Print media

In the broad sense, the term print media refers to all printed matter. In a more specific but widespread usage, it is a synonym for 'press', used to refer to newspapers, magazines, and periodicals. As an essential means of informing the public and disseminating ideas, print is a powerful weapon for social and political change. It is also an important educational tool used to spread scientific knowledge and contribute to cultural development, except in those regions of the world where illiteracy is still prevalent. Due to the generally popular character of print media, the large circulations are effective means to influence mass thinking by distorting the news. The motivations for this reside partly in the ideological biases of the owners and publishers, and partly in the circumstance that in the private press there may be a dependency on advertising revenues that makes such mass-circulation print media vulnerable to influence.