Key words : bunk off mass people objective bias broadcast refer editorial informative educative

A. Look at the following pictures. Discuss with your partner what you see in them.

B. Read the text and answer the following questions.

'I eat rice every day. I play cricket. I don't bunk off school, blah...blah... blah....' These are common events. They happen every day or on some occasions. Are these events news? Should they be published in newspapers? The answer is a big 'NO'. Then what is news anyway? What do we want to know from the media? 'When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news,' says Charles Anderson Dana.

The first thing is that the news should be a piece of information. Secondly, the information should be recent or new, and hence it is 'news'. Thirdly, mass people should take interest in it. Fourthly, it should be self-explained. That is, it should answer all the questions with who, which, what, where, when, why and how Finally, it should be objective. Recently, another aspect has been added: news is either printed or broadcast or on the internet.

There are opinions that the term 'news' comes from 'new'. Others say it is news because it comes from all directions: North, East, West and South.

Questions

1. What features should news have?
2. What is the difference between news and an event?
3. "......it should be self-explained...'. What does 'it' mean here?
4. What are the opinions about the term 'news'?
5. What must be there in the information in a newspaper?

C. Pairwork. Find the following words/phrases in italics in the text in B. Discuss with your partner and try to guess their meaning from the context. Then look at the table below and match the words with their meanings in the right column. First one is done for you.

D. Work in pairs. Suppose, a man in your locality really bites a dog. Imagine you are a reporter and you interview the man. Share with your partner and write the dialogue. Then act that out in pairs. Use the 'why, when, what, etc' questions.

E. Look at the following comment.

The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper. ---Thomas Jefferson Now, make similar sentences from the following substitution table.

F. Ask and answer with your partner.

1. Do you read any newspaper/magazine?
2. When do you usually read it?
3. Which newspaper/magazine do you read?
4. What makes it different from other newspapers/magazines?
5. Which news items do you like most ----- international affairs, sports, movie, culture, politics, etc?
6. Do you share your favourite news item/s with your friend/s?

G. Write a paragraph on your habit of reading newspapers. You can take your cues from the questions in section F.