1. Gathering the news
_ Journalist gather news in a number of different ways. They may get stories from pressure groups (1) which want to air their views (2) in public.
_ They seek publcity (3) for their opinion and may hold press conferences (4) or may issue a statement/ press release (5). A person who especially wished to attract news attention will try to include a sound bite (6) in what they say.
_ It is particularly hard for journalists to get material in the silly season (7).
_ Journalists also get stories by tapping useful sources (8) and by monitoring (9) international news agencies like Reuters.
_ The more important a story is, the more column inches (10) it will be given in the newspaper.
_ Journalists of different political persuations often put their own gloss/spin on a story (11) and some journalists gather stories by muck-rating (12).
(1) people trying to influence what other people think about a particular issue.
(2) express their opinions
(3) want to reach a wider audience
(4) meetings to give information to and answer questions from the press
(5) give a formal announcement to the press
(6) short memorable sentence or phrase that will be repeater in news bulletins and articles
(7) time of year, summer in the UK, when there is not much happening and trivial stories end up on the front page.
(8) making use of people or organisations which regularly provide news
(9) regularly checking
(10) space
(11) present a story in a particular way
(12) collecting scandal (informal and disapproving)
2. Delivering the news
_ Arag is an informal word for a newspaper and it suggests that it is not of very high quality. The gutter press is a disapproving term used about the kind of newspapers and magazines that are more interested in crime and sex than serious news.
_ A glossy is an expensive magazine printed on good quality paper.
_ Journalists produce copy. which has to be ready for a deadline. When everything is ready the newspaper goes to press. A very important story that comes in after going to press may find its way into a stop press column.
_ A very new newspaper or story can be said to be hot off the press.
_ A story that is only to be found in one newspaper is an exclusive.
_ A scoop is a story discovered and published by one newspaper before all the others.
_ A major story can be said to hit the headlines on the day it is published. At that time the story breaks or becomes public knowledge. If it is an important story it will receive a lot of coverage or space in the press.
_ A newspaper may be taken to court for libel or defamation of character if it publishes an untrue story that harms a person's reputation.
_ If you are doing research into a news event, you may want to get hold of some previous issues of newspapers, or back copies, and you may wish to make a folder of cutting from the papers about the event.
Exercise (refer to documents)
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