- •Interview with a bbc Newsreader
- •1 Discuss the following questions in pairs
- •2 Read the profile and the interview with Philip Hayton and check if your ideas about qualities and qualifications were correct. Check if your questions have been asked.
- •1. Read the first part of the interview with Philip Hayton up to what is the most nerve wracking situation and tick the things Philip did.
- •3. Use the context of the interview to guess the meaning of the following words and phrases.
- •Complete the sentences with the words from the box.
- •5. Complete the table below with adjectives from the text of the interview.
- •6. Complete the gaps with the correct adjectives
- •Unit 2
- •1. Discuss the following questions in pairs
- •3. David Bull’s profile
- •1. Read the first part of the interview up to the question: What is the worst thing that happened live on air? Decide if these are true (t) or false (f)
- •2. А) Read the rest of the interview. Choose the adjectives from the text describing the job of a tv Presenter in two columns
- •3. A) Complete the gaps with the words from the text of the interview. The first letters of the missing words are given.
- •1. A) Study how adjective and adverb enormous / enormously collocate with nouns, verbs and adjectives
- •2. Discuss the following questions in small groups.
- •Unit 3
- •Interview with charles clover
- •1. Look at the title and the photo of a man. Check the words below and give your ideas what field of journalism he works in.
- •2. Read the resume and the interview with Charles Clover and check if your ideas were correct
- •Interview with charles clover.
- •1. Read the interview again and check your ideas.
- •2. Find words and phrases in the text of the interview that mean the following. Numbers indicate questions of the interview.
- •Explain in your own words the following words and expressions.
- •Discuss the following questions in small groups.
- •Unit 4
- •Skim the text of the resume and make notes of the important facts and changes that have happened in his life since the previous interview.
- •2 Translate the Russian resume of Clover in English using vocabulary from his interview above. Words and phrases that are important have already been studied.
- •3 Read Charles Clover’s interview and answer the questions.
- •Interview.
- •4. Check the meaning of the word in your dictionary. Give Russian equivalents of the following:
- •Grammar Revision of if tense use.
- •Translate the interview into English. Work in two groups. Group a translate the interviewer’s questions. Group b translate the text of the interviewee. Use the words from Ex. 3.
- •6. Dramatize the interview between the reporter and the news source. Work in pairs, one person from group a and one from group b. Unit 5
- •Torredonjimeno's uniformed stewardesses on patrol Photograph: Linda Nylind
- •1 Before reading the article put these words in the sentences to make definitions.
- •2 Look at the headline, introduction, photo and caption . Answer the questions below. Who can be fined for going out on the streets of the Spanish town?
- •Women's walkout splits Spanish town
- •1 Read the first six paragraphs of the article down to the line "'It's all I've got,'he said." Decide if these sentences are true (t) or false (f).
- •2 Read the next paragraphs down to the line "... Against the 'anti-constitutional' represen tation of men." Choose the correct word in the sentences below.
- •3 Read the next paragraphs of the article down to the line "... I have now succeeded in forcing a debate." Put yes (y) or no (n) next to these sentences about the mayor, Javier Checa.
- •4 Read the rest of the article. Choose one of the people below to answer the questions.
- •1 Look at this example of a compound adjective from the article.
- •2 What are the general meanings of the prefixes and suffixes used in the exercise above? Complete each sentence below with all-/ -friendly / -led or -like.
- •3 Put the verbs in brackets into the infinitive (work) or-ing form (working).
- •Unit 6
- •1. Discuss the following questions in pairs.
- •2. Read the list below and check the meaning of the phrases in bold in your dictionary.
- •3. (A) Read the article and mark each piece of advice as follows?
- •The art of making life memorable
- •1. Find the phrases in a in the article. Try to guess from the context what each one means. Use the definitions in b to help you.
- •3. Learn to use the following words:
- •4. Translate the text into Russian observing grammar, vocabulary and literary style. Unit 7 media debates
- •3 Read the following interview and decide what the most appropriate title is:
- •2 Read the interview again and answer the following questions.
- •3 Find words or phrases in the text of the interview with the following meanings
- •3 Decide how you will summarise the interview with Nic Newman, focusing on the things that are more interesting.
