发布时间 : 星期一 文章Unit 12. Text I What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream更新完毕开始阅读
【Unit 1】Text I What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
【10】Okay, you look at the structure of that whole system. What do you expect the news to be like? Well, it‘s pretty obvious. Take The New York Times. It‘s a corporation and sells a product. The product is audiences. They don‘t make money when you buy the newspaper. They are happy to put it on the worldwide web for free. They actually lose money when you buy the newspaper. But the audience is the product. The product is privileged people, just like the people who are writing the newspapers, you know, top-level52 decision-making people in society. You have to sell a product to a market, and the market is, of course, advertisers (that is, other businesses). Whether it is television or newspapers, or whatever, they are selling audiences. Corporations sell audiences to other corporations. In the case of the elite media, it‘s big businesses. 【11】Well, what do you expect to happen? What would you predict about the nature of the media product, given53 that set of circumstances? What would be the null54 hypothesis55, the kind of conjecture56 that you’d make assuming nothing
52
top-level: involving the most important or best people in a company, an
organization or a sport（公司、机构或运动人员中）最重要的，最优秀的 ● a top-level meeting 最高级会谈 ● top-level tennis 顶级网球比赛
53
given: prep. when you consider sth 考虑到；鉴于 年龄，他已是相当活跃的了。
● Given his age (= considering how old he is), he's remarkably active. 考虑到他的● Given her interest in children, teaching seems the right job for her. 考虑到她喜
欢孩子，教书看来是很适合她的工作。 given that: conj.
● It was surprising the government was re-elected, given that they had raised taxes
so much. 令人惊奇的是政府把税收提高这么多仍再次当选了。
54
null: adj. (technical) having the value zero 零值的；等于零的
● a null result 毫无结果
null and void: (law) (of an election, agreement, etc.) having no legal force; not valid 无法律效力的；无效的
● The contract was declared null and void. 合同被宣布无效。
55
null hypothesis: the idea that an experiment that is done using two groups of
people will show the same results for each group 无效假设 (P6)
The practice of science involves formulating and testing hypotheses, assertions that
17
【Unit 1】Text I What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
further.57 The obvious assumption is that the product of the media, what appears, what doesn‘t appear, the way it is slanted58, will reflect the interest of the buyers and sellers, the institutions, and the power systems that are around them. If that wouldn‘t
are capable of being proven false using a test of observed data. The null hypothesis typically corresponds to a general or default position. For example, the null hypothesis might be that there is no relationship between two measured phenomena or that a potential treatment has no effect.
56
conjecture: n. an opinion or idea that is not based on definite knowledge and is
formed by guessing 猜想 (P6) SYN guess
● The truth of his conjecture was confirmed by the newspaper report. 新闻报道证
明了他的推测果然不假。
57
What would be the null hypothesis, the kind of conjecture that you’d make
assuming nothing further.
The null hypothesis that the nature of the media product (i.e. the audience) has nothing to do with the internal institutional structure of the media can bring us nowhere, since it is the kind of proposition that you would not make any further and more assumptions.
58
slanted: adj. tending to be in favour of one person or thing in a way that may be
unfair to others 有倾向性的 (P6)
● a biased and slanted view of events 对事件有失公正、带倾向性的观点 slant: v.
1) to slope or to make sth slope in a particular direction or at a particular angle（使）
倾斜，歪斜
● (literary) The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。
2) (sometimes disapproving) to present information based on a particular way of
thinking, especially in an unfair way 有倾向性地陈述；有偏向地报道 ● The findings of the report had been slanted in favour of the manufacturers. 报告
中的调查结果偏袒制造商。 n.
1) a sloping position 倾斜；歪斜；斜线；斜面 ● The sofa faced the fire at a slant. 沙发斜对着壁炉。
2) a way of thinking about sth, especially one that shows support for a particular
opinion or side in a disagreement（有倾向性的）观点，态度 ● She put a new slant on the play. 她对那出戏提出了一种新的见解。
18
【Unit 1】Text I What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
happen, it would be kind of59 a miracle.
59
kind of: (informal) (also kinda) slightly; in some ways
● That made me feel kind of stupid. 那使我感到有点儿愚蠢。 ● I like him, kind of. 我有点儿喜欢他。 Other idioms with ―kind‖: in kind:
1) (of a payment) consisting of goods or services, not money 以实物支付；以货代
款；以服务偿付
● As well as his salary, he gets benefits in kind.
2) (formal) with the same thing 以同样的方法（或手段）
● She insulted him and he responded in kind. 她侮辱了他，他也以其人之道还治
其人之身。
nothing of the kind/sort: used to emphasize that the situation is very different from what has been said 决不是那么回事，一点也不，才不哩；没有的事
● ?I was terrible!‘ ?You were nothing of the kind.‘ “我那时糟透了！”“你才不哩。” of a kind:
1) (disapproving) not as good as it could be 不怎么样，徒有其名（指不如本应有
的那么好）
● You're making progress of a kind. 你也算是有点进步的。 2) very similar 同一类的；类似的
● They're two of a kind—both workaholics! 他们俩一个样——都是工作狂。 one of a kind: the only one like this 独一无二；独特 SYN unique
● My father was one of a kind—I‘ll never be like him. 我的父亲很独特——我决
不会像他的。
something of the/that kind: something like what has been said （与所言）类似的事物
● ?He‘s resigning.‘ ?I‘d suspected something of the kind.‘ “他要辞职了。”“我料
到会有这样的事。”
19
【Unit 1】Text I What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
Comprehension Check
? Reading for general ideas (P7)
1. In Chomsky’s eyes, why are the media, as a part of the whole intellectual culture,
the easiest to study?
In Chomsky‘s opinion, the media come out everyday and permeate people‘s daily life. They can be regarded as representative of the whole intellectual culture, and with easy access to ample evidence, a systematic investigation is made possible. 2. According to Chomsky, what are the steps for studying the media, the way a
scientist would conduct research?
One can take a look at the media‘s internal institutional structure and then make some hypotheses based on the structure as to what the media product is likely to look like. Then one may investigate the media product and see how well it conforms to the hypothesis.
3. According to the text, what are the two major sectors of the media?
One is the mass media such as Hollywood productions and most of the newspapers in the country. The other is the elite media such as The New York Times and CBS.
4. Why are the elite media also called the “agenda-setting” media?
The elite media are sometimes called the ―agenda-setting‖ media because they are the ones with the big resources, they set the framework in which everyone else in the industry operates. Their audience are mostly privileged people, who are wealthy and often involved in the political system.
5. What would happen if a local newspaper published contents that the big press
does not like?
The big press or the elite media would drive the local newspaper right back into line if they moved out. If the latter tried to break the mold, it would not be able to survive for very long.
? Reading for specific information (P7)
1. To Chomsky, it is almost impossible to study the media in the manner of
scholarship. ( F )
2. Almost all work in the media analysis is in making the assumptions about the
nature and structure of the media. ( F )
20