This quarter, I'm taking a journalism class focusing on mass media. Today was the first day, and we discussed what exactly "mass media" was. What struck me was that the word "media" has nearly lost its singular form of "medium." In fact, I'm sure a significant portion of the population doesn't realize that "media" is a plural noun. These same people probably assume that the plural of "medium" is "mediums." I don't blame them, and I don't shudder nearly as much over this as I do with other acts of ignorance and outright stupidity.
The word has evolved to the point that it almost exclusively refers to news outlets, and, specifically, those individuals who work within. Whenever someone mentions the media, one of two images come to mind. The first is the romanticized image of the newspaper reporter. Think Clark Kent in a fedora with a "press" tag poking out from the band. The second image is the anything-for-a-buck caricature of the tabloid photographer. I don't think of a newspaper, a magazine, or a news anchor. I certainly don't think of books, paintings, or film. At least not immediately.
Maybe it's time to take it back.
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