Lecture XII. Mass media, economy, sport in the usa

LECTURE XII.
Mass media, economy, sport in the USA.


The points to be discussed:

1. 
   Mass Media
   
2. 
   Economy
   
3. 
   Sport
   

KEYWORDS:

The media of the United States consist of several different types of communications; all American homes have televisions sets; there is no national radio station; , the motion picture industry is powerful industry; all large American cities have at least one newspaper; magazine industry covers hundreds of magazines; internet provides with news.

1. 
   Media in the United States
   

The media of the United States consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. Many of the media are controlled by large for-profit corporations who reap revenue from advertising, subscriptions, and sale of copyrighted material. American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large profits as well as large criticism in many parts of the world. Further deregulation and convergence are under way, leading to mega-mergers, further concentration of media ownership, and the emergence of multinational media conglomerates. Critics allege that localism, local news and other content at the community level, media spending and coverage of news, and diversity of ownership and views have suffered as a result of these processes of media concentration.
Some people allege that the success of such companies may be due to certain policies of the American federal government, though it may be just as likely that the media field is prone to natural monopolies.
The organization Reporters Without Borders compiles and publishes an annual ranking of countries based upon the organization's assessment of their press freedom records. In 2007 USA was ranked 48^th, which was an improvement from the preceding year.


1.1. Television
Over 98% of American homes have televisions sets and there are more than 900 of these are affiliated with the big three private national television networks ABC, NBC and CBS, which show their programs at the same time throughout the nation during prime time (the hours in which most people watch television-usually 7.30pm to 11pm). The rest are either independent or in smaller networks.