- •Steve Barnett
- •2 Write down a plan of the text choosing the main ideas underscored by the author.
- •3 The author uses colourful, figurative language to support his viewpoint on the problems of journalism. Translate some of his eloquent ideas into Russian. Comment on them.
- •1 Discuss the following questions in small groups.
- •2 Prepare a concluding report on the problem ‘a future in print journalism’ using the facts from the interviews Unit 8
- •1 You are going to read the text mentioned in Steve Barnett’s interview. Read the text consulting the vocabulary.
- •Steven Barnett On the road to self-destruction
- •Vocabulary
- •2 Complete the gaps with the words from the text.
6. Complete the gaps with the correct adjectives
1 That’s how I started my _______ broadcasting.
2 Usually we have information ______ but on that day we didn’t.
3 I never worked hard enough I don’t think to make the most of my _____ career.
4 I think I’d find them rather dull as they’re very ______.
5 You need to be intelligent, well educated, be aware of the world and be ______.
6 How time _______ is your job?
7 TV news is becoming more ________.
8 She makes _______demands on her children.
AFTER READING
1. Write a profile of Philip Hayton using the information from his interview. Include all facts he has mentioned answering students’ questions including:
Childhood
School
Earlier career
Career as a BBC newsreader
2. Discuss the following questions in small groups
What do you think of the format of this Live Chat Show? Does it appeal to you?
Yes or no. Why?
Did interviewers manage to exploit fully the human nature and background details of the interviewee? Was he sincere?
How helpful might these types of communication be for trainees in journalism?
Unit 2
Interview with a BBC TV presenter.
BEFORE READING
1. Discuss the following questions in pairs
Do you enjoy watching live chat shows with famous people?
As a trainee in journalism do you pay attention how it is conducted or organized?
Do interviews reveal personality of an interviewer?
Swap your ideas with your partner.
2. You are going to read the interview with famous BBC TV presenter David Bull. Can you guess which words and phrases from below connected with the job of a TV-presenter?
get an audition speak clearly
read autocue project sb’s voice
equity card be a freelance
have a trade hosting a live show
handle a live show
3. David Bull’s profile
Screen Name:
David Bull.
Male/Female:
Male
Who is David Bull
TV Presenter, Doctor and Author on Teenage Issues
What were you like at school?
Quiet and shy
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A doctor or a TV Presenter
What were your favourite / least favourite school subjects?
Chemistry
What was your favourite book when you were growing up?
The Narnia Chronicles and the Famous Five
What was your favourite TV show when you were growing up?
Swap Shop and Blue Peter
Who is the person you admire most?
Anyone who has stuck to their guns and done what they set out to achieve
What is your greatest ambition?
To be happy
What is your biggest worry?
Not being happy
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I'm too trusting
What are you having for dinner tonight?
Chicken and salad
When was the live chat with David Bull?
The livechat with David Bull took place on Tuesday 27th August at 5.35pm.
