Out of Print

The story goes that a bon vivant who had overdone things the night before woke up the next morning convinced that he had shuf­fled off the mortal coil and was no more. When his family members' assurances to the contrary failed to shake his conviction that he had been translated into the past tense, it was suggested that the ultimate proof of his continuing existence or otherwise should be whether or not his name appeared in the «dispatches» column of that day*: newspaper. This acid test was conducted, and, on confirming that hi: name did not feature among the dear departed of the previous day the stricken one decided that, despite all other indications to the con­trary', he must after all still be alive. This anecdote might endorse views of those who believe in the life-and-death powers of the Press

Among its faithful followers, the print medium is not just a message but a hot-line communicating the latest in holy writ. Skeptics who would dismiss this as a typical case of journalistic exaggeration might pause to ponder the recent case of a British daily which pro­pelled its readers into the future when by mistake it printed the next day's date on its masthead. Subscribers to the credo that reading is believing - even when what is read goes contrary to the calendar and commonsense - changed their schedules accordingly, only to discov­er that for their newspaper's tomorrow they had given up their today and were out of step with the rest of the populace. The power of the printed word to make or mar the world was summed up by the press tycoon William Randolph Hearst who is said to have claimed that if his chain of publications went on strike no one would declare a war as the event would go unreported, and hence unnoticed.

(The Times of India)

B. Now answer the following questions.

1. A number of words and expressions in this text are to do with death or dying. Can you identify them? You should find six.

2. Find four words connected with the idea of belief.

3. In which part of the newspaper do you think this piece oc­curred? Justify your answer.

4. Comment on the style in which the piece is written.

The Press at Work

C. Terry, a schoolboy, talks about how Press handled coverage of an incident at his school. Answer the following questions using information provided on the tape.

1. Which men were at the school when Terry got there?

2. What were they trying to do?

3. How were they trying to do this?

4. Were they successful?

5. Did the true story emerge in the papers?

6. What is Terry’s opinion of the press reports?