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I see the phrase on the news, but I don't quite understand on their news in this context. It's from the book Harry Potter.

"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.
"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."
Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.
"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently.
"You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going one. It was on their news."

Complete image here.

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  • Please include the text only, unless the image itself is somehow relevant (e.g. a meme).
    – Em.
    Jan 27, 2018 at 6:22

2 Answers 2

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"... even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news."

Their refers to the muggles. "It was on their news" means that it appeared on the news television programmes that the muggles watch.

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The phrase "on the news" indicates news programs that you share with your audience, while "on their news" indicates that it was on news programs that you and your audience don't usually watch. You might see this kind of construction when talking about countries, too. So if I were talking to another American about something that ran on news programs in say, Great Britain, I might say that the Brits saw it "on their news." But if I were talking to another American about something that ran on American news programs, I would just say "on the news."

If I were talking to a Brit about something "on their news," I might even say "on your news."

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