News Editors Decide What to Broadcast on Television and What to Print in Newspapers – IELTS Writing Task 2

News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?

Outline

Essay Type

Direct Question Essay

Introduction

Paraphrase the topic.

State that your views on the topic will be elaborated on in the following paragraphs.

Body Paragraphs

What are the main factors influencing the decision of editors?

Why is bad news harmful and a balance needs to be maintained between good and bad news?

Conclusion

Summarize the points discussed in the previous paragraphs.

Sample Essay

It is a known fact that in the realm of media, especially news channels and newspapers, the decision of whatever is to be broadcasted to the public is in the dominion of an editor. Although various other factors and authority figures might influence these decisions, the greater responsibility is predominantly of the editor. With that being said, I believe a balance between favourable and unfavourable kinds of news is necessary, and I will elaborate on these views in the following paragraphs.

To begin with, every piece of information provided to the public through forms of mass media has immense potential to invoke strong emotions among the people. Consequently, the selection of such material has to be done with the utmost vigilance and with the political and socio-economic circumstances in mind to avoid sending any kind of wrong messages to the community. On the other hand, elements like sales and viewership are also vital in this regard as the aim of any business is to earn more revenue.

Subsequently, to entice the audience, negative information often receives more priority than positive ones as any kind of adverse occurrence is more gripping than regular events. However, it is important to realize that subjecting the masses to such bleak happenings daily has a damaging effect on the psyche of the population. Thus, it is important to strike a balance between good and bad news in order to keep the feelings of hope and motivation alive among the people.

In conclusion, I would like to say that although there are various factors in play when choosing what to report to the audience, the nature of the facts and figures showcased through news media should maintain an equilibrium to avoid demoralizing and demotivating influences. Since news editors have substantial control over such particulars, they should strive to achieve the same.

Vocabulary

• Realm

Meaning: a field or domain of activity or interest.
Eg: Cricket is her realm of interest.

• Dominion

Meaning: control, command
Eg: He tried to assert his dominion over them.

• Immense

Meaning: huge, large
Eg: The terrorist attack was an immense tragedy.

• Invoke

Meaning: call on, give rise to
Eg: The presentation invoked interest in the clients.

• Vigilance

Meaning: the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties
Eg: Vigilance is a key skill in combat.

• Entice

Meaning: attract, lure
Eg: They enticed the tourists with fake pamphlets.

• Adverse

Meaning: harmful, unfavourable
Eg: Smoking has adverse effects on our health.

• Bleak

Meaning: Not hopeful or encouraging
Eg: The funeral was a bleak event.

• Psyche

Meaning: Human mind or spirit
Eg: It is important to understand the psyche of a criminal.

• Equilibrium

Meaning: a state of balance
Eg: It will take some time for the market to reach equilibrium.

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