Overview
Media literacy is the understanding of the structure and function of media messages and the organizations that create them. Broadly defined, media is a term for anything that communicates, such as books, magazines, computers, radio, film, television. Media literacy is the ability to interpret and create personal meaning from the hundreds, even thousands, of verbal and visual messages we are exposed to every day. The goal of media literacy education is to enable the individual to select, to challenge and question, and to use media actively and consciously for one's own purposes. Young people are living in a media-rich environment where they receive most of their information and entertainment through the electronic media of television, radio, and the Internet, but also from newspapers, magazines, and film. Media literacy education helps students to critically evaluate the incredible variety of information to which they are exposed, to understand the power and influence of the media, and to become informed, discriminating and active media consumers.

One critical area that media literacy education focuses on is the news and the role of the news media in a democratic society. This lesson will cover several key areas of media literacy: essential differences in news reporting among the different media; editorial choices in reporting the news; bias in reporting; and the effects of the concentration of ownership of media on news reporting and analysis.

Objectives
Students will have the opportunity to practice or apply the following:

• Compare and critically evaluate the different media as sources of news
• Develop criteria for defining "news"
• Experience the editorial process of selecting news stories
• Detect bias in news reporting
• Recognize differences between straight news and editorials, and between reporting and analysis
• Examine the role of competition in news reporting
• Analyze the effects of media ownership on news reporting and analysis
• Organize information into a concise format
• Summarize the main points of an issue
• Communicate orally and in writing

Introduction
In our system of democratic government, power resides in the people. Abraham Lincoln referred to it in his Gettysburg Address as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". We exercise our power through representatives at the national, state and local level, whom we choose through free and open elections every 2-4 years. At all times, we are free to express our pleasure or displeasure regarding the actions of our elected officials and our thoughts regarding policies of local, state and national governments. We can do this through such things as letter writing, public forums, petitions and demonstrations.

Discussion
(Write students' responses on the blackboard or flip chart.)
1. What does a citizen need to know in order to participate in the democratic process, i.e., in order to exercise his/her power as a citizen?
2. How can someone become an informed citizen?
3. What is role of the press or news media in a democratic society? How can the news media support the "work" of citizens?

Ask students to think about whether they are informed citizens. Have them make a list of all the ways they get information on the government and public officials. They should include both traditional sources of news as well as other sources such as classes in school, discussions with family and friends, and entertainment programs (Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, etc.) Enlist a small group of student volunteers to compile the lists and create a chart to post in the classroom. Save this chart to use as a reference in Compare the News Media (below).

Writing
Give the students a copy of the Thomas Jefferson on Freedom of the Press quotes below. Have them read the quotes and encourage them to ask for clarification of any they do not understand. Students should choose one quote and write a 1-2 page essay reflecting on that quote, expressing their own thoughts and feelings, and relating the quote to today's news media. (If time allows, students can begin writing in class, and finish their essays as a homework assignment.)

Introduction
When it comes to reporting the news, whether on a television or radio news program or in the newspaper, choices have to be made and someone has to make them. And there are a variety of reasons for the choices that are made, such as the news directors' perception of the audience's interests; philosophy of the newspaper or station owner; the editor's perception of his/her own role as "gatekeeper", etc.

Discussion
1. Are all stories equally important?
2. In light of their role in the democratic process, what types of stories should news organizations report?
3. What are some criteria that can be used in deciding what news to report? (Write students' suggestions on the board or flip chart.)

Evaluation: Is it news?
Refer students to News Judgement at www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/teamedia/class2.htm which they can print out. Using these criteria and others that came out of the discussion, students should evaluate the newspapers available in the classroom. To keep this activity manageable, divide the students into groups, e.g., front page of the paper; front page of the metro or local section.

As a homework assignment, students should watch a national or local news program on television and apply the criteria used in the newspaper evaluation exercise above. They should list the stories that were covered and write answers to questions 4 and 5.

Editorial committee
(Obtain an hour's worth of wire service stories from a local television or radio station or newspaper. At the television or radio station, contact the news director. At the newspaper contact the national news assignment editor.)

Students will play the role of news editors. Their job is to choose which stories, of the hundreds that came into the newsroom, to report that day. Which ones will they choose to report, and how will they make those decisions?