David Bull's interview
TV Presenter, Doctor and Author on Teenage Issues
BBC Host |
Hello, and welcome to tonight's Live Chat with David Bull WOW! Here's the first question. We're off... |
Steve |
What was the first thing you presented? |
David Bull |
The first show I presented was Newsround. The first show I was a guest on was Sky Travel. |
icecreamforjowes |
David, is it hard to write books on teenagers when it is such a broad subject? |
David Bull |
It's very hard. However, I confine the books to health and medical issues, so I have to narrow it down, and the first book was just about sex so that was an even narrower topic. It was a difficult subject anyway, and everyone's different. |
James |
Hi! I'm a second year medical student, and I'm seriously looking at working in the media later on in my career - what tips would you give? |
David Bull |
Make sure you're qualified, then you have a trade. Try and keep up to date with medicine, but always follow your heart. Get work experience where you can, and badger everyone in sight! |
Simon616 |
Why did you decide to move from being a doctor to a presenter? |
David Bull |
I've always wanted to work in TV and present programmes. I also wanted to be a doctor, and I've been lucky enough to do both. I decided to give myself one year to see if I could make it as a TV presenter, and six years later, I'm still going! |
doctornick |
Why did you decide to study medicine in the first place? |
David Bull |
I had wanted to be a doctor since I was a little boy. I loved making people better, but I hated the system. Working in the NHS is very tough, and I'm campaigning to make things better. |
Charley |
I've got an audition on Thursday for presenting and I've got no idea what they will ask me to do! What did you have to do on your first audition? |
David Bull |
I had to read autocue, I had to interview someone, and I had to handle a live show, and I was dreadful! It's really hard and difficult and it's a skill you learn. I'm still learning, but I've done six years of live TV being on screen every week - and you can't beat that sort of experience. |
TeddyS |
Was working on Healthcheck ideal as it combines both your jobs? |
David Bull |
Yes, it was, and not only that but I had the opportunity to interview government ministers, people in power, and ask them why things were going wrong - and being a doctor, I understood all the answers! |
Nick |
What would you change about the NHS if you could? |
David Bull |
I would completely change the NHS. I think it needs radical rethinking. It's got too big. It's trying to offer all things to all people. I just don't believe it's possible now that technology and science has moved on so much. I think the public should be consulted on what should happen. |
icecreamforjowes |
Do you think that hospital based soaps such as Holby City portray a romantic idea of what life as a doctor is like rather than showing the real side of being in the medical business, such as lack of sleep? |
David Bull |
I love Holby City! I think it's one of the more accurate medical dramas. I used to work for someone like Anton Meyer, and I think Holby particularly does show the pressures that junior doctors are under - for example, Victoria Meryick. Casualty is more far-fetching, but you have to remember that dramas are on BBC 1 to entertain people, and a drama about the realities of the NHS would be depressing! |
Justice |
What's your favourite report that you've had to do since becoming a TV presenter? |
David Bull |
I think my favourite was a Newsround Extra I made which was when I flew to India with the Flying Hospital, which was a plane completely gutted and equipped as a hospital. We went to India and treated kids with eye problems and cleft lip and palates. It's the one report I still watch and cry. |
Al |
Do you plan to focus your career in TV or return to full time medicine? |
David Bull |
I love TV too much! I can't imagine moving. It would also be very difficult to go back to full-time medicine as my lifestyle has changed enormously. I'm now entirely self-employed, I spent my time doing TV, writing books, having meetings with the government, and I've even set up my own company and employ five people. It's like a different life. But I still stay in touch with all my mates who are doctors, and I still believe that I can now do more to change the system and to help people in a different way by attacking those people at the top who are in charge until we get it right. |
Bosley87 |
How did you get into presenting? |
David Bull |
I realised the way it was through medicine. I was young, I looked even younger, and I had the idea to do kids' health on television, which no-one had ever done. I approached Newsround with the idea. It was incredibly popular and I had 3,000 letters in the first three months at the BBC and my boss had to employ two secretaries just to deal with the post! |
Eric |
What's the worst thing that's happened live on air? |
David Bull |
I was with Boy George a couple of weeks ago and he swore really badly on live TV, and there's nothing you can do about it! The other thing that happened to me was I was doing a live show in Birmingham and I had food poisoning, and I thought I was going to vomit! I had to wait until the closing credits and I was then sick behind the sofa! |
Leon |
Should I get an agent? Can I get work without an agent? |
David Bull |
Yes you can work without an agent, and at the beginning I wouldn't work with an agent. Agents will take between 12.5 and 20 per cent of everything you earn, and if you're not earning very much, that's a lot of money. I always think that agents don't get you work, they just open doors. You get the work. |
Bosley87 |
What is your favourite show that you have presented? |
David Bull |
