The Media

Have you ever wondered where the word "media" (sg. medium) derives its meaning from? Well, I didn't either, but it hit me in Latin class today (I started school yesterday). It derives from the Latin "media," an adjective meaning "middle." From this comes the word "medium," both in the sense of size and in the communications/art sense. The plural of the latter meaning is media, which we use to refer to the conglomeration of radio, TV, newspaper, blogs, etc. So why, exactly, does a word like "medium" derive from a word meaning "middle?" It is because the media are intended to take the middle ground and to be unbiased. In the truest sense of the word and its etymology, the media have failed and done so miserably.