JUNIOR – UNIT 17

Lesson objectives

Matching information
Matching sentence endings
Vocabulary: Journalism, news, current affairs

Lead-in

Discuss the following questions with your partner

1. Do you often read the news?

2. Do you talk about recent events with your friends or family?
3. Do you think news reports are always correct?

Activity 1: The following pairs of words are either synonyms or antonyms. Write S for synonyms and A
for antonyms

1 journalist - reporter _____

S 6 media outlet - news agency _____
S
2 research - investigate _____
S 7 amateur – professional _____
A
3 mainstream - alternative _____
A 8 eyewitness – source _____
S
4 break a story - get a scoop _____
A 9 citizen journalist – amateur journalist _____
S
S
5 broadcast – publish _____ A
10 reliable – tabloid _____

Activity 2:

Read the definition of an amateur journalist below

Amateur journalism (n.) - the practice of non-professional individuals reporting news and creating
content, typically without formal training or connection with traditional media outlets. These individuals
use digital tools such as smartphones, social media platforms, and blogs to document and share news
events, personal stories, and perspectives.

The future of journalism?

A
It used to be easy to define what a journalist was. They had a degree in English or Journalism, usually
owned a camera, and were employed full time by a news outlet, TV or radio station, or newspaper. Their
days were spent conducting interviews, researching the next big story, and writing articles. However, in
recent years, the line between these ‘professional’ journalists and the public has become blurred. There is a
growing trend for amateur journalism that often bypasses the established media sources. The upshot is
that virtually anyone can be a journalist. After all, if you are present when a story breaks, or you yourself are
part of the news story, why wait for a ‘real’ journalist to interview you as an eyewitness? You can use the
camera on your phone, tell the story yourself, and post it on your own blog or on social media.

B
It is not only on sites like Facebook and Twitter that amateur journalism is on the rise. There are now open
publishing sites, such as the Independent Media Center or ‘Indymedia’, which aim to bring a ‘grassroots
dimension’ into the news arena. Ohmynews, one of South Korea’s most influential online sources for the
latest in current affairs, has 2 million readers every day and a nationwide army of 26,000 ‘citizen’ journalists.
More and more often, these citizen journalists and open sites are getting the scoop on major stories. The
first mention of the problems facing the doomed space shuttle Columbia appeared on an online discussion
forum 11 minutes before the Associated Press broke the news. What is more, there has been a fundamental
change in how we interact with the news. Nowadays, with the growth in online versions of newspapers, the
public can easily comment, point out errors, and share alternative viewpoints. These opportunities are
particularly vital if you find yourself the subject of a news story—whether for positive or negative reasons. If
the story involves you, you can provide vital context and supplementary information which can change
readers’ views on your story.

C
When this trend for participatory media was in its infancy, there was plenty of mistrust of amateur
‘journalists’ who lacked the credentials of journalists working in established media outlets. If a story didn’t
come from well-known news organizations like CNN or The Times, it wasn’t taken seriously. Now that
perception is changing. Trust in alternative media sources is growing. In fact, mainstream media now
regularly recruit members of their own staff from the ranks of amateur news bloggers. Simultaneously,
there has been a general shift away from a ‘broadcast model’, in which the few broadcast to the many,
towards a more inclusive model in which the audience can play an active role. The traditional ‘filter then
publish’ news model has been replaced by ‘publish then filter’, with millions of keen amateurs involved at all
stages of the process.

D
So, how have the media establishment reacted to this change? Initially, it was seen as a challenge to their
hegemony. They had always been the gatekeepers: those who decided what was news and how that news
should be presented. Participatory journalism represents the democratization of the media and therefore a
threat to this. Media futurists predict that by 2021, 50% of news will be produced by citizen journalists, so
traditional media have had little choice but to embrace the trend or be left behind. Many already have, by
adding features that invite participation, such as comments sections and links to social media.

E
There are many potential benefits to ‘We media’, as participatory journalism is sometimes called. It can help
forge stronger relationships between the media and local communities, since people feel their views are
represented, creating a sense of trust and shared responsibility. Members of the public who participate in
creating the news gain memorable experiences and build their reputation in a given community. ‘We
media’ can also give a voice to those who haven’t had one due to educational, economic, social, or cultural
barriers. It is a liberating phenomenon with the potential to reduce inequality in society.
hiện tượng
F
Of course, like anything else, participatory journalism has its critics, and in particular, there are those who
claim that news reporting on social media is used to manipulate people and even spread misinformation or
‘fake news’. While this is no doubt true in some cases, it is a sweeping generalization. For example, during
the 2011 London riots, it was widely reported on mainstream media that the rioters and looters used social
media to spread news about what was happening and to incite others towards violence and protest.
However, what is interesting is that the event has now been studied in detail, and it has been revealed that
this was not the case. In actual fact, citizen journalists played a positive role as the situation unfurled. They
were the first to alert the authorities to early incidents of rioting taking place, and helped the police identify
offenders by photographing them in the act and sharing the photos on social media. Without ordinary
Londoners responding to news in this way, many of the perpetrators would most likely have escaped
justice.

G
The evidence so far is that participatory journalism is here to stay and set to develop in ways as yet
unimagined. The implication for every user of media is that we need to be ever more open to the possibility
of false information. The ‘publish then filter’ model necessitates all readers and viewers honing their critical
faculties and verifying reports by independent means before accepting and sharing them. This will be a
positive trend if it develops the thinking skills of the population as a whole. An educated citizenry who do
not believe what they read without question is surely an asset to any society.

