B2 The media

B2 VOCABULARY: THE MEDIA

Hold The Front Page

PICTURE

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"Four hundred jobs. One furious TV star. Only one front page."

People in the media · headline verbs · adjectives to describe the news

Listening

Speaking

A · LEAD-IN

Who do you trust?

Where do you get your news? Rank these from most to least trustworthy.

• TV news

• printed newspapers

• news websites

• social media

• friends and family

Compare with a partner: find one difference and explain it.

PICTURE

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B · BEFORE YOU LISTEN

6pm at the Daily Post

Marina is the editor of the Daily Post, a national newspaper. Josh is a junior reporter. It's 6pm, and tomorrow's front page is still empty.

LISTEN FOR

1. What two stories could go on the front page?

2. Which story does each of them want - and why?

3. Who wins?

PICTURE

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C · COMPREHENSION

Listen again. Who says it - Marina (M) or Josh (J)?

1. "Job cuts don't sell papers. A famous face behaving badly? That sells."

2. "It just seems a bit sensational, doesn't it?"

3. "The paparazzi follow that woman everywhere."

4. "We'll be accurate - we print exactly what we can see."

5. "If we only ever show her worst moments, the readers can't be objective about her."

6. "It's not censored, it's edited."

7. And you - whose side are you on?

D1 · PEOPLE IN THE MEDIA

Who's who in the newsroom? Match the people to what they do.

Four of them appear in the story you just heard - which four? Then tell your partner: which job would you love, and which would you refuse to do?

1. writes reviews about the good and bad qualities of films, books, concerts

2. describes a sports event while it's happening, on TV or radio

3. collects and reports news for newspapers, radio or TV

4. is in charge of a newspaper or magazine and decides what should be in it

5. introduces the different sections of a radio or TV programme

6. writes articles for different papers and isn't employed by any one paper

7. reads the news on TV or radio

8. photographers who follow famous people to sell photos of them

9. writes in a paper giving advice to readers who send letters

a) agony aunt

b) commentator

c) critic

d) editor

e) freelance journalist

f) newsreader

g) paparazzi

h) presenter

i) reporter

D2 · HEADLINE VERBS

Tomorrow's front pages. Match the bold verbs to their meanings.

Headlines use short, dramatic verbs - they save space and sell papers. Guess from context first. Then write a headline about your own week using two of them.

1. Braxton's axes 400 jobs

2. TV star Tara in furious row with co-star

3. Minister backs new privacy law

4. Police quiz photographer over palace photos

5. Editors clash over press rules

6. Star vows to sue newspaper

7. Paper sales hit by free online news

8. Channel 6 bids to win back young viewers

a) supports

b) promises

c) an angry argument / to argue

d) question, interrogate

e) cuts

f) disagree publicly

g) badly affected

h) attempts, tries

D3 · ADJECTIVES FOR THE NEWS

Was Marina right? Match each sentence to the follow-up that explains it.

Then talk: can a story be accurate but not objective? What about the Post's? And name a newspaper, channel or site you'd call sensational, biased or objective.

1. The Post's front page was pretty sensational.

2. Josh thinks the photos will make readers biased.

3. Marina insists the story is accurate.

4. Josh wants the paper to be more objective.

5. Josh says the story has been censored.

a) Everything the paper printed really happened.

b) He'd like it to report facts, not feelings or opinions.

c) Part of it wasn't allowed to be published - or was it just "edited"?

d) It made the row seem more dramatic than it probably was.

e) They'll take sides against Tara before they know any facts.

E · WORD PATTERNS

Headline grammar

1 - Double shifts. Four of today's verbs are also nouns. 2 - Headline style. Complete the rules, then write the headline.

• Ministers clash over tax -> a classh between ministers · She vowed to sue -> she made a vow to sue

• He bids to be first -> his bid to be first · They had a row -> they rowed about money all the time

• Headlines usually leave out a / the and the verb ______.

• They use the ______ simple for past events: Star vows to sue = the star has vowed to sue.

• Now write this as a headline: The stock market has been badly affected by fears about oil prices.

