Read the text. Fill in the gaps 1-6 with the sentences A-G. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
In 2008, I was on a flight to Inverness. As I sat down with my crossword, I recognised a voice in the seat behind me. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader. He spent the next hour going through his supposedly secret meeting. Instead of filling in the crossword, I took down shorthand notes in the squares. My story was picked up by pretty much every other national newspaper. 1And the message for Nick is clear: next time, whisper.
I have been a national newspaper journalist for 20 years. I’ve been a news reporter, a sub, a features editor, a columnist and even a farming editor. 2I’m proud of my profession and the smart, brave, hard-working people who populate it. Journalists are only ever as good as their last piece of copy - and that tends to keep you honest.
We will always need journalism and, that said, we will always need journalists. But let us not fool ourselves. 3The medium, largely confounded by the online challenge, is changing fast and the bad reputation of the tabloids has accelerated the decline. Whether newspapers become freesheets funded by advertising, publish online or morph into magazines, radio stations or satellite channels, journalists, both new and old, need to learn some key lessons.
Journalists must never focus so keenly on the story that they negate the human beings who populate it. 4If you no longer care about people, you have no business being a journalist. You need empathy and heart as much as honesty and courage.
When it comes to personal ethics, you’ve got to be true to yourself. There is pressure to perform and that pressure is never greater than when you start out. 5They may not be essentially unethical but they may be wrong for you. That is for the individual to decide.
Yes, we have a commercial imperative to give readers what they want. But we also have an absolute responsibility to give them what they need. 6If we adhere to that mantra, we will not just survive, we will flourish.
A No ethical rules were broken.
B Curiosity and knowledge are always instructive.
C You will be asked to do things that make you feel uncomfortable.
D We should add to society, not detract from it.
E It is not only unethical, it is bad practice.
F But, essentially, I’m a teller of stories.
G Today, newspapers are under real threat.
that is for the individual to decide.
yes, we have a commercial imperative to give readers what they're doing want. but we Alsop a y a y a y a have an absolute responsibility to give them what they need. 6if we adhere to that mantra, we will not just survive, we willing to do flourish.
a no ethical rules were broken.
b curiosity and knowledge are always instr and mark