Reading the news: a worksheet

Japan to launch world-first mission to moon of Mars

4 reports from 4 outlets over 19 hours. Those outlets have 3 owners.

• The Economic Times and Times of India have the same owner: The Times Group.
• The Economic Times and NDTV used nearly the same words. Headlines this close usually come from one news agency’s copy.

1. ET The Economic Times · 19 Oct · ≈ same wording
   Japan to launch world-first mission to moon of Mars
2. ND NDTV · 20 Oct · ≈ same wording
   Japan Launches World-First Mission To Moon Of Mars
3. HT Hindustan Times · 20 Oct
   Japan launches mission first of its kind mission to return samples from Martian moon Phobos

   Words only this outlet used: return samples, Martian.

4. TI Times of India · 20 Oct
   Japan launches first-of-its-kind mission to bring back rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos

   Words only this outlet used: bring back rocks.

Questions

1. Which words do most headlines share? Which words does only one outlet use, and what do they stress?

2. Who reported it first, and how long did the others take? Does “first seen by Huduku” mean they broke the story?

3. How many different owners carried it? Do any outlets share an owner, or nearly the same words?

4. Which outlets you know did not carry it? What might explain that?

5. What is the original source (a judgment, notice, speech or set of figures)? Find it. Does any headline say more than the source does?

6. If you shared one of these headlines, which would it be, and why?

Each headline links to the outlet’s own report. Huduku shows headlines only. https://huduku.org/story/5807