М. Мироненко - Public Relations in the contemporary world - Insight into Profession

The New York Times is only one of many daily newspapers that have become significant simpers of public opinion. Among the most prominent are The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor. The Miami Herald, for instance, responded to the needs of its city's influx of Spanish-speaking residents by presenting extensive coverage of Latin America and printing a separate Spanish edition. Satellite technology has made possible the first genuinely nationwide newspapers – from the sober, thorough business paper, the Wall Street Journal, to the bright colors and personality orientation of USA Today.

Another recent phenomenon is the proliferation of supermarket tabloids, weeklies sold chiefly at grocery store check-out lines. Although they look like newspapers, these publications carry little hard news and stress items about celebrities, human interest stories about children and pets, and diet and health tips. The leading tabloid, the National Enquirer, claims a circulation of more than 4,000,000.

The total number of daily newspapers in the United States is shrinking – from 1748 in 1970 to 1,642 in 1988. In 1923, there were 503 communities with more than one daily newspaper. By 1988, only 49 cities had more than one paper. There are several reasons for this trend. The movement of people from cities to suburbs led to the demise of some city dailies and the creation of weekly suburban newspapers that emphasized local community happenings and drew revenues from local advertisers. And members of busy households in which both husband and wife worked outside the home found they had less time to read and often stopped buying an afternoon newspaper. But the most important reason was probably the growing popularity of television. While newspapers are read in 62 million of the nation's 91 million households, 98 per cent of all American homes are equipped with at least one television. And a Roper Organization poll found that 65 per cent of Americans use television as their primary source of news. Since newspapers cannot report the news as quickly as radio and television, many papers have changed their emphasis, concentrating on features, personality profiles and in-depth news analysis rather than fast-breaking headline stories.

3 . Translate and transcribe the following words, learn them by heart. Find the sentences where they were used and write them out.

Audience, to afford, postmaster, rebellious, pamphlet, to attack, to insult, representative, to label, reputation, lawyer, political, to urge, persuasive, telegraph, communication, expansion, profitable, advertising, frontier, idealism, circulation, rivalry, outrageous, sensationalism, “yellow journalism”, exaggeration, prestigious, significant, satellite technology, celebrity, tabloid, suburban, emphasis.

4 . Fill in the gaps using the words from the given below. Change the form if necessary.

Suburban, celebrity, “yellow journalism”, pamphlet, telegraph, postmaster, prestigious, advertising, satellite technology, circulation.

1. When … was invented, communication was changed forever.

2. The newspapers, that contain news about celebrities are called …

3. Publishers quickly realized the profit of … and increased it.

4. John Campbell was a … in Boston, who started the first regular newspaper.

5. The most important factor in getting profit from a newspaper is its …

6. News about … and politicians always attracted the public attention.

7. The development of computers and … brought the media to a new level.

8. The local community events which are of small importance for city-dwellers are published in … newspapers.

9. Time is considered the most … newspaper of all times.

10. In 1700s the battles based on the rebellious feeling against Britain brought to life … on pages of the newspapers.

5 . Find the English equivalents for the following phrases:

Лидер общин, информация о доставке, бунтарский дух, битвы на страницах газет, традиция свободной прессы, королевский губернатор колонии, арест по обвинению в клевете, наклеить любой ярлык, вредить репутации губернатора, содействовать проявление общественного недовольства, правдиво описывать, взволнованные статьи, продаваться многотысяным тиражом, подогревать возмущение, быстрое технологическое развитие, снижать стоимость печати, увеличивать количество рекламы, выпускать газеты стоимостью 1 пенни в продажу, привлекать внимание к невымышленным историям и преступлениям, настоящие реформаторы, выступать против рабства, внедрять в печать новости о спорте, комиксы, сместить акцент.

6. Match the definitions with the words

7 . Answer the questions.

1. Why did the news spread slowly in America’s first colonies?

2. What was the first regular newspaper? Who was the editor?

3. Who were the greatest America’s political journalists of the XVIII century?

4. How did the swift technological progress influence the press?

5. Why did the publishers increase advertising?

6. Why was William Randolph Hurst considered a prominent publisher?

7. Why has the New York Times become one of the most significant newspapers?

8. What are the reasons of the shrinking number of newspapers in the USA?

8 . Say how these dates are connected with the history of the media.

1. 1704

2. 1734

3. Early 1800

4. 1833

5. 1896

6. 1988

9. Translate the following phrases. Pay attention to the use of prepositions. Find the sentences where they were used in the text and read them out.

On a charge for

To depend on smb for smth

To enter _ a period

To belong to

To pay attention to

To fight _ government corruption

To be horrified at smth

The reason for smth

To be equipped with smth

10 . Fill in the prepositions.

1. He depends … his journalists … the latest news coverage.

2. A famous politician was arrested … a charge … bribery.

3. In 2000 the media entered … a period of information technologies.

4. In the XIX century the public’s view belonged … the cheap newspapers.

5. It’s important to pay special attention … lively human interest stories and the crime.

6. St. Louis Post-Dispatch fought … corporate greed and government corruption.

7. Media critics often are horrified at the amount of crimes coverage in most newspapers.

8. The reason … most of the publication trends in journalism are connected with money and celebrities.

9. Practically every home is equipped … at least one TV set.

11 . Read the quotations, translate and comment on them.

Start your phrase with:

Example:” Joseph Pulitzer, who introduced the techniques of “new journalism”, said:…”