UNIT 67. THE MASS MEDIA IN ENGLISH 1.

JOURNALISTIC STYLE QUALITY NEWSPAPERS

AND SENSATIONAL NEWSPAPERS.
Good morning. My name is Silvia Moreno and Im going to
read unit 67 which is
In this unit we are going to look at the sometimes controversial
area of the mass media in English.
The main focus of this unit will be the British press. This is
because it covers such a wide range of journalistic styles and
quality. In addition to this only the Japanese and the Swedes buy
more newspapers than the British.
The term mass media is used to refer to the different types of
public communication which in some way or another are used to
inform and to influence people. This can be through the written
press or the radio and television.
The three principal methods of modern communication are
television, radio and the press. In addition to these we have to
mention the Internet, as this form of communication is growing
greatly, and many people read the news online. All the major
UK newspapers currently have websites, some of which provide
free acces, whilst others such as The times and The Economist
have to pay a fee known as a paywall.
Television in England is generally seen to be of a high standard.
The main channels are BBC1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4, and
Channel 5. In addition there is the satellite channel Sky.
Recently, there has been an increase in the amount of cable
channels. The reporting on television is non-sensationalist, and,
as there is no state control over the television companies, it is
impartial and free of censorship. In fact, the freedom of the
press to say as it wishes is at the heart of the system.

The BBC tends to lean a little more to the left than ITV, Channel
4 could be seen as left-of-centre politically, although in reality it
criticises all politicians equally. Channel 5 is neutral, but focuses
on minority interests. However, it must be remembered that the
impartiality of the stations means that at election time, equal
time is given to all parties. There is no advertising on BBC. The
British pay a fee of about 145 pounds a year to finance the
corporation. This means that the population own the channel- a
fact that the BBC is very much aware of.
Radio is divided between the BBC and independent channels.
The BBC runs five main channels nationally and a series of
local ones. The national channels are:
Radio One which offers Pop music and humour and is aimed at
the young.
Radio Two offering light Entertainment.
Radio Three Classical Music and the Arts
Radio Four News, discussion and drama
Radio Five Sports
Of the independent channels, classical Gold is dedicated to
music from 60s and 70s, whilst Virgin is aimed at a young,
educated market. Each city also has one or two of its own radio
stations.
Although British television and radio might be praised for high
standards and impartiality, the same cannot always be said of the
written press. It is this area that we will begin looking at now.
Internet use has caused a drop in sales of physical newspapers,
which has arguably led to a corresponding reduction in their
quality, and has resulted in the gradual disappearance of the
paper boy or girl; a part-time job that has been a source of
pocket money for young people since at least the 1830s.
British newspapers are responsible for providing background
information and details to the major stories that are reported on
the television or radio. It is a fact that there are about 10 national

dailies that dominate the market- all of them printed in London.

In addition to these, there are local papers that come out in the
evening although many of them are disappearing. Before we
continue with this section we will point out the different formats
that exist. This is important because the style of the format will
show which way the newspaper will report the news. There are
two main styles, Tabloid and Broadsheet. The Tabloids are often
refered to as the gutter press in England (similar to the yellow
pages in Spain), whilst the Broadsheets are often termed the
quality papers.
The easiest way, traditionally, to distinguish was by the size and
the print.
The Tabloids are generally the same size as the majority of
papers in Spain, although the print can be bigger and the front
page may be just a headline with little written underneath.