1. Read the text and translate it into Russian.

2. Here are some international words which you can translate into Russian without a dictionary:

circulation, formation, proposition, mass, contribution, delegation, press, leader, activist, interview, review, journalist, sport, congress, commission, committee, discussion, conductor, resolution, agitation, festival, jubilee, class, economic, strategy, mobilization

3. Give Russian equivalents for these phrases:

editorial comment, department, matter, policy, space, opinion, staff, writer, board; independent thinker, opinion, work, research; to conduct a campaign, a meeting, negotiations, capital measures, sharp criticism.

4. Answer the following questions:

1. Why is the Guardian considered to be a unique British newspaper?

2. Why does the newspaper appeal to young intellectuals?

3. What kind of people is the Guardian's priority?

4. What are the interests of the newspaper?

5. What do readership surveys indicate?

6. What are the features contributing to the Guardian's appearance?

7. What sections does the newspaper contain?

8. In what towns does the newspaper keep offices in Britain?

Unit 5 the american famous newspapers Los Angeles Times

In 1966, the Times instituted several significant changes that continue as an integral part of its success today. It converted its rather heavy eight-column pages to a modern, six-column format, with column rules eliminated. On page two, the paper began a full-page news summary, providing readers with a concise and comprehensive roundup of the major news developments in all the principal news areas. About the same time, it also began carrying special background or interpretive articles which have ranked among journalism's best.

The foreign correspondent for the Times enjoys greater freedom than many of his American counterparts. Like the overseas reporters for the best European quality dailies, he is not bound by deadlines, nor is he under pressure to file every day. He digs in depth and takes his time providing interpretation of events. He is interested in the "why" as much as the "what" of the story.

Perhaps more than any other United States paper, the Times seeks experts for its foreign bureaus and men who will be permitted to stay in one area long enough to understand the situation behind events fully. First, the Times' requisites for staff are very high, and even higher for foreign correspondents. To even gain consideration for a Times post, an applicant must have a proven record of at least five years of experience with other newspapers, magazines or other media. At the same time as one observer has commented, being a correspondent for the Times "is the closest one can come to a career service" in overseas journalism since the days when London Times correspondents enjoyed such status".

New York Times

In several respects, the New York Times ranks as the best or near-best newspaper in the United States. Certainly the biggest in total operations among American elite papers, it places, with 854,000 copies daily, along with the New York News and the Los Angeles Times, among the nation's top three in circulation. Although in recent years it has cut down on full texts of speeches and documents, the Times does publish the total transcripts of most presidential press conferences and thus comes closest of all American dailies to being a newspaper of record.

In a nation where no true national daily flourishes, the prestigious New York Times comes closest to the claim being nationally read. A 1963 West Coast edition failed because most American newspaper advertising is local and out-of-state circulation does not seem to attract advertisers. But, despite that and the paper's pre-occupation with the populous metropolitan East Coast, over one-fourth of its readers live more than 100 miles from New York. The Times manages to have readers in 10,651 towns in every state and in nearly all countries. Because of its thorough­ness, it is highly respected in the nation's colleges and universities, found in practically every academic library and widely read by college presidents, professors and students. Its thick Sunday edition sometimes containing 400 pages and weighing four pounds, finds its way into pace-setting homes across the face of the nation, with at least one-third of the copies going outside New York City. The paper's prestigious leadership audience around the world has long helped to make it not only a great American daily, but also a key member of the world's elite press.

Much of the Times' prestige rests on its excellent in-depth coverage - the best in the nation - of national and international issues and political events. For an important event, its accurate and comprehensive coverage may extend to several pages, include all the main texts and offer numerous sidebar stories. The Times' long-established policy of actively encouraging probing reporters and investigative digging leads to such thoroughness. The paper takes itself seriously and has a right to the pride, almost arrogance, it sometimes exhibits.

The quality and completeness of the Times' international coverage is directly traceable to eyewitness reporting by its large foreign staff. Thirty-two full-time correspondents work out of 23 bureaus located in the world's strategic centers and another 25 part-timers complete the paper's world-wide coverage network. In addition, the New York Times may be the only newspaper to take all five major international wire services - AP, UPI, Reuters and AFP.

Although the arch-rival Washington Post has outshone the Times in thorough coverage of Washington politics on several occasions in recent years, generally speaking the Times still has better total national coverage.

While most commentators speak of the Times' size, thoroughness and complete coverage, there is no doubt that the general quality of its journalism ranks with the world's best. While it is not as unpretentiously interesting in its prose as the London Times, not as well documented as Le Monde and not as scholarly and serious as Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung, it does go further in combining the worthy characteristics of all these great papers than any other daily.

EXERCISES

1. Read and translate the text into Russian.

2. Choose the information that illustrates the most characteristic features of the New York Times.

3. Compare the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Say what is similar and what is different.

4. Ask as many questions as you can about the text to cover the information given in it.