A World We Live In - Unit4

4

UNIT IV

Mass Media

THE NORTHERN LIGHT

A.J.Cronin

A.J.Cronin’s (1896-?) literary career opened in 1931 with ” Hatter’s Castle.” The success of the novel enabled its author to give up his profession of a doctor and devote his life to writing. A.J.Cronin is known as a novelist, most of his novels being written in the best traditins of English critical realism.

In “The Northern Light” Henry Page, owner of a small-town newspaper, carries on an unequal battle for the independence and for the very existence of his paper against a powerful newspaper syndicate.

Monday was always a busy day - news accumulates over the weekend - and Page was at the office early. Instead of going directly upstairs he went into the copy room. This opened onto the cobbled yard, a large, old-fashioned, but well-lit room where most of the news staff worked. The premises were not large - in fact Henry had to rent the adjoining building for his printing presses - and they were old-fashioned, but they had been exactly for so many years; they suited him, and he liked them. Peter Fenwick, the assistant sub-editor, was standing with Frank, the copy-taster, by the Associated Press machine.

“What’s in from Egypt?” Henry asked, when they had said good morning.

“The Canal’s still blocked,” Fenwick answered. “The Americans can’t get permission to raise the cement barges. King Saud had a talk with Eisenhower. He’s to get jet planes and more Cadillacs. Nasser’s still throwing his weight about ... the Israelis won’t budge. We’re getting short of oil. The Edens have reached Panama ...”

Page listened in silence, every word reopening the wounds, still raw, left by that humiliating debacle.

“What’s the home news?”

“There’s a gruesome story in from Belfast. Double murder and a suicide ... wife, lover, and husband, all with their throats cut.”

The details, which Henry ran through, were frankly horrible.

“Spike it,” he said.

“A paragraph on the back page?” Fenwick suggested. “No, not a line.”

The rest of the news, which he read over quickly, was not inspiring. The Middle East situation looked worse; more trouble was undoubtedly brewing in Cyprus.

“Anything else?” he asked.

Frank, whose job it was to “taste” the copy from the machines and pick out anything affecting the North Eastern area, said:

“How about this?”

The sheet he gave Henry was a teletype of Saturday’s late Parlamentary proceedings.

He had marked two lines in blue pencil.

In reply to a question by Mr. Burney Cadmus, North Eastern Boroughs, Mr. Philip Lester replied for the Government that, so far as he was aware, there was neither substance nor shadow in the rumours circulating on what the Hon. Member had been pleased to term Project N.R.U.

“Project N.R.U.?” Henry looked questioningly from one to the other. “Never heard of it,” Fenwick said.

“N.R.U.” Frank wrinkled his brow. “Could it be the National Railroads Union?”

“Not a chance,” Fenwick answered. “It’s probably a false run. That Cadmus is always flying off the handle.”

Henry gave him back the sheet.

“Still, put a follow-up man on it. Young Lewis, if you can spare him.”

He went up the winding stone staircase to his office. Miss Moffatt, his secretary, who dealt with the subscriptions, was sorting the mail. Elderly, of neutral appearance, rather like a retired school teacher, with a colourless complexion and greying hair, wearing, summer and winter, a clerical grey skirt and grey knitted cardigan, Moffatt was practically indispensable, doing all sorts of odd and unimportant jobs without the slightest fuss. Brought into the office some thirty years ago by Robert Page, she had never quite accepted the son as his father’s successor. This morning her manner was decidedly “off”. Henry sensed at once that she had something on her mind. She gave him time to go through his letters, meanwhile unknotting a piece of twine from a parcel and rolling it into a neat, tight ball - she had a mania for petty economies, regarding string, half sheets of paper, and odd unused stamps as something in the bank - then, as he prepared to dictate, she said:

“He’s been on the phone again.” “Who?”

“Somerville.”

Henry looked at her in surprise. “What did he want?”

“To speak to you. When I said you weren’t in, and he obviously knew you wouldn’t be

- the call came in at seven-thirty from Surrey - he left a message.” “Yes?”

She took her memo notebook and read from the shorthand.

