It goes without saying that mass media have become a necessary part of any modern society. The press, the radio and television play a very important role in people's life. They inform, educate & entertain us. They also influence the way people look at the world & even make them change their views. In other words, mass media play a very important part in shaping public opinion.

Millions of people read popular issues of newspapers & magazines in their spare time. Newspapers publish articles which cover the latest international & national events, give a full coverage of commercial, financial and public affairs. Many people buy newspapers also for the radio & TV programmes which are printed there. A lot of magazines give an opportunity for youth to be in known in the fashion world, cultural life, sensational news & nightlife events; there we can find reports on education & sports.

Television is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century and the most popular kind of mass media. Television brings world to our living rooms. It gives people an opportunity to be well-informed by watching documentaries, science programmes, panel discussions and so on. Television provides great opportunities for education. With the help of TV it is possible to study foreign languages, to learn a lot of amazing things. At the same time there are many arguments against TV. Accessing watching has a bad effect on the eyes. Today a lot of people have become TV-addicts, in other words couch potatoes. Instead of going to a theatre or reading books mankind prefer to watch TV. But still, television plays a very important role in people's life in spite of the rise of the Internet & other high-technology sources of information.

So today mass media offers us a great variety to choose from. There are many educational, political & entertainment programmes, so everyone can find what to listen to, to read or to watch.