The Linguistic Culture-2 (british media) (1157929), страница 4
Текст из файла (страница 4)
In Britain itgenerally refers to the print industries (the pressornewspapersandmagazines)andbroadcasting (cable and satellite television,radio and video). These systems overlap witheach other and with books, film and the Internet They cover homes, places ofbusiness and leisure activities and their influence is very powerful and aninevitable part of daily life.The print media (newspapers and magazines) began to develop in the 18PthPcentury. The first British newspapers with a limited national circulation appearedin the early eighteenth century and were followed by others, such as “The Times”(1785), “the Observer” (1791) and “the Sunday Times” (1822).Initially, a wide circulation was hindered by transportation and distributionproblems, illiteracy and government licensing or censorship restrictions.
But overthe last two hundred years, an expanded educational system, new print inventionsand Britain’s small area have eliminated these difficulties and created allegedlyfree print media.The growth of literacy after 1870 provided the owners of the print media with anincreased market. Newspapers and magazines, which had previously been limitedto the middle and upper classes, were popularized. They were used for news andinformation, but also for profit and entertainment.
New types of print media andfinancially rewarding advertising increased in the competitive atmosphere of thelate 19th and early 20th centuries..In the 19th century, the growth and composition of the populationconditioned the types of newspaper which were produced. The first popularnational papers were deliberately printed on Sundays, such as “the News of theWorld “(1843) and “the People” (1881).
They were inexpensive and aimed at theexpanding and increasingly literate working class. In 1896, “The Daily Mail” wasproduced, which was targeted at the lower-middle class. In 1903 it was added by “The Daily Mirror” for the working-class popular market. Both the Mail and theMirror were soon selling more than a million copies a day.The early twentieth century was the era of mass-circulation papers. “TheMorning Herald” (later “the Daily Express”) was created in 1900.
Both “The DailyMirror” and “The Daily Herald (1911) supported the Labour Party and were thelargest selling national daily in the early twentieth century.. Battles are still foughtbetween owners, since newspaper-ownership is concentrated in a few largepublishing groups, such as Rupert Murdoch’s News International (which haslargemediaholdingsinBritain,AustraliaandtheUSA).National newspapersNational newspapers are those which are mostly published from London andare available in all parts of Britain on the same day, including Sundays. Many aredelivered directly to the home from local newsagents by newsboys and girls.
Thegood internal distribution systems of a compact country enabled a national press todevelop, and Internet online copies now offer updated and immediate availabilityThe circulation of national papers rose rapidly, but newspapers had to cope firstwith the competition of radio and films and later with televisioninternet..Although they have survived, there has, since the 1970s, been a decline in salesand in the number of national and other newspapers.The national press in Britain today consists of 10 daily morning papers and 9Sunday papers. Most national newspapers have their bases and printing facilitiesin London, although editions of some nationals are now published in Europe andthe USA. Most of them used to be located in Fleet Street in central London. Butall have now left the street and moved to other parts of the capital.
The reasons forthese moves were high property rents, fierce competition and opposition from tradeunions to the introduction of new printing technology.New technology meant thatjournalists’ ‘copy’ could be printed directly through computers.
But it also resultedin job reductions, trade union opposition and bitter industrial action such aspicketing.New technology, improved distribution methods and cuts in labour andproduction costs have increased the profitability of print industries. Although salesare declining they still have a considerable presence on the market.Surveys findthat Britons buy more papers than any other Europeans. Some 50 per cent ofpeople over fifteen read a national daily paper and 70 per cent read a nationalSunday newspaper.National papers are usually termed ‘quality’ or ‘popular’ depending on theirdifferences in content and format (tabloid or broadsheet). Others are called‘mid-market’ and are between these two extremes.The ‘qualities’ (such as “The Times”) are broadsheets (large-sheet), reportnational and international news in depth and analyse current events and the arts ineditorials and articles.
The populars (such as “The Sun”) are mostly tabloid (smallsheet), deal with relatively few ‘hard news’stories, tend to be superficial in thematerial is sensationalized and trivialized. ‘Mid-market’ papers, such as “The Mailand Express”, cater for intermediate groups. ‘Qualities’ are more expensive thanpopulars and carry up-market advertising that generates essential finance.Thereis no legal state control or censorship of the British press, although it is subject tolaws of publication and expression and there are forms of self-censorship, bywhich it regulates its own conduct.
Papers may have a political bias and support aspecific party, particularly at election times.The press is dependent for its survival upon circulation figures; upon theadvertising that it can attract; and upon financial help from its owners. A papermay face difficulties and fail if advertisers remove their business. A number ofnewspapers in the 20th century ceased publication because of reduced circulation,loss of advertising revenue or refusals of further financial aid. Most nationalnewspapers now have online Internet publication.
This provides an additionalmedium for information and communication, as well as continuously updatednews.Regional newspapersSome 1,300 regional newspapers are published in towns and citiesthroughout Britain. They contain a mixture of local and national news and aresupported financially by regional advertising; They may be daily morning orevening papers, Sundays or weekly. Some nine out of ten adults read a regional orlocal paper every week and 75 per cent of local and regional newspapers alsooperate an Internet website.Britain’s ethnic communities also produce their own newspapers andmagazines, which are increasing in numbers, are available nationally in the largercities and are improving in quality.
There is a wide range of publications forJewish, Asian, Afro-Caribbean, Chinese and Arabic readers, published on a dailyor (more commonly) periodic basis.Periodicals and magazinesThere are 9,000 different periodicals and magazines inBritain, which are of a weekly, monthly or quarterly natureandare dependent upon sales and advertising to survive. They areaimed at different markets and levels of professions andbusiness or are dealing with sports, hobbies and interests (read by 80 per cent ofadults).The teenage and youth magazine market has suffered large sales losses recently.This is attributed to greater Internet and mobile phone usage.Women’speriodicals, such as Take a Break, Woman and Woman’s Own, have large andwide circulations.
But the bestselling publications are the weekly Radio Times andWhat’s on TV, which contain feature stories andprogrammes for BBC andindependent television. Other magazines cover interests such as computers, ruralpastimes, gardening, railways, cooking, architecture, do-it-yourself skills andsports.Among the serious weekly journals are The New Statesman and Society ,the Economist (dealing with economic and political matters); The Spectator (aconservative journal); and The New Scientist.
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