“Kindly convey my personal regards to Mr. Page. Tell him that two of my executives will be in his neighbourhood next week. Say that I shall be most happy if he is good enough to permit them to call upon him.”

There was a pause. In order to collect himself, Henry said:

“Go over that again.”

She did so, and at the second reading it sounded even more extravagantly urbane. The perplexity which had troubled him on Saturday returned with renewed force. He felt vaguely worried.

“What do you make of it?”

Tightening her lips, Moffatt made a sharp gesture, angry and disdainful, with her head. “He wants to buy the Light.”

“He did. He was under the impression it was for sale. I told him he was mistaken.” “He is not the kind who makes mistakes.”

“Well ... ” Henry said, at last, “even if you’re right it makes no odds. He may want to buy. But I certainly don’t want to sell.”

“Is it as simple as that?”

“Obviously.” Because Page was upset he felt himself getting annoyed. “If the paper isn’t on the market how can it be bought?”

“Do you know Vernon Somerville?” “Yes ... at least I met him once.”

“Then you no more know him than I know the man in the moon. At least you know what he publishes. Have you seen this morning’s Gazette?”

All the London dailies came into the office; they were arranged on the long,

brass-bound, mahogany table by the window. She took the Gazette and placed it in front of him. This morning, spread over the front page, was a luridly retouched flashlight of three bloodsplashed corpses, two men and a pitifully half-naked woman, sprawled on the floor of a tenement room, while above, in inch-high type, screamed the headline THE PRICE OF PASSION.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Moffatt said, in an indescribable tone. “It would look nice on our front page.”

Although Moffatt was easily put out and alarmingly ready to take offence, Henry didn’t know what had come over her. He had to stop that nonsense. He gave her back the paper.

“Take dictation,” he said sharply.

When he had dealt with the correspondence she went next door to her machine and he passed along the corridor to the pillared Adam room where, every morning at ten, he held conference with his staff to plan the next day’s news coverage and features. Malcolm

Maitland, his chief assistant editor, was already there, talking with Hartley Slade, who managed the art department; and as he entered, Poole, the sports editor, came in behind him with Horace Balmer, the advertising manager.

As they sat down at the long polished table, Henry had a sudden impulse to mention the Somerville affair, but feeling this to be weakness on his part, he refrained. They began to discuss the format of the paper, going through Maitland’s news schedule item by item, deciding what should be passed and what discarded.

The policy of the Nothern Light had long been summarized in the phrase which, in modest pica type, could be found at the head of page one: “All the news that’s fit to read.” Set inflexibly against sensationalism, the paper had built up, over five generations, a reputation for integrity, fair-mindedness, and sound news presentation. It had become more or less a tradition in the district. Today, inevitably, the main news interest centered in the Middle East. Page and his staff went into this at length, worked through the national and county issues, came down finally to that subject of perennial interest - the weather. Heavy floods had occurred overnight in Lincolnshire and a reporter was sent out on this assignment with the chief photographer. There were, of course, local events to be reported, and various staff dispositions were made of these. Bob Lewis had already gone out on the N.R.U. assignment. Within an hour, after they had all spoken freely, an agreement was reached and it was possible to give some definite shape to the paper.

COMMENTARY

1.Associated Press: the USA information agency founded in 1848 in New York.

2.Canal: here Suez Canal.

3.Eisenhower: D.D.Eisenhower (1890-1969), 34th President of the USA (19053)

to run through; to send out on an assignment; to take offence; to work through.

Exercises to the Text

I. Answer the following questions:

1)Why was Monday a busy day?

2)What questions did Page and his colleagues discuss on Monday morning?

3)Whom did he see when he went up the winding stone staircase to his office?

4)Was Miss Moffatt a good secretary?

5)Who brought her into the office some thirty years ago?

6)What news did she break?

7)Did Henry Page want to sell his newspaper?

8)What did Henry Page and his secretary know about Vernon Somerville?

9)What kind of information did Somerville’s newspaper publish?

10)What was the function of morning conferences?

11)What departments were represented at the conference that morning?

12)Did Henry mention the Somerville affair at the conference? Why?

13)How could the policy of the Northern Light be summarized?

14)How long did it take to reach an agreement at the conference?

