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"Teaching news literacy is not an option. It is an essential survival skill in an information age."
--Alan Miller, founder & CEO of the News Literacy Project
"Watch what you're watchin."
--Naz ("Sly Fox," 2008 Song)
Inquiry Questions
Factual:
Who owns the news?
What is the difference between news journalism & social media generated content?
Conceptual:
Can freedom of expression coexist with business interests and other authorities?
Debatable:
Is social media responsible for the proliferation of misinformation?
History of the News Industry
Where / how did it various forms (Print, TV, & Digital) originate?
Are there any similarities to the news through the ages?
How did news consumption get here?
Extension Video: The History of News in 5mins (Future Journalism Project Media Lab)
MEDIA BIAS CHART (Newsy)
Which news organizations have a liberal (left) bias? A conservative (right) bias?
Which news organizations are mostly news reporting? Which are mostly opinion / analysis?
News Literacy
Why do we need News Literacy?
Intro Task:
Tables: watch 3 videos on the News Literacy Youtube Playlist HERE
Together choose 1 to show to the class & discuss:
Why did you choose it?
How does it move the discussion forward about being news literate & defending against misinformation?
What are 3 "take-aways" (important quotes) from your chosen video (each group member explains one)?
Take these two quizzes (LEFT & RIGHT) & record your results in your News Consumption Profile.
Sources: Scripps & NLP
Reliable Sources CNN Podcast Questions.pdf*Access these Podcasts at the CNN website for this show HERE
Above is a Reliable Sources Podcast episode interviewing News Literacy Project founderAllan Miller. Use the Listening Guide (ABOVE) to answers Qs (CNN)
RIGHT is another episode from March 6 2022 where the host discusses a new Russian law that effectively kills a free press in Russia. Use the Listening Guide (BOTTOM RIGHT) to answer Qs (CNN)
Lesson Link HERE
Misinformation (Checkology Lesson)
Misinformation: Incorrect info unintentionally created or shared with good intent.
Disinformation: Incorrect info that was purposely designed to mislead or confuse.
Case Study: Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The situation in Eastern Europe involving the Russian & Belarusian invasion of Ukraine presents an opportunity to study a major news story as it unfolds.
Studying anything as it is happening is challenging. We don't have the benefit of time to know the whole story yet. In war "the truth is the first casualty" meaning understanding what is reliably happening in an ongoing war is very challenging indeed.
Let's explore some of the news coverage of the Ukraine situation.
Disinformation- Dig Deeper_Russian_Disinfo.pdf(ABOVE) Lesson Resource
3 Very Different Types of News Coverage of the Same Event: which is best?
Source: NLP & International Center for Journalists
GLOBAL PRESS FREEDOM
CLICK HERE for News Literacy Program lesson on Global Press Freedoms in 2022
How Dis/Misinformation Spreads
SHORT POST-VIDEO QUIZ (LINK)
Why Are Conspiracy Theories Appealing To Some People?
News Goggles
Use this "Dig Deeper News Goggles" RESOURCE paired with the video to the left (HERE) to continue to explore the topic of Disinformation.
Source: News Literacy Project
Should You Share It (QUIZ)?
We can all make better choices about the information we consume, share and act on. But can you tell the difference between social media posts that are false or misleading & those that are credible?
Test your news literacy skills with this QUIZ and help stop the flood of misinformation.
Take the Factitious quiz, share your results screenshot in the Google Hangouts chat, & input your results into your News Consumption Profile
Take the Globe (National print newspaper, Canada) quiz, share your results screenshot in the Google Hangouts chat, & input your results into your News Consumption Profile
Fact Checking Websites
Snopes is a fact checking website. It aims to verify claims made by public figures in public speeches, gov policy, televised debates, published articles (etc). Have a look at a recently checked fact and choose one to share with the class. HERE
Media Matters For America is a 'Media Watchdog' Website
Explainer Websites
Vox media is a particular type of media outlet known as an "explainer site." It aims to "explains the news."
We live in a world of too much information and too little context. Too much noise and too little insight. And so Vox's journalists candidly shepherd audiences through politics and policy, business and pop culture, food, science, and everything else that matters. You can find our work wherever you live on the internet — Facebook, YouTube, email, iTunes, Instagram, and more.
Vox was launched at Vox Media in 2014 by founders Ezra Klein, Melissa Bell, and Matthew Yglesias. (https://www.vox.com/pages/about-us)
Did you hear the rumor?
From The News Literacy Project, the Viral Rumor Rundown is an often updated source for fact checking local & international news, celebrity news, political news, and other publicly shared content in order to attempt to debunk rumors that spread as fast as social media algorithms will allow (which is extremely fast!). Check it out & find a familiar rumor to share with the class.
IMAGE MANIPULATION
Image Manipulation FAKE NEWS.pptx
(ABOVE) Checkology lesson on digital verification skills by reverse image searching
PARODY NEWS ARTICLES
The Onion, whose tagline is, "America's finest news source," is anything but that. Originally founded by students at Harvard University it is a parody news site that lampoons current events for the purpose of humor and satire (LINK).
News Literacy / Journalism Tie-In Movies:
Spotlight Article & Questions (G8 Unit 3).pdf
Shattered Glass Viewing Guide (G8 Unit 3).pdfShattered Glass (2003).aviStop Reading The News.pdfStop Reading The News
By Rolf Dobelli (Author of The Art Of Thinking Clearly)
To challenge my bias (as someone who enjoys consuming the news often) I read this book over the recent holiday. I'm not sure Dobelli has convinced me of his central thesis-- that we would be better of ignoring newspapers and other print journalism, but I do admit he raises some good questions.
Let's take a look, chapter by chapter, at Dobelli's book to consider his main questions, "What is the relationship between the 24hr news cycle and our mental health?" And, "Would we actually be better off without daily newspapers?"
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