A. Newspapers

Most papers [newspapers] are daily, which means that they come out [appear in shops; syn are published] every day. Some are national [for the whole country], others are regional [for a part of the country]. Some newspapers are published online; these are called e-papers. You can also get mobile editions [you read a newspaper on your phone]. Magazines are usually weekly or monthly.

B. Contents of* newspapers

Reports [pieces of writing about news items, written by reporters/ journalists, e.g. a report in The Times on/about a crime]
Articles [pieces of writing about an important subject, e.g. an article on/ about drugs]
Headlines [titles written in large letters above reports/articles, e.g. GOVERNMENT LOSES VOTE]
Reviews [pieces of writing giving an opinion, e.g. a review of a new book]
Advertisements or adverts [words and pictures about a product, to make people buy it, e.g. an advert for shampoo]

^*information in

C. Television

If you broadcast something, you send it out on TV, radio or the Internet. There are now many broadcasting companies and many programmes. People watch:

• the news [information about world events]
• the weather forecast [a description of what the weather will be like in the next few days]
• documentaries [programmes that give facts about real situations and real people]
• chat shows [programmes where famous people are asked questions about themselves]
• a series [a number of programmes that have the same characters or deal with the same subject]
• soap operas [a regular series of programmes, often two or three times a week, about a group of characters who live in the same area]
• reality TV shows [programmes which follow ordinary people or celebrities [famous people] through a number of situations or challenges. Well-known [famous] examples include: Pop Idol, The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing].

Language help

We usually use channel to talk about television broadcasting, e.g. The news is on Channel 4; and station to talk about radio broadcasting, e.g. A: What station are you listening to? B: Radio 1 – it’s mostly pop music.

D. Media reporting*

Many newspapers also have online forums where people can leave messages and discuss topics. News is also reported online through podcasts [a radio programme that you download from the Internet and play on your computer or phone], e.g. Have you heard the latest business podcast on the CNN website?

When we refer to something that someone has said or written, we do it in these ways:
It said in The Times that the plane crashed in the sea.
According to the news on TV last night, the plane crashed in the sea.

^* reporting in newspapers, on TV or the Internet

Common mistakes

It says in the paper / According to the paper … (NOT ~~It’s written~~ in the paper … )