UNIT 4

MEDIA
SECTION A: NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

PREADING TASK:

1. What are editors responsible for?

2. What do you need to be a good editor
3. Would you like to be an editor? Comment upon your statement.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A NEWSPAPER EDITOR

There is as much variety in editors as there is in newspapers and magazines.

Some are very “hands-on”, writing copy and taking a keen interest in every stage
of putting each issue together, having a say in every headline, picture and story.
Others delegate much of the day-to-day running to other senior editorial executives
and take a more strategic role, spending time out and about representing the
publication its views.
Whatever their style, all editors are ultimately responsible for the overall
content, balance, tone, look and direction of their publication. They have the final
decision on all editorial matters – how important a story should be, how much
space to allow it and where it should appear.
As well as working on current issues, editors have to be involved in the
long-term planning of the publication and its direction, deciding on editorial policy
and dreaming up ways to attract new readers and retain the loyalty of existing ones.
However well respected an editor might be, he/she won’t last long if management
thinks somebody else could boost the circulation higher.
Increasingly, editors are expected to act as ambassadors for their publication,
giving radio and television interviews as often as possible, sitting on industry
committees and generally doing anything that helps raise publication’s profile both
within and outside the industry. No journalist works a nine-to-five day, but editors
particularly are on call at all times and are expected to sacrifice much of their
personal life and free time.
In newspapers, a key part of every day is the morning conference, when the
editor gathers together the inner group or senior editorial executives, to discuss the
contents for the next day’s paper. Each department head (news editor, sports editor,
features editor, women’s editor, picture editor, etc.) presents ideas for the editor’s
approval. On magazines, too, much of an editor’s day will be spent in meetings

1
with other members of staff, looking at the art department’s layouts, discussing
ideas with the features department, approving models with the fashion team, etc.
All department heads report to the editor, who is ultimately responsible for the
personnel of the magazine, appointing staff, deciding on salaries and overseeing
their work.
All editors of major titles have had solid journalistic experience but you do
not necessarily need to be a superb writer to be a good editor. You should have a
constant fund of original ideas, the ability to see them through and sound creative
judgement. Good editors are creative and innovative people.
Kathy Watson, an editor at Woman’s Realm, aged 32, speaks about her job:
“I do all the obvious things: reading copy, choosing pictures, looking at
layouts and working on the cover. I plan ahead with all the department heads,
control the budget, and work out ways to promote the magazine. I also act as a
representative for the magazine, giving presentations, talking to the ad and
production departments, doing radio interviews. I like being involved in
management but I’m happiest here in the office, working out an issue.
You need stamina and resilience, because the hours are long and, on weeklies,
the schedule is pulverizing. You’re holding at least four issues in your head at one
time – one you’re planning, one you’re reading copy for, one you’re looking at
layouts for, one you’re reading proofs for. I could stay until twelve and I still
wouldn’t have cleared the work. And you need persistence: when you’re chasing a
story, you may have made twenty calls but it’s making that twenty-first to get the
right case history...
Getting the first break is the key and you have to be quite unfussy about the
first thing you do. Once you’re in and you’ve done something, it’s easier to get on
to the next stage – a lot of jobs are got through contacts. It’s extraordinary, though,
how many people turn up for interviews without having even read the magazine.
And I often feel that interviewees just aren’t well informed or well read enough.
The more you know, the better you do any job – people should carry on learning as
much as they can. You can always tell the subs who are well read because they’re
much sharper about language.
Once you’ve got your first job, you should ask if you can do more. A lot of
people are good at doing what they’re asked to do but don’t show any kind of
initiative. The very good people are a real find and employers will do a lot to keep
them.”

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TASK SHEET 1: Comprehension check:

1. In what way editors act as ambassadors for their publications?

2. Which are Kathy’s main duties?
3. What does she like best?
4. How can you tell a person is well read?

TASK SHEET 2:

Decide whether the following statements are true or false by referring to the
information in the text, then made the necessary changes so that the false
statements become true.

1 The main task of an editor is to represent the publication and its views.
2 The editor decides alone what articles should be included.
3 In order to raise the newspaper’s audience, an editor gives radio and
television interviews.
4 Editors sacrifice their personal life.
5 The editor listens to the ideas of each department head, then he takes the
final decision.
6 There is no need to be a good writer to be a good editor.
7 It’s best to be good at doing what you’re asked to do, but also to have
initiative.

TASK SHEET 3:

Fill each of the blanks in the passage with one suitable word.

The name of the news agency Reuters appears daily in thousands of

newspapers and upon thousands of screens … over the world. ... success
over almost a century and a half has provided an institutional ... of the
power of news and its founder, Julius Reuter, ... his fortune by recognizing
this power.

He began ... using carrier pigeons ... forward stock market and
commodity prices from Brussels to Achen in Germany. In 1851, he moved
to London and it was ... that he launched his telegraph agency. ... the end of
the 1850, he had found success by ... a standard for news gathering and
distribution. Reuter set ... to be ‘first with the news’, and often was. But

3
 above ... he placed accuracy, and alongside accuracy he set impartiality in
news distribution.

For over a hundred years, Reuters was the news agency of the British
Empire. In the mid-twentieth century the British Empire faded ... and
Reuters ... have faded with it, but ... it made a new start, transforming ... into
an international institution. This transformation has been linked to the
revolution ... communications technology ... possible by ... microchip and
it ... supplies computerized economic news and information ... screen to
business people working increasingly within a global economy.

