Reading

Ex. 1. Read the text and paraphrase or translate the words/phrases in italics. BUTTONS, POSTERS ARE MEDIA, TOO I just received a wonderful catalogue in the mail. It's a catalogue of buttons, posters, and bumper stickers (mostly "progressive" and often funny). And I realized (perhaps for the first time in 25 years) that these things, too, are a kind of medium of communication. After all, media literacy is the ability to analyze, access, evaluate and produce messages in a VARIETY of forms. And posters, buttons, and bumper stickers DO communicate often more succinctly and memorably than paragraphs upon paragraphs of writing. I'm sure that most of you can remember particularly striking posters (perhaps from your teenage years) which seemed to capture and transmit an ideology, an idea, or an impression of who you were and what you believed in. I'm talking here about posters of something other than rock stars or pin-up models (although they, too seemed to transmit a message). Posters in World War II helped rally our countrymen to enlist, to ration, and to keep tight lips in support of a war. In the 60's, the famous poster which showed a flower and read "War is not healthy for children and other living things" transmitted basically an anti-war political message with such simplicity and innocence that it became ubiquitous during the Vietnam era. In George Orwell's 1984, huge posters of Big Brother (with eyes that seem to follow you around) adorn inside and outside walls alike. No doubt about it: a "simple" poster can be an important communication vehicle. Buttons are somehow both more personal and more subtle. They're worn on the body of the person making the "statement." But they're also (relatively) small. Descended from political campaign buttons, these mini-personal statements at first just offered a word or two or a symbol. Peace, re-cycling, and the American flag were very popular, and each communicate directly, personally, and unmistakably Now, of course, the terminally rude can buy (or have made) buttons which say nearly anything. The rudest ones can't be printed here. As the popularity of buttons increased (again, during the 60's and70's), bizarre or funny or just off-the-wall ones started to appear. Some were still designed to make a political or personal statement ("Gay Pride", "Save the whales"), but others were intended just for a laugh ("Nuke the gaywhales," "Support your right to arm bears."). There used to be a time, too, when it was the rare car that had no bumper sticker. When and why our society decided to use bumper stickers on transportation

devices to express our feelings is something for academics to discuss and debate, but you all remember. The stickers started with those travel stickers you got at tourist traps or with candidates' names, but these too soon turned topical, then serious, then funny, then rude. War protesters and America-firsters seemed to have a virtual dialogue going on for a while there. "America - Love It or Leave It" was very big in its time. And speaking personally, I'm really torn between the urge to adorn my vehicle with semi-funny, semi-serious statements ("Jesus is coming - look busy," or "Question Reality," or even "Friends don't let friends vote Republican") and the realization that there might be places I travel or park where such sentiments would not be viewed charitably. We also need to realize that it's dangerous to try to express a philosophy or a position or an argument with a button or a bumper sticker. These mini-media messages work best if they're expressed in seven words or less and are easily remembered. Most ideas, however, (at least those worthy of being called ideas) cannot be expressed in seven words. Our national discourse should not take place on the bumpers of our cars (nor on our coatlapels). Still, they ARE fun. And they DO communicate - even if what they communicate is irreverence ("Subvert the dominant paradigm," "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain") or even just a sense of whimsy ("Ignore alien orders," "Decaf is the anti-Christ," "Only users lose drugs"). So I may just buy a poster that says: "I don't care if he's dead. I still want to impeach Nixon." Or a button that reads: "Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult." Or a bumper sticker which proclaims: "I love my country but fear my government." They're only partially true, and they certainly don't convey all of my political or personal attitudes. Just some of them. They are a public way for each of us to make a personal statement. And they are media which communicate effectively (and often with a smile). And you can't beat that. Ex. 2. Use the words from the text: briefly and precisely to retrieve to catch to gather together to enroll in services to supply with sth present, existing everywhere

 to decorate unusual, odd to accuse formally, to charge with crime Ex. 3. Answer the following questions: 1) Define the notion media literacy. 2) How do posters, buttons and bumper-stickers communicate? 3) What is a poster? ***

Discussion:
Before reading the information, answer the questions which are put at the beginning.

Reading
Ex. 1. Read the article and do the assignment after it. What do you think about the media? What do you know about its effects on you? Often people think they know how mass media affect them. They make comment such as "I never buy a product because it's advertised on television." Or, "I already know who I'm going to vote for. I don't care how candidates advertise themselves on television." Here is a list of ways the media might influence you. By clicking on the highlighted words you can learn more about what mass media research has to say about each item. Advertising might affect the brand of product that you buy. Media coverage of a political candidate might affect what you think of him or her. The decisions that journalists make might give you a selective view of the issues and events they cover. Your actions might be influenced by the people you admire on television and in films. These are the kinds of issues that mass media researchers have looked into. Advertising The overall impact of media on someone's decisions about commercial products or social issues depends on their background and other experiences that do not pass through the media. Thus, the famous American "couch potato" may depend greatly on TV and other media for play and social orientation. The couch potato lacks of personal experience for example to judge whether one kind of pasta sauce tastes better than another. As long as this couch potato does not have outside experience, he or she will rely on the media to determine what brand of pasta sauce to buy. However, if the couch potato gets tired of watching movie reruns and goes

