Prompt: Topic: The mass media, including television, radio and newspapers, have great influence in shaping people's ideas. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

The issue whether the mass media, including television, radio and newspapers affects people's thinking is under discussion. Some people believe that they have a considerable effect on people while others claim that the opposite is true. I am convinced by the former view for following reasons. (the former view means the view of proponents) Ċ Firstly, the mass media is to expand our understanding about environment. There are a huge number of environmental programs on television every week which provides numerous viewers with explanation of what environment is and how important it is. Earth Talk Today program is an example which enables us to expand our knowledge about hot environmental issues by interviewing experts. Without these programs, hardly may citizens comprehend the reasons why we have to protect the air, water and land on the Earth. Ċ Another argument is that television, radio and newspapers intensify our knowledge about social issues and have significant influence on our attitude towards these problems. Every day there are several events broadcasted and analyzed on television and radio. Regardless of what the truth is, our view counts on information the mass media provides. For example, when financial crisis happens, almost only bad news is reported by the mass media while good news is ignored, causing people to be more pessimistic than necessary. Moreover, most of us contend whether a social event is good or not, which depends substantially on what experts analyze in the media. For instance, when the government reduces tariff rates, we might feel it bad. However, after watching economic programs in which economist show this policy brings benefits outweigh drawbacks, we are highly possible to change our mind. Ċ In short, the mass media, including television, radio and newspapers has a big impact on our thought, cultivating our knowledge about the world, life, social issues and orienting our attitude towards them.