TASK SHEET 4:

Complete each sentence, using one of the words given:

circulation claim forecast gist issue

layout outline sensational source summary

1. This page looks very crowded and I don’t like the…….

2. Mass circulation newspapers usually specialize in …… stories.
3. Don’t include all the details. Just write a …… of what happened.
4. Both articles …… that the economy will recover by the end of the
year.
5. Both newspapers …… to be the new product at a press conference
next week.
6. The journalist refused to disclose his …… to the judge.
7. This article will be continued in our next …… .
8. The Sunday News has the highest …… of any newspaper in Britain.
9. I understood the …… of the article, but I didn’t read it in detail.
10. Just tell me the …… of the story.

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TASK SHEET 5:

Match each word given with one of the definitions:

ambassador Involving active participation

budget The title or caption of a newspaper article, usually

set in large type

committee Occurring on a routine or daily basis

conference An authorized messenger or representative

day-to-day A special group delegated to consider some matter

Degree of exposure to public notice

employer
An exchange of views
hands-on
The total sum of money allocated for a particular
headline purpose or period of time

A plan for performing work or achieving an

profile objective

A person or firm that employs workers

schedule

5
SECTION B: TELEVISION AND RADIO

PREADING TASK:

1. What are editors responsible for?

2. Would you like to be a television editor? Comment upon your statement.
3. What is the difference between a television editor and a producer?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A TELEVISION EDITOR

An editor determines the style and content of a programme. He/she may be in

charge of a specific programme or, in a series or strand responsible for the whole
operation. In radio, an editor might be responsible for four of five different
programmes, with a producer on each looking to her for guidance and ultimate
editorial authority. Precise tasks vary from editor to editor, but generally the role is
managerial and might encompass such aspects as planning, handling budgets,
managing staff and taking the final decision on programme content.
In news and current affairs the news editor decides which stories to include in
a bulletin and which to ignore, how long to give them and where to place them in
the running order, that is, the order of priority. Every day he/she chairs the
newsroom’s morning conference to discuss stories, leads and ideas. Before getting
in to work, the team will have scanned the papers and listened to news bulletins to
catch up with what’s going on and check for stories to follow up. There will be
planned events and conferences in the diary for that day. Once the news editor
knows what he/she’s got to choose from, he/she assigns reporters to stories and has
to keep tabs on who’s chasing what and what resources are allocated where. She
also considers how to use graphics or video clips to bring stories alive.
Throughout the day, regular meetings will be held to update the situation for
each bulletin. As well as working on today’s stories, the editor will also be noting
those to be followed up the next day. Depending on the size of the programme,
there may be a deputy or managing editor, also at senior level, and perhaps a home
editor and foreign editor responsible for co-ordinating domestic and international
news. In a small regional newsroom, one person might fill in the role.

Sara Nathan, an editor for Channel Four News, aged 39, speaks about her
job:
“As editor I’m responsible both editorially and managerially for the news
which transmits each weekday night at seven. I am also in charge of bulletins at the
weekend, House to House (a parliamentary programme transmitted when
Parliament is sitting), plus other programmes as commissioned. Each day, with the
output editor and team, I decide which topics to cover and how. This starts with a
meeting at 9.30. Progress is updated and reviewed throughout the day, specifically
at 11.30 and 14.30. After transmission, I review the programme with the team. The
rest of the time I struggle with budgets and future coverage.
The combination of editorial decision-making and general management is
extremely stimulating. The job calls for a mind which questions and enjoys being
stretched, an ability and interest in structuring items and programmes, a
commitment to a large team and a temper that can be kept or lost at will!

I would advise anyone hoping to work in news to get a good degree, not in
media studies but in something tough and rigorous. Don’t waste your time at
university drinking coffee: do something-act, write, play politics. Read the papers
and listen to and watch the news – it’s amazing how many don’t.
Once you’ve got into the industry, you need to do more than is expected of
you and be more available and willing than anyone else. At least in the first stages
of a career, get in early and read everything you can. Don’t bluff and never guess –
ask if you don’t know. Never suggest an idea without thinking of the treatment but
suggest lots of ideas. And keep within budget!
Newsrooms are often macho but actually the problem is being a parent rather
than a woman. The hours are long – nearly twelve hours most days – and can be
erratic. I would find film - making impossible as it means going away too much.
Women in news, like men in news, need wives! Get established and preferably
promoted before you have children – it really is a lot harder later.”

TASK SHEET 1: Comprehension check:

1. Who is responsible for coordinating international news?

2. Which are Sara’s main duties?
3. What does Sara find stimulating?
4. What does she advise anyone hoping to work in news?
5. What do women in news need, in Sara’s opinion?
TASK SHEET 2:

Decide whether the following statements are true or false by referring to the
information in the text, then made the necessary changes so that the false
statements become true.

1 One of the editor’s duties is assigning reporters to stories.

2 House to House is a talk show.
3 It’s extremely stimulating for Sara to review the programme with the team.
4 Those who want to work in news must get a degree in media studies.
5 Many people read papers.
6 You can suggest ideas but think of the treatment first.
7 It’s harder to have kids before being promoted.

TASK SHEET 3:

Fill each of the blanks in the passage with one suitable word.

