Watching the Clock: An activity to build media-savvy students

Subjects: Government, civics, journalism, communications

Estimated time of Completion: 45 minutes of class time and one optional research homework assignment

Overview

This mini-lesson and activity is designed to help students understand the time constraints on broadcast journalism and analyze the differences between publicly funded newscasts such as the "NewsHour" and commercial television news.

Lesson Objectives

Students will learn how to:

• Describe the time constraints on broadcast news.
• Apply data collecting and data display skills.
• Identify the main difference between news programs such as "NewsHour" and commercial television evening news.

Correlations to National Standards

Materials

1. Newspaper
2. Copy of Gettysburg Address: Printer-friendly PDF version
3. Assignment worksheet: Printer-friendly PDF version

Procedures

1. Explain to the students that television news is constrained by time. That while time alone does not make for in-depth reporting; the lack of it certainly prevents it. As 75 percent of the American people say they consider television their primary source for news during an election, the issue of time is an important one when evaluating a broadcast news show. Most news broadcasts offer very little in-depth reporting comparable to that which is available in the print media.

You may wish to write the following comparison on the blackboard to help make your point:

• National news on ABC, CBS, NBC
• 30 minutes, including 8 minutes of commercials
  
  
• Local news
  
  • airs usually in 30 minute segments (again, including 8 minutes of commercials)
  • includes sports, weather, and conversation
    

• NewsHour
  • 54 minutes, 1-3 minute underwriting credits at beginning and end of show

2. To illustrate the relationship between time and content in news broadcast have the students complete one or all of the following activities.

ACTIVITY ONE

Print vs. Broadcast: Who says the most?

Select a student to read aloud from an article on the front page of the newspaper about a major news event. Using a watch, stop the student from reading after 90 seconds. He or she will have read somewhere between 90 and 150 words. Discuss with the class whether this amount of information is sufficient to understanding the events. At some point during the discussion share with the students that 90 seconds is the average length of a broadcast news story.

Extension: You could show the students a video clip regarding a major story from one of the national newscasts and ask them to compare the content and time to one from the NewsHour

ACTIVITY TWO

The Amazing Shrinking Sound Bite

(Sound bite: a video or audio clip of someone speaking, usually inserted in a broadcast news correspondent's report.)

Break the students into manageable groups of 4-5 and distribute copies of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech. Ask them to select an 8-second portion of the speech that best represents the point he was trying to make. (The 8-second requirement is important because the average network sound bite has shrunk to 7.3 seconds from 42 seconds in the 1968 presidential election. See http://www.cmpa.com/pressrel/electpr5.htm)

Have the students read their selections with the class. Share with the students that this is now the average length of a sound bite on television. And ask them to:

• Evaluate what effect this shrinking time on commercial news is having on candidates' ability to have their views known.
• Compare and contrast time offered to candidates between the NewsHour and commercial newscasts.
  
  

Alternative: Rather than the Gettysburg address, you could give the students a recent speech by the president. They may be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov

POTENTIAL RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT

1. Distribute the assignment worksheet provided in the materials section. Explain to the students that the object is to record, as carefully as possible, the use of time by the various evening news programs. Each student, or pair of students, is assigned a specific program. They are to compile notes on the contents of the show using the assignment worksheet so that the elapsed minutes may be easily recorded.

2. In a subsequent class, group the students so that each of the shows is represented in each grouping. Provide the students with time to organize the newsprint so as to display their data. (Encourage them to draw clocks, bar graphs, or other illustrations that visually display their findings.)

3. The students are to complete the following tasks:

A. Describe how the two or three major news stories of the night were treated on the various programs.

B. Compare and contrast the treatment of these stories on the various networks.

C. Compare and contrast the primary difference between the manner and way these stories were treated on the commercial newscasts with that of the NewsHour, illustrating their conclusions with specific examples.

4. Have the student present their work to the class.

Standards
This lesson addresses the following national content standards found at http://www.mcrel.org

Viewing (Standard 9)
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

1. Uses a range of strategies to interpret visual media (e.g., draws conclusions, makes generalizations, synthesizes materials viewed, refers to images or information in visual media to support point of view, deconstructs media to determine the main idea)

2. Uses a variety of criteria (e.g., clarity, accuracy, effectiveness, bias, relevance of facts) to evaluate informational media (e.g., Web sites, documentaries, news programs)

Media (Standard 10)
Understands the characteristics and components of the media

4. Understands production elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a specific medium (e.g., the way black-and-white footage implies documented truth; the way set design suggests aspects of a character's socio-cultural context; effectiveness of packaging for similar products and their appeal to purchasers)

5. Understands aspects of media ownership and control (e.g., concentration of power and influence with a few companies; diversification of media corporations into other industries; the commercial nature of media; influence of origins on a media message or product).

About the Author James McGrath Morris is a member of the social studies department of West Springfield High School, in Springfield, Va. A frequent writer of lesson plans for PBS, Morris has served on the PBS TeacherSource Advisory Group. In 2002, he developed nationally distributed lesson plans on 9/11, conducted teacher training, and was a member of the "9/11 As History" project Advisory Board.