Express your opinion on the following points
· journalists are a special breed that risks life and limb.
· all war correspondents are just adrenaline junkies, who must flirt with death in order to feel alive.
· a photographer in danger zones needs to be a detective, a con man and a master of escape.
· “A journalist feels “like a vulture” when he zooms in on starvation and suffering’.
2. Answer the following questions:
1. Use your background knowledge and the information from the text and say what scenes can be included into the two-hour documentary “Dying to Tell the Story”.
2. How far do you agree that being a war correspondent is not just a hellish job but a vocation?
3. Do you know any investigative reporters or war correspondents in Russia or in Belarus? What is your assessment of their job?
Writing
You want to become a journalist and decide to write a letter of application to a news agency. Include in your letter reasons for wanting the job and also why you think you would make a good journalist.
General Discussion
· Censorship: a curse or a blessing.
· TV is a drug of choice.
· Mass media should be allowed to disclose all aspects of private information regardless of the person’s social status.
· All the means are good if journalists want to get an image or news of a private nature.
Functional vocabulary
abridge v
| to ~ of the basic rights
|
air v
| to ~ information
|
access n
| to bar ~ to any Internet sites;
unfettered ~
|
advocate n, v
| to ~ justice; an ~ of Internet censoring
|
allegedly adv; allegation, n
| to allege illness
|
arrogant, adj
|
|
bid n, v
| to ~ for exclusive rights; highest bidder
|
campaigner n
| ~ for/against censorship
|
censor n, v
| to set oneself up as a ~; to ~ programs
|
censorship n
| to impose ~; tough/relaxed ~
|
certification n
| films ~
|
certify v
| to ~ products
|
comply v
| to ~ with a decision
|
defamation n
| to defame someone
|
delinquency n
|
|
detrimental adj
| ~ effect
|
dissemination n
| ~ process
|
endow v
| to be ~ed with a good sense of humor
|
entitle v
| to be ~ed to maternity benefit
|
explicit adj
| ~ depictions of sex on TV
|
exposure n
| to ~ to violence
|
fake adj
| ~ violence
|
finding n
| survey ~
|
foolproof n
|
|
foul adj
| ~ language
|
gratuitous adj
| ~ violence
|
harassment n
| sexual ~
|
impact n
|
|
imperil v
| to ~ one’s life, perilous
|
inalienable adj
| ~ rights
|
instill v
| to ~ values
|
insurgent adj
| ~ forces, armies
|
intrude v
| ~ into every aspect of life
|
jeopardise, v
|
|
leak n
| information ~
|
libel n
| ~ suit
|
linger v
| to ~ on bloody consequences; to ~ over coffee
|
lobby n, v
| to ~ for one’s interests in Parliament
|
loophole n
|
|
lucrative adj
| ~ monopoly, business
|
malice n
|
|
minor n
| harmful to ~s
|
molesting n
| child ~
|
neglectful adj
| ~ paparazzi
|
obscene adv
| ~ material
|
offend v
|
|
offensive adj
| ~ to decency
|
preliminary adj
| ~ results
|
proponent n
| ~ of censorship
|
questionable adj
| ~ material
|
reputable adj
| ~ news organizations
|
restraint n
|
|
revenue n
| to pocket advertising ~
|
sample n
| representative ~
|
slander n
|
|
sleaze n
| TV ~
|
speculate v
| ~ on/about sth
|
surveillance n
|
|
swear n, v
| ~ words
|
tentative adj
| ~ conclusion
|
underage adj
| ~ players
|
watchdog n
| sex and violence ~
|
watershed n
| notional ~
|
whistleblower n
|
|
wiretap n, v
| to ~ phone calls
|
wrongdoing, n
| to expose ~
|
Phrases related to the topic
bulwarks of liberty
| tightly-regulated system
|
chilling effect
| to air information
|
cyber travels
| to cut back (down) on explicit scenes
|
G-rated television network
| to extend the blame to sb
|
Internet censorship is uncalled-for
| to strip the government of its role
|
journalists cleared by the government
| to tackle an issue
|
misguided sense of justice
| “U” certificate
|
“PG” certificate
| to be somewhere through thick and thin
|
To work on and off
|
|
THE POWER OF the MEDIA
Speech Functions Bank
F – Formal
Inf – Informal