Journalism is information
Journalism is information. It is communication. It is the events of the day distilled into a few words, sounds or pictures, processed by the mechanics of communication to satisfy the human curiosity of the world that is always eager to know what’s new. Journal ism is basically news. The word derives from «journal»; its best contents are «du jour», of the day itself.
But journalism may also be entertainment and reassurance, to satisfy the human frailty of a world that is always eager to be comforted with the knowledge that out there are millions of human beings just like us. Journalism is the television picture beamed by satellite direct from the Vietnam war, showing men dying in agony. It is the television picture of a man stepping on to the surface of the moon, seen in millions of homes as it happens.
Journalism is communication.
Journalism can communicate with as few people as a classroom news-sheet or a parish magazine, or as with many people as there are in the world. The cave-man drawing a buffalo on the wall of his home did so to give other hunters the news that buffaloes were nearby. The town-crier reciting the news in the market-place provided a convenient way in which a number of people could simultaneously learn facts affecting all their lives.
Today the >news media are swamped by the very availability of news. There is simply more of it than ever before — unimaginably more, available to many more people. This is a transformation that has been achieved in a little over 100 years.
When admiral Lord Nelson died aboard the Victory after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, it took two weeks for the news to reach the Admiralty in London (a young lieutenant of the Royal Navy brought the dispatches personally, sailing in the sloop Pickle to Plymouth and then riding to London). It was some hours before important people in London heard the news, some days before it reached the other cities of Britain. There must have been outlying villages that the news took even longer to reach.
When President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963, the news of his death was known around the whole world in a matter of seconds. The political leaders of Russia and China, the financial manipulators in Geneva, the obscure tribesmen of Borneo all heard the news simultaneously.
This profound change in the pattern of human communication has taken place in hardly more than one man’s lifetime.
Even forty years ago, most people in the developed world obtained their news from the newspapers. The newspapers had changed little from the days of Caxton. The process of printing had hardly changed at all, and the only modernization had been in machinery to produce and dis¬tribute a greater number of copies of each issue. Then radio arrived.
At first newspapers regarded it as a passing technical fad. One director of the Press Association returned from America in 1923 and said that «broadcasting is on the wane… People are getting so tired of it that it reminds one of the almost forgotten skating-rink craze». He was, of course, profoundly wrong. In America, the effects of radio were more rapid in appearing, due to the springing up of hundreds of small town radio stations. In Britain, radio was put under the control of a non-profit-making body financed by government-collected licence fees and charged with the duty of providing a nationwide broadcasting service.
The war reports of the BBC radio from 1939 to 1945 should have warned newspapers that radio could rival them in the presentation of news. But it was hot until television was introduced in Britain in 1956 (with the commercially backed Independent Television Authority rivaling the BBC’s television service) that,the television set entered 80 per cent of British homes and the way in which most people learnt their news changed radically.
Journalism is about people
It is produced for people. So how has the ordinary man’s receptivity to journalism changed in twenty years?
Fifty years ago, a family might listen to a news bulletin on the living-room radio over breakfast. Father would read his morning paper over breakfast or on the bus or train going to work. After work, he would buy an evening paper and read it on the way home, handing it over to his wife who would read it when she had washed up after the evening meal. Then they might listen to the BBC nine o’clock radio news.
What happens now? The bedside transistor radio switches itself on with the alarm. Mother has her radio on in the kitchen as she cooks. breakfast. The kids have their radios switched to Radio One with its mixture of pop music and news flashes. Father glances at the morning paper over breakfast, then get into the car and turns on «Today» as he drives to work. Mother carries the radio around the house as she dusts and makes the beds to the voice of Jimmy Young. Father buys an evening paper as he leaves work, glances at the headlines, then turns on the six o’clock radio news as he drives home. After eating, they turn on the telly and sit down to an evening’s viewing. Mother may read the evening paper if there is a sports programme on TV which she finds boring. They watch the BBC’s television nine o’clock or ITN’s «News at Ten».
It is an immense change. These are the people for whom journalists are working. They have to take account of these social changes, which have occurred in most countries of the world.
