B. quite contrary to what the United States meant to air.

C. the basic source of information for the whole world.

5. Al-Jazeera’s chief met personally with Saddam Hussein because

A. he found it essential for his job.

B. he likes Saddam as a person.

C. he wanted Al-Jazeera reporters to be stationed in Baghdad.

6. The article says: “The Pentagon tried to play ball with Al-Jazeera”, which means that

A. the Pentagon was aiming at open cooperation with Arab reporters.

B. the Pentagon was eager to come to terms with Al-Jazeera.

C. it wanted to get a wide coverage of the war.

7. Describing the way Al-Jazeera portrayed American actions in Iraq the article means to say that the reports were

A. biased.

B. one-sided.

C. not true.

8. The Pentagon’s emphasis on embed system of reporting proved a mistake because

A. embedded reporters showed too many tanks.

B. they didn’t show what American viewers wanted to see.

C. embedded reporters got realistic information which didn’t correspond to the news given at briefings.

9. How did American military authorities interfere with the work of embedded reporters?

A. They banned information.

B. They prevented reporters from presenting up-to-date information.

C. They persuaded reporters not to present certain information.

10. The article points out that the most important thing in accurate reporting is

A. a traditional TV format.

B. filtering, clarifying and packaging developments.

C. the right context.

 

Vocabulary. Read the article again, find the following words and word combinations in the text and learn their meaning. Use these words in the further discussion of the problem.

Ingenious, (civilian) casualties, to depict smb as …, a primary source (for news), to render smth less relevant (irrelevant), to give smb an exclusive interview, the crawl line (under the screen), to black out smth, coverage, to be at odds with smth, to say smth on the air, to air smth.

Discussion

1. Do you think the author of the article is biased against Al-Jazeera? Why do you think so?

2. What means did reporters use to create a negative attitude to Americans during the Iraq war? Do you think such methods always work or do you think they are effective only under certain circumstances, for example, when viewers are ready to be receptive?

3. Do you think Al Jazeera was accurate in its reporting of the Iraq war?

4. Can you find examples cited in the article proving the significance of context for accurate reporting?

5. Do you think Americans had a right to ban certain information and to block satellite phones of embedded reporters?

6. Comment on the quotation from the epigram: “A lie will go round the world while the truth is pulling on its boots.”

 

Vocabulary 1

6. Study the meaning of the following synonyms and near synonyms. Make up sentences or short situations to show how you understand the difference in their meaning.

To assume, to presume

to assume – допускать, предполагать; исходить из предположения

E.g. Let’s assume that this is true. – Допустим, что это правда. (Будем исходить из предположения, что это правда.)

to presume – полагать, допускать; (юр.) исходить из предположения

E.g. I presume from your statement this decision to be final. – Судя по вашему заявлению, я полагаю, что это решение будет окончательным.

NB. ‘ To assume ’предполагает принятие чего-либо на веру, без доказательства. ‘ To presume ’предполагает признание чего-либо верным с оттенком выражения личного мнения. В юридической терминологии ‘ to presume ’ означает признание чего-либо верным до тех пор, пока не будет доказано обратное.

Casualties, losses

casualties – (воен.) потери (в живой силе)

E.g. The unit suffered heavy casualties.

losses – потери, урон

E.g. Losses in manpower and materiel – потери в живой силе и технике

Fate, fortune

fate – судьба, рок

fortune – судьба, счастье, удача

E.g. to leave smb to his fate – оставить кого-либо на произвол судьбы

to try one’s fortune – попытать счастья

A channel, a canal

a channel – канал, путь, источник; телевизионный канал

E.g. It can be done through diplomatic channels.

a canal – канал (сооружение)

E.g. irrigation canals – оросительные каналы