After more than fifty years of television, it … seems only obvious to conclude
that it is here to .…….. There have been many objection to it … this time, of
course, and .……… a variety of grounds. Did it cause eyestrain? Was the .……..
bombarding us with radioactivity? Did the advertisements .…….. subliminal
messages, persuading us to buy more or vote Republican? Did children turn …
violence through watching it, either because so .…….. programmes taught them
how to shoot, rob, and kill, or because they had to do something to counteract the
hours they had ……... glued to the tiny screen? Or did it simply create a vast
passive ……..., drugged by glamorous serials and inane situation .……..? On the
……… hand did it increase anxiety by sensationalizing the news (or the news
which was accompanied ……… suitable pictures) and filling our living rooms
with war, famine and political unrest? .……… in all, television proved to be the
all-purpose scapegoat for the second half of century, blamed ……… everything,
but above all, eagerly watched. For no ...…...how much we despised it, feared it,
were bored by it, or felt that it took us away from the old paradise of family
conversation and hobbies ……... as collecting stamps, we never turned it ……… .
We .…….. staring at the screen, ………… that our own tiny reflection was in it if
we looked carefully.
TASK SHEET 4:

Match each word given with one of the definitions:

1. budget a) The way in which something is said, done, or
performed.
2. bulletin b) The person who finances and supervises the making
and public presentation of a play, film, program, or
similar work.
3. degree c) A brief report, especially an official statement on a
matter of public interest issued for immediate
publication or broadcast.
4. diary d) The subject of a speech, an essay, a thesis, or a
discourse.
5. erratic e) A sum of money allocated for a particular purpose.
6. newsroom f) An academic title given by a college or university to
a student who has completed a course of study.
7. producer g) A room, as in a newspaper office or radio or
television station, where news stories are written
and edited.
8. style h) Having no fixed or regular course.
9. topic i) Any day of the week except Sunday.
10.weekday j) A daily record, especially a personal record of
events, experiences, and observations.

TASK SHEET 5:

Complete each sentence with one of the words given:

bulletin campaign correspondent cover

coverage

forecast media tune in wavelength

1. Over a hundred journalists will ……… the royal wedding next week.

2. Don’t forget to ……… at this time next week for part two of the
programme.
3. If you can’t pick up the BBC in the summer, try a different ……… .

4. Some people feel that television should give less ……… to sport.

5. Here is a report from our political ……… .

6. What did it say on the weather ……… ?

7. This is a party political ……… on behalf of the Always Right Party.

8. What time is the next news ……… ?

9. This channel doesn’t have very good sports ……… .

10.The mass ……… in most countries are dominated by advertising.

 SECTION C

NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES

TASK SHEET 1:

Read the following article, and then answer the questions. Is it a future,
a present, or a
Taking Stronger Action past event?
Gerund or
present
participle? President Clinton is close to announcing a “very
significant deployment” of personnel to the South to help Give an
Give a antonym.
synonym. prevent – not just investigate – arson at back churches.
The White House would start by sending in federal
marshals and personnel from agencies such as the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and the Bureau of
Give an example Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to help community groups Gerund or
of another verb present
used with short protect their local churches. If stronger measures are participle?
infinitive. needed, however, Clinton may call on governors to
What did he say?
activate National Guard units. “This is a change from
Why not investigating the fires to guarding against them”, says one
Clinton’s? Clinton adviser. Since January 1995, there Can haveyou been
say there
Gerund or were?
nearly 40 suspicious present fires at predominantly black
churches in the South – and one last week in Portland,
participle?
Ore., the first so far in the Northwest.

TASK SHEET 2:

Find straightforward headlines for these short articles that sum up in a short
phrase what each article is about:

1 Valletta – the Maltese Education Minister, Mr. Carwels Mifaud

Bonnici, said 64 Roman Catholic schools must reopen before there can be any
 chance of a settlement in the education dispute. The schools, which lost their
licenses after refusing to provide free education, have been closed since October 1
on Archbishop Mercierca’s order.

2 British Aerospace has won a two-week reprieve in its battle for a

£20m aircraft order. European Commission officials are to look again at their
decision to provide cash for Leeward Islands Air Transport if it buys French
planes, which the Commission ruled were more economical. The airline prefers the
BA Super 748.

3 Khartum – Sudan announced the arrest of a southern Christian leader

and a number of other men, including military personnel, on charges of plotting
with Libya against President Nimeiry’s regime. The National Security Council said
it had uncovered a “criminal ethnic plot”.

4 Moscow – sixty-two years after he left Russia in the aftermath of the

Bolshevik revolution, the remains of Fyodor Chaliapin, the greatest bass in Russian
opera history who died in 1938, were reburied with pomp yesterday in the
Novodevichi cemetery among heroes of Soviet life and culture. His remains had
been brought from Paris at his children’s request.

5 Islamabad – Pakistan said two Afghan jets bombed the Pakistan

border village of Arandu yesterday, killing four people and wounding five. The
Afghan chargé d’affaires in Islamabad was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to
receive a protest.

6 Montpellier – a football referee was shot dead during a local league

match here by one of three men who interrupted the game by invading the pitch
and haranguing the players.

7 Strasbourg – an ammunition collector blew himself up in a basement

workshop he rented at the City Hospice, which had to evacuate 30 patients.
Officials did not know he had stored there his one-ton collection of shells,
grenades, mines, cartridges and mortar bombs.

TASK SHEET 3:

Here are some headlines from the daily press. Choose the appropriate explanation
for each one.
1. STERLING’S FALL BRINGS PETROL PRICE RISE

a) The price of petrol will go up because crude oil costs more.

b) The value of the pound has decreased, so petrol will cost more.
c) The prices will rise because the value of the pound has risen.
d) The price of petrol must rise because of a shortage of sterling.

2. SHELL PREDICTS PROFIT FROM ALASKA FIELD

a) The Shell Co hopes to discover oil in Alaska.

b) Shell thinks that oil discovered in Alaska can be produced profitably.
c) Oil produced by Shell in Alaska is more profitable than that produced in other parts of
the world.
d) The Shell Co intends to sell its Alaskan oilfield.

3. US OIL IMPORTS CLIMB BY 21%

a) The price of oil in the USA has gone up 21 per cent.

b) The USA imports 21 per cent of the oil that it uses.
c) The USA now pays 21 per cent more for the oil that it imports.
d) The USA now imports more oil than it did in the past.

