Module 1. THE mass media

Introduction .............................................................................................................................		2
uNIT 1. the press ........................................................................................................................		3
	1.1.  print media ..............................................................................................................................	3
	1.2.  the newspaper: types and structure .......................................................................	4
	1.3.   THE RISE OF THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY ...................................................................	6
	1.4.  READING NEWSPAPERS ..........................................................................................................	10
	1.5.   THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRESS ............................................................................	11
	1.6.  the news: gathering and delivering .......................................................................	13
	1.7.  from event to story – making it to the news ....................................................	16
	1.8.   newspapers in britain .................................................................................................	17
	1.9.  newspaper headline language ....................................................................................	21
	1.10.   THE british newspaper market .............................................................................	25
	1.11.   a journalistic code ....................................................................................................	29
	1.12.  interview with nigel dempster ................................................................................	31
	1.13.   GETTING INTO THE NEWS ...............................................................................................	32
	1.14.   newspapers, inane sheets of gossip ...................................................................	36
	1.15.   the future of newspapers ......................................................................................	37
	1.16. REVISION ........................................................................................................................................	39
unit 2. television and radio .............................................................................................		39
	2.1.  television ................................................................................................................................	39
	2.2.   A NATIONAL DISEASE? ......................................................................................................	41
	2.3.   THE STORY OF tv BROADCASTING ..............................................................................	43
	2.4.  tv news .....................................................................................................................................	45
	2.5.   RADIO and television ...................................................................................................	46
	2.6.   bbc – the world’s most listened-to station ..................................................	51
	2.7.  Interview with Joanna Bogle ......................................................................................	53
	2.8.  censorship ...............................................................................................................................	54
	2.9.  children under the influence of the media .......................................................	56
	2.10.  children and television ...............................................................................................	57
	2.11.  print journalism versus electronic journalism ............................................	59
	2.12. REVISION ........................................................................................................................................	60
uNIT 3. advertising ..................................................................................................................		61
	3.1.  MEDIA AND ADVERTISING .....................................................................................................	61
	3.2.  ADVERTISING LANGUAGE ......................................................................................................	63
	3.3.   ADVERTISING TRICKS .......................................................................................................	64
	3.4.   ADVERTISING MEDIA .........................................................................................................	67
	3.5. REVISION ..........................................................................................................................................	69
Unit 4. CHECK YOURSELF ........................................................................................................		70
Appendix 1. A Letter to the Editor .....................................................................................................................		71
Appendix 2. Writing a Comment .........................................................................................................................		73
Appendix 3. Academic Writing 1 .........................................................................................................................		74
Appendix 4. Academic Writing 2 .........................................................................................................................		76
Appendix 5. Agreement, Disagreement and Compromise ..................................................................................		78
Appendix 6. Comparison and Contrast ...............................................................................................................		80
Appendix 7. Signpost Expressions for Discussions .............................................................................................		82

Module 1. THE MASS MEDIA

Journalism is organized gossip. 

Edward Egglestone

Journalism is the ability to meet the challenge of filling space.

Rebecca West

Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation. 

George Bernard Shaw, 1931

If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.

Author unknown,

commonly attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas Jefferson

I wish there was a knob on the tv so that you could turn up the intelligence. They’ve got one marked "brightness", but it doesn't work, does it?

Leo Anthony Gallagher

I ntroduction

Task 1. Discuss the following questions with the group:

• What are the mass media?

• What Russian, British and American newspapers can you name?

• What types of newspapers do you know? What pages do most newspapers contain?

• Which is better: to watch the news on TV or to read it in a newspaper?

• What advantages do newspapers have over television and television over newspapers?

Task 2. Read the quotations above. What attitude to the mass media do they reveal? Elaborate. Do you have a similar attitude to the mass media? Why (not)? Discuss it with the group.

Task 3. Your teacher will now give you a newspaper. Describe it in as much a detailed way as you can in the written form.

Unit 1. the press

 VOCABULARY PRACTICE

1.1. Print media

Task 1. Study the material and learn the vocabulary units that you have been unfamiliar with.

A. Typical sections found in newspapers and magazines

"One thing I always read in the paper is the obituaries¹; it's so interesting to read about the lives of well-known people. I also usually read the leader² (or editorial); it helps me form my opinion on things. Although national newspapers give you all the important news, I find that if you just want to sell your car or something, the classified ads³ in a local paper is the best place. But at the weekend I just love the Sunday papers. Most British Sunday papers have supplements⁴ with articles on travel, food and fashion and so on, and that keeps me occupied for hours. Last week there was a feature⁵ on new technology in one of them; it was fascinating. My teenage daughter prefers magazines, especially the agony columns⁶. I just can't imagine writing to an agony aunt⁷. It amazes me how people are prepared to discuss their most intimate problems publicly."

B. Some types of printed material

Name	Description/ definition	Example sentence
pamphlet	small book with a sort cover, dealing with a specific topic, often political	The Conservative Party published a pamphlet on the future of private education.
leaflet	single sheet or folded sheets of paper giving information about something	I picked up a leaflet about the museum when I was in town.
brochure	small, thin book like a magazine, which gives information, often about travel, or a company, etc.	Do you have any brochures about Caribbean holidays?
prospectus	small, thin book like a magazine, which gives information about a school college or university, or a company	Before you choose a university, you should send away for some prospectuses.
flyer	single sheet giving information about some event, special offer, etc, often given out in the street	I was given a flyer about a new nightclub which is opening next month.
booklet	small thin book with a soft cover, often giving information about something	The tourist office has a free booklet of local walks.
manual	book of detailed instructions how to use something	This computer manual is impossible to understand!

Task 2. Without looking at Task 1, test your memory for words that mean ...

1. the small advertisements in different categories found in newspapers

2. a person you write to at a magazine to discuss intimate emotional problems

3. the section of a newspaper which has tributes to people who have just died

4. an article in a newspaper which gives the editor's opinion

5. a separate magazine that comes free with a newspaper

6. an article or set of articles devoted to a special theme

Task 3. Fill the gaps in these sentences with appropriate words from B in Task 1.

1. I've decided to do my own car maintenance, so I've bought the ................................................... for my particular model.

2. Someone was giving out ................................................... in the town centre today about a demonstration that's going to take place on Saturday.

3. I love looking through holiday ................................................... and dreaming about flying off to exotic places.

4. I never read political ...................................................; they're so boring.

5. This ................................................... gives the opening times for the art gallery.

6. I've got this really useful ................................................... with details of all the local sights.

7. I've read the ................................................... and I like that university; I think I'll apply.

Task 4. Sort this group of eight vocabulary items into two sets of four, one connected with books; the other with magazines. Use a dictionary if necessary.