Should the Press Be Human? Unit 9 Should the Press Be Human? by Katharine Whitehorn School of Foreign Studies, SCNU

Comprehension Question Decide which one of the following statements best expresses the central idea of the passage. While the code of the profession decides that journalists be impartial and report facts objectively, it does not mean that they should stay inhuman and apathetic under all circumstances. As the work of journalists is to make known to the public what is happening as objectively as possible, it is neither necessary nor possible for them to get involved in what is happening and take sides. If journalists are more concerned with what is happening than with reporting what is happening, there will be less news for the public in the press.

What does the author hypothesize in this paragraph? He hypothesizes about what might have resulted if the photographer had stopped the killer on the spot.

Para. 2 What is the topic sentence of para. 2? What is the controlling idea? “amazingly cold-blooded.” How is the idea developed? It is developed by two examples.

Para. 3 Is the question that begins para. 3 answered within the paragraph? If “yes”, what is the answer? If “no”, what does the question lead to? No. It leads to a dilemma, i.e., if a journalist/photographer should join in, the world would not know what atrocities are committed.

Where in the text can you find the guidelines of other professions? Para. 4 What, according to para. 4, are the guidelines of the profession of journalism? The guidelines of the profession of journalism: stay uncommitted and report the facts. Where in the text can you find the guidelines of other professions? The guidelines of other professions are found in para. 6: a doctor will stitch up soldiers in either uniform or a lawyer argue for either side.

Para. 4 What does the author think of some of the seediest journalists described in para. 4? The author is not satisfied with the performance of these journalists, who have no definite standards or principles. To report the same type of event, they may use one set of censorious（/sin‘so: riəs/） adjectives to condemn it, or another set of laudatory qualifiers to show their appreciation, depending on their personal bias. They take sides irresponsibly, and their reportage is guided by anything but objectivity. Granted that journalists must stay uncommitted and report the fact, there is still a lot not mentioned by their professional ethic.

Which sentence in the context clearly indicates this attitude of hers? Para. 4 Which sentence in the context clearly indicates this attitude of hers? This is indicated by the first sentence of the next paragraph.

Read each paragraph carefully and decide which option it refers to: In the passage Whitehorn has presented two options a journalist is facing: Option A: He should stay cold-blooded and go on reporting while people are being killed; Option B: He should be human, take sides, and interfere. Paragraphs: Both 1 & 2 Option 2 Option 1 1,2,5,6 The paragraphs in the passage refer to these two options alternately, with the exception of one or two in which both options are referred to. Read each paragraph carefully and decide which option it refers to: 4,7 3,8

Throughout the passage the two options are richly exemplified and illustrated. Pick out all the examples the author uses and place them under the right heading in the following table: Option 1 Para. 1: photographer shooting pictures of the gunman; Para. 2: photographer making the Indian family rebury its dead and the BBC sound man; Para. 5: the birdman story; Para. 6: doctor and lawyer. Option 2 Para. 4: use of different adjectives; Para. 7: an Italian journalist’s interference in the Tunisian soldier’s shooting.

The Title The writer’s reply to the question asked in the title is contained in ___. “Journalists and TV people are supposed to record what goes on.” (para. 2) “When it comes to the crunch, we probably do better trying to stick to that, than rushing off on individual impulse.” (para. 6) “But is there not a point in any profession where you are forced back against the wall as a human being, where a doctor should hand Jack the Ripper over to the police and a lawyer refuse to suppress the blood-stained evidence that proves his client a torturer?” (para. 7)