4. ELF TO SHUT GERMAN REFINERY

a) Elf has been ordered to stop production at their German refinery.

b) The refinery in Germany belonging to the Elf Company is going to close.
c) Elf intends to reduce production at the German refinery.
d) A refinery in Germany has been taken over by Elf.

5. BT TAKES STAKE IN ANGOLAN OFFSHORE FIELD

a) BP hopes to be able to buy Angolan oil.

b) The Angolan offshore field has been bought by BP.
c) BP has found oil off the coast of Angola.
d) BP is going to participate in exploitation of oil in Angola.
 6. NORTH SEA OUTPUT SLIPS

a) Mistakes have been made in North Sea oil operations.

b) Slightly less oil is being produced now in the North Sea than before.
c) Figures quoted for North Sea production are wrong.
d) Production of oil in the North Sea is more difficult than was expected.

TASK SHEET 4:

When writing about the future, journalists usually do not like to risk saying that such a
thing will or won’t happen, and prefer to use other expressions, like these, which express
a degree of probability. In this way, if the thing in question does not happen after all, they
have not committed themselves!

Let us take a very simple future statement about prices.

PRICES WILL RISE – it is a hundred per cent certain that they will go up.
PRICES WILL NOT RISE – it is a hundred per cent certain that they won’t
go up.
But we can never be 100% certain about price movement
List these expressions, beginning with the most definite one – PRICES WILL
RISE – and put them in order of probability, finishing with the one that
expresses exactly the opposite – PRICES WON’T RISE.
TASK SHEET 5:

Look at the following headlines from newspapers of the future, discuss which events
are possible and which are very unlikely and speculate what the consequences of
each event might be.

1. UNO agrees on single worldwide currency.

2. Income tax rises to 50%.
3. Unemployment rises to 50%.
4. Voice-operated word-processor: no need for a keyboard.
5. Substantial shortage of applicants for office jobs.
6. Banking services to become a state monopoly.
7. New type of nuclear powers stations completely safe.
8. A computer on every school pupil’s desk.
9. Number of retired people exceeds working population.
10.Office cleaning by robots.
11.World customs duties and tariffs abolished.

TASK SHEET 6:

The Kennedy family is one of America’s most famous families. Read the two articles
carefully and compare them. Consider the fact that both Daily Mirror and The Sun are
popular papers and tend to report stories dramatically with colorful language. Be sure to
take into account the following:

- language style
- information included or excluded
- the order of the information
- length of the article
- amount of detail
The Sun, Thursday, April 26, 1984

KENNEDY BOY DRUGS DEATH

Bobby’s tragic son is found in hotel room

MURDERED Senator Bobby Kennedy’s son David was found dead last
night after years of drug abuse.
David, 28-year-old nephew of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, was
discovered in a hotel room in Florida’s fashionable Palm Beach resort.
Police, alerted by hotel receptionist Betty Barnett, rushed to the scene and
immediately cordoned off the building.
Mrs. Barnett made the horrific find in room 107 after David’s worried
mother Ethel called the hotel from Boston.
Mrs. Kennedy was alarmed because she had been unable to contact her son
for more than 24 hours.
She had been expecting fair-haired David to fly home early yesterday.
David’s death is the latest tragedy in the history of America’s “first family”.
In November, 1963, President John was assassinated in Dallas.
In June, 1968, David’s father Bobby was gunned down in Los Angeles.
In 1973 Senator Edward’s son Teddy had a leg amputated because of bone
cancer.
David’s uncle Edward whose own career crashed when he was accused of
letting a girl down in a car crash, said last light: “With trust in God, we all pray that
David has finally found the peace that he did not find in life.”

Daily Mirror, Thursday, April 26, 1984

BOBBY KENNEDY’S SON FOUND DEAD

Rachel was the love of his life.

 British actress Rachel Ward befriended David Kennedy after meeting him in
a night club.
Later David described the Thorn Birds actress as “the most beautiful girl in
the world”.
According to a recent article in Playboy magazine, Rachel and David had an
affair. David told his friends she had no idea he used drugs. “I was back on ‘smack’
(heroin)” he said. “She had no idea of what I was up to.”
“I don’t know what she thought of all those little marks on my arms when I
was naked, I guess she thought they were some odd Kennedy rush.”
Rachel once went in South Africa with him and she said afterward he gave
no sign of being on drugs.
After they split, she started going out with folk singer Art Garfunkel.
She married Australian actor Bryan Brown, who played her husband in the
Thorn Birds, last year.
DAVID KENNEDY, who turned to drugs after his father Robert was
assassinated, was found dead yesterday on the floor of his hotel room.
His body was discovered by a hotel receptionist alerted by his mother, who
was waiting by the phone for news of him.
David, the 28-years-old third son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, had been
having treatment for drug problems and had suffered from a heart disease which may
have been brought on by drugs. But police refused to say last night whether drugs had
caused his death.
“We have no evidence at this time of any drug use” said Joseph Terlizzese,
police chief of Palm Beach, the Florida resort where David died.
David’s uncle, Senator Edward Kennedy, was last night on his way to
Florida from Washington to find out details of his death.
In a statement, Senator Kennedy said:
“This is a very difficult time for all the members of our family, including David’s mother,
Ethel and his brothers and sisters who tried to help him. All of us loved him very much
and with trust in God, we all pray that David has finally found the peace that he did not
find in life.”
David checked into the L80 – a night-luxury hotel last Friday.
Receptionist Betty Barnett found him dead after his mother phoned from
Boston. Miss Barnett said last night: “Mrs. Kennedy told me that David had not been
seen for the past 24 hours, that she had not heard from him and that he was due to fly to
Boston today.
She asked whether I would check the room and see if his clothes had been packed. I went
in and was shocked to fin David lying on his bed.”
 She then went back to the phone to say that David was just lying there and
that ambulance men had been called. Mrs. Kennedy asked to be phoned back with further
news.
The ambulance men arrived and tried to revive David with electric shock
treatment. But a few minutes later, hotel manager Dennis Heffernan phoned Mrs.
Kennedy to tell her that her son was dead.

