MASS MEDIA
Topical Vocabulary
I.
The mass media is a collective name for newspapers and magazines, radio, television and the Internet. Newspapers and magazines are the oldest of the mass media. These are various kinds of editions:
| · daily | · national |
| · weekly | · local |
| · monthly | · serious (quality) |
| · morning | · popular (broadsheet, tabloid) |
| · evening |
II.
In an issue of a paper or a magazine one can find various information presented in:
| · articles | · photographs |
| · leading articles/editorials | · cartoons |
| · features | · strip cartoons |
| · reports | · crosswords and puzzles |
| · comments | · (classified) advertisements |
| · reviews | · obituaries |
III.
Usually papers are divided into sections. With the help of this division we can easier find the information we need. Another helpful device for finding information is headlines. Some of the popular sections are:
| · politics | · programmes |
| · economics | · sports news |
| · business and finance | · readers’ letters |
| · science and technology | · entertainment |
| · patterns | · fashion and dress |
| · culture | · children’s pages |
| · home news | · recipes (for) |
| · cooking | · gardening |
| · foreign (international) news | · weather forecasts |
| · current affairs | · radio and TV programmes |
| · reviews |
Newspapers and magazines are published in a great number of copies. A good edition is:
· accurate
· impartial
· comprehensive
A good edition:
· should help us to keep an eye on the news
· should give a wide coverage of current events
· should be current
· should be informative
· should provide information on various subjects
· should cater for all opinions/ satisfy any taste
· should inform, instruct and entertain the reader
IV.
People who make newspapers are:
| · freelance (journalists) | · reporters |
| · critics |
| · photographers |
V.
Newspapers readers:
· buy them from newsagent’s, newspaper stands and street-sellers
· subscribe to their favourite editions
· go to public libraries and read them
VI.
Probably the most popular of the mass media nowadays is television. Modern television:
· broadcasts its programmes all over the country
· has various channels to satisfy any taste
· shows programmes live and in recording
· allows us to watch cable and satellite television with a wider choice of programmes, the news and films in foreign languages
· educates and entertains us
VII.
People tend to spend more and more time in front of the box glued to the screen watching their favourite programmes or just switching over from channel to channel (surfing the channels) leisurely with the help of remote control. The choice of programmes modern television provides is really wide:
· the news (e. g. the nine o’clock news
· the regional news
· music request programmes
· feature films
· cartoons
· talk (chat) shows
· documentary films
· educational programmes
· soap operas, serials
· interviews
· quizzes (games)
VIII.
TV viewers see on the screen the familiar faces of:
| · TV journalists | · commentators |
| · newscasters | · show and quiz hosts and hostesses |
| · newsreaders | · art critics |
IX.
Recently the public has grown quite concerned about:
· people’s addiction to television
· too much influence of TV on young viewers
· too much violence and crime on TV
· too passive a role of TV viewers in getting information
· too many commercials
Give it a name:
1) a collective name for newspapers and magazines, television and the Internet;
2) a title printed in large type at the top of a newspaper or magazine story;
3) a specific printing of a periodical or a book;
4) a particular copy of a magazine or a newspaper;
5) an article about the good and bad points of an artistic work;
6) a longer article about specific subjects;
7) a piece of writing about character and achievements of someone who has just died;
8) an article in a newspaper which comments on an item of news and which explains the opinion of the editor or publisher;
9) a newspaper that is published every day of the week except Sunday;
10) a small-sized newspaper in which the news stories and articles are short, usually with a lot of photographs;
11) a newspaper that is printed on one large sheet of paper;
12) a specific wavelength which is used to receive the television or radio programmes that are broadcast by a particular company;
13) a system of controlling a television from a distance;
14) a popular television drama serial about the daily lives and problems of the same group of people;
15) a person who reads the news on a television or radio broadcast.
Give English equivalents to these:
A. 1) различные издания 2) текущие события 3) зарубежные новости 4) события в стране 5) реклама в газете 6) объявления 7) комиксы 8) карикатуры 9) комментарии к событиям 10) политика и экономика 11) рецензия 12) письма читателей 13) рецепты приготовления пищи 14) точное, информативное, беспристрастное издание 15) широко освещать текущие события 16) удовлетворять вкусам (мнениям) всех (быть на любой вкус) 17) внештатный журналист 18) подписываться на любимые издания 19) предлагать информацию на различные темы 20) следить за событиями 21) обстоятельная статья (очерк) на определенную тему
В. 1) средства массовой информации 2) транслировать передачи по телевидению 3) показывать передачи в прямом эфире 4) показывать передачи в записи 5) кабельное и спутниковое телевидение 6) переключать телевизор с канала на канал 7) широкий выбор передач (программ) 8) музыкальная передача по заявкам зрителей 9) художественный фильм 10) викторина, игра 11) телезритель 12) телекомментатор 13) ведущий новостей 14) быть озабоченным чем-то 15) пристраститься к телевизору 16) насилие и преступления 17) реклама на телевидении
Answer the questions, using the Topical Vocabulary.
A. 1. Where do you usually get your newspapers? 2. Do you subscribe to any papers? 3. What kind of issues are they? 4. What in your opinion are the functions of a newspaper? 5. Why do you read newspapers? 6. Which of them are you specially interested in? 7. In what order do you read various sections of a newspaper? 8. What are the characteristics of a headline? 9. Why do some articles begin on the front page and continue on the next? 10. Do you like doing crossword puzzles? Why? 11. What are the characteristics of a good advertisement? What types of advertisements commonly appear in newspapers? 12. Why do people write letters to the editor?
