MASS MEDIA
The term the mass media in English refers basically to TV, radio and newspapers: means of
communication which reach very large numbers of people.
TELEVISION
= TV, tele, telly, box
switch on / off / over = turn on / off / over
turn up / down
record = videotape
watch TV, see on TV
TV set, TV aerial, satellite dish, remote control, cable TV, TV licence, live broadcast
Types of TV programmes:
news or current affairs ( a programme about a current social and political problem )
a soap opera ( a story of the daily life of a group of people, usually a family, broadcast several times
a week. The name comes from America, where in the 1950s the soap companies paid
for daytime television serials aimed at housewives, who would see advertisements
for their soap )
a sitcom
a drama
a chat show ( a presenter talks to famous people about their lives and careers)
a quizz or game show
a music programme
a sports programme
a weather forecast
a film (a comedy, a thriller, a detective story, an adventure film, a drama, ...)
a serial ( a story that continues from one programme or episode to the next, it breaks off at an
exciting moment leaving the viewer waiting until next time)
a series ( is about the same characters each week but each programme is complete in itself)
an educational programme
commercials (advertisements for products)
a documentary
a cartoon
Television is a system which sends out and receives moving pictures and sound. The first practical
television system was invented by John Baird in 1926. The world´s first communication satellite
was Telstar, launched by the USA in 1962.
TV in Great Britain
There are five terrestrial channels (or stations) on TV in the UK (BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4,
Channel 5). If you pay extra you can receive satellite TV or cable TV- there are many channels
available.
BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) radio and TV company. Nowadays it runs two TV
networks and five national radio stations. It is financed and controlled by the state, established in
1927 (opened as a private company in 1922), first only radio broadcast, since 1936 TV broadcast,
.The BBC World Service broadcasts all over the world in 36 languages for 24 hours a day.
BBC 1- The first television programme publicly broadcast in Britain went out on 2nd Nov 1936.By
1939, when service stopped because of war, there were 20,000 TV sets in the country. BBC 1
introduced colour television in 1967. The station broadcasts from 6 a.m. until midnight.
BBC 2 opened in 1965 to provide programmes of a specialized type that would not be shown on the
more popular BBC 1.BBC is supported by TV licence fees. There is no advertising but anyone who
has a TV set must pay the annual TV licence fee.
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How often do you watch TV ? What role does TV play in your life ?
What are your favourite types of programme ? What´s your favourite programme at the moment ?
Which channel do you watch most ?
How many terrestrial channels are there in the Czech Republic ? What differences are there ?
Do you watch satellite or cable TV ?
How do you feel about the commercials ? Do you enjoy watching them ? Are you attracted by the
products shown on TV ?
Do you plan watching TV ?
How much is a TV licence ?
What´s on TV tonight ?
Do you read teletext ?
What are the advantages and disadvantges (pros and cons) of TV ?
What is the influence of TV on public opinion ?
How much do you listen to the radio? Your favourite channel ?
PRESS
Newspapers and magazines, a paper, local newspaper,
publish, print, journalist, reporter,
the article is on / deals with
news agency
Parts of newspaper: headlines, news reports, political and economic events, business and financial
news, sport news, gossip column (scandals), cultural page, reviews, advertisements, the letters page,
crossword, TV and cinema programmes, disasters- earthquakes, floods, fires, famines, war, crimes,
road accidents, ...
The British and American press has the biggest circulation in the world. The British read more
newspapers per head than any other people. There are over 120 daily and about 1,000 weekly
newspapers in Britain. The oldest and best known newspaper is the Times, founded in 1785. The
most popular daily papers are the Daily Mirror and the Sun, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian,
the Daily Express and the Financial Times. Millions of people in Britain spend the whole Sunday
morning or day reading Sunday newspapers. There are eleven Sunday papers published. They
concentrate on sex, scandal, gossip and sport.
There are over 4,000 periodicals (weeklies, fortnightlies, monthlies and quarterlies), covering a
great number of interests, from women´s magazines to journals specializing in science, politics,
finance and economics. The principal Britain´s news agency is Reuters Ltd., founded in 1850.
The largest daily US newspapers are The Wall Street Journal, Daily ews, USA Today, Los
Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post. It is often said that there is no
„national press“ in the USA as there is in Britain. Most daily newspapers are distributed locally.
A popular or tabloid newspaper focuses more on sensation than real news whereas a quality
newspaper professes to be more interested in real news than in sensation. A tabloid usually has a
smaller format than a quality paper, it has larger headlines, a lot of photographs, shorter stories and,
in Britain it prefers stories about film stars, violent crimes and the royal family.
A journal is the name usually given to an academic magazine.
A colour supplement is a magazine which comes out once a week as an addition to a newspaper.
Do you regularly read any newspapers or magazines ? Do you subscribe to any ?
What magazines do young people read most of all ?
Where can you buy a paper ?
Explain the expression „a tabloid“.
Which newspaper is read most in our country ? What does a paper consist of ?
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