GRAMMAR SECTION

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect.
In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’ exact words:
He said, ‘I have lost my umbrella.’
Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas, and a comma or
colon is placed immediately before the remark. Direct speech is found in
conversations in books, in plays, and in quotations.
In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, without
necessarily using the speaker’s exact words:
He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
There is no comma after say in indirect speech. that can usually be omitted after
say and tell + object. But it should be kept after other verbs: complain, explain,
object, point out, protest etc. Indirect speech is normally used when conversation
is reported verbally, though direct speech is sometimes employed here to give a
more dramatic effect.
When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are usually necessary.
This table summarizes some of the forms used in reported (indirect) speech:

DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH

VERBS
Reports Reported
Is reporting Was reporting
Has reported Had reported
Has been reporting Had been reporting
Reported Had reported
 Shall / will report Should / would report
Will be reporting Would be reporting
May Might
Can Could
Must Had to
PRONOUNS
I he, she
We They
Me Him, her
mine His, hers
Ours Theirs
Myself, ourselves Himself / herself, themselves
This That
These Those
ADVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS
Now Then, at that time
Today That day
Yesterday The day before
Last week The week before
Tomorrow The nest day
Next week The following weed, the week
after
Her there

♦ Orders, instructions, requests are commonly used with an Infinitive structure.

If introduced with tell, order, ask, etc. They must have a Person Object:
• ‘Be quiet!’ - He told us to be quiet.
• ‘Would you mind not making so much noise?’ - He asked us not to make so
much noise.
But
If the speaker is making a personal request then the Indirect Speech form
becomes:
Subject + Reporting Verb + ‘IF’ + Subject + Request
• ‘Can I borrow your radio?’ - She asked if she could borrow my radio.
♦ Indirect Questions
Remember than when Indirect Questions are reported, they form two sentences
connected by a Question Word, i.e. how, where, when, if etc.

Examples:

• ‘When is the next General Election?’ - He asked me when the next General
Election was.
• ‘Did you vote for the Conservative candidate?’ - He wanted to know if I had
voted for the Conservative candidate.
• ‘How long will it be before they publish the results of the referendum,
Father?’, John asked. - John asked his father how long it would be before they
published the results of the referendum.

♦ Should/Would/Could/Might/Ought
Do not change to the Perfect when reported, as to do would completely alter the
sense:
‘I could take the matter up with my MP.’ (possible future)
• He said he could take the matter up with his MP.
Note difference in sense:
• He said he could have taken the matter up with his MP. (was possible but not
done)
‘I might be able to check that reference if I went to the library.’
• She said she might be able to check that reference if she went to the library.
(possible future)
Note the difference:
• She said she might have been able to check that reference if she had gone to the
library. (was possible but not done)

♦ Unreal past tenses after wish, would rather/sooner and it is time do not
change:

• ‘We wish we didn’t have to take exams, ‘ said the children =

The children said they wished they didn’t have to take exams.
• ‘Bill wants to go alone, ‘ said Ann, ‘but I’d rather he went with a group’ =
Ann said that Bill wanted to go alone but that she’d rather he went with a
group.
• ‘It’s time we began planning our holidays, ‘ he said =
He said that it was time they began planning their holidays.

♦ I/he/she/we/they had better remains unchanged.

• ‘The children had better go to bed early, ‘ said Tom =

Tom said that the children had better go to bed early.

♦ Conditional sentences types 2 and 3 remain unchanged:

• ‘If my children were older I would emigrate, ‘ he said =

He said that if his children were older he would emigrate.

♦ Let’s usually expresses a suggestion and is report by suggest in indirect speech:

He said, ‘Let’s leave the case at the station’

would be reported:
• He suggested leaving the case at the station. or
• He suggested that they/we should leave the case at the station.

♦ Exclamations beginning What (a) ... or How ... can be reported (a) by
exclaim/say that:

He said, ‘What a dreadful idea!’ or ‘How dreadful!’ =

He exclaimed that it was a dreadful idea/was dreadful.

EXERCESE 1:
Put the following sentences into Indirect Speech.

1 ‘Don’t interrupt while the Mayor is speaking, children,’ said the teacher.
‘There will be plenty of time for questions later.’

2 ‘You would have to work very long hours as a Probation Officer, Harry,’ the
Careers master explained, ‘but there is a great deal of satisfaction to be got
out of the work.’

3 ‘It says in the paper,’ said Philip, ‘that an undertaker was given a parking
ticket for leaving his hearse on a yellow line while he went into a house to
collect the body for the funeral service.’

4 ‘I’m sorry but you can’t watch that jazz programme on TV tonight, Johnny,’
said his mother. ‘Your father wants to listen to the Party political Broadcast.’

5 ‘I must get up early tomorrow, ‘ said Mary. ‘I’m going to watch the
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.’

6 ‘When is my case likely to be heard?’ Mr. Simpkins asked his solicitor.

7 ‘If you want to know what I think,’ said Mr. Barnes, looking at his rates
demand, ‘the Council ought to have something better to do with its time that
trying to bleed the residents out of every penny they’ve got.’

8 ‘Haw long do you think it will be before there’¿ another General Election?’
Peter asked me. ‘I should like to be able to vote but I’m not eighteen till after
Christmas.’

