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Radio BBC: You Can Hear Them All Over the World
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Text 1
On Newspapers
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”[1] the presentation of a startling hard news story[2] a day before its rivals, is virtually dead – killed by radio and television.
What is newsworthy?
During the day, newsworthy events will happen that are quite unpredicted. A passenger plane may crash, a bank raid take place, a film star arrives in Heathrow without her husband and announces she is getting a divorce.
“Newsworthy?” But are these things newsworthy? Who says they are newsworthy? Different countries have different customs. So who says these things are newsworthy? Who chooses to report a bank raid rather than the one hundredth birthday of Mrs. Jemima Snooks, who has had a telegram from the Queen?
Let us look at the finished product and work back from there. Every newspaper, every radio and television news bulletin[3] has a “lead” story – the first story, given greatest prominence on the front page or put first in the bulletin. The editor – or more usually the chief subeditor, since the editor is too busy to be concerned with the minute-by-minute running of the organization – chooses which story he thinks will be most important to the readers, listeners or viewers.
If there is an earthquake in Peru with an estimated 2,000 dead, the quality papers in Britain would probably put that prominently on their front pages. The popular papers would try to discover whether any Britons were working in the area, and if they found that an English girl was there – and particularly if the picture department could produce a photograph of her – that might rate the first page.
Otherwise, if the death toll were entirely local, the popular press would probably place the disaster on an inside foreign page.
If a house fell down in Liverpool trapping a family, The Liverpool Echo would put that prominently on the front page. The national papers might put it briefly lower down their front pages, and the popular tabloids[4] would probably put the story inside the paper.
Each newspaper, each news bulletin is thus a product manufactured from what is available. No newspaper ever comes out with blank columns and the comment there is “no news today” except in those countries where governments impose press censorship.
The quality papers[5], sometimes called the ”papers of records”, do however print stories that they fell should be recorded, even if they are dull and unlikely to appeal to many readers. It is said there used to be a competition on the foreign desk of The Times to write the dullest headline, which was once won by a journalist who wrote the headline: “Small Earthquake in Chile: Not Many Dead”.
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From D. Wainwright
Preparing the Text
A. Studying the language
1. Transcribe the following words and practice their pronunciation:
archive, refer, authoritative, scoop, virtually, newsworthy, predict, passenger, prominence, bulletin, earthquake, quality, prominently, area, particularly, otherwise, echo.
2. Translate the following phrases into Russian and use them in the sentences of your own:
objects of record, to be referred to, at greater length, to give authoritative comment, the likely lines, a startling hard news story, the finished product, to give greatest prominence, to be concerned with smth, to run the organization, to put the story prominently on the front page, to rate the first page, an inside foreign page, newsworthy events, popular tabloids, quality papers, to impose press censorship, the dullest bulletin.
3. Explain in English what is meant by the following phrases:
to be concerned with smth; the minute-by-minute running of the organization; this photograph might rate the first page; a startling hard news story; a “lead” story; this event is newsworthy; this story is unlikely to appear in a quality paper.
4. Read the text. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.
In Britain there are 12 national (1) _____newspapers DAY
and most people read one of (2) _____ every THEY
day. Daily newspapers are (3) _____on every day PUBLISH
of the week except Sunday. Sunday newspapers are
(4) _____ than daily newspapers. All the Sunday LARGE
newspapers are (5) _____. Most national newspapers NATION
in Britain express (6) _____ opinion, most POLITICS
of them are right-wing, and people (7) _____ the CHOICE
newspaper that they read according to (8) _____ THEY
own political (9) ______. BELIEVE
B. Points for comments and discussion
1. Answer the following questions about the text:
1). Why does the author think that newspapers are archives? Do you agree with this viewpoint? Have you ever read any old newspapers in search for some necessary information?
2). Do you agree that newspapers always reflect the actual information in the world events? Can they always serve as a reliable source of news?
3). Do all the newspapers give prominence to the same news?
4). Can you name any British tabloid newspaper? Have you ever tried to compare news stories published in quality and tabloid newspapers dealing with the same problem?
5). Can you name any latest news, which may be described as predictable or unpredictable?
6). Do you agree that the concept of a newspaper “scoop” is nowadays outdated? Explain why?
7). Can you give examples of Russian quality newspapers and tabloids? Describe them in detail.
8). What specialists have to refer to old newspapers? Why?
9). Do you agree that newspapers are more interesting than radio and television?
10). What is newsworthy from your viewpoint?
11). What is your favourite Russian newspaper? What news does it usually give greatest prominence to?
12). What is the approach of tabloid and quality newspapers to the choice of news?
2. Give a short summery of the text.
3. Describe the national press in Russia making use of the following words and phrases:
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on an average weekday; an average total circulation; the total readership; regional and local newspapers; to be financially independent of; periodical publications; daily newspapers; weekly newspapers; quality papers; “mid-market” publications; tabloids; to be addressed to; a wide range of public matters; to be printed in colour; to be directed at readers.
Text 2
Radio BBC: You Can Hear Them All Over the World
The development of broadcasting in the United Kingdom was dominated by the BBC and its first director general, Lord Reith. Starting in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, a private commercial company, its original motive was to stimulate the sale of radios. It became established as an autonomous public body, the British Broadcasting Corporation, by Royal Charter 1927, with a self-declared mission to “inform, educate and entertain”. Its chairman and a board of governors are nominated by the government.
The BBC began a television service in 1936, the first such operation in the world. By 1939, however, when television was taken off the air for reasons of national defence, the viewing figures were still insignificant. TV transmissions began again in 1946 and figures for ownership rose steadily. The rise accelerated with the televising of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 and again when a second channel (BBC 2) began colour transmissions in 1964.
