Lecture material about Newspapers

1. Newspapers
Mass Media
Aiden Yeh, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages

2. Discuss the following questions
• Which newspapers do you read? Why
• What’s the biggest news story in Taiwan
at the moment?
• Why are headlines important?
• Do you find it difficult to read headlines in
English? Why/ why not

3. Match the headlines to their
everyday English equivalents
1. Paris probe proves palace innocent a. The government is going to close 3,500 post offices
______
2. Love’s Labour Lost b. The US government is not keen on a new environmental
______ policy
3. Choose That Girl! Madge jets to Africa to adopt girl c. A family dog has been brutally killed.
______
4. US cool on climate change d. An investigation into Princess Diana’s death shows the British
______ royal family were not involved
5. Weeping mum damns teenage killer thug e. Labour’s Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer do
______ not agree on government policies
6. Family’s pet butchered f. A popular comedian, who pretends to be a rapper, is in trouble
______ with the Independent Television Commission for using offensive
words on TV.
7. Comedian rapped over slang word by TV watchdog g. The singer Madonna has flown to Africa to adopt a child.
______
8. Government to axe 3,500 post offices h. A mother refuses to forgive the people who killed her
______ daughter.

4. • 2. Look at the headlines above. Decide
which of the following questions can
easily be answered by reading them.
• What happened?
• Who did what?
• Where did it happen?
• When did it happen?
• Why did it happen?

5. 5 Ws
1. Paris probe proves palace innocent
2. Love’s Labour Lost
3. Choose That Girl! Madge jets to Africa to adopt girl
4. US cool on climate change
5. Weeping mum damns teenage killer thug
6. Family’s pet butchered
7. Comedian rapped over slang word by TV watchdog
8. Government to axe 3,500 post offices

6. Commonly omitted words
• Articles
• Auxiliary verbs
• Preposition
• Nouns

7. Verb forms used
• Passive to Active
• Present perfect to present simple

8. Cutting down word count
• minimal

9. Turn the following sentences into
headlines
• Three people have been killed in a
terrible shop fire.
• The Boston Red Sox have humiliated the
Toronto Blue Jays, who lost 8-0.
• Police mistakes have led to 183 crimes
not being detected.
• A judge has sentenced a lottery winner
to jail for a bank robbery.

10. Possible Answers
• Terrible shop fire kills 3
• Boston Red Sox humiliate Toronto Blue
Jays 8-0
• Police mistakes: 183 crimes not detected
• Lottery winner jailed for robbery
• Drunk driver on route 95 killed 2

11. Tabloid Style
1. Guilty pupil vows to return stolen exam papers. a. a mistake
2. Husband and wife row keeps neighbours awake b. anger
3. Government blunder: 1 million taxpayers’ c. to promise
personal details lost
4. Voter’s fury at election results d. to question
5. Police quiz man over Greenwood Bank robbery e. an argument

12. Read the following ideas that a journalist
brainstormed for an article. Write an
introduction to the article based on this
information.
• Where? Private kindergarten in Ipswich, Suffolk
• When? 11-12 pm?
• How? Broke walls with tools
• Victims? A nursery school: “We were so
shocked we were targeted when we are a just a
nursery.”
• What taken? A safe containing £ 1,200 in the
nursery’s wheelie bin
• Police: “We are doing all we can to arrest the
thief.”

13. Possible Answer
Staff at Ipswich Kindergarten in Suffolk were
shocked after thieves smashed a wall
exactly where the safe was. The heavy
cashbox containing about £1,200 was
taken away in the nursery’s wheelie bin.
Name of Manager, 27, said: “We were so
shocked we were targeted when we are a
just a nursery.” A police spokeperson said:
““We are doing all we can to arrest the
thief.”