Differences between printed media & broadcast media

The term 'media' is originally the Latin plural term for the word 'medium'. It is also the main means of communication that is looked on collectively. Examples of such are the television, radio, newspapers, and even the Internet.

Today, we're gonna discuss the differences between two different kind of media; printed media and broadcast media.

Printed Media

First and foremost, the definition of printed media. Printed media is basically a medium that circulates printed matter to the public. It is also a way to store, or communicate information, through people.

Examples of print media that are still here to this very day and age are newspapers, journals, magazines, and even outdoor advertisings. Other kinds of printed media (that slipped my mind at the time of typing this) are also included in this category.

The main purpose of printed media, you ask? To be accountable for reporting the latest and most factual news and information as of that time.

I'm going to take the newspaper as an example of print media and describe how it is chosen to be advertise.

The first physical criteria to consider is the size of distribution of the newspaper.

This will help to see and check the budget for the ink and paper that would be used when the newspapers are being printed. It would also help to estimate the amount of readers that would read the newspapers.

Secondly, the size of the newspapers is taken into contemplation.

By the size of the newspapers, I mean the amount of pages and literally, the physical size of it. this would come to play when dealing with the targeted reader of said newspaper, and it also applies to other printed media.

Last but not least, the third physical criteria that comes to play is the targeted audience or readers of the distributed newspapers. By doing so, one could estimate the content that should be published in their newspapers to attract more people form that specific category of an audience that they have.


Broadcast Media

Now, we move on to broadcast media. Broadcast media, by definition, is one of the most convenient ways to transmit information immediately to the widest possible audience that it's targeting.

Examples of broadcast media are radios, televisions, and the Internet. The commercials and advertisements aired on radio channels and on the televisions are crucial members of broadcast
advertising.

I'm going to use the television as an example for the medium for broadcast media, but instead of listing the criterias for it to be able to be shown as a broadcast media, i'm going to list down the advantages and disadvantages of it.

The first advantage of television is that it could be captivating and it will capture the audience's attention fast. This is because the creativity that comes on board could create and impact on the viewers.

It's also coverage and cost effective. This means that the cost to advertise and to broadcast something costs less than it should to cover the specific target group, and probably even more.

And now, to the disadvantages of television as a medium for broadcast media.

The first disadvantage of television are the fleeting messages that they portray. This could be due to the clutter that the advertisements are showing. It could sometimes be confusing for the viewers as they sometimes don't understand what us going on in the commercial or advertisement.

Secondly, the distrust that may come across the minds of the viewers. This may be caused by the negative evaluations that critics or other news broadcasters would spread. Wariness would arise in the minds of the viewers that would eventually make them have trust issues against the television broadcasters.

Printed vs. Broadcast Media

There has always been a debate between the advantages of using either printed or broadcast media, and how one is somehow always better than the other.

The first difference would be that printed media has been one of the oldest forms on how information would travel. Broadcast media is faster and it saves time, just to deliver and receive information. An example of a situation for this is journalism.

After the evolution and progress of technology in the past decades, broadcast journalism has almost taken over printed journalism. Not to fret, there are still jobs in the printed journalism field but there are way more jobs available in the broadcast journalism field, especially with the existence of countless of news broadcasting channels and radio shows, to name a few.

The second difference would be, the easy access that broadcast media offers, especially with applications that could be downloaded into your phone. You could check updates on the news or the stock market, for example.

Meanwhile, printed media is more beneficial in countries or places where there are no access to electricity or modern technology. For example, there are certain cities in India and the countries in Africa where poverty has become a main issue, and this has lead to an extreme lack of of electricity and modern technology.

This is where printed media would come to play. Newspapers and other types of printed media are cheaper and way more accessible to the public in specific places than broadcast media.


That is basically it for today.

Thanks for tuning in on your weekly dose of  'The Life Of Shan'.

Till next week, my readers.