The mass media

What is mass communications? This word combination is generally used to designate any process by which a person or a group communicates with the masses. It also describes four chief media employed in the process - the newspaper, the magazine, radio and television. These media can be called the "media of mass communications", the "vehicles of mass communications", or "the mass media". The newspapers and magazines are often termed the "print media" while radio and television are called the "electronic media".

All the mass media are concerned with news. It may be news of the moment, or what has just happened, or is in the process of happening. This is the kind of news usually treated by daily papers. Or it may be news of lasting interest for a general or a particular audience, as is the case with weekly papers and magazines.

The idea of what news is has changed and developed enormously with the mass readership of newspapers. To define "news" is a baffling task. An all-inclusive definition is impossible because news is a relative matter, varying sharply

1) from one paper to another

2) from one time to another

3) from one locality to another.

How the idea of news varies from one paper to another can be made clear by placing the tabloid (popular paper) against the quality newspaper. In the tabloid there are many stories that never appear in the quality paper - such as accounts of family squabbles, gossip about semifamous personalities. Conversely, the conservative daily carries many stories generally ignored by the tabloid - such as detailed analysis of the stock market, etc.

How news varies from one time to another can be seen by checking the stories in some one newspaper for extended period. On days when newsworthy items are scarce a routine neighbourhood banquet becomes news. On other days, like the morning after a national election, a similar banquet doesn't merit even a shot.

How news varies from one place to another is evident from a comparison of the stories in a rural paper with those in a metropolitan daily. In the rural area a small house fire is news. In the metropolitan area a dozen similar fires are ignored.

Despite these insurmountable obstacles to establish an all-inclusive definition, journalists are in fairly common agreement that the following five qualities characterize news stories.

First, news is any printable story which will interest the readers.

Second, news is always completely true, or it is at least a set of facts that have been presented to the reporter as true. The news-teller may not resort to conjecture or supposition: he is limited to the cold facts of the story, told without emotion, prejudice, or personal opinion.

Third, news has a quality of recency about it. The old statement "as out of date as yesterday's newspaper" is still a reliable indication of the emphasis placed on the recency.

Fourth, news has an element of proximity about it. People, generally speaking, are most interested in events that are near them in space, time, and general background.

Fifth, news must have some element of the unusual about it. The unusual aspect brightens the newspaper page. Its importance is to be seen in the old saw "If a dog bites a man, it's not news; but if a man bites a dog, it is news".

In any consideration of these five qualities that characterize "news" one caution is important. The caution is that there can be no "chemistry" of the news story because newspapers do not emphasize the qualities uniformly.

Task 2. State whether the given statements from the text are true or false. If false - correct them.

1. People are mainly interested in the local events.

2. The newspapers and magazines are called the "written media".

3. The daily papers usually inform us about the news of lasting interest.

4. News is any printable story which will interest the readers.

5. Tabloids contain a lot of serious information.

Task 3. Guess the words and phrases according to the given definitions.

1. A newspaper where you can find a detailed analysis of the stock market, business events.

2. Radio and television are often called so.

3. Newspapers and magazines published every day.

4. People who read newspapers.

5. A daily newspaper in the capital.

6. A means of changing the TV channels without getting up from the sofa.

7. A person who contributes to the newspaper.

Task 4. Answer the questions.

1. What is mass communications?

2. What is often termed "the print media", "the electronic media"?

3. Why is it a baffling task to define "news"?

4. What information can we find in the quality newspapers?

5. What information do the tabloid (popular) papers have?

6. What five qualities characterize news stories?

Task 5. Translate the sentences into English.

1. Задача газет та інших засобів масової інформації - розповсюджувати інформацію та знання, сприяти розвитку мирних відносин і дружби між народами.

2. Сенсаційний характер «жовтої преси» складає її відмінну особливість.

3. «Жовту пресу» часто називають пресою без душі.

4. Її джерела інформації перетворюють дійсно драматичні події в дешеву мелодраму.

5. Міжнародне співробітництво в галузі культури повинно охоплювати всі види розумової і творчої діяльності в галузі освіти, науки, культури та друку.

6. В сучасній пресі значне місце відводиться рекламі товарів та послуг.

7. Незважаючи на непереборні перешкоди, їм все ж вдалося заснувати щотижневу газету для молоді.

8. Новизна та близькість подій є характерними для більшості статей.

Task 6. Fill in the prepositions.

1. All the mass media are concerned ...news.

2. News must have some element... the unusual ... it.

3. The idea ... what news is has changed and developed enormously ... the mass readership ... newspapers.

4. The newspapers contain accounts ... family squabbles, gossip ... semifamous personalities.

5. News has a quality ... recency ... it.

Task 7. Translate the following word-combinations into English.

Бульварна газета, непереборні перешкоди, засоби інформації, електронні засоби інформації, бути дефіцитним, забобони, визначити процес, новизна, близькість, сільська газета, столична щоденна газета, припущення, складне завдання.

Task 8. Tell your neighbour everything you know about the following notions.

Mass communications; print media; electronic media; newspaper; news-teller; supposition; proximity; recency.

Task 9. Comment on the following.

1. People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.

2. When a dog bites a man that is not news. But if a man bites a dog, that is news.

3. No news is good news.

4. Bad news has wings.

Task 10. Match each word in the left-hand column with the best meaning in the right-hand column.

a foreign correspondent a sub-editor a continuity person an editor a librarian a bookseller a publisher a columnist a camera operator 10. a critic

a. a person who writes reviews of books, films or theatre plays. b. a journalist based abroad. c. a journalist who writes a regular column or feature for a newspaper/magazine. d. d. a person who operates a camera filming, a TV programme or a film. e. e. someone who works in a newspaper office and decides on how the pages should be laid out, how stories need to be cut, what headlines should be used and so on. f. f. a person responsible for the production of a newspaper or magazine. g. a person who works in a place which lends books. h. a person responsible for seeing that the continuity between one scene and another in a film is correct - for making sure that people do not suddenly wear different earrings, for example. i. someone who owns or works in a shop which sells books. j. a person or company responsible for having a book printed and organizing its sale

Text 2

Task 1. Read the text and choose the correct answer.

1 . Fleet Street is the home of the British .... a) press b) radio

2. The national papers are sold ....

a) abroad b) all over the country

3. People in Britain buy more papers on ... .

a) Sundays b) weekdays

3. The Sunday papers have ... circulation than the dailies.

a) lower b) higher

3. Daily papers are published daily from ....

a) Monday to Saturday b) Monday to Sunday

3. Local papers serve towns and areas ... London.

a) inside b) outside