Harry Fights Back ! The power of the tabloids in the United Kingdom..

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 23: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit the Nyanga Township during their royal tour of South Africa on September 23, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Harry Fights Back

  1. Do you know the names of the tabloids in the United Kingdom? What are the names of the more serious newspapers?
  2. What members of the Royal Family do we hear about most? Do you have any favourites?
  3. What is your opinion of the Royal Family? What is the Queen’s role compared to a President?
  4. What are the advantages/disadvantages of having a monarch?
  5. How influential is the press in your country? Can you give examples of the power of the press?
  6. Do you read tabloids and people magazines? What kind of public figures do the press usually attack in your country? Do you consider this to be similar to bullying?

Important vocabulary

A tabloid

A ruthless campaign

Relentless propaganda

Digital age

Newborn son

Pregnancy

To vilify

At someone’s expense

To be a silent witness

Press coverage

Chip paper

My deepest fear

Bullying

History repeating itself

Watch the news report about Harry and Meghan

Prince Harry’s full statement on his family’s relationship with the media, issued on Tuesday night (02.10.2019) after his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday over its decision to publish a private letter she had sent to her father.

As a couple, we believe in media freedom and objective, truthful reporting. We regard it as a cornerstone of democracy and in the current state of the world – on every level – we have never needed responsible media more.

Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son.

There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper.

Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations – something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.

It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave. She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.

For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.

This particular legal action hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media. The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question. In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year.

There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.

Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.

We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it.

Just to finish, here is a video about the more fun sides of the Queen!

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Les 4 notions au BAC – définitions et idées pour les illustrer

1.Myths and Heroes

What is a myth?

myth is a well-known story which was made up in the past to explain natural events or to justify religious beliefs or social customs. There may not be records or other proof that they happened, but at least some parts of myths may be true. All cultures have myths.

What is a hero?

hero is someone who is admired for either for their courage, qualities or particular achievements. They can be regarded as an ideal or role model. A hero can also be someone that you know personally and that you look up to, usually because of a particular quality or skill that they have.

What can we talk about to illustrate this notion?

  • a patriotic or national hero (sportsman, politician, human rights defender)
  • a fictitious hero (superhero or film star)
  • an icon or role model (fashion, tv, music)
  • a historical personality
  • mythical places in the world

Ideas for topics:

  • Historical heroes : how did they pave the way for others?
  • Rags to riches stories : Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, JK Rowling…
  • Disgraced heroes in sport :Oscar Pistorius, Lance Armstrong…
  • Founding myths of the United States (Pilgrim Fathers, the Constitution, Thanksgiving)
  • The American Dream – stories about those how have succeeded but also reasons to believe that it is simply a myth : the American Dream is dead
  • Heroes or fallen heroes of the Vietnam War that are portrayed in American films (Platoon, Born on the 4th July, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket)
  • National leaders or political figures who can be considered as heroes: Queen Elizabeth II, Obama, Mandela, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malala Yousafzi …..
  • American movies : superheroes such as Superman or Captain America and their role in society: why do Americans love superheroes?
  • Reality TV stars – are they the new heroes?
  • Famous British film characters: Sherlock Holmes, James Bond
  • British heroes or heroines: Churchill, Florence Nightingale, Stephen Hawking
  • The heroes of Irish independance
  • British myths and legends: Robin Hood, King Arthur, the Loch Ness Monster

2. Spaces and Exchanges

Our modern world is built on the exploration and the conquest of new spaces. Nations are becoming more and more dependant on each other and our world seems geographically smaller then ever before thanks to improved transportation and communication systems. Throughout history trade, emigration, communication and conquest have brought about numerous cultural, political and economical exchanges across the world

What can we talk about to illustrate this notion?

