3.2
WORLD NEWS
READING AND SPEAKING
1
Discuss these questions in small groups.
1
How often do you watch the news on television?
Which channels do you watch?
2
What are the big news stories at the moment?
2
Read the article below from a British in-flight
magazine and find out more about the news
companies. Choose the best title (1–4) for the text.
1
The end of TV news
2
Choose the news
3
World news, global lies
4
Local news, real life
3
a
Answer the questions.
1
How many people regularly watch news broadcast
by the main international companies?
2
What are two advantages of watching news made by
non-Western companies?
3
Why is some of the journalism for the internet
described as ‘non-professional’?
4
In which two ways are we all encouraged to
contribute to the news?
5
Name one advantage of this ‘non-professional’
journalism.
3
b
What do these words in the text refer to?
1
these (line 2)
2
these news companies (line 7)
3
These news companies (line 13)
4
it (line 14)
5
them (line 18)
6
this (line 19)
24
After a long flight, you finally arrive at a place where you can
relax – your hotel room. You throw your bag on the bed, turn
on the TV and watch an international news programme on a
satellite channel that probably comes from the UK or the USA.
5
10
15
20
T
he main international broadcasters have audiences of over 1.5 billion
people. T
hese
are popular channels that offer good-quality news
programmes. The journalists are experienced writers who produce
journalism of a high standard.
However, there are alternative news channels that people watch because they want
a less traditional or non-Western view on world events. There are several other
international channels that broadcast in English.
These news companies
say they
give a fresh view on the big stories, and their experienced journalists often report
from places where Western journalists do not work, so they give us stories that we
don’t normally see.
The internet offers more variety. There are internet sites where you can find stories
about the developing world, rather than the usual stories about US politics and
business. The writers for
these news companies
are often local people who write
the stories for free. This non-professional journalism is increasing, and
it
certainly
offers more choice.
This increase in citizen journalism means that you too can write the news. The
main news broadcasters often use photographs and eye-witness stories that
members of the general public send to
them
, especially when there is a dramatic
breaking news story. Besides
this
, some blogs are popular sources of news, and
they allow you to write stories with information that you can get from anywhere,
including from sites like Youtube, Flickr and Twitter.
So, next time you are in a hotel room, think about the channel you choose for the
news on the TV, or you can even turn on your laptop and write the news yourself.
