Reading 1 Broadcasting in the USA

Broadcasting journalism in the modern world has enor­mous influence. In the United States it has given rise to a media state, a society in which access to power is through the media. Broadcasting media not only convey information to the public, but also influ­ence public opinion. Television, with access to virtually every American household, is a real pow­er.

According to statistics and public opinion polls, American people watch TV about six hours a day, usually tuned to one of the national commercial networks: NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), ABC (the American Broadcast­ing Corporation), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) or Fox Broadcasting Company. These stations attract about 98 per cent of TV audiences.

As a rule, the American broadcasting system has always been commer­cial. It is supported by money from businesses that pay to advertise goods or services to the audience. Adver­tising messages are usually pre­sented as 15, 30 or 60-second commercials before, during and after programs. During a sixty-minute TV program you can expect to see about twelve minutes of commercials.

Commercial broadcasting is a big branch with the profits of about 1.8 billion dollars annu­ally. The commercial networks broadcast a variety of shows: news, drama, soap operas, comedy, sports, music, mov­ies, children’s programs, game shows and talk shows. There are a lot of game shows for viewers, especially during prime time, from 7 to 11 pm.

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), supported not only by the government, but also by private funding, is the only nonprofit network.

It broadcasts more serious drama, science, arts, public-affairs documenta­ries and educational children’s programs. The most popular children’s show on PBS Ses­ame Street appears on TV stations ail over the world. All five networks broadcast twenty-four hours a day.

Viewers who lack some pro­grams are now increasing their options by subscribing to ca­ble television. About 35 mil­lion Americans pay a monthly fee for wider choice. There are up to 500 cable stations. The two well-known ones are HBO (Home Box Office), which shows movies, and CNN, which specializes in news.

Another type of television, satellite TV offers a wider choice of programs to people in rural areas who could not be easily connected to the cable system. It now provides any­body willing to have a satellite dish installed in their backyard with the same programming as cable TV. National televi­sion has had to struggle to retain its audience as people switch over to cable viewing, satellite TV or the Internet.

There are more than ten thousand radio stations on the territory of the United States. Almost all of them are com­mercial, except for National Public Radio stations. Listen­ers can tune to all kinds of stations: pop or classical music, news, sport, or com­munity radio. Talk radio shows are very popular. Listeners call in and ask the talk-show host or guest questions about anything from cooking or car repairing to politics or health. Callers often get a chance to give their opinion on the air.

As for print media, most newspapers are regional rather than national, although some are distributed all over America. The New York Times, for example, is available in New York and in big cities. The paper with the largest circulation is The Wall Street Journal, which special­izes in business news.

It is neces­sary to mention the fastest growing segment of media market – the Internet. Just twenty years ago very few people heard about it. Now it is nearly as common and useful as television. As more and more people use the Internet, it becomes cheaper and easier in use. There will surely be such new things on the Internet which we cannot imagine today.

The Internet is a great op­portunity for journalists to report some special and useful information. Matt Drudge, for example, using only the Inter­net as communica­tion medium, nearly ended the career of the former US President Bill Clinton. He wrote a story about the affair between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky and put it on the Internet. Soon a mil­lion people a day were look­ing at his website. With the Internet the future belongs not only to traditional journalists, but also to bloggers and all average people who have a story to tell.

However, most Americans still con­sider television their principal source of news, while others rank television as the most trustworthy medium. Therefore, newspapers, radio, and the Internet have to compete.

Exercise 1. Answer the questions:

1. What does the term “media state” mean?

2. How long does an average American watch TV?

3. What are the biggest broadcasting corporations in the USA?

4. What do TV channels do to get advertising revenue?

5. What TV genres can be found on air?

6. Are there any alternatives to the national TV networks?

7. What kinds of programs fill American airwaves?

8. Do you think that printed media can compete in influence with the American TV?

9. What segment of the media market shows the best prospects of growing?

10. Can you give any examples to illustrate how the Internet affects our ideas and opinions about current events?

11. What is the favorite source of information for most Americans? What about British people? And what about Russians?

Exercise 2. Choose the expression that best completes the sentence:

Source of news, commercials, public-affairs documentary, prime time, commercial network, to tune to a … station, programming, put on the Internet.

1. High-definition (HD) channels have the same _____________ as traditional channels, but better quality of picture and sound.

2. For many more people today the Internet is a more reliable _____________ than TV or newspapers.

3. I don’t really understand people obsessed with the mania to _____________ all their selfies.

4. Watching a movie or a serial online is more convenient than on the tube, as you don’t have to break for advertising_____________ every fifteen minutes.

5. Yesterday BBC One featured a _____________ about Brexit and its consequences.

6. Many more viewers are likely to watch a show or a program if it is shown in _____________.

7. In Russia television is the most popular communication medium; there are 3 national channels that reach over 90% of households, and a lot of _____________.

8. Car drivers like to_____________, because they enjoy background music.

Exercise 3. Choose the best word:

1. A social system in which _____________ is obtained through the media, has both advantages and disadvantages.

A) Commercial network B) access to power C) broadcasting journalism

2. How much is _____________ for subscription to satellite TV in your area?

A) Monthly publication B) monthly fee C) annual revenue

3. I hate modern TV – it’s full of sex and violence, stupid _____________ and soap operas for viewers with zero IQ.

A) Fly-on-the-wall documentaries B) powerful dramas C) entertainment shows

4. British _____________ for the first time faced competition in 1955, when ITV was born.

A) Broadcasting corporation B) nonprofit network C) Press

5. Usually viewers can get access to TV services in different ways – via ordinary television, satellite, _____________, and the Internet.

A) Paper media B) Social media C) cable

6. In _____________ people who install a satellite dish in their backyard, are considered better-off than their neighbors.

A) All American households B) capital cities C) rural areas

7. In broadcasting industry a nonprofit network is only able to survive if it is supported from _____________.

A) Advertising revenue B) private funding C) paid-for reports

8. For many years our family had an ordinary TV aerial, but last month we decided to _____________ to cable viewing.

A) Switch over B) call in C) give up