II. Paraphrase or explain:

1)“Still, put a follow-up man on it. Young Lewis, if you can spare him.”

2)This morning her manner was decidedly “off”.

4)The perplexity which had troubled him on Saturday returned with renewed force.

5)Although Moffatt was easily put out and alarmingly ready to take offence, Henry didn’t know what had come over her.

6)... he held conference with his staff to plan the next day’s news coverage and

features.

7)... but feeling this to be weakness on his part, he refrained.

8)They began to discuss the format of the paper, going through Maitland’s news schedule item by item, deciding what should be passed and what discarded.

9)“All the news that’s fit to read.”

10)Set inflexibly against sensationalism, the paper had built up, over five generations, a reputation for integrity, fair-mindedness, and sound news presentation.

11)... came down finally to that subject of perennial interest.

III. Read through the text and find facts to prove that:

1)Monday was always a busy day.

2)Miss Moffatt had worked in the newspaper longer than the chief.

3)Henry Page didn’t want to sell the Northern Light.

4)The morning conference was an important part of the everyday schedule.

5)The policy of the Nothern Light was against sensationalism.

6)The life of the Nothern Light was always tense and dynamic.

7)The equipment and the building of the newspaper were old and worn-out

II. Write out all the words and word-combinations dealing with the press. Define them with the help of an English-English dictionary.

III. Give Russian equivalents for the following:

news accumulates over the weekend; the copy room; the news staff; the assistant sub-editor; home news; a false run; dealt with subscriptions; without the slightest fuss; her manner was decidedly “off”; it makes no odds; screamed the headline; on our front page; the next day’s news coverage and features; chief assistant editor; the format of the paper; news schedule; item by item; what should be passed and what discarded; at the head of page one; all the news, that’s fit to read; a reputation for integrity, fair-mindedness, and sound news presentation; the main news interest; the national and county issues; that subject of perennial interest; on this assignment; various staff dispositions; to give some definite shape to the paper.

IV. Give English equivalents for the following:

помощник редактора; реактивные самолеты; ужасная история; откровенно; пробежать глазами; несомненно; отметил синим карандашом; насколько он знает; вопросительно; неверный ход; винтовая лестница; цвет лица; незаменима; без малейшей суеты; что-то беспокоило ее; смутно; быть под впечатлением; положила перед ним; заголовок; оскорбиться; твердо; тема, представляющая неизменный интерес; был послан с заданием; соглашение было достигнуто.

V. Compare the meanings added by the suffixes to the same stems: humiliate - humiliation

inspire - inspiring - inspiration - inspirational succession - successive - successor

tight - tighten

frank - frankly - frankness arrange - arrangement

accept - acceptable - acceptably - acceptability - acceptance trouble - troublesome

sensation - sensational - sensationalism

VI. Compare the following English and Russian words:

VII. Add the necessary prepositions or adverbs.

Mass communication has revolutionized the modern world. In the United States, it has given rise ... what social observers sometimes call a media state, a society ... which access ...

power is through the media. The term media, understood broadly, includes any channel ...

information ... which information can pass. Since a democracy largely depends ... public opinion, all those involved ... communicating information inevitably have an important role to play. The print and broadcasting media, not only convey information ... the public, but also influence public opinion. Television, ... access ... virtually every American household, which typically tunes ... about six hours a day, is a powerful influence. The broadcast media, capable

... of mass-producing messages and images instantaneously, have been largely responsible ...

homogenizing cultural and regional diversities ... the country. Beyond this cultural significance, the power ... the media is important ... politicians, who use the media to influence voters; and to businessmen and women, who use the media to encourage consumption ... their products.

VIII. Insert the articles, wherever necessary:

… newspapers and magazines have long been major lines of … communication and have always reached … large audiences. Today, more than 11,000 different periodicals are

published as either weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, or semiannual editions.

