Choosing a Future
Profession: Journalism
(A) Texts for reading
UNIT 1
WHAT MAKES A GOOD JOURNALIST?
What makes a good journalist? Many things. But first of all, a deep and
genuine interest in people. A person who has no interest in other people will never
make a good journalist. So if you are not very interested in other people and think that
most people are a bit of nuisance and you prefer not to have anything more to do
with them than is necessary, journalism is not for you.
Hand in hand with this interest in people, should go qualities of sympathy, open-mindedness
and an inquiring mind. Sympathy: so that you can see the other side of an issue
even you disagree with the person who holds it. Open-mindedness: so that you do not make hasty
ill-informed judgements. Inquiring-mind: so that you can really get to the bottom
of the thing you are asking about.
So these are the basic qualities for a journalist, but the officially required
qualifications are very different. Obviously a journalist must be well enough educated
to be able to write fairly clearly in whatever language it is he hopes to work in.
What about the rest of the educational qualifications for a journalist? Often it is
the pupil who was fairly good at five or six subjects, and not brilliant at just one, who
makes the best journalist. These sort of people are rather balanced for the sort of life a
journalist leads.
But of course, nobody can say exactly what the best qualifications for a career in
journalism are. They will vary enormously according to the
individual.
VOCABULARY:
genuine подлинный, истинный, настоящий
nuisance досада, неприятность, надоедливый
человек
quality качество
sympathy сочувствие, сострадание, симпатия
open-mindedness широта кругозора,
непредубежденность, восприимчивость
inquiring mind пытливый ум
issue спорный вопрос, предмет спора,
разногласие, обсуждение
hasty поспешный, необдуманный, опрометчивый
judgment суждение, мнение, взгляд, оценка
to require требовать
required необходимый, обязательный
obviously очевидно
education образование
qualification квалификация
to vary меняться, изменяться
enormously чрезвычайно
according to в соответствии с
1.1. Read the dialogue:
I: Mr. Shaw, your work as a reporter and press critic has won
you more than 20 major journalism awards. What sort of people are journalists?
MS: If you accept the picture so often given on the movie or
television screen, newspapermen are hard-bitten, rude, hat-wearing, shouting people who
unravel crime mysteries, call their editor “Chief”, and seem to have unlimited
expenses accounts. Beware of that picture.
I: The Concise Oxford Dictionary describes a journalist
as “one whose business is to edit or write for a public journal”. That’s all. But
what qualities and qualifications must a journalist possess?
MS: I think to be a good journalist you must have a great deal
of curiosity. You must like people and be interested in what they do, you must be able to
get on easy and friendly terms with men and women of all sorts, however much they may
differ from each other and or from you.
Journalism is no place for the shy person who finds it difficult to
talk to strangers. He must be able to write… Not necessarily at the standard of great
writers, but in a simple fashion and, above all quickly, and in short sentences.
1.2. Translate the following sentences:
1. Основным качеством журналиста
является глубокий искренний интерес к людям.
2. Человек, у которого этот интерес
отсутствует, никогда не станет хорошим
журналистом.
3. Рука об руку с интересом к людям
должно идти сочувствие к ним.
4. Журналист должен быть
непредубеждённым, чтобы не прийти к
опрометчивому суждению, основанному на
недостаточной информации.
5. Журналист должен уметь писать
достаточно ясно, на каком бы языке он ни
собирался писать.
UNIT 2
JOURNALISM IS A HARD BUT EXCITING LIFE
Journalism is a hard life. It can be exciting, but it can be sometimes
boring. It can be frustrating, too. It can be demanding and so make it
difficult or impossible for one to do a lot of things that other people do in their spare
time. It can separate one from their family for a great amount of their time; some
journalists see their school-going children only at weekends. It can cut one off from a
good deal of social life with their friends, and it can make it almost impossible for
one to know when one will be free and what time one will have to call one’s own.
Most sub-editors, particularly night sub-editors, lead a hard life, shut off from
personal contact with the outside world; but many of them have been reporters and have
known the thrill of meeting important people and of writing a good story – the
excitement of being a journalist.
A reporter is responsible to his chief of staff. But the chief of staff is
not with him when he is reporting the proceedings of Parliament or some meeting;
not with him when he is interviewing an important person; not with him when he is
reporting an event involving loss of life, a bushfire or a flood. There the
reporter is on his own, with nobody turn to for advice. There he has to make his
own decisions and shoulder responsibility. He must have a good deal of self-reliance
and push and energy and initiative.
VOCABULARY:
to excite возбуждать, волновать
exciting захватывающий, увлекательный
to frustrate расстраивать, нарушать (чьи-то планы)
frustrating приносящий разочарование
to demand требовать
demanding требующий, предъявляющий требования
amount количество
a good deal of много, ужасно много
editor редактор
sub-editor заместитель редактора, редактор отдела
to be responsible to быть ответственным перед
chief of staff глава редакционного коллектива
proceeding деятельность
involve вовлекать, касаться, затрагивать
decision решение
to shoulder responsibility брать ответственность на себя
self-reliance самоуверенность
push предприимчивость, напористость
2.1. Answer the following questions:
1. What, in the author’s opinion, is it about the job of a journalist
which makes it hard?
2. How does the author describe the life journalists should be ready to
lead?
3. Why is it so important for a reporter to have a good deal of
self-reliance?
2.2. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a
word that fits the space in the same line.
1. There are plenty of highly ________ journalists who were at the
bottom of the class when they were at school. (SUCCESS)
2. The quality of __________ is very important. (OPEN-MINDED)
3. A journalist should avoid ill-informed _________. (JUDGE)
4. Mr. Brown is a very ________ person. (DEPEND)
5. He is always reporting the _________ of Parliament. (PROCEED)
Key:
1. successful; 2. open-mindedness; 3. judgment; 4.
dependent/independent; 5. proceedings
2.3. Translate the following questions:
1. Сколько лет вы работаете в
журналистике?
2. Каковы достоинства и недостатки этой
профессии, по вашему мнению?
3. Какой, по вашему мнению, аспект
работы журналиста наиболее увлекательный?
4. Какое качество является самым важным
для журналиста?
5. Какую газету вы находите самой
интересной?
Key:
1. How many years have you worked in journalism?
2. What, in your opinion, are advantages and disadvantages of this
profession?
3. What, in your opinion, is the most fascinating aspect of a
journalist’s job?
4. What, in your opinion, is the most important quality in the make-up
of a journalist?
5. What newspaper do you find the most interesting?
By Youdif Boyarskaya,
School No. 814, Moscow
|