Mass media in the UK
Warming-up.
Do you like reading magazines?
What is your favourite magazine?
What kind of magazines is especially popular with women? With men? With girls? With boys?
When do people usually buy/read magazines?
What do you think about women's magazines?
How often do magazines usually come out?
What kind of supplement do magazines usually have?
Do you know any internationally famous magazines?
What are the most famous TV channels in the United Kingdom?
What British newspapers and magazines do you know? What newspapers and magazines in English are available in Belarus? How British mass media can help you to improve your language skills?
Read the following text. How many newspapers and magazines are there in the United Kingdom? What city dominates the media sector in the United Kingdom? What is the main classification of the British press? Are there any specific statutory rules regulating the British print media?
Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:
a diverse range of providers
the publicly-owned public service broadcaster
to estimate
to account for
digital channels
to remain
to dominate
a combined turnover
convenience
tabloids
specific statutory rules regulating the print media
to achieve worldwide circulation
Mass media in the UK
There are several different types of media in the United Kingdom: television, radio, newspapers, magazines and websites. The United Kingdom has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being the publicly-owned public service broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC's largest competitors are ITV plc, which operates 13 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, and 21st Century Fox, which holds a large stake in the satellite broadcaster Sky plc. Regional media is covered by local radio, television and print newspapers. Trinity Mirror operates 240 local and regional newspapers, as well as national newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror.
London dominates the media sector in the United Kingdom as national newspapers, television and radio networks are largely based there.
The United Kingdom print publishing sector, including books, server, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people. The print media sector is entirely regulating itself and there are no specific statutory rules regulating the print media.
Traditionally British newspapers have been divided into "quality", serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as "broadsheets" because of their large size) and the more populist, "tabloid" varieties. For convenience of reading many traditional broadsheets have switched to a more compact-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids.
The most popular British newspapers are:
Daily Mail (England, IT Supplement)
Daily Mirror (England, London)
Daily Express (England)
The Guardian (England, London)
The Daily Telegraph (England, London)
The Sun (England)
BBC News (England)
The Independent (England)
The Daily Record (Scotland, Glasgow)
Belfast Telegraph (Ireland)
The Times (England, London)
The Telegraph (England)
Financial Times (England, London)
Edinburgh Evening News (Scotland)
A large range of magazines are sold in the United Kingdom covering most interests and potential topics. British magazines and journals that have achieved worldwide circulation include The Economist, Nature, and New Scientist, Private Eye, Hello!, The Spectator, the Radio Times and NME.
Radio in the United Kingdom is dominated by the BBC, which operates radio stations both in the United Kingdom and abroad. The BBC World Service radio network is broadcast in 33 languages globally. Domestically the BBC also operates ten national networks and over 40 local radio station.
Questions to discuss:
- What do you think of soap operas?
- What do you know about the history of TV?
- Do you think that TV is good for people? Why or why not?
- How does TV influence people's lives?
- Do you think that TV is the source of all evil?
- What are the positives and negatives of TV?
- How many TV channels are there in your country/region? What are they?
- What is the difference between public channels and commercial channels?
- If you could influence the nature / selection of TV programmes, what would you change? Why?
- Do you have cable or satellite TV? What are their positives and negatives?
- How do you feel about TV commercials, especially when they are shown in the middle of a film?
- What is your favourite TV commercial? What TV commercial do you hate?
- What is a 'couch potato'? Are you a couch potato?
- How do you get to know what programmes are on? Where can you find out?
- Do you often listen to the radio? When?
- What's your favourite radio station?
- Do you prefer regional channels or national ones?
- What type of radio stations are popular in your country?
- What type of programmes can you hear on the radio?
- Do you think radio will still be used in the future? Why do you think so?