B. 1. Why do people say that radio and television belong to the mass media? 2. What is the name of the Russian broadcasting corporation? What about the British one? 3. How many TV channels are there in Russia? 4. On what channels do you usually watch TV programmes? 5. Which of the programmes do you think are programmes of general interest and which of them cater for minority interests? 6. What is a typical Saturday evening (Sunday morning) TV programme like? 7. What programme on TV would you try not to miss? Why? 8. What programme would you never watch? Why? 9. What are the main advantages of having television? 10. Are there any disadvantages? Can you name some? 11. Why do some families have two or more TV sets in the house? 12. Can you give examples of good (bad) commercials? What makes them good or bad?
Explain the difference between:
I. 1) a national newspaper – a local newspaper
2) a morning newspaper – an evening newspaper
3) a serious newspaper – a popular newspaper
4) a newspaper – a magazine
5) an announcement – an advertisement
6) a report – a comment
7) a serial – a strip cartoon
II. 1) an advertisement – a commercial
2) a TV journalist – an art critic
3) a TV commentator – a newscaster
4) a quiz show – a talk show
5) a music programme – a music request programme
6) a serial – a soap opera
7) a TV fan – a person addicted to television
MASS MEDIA
The mass media play an important part in our lives. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and shape our views.
Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.
It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren’t interested in ordinary events. That is why there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn’t usually make headlines. Bad news does.
Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They often intrude on people’s private lives. They follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is – should this be allowed?
The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that’s an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it’s much more difficult for politicians to lie in front of the cameras than on the pages of newspapers.
Still, many people prefer the radio. It’s good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.
Newspapers don’t react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information.
The Internet has recently become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don’t have to wait for news time on TV.
Vocabulary
what’s going on - что происходит
objectively - объективно
fair – честный, справедливый
to provide - обеспечивать
disaster - бедствие
crash - авария
to make headlines – попасть в заголовки газет, вызвать сенсацию
to intrude - вторгаться
celebrity - знаменитость
sensational - сенсационный
Seeing is believing. Лучше один раз увидеть, чем сто раз услышать.
extra detail - подробности
comment - комментарий
Questions
1. Do the media play an important part in your life?
2. Do you think that the media influence our life?
3. Millions of people get most of their news form television. What about you?
4. Do you read newspapers?
5. When do you usually listen to the radio?
6. Do you agree that most news we get from the media is bad news?
7. Do you think it would be nice if all news printed in newspapers and shown on TV was good news?
8. Do you think that journalists are given too much freedom?
9. If people have died in a plane crash, should their bodies be shown on TV?
10. How do paparazzi earn their living?
11. Are you interested in politics? Don’t you think that some politicians use the media to influence their voters (избиратели)
12. What is the main advantage of the Internet?
MASS MEDIA IN THE MODERN WORL D
Information communication is an important part of life. Young people and adults seek information about weather, sporting events, available entertainment, local, national and international news. People need information in order to conduct their lives intelligently, for professional and academic purposes and to keep abreast of what is going on around them.
The term mass media, or means of communication, was specially coined to call all possible means of obtaining information from such sources as radio and television, printed materials such as newspapers and magazines, and more recently, from computer networks, such as the Internet.
There are thousands of newspapers printed in the world, they remain a popular source of information. They range from thick daily newspapers (called dailies), which are read by millions of people across the world, to small, local, weekly newspapers, which offer news of interest to a specific area. In many countries there may be one or a few national newspapers, and the press may be a national institution. For instance, out of all the newspapers (also called gapers or journals) in the United States, only three are considered national: the Wall Street Journal, specializing in economic and financial issues, the New York Times, and USA Today.
Until recently, it was technically difficult and expensive to transport tons of newsprint great distances. At present some journals and newspapers began to use satellites and computers to transport information.
Magazines include information both for the general audience, like the National Geographic which is read and loved by a great number of people throughout the world, and for people with special interests. For instance, The Lancet magazine which is read and respected by medical audience.
Television has become an important source of information, being now the favourite choice for local, national and international news. Its advantages are fairly evident, for television provides both the audio- and visual information. In its popularity, television overtook radio, whose role is somewhat reduced to providing background music via FM stations and brief interruptions for news, weather forecasts, and road traffic information for people travelling in cars.
Information is rapidly becoming even more available because of advances in technology. Personal computers, word processors, modems, videodiscs, and videorecording devices are finding their way into more and more homes, classrooms and businesses. Computers and computer networks have already dramatically changed the storage, analysis, and retrieval of information by business and government agencies. That is why modern society, which is sometimes called an industrial society, is more often called information society.
mass media = means of communication - средства массовой информации
to seek information - искать информацию
to obtain information - получать информацию
source of information - источник информации
global news = international news - всемирные новости
to keep abreast with - быть в курсе
computer network - компьютерная сеть
newsprint - газетная бумага
advance - прогресс
word processor - текстовый редактор
modem - модем
videorecording devices - устройства видеозаписи
storage of information - хранение информации
retrieval of information - нахождение информации
Questions:
1. Give examples of national and local newspapers printed in your country.
2. What, in your opinion, is the most efficient of all means of communication?
3. Do you think that information coming via mass media should be censored?