What is News? QUICK FIRE 1 What is news? Who decides what is news?

2 News is what is interesting & important

Definitions Journalist/reporter -- collects and prepares a news story 3 Editor/producer -- decides what stories to cover, the order of coverage (e.g., what makes the front page or lead story), and how much coverage (i.e., length of story or broadcast)

What is News? 4 Everything that happens in the world What is reported as news

Short Discussion How does a newspaper, news broadcast, or online news service decide what to report on? 5 Who gets to decide what is worth reporting? What factors might influence that decision?

6 Lunch is chicken patty sandwiches Prom theme decided: A Night to Remember Football team got new uniforms Mr. Curie won a Golden Apple award Susie Green won science fair Thirty students went on field trip to the history museum Billy Williams suspended for smoking in the bathroom Mike Walker and Shavon Smith broke up Brittany McKeon is pregnant A fight involving 10 students broke out in the lunchroom School closed for one week due to broken furnace Kanye West to visit during report card pick up Puppy found roaming the halls of school Ms. Crabapple is retiring after 60 years of teaching Fred Frederick got straight A’s this semester The local school board is meeting next week School district cutting budgets next year New standardized tests to be unveiled Local politician visits sophomore class Story Ideas

Deciding the News Discussion 1.How did your criteria for choosing a story compare to the criteria editors and journalists use? 2.Did everyone agree on what was important and interesting? Why might that be the case? 3.Are there other factors for deciding what makes “news” than what are listed here? What are they? 7

QUICK FIRE 8 Why News Matters Is the news important? Why or why not?

9 it has the power to shape how people think. News Matters Because

10 1.Get into groups of 3 or 4 students. 2.When instructed, go to a learning station, read and interpret the information, discuss as a group, and write your response. 3.Rotate to the right when instructed. Learning Stations Instructions

11 1.Take out your bell-ringer response and read what you wrote at the beginning of class. 2.Underneath your response, write your current thoughts to the question “Does news matter? Why or why not?” Does News Matter?

12 Why News Matters

Stand Up If 13 Stand up if the statement applies to you. Stay standing until instructed to sit down.

Person on the Street Videos 14

Write your reaction to what you just watched using only five words. You may either write a five-word sentence or list five words that describe what you saw. Five Words 15

Stand and Declare Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statement? 16 “The news media is responsible for the ignorance of the citizenry.”

Writing Prompt Some people blame the media for the ignorance of the public, saying that people rely on the news for their information. Others say that the media just simply responds to the demands of the public. Write a short position paper on whether you think the media is responsible for the “ignorance” of the public. 17

Socratic Seminar How does ignorance impact the United States? 18

News Media Bias 19

Bell-ringer A fight between two girls broke out in the hallway last period. The principal asked those who witnessed the fight to report what happened. The witnesses included: the best friend of one of the students who fought, a sister of the other student, a teacher who knows both students, a teacher who does not know either student, a student who was just walking by halfway through the fight, and a student who was in the hallway when the fight broke out. How might the witnesses’ reports differ? Why? 20 Respond in writing to the following prompt:

Definitions bias: to show a preference for a certain issue or position perspective: point of view objective: the ability to describe an issue or event without expressing an opinion or taking sides subjective: one’s personal interpretation of events propaganda: often false or misleading information used to promote a person, institution, or organization 21

22

Outfoxed 23

Investigating the News Find one example of media bias in a broadcast and/or print new source. (While Outfoxed examined media bias in broadcast news, many print news organizations use similar tactics.) Pick a news source other than Fox News. Identify the news source Describe the bias technique Explain what messages might be missing 24

The Power of Language 25

Bell-ringer Respond in writing to the following prompt: 26 What is the difference between calling a person a “soldier” versus calling him or her a “freedom fighter”?

