television or the humble radio and newspapers, media is an extensive source of information on a wide range of topics, which broadens the horizons of knowledge. Be it world news or general useful information about any topic under the sky, it is the media which has it all!

Link between Government and the People: In addition to being a news provider, the media is also considered as a link between the government and the people since it informs the public about the general developments by the government and simultaneously⁹ serves as a voice of the general population, expressing their opinions and ideas.

 Delivering Justice: There have been ample number of examples wherein the media has been instrumental in creating public awareness about several criminal cases, which has led to speedy justice delivered to the victims. Thus, media plays an important role in publicizing cases, which require¹⁰ public attention.

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After reading

Exercise 9. Read the article again and underline words and phrases that you do not know. Write your own definitions. Use a dictionary if necessary.

Reading for details

Exercise 10. Read the text and mark the sentences T (true) or F (false). 

1. Media informs people about daily events around the world.

2. The newspaper content is produced by reporters and journalists.

3. Public polls are used by many news channels to measure public opinion.

4. The success of a particular film depends on the public voting.

5. Media doesn’t consider the importance of public opinion.

6. Media takes part in forming the public opinion.

7. According to the gratification theory of mass media the audiences use the media as a form of citizen journalism.

8. People all over the world use media as a source of information and entertainment.

9. Media reports about the opinions and ideas of people as well as their government developments.

10. Media prevents from delivering justice by attracting public attention.

Exercise 11. Find in the text and analyze the sentences with the structure “it is … that…”

Exercise 12. Look through the text and find information about tools of measuring of public opinion.

Exercise 13. Order the sentences according to the text.

1. The newspaper content is the product of reporters and readers.

2. Public polls and voting are important tools to measure public opinion.

3. People are both the audience and the essential part of news.

4. Public participation in the media is a great step towards strengthening the democracy of a nation.

5. The Internet has strengthened the importance of public opinion.

6. The media success depends on the public opinion.

7. Media is a link between the government and the people.

8. Media plays an important role in shaping the public opinion.

9. Media is a great resource of information for people across the world.

Exercise 14. Answer the following questions.

1. What is media?

2. What is the role of people in media?

3. What is citizen journalism?

4. What tools are used to measure public opinion in the news channels (the entertainment channels)?

5. What does the success or failure of a particular movie depend on? 

6. Does the media acknowledge the importance of public opinion? Why?

7. What do many people blame the media for?

8. What decides the success of media popularity and the eventual media success?

9. What are the effects of the media?

10. Why is the media considered to be a link between the government and the people?

Exercise 15. Write a plan of the text.

Exercise 16. Summarize the text to the others in your group.

Speaking

Exercise 17. Discuss the tools to measure public opinion.

Exercise 18. Speak about Media Effects.

Writing

Exercise 19.Write a summary of the text. Use the following plan.

1. The title of the text is …

2. The text is written by…

3. The text gives information about …

4. At the beginning of the text the author …

5. Then (after that, further on, next …) the author …

- dwells on …

- explains …

- mentions …

- points out …

- reports about …

- describes …

- touches upon …

- comments on …

6. According to the text …

7. The text ends with…

8. I think the text is…

- important

- informative

- useless

- too hard to understand …

UNIT 3