The BBC now transmits five national radio programmes, with some regional variations provided by BBC Scotland and BBC Northern Ireland. Radio One provides popular music. Radio Two is also music based, aiming at an older audience and including general information programmes. Radio Three concentrates on serious music and culture. Radio Four is a speech programme and is the BBC’s principal news and current affairs output. Its morning news magazine, the Today Programme, regularly has an audience of 6 million listeners. Radio Five, which began transmission for the first time in August 1990, will concentrate on education, sport and the young listener. In addition, the BBC operates 32 local radio stations.
The BBC is in essence financed by a license fee, the level of which is set by the government. It does not carry paid advertising on either radio or television. While the penetration of television sets was growing steadily up to the end of 1970’s, this gave the BBC a buoyant source revenue. However, once the point was reached where effectively all households had a television set, the level of the license fee became a political issue. The BBC’s relations with the present governments have not been easy. For the time being the license fee is being increased each year by a percentage that is somewhat less than the going rate of inflation and the BBC has been told to investigate other ways of increasing its revenue, such as the sale of subscription-based services or sponsorship. The BBC also runs an overseas service, which transmits in English and 40 other languages around the world. The service, though managerially an integrated part of the BBC’s operations, is financed separately by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Радио BBC: Вы можете услышать их во всем мире
Развитие телерадиовещания в Великобритании доминировали BBC и ее первым генеральным директором, Господи Райт. Начиная с 1922, как Британская телерадиокомпания,частные коммерческие компании, ее оригинальным мотивом было, чтобы стимулировать продажи радиостанций. Стало создан в качестве автономного государственного органа, Британская вещательная корпорация, Королевской хартии 1927 года, с самопровозглашенной миссии «информировать, просвещать и развлекать ". Его председатель исовет управляющих назначаются правительством.
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BBC началителевидения в 1936 году, первая такая операция в мире. К 1939 году, однако, когда телевидение было снята с эфира по соображениям национальной обороны,количество зрителей по-прежнему незначительны. Телевизионные передачи начались снова в 1946 году и показатели владения неуклонно росли. Рост ускорился с телевидению коронации королевы Елизаветы в 1953 году и еще раз, когда второй канал (BBC 2) началось передач цвета в 1964 году.
BBC передает теперь пять национальных программ радио, с некоторыми региональными вариациями на BBC BBC Шотландии и Северной Ирландии. Radio One предоставляет популярной музыки. Два Радио также музыку, основанную, направленный на более старшую аудиторию, и в том числе общих информационных программ. Радио Три концентрируется на серьезной музыке и культуре. Радио Четыре речь программу и является главным новостей Би-би- и токовый выход делах. Его утренние новости журнала, сегодня программы, регулярно имеет аудиторию в 6 миллионов слушателей. Radio Five, которая началась передача в первый раз в августе 1990 года, сосредоточится на образование, спорт и молодого слушателя. Кроме того, BBC работает 32 местных радиостанций.
BBC, по сути, финансируется за счет абонентской платы, уровень которой устанавливается правительством. Он не несет платной рекламы на любом радио или телевидению. В то время как проникновение телевизоров непрерывно росло до конца 1970-х годов, это дало BBC плавучий источник дохода. Однако, как только была достигнута точка, где эффективно всех домашних хозяйств был телевизор, уровень платы за лицензию стало политическим вопросом. ОтношенияВВС с настоящим правительства не была легкой. В настоящее время плата за лицензию в настоящее время увеличивалось с каждым годом на определенный процент, что несколько меньше, чем обычная ставка инфляции и BBC было сказано исследовать другие способы увеличения своих доходов, таких как продажа подписки на услуги или спонсорства. BBC также работаетОверсиз Сервис, который передает на английском и 40 других языках по всему миру. Службы, хотя управленческой неотъемлемой частью операций ВВС, финансируется отдельно министерством иностранных дел и по делам Содружества.
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From “Journalism Training in Europe”
Preparing the Text
A. Studying the language
1. Transcribe the following words and practice their pronunciation:
autonomous; royal; entertain; governor; revenue; regional; variations; buoyant; percentage; managerially; separately; advertise; advertisement.
2. Give the Russian equivalents for the following phrases:
to be dominated; to stimulate the sale; an autonomous public body; a self-declared mission; a board of governors; to be nominated; to take off the air; the viewing figures; variation; in essence; to grow steadily up; subscription-based services; an overseas service; managerially.
B. Points for comments and discussion
1. Answer the following questions about the text:
1). When did the BBC start?
2). What was its original motive?
3). What did Royal Charter write about the mission of the BBC?
4). Who nominates its chairman and a board of governors?
5). Who was the first director general of the BBC?
6). When did the BC began its television service?
7). Why was television taken off the air by 1939?
8). Why were the viewing figures insignificant at that time?
9). When did TV transmissions begin again?
10). How many national radio programmes does the BBC transmit?
11). What are the programmes?
12).What does Radio Five concentrate on?
13). How many local radio stations does the BBC operate?
14). How is the BBC financed?
15). What is the attitude of the BBC to paid advertising on radio and TV?
16). Why do you think the license fee became a political issue?
17). Why has the BBC been told to investigate other ways of increasing the revenue?
18). What kind of subscription-based services of TV can you name?
19). What programmes are financed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office? Why?
20). In how many languages does the BBC transmit around the world?
2. Prepare a talk about the history of BBC.
3. Describe your favourite Russian radio station.
Text 3
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