Lerninhalte in Englisch
Inhaltsverzeichnis

Aufgabe 1.1

Tasks

1

Sum up the information on Natalie Savage and what she does while waiting for the media briefing to start.

(20 %)
2

Analyze how Savage’s experiences on her first day in her new job are conveyed. Focus on narrative techniques and use of language.

(40 %)
3

Choose one of the following tasks:

3.1

“[…] the posts glorified the most banal aspects of politics, sucking any whiff of substance from a story […].” (ll. 44-45)
Taking the quotation as a starting point, assess the effects quality journalism and sensationalist journalism have on political discourse.

(40 %)
OR
3.2

The cartoon below has shown up in your social media feed and has caught your attention. Write an email to the award-winning cartoonist David Horsey, in which you comment on the message of his cartoon.

(40 %)
Karikatur eines mysteriösen Charakters, der eine junge Frau mit einem hypnotisierenden Objekt beeinflusst. Thema: soziale Medien.
(c) 2023 David Horsey
All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency

Text: Excerpt from the novel

Savage News

By Jessica Yellin

Natalie Savage has just arrived at her first White House media briefing.

[...]
1
Flooded with relief, Natalie pushed into the scramble of bodies and felt the intensity of a
2
breaking news event in the air: a pupil-dilating flush of oxygen, the heart-pounding thrill of
3
being at the center of an all-eyes-on-this story. She made her way to the American
4
Television Network's (ATN) seat in the third row and relaxed enough to look around. At the
5
back of the room was a warren of cubicles, each assigned to a network. A row of cameras
6
stood in front of the cubicles like leggy sentries, and in front of those were the seats for the
7
correspondents. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
8
It smelled of mold and sweat.
9
Why does success always smell like a men’s locker room? she wondered.
10
Objectively, it was a crap hole. Despite the administration's claims to have no money for
11
infrastructure projects, Natalie suspected that the shabbiness of the tiny press room was by
12
choice, not necessity, like an aging duchess who uses chipped Limoges not because she
13
can't afford better but because she likes it and relishes the discomfort of her judgmental
14
guests.
15
She heard the crackle of static and a young man’s voice came through an overhead speaker.
16
“Sorry for the change folks. The White House briefing will now be delayed by fifteen
17
minutes.”
18
All around Natalie reporters collapsed back into their chairs, shaking their heads and
19
murmuring as they began angry-texting on their phones. Everyone had rushed here and now
20
this delay would throw live shots and lunch plans into chaos. But for Natalie it was a relief.
21
Fifteen minutes to get used to breathing the air of a White House correspondent.
22
One of Natalie's phones buzzed and she pulled it out to watch it fill with messages from her
23
mother [...].
24
She had gotten used to torturing her hair into silky straightness and wearing one percent of
25
her body weight in foundation and eye shadow, but the lashes were now a compulsory, and
26
already itchy, new addition applied at the insistence of ATN’s head of talent. “Everyone at the
27
White House has lashes. They are a must. Otherwise viewers won't see you!”
28
When Natalie had protested, “But I can't see so well when I wear them,” the head of talent
29
had given her a pained look and said, “Many people can't see at all, dear,” as though Natalie
30
had been brazenly taking sight for granted up to that point.
31
Natalie angled the screen so it was easier to read through the forest of lash and watched it fill
32
with the dress pictures from her sister [...] when a smug male voice over her shoulder said,
33
“The one on the left.”
34
“I beg your pardon?” Natalie twisted toward the guy speaking. [...]
35
He glanced up from his screen and held out his hand. “Matt Walsh. Beltway dot com. Uh-oh.
36
I see the nickel dropping. Now you're thinking, ‘Ah, that explains the smell of sulphur in the
37
air’”.
38
Natalie laughed but her guard shot up. Beltway. The website was the gossipy mean girl of
39
the political set, bringing the same cannibalistic enthusiasm Us Weekly brought to
40
uncovering affairs and baby bumps to its coverage of the Bubble. The Bubble being what
41
Washington Insiders – the types who read Beltway – called themselves, as opposed to
42
everyone else, whom they referred to with subtle condescension as "regular" or "real"
43
Americans. That sorry-not-sorry superiority suffused Beltway. Written in the key of snark
44
with an undertone of kissed-it-fucked-it-over disdain, the posts glorified the most banal
45
aspects of politics, sucking any whiff of substance from a story with the efficiency of a college
46
student taking a bong hit.
47
She was shocked when her first news boss had told her every important political reporter
48
reads Beltway and if she cared to be one, she’d better start. The last Beltway story Natalie
49
had read covered a White House meeting about the president’s energy goals as “Kiss My Fat
50
Ass? Elizabeth Warren Eats a Cookie for the First Time in Six Weeks While Talking Solar in
51
the Oval Office!”
52
What kind of reporter would do that, she’d wondered.
53
Well, now the answer was sitting right next to her. The man who had, in fact, written that very
54
story. She was wary but fascinated, as if she’d found herself dining with someone who’d
55
asked the waiter to remove his steak knife, explaining, “I don’t trust myself around weapons.”
56
She aimed for a warm but not too friendly tone and shook his hand. “Natalie Savage, ATN.”
57
Matt appeared impressed. […]
58
“[…] First day at the White House?” he went on. “Nervous?”
59
“No.”
60
“Liar?”
61
“Yes.”
62
He snickered. “Good, we have something in common.” Typing on his phone, he continued, “If
63
you’ll take a bit of advice from someone who got here before you, there’s no reason to be
64
nervous. You’re thinking it’s the White House, the big top. Screw up here and it’s available
65
for viewing on YouTube for the rest of your life! Worse, YouTube is the only place you’ll ever
66
be seen. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what you say at this briefing. Nobody listens or
67
cares.”
68
Natalie gave him a look of wide-eyed admiration. “Are you a doctor? I feel so much better
69
now.”
70
He laughed again, but didn’t look up. “It’s not just you, it’s everyone. The Reals think there’s
71
news at the White House briefing, but inside the Bubble we know it’s just theater. Everyone
72
plays a part. It doesn’t matter what you say, only how you say it. Nothing worth reporting gets
73
said here.”
74
Natalie performed a mental eye roll (a physical one was counter-indicated by the fake
75
lashes) at the posture of bland unconcern that he was working so hard to effect. As if not
76
caring about the issues or the state of democracy was proof of his objectivity and superior
77
reporting. […]


968 Words
Yellin, Jessica. Savage News. Toronto: Mira Books. 2019, 11-17. (Misspellings and minor grammatical mistakes in the original corrected.)

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