Текст 11 Journalism: the most exciting career in the world

Man has always wanted to know what goes on in the world that surrounds him. How did people manage before the days of newspapers? The Incas in South America had a fascinating system, which was the forerunner of the media today. The information was given to a 'runner', who learnt к by heart. He then ran 20 kilometres and relayed the message to another runner who in turn memorised it and relayed it to the next runner. That happened every 20 kilometres. A message travelled in this way over 2,400 kilometres in ten days. Those were the earliest 'journalists'. Other early journalists used smoke signals, tom-toms and pigeons. The first newspapers as we know them were not published until the seventeenth century.

How do modern-day journalists get their information? Journalists may collect information by doing their own research. For example, if a journalist wants to write an article about our school, they may come and interview students, teachers or the principal. They will then write the article using the information they have collected. This can be good fun but there is a much easier and quicker way for journalists to obtain information: they can use news agencies. These are companies which supply information to newspapers, radio and television. Agencies have correspondents all around the world who collect information on site and send it to a central 'bank'. It is then up to the individual journalists to write their articles using this information. This leads us to one of the most important aspects of journalism: objectivity.

Objectivity means presenting things as they are, not as the journalist wants them to be. An objective journalist reports the facts. If a journalist who has written an article about our class says that there are 32 in it and that we are aged between 14 and 15, they are reporting facts and being objective. But if they say we are charming, good-looking or horrible students then they have let their own opinions influence their writing and have lost their objectivity. It is very difficult not to express a point of view when we write. That is why it is important for the news to be given by different newspapers: reading the different points of view will help us to make up our own minds.

Journalism is one of the most exciting occupations. People in this profession meet many people and learn a lot about the world. Foreign correspondents travel a lot and learn about other cultures. To become a journalist in our country, you have to study for four years at university. You also have to be good at writing and speak a foreign language. It's much harder work than it looks but I think it is worth it.

Ответьте на вопросы:

a What did the runner learn by heart?

b What did one runner relay to another?

с Who were the earliest journalists?

d What do we call companies that supply information to the media?

e What information do journalists use to write their articles?

f Who is aged between 14 and 15?

g In what profession do people learn a lot about the world?

Закончите предложения, используя информацию, данную в тексте.

a We can learn about events all around the world by reading newspapers, watching television or listening to the radio.

b The earliest 'journalists' were from …

с Other ways used to spread information were…

d Two ways journalists can collect their information are …

e When you are objective you …

f One way we can make up our minds about information we receive is to…