CAREFUL

paparazzi is plural: the paparazzi are everywhere. · row (an angry argument) only looks like row (a line of seats). · quiz as a verb is journalists' language, usually about the police: Police quiz witness. Your teacher doesn't quiz you.

F1 · PRACTICE

Choose the correct option.

In one sentence both answers are possible - be ready to justify your choice.

1. Our new football commentator / newsreader will describe tonight's match live.

2. The film critic / reporter called it "two hours of my life I'll never get back".

3. Write to our agony aunt / presenter if your love life is a disaster.

4. The photos were sold to the paper by paparazzi / editors.

5. Rail services were badly hit / backed by yesterday's storm.

6. The minister vowed / quizzed to resign if the report turned out to be true.

7. Every fact had been checked twice, so the report was completely accurate / objective.

8. Don't trust that channel - its political coverage is totally biased / censored.

F2 · PRACTICE

Media Watch - the morning after

The Post's front page is now a news story itself. Complete the column with words from today, changing the form where necessary.

MEDIA WATCH · WEDNESDAY

TV presenter Tara Bennett has (1) ______ (promise) to sue the Daily Post over yesterday's front page, which showed her having a furious (2) ______ with her co-star. Her lawyers have (3) ______ (support) her decision, and police may even (4) ______ (question) the photographer who took the pictures. The paper's (5) ______, Marina Cole, defended the story: "Our reporting was one hundred per cent (6) ______ - we printed exactly what happened." Readers have (7) ______ (argue publicly) online: some called the coverage (8) ______ and cruel; others say a famous face simply sells. Meanwhile, on page five: 400 jobs (9) ______ (cut) at Braxton's.

F3 · PRACTICE

60-second newsroom

Books closed. No looking back at the earlier slides.

• Your teacher reads a definition or a situation.

• Type the missing word in the chat - fastest correct answer scores a point.

• Ten rounds, briskly. Spelling counts.

• Champion of the newsroom gets to choose tomorrow's front page.

PICTURE

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G · SPEAKING

The 6 o'clock meeting

You are the editorial team of the Daily Post. Tomorrow's front page is empty - again. Choose ONE story and write its headline. Be ready to defend it.

• A. A Premier League footballer has been secretly paying hospital bills for sick children for years.

• B. The government plans to raise the retirement age to 70.

• C. A famous newsreader was photographed asleep during a live broadcast.

• D. New research: two coffees a day could add five years to your life.

• Then discuss: which real newspaper or channel in your country would run each of these? Is your country's media more sensational or objective? Who decides what gets censored?

YOUR TEAM MUST USE

At least six words from today - including two headline verbs in your headline.

H · FEEDBACK

Notes

BOARDED LIVE · GOOD LANGUAGE, ERRORS TO CORRECT, NEW WORDS FROM THE PITCHES

TAPESCRIPT

Hold the front page

"It's not censored, it's edited. There's a difference."

MARINA Right, Josh - front page. What have we got?

JOSH Two options, really. There's the Braxton's story - they're axing four hundred jobs at the Hull factory. I've got quotes, numbers, everything.

MARINA Or?

JOSH Or... the photos. A freelancer sent them in this afternoon. Tara Bennett - the presenter, from that breakfast show - having a huge row with her co-star outside a restaurant. Screaming at each other, apparently.

MARINA Now that is a front page.

JOSH It's two celebrities arguing, Marina. Four hundred people are losing their jobs.

MARINA And they'll still be losing them on page five. I've been an editor for twenty years, Josh. Job cuts don't sell papers. A famous face behaving badly? That sells.

JOSH It just seems a bit... sensational, doesn't it? We don't even know what the row was about. And the paparazzi follow that woman everywhere - she can't buy a coffee without three cameras in her face.

MARINA They took the photos in a public street. Legally. And we'll be accurate - we print exactly what we can see. Two people. One argument.

JOSH Accurate isn't the same as fair, though, is it? If we only ever show her worst moments, the readers can't be objective about her. That's a kind of bias - bias by photograph.

MARINA Our readers don't want objective, sweetheart. They want a story with their breakfast.

JOSH OK - but the caption the freelancer suggested. We can't print that. The lawyers would go mad.