to several spaghetti suppers, thereby learning more about pasta sauces, then the influence of pasta sauce ads will be less effective. Political Candidates and Media Influence Research on the media and political decisions during the 1940s in Ohio and New York concluded that the media had complex but limited effects. Audiences reacted not only to political messages in the media, but also to the filtering influence of "opinion leaders" in their communities. An example of this complex process is a person who reads an article about a political ad, decides not to pay attention to the ad, and explains the decision to a friend that person has delivered a message from the media. The friend who decides not to pay attention to the political ad is reacting to interpersonal influence, but also is reacting indirectly to the media. Gatekeeping Since the 1940s, researcher have examined how the media's coverage of different issues is shaped by editors, producers and reporters collectively known as "gatekeepers." How are gatekeepers' decisions shaped? Producers and editors accept certain stories, based partly on personal bias and partly on their experience about what audiences want. Reporters learn indirectly what stories their supervisors will accept. Reporters' perceptions are also indirectly shaped by the viewpoint of the sources they rely on for information. For example, reporters covering police or political sources are continually susceptible to official influences that they may not even recognize. Influence of Media Stars There are at least two dimensions to the influence that media stars have on behaviour: the extent of the influence and the intensity of the influence. The actions of a media star may have a big effect on the personal behaviour of a few people, or the star's actions may have a mild effect on a large group. However, research indicates the influence that a stars has is contingent on many outside factors. In other words, how much influence a star has also depends on the background of the people viewing the star, their social situation, and other factors. Ex. 2. Fill in the prepositions where necessary. to affect sb to be based sth an effect sb to be shaped sth to depend sth to be susceptible sth to lack sth to be contingent sth to rely sth to vote sb to get tired doing sth to influence sb to react sth to explain sth sb to pay attention sth an impact sb sth

Ex. 3. Say in other words. the brand of product media coverage selective view of the issues and events background of sth couch potato

outside experience rerun opinion leaders personal bias to be contingent on sth

Ex. 4. Answer the questions: 1) What are the ways the media might influence you? 2) Does advertising really affect peoples consciousness? 3) Why do the politicians use advertisements during their election campaign? 4) Who are called gatekeepers in mass media? 5) Do you believe that there is any influence of media stars on people?

KEY WORDS AND PHRASES

Make sure you know the meaning and pronunciation of the words and word combinations. Consider the tasks that follow. Radio & Television sitcom drama chat show detective story sport programme weather forecast music programme game show commercial serial

documentaries news news flash broadcast current affairs programme soap opera quiz educational programme

series TV show film/movie (US) transmission cable TV broadcasting station live broadcasing

The Press: Newspapers & Magazines newspaper/paper quality newspaper fanzine national newspaper colour supplement e-zine local newspaper (fashion) magazine a weekly/fortnightly/ daily newspaper satirical magazine monthly magazine a broadsheet (scientific) journal a tabloid/popular comic newspaper listings magazine Sections of a newspaper home news news reports arts world news editorial/leader fashion financial news feature article travel business news sports reports obituaries

weather forecast the letter page gossip column scandal book/theatre/film reviews headline column caption advertisement/advert/ad

listings crossword TV and radio listings horoscope classified competition advertisements small ads cartoons Features of a page an article about a report on a feature on an exclusive interview with Departments advertising production People continuity person columnist camera operator critic director viewer listener announcer newscaster/news reader sport commentator

editorial design editor sub-editor reporter reviewer journalist sports reporter book reviewer photographer designer illustrator cartoonist make-up artist publisher

foreign crime fashion social affairs economics motoring political medical arts consumer affairs travel correspondent/editor

fair balanced biased boring

Value judgments entertaining intrusive sensational

The verb phrases to broadcast to be dubbed to receive/pick up broadcasts to tune in to show a film to turn up (down) the volume to publish to listen through headphones to print to jump channels the film was shot/made in location to switch off to a different channel to cut/censor the film to adjust the screen to edit the article

subtitles TV aerial satellite dish camcorder headset/headphones speaker microphone loudspeaker video recording video camera music video volume digital recording channel amplitude modulation frequency modulation

Miscellaneous tuning amplifier static remote control screen ether interview screenplay programme guide noise waves long short medium ultrahigh frequency wavelength

Ex. 1. Look through the words connected with the topic Radio & Television and define what programme is the most objective? subjective? popular among men? women? children? important? interesting? What is your favourite programme? Why? Ex. 2. Get ready to define the difference in various types of newspapers and magazines. Ex. 3. Take an article from any newspaper or magazine and make its analysis considering such points: section it belongs to; what people were involved in writing the article; whether there are some particular features. Ex. 4. Get ready to provide Ukrainian equivalents of the professions connected with mass media. Ex. 5. Get ready for a snow-ball with the names of newspaper sections. Ex. 6. Find English equivalents to the following words; A. , , , , , ;

B. , , , , ; C. , , , , , ; D. , , , , ; E. , , , , , (), ; F. , , , , , , , , , , . Ex. 7. Match the definitions below with the words in the list.
commercial circulation documentary journalist headline celebrity editor soap periodical

correspondent

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

a reporter whose job it is to report local news from a distant area _________ the number of copies a newspaper sells each day ______________ an advertisement on television or radio _______________ a film that gives facts and information about a subject ______________ a well-known person on television, film or in the press ________________ a magazine about one topic, that appears once a month, three times a year, etc. ________ 7. someone who writes for a newspaper or magazine _____________ 8. the title of a newspaper report printed in large letter _____________ 9. a continuing story about a group of people that is regularly on television ____________ 10.the person who decides what goes in a newspaper or magazine ______________ Ex. 8. A. Describe the following magazines: satirical fashion scientific listings fanzine e-zine colour supplement B. Define the difference in weekly, fortnightly and monthly magazines.