Print vs Electronic Media: Impact on Modern Society

There are two types of media, the print and the electronic. The print media informs society through newspapers, magazines, and books. Electronic media publicly broadcasts news through radio, television, and recently computers. Both medias informs us on day-to-day events whether the news is local or worldwide but they have their differences. Through media our opinions are influenced and we become socialized.

Even though print media seems to be factual and thorough enough, some still feel more partial to the nightly news on television.

Hearing the stories is personally easier for society to understand and at the same time remains a reliable source. Because of its visuals, the television is especially powerful in transmitting realism (Graber, 189). Electronic media gives facial expressions and other images that the print media declines in. For example, actually watching the candidates interact with other people on television makes us feel as though we are able to get to know them better and understand their meaning of their decision that they are trying to get across to the American people.

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Electronic media gives an emotional impact on viewers by showing updated news in action. Journalists receive information during crisis minute by minute allowing them to quickly revise and deliver news to the public. However, the print media would have to wait until the next copy was printed for everyone to get the most recent news. By doing this, the newspapers leave a gap of information that electronic media has the capability to fill. Television shows people what has happened and what they are about to see.

Since the journalists seem to put more thought into what they put on paper than what they would say on television, print media tends to more factual and analysis oriented. The print media goes in depth with their coverage where electronic media is straight-forward and only highlights the main topics. The newspapers keep Americans informed about what is going on in politics and the economics we need to know, but there is a much easier way for people to get the news that is relied on, and that is the amusing television. In America today, television is the main source for acquiring knowledge of what is going on in the world.

Some of the disadvantage between print and electronic media is their rules and regulations. Both medias rely on advertisers for the promotion of their news. If these advertisers discontinue their help to the media, economical pressures take their toll. Electronic media has what is called, limitations. To own a television station there has to be license granted. Without the license, they have no airtime. To stay on the air, electronic media has to keep up performance standards. There has to be news on that serves the public interest and their necessities for everyday living. The disadvantage to print media is the Anti-Trust Legislation. Once the paper is printed there can be no changes made, therefore print media must carefully evaluate the paper before publication. If the paper is not checked thoroughly, liable and slander laws could be broken. For example, bad stories about people could be printed that are not true and the reputation of innocent people could be slandered.

Throughout the years, both medias have kept their standards in providing the public with information about what is happening around them. The media has built-up a reputation for damaging lives, but lets face it, without the media we would be left in the dark. Through the print and electronic media, we know not only how our president governs, but also how other countries leaders rule. The print media seems to be a literate form of news, where as the electronic hands the news out verbally with less education required, making the television the most important source of information today.