Activity 2. Read the text and do the assignments suggested. How news gets around
News is one of the most vital products we consume. It is also one of the most perishable. The worker who contributes to the making of a car, bridge, house, or even a pair of shoes knows his efforts has produced something that will endure – perhaps beyond his life-time. Not so with the news worker. The story on which he labored so hard and which he wrote so eloquently will be on its way to the recycling machine a day later – if it is not used to wrap fish. By then he is gathering facts for his next story. By the same token, who can remember the words of a television or radio news announcer twenty-four hours afterwards?
The fleeting quality of news helps in explaining how it is obtained, written, edited, printed and distributed. This process continues twenty-four hours a day to satisfy a worldwide demand for fresh information. On the basis of the news we get, we vote, buy, sell, make or change plans, carry an umbrella to work, attend the theater, go to a meeting or write a letter to the mayor. Thus, the newspaper at the breakfast table and the eleven o’clock TV news shows are part of our lives. We want to know what’s going on. The news media tell us.
To supply news, a huge army of people works around the clock throughout the world. United Press International, a globe-circling press agency, operates on a slogan “A Deadline Every Minute”. This means that somewhere in the world one or more of its clients is going to press or on the air with news.
The key word is “deadline”. News is gathered under deadline pressure. The reporter is always aware that this story must be in the hands of his editor by a rigidly prescribed time. The editor, in turn, knows that the edited copy must be in the print shop by a specific time if it is to get into a paper. Newsmen work by the clock. As the newspapers roll off the press, circulation trucks are waiting to carry them to various parts of the city and to trains and planes that will take them to more distant points. The same pressure applies to broadcasting. A television news crew must have its film and tape at the studio by a certain time if the spot is to be aired that evening. Even magazines have to meet deadlines, although not as tight ones.
Does deadline pressure affect the quality and accuracy of the news? Of course. Reporters working at great speed in gathering and writing news stories cannot always tie up loose ends, furnish sufficient background for total comprehension, or give both sides of an issue. And inaccuracies may crop up. Newsmen and newswomen often obtain information under less that ideal conditions – at the frenzied scene of an accident or above the shouts of a mob. The most conscientious of reporters is liable to miss the correct spelling of a name or get an address wrong. Also news sources don’t always tell the truth and often there isn’t time to verify given statements.
But remember, editors and reporters are meeting the public demand for news shortly after events happen. They are dealing in instant history. The news in perspective, the background details, and so forth can be handled by the columnists, in editorials and in long perspective or think pieces in the Sunday paper. Daily newspapers also carry a feature story. As for accuracy, studies have shown that newspapers and wire services have a high batting average on this score considering the hectic pace at which news is produced. But this does not give the news media a blanket excuse to commit errors. It is possible to double-check the facts even on a fast-breaking story and reporters fail their obligation when they don’t do so. In fact inaccuracies result as much from careless news people as from the necessity for speedy coverage. However, the reporter who is consistently inaccurate will not last long with a news organization. Editors know that when readers lose confidence in a newspaper its future is bleak.
Answer the questions:
What kind of product is news?
What is the difference between a newsworker and other workers?
How long does the news treatment process continue?
How does news influence people’s lives?
How does a huge army of people work to supply news?
On what slogan does United Press International operate?
What does the word “deadline” mean?
What happens with newspapers after they roll off the press?
What do you know about other mass media? Do they also work under deadline pressure?
How does deadline pressure affect the quality and accuracy of news?
Why do inaccuracies crop up?
What is the result of the hectic pace at which news is produced?
What happens to a reporter who is consistently inaccurate?
Take a look at the chart and discuss the newsworthiness issues of our society.
Newsworthiness
Activity 3. Read, translate the text, compose a plan of it and retell according to the plan.
THE MASS MEDIA
The media — the means of communication — reach large numbers of people. Included in the media are newspapers and magazines, radio, and TV. Most Americans get their national and international news from radio and TV, national newspapers and magazines, local news comes from local newspapers and radio stations.
Most news media are privately owned. The Constitution stipulates freedom of speech and the press and so, newspapers are free to stand on issues and to decide what news should be printed. There is no official or agency policing the news to insure accurate report. Members of the media that fail to report accurately are punished by a loss of credibility in the public perception. The redress for libel is up to the individual, who considers himself an injured party and brings suit against the offending member of the media requesting financial compensation for the injury to his reputation. Even in what would seem to be a clear cut case of libel, the legal action is up to the injured party; if he or she doesn't initiate action nothing happens.
