American mass media

The mass media are all those media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise television, film and radio. Print media use a physical object as a means of sending their information, such as newspaper, magazines, newsletters, books, leaflets and pamphlets. Internet media is able to achieve mass media status in its own right, due to the many mass media services it provides, such as email, websites, blogging and television.

Media can be used for various purposes: Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political communication. Entertainment, traditionally through performances of films, music, sports and TV shows.  Public service announcements and emergency alerts.

Freedom of press

Freedom of the press in the United States is protected by the Amendment 1 in the United States Constitution, generally understood as prohibiting the government from interfering with the printing and distribution of information or opinions, although freedom of the press is subject to some restrictions, such as defamation law and copyright law.

The United States are 48th in the Reporters Without Borders freedom Index. Especially because of access to Internet statements are weakly controlled. IAPA (Inter American Press Association) is a press advocacy group founded to defend press freedom and to promote responsible journalism. However, government censorship applied to some books that were banned from libraries like Catch-22, The Grapes of Wrath, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Moll Flanders, The Cather in the Rye and Ulysses.

Newspapers

The very first newspaper appeared and lasted only a day in Boston 1690 called Public Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestic. In 1704 the Boston News-Letter were published, the first continuously published newspaper in the colonies. In 1783 Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily. The oldest still existing newspaper is Washington Post from 1877. The Gazette was supported by the Federalists. National Gazette was supported by Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans.

Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandals, and sensationalism. The term originated in the Gilded Age by Joseph Pulitzer and his newspapers New York World where he introduced new form of journalism. Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievement in newspapers, online journalism and literature. Rupert Murdoch is an Australian American media magnate that owns Twentieth Century Fox, HarperCollins publishing, The Wall Street Journal and founded Star.

Broadsheet: New York Times (founded in 1851), Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today

Tabloids: Globe, National Enquirer, Star

Magazines

Benjamin Franklin´s Poor Richard’s Almanack appeared in 1732 but The American Magazine preceded it, being the first magazine in colonies, although it lasted only three month. The oldest continuously published magazine is Scientific American that started in 1845, presenting science to the educated but not necessarily scientific public. The second oldest and still being published magazine is Harper’s Magazine about literature, politics, culture, finance and arts.

Popular magazines: People, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Hustler, TV guide and Reader´s Digest.

Television

The first television broadcast began in 1928 but it was experimental and very limited, regular broadcast started in 1948. Real colour broadcast in 1953.

The major networks are NBC (National Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), ABC (American Broadcasting Company), Fox (Fox Broadcasting Company), CW (CBS Corporation and Warner Bros.). Unlike broadcast networks, most cable networks air the same programming nationwide. Top cable networks include USA Network, Fox News, MTV (music), CNN, Syfy (science fiction), Disney Channel (family), Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network (Children's), Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

Popular American series are M*A*S*H, Dallas, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 9210, Desperate Housewives, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Star Trek etc. Oprah Winfrey is a famous talk show host.  Soap Opera is ongoing episodic series of fiction, the term originated from adverts by soap manufacturers that aired before series as sponsors.

Radio

Radio was used by American Navy, the first broadcasting happened on Christmas Eve in 1906 and started to be mass entertainment in 1920s and during the Great depression since it was the cheapest form of entertainment. No advertising at first, broadcasting was paid by the owner. National Public Radio is the nation's primary public radio network but most radio stations are commercial and profit-oriented. Famous stations: Clear Channel, CBS Radio, CNN, ABC, NBC.

Radio Act in 1927 stated regulation of radio use as the public convenience, interest or necessity guarantees the access to at least one radio station. Fairness Doctrine (1949) was policy of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present the news as they ware.

Internet

During the 1960s the Internet grew out of the ARPANET, a network sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defence. Since the mid-1990s the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce.

The leading provider is SBC Communications, followed by Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon and Cox Communications. In measurements, the United States ranked 26th globally in terms of the speed of its Internet connections with an average measured speed of 4.93 Mbit/s, South Korea led the list with an average of 17.62 Mbit/s .

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multinational treaty for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods on the Internet. Opponents say the convention adversely affects fundamental rights including freedom of expression and privacy. The agreement was signed in October 2011 by Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States. The European Parliament rejected the agreement.