THE ETHICS OF EMBEDDED JOURNALISTS: DAILY ACTIVITY
Critical Analysis
By Lisa Greeves , English and Journalism teacher

Overview:
Embedded journalists are reporters who accompany a specific military unit during their wartime assignment and report on what they see and observe while with that unit. This type of news reporting is an exciting change for war journalism, as it provides unprecedented access to actual battles, successes, failures, and soldiers and often, the enemy. But at the same time, the practice of embedding journalists in the troops spawns a new set of ethical problems and dilemmas that will plague reporters, editors, and networks.

Time: 15-20 minutes

Materials:

Correlation to National Standards

Procedure:

1. Students read the NewsHour Extra story on embedded journalists.
   
   
2. Then, have students write for five minutes in their notebooks, articulating their opinions on the following two questions:
   

   A. Why would journalists not want to consider themselves part of the "group" that makes up the military unit they are assigned to?
   

   B. Why utilize embeds if what they're going to produce isn't the "total" picture of war, only "slices", as Donald Rumsfeld states? Is the practice worthwhile in that light?

3. After five minutes, have students share some of their reactions with the class.
   
   
4. Then, lead into the two-day activity on the ethical implications of embedded journalists. If possible, return to these two questions after finishing the lesson and see if any students' opinions have changed.

National Standards:

Journalism lesson plans will follow the guidelines set forth in the book Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects -- Activities and Scenarios, Candace Perkins Bowen and Susan Hathaway Tantillo. NCTE copyright 2002. An exerpt from the introduction and a list of these standards is included here.

Introduction: "Journalism teachers have long recognized their courses and the often extracurricular media they produce as excellent ways to teach a vast range of high school, junior high/middle school, and even elementary school content. Their courses support teaching standards for various curricula and indeed could -- and probably should-- be allowed to support an entire set of standards uniquely their own. However, because that is not an option in most states, and because journalism courses are most often part of English departments, with instructors who also have English or integrated language arts education backgrounds, it is only natural to create a book to strengthen this link."

Twelve NCTE/IRA (International Reading Association) Standards that the Journalism Education Association adheres to.

Standard 1: Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information, to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Standard 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophy, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meanding and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Standard 7: Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purposes and audience.

Standard 8: Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Standard 9: Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

Standard 10: Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum.

Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Standard 12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Works Cited:
Farstrup, Alan E., and Miles Myers. 1996. "Introduction." Pp. vii-viii in Standards for the English Language Arts. Urbana, Ill.: National Council of Teachers of English, and Newark, Del.: International Reading Association.

Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects -- Activities and Scenarios, Candace Perkins Bowen and Susan Hathaway Tantillo. NCTE. copyright 2002.

Author Lisa Greeves has taught high school English and Journalism classes for two Virginia school systems: Fairfax County Public Schools and Rockbridge County Schools. She has a bachelor's degree in English and Communication from James Madison University and a Master's Degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. She recently had a chapter published in the 2002 NCTE publication Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.