The newspaperman has to be aware of the changes in the lives of his readers. It is not enough for him to print the «hard news» of the evening before (most national newspapers start printing their major editions around 10 pm, with further editions for the city in which they are produced coming up until 4 am), since his readers who look at the paper over breakfast will have heard most of that and seen many of the public figures and significant events on television the night before. Or they will hear on the early morning radio news items which have become news three hours later than the latest possible edition of the morning paper.
The press has been slow to catch on to this change and to revise its methods of operation so that the newspaper still has a function. That it has a function, there can be no doubt: for the television or radio news bulletin is tightly encapsulated, containing only a few of the main facts in a highly abbreviated form.
Newspapers are archives
Newspapers are archives, objects of record. They can be referred to, checked back on, in a way that the television or radio news cannot. They can describe events at greater length, add more relevant detail, give authoritative comment from people in a position to detect trends and the likely lines in which a news story will develop.
But the old concept of a newspaper «scoop»,» the presentation of a startling hard news story a day before its rivals, is virtually dead-killed by radio and television.
NOTES
| 1 |
du jour — фр. |
ежедневный |
| 2 | parish magazine | a local magazine |
| 3 | medium (plural — media) communication media, media of communication |
средство, способ; путь средства массовой информации (газеты, радио и т.п.) |
| 4 | Caxton, William (14227-1491) | the first English printer; established a press at Westminster from which he issued about 80 books, many of them translations by himself from French romances |
| 5 | BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation |
Британская радиовещательная корпорация |
| 6 | news flash | экстренное сообщение |
| 7 | telly | television |
| 8 | ITN | Independent Television News |
| 9 | «hard news» |
all news that recounts precise, immediate happenings, as distinct from background information or commentaries of the news. Hard news consists of the basic news facts which most editors feel must be included. The implication behind this phrase is that much other news is a matter of little importance |
| 10 |
item | сообщение, новость; небольшая заметка в газете |
| 11 | scoop | a news story, usually of special interest, which is discov¬ered and published only by one paper |
ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY
| to entertain | развлекать, забавлять |
| entertainment | развлечение |
| entertainment programme | развлекательная программа |
| television picture | телевизионное изображение |
| a matter of seconds | дело нескольких секунд |
| small-town radio station | радиостанция в маленьком городке |
| to present news | подавать, преподносить новости |
| broadcasting service | служба вещания |
| national service | национальная служба |
| nation-wide service | общенациональная служба |
| news service | служба новостей |
| regional service | региональная служба |
| television service | телевизионная служба |
| to establish television service/to launch television service | организовать телевизионную службу |
| to take service | принимать передачи |
| broadcast | передавать по радио, телевидению |
| educational broadcast | образовательная передача |
| political broadcast | политическая передача |
| outside broadcast | внестудийная передача |
| produce television (radio) broadcast | подготовить, выпустить телевизионную (радио) передачу |
| live news broadcast | «живая» передача новостей, эфирная передача новостей, прямой эфир |
| broadcasting | вещание |
| direct satellite broadcasting | непосредственное вещание через спутник Земли |
| domestic broadcasting | внутреннее вещание |
| radio broadcasting |
радиовещание |
| television broadcasting | телевизионное вещание |
| bulletin | сводка |
| news bulletin | сводка новостей |
| headline | заголовок |
| to produce and distribute newspapers | выпускать и распространять газеты |
| to communicate with the listeners, the viewers, the audience |
общаться, устанавливать контакт со слушателями (зрителями, /аудиторией) |
| to listen to a news bulletin on the radio over breakfast | слушать передачу новостей по радио за завтраком |
| around 10 o’clock | около 10 часов |
| to glance at the paper | мельком взглянуть на газету, просмотреть газету |
Remember the Use of Articles
No article is used in:
1. by radio, by television, by bus (tube, taxi, car, plane, train, bicycle, boat)
2. When we talk about radio and television in general, we do not use articles. Ex. It is easier to write plays for television than for radio.
