Other countries have a climate: in England we have weather. This statement often made by Englishmen to describe the peculiar meteorological condition of their country is quite true because in no country other than England one can experience four seasons in the course of a single day. Day may break as a balmy [ba:mi] (pleasant) spring morning, an hour or so later black clouds may have appeared from nowhere and the rain may be pouring down.
At midday conditions may be really wintry with the temperature down by about 15 degrees. And then in the late afternoon the sky will clear, the sun will begin to shine, and for an hour or two, before darkness falls, it will be summer. In England one can experience almost every kind except the most extreme.
The English get several different sorts of weather in one day. This uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishmans character: it tends to make him cautions, for example: the foreigner may laugh when he sees the Englishman setting forth on a brilliantly sunny wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella but he may well regret his laughter late in the day. And, of course, the weathers variety provides a constant topic for conversation. Mentioning the weather can be useful and inoffensive way of starting a conversation with a stranger.
The British Mass Media
The British mass media consists of the press and radio and TV broadcasting. Now a few words about papers. The most important of the British press are national papers. They are distributed and sold in all parts of the country. Nearly all the national papers have their head offices in London. The national papers are divided into two main groups: quality papers and popular papers. The former group includes The Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Observer, The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph. They report national and international news very thoroughly. The latter group: The News of the World, The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express. These newspapers try to make news sensational, they publish personal articles which shock and excite. Instead of printing factual news reports, these papers write them up in an exciting way, easy to read, playing on peoples emotions. Their aim is to entertain people, avoiding serious political and social questions. Crime is always given far more space than cultural achievements. Much of their information concerns the private lives of the people who are in the news. The popular newspapers are very similar to one another in appearance, with many pictures, big headlines, short articles and the main news on the front page.
In addition to daily papers I have just mentioned there are Sunday papers, nearly all of which are national and some of which are closely linked with daily national papers. Sunday papers have a higher circulation than the dailies.
There are provincial newspapers in Great Britain. The most famous provincial newspapers are The Scotsman (Edinburg), The Glasgow Herald, The Yorkshire Post (Leeds) and The Belfast Telegraph, which present national as well as local news. Apart from these, there are many other daily, evening and weekly papers published in cities and small towns. They present local news and are supported by local advertisements.
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A popular opinion about the leading British newspapers was wittily and not without a sense of humour expressed by an Advertising Copywriter:
The Times is read by the people who run the country.
The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the men who run the country.
The Guardian is read by the people who would like to run the country.
The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country.
The Financial Times is read by the people who own the country.
The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who remember the country as it used to be.
The Daily Express is read by the people who think the country is still like that.
Weekly and monthly reviews are a very important element in the British press. There are about 8000 periodicals in the United Kingdom, which are classified as general, specialized, trade, technical and professional. General and specialized periodicals include magazines of general interest, womens magazines, publications for children, magazines dealing with sport, gardening, hobbies and humour, etc.
The highest circulation belongs to womens weeklies. The most important journals are The Economist, the Spectator and New Statesman. The Economist covers topics on events of international, political and economic interest. The Spectator devotes much space to reviews of books and to literary and other artistic matters. The New Statesman contains articles on national and international affairs, politics, literature, and the arts.
One of the most powerful sound broadcasting services is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), based on Broadcasting House in London.
The BBC has four television channels: BBC 1, BBC 2, the ITV (Independent Television) and channel 4.
BBC 2 offers more serious programs than BBC 1: documentaries and discussions, adaptations of novels into plays and serials, operas and concerts. The programs of BBC 1 consist mainly of lighter plays and serials, humor and sport, as well as some documentaries.
The ITV is controlled by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). It was set up in 1954. There are 15 different program companies, each serving a different part of the country. These companies get most of their money from firms who use them for advertising.
Channel 4, which began broadcasting in 1984 is also controlled by the IBA and forms a part of the so-called Independent Television Network.
The BBC has 4 national radio channels. Radio 1 provides mainly a program of pop music. Radio 2 has light music and entertainment, comedy and covers sport. Radio 3 provides classical and 20-th century music and some educational programs. Radio 4 specializes chiefly in providing the news reports, talks and discussions, drama, music, etc. The BBC has some 27 local radio stations and 37 commercial independent stations distributed throughout Britain.
The BBC has a powerful external service, known as the World Service, providing programs in about 40 foreign languages.
Both the BBC and IBA broadcast educational programs for children and students in schools of all kinds, as well as for pre-school children and for adults in colleges and other institutions and in their homes.
to broadcast on radio
to telecast on TV
American Papers
USA Today
Los Angeles Times
The NY Times
The W. Post
The Chicago Tribune
Daily News
The Wall Street Journals
