Whether we can learn only by watching televsion instead of reading books in the age of televison is a complex and controversial problem and couldn’t be oversimplified.

While television programs lead us to a new world, and so,too, does the print. They are both effective ways for studyding and provide us with different kind of information.

Let me say, I am a great lover of television, the news program are nothing short of spectacular, on days like 9.11 and for other world-changing events---when Marting Luther King delivered “I have a Dream”, when President Kennedy was shot, when Armstrong walked on the moon. It is the televsion that gives us the historical lessons by telling us what happened on the world as the first second and thus, trigger us to know what will happen next.Watching TV, in such context, is no more efficient than any other ways of studying.

Whereas when we reinforce the importance of television as an irreplaceable access to information, we still cannot ignore the fact that other communication methods besides television could touch even more lives and take us further. Television is by no means a substitution of all. As the executive editor of TIME Magazine once addressed: television is for WHAT, and print is for WHY, demonstrating that no matter how widely the range of stories television covers, in most cases, those profound and perceivable stories are found in print, that is, in newspapers, magazines, and books. We are able to see how deeply the audience are moved by “I have a dream”on the show but remain turn to Martin Luther King’s biography for a thorough understanding of its historical background. Similarily, the back-of-the-scene news of the assassination to President Kennedy are carried mostly on the daily newspapers and weeklies. By carefully reading those archives, one will get a complete view of these events through a vivid depiction and will sooner or later, figure out what these events mean to us and how will they shape our life.

To sum up, due to the analysis and illustarations mentioned above , I cannot persuade myself to agree with that people can learn in a better way merely by watching TV programs or reading books. In determing with which way is more effective depends on the extent to which the knowledge one hopes to attain. A methodology yielding from a combination of watching and reading, if somewhat imperfect,  will enrich you with general ideas and diversified perspectives, thus make you get twice the result from half the effort.