Reading comprehension

A. Read the text and answer the questions below

DOES JOURNALISM STILL MATTER?

Journalism is not dead but merely adapting and the journalists of the future need to reinvent themselves, meaning they
need to care about where audiences are and how they are going to reach those audiences whether they are online, in print,
broadcast, mobile or social media platforms. But it is hoped by industry practitioners that values will be preserved and
upheld as accuracy, proportionality and fairness, as time-honored journalistic values, are well worth adoption by those
using social networks.

Lindsey Hilsum, international editor of UK’s Channel 4 news says that the new forms of journalism that come about from
social media can get information from corners of the world where previously there was very little. They can give the
“voiceless” a chance to speak and democratizes media by allowing viewers, listeners and readers to participate.
Meanwhile Richard Sambrook, former Director of Global News at the BBC said social media should not make us forget
the value of journalistic credibility – the value of trusting someone to bear witness to an event. “Bearing witness is a
journalist’s job. This is something technology cannot provide."

Good journalism has always been about networking because the best journalists have always listened, conversed and
researched. There is still much to be learned about the social media revolution and we are still in the early days of
experimentation. The changes happening in the news industry brought on by the rapid advances in technology should not
be seen as a threat to traditional mass media but instead complementary.

These are challenging but exciting times, as both social media and the journalism practice are undergoing a revolutionary
phase. How long? Five years? Ten years? It’s anybody’s guess. Technological innovations are happening so fast, and the
media industry is running to keep pace with them. While these web innovations may be disruptive as most innovations
are, this change is a much needed one – a cathartic change from which a better news media industry will emerge and new
or hybrid forms of journalism will surface.

Answer the following questions 5p

1. How does Lindsey Hilsum think that social media changes the practice of journalism?
Everybody have a voice and democratizes media by allowing viewers, listeners and readers to participate.
2. In Richard Sambrook’s opinion, when is this new technology not useful for journalists?
When others can't be bearing witness
3. Do you agree with Hilsum or Sambrook? Why? (briefly)
I’m agree with Sambrook because only journalist have the instruments and trainings to reports
4. How should old media treat technological changes, according to this text?
They should treat it complementary
5. What kind of journalism will probably appear thanks to changes in technology?
It will appear new or hybrid forms of journalism
 B. Read the text below and then write a (100-150 word) summary highlighting the key topics found
5p

Socially Acceptable Language

Language is not neutral. It reveals the way we see ourselves,
the world around us and how we function in the society and
physical environment. It also reflects social stereotypes,
prejudices and dominant ideologies. Centuries of irrational
prejudices are deeply rooted in language. This is evident in
some expressions used for women, people with disabilities,
ethnic and racial minorities, LGBT population and other
marginalized groups, perceived as "outsiders“.

For example, people with disabilities were labeled invalids.

Since invalid literally means 'not valid', it implies that they
are worthless. The proposed term was the disabled, which is
again inappropriate and replaced by disabled people, or even
better, people with disabilities. Although at first glance the
three expressions look the same, they are not. The first term
only focuses on disability, without recognizing
personhood. While the second term, disabled persons, recognizes them as persons, it still puts disability in the first place.
It is therefore advised to use the expression people with disabilities, meaning that they are people first, who happen to
have some type of disability.

Another example of our perception of persons with disabilities are the expressions confined to a
wheelchair and wheelchair-bound. These expressions imply that persons who are using a wheelchair are tied up to or
restrained by it. The truth is quite the opposite – a wheelchair gives them freedom to move. The correct expression, then,
is a wheelchair user.

Language also contains many male prejudices inherited from the historically male dominant society. In English, a lot of
nouns denoting professions end with man: chairman, policeman, fireman, and generally, manpower. They are now
replaced with gender-neutral terms: chairperson, police officer, firefighter and human resources.

The recent changes in attitudes towards LGBT population have brought about changes in the vocabulary. For example,
while queer used to be an offensive word for LGBT population, it is now accepted by some LGBT persons who use it as
an all-inclusive term for the GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Intersex, Queer) community. However,
most media advise against using it as it is still often considered pejorative.

The rise of a more egalitarian society led to rejection of language which is considered offensive and discriminatory.
Socially appropriate language avoids judgmental terms and prejudicial attitudes by introducing new, neutral terms.

The power of language is immeasurable for us. For some people the stereotypes, prejudices and
dominant ideologies are reflected by language that others use to describe them. For people with
disabilities, for example, it’s not the same think to tell them that they are invalid or disabled people. We
have to highlight that it’s about the person not about a disease. However, in the LGBT community the
situation has changed and now queer is a term that doesn’t bother them so much. The gender inequality
was felt in society due to professions like policeman fireman, but the `men` have been removed. It is
important to avoid the language which is considered offensive and discriminatory.