3. to watch television, on television, on TV
But:
to listen to the radio, on the radio
EXERCISES
1. Read the text and translate it into Russian consulting the notes and the essential vocabulary.
2. Read and translate the following international words:
manipulation, communication, information, television, human, mechanic, satellite, comfort, media, formation, modernization, effect, introduction, capsule
3. Select the related words and translate them with the help of a dictionary:
productivity, informant, communication, information, entertainment, journalist, achievement, transformation, distribution, recitation, presentation, production, communicate, inform, entertain, journalism, achieve, transform, recite, present, distribute, produce, communicative, informer, entertaining, journal, achievable, transformable, recitative, presentable, distributor, producer, communicable, informal, entertainer, journalese, transformer, recital, presently, distributive, product, communicant, informative, entertainingly, journalistic, presence, productive
4. Translate the following compound nouns into Russian:
almost forgotten skating-rink craze; small-town radio stations; nonprofit-making body; government-collected licence fee; nationwide broadcasting service; the BBC nine o’clock radio news; the early morning radio news items
5. Study the following expressions and make up sentences using some of them:
- to achieve success, fame, glory;
- one’s purpose, one’s ambition, one’s aim, one’s end;
- the realization of one’s dream;
- an understanding;
- a good reputation
- to produce a film, a programme, a play, a book;
- a sensation, an impression;
- food, goods
6. Answer the following questions:
- What is the name of your favourite famous journalist? ‘
- How has he achieved an outstanding success in journalism? (For example, by hard work, by experience, by brilliant reporting, by good training, by chance.)
- Do you believe it is possible to achieve the good reputation of a professional without working hard?
- What television programm do you like best?
- What impact did it have on you?
- Did it produce a sensation among televiewers?
7. Comment on the following:
«Failure is the only thing that can be achieved without effort.»
8. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying attention to the word develop and related words:
- The plot of the new novel gradually developed in the author’s mind.
- He developed his mind by study.
- The development of photographic films requires a dark room.
- This magazine regularly covers the latest developments in foreign affairs.
- Only by hard work can he develop his skills as a journalist.
- He developed an interest in taking pictures at an early age.
- The rest of the book merely developed the ideas of the first chapter. \
- He developed into a brilliant journalist.
- Recent political developments were covered by all the national dailies.
- In the book the editor of a large city newspaper tells the readers how to prepare for and develop a career in journalism.
9. Translate the following sentences into English using the words to develop and development:
- Изложите, пожалуйста, свои аргументы.
- Интерес к чтению у него развился в раннем возрасте.
- Из него получился блестящий журналист.
- Он развил свое мастерство усердной работой.
- Я еще не проявил пленки, так как был занят.
- Доклад был посвящен экономическому развитию страны.
- Автору не удалось развить сюжет пьесы.
- Я надеюсь, автор разовьет свою мысль в следующей главе.
- Последние политические события были освещены всеми центральными газетами.
10. Ask and answer questions. Work in pairs. Make use of the following phrases in your answers:
- by studying hard;
- by discussing…;
- by watching TV;
- by training…;
- by exchanging ideas (opinions) with…;
- by writing…;
- by contributing to… regularly
| How can | a person | develop his/her | mind? |
| a journalist | skill? | ||
| a sportsman | health? | ||
| a dancer | talent? | ||
| a singer | |||
| a scholar | |||
| a writer |
11. Find the following phrases in the text and decide which of the given alternatives explain them best:
| 1. the pattern of human communication |
(a) the mechanics used by people for communication (b) mass media of communication (c) the way people communicate |
| 2. the presentation of news | (a) the way news is gathered (b) the way news is obtained (c) the way news is written (d) the way news is processed |
| 3. a profound change | (a) a small change (b) an immense change (c) a change of no importance (d) a significant change |
| 4. a startling story | (a) a surprising story (b) an exciting story (c) a frightening story (d) a boring story |
| 5. a relevant detail | (a) a detail which is not worth mentioning (b) a detail which has nothing to do with the story (c) a detail which has something to do with the problem |
| 6. a radio news bulletin is tightly-encapsulated | (a) it contains very many short words (b) it is pretty packed (c) it is rather expressive (d) it is very emotional (e) it contains many facts |
12. Rearrange the sentences given below in the correct order according to the text.
- Nowadays the news may be known all over the world in a matter of seconds.
