In this paper the author interprets the changing role of mass media in social processes over recent decades. Society’s perception of mass media is also investigated, with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe. The author explores mass media’s position in the societies of the region, asking how these societies interpret media messages. He analyzes the context of people’s reservations about media messages (people’s misgivings, conditioned by social history). One of the key arguments of the paper is that the majority of audiences in the countries concerned have grown more sceptical of mass media messages than have the audiences of Western European countries. According to the author, various social groups consider that the mass media is heavily politicized and that its construction of reality has little in common with their own interpretations.