Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist
Introduction
This support pack accompanies the magazine
article:
Be your own investigative journalist
To read or listen to the article online, go to:
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/
be-your-own-investigative-journalist
This support pack contains the following
materials:
a pre-reading vocabulary activity;
the article;
a comprehension task
We are often told that the age of the "information economy" has arrived.
But there is a problem with information as an organising principle in
society. It only counts if people pay attention to it.
Before you read / listen
Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.
1. armed with
2. claim
3. compile
4. definitely
5. eye-witness
6. fabricated
7. news-gatherer
8. scoop
9. the source
10. subcontractors
11. tycoon
12. web log
Definitions:
a. a person or organisation that collects news information
b. a diary which is regularly published on the internet, often shortened to blog
c. the place where something comes from
d. a successful business person who owns a number of different companies
e. equipped with, carrying
f.
certainly, without a doubt
g. demand, asking for something that you think you have a right to
h. a person who sees something happening with their own eyes
i.
put together
j.
an exclusive story that only one journalist knows about
k. invented, untrue, made-up
l.
people who carry out part of a job for the person who sells the finished product
The British Council, 2011
The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
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Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist
Be your own investigative journalist by John Kuti
the press. In the book, everyone was sure that the
News in the age of information
real story was happening somewhere else - but they
We are often told that the age of the information
werent exactly sure how to get there. Nowadays, the
economy has arrived. The idea is that intellectual
journalist who arrives in the right place at the right
work is becoming a more important source of wealth
time is almost guaranteed a world exclusive. Armed
than manufacturing. There are already too many
with digital cameras and satellite phones, they can
factories for the number of people who want to buy
file their story on the spot. Which is why the military
stuff, so the winners in the marketplace need to have
control the movements of journalists ever more
a lead in terms of fashion, or technology to beat the
closely.
competition. You can easily see this process at work
in important industries like cars and clothing and
Dont believe everything you read
computers
in the papers
where
big
companies
prefer
to
concentrate on promoting their brand and let
subcontractors do the less profitable work of
The best joke in Scoop is about the newspapers
manufacturing the products.
owner, Lord Copper. The editors can never disagree
with him. When hes right about something they
But there is a problem with information as an
organising principle in society. It only counts if
people pay attention to it. Together with inventors
and designers, the information economy needs
Public Relations executives to make sure customers
answer definitely, and when hes wrong they say
up to a point, Lord Copper. It seems reasonable to
suppose that, in the real world, the opinions of such
powerful tycoons still influence the journalists and
editors who work for them.
are getting the right message. So, faced with the
increasing claims on our attention, organisations in
other spheres of life have to do more to get their
share of it too. So PR people may work for politicians
(then we call them spin doctors) or they may work
for artists (then we call them publicists or
pluggers.) A lot of our news is actually compiled
from
press
releases
and
reports
of
events
deliberately staged for journalists. Journalists spend
their time, not investigating, but passing on the
words of
spokesperson,
publicist
or
other
professional propagandist.
Quoting from Evelyn Waugh
Info-tainment
In countries where the news is not officially
controlled, it is likely to be provided by commercial
organisations who depend on advertising. The news
has to attract viewers and maintain its audience
ratings. I suspect that some stories get air-time just
because there happen to be exciting pictures to
show. In Britain, we have the tabloid newspapers
which
millions
of
people
read
simply
for
entertainment, without even expecting to get any
important information from them. I think this is why
politicians speeches nowadays have to include a
sound bite the small segment that seems to give a
The manipulation of news is most clearly visible in
times of war. A BBC journalist speaking about the
present war in Iraq compared his situation with that
of the reporters in Scoop, Waughs satirical novel on
powerful message. There is progressively less room
for historical background, or statistics, which are
harder to present as a sensational story. The arrival
The British Council, 2011
The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
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Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist
of CNN, the 24-hour all-news channel, has not
I think this is true, up to a point. But what it will mean
increased the amount of real news reporting
also is that well be subjected to a still greater
because the format of the channel is designed so
amount of nonsense and lies. Any web log may
that people who want to get the headlines will not
contain the scoop of the year, or equally, a fabricated
have to wait long. It tends to concentrate on the main
story that you will never be able to check.
story and repeat it.
Alternative reporters
There is an argument that with spreading access to
the internet and cheap technology for recording
sound and images we will all be able to find exactly
the information we want. People around the world
will be able to publish their own eye-witness
accounts and compete with the established newsgatherers on something like equal terms.
Have you ever wished you were
better informed?
Maybe the time has come to do something about it,
and I dont just mean changing your choice of TV
channel or newspaper. In a world where everyone
wants you to listen to their version, you only have
two choices: switch off altogether or start looking for
sources you can trust. The investigative journalist of
the future is everyone who wants to know the truth.
Comprehension task
Multiple Choice
Read the statements below and choose the correct answers.
1. In the "information economy" the quantity of goods on sale:
a. is not enough to give everyone what they want
b. is more than what everyone wants
c. is exactly right for the number of people who want to buy things
2. A "spin doctor" usually works for:
a. a big company that manufactures things like cars or computers
b. a political party or a politician
c. an artist or entertainer
3. In modern wars journalists ...
a. can't find the places where the important events are happening
b. can't communicate the information they find
c. can't go to the places where the important events are happening
4. In the novel by Evelyn Waugh, Lord Copper is
a. a media tycoon
b. an editor
c. a journalist
5. The author thinks that tabloid newspapers are
a. entertaining
b. informative
c. a mixture of information and entertainment - "info-tainment"
Answers
The British Council, 2011
The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
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