Definitions Meanings of words can be separated into two parts: 27 Denotation: a literal meaning of the word Connotation: an association (emotional or otherwise) which the word evokes

House 28 Home Denotation ConnotationNeutralPositive Place where a person or people live Image credit: TaxRebate.org.uk

Words with Different Connotations What are some examples of different words or phrases that mostly mean the same thing but have different connotations? 29

Which Statement is Neutral? There are over 2,000 vagrants in the city. There are over 2,000 people with no address in the city. There are over 2,000 homeless in the city. 30

Investigating the News 1.Find an example of biased language in a news story. 2.Write the connotation of the word/phrase. 3.Write a less biased word/phrase. 31

Identifying Perspectives in News Stories 32

Bell-ringer 1.Read the “Rats Bite Baby” section of the How Perspectives Shift the Story handout. 2.Turn to a partner and identify the who, what, where, and why of the story. 33

34 Rats Bite Infant. Landlord, Tenants Dispute Blame

35 Rat Bites Rising in the City’s ‘Zone of Death’

Identifying Perspectives in News Read your article and complete the Identifying Perspectives in News Articles worksheet with your partner. 36

Comparing Stories 1.In what ways do the different articles represent different perspectives? What evidence do we have to support this? 2.What facts do all the articles have in common? 3.What information is in one article but absent in another? 4.If someone read just one of these articles, how would their view of the event differ from someone who read the other articles? 37

Distinguishing News from Commentary 38

Bell-ringer Respond in writing to the following prompt: 39 What is an editorial and how is it different from a news article?

Is your story a News Article or Commentary? Why? 40

Four Corners Activity 41

Blurred Lines Watch the video 2.Pay attention to the reporter’s language

Blurred Lines Discussion Questions 43 Was Chris Matthews reporting the news, was he giving us his opinion, or was it a mixture of the two? What did he say that supports your position? What are the impacts of mixing commentary and news reporting?

44 1.Interpret the slide image. 2.Explain how it might influence consumers’ understanding of what is going on in the world? 3.Explain how it might impact having an informed public in a democracy? PEW RESEARCH CENTER 2013 STATE OF THE NEWS MEDIA Source: Pew Research News Coverage Index Note: Data from three days in 2012 (November 26, December 5, and December 18) Fox NewsMSNBC On MSNBC, Opinion Dominates Reporting Percentage of Newshole CNN Commentary/Opinion Factual Reporting 85% 15% 45% 55% 54% 46%

Exit Ticket 45

Just the Facts: Fact Checking in the Digital Age 46

Bell-ringer 47 Respond in writing to the following question: What is wrong with this picture from 9/11/01?

10 Fake Photos of Hurricane Sandy 48 C2%ADfake%C2%ADphotos%C2%ADof%C2 %ADhurricane%C2%ADsandy

49 Dewey Beats Truman hi-chicagodays-deweydefeats- story,0, story

50 Whom Can You Trust? ama-to-write-new-u-s-constitution/ ama-to-write-new-u-s-constitution/.

51 Fact Checking in the Digital Age

52 From Headlines to Hashtags: How and Where People are Getting their News

53 Bell-ringer Complete the bell-ringer section of the News Media Trends worksheet. Put a check next to all the news media source types where you get your news. Then, rank your top four sources. For example, write “1” next to the source type you use the most.

54 Where do Americans go for their news?

55 Main Source for News PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 17-21, Q46. Respondents were allowed to name up to two sources.

56 Main Source for National and International News PEW RESEARCH CENTER July 17-21, Respondents were allowed to name up to two sources. Q46 & Q47. Ages Ages Ages 65+ Ages 30-49

57 Newspaper Newsroom Workforce Continues Its Decline Total number of newsroom workers in the thousands thousand PEW RESEARCH CENTER 2012 News Consumption Survey; Newspaper Association of America.

58 What news source would you use...?

59 Pew Research Center’s 2013 State of the News Media report. PEW RESEARCH CENTER 30% 19% 34% 12% 19% 9% Total Population Year Olds Year Olds More People Getting News on Social Networks Percent of respondents who saw news on social network

60 Hurricane Sandy Conversation on Twitter Percent of assertions Data range: October 29, October 31, 2012 Source: PEJ analysis using Crimson Hexagon Technology PEW RESEARCH CENTER 34% 25% 14% 13% 8% 6% News and information Photos and videos Jokes Hopes and prayers for safety Political commentary Excitement

61 Tweet it In your groups, create a 140 character or less “tweet” that highlights one way the media has changed/is changing. Write your tweet on a sticky note.

62 Citizens: The New Fourth Estate As you read the story, highlight the facts in one highlighter color and the opinions in another highlighter color. (Create a color key at the top of the page.) After you finish reading and highlighting, respond to the following prompts in writing: What is David Hoffman’s thesis? Do you agree with it? Provide evidence to support your position.