"It was long ago in my life, as a reporter, that I decided that the
facts must never get in the way of truth ".
James Cameron, British journalist
Objectives:
• to help learners consolidate and develop their vocabulary on the topic
"Mass media"
• to improve students' skills for reading, listening and comprehension
• to develop learners' cognitive skills
Warm up
Prove that the power of mass media to affect people is really immeasurable.
Introducing the Topic
Vocabulary
A) Remember how to use the words.
to inform: to inform somebody of something; to be informed, to be
well-informed; to keep somebody informed.
information: useful information; a piece of information; information on
or about something;
according to our information; political information; political
information talk; to hold political information talks.
report, to report: a newspaper report; to report for a newspaper; it is
reported that...; newspaper reporters.
comment, to comment: to make comments on the text; to comment on the
text; critical comments; to keep up a mnning comment on a match.
view, viewpoint, point of view: political views, strange views; original
views; to hold the same views; to share somebody's views; progressive views;
from my point of view; the scientific view of the world.
interview: newspaper interview; to ask for an interview; to have an
interview with somebody; to give an interview to journalists; to refuse to
give an interview; to be interviewed by.
relations: human relations; international (economic, scientific,
cultural) relations; friendly and good relations between the countries; to
establish relations; to strengthen relations; to develop friendly relations.
public: public life; public opinion; public figures.
B) Which is the odd word in each group and why.
1. local newspaper magazine weekly
2. radio press television news
3. view opinion circulationcomments
4. politician publishereditorjournalist
5. popularity public audience readers
Answers:
1. "local" belongs to the place, while the rest are kinds of
publication;
2. "radio, press and television" are mass media while
"news" is what they spread;
3. "view, opinion and comment" are what mass media give to the
public, while "circulation" is the number of copies sold;
4. "politician" is a political figure while the others in the
row are people who work in mass media;
5. "popularity" is a quality of being popular, while the other
words denote people.
Work in groups
Discussion
The students discuss the epigraph of the lesson: "It was long ago
in my life, as a simple repoter, that I decided that the facts must never get
in the way of truth".
The students read the epigraph and try to find out what the difference
can be between the facts and the truth. They think of the examples where facts
could get in the way of truth.
For example:
1. Facts. Mr X is a millionaire. He has six cats, three yachts and seven
houses.
The t r u t h. He is a bank robber and has never been caught.
2. Facts. John is wearing an expensive leather jacket. The jacket costs
500 pounds. John looks very smart.
The truth. The jacket belongs to John's brother. John has borrowed it.
Reading
Cloze test
A) Each eighth word in the text is omitted. Try to guess it.
THE PRESS
In the United States a very large_(number) of newspapers and periodicals
are published. You_(can) buy them almost everywhere, in small shops_(or) huge
department stores. A large bookstore is_(the) best place to go if you are _(looking) for a
particular magazine. Because of the_(size) of the country there are no national_(newspapers), but only local ones. Actually, some
"local' _(newspapers) are very important and are read all_(over) the country.
One of the most important_(is) the New "Vbrk
Times, which is published_(in)
New York but sold everywhere. Its Sunday_(edition) is very heavy; It has
over 200_(pages) and includes many supplements. Another famous American_ (paper)
is the Washington Post. It became especially famous_(during) the 1972
presidential campaign, when some of its_(journalists) published the news that a
group of_(agents) employed by the re-election organization of President
Richard Nixon were_(caught) breaking into the Democratic Party headquarters
in the_(Watergate) Building in Washington D.C. This event became_ (known) as
the "Watergate scandal". In the addition_(to) daily papers, hundreds of
weekly or monthly_(magazines) are published. The most famous are Newsweek,
Time, Life, The New Yorker, Look and National Geographic.
B) Underline the most appropriate.
1. In the USA newspapers are:
a) easily available;
b) hard to find;
c) rarely sold.
2. There is a_variety of newspapers.
a) Wide;
b) Hmited;
c) fair.
3. _are important.
a) All local newspapers;
b) Some local newspapers;
c) No local papers.
4. There are no national newspapers because:
a) nobody reads them;
b) the United States is too large;
c) not all the Americans speak the same language.
5. The Sunday edition of the New York Times is especially:
a) thick;
b) expensive;
c) small.
C) Work in pairs.
Make up questions to the text.
D) Fill in the table:
The most important information you've learnt / Your comments.
Listening
A) Listen to the text and fill in the table: I know /1 want to know /
I've learnt
THE NATIONAL PRESS OF THE USA
With the advent of television in the 1940s and 1950s, the new electronic
medium made inroads on newspaper circulation: readers tended to overlook the
afternoon paper because they could watch the day's news on TV. In 1971, 66
cities had two or more dailies, usually one published in the morning and one in
the afternoon. In 1995, only 36 cities had two or more dailies.
The largest US newspapers have been losing their circulation in recent
years, a trend that can be attributed to the increasing availability of news
from television and other sources. Although the majority of people in the USA
now receive most of their news from radio and television there are newspapers
that can boast their wide circulation and which remain vitally important
because they combine speed, detailed information and permanency.
Daily newspapers. Most cities dailies provide complete coverage of all
kinds of news. Every medium-sized or larger city has its own daily newspaper.
Dailies bring their readers reports of every major happening. Of all different
types of newspapers, dailies have the widest circulation. Among the daily newspapers
are a number with very large circulation: "USA today", the
"Chicago Tribune", the "Detroit Free Press", the "New
York Post", the "New York Times", the "Washington
Post", etc.
Weekly newspapers. Covering local news is the main purpose of the weekly
newspapers published in small towns and suburbs. They specialize in detailed
personal news about local people and events. National weekly publications are
normally regarded as magazines, among them the most popular are the "Village
of New York", the "Real Paper of Boston".
Ethnic newspapers. In the nation's larger cities a number of newspapers
devoted to the interests of ethnic or cultural groups are published, sometimes
in a mixture of English and another language. Among them are the "Irish
Echo", the "Jewish Advocate", the
"ScandinavianTribune".
It is often said that there is no "national press" in the
United States of America as there is in Great Britain, for instance, where five
popular followed by three quality newspapers dominate the circulation figures
and are read nationwide. In one sense it is true. Most daily newspapers are
distributed locally. In another sense, however, there is the national press,
one that comes from influence and the sharing of news. Some of the largest
newspapers are at he same time news-gathering businesses. They not only print
newspapers, they also collect and sell news, news features, and photographs to
hundreds of other papers in the USA and abroad.
B) Answer the questions.
1. Why are newspapers still popular with the readers though most of the
news is received from radio and TV?
2. What main specific types of newspapers can be distinguished in the
USA?
3. What are the most popular dailies in the USA?
4. Are there any weekly newspapers in the USA? What are they?
5. What can you say about ethnic newspapers in the United States of
America?
6. There is no "national press" in the USA, isn't there?
7. In what way do newspapers serve the people?
Speaking
You are fond of reading daily newspapers. Persuade your friends that
they are worth reading.
Homework
Write an article to one of the American newspapers.
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