9 ‘Take this letter,’ Mr. Hill told his secretary, ‘and see that it is delivered
personally to the Minister of Education.’
 10 ‘Do stop arguing about politics,’ said Mother, ‘and come and have your
supper. I put it on the table ten minutes ago. It must be cold by now.’

EXERCISE 2:

Put the following situations into Direct Speech.

Example:
John wished he were old enough to vote in the next General Election.
‘I wish I were old enough to vote in the next General election,’ said John.

1. His father suggested that Peter should take a Law degree if he wanted to go into
politics.
2. The new MP was very worried when he found he had left the notes of his
maiden speech at home.
3. He was surprised to hear that the vandals were only put on probation.
4. The magistrate warned the boy not to get into trouble again.
5. Mrs. Brown was delighted to hear that her husband had been elected to serve on
the local council.
6. The policeman reassured the lost child and told her that he would soon find her
mother for her.
7. The speaker apologized for not having checked the latest unemployment
figures.
8. The shopkeeper thought there was something rather suspicious about the two
men waiting outside his shop.
9. It’s a matter of complete indifference to Mr. Jones whether the Government
increases the tax on tobacco or not. He doesn’t smoke.
10.Mary regretted not having taken her driving test years ago. She knew she would
never pass it now.
 11.Old Mrs. Jones was delighted when she learnt that the retirement pensions were
to be increased.
12.Mr. Stevens found it hard to believe that his son was going to vote
Conservative.
13.In view of the size of Mrs. Harrison’¿ estate, the solicitor considered it
unfortunate that she had not made a will before she died.
14.The woman uttered a scream of pain. She had cut her finger on the carving
knife.
15.Alan protested that it was not due to his negligence that the thieves broke into
the house. He had locked and bolted all the doors and windows before he went
out.

EXERCISE 3:
Change the following from direct into indirect questions.

1. He said, “How long does it take you to reach home?”

2. I said to the shop assistant, “What is the price of the book?”
3. The lady said, “When is the next train for Bath?”
4. He said to the guest, “Do you want tea or coffee?”
5. The stranger said to us, “Which is the way to the station?”
6. I said to him, “What is your idea?”
7. We said to them, “Where are you going?”
8. The teacher said to us, “You must read text 39 at home!”
9. The other day my friend said to me: “You must buy a new hat. That one doesn’t
match your suit.
10.The shop-assistant said, “The shoe-department is downstairs.”

EXERCISE 4:
Change the following sentences from Indirect into Direct Speech.
 1. He said that he had lived in Paris for many years and knew the city very
well.
2. I said I was sorry he hadn’t kept his promise.
3. He told me not to call on him the next day as he would not be at home.
4. A man came up and asked me where the post-office was.
5. William told his friends that he had just come down from the University and
intended to stay with them for about a week.
6. He said that he was happy to be back again.
7. He asked me if I had taken part in the experiment.
8. He told me he had not been able to ring me up in due time.
9. She asked me where I had been all the morning.
10.The boy said he had joined a sports club.

EXERCISE 5:

Put the following into indirect speech.

1. ‘Open your bag, please,‘ said the store detective.

2. ‘Don’t use bent coins in a slot machine,‘ I warned him.
3. ‘Follow that car, ‘ the detective said to the taxi-driver.
4. ‘Always cook with butter,‘ said her mother, ‘never use margarine.’
5. ‘Wait for me at the bridge,‘ said the young man.
6. ‘Write to me as often as you can,‘ said his wife.
7. ‘Put your pistol on the table,’ said the crook.
8. ‘Don’t go near the water, children, she said.
9. ‘Search the house,’ said the police sergeant.
10.‘Put down that gun. It’s loaded,’ she warned.

EXERCISE 6:
Put the following into direct speech with the appropriate punctuation.

1. She asked if he’d like to go to concert and I said that I was sure she would.
2. He said that the new carpet had arrived and asked where he was to put it.
3. They offered me some more wine and I accepted.
4. She asked the burglars who they were and who had let them in
5. He asked what the weather had been like during my holiday and I said that it
had been awful.
6. She said that she was surprised to see that the grandfather clock had stopped
and asked if anyone had been fiddling with it.
7. I asked her if she’d like to borrow the book but she thanked me and said that
she had already read it and hadn’t liked it very much.
8. He wanted to know if I was going to the dance and suggested that we should
make up a party and go together.
9. My employer hoped I would not be offended if he told me that, in his
opinion, I would do better in some other king of job.
10.He asked the crowd if they thought that he was a liar and the crowd shouted
that they did.

EXERCISE 7:

Read again the two editor’s stories and put them into indirect speech.

EXERCISE 8:

Match each report 1 to 10 with the actual words spoken from a to j:

1. Jim admitted that the might have taken it.

2. Sue denied that she had taken it.
3. Harry doubted whether he had taken it.
4. Diana explained that she had taken it.
5. Bill insisted he had taken it.
6. Mary suggested that she had taken it.
7. Ted confirmed that he had taken it.
8. Ruth claimed that she had taken it.
9. Charles repeated that he had taken it.
 10.Sally reassured us that she had taken it.

(a) No, I’ve definitely taken it.

(b) I don’t think I took it.
(c) Don’t worry, I’ve taken it. It’s all right!
(d) What about me? Perhaps I took it?
(e) Ok, perhaps I did take it after all.
(f) Yes, I took it, I tell you!
(g) Yes, that’s quite correct. I took it.
(h) No, I certainly didn’t take it, I can assure you.
(i) You may not believe me, but actually I took it.
(j) You see, it’s like this. I’ve taken it.

