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Foreword
Mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience such as
the population of a nation state. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio
networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. Mass media has become an integral part of our lives
and cannot be separated from our life as far as we are now in the midst of the information revolution. Due to
continuing developments in media
technology, we are flooded by a huge volume of non-stop information. Media
is the most powerful tool of communication. It helps promoting the right things on right time. It gives a real
exposure to the mass audience about what is right or wrong. Even though media is linked with spreading fake
news
like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform us about the realities as well. But Mass media
encompasses much more than just news, although it is sometimes misunderstood in this way. It can be used
for various purposes:
1. Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising,
marketing,
propaganda, public relations, and political communication.
2. Entertainment, traditionally through performances of acting, music, sports, and TV shows along with
light reading; since the late 20th century also through video and computer games.
3. Public service announcements and emergency alerts (that can be used as political device to
communicate propaganda to the public).
This book is compiled for second-year University and College students majoring in English, though it can
also be used as a self-study reference.
The compilation is intended for the development of communication skills, perfection of students’ reading
skills, improvement of their ability to understand and analyse authentic English newspaper texts and TV news
reportages. The book consists of 9 Units: The
role of mass media in our life, The British Press: Vocabulary
Development Section, Headlines of the newspaper articles,
Newspaper Article Structure, Terrorism, War and
Warfare, Natural Disasters, Visits/Talks/Agreements, Crime and Justice. Each unit is supplemented by various
exercises, tasks for listening comprehension, authentic English texts taken from newspapers
for analysis and
afterwards discussion. The book also includes 5 Appendices: Front page analysis scheme, Lists of
Abbreviations, Newspaper words, Useful expressions necessary for content analysis of newspaper articles and
Newspaper article analysis scheme.
This book can be used either in a language class or for self-study due to its structure.
The book comes with a CD for the listening comprehension section.