Vocabulary to the text:

Fourth Estate	“четверта влада”, преса
panel discussion	дискусія за круглим столом
excessive [ɪk'sesɪv]	надмірний
dispense, to [dɪs'pens]	роздавати, розподіляти
clout [klaut]	вплив
sneer, to [snɪə]	1) насміхатися, глузувати (з - at) ; висміювати 2) глузливо посміхатися
opiate ['əupɪət]	опіат, наркотик

1. Questions to the text:

1. What is mass media?

2. What is a purpose of mass media in general terms?

3. What are the functions of mass media?

4. What are the unusual emerging types of mass media?

5. List all types of mass media and speak about each one in detail.

2. Additional questions and discussion:

1. What is your forecast for the future of mass media?

2. Do you think mass media can really exercise some power in terms of controlling the authorities?

3. Name the most influential Ukrainian British, American media outlets.

4. Do you think that media outlets are independent of any political or business interests?

5. How would you characterize the influence of Western mass media onto the Ukrainian society and especially the young generation?

3. Write short notes about the key issues raised in the text.

4. Compose and write a plan of the text.

5. Retell the text using new vocabulary.

6. Write a dialogue sharing impressions about any mass media outlet.

7. Prepare a composition (20-25 sentences) “Mass media in my life: a self-analysis approach”.

Topic 38. Media in Canada.

Canada has a well-developed media sector, but its cultural output — particularly in English films, television shows, and magazines — is often overshadowed by imports from the United States. Television, magazines, and newspapers are primarily for-profit corporations based on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Nevertheless, both the television broadcasting and publications sectors require a number of government interventions to remain profitable, ranging from regulation that bars foreign companies in the broadcasting industry to tax laws that limit foreign competition in magazine advertising.

In the broadcasting sector, Canada has a government-funded broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Société Radio-Canada, which operates radio and TV networks in English and French. As well, some provincial governments offer their own public educational TV broadcast services as well, such as Ontario's TVOntario and Quebec's Télé-Québec. Given Canada's small market and its position next to the dominant producer of feature films, the Canadian film industry receives substantial assistance from the government. In the 2000s, about half of the budget of a typical Canadian film came from various federal and provincial government sources.

Reporters Without Borders ranked Canadian media 21st out of 178th nations in Press Freedom Index.

The Canadian television broadcasting industry is split between public and private ownership. Canada currently has 130 originating television stations, which broadcast on 1,456 transmitters across the country, on both the VHF and UHF bands.

In addition to the public Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Société Radio-Canada, which operates both English and French television networks, there are four major private TV networks. CTV and Global broadcast in English, and are available throughout the country. TVA and V broadcast in French and are available over the air only in Quebec (and some communities in Ontario and New Brunswick which are near the Quebec border), although TVA is available across Canada on cable. Radio-Canada (the French division of the CBC), TVA and V function in the particular cultural context of Quebec television. Most network stations are owned and operated by the networks themselves, although all networks have some affiliates with different ownership.

Digital television is an emerging technology in Canada. Although some TV stations have begun broadcasting digital signals in addition to their regular VHF or UHF broadcasts, this is not yet as widespread as in the United States. Although most markets have digital channel assignments already in place, to date digital broadcasts have only launched in the largest metropolitan areas. Digital television sets are available in Canadian stores, but are not widely owned by consumers at this time.

Cable television is a very common method of television programming delivery in Canada. Many Canadian cities have cable penetration rates of 90 per cent or more of television households. Many cable companies also offer high speed cable Internet service.

Canada is served by almost 2000 radio stations, on both the AM and FM bands. As of 2010, the five largest major commercial radio broadcast groups in Canada are; Astral Media, Newcap Broadcasting, Rogers Communications, Corus Entertainment, and CTVglobemedia. However, many smaller broadcasters operate radio stations as well. Most genres of music are represented on the Canadian commercial radio spectrum, including pop, rock, hip hop, country, jazz and classical.

News, sports, talk radio and religious stations are also available in many cities. In addition, many Canadian universities and colleges have licensed campus radio stations, and some communities also have community radio stations or Christian radio stations licensed to non-profit groups or co-operatives.

As well, the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation operates four national radio networks, two each in English and French. The English Radio One and the French Première Chaîne provide news and information programming to most communities in Canada, regardless of size, on either the AM or FM band. The English Radio 2 and French Espace musique provide arts and culture programming, including classical music and opera, and are always on FM, generally serving larger communities only.

Music-based commercial radio stations in Canada are mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to reserve at least 35 per cent of their playlists for Canadian content, although exemptions are granted in some border cities (e.g. Windsor, Ontario) where the competition from American stations threatens the survival of Canadian broadcasters, and for stations whose formats may not have enough Canadian recordings available to meet the 35 per cent target (e.g. classical, jazz or pop standards).

Almost all Canadian cities are served by at least one daily newspaper, along with community and neighborhood weeklies. In large cities which have more than one daily newspaper, usually at least one daily is a tabloid format. Bilingual cities like Montreal and Ottawa have important papers in both French and English.

Canada currently has two major "national" newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post. Le Devoir, though not widely read outside Quebec, is the French-language counterpart to the national newspapers.

The newspaper with the highest circulation overall is the Toronto Star, while the newspaper with the highest readership per capita is the Windsor Star (with the Calgary Herald running a very close second).

Most of Canada's film (and television) industry produces output aimed towards mainstream North American audiences, with Alliance Atlantis and Lions Gate Entertainment in particular enjoying significant successes in recent years. Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are major production centers, with Vancouver being the second largest film and television production center in North America (after Los Angeles). The Toronto International Film Festival is considered one of the most important events in North American film, showcasing both Canadian talent and Hollywood films.

Canada also produces films of a characteristically "Canadian" nature, and of all Canadian cultural industries, this segment of the film industry has the hardest time escaping the shadow of its (North) American counterpart. Between the marketing budgets of mainstream films, and the largely American-controlled film distribution networks, it has been nearly impossible for most distinctively Canadian films to break through to a wide audience. In many Canadian cities, in fact, moviegoers don't even have the option of seeing such films, as there aren't any theatres showing them. As a result, a Canadian film is usually considered a runaway hit if it makes as little as $1 million at the box office.

French Canadian films, on the other hand, are often more successful—as with French-language television, the language difference makes Quebec audiences much more receptive to Canadian-produced film. In most years, the top-grossing Canadian film is a French-language film from Quebec.

Canada's most famous book publisher is McClelland and Stewart, which made its name in the 1970s as the leading publisher of English language Canadian literature. English Canada also has many smaller publishing houses, including Coach House Press, the Porcupine's Quill, House of Anansi, Key Porter Books, Hidden Brook Press, and Douglas & McIntyre. Numerous American and British publishers, including Random House, HarperCollins, Alfred A. Knopf and Penguin Books, also have Canadian divisions.