A federal law, Federal Communication Act, regulates Radio and TV communication. This law states that only radio and TV stations having federal licenses are permitted to broadcast, that is to use airwaves, which are considered public domain. The reason given for allowing the government this extraordinary power over its citizens is to prevent chaos when someone in another area broadcasts with so much power that it interferes with people's reception of their local stations, or prevent several broadcasters from deciding to use the same frequency in a particular area.
Newspapers and magazines carry a lot of advertisements. They subsist mainly on the revenue generated by the advertising space they sell. About two-thirds of their income comes from advertising. Most newspaper advertisements are run by local merchants. A newspaper editor plans and directs the operation of a newspaper. He decides what news should be printed and where it should appear in a newspaper. An editor also edits newspaper articles. He revises and corrects them. In addition, an editor expresses his personal view on current issues in editorials which appear on the editorial page of the paper. The publisher and the editor are held fully responsible for what appears in the paper and how the information is covered.
A typical daily paper contains more than 40 pages of news, editorials, interviews, cartoons, information about sports, art, music, books, and general entertainment, including radio and TV schedules. Well-known writers and news analysts write specific features: there is a business section, a family page, comics, general advertising, real estate and employment ads (classified ads).
The most important news is usually printed in the right-hand column of the front page of a newspaper. Newspaper columnists write regularly on specific subjects, such as politics, sports, and business. Complete news coverage of an event must include all the information available. When a newspaper reporter covers a news event he is responsible for obtaining the material and for presenting it objectively and unambiguously.
Headlines and the way they are printed are very important in a newspaper. Different headlines on different pages are printed in various sizes of type. This helps to differentiate the material carried by the paper and draw the reader's attention to various kinds of news as well as avoid monotony of format.
Among newspapers, and magazines there are both quality and sensational editions. The latter present news in a way that tries to cause emotional reactions rather than careful thought. Responsible newspapers try to avoid sensationalism though that doesn't exclude striking news which every paper wants to publish.
There are also daily tabloid newspapers. These are smaller in size and they typically use a terse and simple style together with many pictures. The "New York Daily News" is the tabloid with the largest circulation.
The next two leading newspapers with the largest circulation are "The Los Angeles Times" which has a circulation of over a million and the "New York Times" with a circulation nearly as large. They are "serious" newspapers. "Time", "Newsweek" and "US News World Report" are popular news magazines that present national, international news, stories of human interest, and reviews of new books movies, and plays.
In the USA the reader expects a newspaper to take a stand on political and other issues, particularly when they are controversial. Actually, it is possible that a newspaper will print two or more views on a given subject, even when these are different from the opinion of its own editor.
The major sources of newspaper news are wire services — Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and Reuters. The source of information is usually found at the beginning of a news story.
After radio and TV became established, newspaper publishers realized that news broadcasting was becoming increasingly dangerous competition, and they began to purchase radio stations. Today newspapers own, completely or partially, more than half of all radio and TV stations. But the Federal Communications Commission began to restrict the purchase of TV and radio stations by newspapers or other broadcasting stations in the same geographical area in an attempt to prevent monopolistic control of the news media.
3.1. Provide Russian equivalents for the following word-combinations and use them in the sentences of your own.
to take a stand on an issue
to ensure accurate reporting
loss of credibility
a redress for libel
to bring a suit against somebody
an injury to one's reputation
to initiate a legal action
to allow equal time
advertising space
to hold somebody responsible for something
to cover a news event (coverage of news events)
to present news objectively and unambiguously
a tabloid newspaper
a terse style
3.2. Scan the text for answers to the following questions:
1. What means of communication make up the media?
2. What is the possible outcome of inaccurate reporting?
3. Who takes up a legal action if there is an obvious case of libel in some information?
4. Why is the government entitled to regulate radio and TV communication?
5. How do parts of the media gain from advertising?
6. What makes up the general contents of a daily newspaper?
7. What are the functions and specifics of headlines?
8. Why are comic strips so popular with readers?
9. What are tabloid newspapers characterized by?
10. Why are purchases of TV and radio stations by newspapers or other broadcasting stations restricted?
3.3. Explain the meaning of the italisizes words:
... newspapers are free to take stands on issues...