EXERCISE 9:

Rewrite each sentence in indirect speech beginning as shown:

1. ‘I wouldn’t cook the fish for too long, Bill, if I were you,’ said Jean.
Jean advised Bill…………………………………………………….
2. ‘Helen, would you like to come to lunch on Sunday?’ said Mary.
Mary…………………………………………………………………
3. ‘Well, in the end I think I’ll take the brown pair,’ said the customer.
The customer finally………………………………………………….
4. ‘Me? No, I didn’t take Sue’s calculator,’ said Bob.
Bob denied……………………………………………………………
5. ‘Don’t forget to buy some milk, Andy,’ said Clare.
Clare reminded……………………………………………………….
6. ‘Look, I might not be able to come on Saturday,’ said David.
David told us………………………………………………………….
7. ‘Why don’t you go and see ‘The Sound of Music’ again, Brian?’ I said.
I suggested………………………………………………………………
8. ‘No, you really must stay the night, Sophia,’ Ann said.
Ann insisted………………………………………………………………
9. ‘Make sure you don’t take the A20 in the rush hour, Tim,’ said Jack.
Jack warned…………………………………………………………..
10.‘You are not allowed to smoke in you room, Dick,’ said his mother.
Dick’s mother…………………………………………………………
BASIC VOCABULARY:
agony column – curier sentimental
assistant editor- redactor adjunct
banner headline –o manşetă
breach of, intesion of privacy – încălcarea intimităţii
broadsheet – un ziar de format mare
chief editor – un redactor şef
circulation - tiraj
classified advertisments – mica publicitate
close-up – un prim plan
column – o cronică
columnist – un cronicar
comic strip – o bandă desenată
contributor – un colaborator
coverage - prezentare
credits - genericul
editor – redactor
editorial – un editorial
editorial-in chief – redactor şef
feature – un articol de fond
footage – peliculă înregistrată
freelance – un ziarist independent
front page – prima pagină
gossip column – rubrica mondenă
headline – un titlu
in slow motion – cu încetinitorul, în ralanti
issue – un număr (publicaţie)
leading article, the leader – editorialul principal
lurid reporting – reportaj e senzaţie
media hype – agresivitatea mijloacelor de informare
miscellaneous news – fapte diverse
muckraking – goana după amănunte sordide
news agency – o agenţie de presă
newshound – un reporter
newspaper office – redacţie (a ziarului)
newsreader, newscaster – un prezentator de ştiri, un crainic
obituaries – rubrica de necrologuri
peak time, prime time – orele de vârf, perioada de maximă audienţă
popular press – presa de senzaţie
press briefing – o conferinţă de presă
press release – un comunicat de presă
props - accesoriile
pull-out supplement – un supliment detaşabil
rag – un ziar de reputaţie proastă
ratings – indicele de audienţă
schedule – un program, o grilă de programe
slander - calomnie
slant - subiectivism
slanted - tendenţios
slot – o tranşă orară
subeditor – redactor, corector
tabloid – un ziar de format mic
the quality press – presa de senzaţie
to cover – a acoperi
to feature – a face un reportaj
to get on in the profession – a fi promovat
to give an account of – a relata
to give coverage – a trata despre
to slander – a calomnia
to tune in to – a se branşa pe
to zap – a schimba mereu canalele cu telecomanda
top of the ratings – fruntea clasamentului
tycoon – un magnat de presă

FURTHER READINGS:

BROADCASTING IN AMERICA

Broadcasting, Radio and Television - primary means by which information and

entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world.

Broadcasting is a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. At

its peak of influence in the mid-20th century, national leaders often used radio and
television broadcasting to address entire countries. Because of its capacity to reach
large numbers of people, broadcasting has been regulated since it was recognized
as a significant means of communication.

Beginning in the early 1980s, new technologies – such as cable television and
videocassette players – began eroding the dominance of broadcasting in mass
communications, splitting its audiences into smaller, culturally distinct segments.
Previously a synonym for radio and television, broadcasting has become one of
several delivery systems that feed content to newer media.

The Introduction of Television

Radio’s success spurred technology companies to make huge investments in the

research and development of a new form of broadcasting called television, or TV.
Unlike radio, television broadcasting did not go through o period of
experimentation by amateurs. It was obvious to commercial broadcasters that there
were enormous profits to be made from such an invention, and the dominant
companies in communications technology raced to perfect it.

Modern Broadcasting

Broadcasting dramatically changed life in the United States wherever it was

introduced. Radio brought news and information from around the world into
homes. The experiences of professionally crafted drama and music, historically a
privilege of the elite, became services expected by the general public. The
networks brought the performances of talented artists to large numbers of people
who were otherwise isolated from venues such as the concert hall and the theatre.
The parallel growth of network radio and Hollywood sound cinema, both of which
were launched as commercial enterprises in 1927, created an unprecedented mass
culture for people of a wide range of social classes and educational backgrounds.
The influence of broadcasting was further intensified by television during the
1950s but began to diminish in the 1980s as new technologies – such as cable
television – launched a gradual process of dividing broadcasting’s audience into a
collection of segregated groups.

Broadcast Programming
Despite the obvious differences between radio and television, the development of
programming for both broadcast media is best understood as a single history
comprised of two stages. Early broadcasting was dominated by adaptations of
older media. Popular stage drama was redesigned for radio in the form of weekly
action serials, situation comedies and soap operas. Vaudeville provided material
for the radio comedy-variety program. Broadcast stations set up microphones in
the ballrooms of urban major hotels where popular bands were featured. Daily
newspapers provided the model for news coverage and in some cases announcers
would simply read articles from the local newspaper over the air.

Today, television stations in the United States produce very little of their own
programming, apart from daily local newscasts and a few public-affairs discussion
shows. Most stations broadcast series, feature films, documentaries and world and
national news coverage originating via network connections from Los Angeles and
New York City.

