VOCABULARY MEDIA

A Complete the sentences with the words in the correct form.

• column

• hound

• pack

• recluse

• scoop

• slander

• stalk

• lampoon

1. A      of reporters had taken up position outside the hotel as they waited for the star to arrive.

2. Having suggested on a live broadcast that the guest was a conman, the presenter was duly sued for         .

3. The government minister who had been sacked was         mercilessly by the press wherever he went.

4. The former star rarely made public appearances and practically lived as a         in her mansion.

5.           by the press for his buffoonish behaviour, the candidate continued his run for the presidency, undeterred.

6. The actress was being         by a deranged fan who seemed to follow her everywhere she went.

7. Lucinda was a fashion blogger before she was approached to write a weekly        in a London newspaper.

8. The ambitious young reporter cemented his career with a       on an athletics doping scandal.

B Complete the text with the words. What do you think ‘Publish and be damned’ means?

| anecdotes | blackmail | excerpts | exile | gossip | instalments | libel | memoirs | notorious | obscurity | press | scandal |

Publish and be damned

In 1824, the Duke of Wellington received a disturbing letter. ‘My Lord Duke,’ it began, ‘in Harriette Wilson’s (1)         , which I am about to publish, are various (2)           of Your Grace which it would be most desirable to withhold, at least such is my opinion. I have stopped the (3)       for the moment, but as the publication will take place next week, little delay can necessarily take place.’

The letter, sent by a crooked businessman named Joseph Stockdale, was an attempt at (4)           . Harrietie Wilson – a (5)           personality – had fled London and was then living in (6)       in Paris, down on her luck and desperately in need of money. The Duke – a national hero – had secrets that Wilson knew, and was being asked to pay up or risk a (7)         .

Wellington’s response is legendary: ‘Publish and be damned!’ he boldly challenged. And they did. Over the following year, the book appeared in a series of regular (8)             ; from these, (9)          were pirated for wider consumption. To the delight of (10)         everywhere, half the aristocracy was named in the book.

It was a huge success, but it did not last. Stockdale was soon ruined financially by (11)       suits, while Wilson was broke again within a few years, and died in (12)           . The Duke, on the other hand, went on to become prime minister.

It means ‘you can publish if you like, I don’t care.’ It is now used more often when someone decides to publish something offensive or unpopular even though they know they will face public criticism.

C Choose the correct words.

1. A: Management at the newspaper are seriously considering making staff cuts.
   B: I know. It’s because our              [circulation, distribution] figures have dropped.

2. A: These figures show a continued decline in       [paper, print] media.
   B: Well, it’s clearly due to the rise of online news outlets.

3. A: How did the press get their hands on this information?
   B: We think the      [drip, leak] came from a government employee.

4. A: Are you sure you can trust your assistants?
   B: Definitely. They’re too          [discreet, discrete] to talk to the press.

5. A: Your cousin travels a lot. What does he do for a living?
   B: He’s a foreign               [correspondent, reporter] and he’s posted in Asia.

6. A: Before running your story, we need to know where you found the information.
   B: It’s from a very          [credible, feasible] source – someone on the inside.

D Match the words in bold in 1–6 to their meanings a–f.

Complete the expressions with the words.

• headlines

• invasion

• legend

• limelight

• map

• minutes

• splash

• stardom

• string

• time

1. That singer had a        of hits in the 90s, and was quite famous for a time.

2. Unexpectedly, the support act stole the           at the band’s final show.

3. Very few artists make a        with their first album, but she did.

4. He appeared as a contestant on a reality show and got his 15         of fame.

5. He finally hit the big      with the publication of his last novel.

6. It seemed that he was destined for         from a very young age.

7. She never gave interviews as she considered them an          of her privacy.

8. It was the artist’s unique paintings of banal subjects that put him on the     .

9. Pablo Picasso enjoyed great success and was a        in his own lifetime.

10. She hit the           a year ago when she married a famous footballer.

Match the verbs with the nouns to form collocations.

Complete the sentences with the collocations from the previous exercise in the correct form.

1. Everyone thought he was a one-hit-wonder, but he surprised everyone by                   two years after his first hit.

2. She has very little discernible talent, so I think that’s why she always                 by trying to be photographed outside high-end bars and clubs.

3. After a string of flops, it was no surprise when the band                   their              .

4. It was definitely in that gangster film that he                             . He was really underwhelming in everything I saw him in after that.

5. The tension backstage during our final performance at drama school was really high because everyone was trying to                        .

CHOOSE the correct words.

1. His shyness in private was completely    [at, on] odds with his public persona.

2. The paparazzi were getting         [out of, under]hand, and so the police were called in.

3. As soon as he tasted fame, the young actor became quite full      [with, of]himself.

4. The joke the author made upon receiving his award was    [by, in] very bad taste.

5. The reporter was sacked     [at, on]the spot for making up bogus sources.

6. Social media was abuzz with the celebrity’s       [into, over] the top wedding.

7. Upwards       [from, of] 10,000 fans were at the airport to welcome the star.

8. Many sacrifices were made by the aspiring actor      [for, in]the name of fame.

For questions 1 – 8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.

Propaganda and the news media

We expect our news outlets to present us with an (1)           view of the world. When we tune in to the nightly news or read a newspaper we assume that we are being provided information (2)             . But are we? Although not as widespread as (3)            theorists would have us believe, propaganda exists, and nowhere more so than in the news media. The news is the perfect vehicle for the (4)               of information because of its vast audience and the power it has to influence opinions. But when its intentions are to deceive, the (5)                presented is an example of propaganda. This is often achieved by presenting facts (6)             ; that is, by intentionally choosing some things that support a particular narrative and not others. We call this ‘lying by (7)          ’, and it is a very effective tool. Editing can also colour the truth. One well-known broadcaster dubbed in sound effects and played a (8)         video next to a correspondent reporting from a conflict zone to create a sense of danger when none was present.

| OBJECT |
| PARTIAL |
| CONSPIRE |
| DISSEMINATE |
| INFORM |
| SELECT |
| OMIT |
| CHAOS |