… readership levels, however, are not as high as they once were. … newspapers have had to cope with … competition from … radio and … television. They have suffered … decline in … circulation from … peak years around … turn of … century largely because of

…trend of … urban populations moving to … suburbs. … studies show that most suburban readers prefer to get … “serious” news from … television and tend to read … newspapers primarily for … comics, … sports, … fashions, … crime reports, and … local news. Nowadays, … Americans consider … television their most important source of … news, and

…majority ranks … television as … most believable news source. Accordingly, … newspapers have made … changes to increase their readership levels. Some established metropolitan newspapers are now published in … “zoned” editions for … different regional audiences. In some cases, they have lost their readership to … new weekly suburban newspapers that resemble … magazines in … format. To meet … public demand for more feature material, some publishers have started adding … “life-style” and “home living” sections to their papers to make them more like … magazines.

IX. Translate into English. Paraphrase the marked sections of the following sentences with particular care for the marked words and phrases.

1.Пиджак морщит на спине, придется его переделать.

2.Меня беспокоят наши денежные дела.

3.Река извилистым путем несет свои воды к морю.

4.Он как-то неопределенно говорил о том, что собирается стать актером.

5.Не буду вас беспокоить, если вы заняты.

6.Пришлось потесниться, чтобы все поместились в машине.

7.Он как педагог никуда не годится.

8.Экономические факторы повлияли на ход событий.

9.Каждое утро я делаю пробежку.

10.Ходит слух, что новая фирма на грани банкротства.

11.Мы откатили колесо к обочине.

12.Они надеются уехать в деревню, когда уйдут на пенсию.

13.Не рекомендуется кормить собак сырым мясом.

14.Иногда ему перепадает случайная работа.

15.Он мне что-то передавал?

16.Рассказ о привидении, обитающем в замке, внушил мне страх.

17.Мне было очень стыдно за поведение детей.

18.Она создала такой ажиотаж вокруг этой звезды!

19.Откровенно говоря, я сомневаюсь в успехе нашей затеи.

20.Улицы старого города вымощены кирпичом.

21.Заварить хороший чай - большое искусство.

22.Все готово к отпуску.

23.Он надоел мне со своими вопросами.

24.Пьеса нас растрогала.

25.Мы с удовольствием приняли приглашение на свадьбу.

DISCUSSION EXERCISES

I. Look at these headlines from British newspapers. In which section of the newspaper did they appear? Choose from the list below:

1.Major plans cabinet reshuffle.

2.England suffer third defeat.

3.Paris shows more leg.

4.City prices fall.

5.Italy on a shoestring.

6.A taste of summer.

7.Play that still packs a punch.

a .Financial b .Politics c .Travel d .Theatre reviews e .Sport f .Food and drink g

.Fashion.

* * *

Read the article and complete the task which follows .

WHAT IS NEWS?

What is news? The kind of event that becomes news depends on several factors. When did it happen? To be news it must be immediate and current; today’s newspaper is a record of what’s happening now. What happened? Was the event significant or important? - if so, it’s news. How and where did it happen? Whom did it happen to, and what may happen as a result? The answers to these questions make up what we call news. News is the history of the day in the making, and newspapers are the recorders of that history.

What kinds of stories make news? Accidents, murders, robberies, awful fires - do only bad or sad events make news? It depends on what is happening on a particular day. At first glance it may seem that newspapers print more “bad” news than “good” news. On certain bad days that may be true, but if you survey the stories in a typical edition of the newspaper, you may be surprised at the amount of good news newspapers contain.

While it would be nice if only good news was reported, events make news because they are out of the ordinary. To most people, a story that describes an unusual happening is far more interesting than one about an ordinary event. It’s important to remember that news is about what’s happening and if a significant event happens, it’s news, good or bad.

Can you summarize what makes news?

What do you like reading about in newspapers?

* * *

Read the information about the stories which can make news. Can you add any other classes of information which can make news? Compare the American and the Russian press.

Stories of interest to most Americans make news.

House Passes

Tax Bill

WASHINGTON, July 11 - The House of Representatives today approved a measure that would have the effect of increasing the taxes of most Americans. The controversial bill was passed by a margin of 235-189, with voting largely along party lines.

International stories make news.

Britain Sends Fleet

To Defend Falklands

LONDON, April 5-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced in Parliament today that she was ordering a task force of the Royal Navy to proceed with all speed to the Falkland

Islands. The announcement, which constituted the government’s response to the Argentine occupation of these South Atlantic islands, had been expected.

