Do you watch the news a lot?
Do you hear people talk about the news often in conversations?
Do you want to be able to know what terms to use about the news in English?
We’re going to help you to understand the importance of the news in the US, and the types of terms you can use in conversation.
This question comes from somebody who is actually in broadcasting, and it is likely something that you wonder about.
Hi Lindsay,
I am a TV hostess in China, and I am wondering what on earth is the right way to introduce my job. Can I say that I’m a TV host? I ask because I just saw them introduce the title of a TV hostess in a documentary of BBC earth as “Host”. So can the word “host” also describe a woman?
Additionally what are the differences between the words “Anchor “, “Reporter “, and “Correspondent”? How can I use these and what is the most appropriate?
Thank you for helping me! I am looking forward to seeing your response.
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Understanding The News Business As A Whole
This question doesn’t only matter to those in broadcasting.
This is trying to understand the appropriate way to address a professional, no matter what the gender.
For starters, anyone who works in journalism field falls under the umbrella of “the media”–this could be radio, print, digital, tv, or anything of the like.
Today the media tends to be very controversial.
In the US, our media is very divided based upon politics.
People tend to watch news that corresponds with their political views.
You might want to switch it up a bit to get various points of views sometimes.
Watching The News In The US
The reality is that many people within the US watch the news as part of their day.
Watching the news is great to keep up on current events.
Since there are a variety of different political views and related broadcasts, you may want to keep a few things in mind.
Try to watch news from all over the place, and not always focus on news on a cable station.
The news on the cable stations talks about current events, but also includes a lot of additional commentary.
It is good to watch some cable news so that you can understand the various viewpoints out there.
These newscasts tend to include panel discussions–hearing these various points of view can help you to think harder about your own opinions.
It can be a good idea to watch things even if you don’t agree with them.
This can help you to understand what is going on in the world, even if you don’t want to hear what other people think all the time.
Knowing The Right Words
There are several words that you will hear used in and around the news.
It can help to know these common terms because they can really help you in everyday conversations.
- TV host or hostess: You can generally say either–though you would say host for a man or a woman but hostess only for a woman. The same rule applies if you are talking about a host or hostess of an event. Host is used the most frequently regardless of gender. The host is the host of the show. It could be any kind of show–a talk show, a news broadcast, a game show, or any event.
- Anchor: This is a specific term for the host of a news program–specifically an anchor behind a desk. Someone can be both a host and an anchor, but you tend to think of an anchor as being mostly about news.
- A reporter: This tends to be someone who does specific stories for the newscast. There may be a piece of the program or a special report that the reporter reports on–whereas the anchor is on for the whole thing. A reporter may do one story and ALSO is used in print media as well, whereas an anchor is only for television.
- A correspondent: This tends to be a reporter but they may cover a particular area or topic of general interest. An example might be that there are White House correspondents, foreign correspondents, national correspondents, and things of the like.
These titles can help you to understand the various people who appear on the newscasts that we watch.
Watching the news and understanding various points of view help you to be able to engage in conversation on current events and the like.
Takeaway
It’s a good idea to watch the news, but it’s also good to know what kind of news you are watching and how this may or may not shape what you hear.
The news will give you a certain language set and will help you to know how to talk about things in everyday conversation.
The language that you get may be more formal, but if you watch cable news, you may get some natural English as well because they have more panels and discussion.
Try to keep up to date with what is going on in the news, because this is what people talk about all the time.
You’ll be able to have more valuable conversations with people if you are following what is happening around you.
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
