Don’t believe everything you read in the papers: The best joke in Scoop is about the newspaper’s owner, Lord Copper. The editors can never 42________ with him. When he’s right about something they answer “definitely”, and when he’s wrong they say “up to a point, Lord Copper.” It seems 43________ to suppose that, in the real world, the opinions of such 44________ tycoons still 45________ the journalists and editors who work for them.
Info-attainment: In countries where the news is not officially 46________, it is likely to be provided by 47________ organisations which 48________ on advertising. The news has to 49________ viewers and 50________ its audience ratings. I 51________ that some stories get air-time just because there happen to be exciting pictures to show. In Britain, we have the 52________ newspapers which millions of people read simply for 53________, without even expecting to get any important information from them. I think this is why 54________ nowadays have to include a “sound bite” the small segment that seems to give a powerful message. There is progressively less room for 55________ background, or 56________, which are harder to 57________ as a 58________ story. The arrival of CNN, the 24-hour all- news 59________, has not 60________ the amount of real news reporting because the format of the channel is 61________ so that people who want to get the 62________ will not have to wait long. It tends to 63________ on the main story and repeat it.
Alternative reporters: There is an 64________ that with spreading access to the internet and cheap technology for recording sound and images we will all be able to find exactly the information we want. People around the world will be able to 65________ their own 66________ accounts and 67________ with the established news-gatherers on something like equal terms. I think this is true, 68________. But what it will mean also is that we’ll be subjected to a still greater amount of 69________ and lies. Any web log may 70________ the scoop of the year, or equally, a 71________ story that you will never be able to check.