ABSTRACT
The theme "utilization of knowledge" carries connotations of social uplift, with "knowledge" somehow distilled and separated from the more transient content of human intercourse. In technically advanced countries the mass media represent the principal form through which knowledge is acquired. In most mass media, most of the time, knowledge is embedded within layers of amusement, which appear to be the primary attraction for the audience. Fantasy and fiction dominate the time most people spend with media. The mass media are the carriers of commercial culture, a symbolic system in which messages are constructed as a commodity for sale rather than as a form of creative expression. Competition is the essence of the marketplace, and competition among the various media of communication strongly shapes their character and content. The history of mass media shows a parallel development of some inherently contradictory tendencies.
