Americans' lives and economy are
affected in many ways. The media are a great engine in the
consumer society. They provide jobs for hundreds of
thousands of technicians, writers, artists, performers and
intellectuals. They shape attitudes and beliefs and put
pictures of the world into people's minds. The press, or
"Fourth Estate," also plays a vital role as
guardian of U.S. democracy. That role is guaranteed by the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789,
stipulating that Congress will not enact any laws
abridging freedom of the press.
The print and electronic media in the
United States of the 1990s offer the widest news and
entertainment options available anywhere in the world.
 The
media are a pervasive element in American society: the
average American worker, according to a study by Veronis,
Suhler & Associates, devotes about nine hours a day to
the media. This figure includes four hours and nine
minutes for television and three hours listening to radio,
mainly in a car. Recorded music accounts for 36 minutes,
and reading of a daily newspaper consumes an average of 28
minutes. In 1991, the adult consumers of all this
amusement and information spent some $108.8 billion --
about $353 a person.  Advertisers spent an additional $80
billion to bring their products to the attention of the
American public through the media. This is big business,
America's ninth largest, ranking just below aerospace and
just above electronic equipment and its components.
In the United States, while the myriad
government press offices may be structured differently,
they all have two identical duties. They deal with the
press, and they keep their government colleagues informed
on press interests. Some handle only press relations;
others manage all communications, such as publications,
speeches, even legislative affairs |
