The British Media

Vocabulary

broadsheet (n.) - a newspaper containing high-quality news reports. The name comes from the size of the newspaper; they are very wide.

Tabloid (n.) - a newspaper containing a mixture of news and celebrity stories

The Press (n.) - another word for the media

Parent company (n.) - a large company that controls many other smaller companies

Headline (n.) - the title of the news story, normally in very large font

a copy (n.) - a copy of a newspaper = one newspaper

uncover (v.) - to find out about something that was previously unknown

to guarantee (v.) - to be certain of some, to know that something will definitely happen

In the United Kingdom, the press has a very long history. There are lots of different newspapers and many news programmes on both television and radio.

The newspapers fit into two main categories: broadsheet or tabloid.

Examples broadsheet newspapers are The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent. The news within these newspapers is generally considered to be reliable, relevant and well-written.

Examples of tabloid newspapers are The Sun, The Daily Mail and News of the World. These newspapers report on celebrity news as well as world news, and many stories are presented in a sensationalist way, which means that they exaggerate parts of the story. One of the most famous headlines in British journalistic history is from a tabloid. The headline was 'Freddie Starr ate my hamster'. This was completely untrue.

There are also differences between newspapers concerning the publication. Some newspapers are published daily, others weekly, and others only on Sundays. Some newspapers also have an evening edition. In London, sometimes people leaving the theatre at night would be offered a copy of 'tomorrow's newspaper'.

Newspapers are often owned by large 'parent companies', for example Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. This means that the newspapers often support a specific political party, and often (but not always) people buy a newspaper that presents the news from their own political perspective.

On television, most broadcasting corporations have their own news programme. The most well known are BBC News, ITN, Channel 4 news and Sky News. BBC News is the most watched. There are also several '24 hour' news channels, broadcasting news 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The press has recently been responsible for uncovering various scandals, such as the 'Expenses Scandal', which uncovered fraudulent spending of money by members of parliament. Items claimed for that should not have been included a helicopter landing pad, cleaning a tennis court, a house for ducks to live in and paying money to relatives for work they didn't do.

Another scandal involved an ex-member of the Royal Family. The ex-wife of the Queen's son, Sarah Ferguson, agreed to take money to set up a meeting with her ex-husband. This is completely illegal and was very embarrassing for the Royal Family.

You can guarantee it won't be long before the next scandal is uncovered!

If you want to read some news in English online, here are some links:

www.bbc.co.uk/news

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/    - the language on this webpage is easier to understand

Here are some pairs of headlines for the same story, one from tabloid and one from broadsheet. Can you decide which is which?

Royals 'wanted William and Harry in Princess Diana funeral cortege in bid to protect Charles from lynching'

New fathers to get TEN MONTHS off: private companies attack Clegg's plans to extend paid paternity leave

Remaining Britons advised to leave Tunisia

Hol Brits flee Tunisia anarchy

Clegg unveils plan for couples to share maternity leave

Actress Susannah York dies at 72

'Safety fears' for Prince Charles at Diana funeral

Susannah York, silver screen's English rose, dies at 72

Helen Ullock