There is no official or agency policing the news to ensure accurate reporting.
3. Members of the media that fail to report accurately are punished by a loss of credibility...
4. The only time that they (the media) have to allow someone equal time is during an election…
5. They (newspapers and magazines) subsist mainly on the revenue generated by advertising space.
6. When a newspaper reporter covers a news event he is responsible... for presenting it objectively and unambiguously.
7. Current criteria include providing a target audience.
Activity 4. Listen to the message “The national press”. Answer the following questions:
What are two types of newspaper in Britain?
What is tabloid characterized by?
Would you describe broadsheet?
What do broadsheets’ editors do in order to be as popular as tabloids?
Broadsheet – large format newspapers which are generally aimed at the ‘educated classes’. News is reported in a formal style and there are fewer photographs than would normally be found in a tabloid. The items reported are generally of a serious nature and cover issues of national and global interest.
Tabloids – newspapers which contain bold headlines and large photographs. The page size is half that of a broadsheet. The writing style is informal; sentences are short and dramatic vocabulary is used to grab the reader’s attention, especially in the headlines. Tabloids often contain horoscopes, stories about celebrities and problem pages. Stories tend to be of more national than global interest.
Truth or tabloid?
Work with a partner and discuss the following questions:
Do you think celebrity scandals help sell magazines and newspapers?
What scandals are in the news at the moment? Do you think they are true?
How do you think it feels for celebrities to read false stories about themselves?
How do you think it feels to live with a famous person?
Activity 5. Match the definition with the word:
a paper that comes out every day
a magazine that is issued once a month
a paper that circulates all over the country
a magazine or a paper that is published at regular intervals
a printed notice about things to be sold or things that are needed
a caricature often satirical representing important events in politics of important public figures
the writing, publishing or broadcasting of news
a man who is responsible for publishing a newspaper or a magazine
a man who comments on some events
one who contributes to a newspaper, especially one employed to report news regularly from a distant place
one who reports, a member of a newspaper staff whose duty is to give an account of public events
words: reporter, editor, cartoon, a daily, a periodical, coverage, a monthly, advertisement, correspondent, a national paper, commentator
Activity 6. Read the text and answer the questions.
The Sun.
All newspapers are peculiar, but the Sun is more peculiar than others. It actually prides itself on being a sensational tabloid. The word “tabloid” was originally and still is used as a trademark in the drug business, and was apparently first applied to news presented in concentrated or compressed form. The word has got away from its copyright owners, and now generally refers to newspapers smaller than the usual size.
The Sun’s page measures 14 2/3 x 11 ¾ inches, about half the size of the standard newspaper. Each page theoretically contains seven narrow columns, but the actual make-up of every page runs riot over these boundaries in a jigsaw of headlines, cartoons, pictures, advertisements and editorial boxes. At first sight and until the reader is used to it, the effect is one of tightly packed confusion. But the Sun readers soon get used to it, and learn to find their way around in the smeary jungle of the paper’s 24-28 pages.
The first page is a show-window, to catch the eye. It always has a big black headline, often in letters two inches high, and almost always an arresting photograph, taking up half the page or more. Occasionally, when the Sun has something particularly emphatic to say, it drops the picture and spreads the editorial, in heavy type, all over the front page. The other most important pages, by the Sun formula, are the two in the center (the center spread), where the Sun usually puts on its act for the day the exposure of a scandal, pictures of a royal tour, a striking news photograph of disaster, a sentimental story or picture of an animal or a baby. Each of the Sun’s regular features – the leader, the strip cartoon, etc. has its regular position in the paper, which the readers soon learn. News stories of human interest are played up: other news is compressed to a paragraph of two. The Sun avoids run-overs. World news is usually tucked in, in small type on the back page.
Activity 7. Check your understanding by answering the questions:
What is tabloid? What’s the origin of the word?
Why is the Sun more peculiar than others?
What can you say about the Sun’s make-up? What is so confusing about it?
What is considered a show-window of the paper? Why?
What are the other most important pages?
What is a news story of human interest?
Why does The Sun avoid run-overs?
Activity 8 . Dwell on your likes and dislikes concerning broadsheet or tabloid reading.
Activity 9. Act as an interpreter:
-What groups are the British papers divided into?
-Британские газеты делятся на «серьезные» и «популярные».