Soap opera, or daily serial drama was originally developed as a daytime genre
aimed specifically at a female audience. Soap operas explored romance, friendship
and familial relations in slow-moving, emotionally involving narratives. The
invention of the soap opera is credited to Irna Phillips, who began developing such
programs for local radio broadcast in Chicago during the 1920s. Many of her radio
shows were adapted for television, with some running first on radio and then on
television for more than 25 years. Phillips’s productions include “The Brighter
Day” (1954-1962), “The Guiding Light” (1952-) and “The Edge of Night” (1956-
1984).

Other television program types include talk shows, sports coverage, children’s
programming, game shows and religious programs, all of which originated on
radio. New program types are rarely introduced in broadcasting, since audience
familiarity plays a key role in determining programming.

Broadcast Journalism

The news – international, national and local – constitutes a natural genre of

broadcasting and, in fact, one of broadcasting’s first purposes was to spread news
of maritime weather conditions. Early experimenters and amateurs informed each
other of everything from election results to local gossip. Unlike newspapers, radio
could offer its audience live coverage of events. Television added instant images
that dated newspaper photographs before readers ever saw them. The speed with
which broadcasting could reach entire populations redefined the role of the
newspaper in American society. Print journalism became a supplemental medium,
focusing on in-depth coverage and editorial opinion.

Radio broadcasting pushed the newspaper from its central position as the herald of
public events and, as television proliferated, the importance of radio then
diminished. However, the automobile soon emerged as an important location that
isolated audiences from the television set. Accordingly, so-called drive time (7-
9AM and 4-7PM; the most popular hours for commuters to travel to and from
work) became radio’s prime time. Radio stations across the United States reacted
differently to this development; many limited their prime time programming
innovations to traffic bulletins, weather reports and time checks. Some stations
adopted news-only formats, reflecting the medium’s need to cultivate specialized
audiences as television held the attention of the masses. National Public Radio’s
“Morning Edition” (1979- ) and “All Things Considered” (1971- ), for example,
were developed to function as morning and evening on-air newspapers for
sophisticated audiences.

The early years of television offered little news coverage. In 1956 NBC introduced
“The Huntley-Brinkley Report”, a half-hour national telecast presented in the early
evening and featuring filmed reports of the day’s events. The other networks soon
followed. With the invention of videotape, the cost of such coverage dropped
significantly, allowing individual stations to initiate and expand local news
coverage. Network and local news programming, initially considered a nonprofit
duty, soon became lucrative as broadcast news became an integral part of viewers’
everyday routines. Television broadcasting became society’s most popular source
of information on current events.

In addition to daily news coverage, the networks also developed weekly prime-
time newsmagazine series, such as “60 Minutes” (1968- ) and “20/20” (1978- ).
Newsmagazine shows tend to consist of cultural reporting, investigative reporting
and human-interest stories. They have proliferated in prime-time broadcasting,
while all-news cable channels have been quicker to supply immediate news of
noteworthy events. Although network news divisions regularly produced hour-long
documentary programs during the 1950s, such as “CBS Reports”, almost all
serious American documentary programs are now produced by public television
stations.

In the United States, television has had a noticeable effect on electoral politics and
public opinion. For example, in 1960 presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon
and John F. Kennedy agreed to a series of debates, which were
broadcast simultaneously on television and radio. According to surveys, most radio
listeners felt that Nixon had won the debates, while television viewers picked
Kennedy. Kennedy won the general election that fall. Television coverage of the
Vietnam War (1959-1975) helped change the rules of American politics. By the
mid-1960s the Big Three networks were broadcasting daily images of the war into
virtually every home in the United States. For many viewers, the horrors they saw
on television were more significant than the optimistic reports of impending
victory issued by government officials to radio and print.

Commercialism in Broadcasting

In the United States advertising agencies produced almost all network radio shows
before the development of network television and most early television
programming as well. Stations often sold agencies full sponsorship, which
included placing the product name in a show’s title, as with “Palmolive Beauty
Box Theater” (1927-1937) on radio or “The Texaco Star Theatre” (1948-1953) on
early television.

The ratings system now used in broadcasting arose from sponsors’ desire to know
how many people they were reaching with their advertising. In 1929 Archibald
Crossley launched Crossley’s Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting, using
telephone surveys to project daily estimates of audience size for the national
networks. The A.C. Nielsen Company, which had been surveying audience size in
radio since the mid-1930s, eventually became the dominant television ratings
service. Nielsen became known for two techniques (both of which are still used):
placing boxes in television sets in the homes of samplings of viewers to record
their program choices and asking sample groups of viewers to keep diaries of what
they watched. The size of any given program’s audience is then estimated, based
on the reactions of these sample viewers. The resulting projections, or ratings,
determine the price of advertisements during the show and, ultimately, whether the
show will stay on the air or be cancelled.

Noncommercial Broadcasting

Most public television stations produce no more than a weekly interview show or a
roundtable discussion of local affairs and many do not produce any programs.
Stations affiliated with PBS (PBS has no owned and operated stations) need not
adhere to any network time frame and may schedule programs as they wish. A few
public stations in large cities create and distribute the bulk of programming to all
other PBS stations. The only daily programs offered directly by PBS are a one-
hour newscast, “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (1976- ) and several children’s
programs, including “Sesame Street” (1969- ).

A section at the lower end of the FM band is reserved for noncommercial radio.
About one-third of FM stations are public broadcasters, many of them licensed to
educational institutions. They are financed in much the same way as public
television stations: by individual donations, corporate grants and funding from the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Public radio stations usually offer a wider
variety of programming than most commercial radio stations. Many are affiliated
with National Public Radio and carry some or all of NPR’s extensive news and
information programming, such as “All Things Considered”, a daily 90-minute
newscast produced in Washington, D.C.