Mass Media in England

London is in the eye of the British media, an industry comprising some of the best and worst of the world`s TV, radio and print media.

There are many national daily newspapers, and competition for readers is incredibly stiff; although some papers are printed outside the capital, they are all pretty London-centric. There are two broad categories of newspapers, most commonly distinguished as broadsheets (or ‘qualities’) and tabloids, although the distinction is becoming more about content than physical size as most of the major broadsheets are now published in a smaller, easier-to-use tabloid size.

The main London newspaper is the centre-right Evening Standard, a tabloid that comes out in early and later editions throughout the day.

Free newspapers, distributed at tube stations and on the streets wherever commuters can be stopped and a paper shoved in their face, also vie for the attentions of Londoners – London Lite and Metro (both owned by the Daily Mail parent group Associated Newspapers) are light-weight, easy-to-digest reads with a firm focus on celebrity, and can be found littering buses or tube carriages all over London.

National newspapers in England are almost always financially independent of any political party, although their political leanings are easily discerned. Rupert Murdoch is the most influential man in British media and his News Corp owns the Sun, the News of the World, the Times and the Sunday Times.

The Sunday papers are as important as Sunday mornings in London. Most dailies have Sunday stablemates, and predictably the tabloids have bumper editions of trashy gossip, star-struck adulation, fashion extras and main-spirited diatribes. The qualities have so many sections and supplements that two hands are required to carry even one paper from the shop. The Observer, established in 1791, is the oldest Sunday paper and sister of the Guardian; there`s a brilliant Sports supplement with the first issue of the month. Even people who normally only buy broadsheets sometimes slip a copy of the best-selling News of the World (sister paper to the Sun) under their arm for some Sunday light relief.

The BBC is probably the most famous broadcasting corporation in the world and one of the standard bearers of radio and TV journalism and programming. Just as the British Parliament has the reputation for being ‘the mother of parliaments’, so the BBC might be said to be ‘the mother of information services’. Britain still turns out some of the world`s best TV programs, padding out the decent home-grown output with American imports, Australian soaps, inept sitcoms, and trashy chat and game shows of its own. There are five regular TV channels. BBC1 and BBC2 are publicly funded by a TV licensing system and, like BBC radio stations, don`t carry advertising; ITV1, Channel 4 and Five are commercial channels. These regular channels are now competing with the satellite channels of Rupert Murdoch`s BSkyB – which offers a variety of channels with less-than-inspiring programmes – and assorted cable channels. Many viewers feel that the investment in new technology is damaging to the core channels and that the BBC is spreading itself too thinly, trying to chase ratings and compete with the commercial channels rather than concentrating on its public-service responsibilities. The entire country is gradually switching over to digital TV.

The BBC broadcasts several radio stations, including BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, catering to young, mature, classical, intellectual, talkback, mixed and comedy/drama audiences respectively. XFM is the best chance of hearing interesting music these days. In 2007 the government announced Channel 4 was to be awarded a license to broadcast 10 more national digital radio channels, a huge shake-up for an industry in need of winning back loyal audiences.

Task 1. Give Ukrainian equivalents.

Lowdown of national and international news; bumper edition; star-struck adulation; slip a copy; content; easy-to-digest reads; distinguish; agony column; chase ratings; inept sitcom; Sunday stablemate; editorial; talkback; licensing system.

Task 2. Give English equivalents.

Розділ світської хроніки; конкуренція за читачів; бульварна преса; додаток; лідер, вождь; жорсткий; широкоформатні газети та таблоіди; комікси; стандартні та комерційні канали; цифрове телебачення; виходити, видавати; некролог; змагатися за прихільність/увагу; непристойна розмова;різноманітні кабельні канали;тематичні оголошення.

Task 3. Explain in English.

In the eye of the media; broadsheet; tabloid; commuter; supplement; advertising; place emphasis; comic strip; agony column; editorial; celebrity; gossip

Task 4. Study the material and learn the vocabulary units that you have been unfamiliar with.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16