The mass media and communication

THE MASS MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

TASK 1: Fill in the gaps with the following expressions:

The Times forecast crosswords magazines The Economist Washington national soap search dailies articles gestures Channel 4 traffic social newsagent´s non-verbal cooking

THE MASS MEDIA

The mass media are sources of information and entertainment that reach and influence large numbers of people. They include newspapers, .............................(1), television, radio (these are traditional media), and the Internet.

Newspapers

There are different kinds of newspapers:

• …………………………(2)- they are published every day except Sunday

• weeklies - they come out once a week

• local newspapers – they are produced in one town

• ......................................(3) newspapers - they are sold all over the country

• quality newspapers - they are intended for intelligent and educated people and they usually have more serious news

• tabloids - they have small pages and short …………………..……(4) with a lot of pictures and stories about famous people, including gossip

The most important quality newspapers in the UK are ......................................(5) (which is the oldest newspaper in England), The Guardian, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. In the US, respected newspapers include The New York Times and The .......................................(6) Post. A well-known British tabloid is The Sun.

In a newspaper you can find the headlines, the world news, the national news, film reviews, concert reviews, the TV guide, editorials, the weather ......................................(7), comics, the sports news, advertisements, ........................................(8), etc.

Magazines

Magazines are usually published weekly (= weeklies), once in two weeks or once a month (= monthlies).

Famous magazines are, for example, Time, Vogue, National Geographic, .......................................(9), etc.

You can either buy newspapers and magazines at the ……………………..……(10) or you can subscribe to them. You can read some newspapers and magazines at a library or online.

Television

The programmes broadcast on television include the news, documentaries, ............................... (11) operas, series, cartoons, sitcoms, chat shows (also called talk shows), game shows, quiz shows, reality shows, talent shows, sports programmes, ............................... (12) shows, etc.

In the UK, public service stations (channels) are BBC 1 and BBC 2. BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, a national organization which broadcasts television and radio programmes. BBC is paid for by the public and not by advertising. Everyone who owns a television set must pay an annual licence fee. British commercial stations are, for example, ITV and……………………... (13) They are funded by the income from advertising.

In the Czech Republic, public service stations are ČT 1, ČT 2, ČT 24, ČT Sport and ČT:D ČT Art.

Czech commercial stations are, for example, Nova, Nova Cinema, Prima, Prima Cool, etc.