- Journalism is about people. It is produced for people.
- Twenty years ago a family usually listened to a news bulletin on the living-room radio over breakfast. ,
- In America the effects of radio were more rapid.
- The ordinary man’s receptivity to journalism has greatly changed in twenty years.
- In the evening they watch the television news programme.
- Then radio arrived.
- Journalism is communication.
- Journalists have to take account of social changes.
- The readers of newspapers who look at them over breakfast will have heard most of the news and seen many of the significant events on television the night before.
- Journalism may also be entertainment.
- The cave-man drew a buffalo to give other hunters the news that buffaloes were nearby.
- Journalism satisfies the human curiosity of the world.
- Later it became clear that radio could rival newspapers.
- At first radio was regarded as a passing technical fad.
- Journalism can communicate with few people as well as with many.
- A century ago it took a very long time for the news to reach distant parts of the world.
- Hundreds of small-town radio stations appeared in America.
- The newspaper still has a function because the television or radionews bulletin is very compressed.
- Father would read his morning newspaper over breakfast or on the bus or train going to work.
- Newspapers are archives, objects of record.
- Nowadays practically each member of the family prefers listening to his own radio.
- Today news is available to many more people.
- «Today the concept of a newspaper «scoop» has been killed by radio and television.
- The BBC radio provided a nationwide broadcasting in Britain.
13. Answer the following questions about the text:
- How does the author define journalism? Find all the statements on journalism.
- What word does the word journalism come from?
- How did people begin to communicate with each other: by means of signs, sounds, pictures, or words?
- How have the various types of news media changed in a little over 100 years?
- What has brought a profound change in the pattern of human communication?
- What changes had taken place in the process of printing before radio arrived?
- How did the development of radio broadcasting in the USA differ from that in Britain?
- How did newspapers regard radio at first?
- When did the way of learning news change radically in Great Britain?
- How did a family get news in Great Britain about 50 years ago?
- How does a family get news nowadays?
- Why is it necessary for a journalist to be aware of social changes?
- What is the main function of the newspaper today according to the author? What is your opinion?
14. Give the Russian equivalents for the following phrases. Consult the text and a dictionary:
- the events distilled into a few words;
- to satisfy the human frailty of a world;
- today the news media are swamped by the very availability of news;
- the pattern of human communication;
- a passing technical fad;
- the ordinary man’s receptivity to journalism;
- an evening’s viewing;
- to take account of social changes;
- to catch on to this change;
- is tightly encapsulated;
- a highly abbreviated form;
- newspapers can be referred to;
- at greater length
15. Prepare to talk about the following topics:
- Journalism is information.
- Journalism is communication.
- Journalism is the television picture.
- Journalism is about people.
- Journalism is basically about news.
- Newspapers are archives, objects of record.
15. Check your memory.
Text: Journalism Is Information
- средства массовой информации;
- сообщение, новость;
- небольшая заметка (в газете);
- забавлять, развлекать;
- развлекательная программа;
- телевизионное изображение;
- радиостанция в маленьком городе;
- канал; служба вещания;
- служба новостей;
- национальная служба;
- региональная служба;
- телевизионная служба;
- организовать телевизионную службу;
- принимать передачи;
- передавать по радио, телевидению;
- образовательная передача;
- внестудийная передача;
- политическая передача;
- подготовить телевизионную передачу;
- «живая» передача новостей;
- непосредственное вещание через спутник Земли;
- бюллетень, сводка;
- радиовещание;
- сводка новостей;
- заголовок;
- выпускать и распространять газеты;
- общаться (устанавливать контакт) со слушателями, зрителями, аудиторией;
- слушать сводку новостей по радио;
- мельком взглянуть на газету;
- по радио, по телевидению;
- достичь успеха;
- выпустить программу;
- проявлять пленку;
- развить сюжет