The humorously strange makes news.

Wren Takes Up Residence

In Purse of Md. Woman

HAGERSTOWN, Md., July 2 (AP) - When June Henson hung her freshly washed canvas pocketbook out to dry last week, she never expected it would become a bird’s nest.

Unusual happenings make news.

A Mother’s Strike

Convinces 5 Kids

To Treat Her Better

By Gail Baker

Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 8 - A homemaker who went on strike against her family for six days is back on the job after the last of her five children accepted her list of demands for more affection and consideration.

The failings of modern life make news.

1910 Mail Turns Up;

Post Office Still Game

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 22 (AP) - Two sacks of mail that should have been delivered in 1910 have been discovered in an old house, and the Postal Service says it will try to make sure the mail gets through this time.

Even when nothing happens, sometimes it’s news.

No Serious

Incidents

Sunday’s Prince George’s County Police Department communications bulletin contained the type of crime report we all like to hear: “no serious incidents to report.”

* * *

What do you think this part of the article will be about? How can you answer the question asked in the title?

Read this part of the article and complete the task that follows.

What Is a Newspaper?

A newspaper is a printed record of events that is made available to a large number of people.

A newspaper does not make events happen. What it does is takes the raw material - the facts - from an event and presents it as news, in a way that its readers can understand.

But news is not everything a newspaper contains. There is an old saying that you can’t please everyone, so don’t try to. A newspaper can’t please everyone either, but it does try very hard to have something interesting for everyone to read.

Newspapers are magic. They have the power to take you anywhere in the world. They introduce you to other people and invite you to try something new. Compared with any other medium of communication, the newspaper offers the widest choice of information to the greatest number of people.

Because there is so much variety offered, newspapers try to package the information in a form you can easily recognize and use. They separate “hard news” - that is, news about important events - from information dealing with familiar everyday living. For this reason, the newspapers are divided into sections. In large daily newspapers there may be ten sections or

more. National and international news will fill the first section, with the most important news of the day usually found on page one. Local news stories are usually reported in another section in large metropolitan newspapers; however, they will also be found throughout the paper. The local stories the paper thinks are most important will be located on or as close to the front page as possible.

Sports news often has its own special section within the paper, as do the “want ads.”

Social news, householdliving advice, and women’s features are often placed in special sections, as are automotive news and comics.

Within these sections, as with the first page, it’s relatively easy to detect which stories the newspaper feels are most important. Those stories will be found at the top of the page and have headline type size which catches your immediate attention. Often, a picture signals an important story in the view of the newspaper. A smaller headline or a location on one of the inside pages indicates that the news in a particular story isn’t as important as that in more eye-catching stories the newspaper is carrying.

To locate a story quickly, it is important to learn the pattern your newspaper follows in presenting the news in a way that is most convenient.

Working in small groups, try to agree on these ideas.

1)Newspapers are magic.

2)Compared with any other medium of communication, the newspaper offers the widest choice of information to the greatest number of people.

3)It is important to learn the pattern your newspaper follows in presenting the news.

* * *

This text is supposed to be combined with studying the pattern of any American (or British) newspaper. Can you answer the question before you read this part of the article?

What Do We Learn

Front The Front Page?

The first page of any newspaper, called the front page, is the one readers are guaranteed to see. It is only logical then for newspapers to use this page to present the most important news of the day. Even more logical is to use this space to chronicle other information contained in the paper and about the paper itself. In order to point out the important information you will find on page one of the newspaper, let’s take a tour of an example, newspaper.

Legend

1.The paper’s banner, or flag. This is the name of the newspaper, usually written in large, ornate, or distinctive lettering. The banner may also contain a trademark picture or symbol. Some papers also print the weather forecast for the day to one side of the banner. The other side may list a brief index to what can be found on the inside pages. When items such as the weather and index are placed at either side of the banner - the head of the newspaper - they are commonly referred to as “ears.”

2.Date of publication tells you the day of the week, the month, and the year that the newspaper was printed.

3.Newsstand price. This is the amount you will pay for the newspaper if you are buying it from a machine or at the store counter.