  • Trade exchanges across borders
  • Globalisation
  • Immigration
  • Language and educational exchanges
  • Cultural exchanges (arts, media, fashion, music)
  • International communication
  • Internet and social networks

Ideas for topics:

  • The Brexit – how will it affect Europe and trade across borders?
  • New technologies and internet and their influence on world trade
  • Globalisation – McDonalds/Starbucks/Amazon/Apple (to name but a few!)
  • The US-Mexican border issue
  • The Cold War
  • Space exploration (Satellites/ Life on Mars/ Missions to the Moon
  • The brain drain: the emigration of talented/highly educated individuals from developing countries to seek a higher standard of living elsewhere (doctors and scientists leaving India for example)
  • Northern Ireland (history of the country and it’s relationship with Ireland, and more recently the « backstop » in the Brexit deal)
  • Immigration to the USA (Ellis Island, colonial period, Trump’s policies…)
  • Culture shock
  • South Africa (immigration history)
  • Canada (labour shortage and need for immigrants)
  • The Commonwealth (the role of the Queen and the link between the different Commonwealth countries)

3. The Idea of Progress

This notion can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change in technology, science and social organisation which bring about a positive change to our society. These advances help improve our daily lives and give us a better quality of life. Social progress, scientific progress and economic development are usually considered as having a positive effect on our society however there are some cases where this change can have a negative effect too. Very often progress is also accompanied by opposition because society isn’t comfortable with the changes being made (same sex marriage, women’s rights, minority rights for example).

What can we talk about to illustrate this notion?

  • Scientific Progress such as medical advances, cures for illnesses, cloning, performance-enhancing drugs, genetically modified organisms.
  • Technological Progress such as technologies to slow down climate change: hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar panels, biofuel
  • New forms of communication: the internet, social media, satellite
  • Social Progress: changes that affect the social and environmental needs of a society. This can include wellness (health, shelter and sanitation), equality, inclusion, sustainability and personal freedom and safety.

Ideas for topics:

  • Designer babies – the ethical considerations
  • Internet and social networks – improvement to international communications
  • Cyberbullying and cyber criminality
  • Suffragettes – the right for women to vote
  • The civil rights movement in the USA
  • Same-sex marriage and the redefinition of family values
  • Equal access to education for girls and women
  • The end to apartheid in South Africa
  • New techologies to produce energy and protect the environment
  • The effects of industrial progress on the environment (greenhouse effect, melting ice caps, rising of ocean levels, ocean temperature increase
  • New methods for predicting severe weather (tsunami, tornado, storm warnings) that save thousands of lives
  • Journalism and internet and the problem of fake news
  • Progress in India: is it a modern country?
  • Online shopping: the pros and cons (increase in the offer of goods but decrease in the number of shops in towns and cities)
  • Equality: the same rights for women and men (salaries, number of women in influential positions)

4. Places and forms of power (or seats and forms of power)

In politics and social science, power is the ability to influence people’s behaviour. In order to be able to live together, members of a community draw up rules, regulations and law and try to respect them. This helps to create social cohesion but can also lead to conflicts and tensions when certain members of the community disagree with these rules. This notion deals with the different forms of power in the world and the places where it is exerted. It also includes the counter powers and the struggles when people try to resist.

What can we talk about to illustrate this notion?

  • Civil rights movements across the world
  • Financial power
  • The power of the press
  • The different places where power is exerted (parliaments, palaces, White House, Downing Street…)
  • Resistance to power (uprisings, riots, demonstrations)
  • The struggle for equality
  • The power of language
  • The power of the arts/cinema

Ideas for topics:

  • The Gun control debate in the USA – the US Constitution
  • Social media and the internet – the influence on our lives
  • Ellis Island – how immigration was controlled in the USA
  • The Brexit – how the media were able to influence the voting process
  • The superpowers: how can these countries influence events across the world
  • President Trump and his environmental policies
  • Wall Street and the 2008 financial crisis
  • Love of power – people who have made a name for themselves in history: Obama, Churchill, Kennedy, Mandela
  • The influence of Queen Elizabeth II and the role of the Monarchy
  • Violence in cinema/ video games: can it encourage people to be violent?
  • The different scandals in the media: how it can affect people’s lives
  • The power of art: Banksy – how his works bring our attention to a different side of the truth

Black Friday – what is it and how did it get its name?

shoppingcover-1940x1293

The day After Thanksgiving (Friday) is known as Black Friday. This also is unofficially or officially start of holiday shopping season. Almost all stores come out with sales to attract consumers to their stores. People stand in line hours before store is opened, to grab the bargain of the year. Almost every store has something that interests every one. For bargain hunters, if there is a biggest festival in a year, that would be, no doubt, the Black Friday.

Black Friday rumours and the truth – BBC Newsbeat

What is Black Friday and where does it take place? Wikipedia explanation

The dangers of Black Friday and how it is becoming more consumerist – BBC Newsbeat

What is Black Friday?

 

How Black Friday is becoming more and more consumerist: