The disadvantage of the written word is that, without the inflection of speech, it's very easy to misunderstand.

As for other media, I watch TV, listen to the radio etc. and I wouldn't say I was poisoned, I can still make up my own mind.

Whilst I agree with Penny above, that only applies to those with a discerning ear, or eye. For many who are not always fully appraised of world events there is a danger that they believe everything they read, without question. I've gone on record, on this site, many times pointing a finger at the gutter press for not letting the truth get in the way of a good story. The press are far too powerful and are capable of influencing many areas of society. The 'red tops' make Joseph Goebbels look like a paper boy. We are constantly subjected to propaganda from daily's like the Mail who unquestionably print things without substance or consideration for the effect that the 'stories' might have. I'm in favour of having a free press but they have shown many, many times that they are not capable of self-censorship. As above, I make up my own mind and that usually entails disbelieving everything I read.

Try taking a sociology course and you'll never look at the media the same way again.

The print media (newspapers, magazines and their websites) have no legal restrictions on them outside the risk of being sued for slander. The papers generally follow the political and social beliefs of their owners. Stories are twisted to reflect those views and no counter arguements are given. If you only read one newspaper and don't tend to watch the TV news, your outlook on the political world will become biased.

The broadcast media in the UK is heavilly regulated regarding political bias. Some does creep in at times, but the political parties are quick to shout foul if they think the others are gaining any advantage. On social matters, however, they tend to put forward a Londoncentric and liberal view and are very often afraid to broadcast non-politically correct attitudes, even if held by a large percentage of the population.

All in all though, I'd rather have the press in the UK than in many other countries I've visited, at least here I know that the government doesn't run it and is as liable to be on the receiving end as anyone else.