Reading 16: The Impact of TV vs. Print Media on Public Opinion

READING 16

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 – 15 which are based on Reading 16.

The Impact of TV vs. Print Media on Public Opinion

A         When assessing the impact that certain media will have on public audiences, one must consider the audience themselves and their preference towards a certain form of entertainment or education. Individuals who are in need of information, entertainment, and escape or any number of other uses can turn to television for gratification of that need. Among college students, for example, this preference can be explained best in terms of social theories-- which would suggest that TV is the more 'socially accepted' media with a greater appeal to young crowds than radio. Therefore, the advertisers using a TV ad is more likely to influence public opinion among members of this one niche crowd than is the advertiser who places a similar piece in print. Television is indeed most popular among young people and "Generation Xers" but magazines and newspapers are more common among seniors. The company seeking to appeal to the opinions of either public must be cognizant of this.

B         Nevertheless, there are several advantages and disadvantages of each group that remain constant regardless of the target market variable. And there are certain types of ads that all of us more readily seek out in print than we do on television. Where as a news print ad for clothing store might tells us all about which specific items are on a sale, the television version will usually only quickly alert us to the fact that there is a sale. Thus our opinion about purchases will not be as strong. But when we want to see some musical, "happy-go-lucky" reminder of why we "deserve a break" at McDonald's, our opinions are much more likely to be swayed by a television ad.

C         When advertising through print, public opinion can be influenced over a greater period of time. Consider the fact that television ads are only in front of us for an average of thirty seconds; we see the entire thing and then it vanishes from our screen. Often, our recollection of key aspects will often vanish just as quickly. Print ads do not have the advantage of voice or animation, but they do have a greater mental/perceptive longevity. Although many of us will flip past an ad rather quickly, the option still remains to review it in greater detail. A print ad is more the equivalent of a beautiful museum-held work of art whereas a television ad is the movie version of a good play.

D         What both forms of ads can do, however, is deal with socioculural issues. Television will usually attempt to influence the opinions of the public by appealing to very direct target markets as well; i.e., an African-American spokesperson might represent a product geared towards a same-culture audience. In the case of the print ad for Microsoft, the advertisement attempts to deal with several sociocultural myths. For example, it takes the common idea that computers are complex and have various intricate functions and soothes the viewer by making them feel as though Microsoft Office is the answer to this intricate complexity.

E          In conclusion, it cannot escape mention that television does have certain inherently advantages of its own to influencing public opinion and it is for these reasons that advertisers spend so much money to use this contemporary media: For one thing, television reaches more people at once and is the more commonly-favored media of today. For another thing, television gets the attention of more potentially-interested people than magazines or newspapers. The newspaper ad that attempts to influence public opinion is likely to be skipped over by a person who is hurrying to get to a page containing a certain article. But the individual involved in one television program is at least more likely to a certain extent to keep the same channel on and at least hear the ad in the background. They might now recall it consciously, but an ad that repeats a brand name many times may very well indeed influence their opinion when shopping. And so despite the artistic advantages of print ad, new media really does have more advantages than the written word and the state picture. A wise company will certainly seek to employ both.

Questions 1 – 2

Reading Passage 3 has 5 paragraphs labeled A – E. Choose the appropriate letters A – E

and write your answers in boxes 1 – 2 on your answer sheet.

1. Which paragraph describes things both TV and print media can do?

2. Which paragraph makes the point that TV has more advantages than print ad?

Questions 3 – 6

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading 15?

In boxes 3 – 6 on your answer sheet write

YES                               if the statement agrees with the writer

NO                                 if the statement does not agree with the writer.

NOT GIVEN                 if there is no information about this in the passage

3. Advertisers using a TV ad is more likely to influence young people, such as college

students.

4. A company seeking to appeal to the seniors should use magazines and newspapers for

their ads.

5. One advantage of the TV ad is that it can influence the public opinion for a longer

period of time.

6. As a modern form of entertainment, TV certainly has some advantages over the oldfashioned

magazines and newspapers.

Questions 7 – 15

Choose the appropriate letter A – D and write your answers in boxes 7 – 15 on your

answer sheet.

7. When assessing the impact of certain media, people should take into account …

A. the audience and their preference.

B. the form of entertainment or education

C. social theories

D. colleges students.

8. Television is most popular among …

A. old people.

B. young people and ‗generation xers‘.

C. Individuals.

D. Advertisers.

9. Compared with TV, a news print ad might tell us …

A. what specific items are on sale.

B. there is a sale somewhere.

C. what others think about the sale.

D. advertiser‘s opinion about the sale.

10. ‘Going to McDonald’ is mentioned as an example to show the influence of …

A. print ad.

B. TV ad.

C. both A and B.

D. neither A nor B.

11. Voice and animation’ are the advantages of …

A. print ad.

B. TV ad.

C. newspapers.

D. magazines.

12. A print ad is described by the writer as …

A. the equivalent.

B. a good play.

C. a beautiful museum-held work of art.

D. the movie version of a good play.

13. Television usually attempts to influence the public by …

A. an African-American.

B. a spokesperson.

C. showing the product.

D. appealing to the direct target markets.

14. ‘More commonly-favored media’ means media …

A. that is better liked by the general public.

B. that few people have voted against.

C. that is very ordinary.

D. in favor of the public.

15. Based on the information in the passage, a good company manager will use …

A. TV ad.

B. print ad.

C. neither of A and B.

D. both A and B.