1. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility 1

2. Bell-ringer Respond in writing to the following prompts: 2 How might the adage “With great power comes great responsibility” relate to the news media? What power does the news media have? What responsibilities do they have?

3. Gatekeeper: The news media decide what becomes news by introducing topics and giving them lots of “airtime”. Example: The media’s coverage of the debate about Obama’s birthplace legitimized the debate and made it an issue in the election. Powers of the News Media 3 Scorekeeper: The news media keeps track of who is important by the amount of airtime and the type of coverage it provides. Example: In the 2008 presidential primary, the media did not give Democratic candidates Dennis Kucinich and Chris Dodd as much attention as the other candidates; therefore, Kucinich and Dodd were not considered viable contenders. Watchdog: The news media scrutinizes powerful people, agencies, and organizations and alerts the public to unethical behavior, injustice, inequities, safety concerns, and abuses of power. Example: The media exposed the torture of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

4. Gatekeepers Scorekeepers 4 (Decide who and what is important) With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility Watchdogs (Expose malfeasance)

5. = This is really important = I don’t understand this = Journalists rarely follow this Some statements may have more than one annotation. Code of Ethics Annotate the article using the following symbols: 5  ? ! “The role of the press is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable” --H.L. Mencken

6. Journalist=Superhero? Respond in writing to the following prompt: 6 How does the role of journalist compare to that of a superhero?

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