Close-up p 160. The Media. Oral Mediation

A friend of yours from England is studying journalism. His teacher has asked him to write a report about the media in different parts of the world. While doing his research, he came across these pictures on Google. He shares them with you and asks you some questions about them. You decide to send your friend a voice message with an explanation of 2 minutes.

1. Could you please comment on the pictures I have sent you? What other images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘media’?
2. What do you believe has been the biggest single item of news of the year in Spain?
3. Do Spanish people try to keep abreast of the latest local developments? What about the latest international news?
4. How do Spaniards usually get the news? Has the way of keeping up to date changed in Spain over the years?
5. Do Spanish film and music celebrities use the media to advance their careers until they become famous? Do they afterwards complain about media intrusion? What is your opinion?
6. How has technology affected the way Spanish people communicate? In what ways have new technologies affected the way that news is produced and brought to a Spanish audience?
7. What criteria do you think that Spanish newspapers and television use to decide on what news to present: what is really important or what sells newspapers? Explain your answer.
8. Do the Spanish media concentrate too much on “bad news” and not enough on “good news” stories?
9. Do you think the media have too much power in Spain? Is the media of your country biased? How reliable are newspapers, television news and the Internet as news sources in Spain do you think?
10. Do you think that some TV programme content is censored in Spain? How much freedom is the press/media allowed by law?
11. In Britain, tabloid newspapers, which contain mostly gossip and pin-ups of good-looking women and men, sell many more copies than serious newspapers. Do readers in your country have the same interests?
12. Does the Spanish government act to control the Internet or is it uncensored?

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