| 
LESSON
PLAN: COVERING THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS OR TEMPORARY CHAOS?
By
Lisa Greeves, English and journalism teacher Subjects:
social studies, civics, journalism, communications Estimated
time of completion: This activity will take approximately 1-2 class periods.
Overview:
Reporting
on presidential primaries, elections, and their accompanying campaigns has changed
tremendously over the years. Reporters used to ride buses, rely on pooled information
- video and pictures shared by several different news organizations -- and report,
sometimes without questioning too deeply, what the administration or the candidates
themselves doled out. Photos were staged and positive. Now,
technological gadgets and the ever-increasing competition for on-the-spot, 24/7
news content have added yet another dimension to the dynamic world of political
reporting. While many in the media world say new technologies improve reporting
and give Americans a more honest look at the candidates, some media analysts question
its purpose, its product, and whether or not it's truly needed. Lesson
Objective:
Explore
with your students the different sides to this still-evolving practice of political
reporting, debate its merits, and discuss its results. Materials Correlations
to National Standards
Vocabulary
Review - Caucus
- a local meeting of voters of a given political party to nominate candidates
for public office, select delegates to a convention, etc.
- Primary
- a vote designed to nominate candidates for public office, select delegates
to a convention, etc.
- Embedded
reporters or "embeds" - a term that refers to reporters who accompany
military units during war, specifically the Iraq war
Activity
1.
Review relevant political and journalistic vocabulary with students. Then, assign
students to read the Online NewsHour transcript: Candid Coverage, January 16,
2004 (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june04/coverage_1-16.html).
Invite them to share their preliminary reactions to the article. 2.
Assign students to read the information on "How to cover a campaign"
from ReliableResources.com (http://www.reliableresources.org/tipsheet1.html).
Encourage reflection from the class on how the guidelines stated here coincide
with what is being discussed in the Online NewsHour's Candid Coverage. Do these
technological innovations being used in current campaign coverage seem to abide
by these stated guidelines or not? How? Pinpoint some specific guidelines, and
have students explain if, by using mini-cams and other devices, they are being
followed or not. 3.
Write the following passages from the NewsHour transcript on the board. Use each
as a springboard for debate in the class, making sure that students think about
and discuss each of the questions that follow the quotations. You can also divide
the class into six groups and assign a quote to each group. Each group will have
a recorder who will write down all answers and a spokesperson who will report
the group's debate to the class. A.
"The great value of these small cameras is that it allows you to take intimate
looks at candidates in an environment where everything typically is controlled.
Everything is about being on message." Byron Pitts, CBS News Discussion
questions: What are some risks of injecting a device that captures "reality"
in a highly-controlled campaign event? What are some benefits? Do you think the
"intimate looks" that will be revealed by these mini-cams are worthwhile
to the readers and viewers? Why or why not? Is the situation as clear-cut as the
reporter claims? What might candidates say about this? Does that matter?
B.
"These small cameras have allowed us to catch them in what we think are more
human moments, when they're off guard." Byron Pitts, CBS News
Discussion
Questions: Are candidates' "off guard" moments newsworthy or not?
Explain or justify your opinion. Take John Kerry's "unguarded moment"
of singing onstage; is that a newsworthy moment? Explain. Why do you think reporters
and news organizations are striving to show unguarded, more human moments like
these in their coverage? Are they relevant or not?
C.
"The war came to something of a close, and MSNBC looked ahead at the campaign
and thought, this is the next big story, and we want to cover it the way we've
covered the war, and we want to have as many people out there as we had during
the war. We want to give people really a taste and a feel of what this thing is
like." Elizabeth Wilner, NBC News Political Director
Discussion
Questions: What are some similarities and differences in covering the Iraq
War and covering the Democratic campaigns? Do you think that these two topics
warrant the same kind of coverage? Why or why not? What will be similar or different
for "embedded reporters" in a campaign environment as compared to a
war environment? How might the goal of higher ratings affect coverage? Is this
a bad or good thing?
D.
"The candidate's…real moments are no longer real moments. I mean, if
a camera's on you all the time, you don't get real moments. I don't know whether
24/7 gives us much more insight than before." Candy Crowley, CNN's political
correspondent
Discussion
Questions: Do you agree with Crowley's concerns? Explain. Do Crowley's views,
as a veteran reporter, seem to represent an "old school" approach to
reporting or a safer, more tried-and-true approach? Discuss the value of being
able to obtain news about a candidate from an embedded political reporter "24/7,"
as Crowley puts it.
E.
"I've kinda gotten to the point where I know that we're probably…everything's
being recorded, and that's just the nature of modern-day politics." Rep.
Dick Gephardt, former candidate for Democratic nomination for President
Discussion
Questions: How does this statement from a former Democratic contender for
the presidential nomination reflect the effect of these technological advances
on the candidates? Does it change what the reporters, networks, and technology
are trying to do in the first place or not? Explain.
F.
"I don't know whether it is the function of there being so many of us or
there being so many of them. I'm not sure we know coming into this who these people
are." Candy Crowley, CNN's veteran political correspondent
Discussion
Questions: Crowley is speaking about the numbers of reporters covering the
campaigns. How might these new technological reporting practices, and the conveniences
they provide, affect the number of reporters, the qualifications of reporters
and their credibility, the identification of reporters, and how campaign staff
and candidates themselves view reporters? Discuss.
4.
After students have discussed and debated their opinions and thoughts about the
selected passages, have them write a two-page response to the following passage
for homework. Establish criteria for how students must explain their opinions
and support their assertions. "Is
more coverage necessarily better coverage?" Terence Smith
5.
Once students have turned in their essay and voiced their opinions in writing,
assign them to go to www.newzcrew.org to
participate in an online youth discussion circle about the Democratic primaries.
Encourage students to share with the class on a regular basis some of the topics
they discuss and some of the different opinions they are encountering. Extension
Activities
1. Assign students to watch a certain amount of televised campaign
coverage (or record it and show it in class) as well as read an assigned amount
of newspaper and newsmagazine campaign coverage. Have students keep a log and
watch for examples of more revealing, intimate, "unguarded moments"
coverage that were obtained through the mini-cams or embedded campaign reporters.
Document each instance in their logs. Then, have students create a chart where
they explain each instance they found, analyze it in terms of its newsworthiness,
insight, and value to the viewer/reader, and assess whether or not the information
or image was worth using or not. Share the charts with the class in a discussion.
2.
Assign students, either individually or in small groups, to research and create
a presentation on the reporting techniques and trends during Presidential election
years from 1950 to the present. Some helpful sources could include:
Standards
This activity meets the following standards set forth by the National Council
for Teachers of English regarding high school journalism classes: 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.
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 non-print texts, artifacts, people)
to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
11.
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members
of a variety of literacy communities.
About
the Author Lisa Greeves has taught journalism and English in two school systems
in Virginia. She has a B.A. in English and journalism and an M.A. in English.
She published a chapter titled "Vignette: Collaborating on an Editorial"
in Applying NCTE/IRA Standards in Classroom Journalism Projects, published by
NCTE in 2002. To
find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman
at extra@newshour.org. | 