MARINA Already cut it.

JOSH So the story's censored, then.

MARINA It's not censored, it's edited. There's a difference - one of them keeps us out of court. ...Photos on the front, jobs on page five. And Josh - you're a good reporter. Write the Braxton's story properly. Every number checked, every quote accurate. When you're an editor, you can put it on the front.

JOSH If I ever want to be one.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

B GIST 1 Job cuts at Braxton's (400 jobs) versus paparazzi photos of TV presenter Tara Bennett rowing with her co-star. 2 Josh wants the jobs story (it matters more); Marina wants the photos (they sell). 3 Marina wins - photos on the front, jobs on page five.

C 1 M · 2 J · 3 J · 4 M · 5 J · 6 M. Take a 30-second temperature check on the last question and come back to it after the speaking stage.

D1 PEOPLE 1 critic · 2 commentator · 3 reporter · 4 editor · 5 presenter · 6 freelance journalist · 7 newsreader · 8 paparazzi · 9 agony aunt. In the story: editor, reporter, presenter, paparazzi - plus the freelancer who sold the photos.

D2 HEADLINE VERBS 1 cuts (axe) · 2 an angry argument (row) · 3 supports (back) · 4 question, interrogate (quiz) · 5 disagree publicly (clash) · 6 promises (vow) · 7 badly affected (hit) · 8 attempts, tries (bid).

D3 ADJECTIVES 1 It made the row seem more dramatic than it probably was · 2 They'll take sides against Tara before they know any facts · 3 Everything the paper printed really happened · 4 He'd like it to report facts, not feelings · 5 Part of it wasn't allowed to be published. The key discussion: yes, a story can be accurate (every fact true) but not objective (the facts are selected one-sidedly). That is exactly Josh's argument about the photos - give it two full minutes.

E WORD PATTERNS 1 clash · vow · bid · row (as a verb). 2 Headlines leave out be; they use the present simple for past events. Headline: STOCK MARKET HIT BY OIL FEARS (accept close variants without a / the / has been).

F1 1 commentator · 2 critic · 3 agony aunt · 4 paparazzi · 5 hit · 6 vowed · 7 accurate - this is the both-possible one: objective is defensible if a student argues that fact-checking removes opinion, but checking facts doesn't remove one-sided selection, which is the whole point of the lesson · 8 biased.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

F2 MEDIA WATCH 1 vowed · 2 row · 3 backed · 4 quiz · 5 editor · 6 accurate · 7 clashed · 8 sensational · 9 axed.

F3 READ THESE OUT a person who writes reviews of films or books - critic · a headline verb meaning "cut" - axe · the person in charge of a newspaper - editor · the person who answers readers' letters about their problems - agony aunt · a headline verb meaning "question", which the police do - quiz · photographers who chase famous people - paparazzi · an adjective for news based only on facts - objective · a headline verb meaning "try" - bid · the person describing a match while it happens - commentator · a journalist who sells stories to different papers - freelance journalist · an adjective meaning part of the story wasn't allowed to be published - censored · the person who reads the news in a studio - newsreader.

USAGE WARNINGS paparazzi is plural and mildly negative in tone. Quiz and the other headline verbs are journalese - students shouldn't drop "the police quizzed me" into conversation, though "we had a row" is perfectly normal spoken English. Sensational about the media is critical ("exaggerated"), even though "You look sensational!" is a compliment - worth a smile in class.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (3)

D1 LISTEN AND CHECK SCRIPT Optional, if you want to record it - checking the answers doubles as a pronunciation model. "Number one - a critic. A critic writes reviews about films, books or concerts. Number two - a commentator. A commentator describes a sports event while it's happening. Number three - a reporter. A reporter collects and reports the news. Number four - an editor. The editor is in charge of the paper and decides what goes in it. Number five - a presenter. A presenter introduces the sections of a programme. Number six - a freelance journalist, who writes for different papers and isn't employed by any one of them. Number seven - a newsreader, who reads the news on TV or radio. Number eight - the paparazzi, who follow famous people to photograph them. Number nine - an agony aunt, who gives advice to readers who write in with their problems."