Advertising makes a free economy function by telling potential purchasers what is available and explaining the advantages of buying. As the machinery through which advertising messages are derived, the media play a crucial role. Without the media to present these messages business would stagnate.
The principal media for advertising are television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Neither books nor entertainment motion pictures carry advertising, except for occasional times of a self-promotional nature.
Advertising on television and in magazines usually introduces and describes products while the majority of newspaper and radio advertising is designed to make the cash register ring by listing prices and detailed information about purchasing The media also derive news about the economy, to enlarge people’s general knowledge and to guide them in their personal finances. Newspapers publish a stock market price list and other statistical tables. The newspapers with the largest daily circulation in the United States is the Wall Street Journal Financial magazines such as Barron’s Forbes and Fortune probe business trends, as do programs such as Louis Rukeyser’s wall “Street Week” on television.
In the business community, a popularly held misconception is that the news media are out to “get” corporations Many corporate executive regards reported as antagonistic and ill-informed individuals who try to tear down the business structure.