English with Jo

News and the Media

This is the preparation material for an English conversation lesson about news, current events and the media. There is an audio discussion about the future of print newspapers which raises some questions and issues for consideration.  There are also some idioms we might use when discussiong this subject and some conversation qustions about news and media.

Audio disussion about the future of newspapers

Listen to audio discussion about newspapers

Download Transcript of Discussion

Audio courtesy of elllo.org.

Questions about the discussion 

• What are some of the idioms you heard in the discussion? What did they mean?
• Do you agree with Matt that newspapers may die out in the future?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of reading news online?

Idioms we might use when talking about news

• Behind closed doors – Events which take place hidden from view.
• Both sides of the coin – To see both points of view in an argument
• Pull the wool over (someone’s) eyes – To deceive
• Raise/lift the curtain – To make something public; disclose
• Turn a blind eye – To ignore something and pretend not to see it
• No news is good news – If you don’t hear any news it means nothing is wrong. 

Conversation questions about news and media

• What are the main stories you have been following in the news recently?
• How do you keep up with world events?
• What is the latest news about your country?
• How much time do you spend discussing current events with friends and colleagues?
• What recent events are you fed up hearing about?
• Which person in the news do you most like hearing or reading about?
• Do you think most journalists tell the truth when they write a news piece?
• Do you trust the information you get from the news?
• Why do you think that news is censored in some countries?
• Do you think the world would be better off if no one heard the news from other countries?
• Which news source do you trust the most?
• Do you think the news influences people too much?
• How has the reporting of news changed over the years?
• Do you think people need to know all of the news? What are some examples of news people should not hear about?
• Do you think that the private lives of politicians should be reported?
• What do you think is the most important thing the news should report?
• What was the most memorable news you ever watched?
• What do you think has been the biggest news item in the past ten years?
• Do you think that the media covers too much bad news and not enough good news? How do you think this affects people?
• How has technology affected the way we receive news?
• Do you think that most newspapers print what’s really important, or what will help them sell more newspapers?