I love them all, otherwise I wouldn't do them, but I think it's important to move on, so I am loving Tomorrow's World, and I'm not sure whether the show knows quite what has hit it! It's very different to how it was in 1964. |
Lucky |
I'm starting to write a book myself, (about a teenager growing up with a mentally ill parent.) Do you have any tips for me? I always find it hard to fit writing in around my day job. |
David Bull |
So did I! Some days you will have a really good day writing, and others will be pants, and that's completely normal. Write when you feel inspired, and don't underestimate how long it will take. It seems to go on forever, and you have no friends! Make sure your publisher understands the pressure on you. |
Funnyhaha |
All my mates say I’m really good at speaking clearly and projecting my voice, could I be a presenter? |
David Bull |
Yes, you could, but presenting is very tough. Lots of people want to be a presenter. You have to make sure you really want to do it. It's a very unstable career, and you have to be very confident about yourself. Many people will try and knock you, but if you really want to do it, and you put all your effort into it, you will do it. |
Jamie |
Do I have to get an equity card to do presenting? |
David Bull |
No - I don't have one. Equity is the actors' union, and I don't think it's as important as it used to be. None of my friends who are presenters have one |
Carlye |
I am 16 and I really want to be a presenter. Is it a good idea to go to the Edinburgh Festival and get myself known there? |
David Bull |
Edinburgh is great fun and very useful once you're in the industry. It's a good place to meet people, but you must get yourself a showreel (that's clips of you on video). Make sure you know the type of programme you want to present, and send it to the people who make those programmes. You can find out who they are by watching the credits at the end of your favourite shows. |
Spidey |
Who do you think is the best presenter on TV and what is it you like best about them? |
David Bull |
I like different presenters depending on the show. I think Graham Norton's show is very good - he's very funny, but he couldn't do Panorama! I think the news presenters have enormous credibility, but they couldn't present an entertainment show - and I love Katie Knapman who I present Tomorrow's World with! She's funny, intelligent and witty, and I trust her..... and that's vital when you're presenting a live show. |
Bob |
How long does it take to become a presenter? |
David Bull |
There's no kind of recipe. I think it takes two years of continually being on television before anyone knows who you are. Some people become a presenter very quickly, others take a lot longer. But, one really good way to get into television is to be an expert. It doesn't matter what it's in, for example, you could be the person who knows the most about antiques or CDs or needlework... ... and you might get a break that way. Mine just happens to be in medicine and health. |
Lucky |
Between presenter, doctor and writer, which is the hardest of your jobs? |
David Bull |
They are all hard, but in different ways. People think I only turn up at seven o'clock to work for half an hour on television! It's not true. There's a lot of work behind the scenes. And when you're freelance, you have to make sure you earn enough money to pay the bills. The great thing about being a TV presenter as opposed to being a doctor is that I get to go to sleep every night! |
Louise |
I was wondering what it was like when you first went into presenting on live tv? I've done it in a college studio, but never for real. |
David Bull |
It's very similar. You learn the same skills, you can still look like a monkey when you get it wrong. I just have more people watching! And before EastEnders... it can be as many as 12 million. Now that is scary! |
BBC-Host |
That is all we have time for. Here's David Bull with a final word... |
David Bull |
The most important thing you can do is make sure you want to do it. It's tough, and it's very competitive, but it's fantastically rewarding. I love hosting a live show on BBC 1...it's an enormous adrenalin kick, and if it goes well, it's a fantastic experience. You really feel that you've achieved something. I wouldn't swap my job for a million pounds. |
BBC-Host |
Thanks to our guest David Bull, and to all of you who logged on tonight. Sorry if your question didn't get answered - there just wasn't enough time to cover them all. |
Notes
Sky Travel was first launched in 2003 as Sky Travel Shop, and showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies, and documentaries, with Sky Travel Shop being the adverts for travel agencies.
Holby City is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.
The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999.
National Health Service of the United Kingdom used as a generic term for the main national health services in that country.
Newsround (originally called John Craven's Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972.
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.
Equity (formerly known as the British Actors' Equity Association) is the trade union for actors
Panorama was launched on 11 November 1953 on the BBC Television Service, it focuses on investigative journalism.
Graham William Walker is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist, known by his stage name Graham Norton. He is the host of the comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show and the BBC commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Katie Knapman is a presenter with 10 years experience behind and in front of the camera working in live television, factual programmes, science and education.
EastEnders is a long –running British television soap opera, first broadcast in the UK on BBC 1 1985. It currently ranks as one of the most watched shows in the UK.
WHILE READING.