-What do you mean by “popular”?
-Популярные газеты имеют большой тираж, стремятся отвечать вкусам среднего читателя, и , поэтому, публикуют сенсационные новости, скандальные сплетни. Серьезная информация подается в сокращенной форме.
-What can you say about “quality” press?
-Хотя серьезная пресса имеет меньший тираж, чем популярная, она достаточно распространена в Великобритании, серьезные газеты выражают интересы правительства и основных политических партий.
-How does the popular press try to attract the readers?
-Эти газеты помещают сенсационные фотографии, огромное количество объявлений, используют гигантские заголовки. Также газеты помещают статьи, начинающиеся на первой странице и продолжающиеся на следующих.
-What’s the origin of the word “yellow press”?
-Этот термин происходит от цвета чернил, которыми крупные газетные магнаты Пулитцер и Херст раскрашивали комиксы. Сама же желтая пресса появилась в США в 19 веке.
-Can you say a few words about some yellow paper and its peculiarities?
-Одной из самых известных бульварных газет является «The Sun». Обычно на первой странице, чтобы привлечь внимание читателей, газета помещает сенсационную фотографию. Другими важными страницами являются страницы центрального разворота, публикующие информацию о каком-либо скандале, фотографию королевской семьи или сентиментальную историю.
Activity 10. Read the text, discuss it and present rendering of it.
Сила печатного слова.
В течение последних столетий газеты формировали культуру, воздействовали на политику, играли огромную роль в коммерции и влияли на повседневную жизнь миллионов людей. Считается, что первая газета в Европе вышла в Германии в 1605 году. Сегодня в некоторых регионах 75% людей старше 14 лет читают газеты каждый день. Газеты, где бы они ни издавались, информируют людей о важных событиях. Но это не все. Материалы, которые в них публикуются, определяют взгляды многих читателей. Ежедневное чтение газет влияет на наши убеждения, поведение и даже основные нравственные ценности. Историки говорят, что газеты разжигали, поддерживали и оправдывали войны. В качестве примеров они называют Франко-прусскую войну (1870-1871), Испано-американскую войну (1898) и войну во Вьетнаме (1955-1975). Из-за скандальных материалов, публиковавшихся в газетах, пострадала карьера многих бизнесменов, ученых, политиков, а также звезд эстрады и кино. В так называемом уотергейтском деле журналистами были выявлены факты, заставившие президента Ричарда Никсона подать в отставку. Хорошее или плохое, влияние прессы может быть очень сильным, и с этим приходится считаться. С чего же началось это влияние?
В начале XVII века в Германии начали издаваться регулярно две газеты. Одна, под названием «Релацион» (пересказ новостей), впервые вышла в 1605 году в Страсбурге, а другая, под названием «Авиза релацион одер цайтунг» (новая информация), начала издаваться в 1609 году в Вольфенбюттеле. Первая в Европе ежедневная газета появилась в 1650 году в Лейпциге. Она называлась «Айнкомманде цайтунген» (поступающие новости). Эта ежедневная газета была из четырех страниц карманного формата. Новости в ней печатались в произвольном порядке. Отдельные выпуски были не слишком дорогими, зато годовая подписка стоила столько, сколько получал хорошо оплачиваемый рабочий за целый месяц. К 1700 году в одной только Германии было порядка 50 – 60 газет, которые читали сотни тысяч человек. Поначалу источниками новостей были письма, другие газеты, почтмейстеры, которые получали новости по почте и размножали их, а также слухи и сплетни, услышанные на городских площадях. Однако с ростом конкуренции издатели стали работать над подборкой новостей, стремясь улучшить качество газеты. Так появились первые редакторы.
Сегодня найти достаточное количество новостей в нашем мире не проблема. Труднее сориентироваться в этом стремительном и бесконечном потоке информации. Две трети новостей составляют объявления или сообщения. Спортивная колонка, комиксы, политические карикатуры и передовицы – все это находит признание у читателей. А очерки, сообщения из-за рубежа и интервью с известными людьми и специалистами в разных областях могут быть и познавательными и занимательными.
Activity11. Dialogue composing. You are going to start publishing your own newspaper. Discuss with your partner the basic peculiarities of your paper, i.e. the title, number of pages, spheres of human life, type (tabloid or broadsheet).
Activity12. Read the following extracts from some newspaper. Choose one of them and finish it.