Compare the advantages and disadvantages of three of the following as media for communicating information. State which you consider to be the most effective.
 • comics • books • radio • television • film • theatre

This

essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of three different media, namely books,

radio

and

television

. I will argue that

television

is the most powerful of these three media, in terms of its ability to communicate

information

. The main advantage of books is that they are usually considered to be reliable sources of

information

. People tend to refer to books when they want to research a subject in depth, and for

this

reason they continue to play an important role in education.

On the other hand

, books quickly go out of date, and

therefore

they are not the best medium for communicating news stories.

Radio

is a much more effective medium than books for the communication of up-to-date

information

. We can listen to news broadcasts about events as they happen, and a key benefit of

radio

is that we can listen to it while doing other activities,

such

as driving or working. The main drawback of

radio

, when compared to books or

television

, is that there is no visual element; we cannot see what the broadcaster is describing. In my opinion,

television

is the most dynamic of these three media because it brings us closer to reality than a book or

radio

programme ever can.

For example

, we can watch events as they take place on the other side of the world, or we can see the body language of a politician who is being interviewed. The disadvantages of

television

are

that

impart skills or knowledge to

taught

programmes tend to be short and interrupted by advertisements, meaning that

information

is presented in limited depth. In conclusion, while books and

radio

broadcasts are excellent communication tools, I believe the

television

can have an even greater impact on the viewer.