media is that plural or singular

by **Guest** Sat May 10, 2008 6:46 pm

media have...
media has

which one is correct?

by **Guest** Fri May 16, 2008 6:42 am

Media is plural and medium is its singular forms: Media HAVE
Very often nouns coming from latin and ending with A are plural, another example is data: Data HAVE

by **RonPurewal** Wed May 21, 2008 5:24 am

'media' isn't as simple as it seems. in the strict, language-purist sense, yes, it's plural, because that's the way it works in latin. however, the oxford english dictionary, that most august source of language advice, says:
In practice, in the sense "˜television, radio, the press, and the Internet, collectively,’ media behaves as a collective noun (like staff or clergy, for example), which means that it is now acceptable in standard English for it to take either a singular or a plural verb.
there you have it. (fyi, this blurb comes after a blurb informing you that 'traditional usage' is plural.)