Activity 3: Skim the passage again and match the summaries (1-7) with the correct paragraph (A-G)

E
1 Advantages of 'We media' ____
2 The need for critical thinking ____
G
3 The changing definition of a journalist ____
A
4 The changing role of the audience and the media ____
C
F
5 A case study ____
6 What citizen journalists can contribute ____
B
7 Media response to participatory journalism ____
D

Activity 4: Matching paragraph information

REMINDER

This task type asks you to match a piece of information to the paragraph that contains it. The information
could be specific details, examples, descriptions, reasons and explanations, or a summary of the ideas.
You may not need to use all of the paragraphs and some paragraphs might match more than one piece
of information. The information in the paragraphs will be paraphrased differently in the corresponding
question.

Scan each paragraph and find the following information.

• Paragraph A: something a journalist traditionally possessed

• Paragraph B: the name of a Korean news site
• Paragraph C: two well-known media outlets
• Paragraph D: the year in which half of the news may be produced by amateurs
• Paragraph E: four types of obstacles to participation in society
• Paragraph F: two types of crimes
• Paragraph G: something audiences need to sharpen or improve

What are the synonyms used in the text to indicate each information? Write them below

Possess Văn bản

A Korean news site influential online sources
Media outlets news organizations
Half 50%
Obstacles barriers
Crimes
audiences
Activity 5: Look at the exam task. Without reading the text again, for each numbered piece of
information, say where in the text you think it will be found. Write B for beginning, M for middle or E
for end.

The text has seven paragraphs, A-G.

Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-G. NB You may use any letter more than once.

1 Why some journalists fear the new trends ______D

F
2 Details of civil unrest in a major city ______
3 Why education is needed in the context of this change in the media ______
G
4 Subjects journalists traditionally study at university ______
A
B
5 How the story of a spaceship disaster broke ______
E
6 Why participatory journalism is good for disadvantaged groups ______

Now, read the passage and match the information (1-6) with the correct paragraph (A-G)

Exam notes

You can predict where a piece of information will appear by skim reading the passage first. Note down
the main ideas of the beginning, middle, and end of the passage. Then, when you read the questions, try
to predict where the information will appear in the passage. This will help you complete the task more
quickly and accurately

Activity 6: SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS

REMINDER

This task requires you to answer some direct questions which begin with question words such as What,
Which or Where.

You will be told the maximum number of words to write. The questions have to be answered with words
taken from the text and are in the same order as the information appears in the text.

As with similar tasks, it is useful to underline the key words in the questions and predict what kind of
information is missing.

Underline the question word and key words in these questions. Then decide what kind of word you
are looking for. The first one has been done for you.

1. In the past, what role would a member of the public who saw a newsworthy event be expected to
play?
role – probably a noun

2. What was the subject of the story given as an example of an amateur journalist scoop before it was
reported by a major news agency?
doomed space shuttle
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. From which group of people have the media establishment begun to hire staff?
broadcast model
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. What had mainstream media traditionally seen their role in news reporting as being?
participatory journalism
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now answer the questions. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE words from the text for each answer.
Activity 7: Matching sentence endings

REMINDER

This task requires you to match sentence beginnings with a list of possible endings (there will be more
sentence endings than you need).

Because the beginnings and endings will often all match grammatically and make sense, you can’t
guess the answers from grammatical or semantic clues. Instead, locate the part of the text mentioned
in each sentence beginning and then read it in detail to identify the ending that matches.

Read the sentence beginning and two possible endings.

The citizen journalist scoop on the Columbia Space Shuttle story is an example of

A how we are interacting more with traditional media.

B how participatory media is growing.

Find the paragraph that contains the sentence beginning: ............................................................................

Read the relevant section carefully. Which sentence ending (A or B) is correct? ...................................

Activity 8: Complete each sentence with the correct ending (A-E) below.

1 Amateur journalists may lack the credentials of professionals ____

C
2 Newspaper editors were the gatekeepers of the news ____E
B
3 Anyone could find themselves the subject of a news story ____

A which means most of them are afraid of participatory journalism.

B but now they can offer extra information to alter people's perceptions.
C but this is less of a disadvantage than it used to be.
D but formal qualifications are no longer required by media outlets.
E but now they need to accept that this situation is changing.
E. Tend to aspire to raising their status in society.
F. Are usually grateful to be given a chance of becoming famous.
G. Are particularly damaging for young girls.

LESSON SUMMARY

1. In matching paragraph information, the information in the paragraphs will always appear in the
same order as the questions. _________

2. When answering short-answer questions, it is necessary to use your own words instead of words
from the text. _________

3. In the matching sentence endings task, you can use grammatical clues to guess the correct answers
without reading the text in detail. _________

4. Predicting where a piece of information will appear in the passage can help you complete the
matching paragraph information task more quickly. _________

5. In short-answer questions, the answers should be written in full sentences. _________

6. Some paragraphs in the matching paragraph information task might match more than one piece of
information. _________

7. The key to matching sentence endings is to find the sentence ending that makes the most
grammatical sense. _________

8. Skim reading the passage first can help you note down the main ideas and improve your accuracy in
matching paragraph information. _________

9. Short-answer questions are answered in the same order as the information appears in the text.
_________

10. For the matching sentence endings task, you only need to read the sentence beginnings to
determine the correct endings. _________