Channels of communication that serve many diverse functions, such as offering a variety of entertainment with either mass or specialized appeal, communicating news and information, or displaying advertising messages. The media carry the advertisers' messages and serve as the vital link between the seller of a product or service and the consumer.
Available types of media include print, electronic, out-of-home, and direct mail. Print usually refers to newspapers and magazines but also includes directories, school and church yearbooks and newsletters, and programs at sporting events and theater presentations. Electronic media are usually referred to as broadcast media, or radio and television, including cable. Out-of-home media are designed almost exclusively to serve only an advertising function, and include billboards, transit advertising, and posters in public places such as stadiums, airports, and train stations, as well as flying banners (banners towed by airplanes) and skywriting. Direct-mail media are advertisements that are mailed directly to prospects. As technology advances, new forms of media are being discovered every day, such as movie-house advertising and special automatic telephone devices with prerecorded advertising messages. Any single form of communication is known as a medium.
