Symbols used in the book

	speaking in pairs
	reading and discussing
	translation and writing activities
	watching video
	listening
	project work
	material for portfolio

Unit I the profession of a journalist

“I am deeply interested in the progress

and elevation of journalism, having spent my life

in that profession, regarding it as a noble profession

and one of unequaled importance for its influence

upon the minds and morals of the people.”

Joseph Pulitzer

There is a widespread agreement that journalism is simultaneously a business, a public service and a watchdog. Journalists and news media executives are united in what they think define journalism, saying accuracy and balance in reporting constitute the essence of it. Many in the trade agree that journalism is a hard job distinguished because of its contributions to the public and its impact on the society.

In this Unit you will learn

• what people involved in journalism think about the essence of their profession

• about different types of journalism and journalists’ jobs

• about skills and qualities that make a good journalist

• about ethical challenges journalists confront in their work

You will be able to

• make a vocabulary map on the topic

• make a cognitive map on the topic

• describe the benefits and difficulties of journalism as a profession

• make a video project related to specifics of your profession

STARTER

Many people associate journalism with national newspapers, glossy magazines, or radio and TV broadcasting. The public face of journalism is made up of the reporters and presenters whose bylines and images confront us on the breakfast table, on our journey to and from work, or just before we go to sleep.

But behind these journalists are the ground-troops: correspondents, researchers, sub-editors, production staff, photographers, picture editors, cartoonists, gossip columnists and more. Also there are writers for the trade press or for web sites, editors of small circulation consumer magazines, translators, proof-readers, PR staff and media proprietors.

Indeed, the scope of professional opportunities in Mass media is enormous. What other career options can you add to the list?

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The images and descriptions below represent some personalities that made a mark in journalism. Do you know them? Match the images and the descriptions. What else can you tell your groupmates about these people? Who is your media icon?

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

1. an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. Best known for the self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011.

2. an Australian American media mogul*, the founder, Chairman and CEO of global media holding company News Corporation, the world’s second-largestmedia conglomerate.

3. a French journalist, best known in the West for appearing on television to represent and explain the views of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Grown up in the United States, he worked as chief commentator for the North American service of the Radio Moscow network.

4. a prominent journalist of the XVIII century who worked with “New York Weekly Journal” and became popular among American people mainly after criticizing New York State’s governor. An advocate for the freedom of the press.

5. a worldwide renowned journalist who worked for “St. Louis Post Dispatch” and “New York World”; was the member of U.S. House of Representatives, but couldn’t continue its membership due to his journalistic duties. An American publisher known for his competition with William Randolph Hearst who originated the call tabloids and journalistic awards that bears his name.

6. this person is named as great grandfather of modern journalism. An American comic strip writer-artist, the creator of the series The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown, and he is considered to be the inventor of the modern comic strip.

7. a Hungarian combat photographer and photo journalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War. Co-founded Magnum Photos – the first cooperative agency for worldwide freelance photographers.

8. a Soviet radio announcer famous for his wartime reports of the battles. His voice announced battlefield victories, air raid warnings, and the surrender of Germany to the Soviets on May 9, 1945. He also announced the first public acknowledgment of Stalin’s death, and the first manned space flight.

• WATCHING VIDEO 1