Divide the class into the following groups: local news, network news, major newspaper such as the New York Times or Washington Post, commercial radio, and Internet. Give each group a copy of the wire service stories. Each group should decide on the lead story; the order of the stories (for TV or radio) or the placement of the stories (for the newspaper; and what will be left out. Have each group report and explain their decisions.

a. On Friday, announce the issues from the Washington Week e-mail newsletter (distributed on Thursday afternoon). Divide the class into groups and assign each group an issue. Ask the groups to bring in other forms of media coverage on their issue, such as clippings from newspapers or newsmagazines, printouts from Internet news sites, or students' written summaries of coverage on television or radio news. The following week, the students can share and discuss the differences in coverage and possible reasons for the differences. How does the coverage of the issues in other media compare to that of Washington Week?

b. Divide the class into groups of 3-5 students and have select a recent national or international event and compare the coverage it received in various media: a newspaper, commercial television network, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, commercial radio, National Public Radio (either Morning Edition or All Things Considered), a newsmagazine and an Internet news site. Then have them create a "Comparison of News Media Chart" and track the coverage of their story over the course of one week. Students should chart the following: number of pages, columns, or minutes devoted to each story; main points of the story, kinds of visuals used, use of on-camera interviews or quotes from experts or others involved; and whether or not there was enough information available to understand the story. Have the groups report their findings to the class. Make a list of the advantages and the limitations of each type of medium as a source of news.

Discussion
Which medium gave the most complete coverage of an issue? Which one left you with questions, wishing you had more information about the issue? Would getting all your news and information from any one medium make you an informed citizen? Why or why not?

Refer back to the chart that was created in the first class (Free Press and Democratic Citizenship). Based on this information, how informed are you as a class? What could you do to change this picture?

Introduction
Bias and spin are two ways of shading the truth in news. The first comes from those presenting the news, i.e., editors, news directors and reporters. The second comes from those who are the source of the news itself.

Pose this question to the class: Is it possible to completely eliminate bias in choosing and reporting the news? Get their responses and remind them about the decision-making process they experienced in the Editorial Committee exercise. What biases came into play then?

Discuss other slogans and their relevance to the notion of bias, e.g.: "All the news that's fit to print", on the front page of every issue of the New York Times; and "If it bleeds, it leads" a somewhat facetious statement describing what some see as an emphasis on sensationalism in local television news.

a. Have students compare a story on the same topic from two different sources, e.g., two print media, two electronic media, print and electronic media. Ask students to deconstruct the story by analyzing the particular words used in describing persons and events; the order in which the facts are presented; who is quoted; the use of visuals; and the headline.

b. Have students watch a local television news program. Ask them to note whether the anchors comment on any of the stories they report, even something brief such as "How awful" or "Nice story". These seemingly off-hand remarks are a form of editorializing, where the reporter is giving an opinion on the news. What is the effect of such remarks on the viewer?

"Spin" is usually associated with politics and public officials who have staff who serve as "spin doctors". Their job is to see that a news story is reported in a way that allows them to control the public's perception and subsequent political reaction.

For a better understanding of the notion of "spin", have the students read or listen to Linda Wertheimer's report on "spin" (Morning Edition, Nov. 2, 2002), at
www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/spin/index.html.

Getting to the unvarnished truth often takes time-more time than most journalists have in a competitive business where being first with a story is of overriding importance.

Ask: Why is being first so important in the news business?
Elicit students' responses, making sure they understand that being first helps to sell newspapers or bring more viewers to a news program, which means that more people will see the ads or commercials and potentially, at least, buy the advertised products. And, in order to stay in business, a newspaper or broadcaster has to deliver an audience to the advertiser.

Have the students' watch a television news program and list the products advertised during the commercials. What does this tell you about the audience for that program? Who is likely to buy those products? This is the audience that those particular advertisers want to reach.

Introduction
There are scores of news publications and broadcasts where we can get information 24 hours a day. Having so much information available is a mixed blessing. We can always find out about what's going on in the world but it's not always easy to understand what it means in our day-to-day lives. One way citizens can get help sorting out the issues is through a news analysis program such as Washington Week.

Have students watch the next broadcast of Washington Week, or tape the program to show in class.

Organize a Washington Week simulation with your class. Divide the class into groups of five, with one student in each group acting as moderator and the other four as reporters/news analysts. Limit the discussions to 30 minutes. Have the groups take turns doing their simulations in class or arrange a time when they can be presented to the school. The discussions can also be recorded as a school news and discussion program.

Preparation: Have each group select a specific issue currently in the news. Students can perform a search of their issues in the Transcripts section of this site. (Using the information from the transcripts, the students can create a timeline of the issue's developments, including setbacks, controversies and changes in the policies and players. Each group should prepare a written summary (bullet points) of the issue that includes pros, cons, the players and their views, and what implications the issue has for the country. These summaries will be used as reference during the discussions. Within each group students may emphasize different sides of an issue, but the group discussion should present all sides. The moderator will introduce the issue and move the discussion along, making sure each reporter has time to speak.

Note: To enhance the appeal of the discussions to a student audience, ask the groups to look for the youth angle in their issues. What is the relevance to a young person as a citizen now and in the future?

Introduction
Among the influences on news reporting is that of ownership of the media. Throughout our history, most of the media have been in private hands. During the 19th century newspapers held strong partisan leanings, but when there were as many as a dozen papers in a community, a citizen had lots of choice in getting the news. In recent years, big mergers have taken place in the media industry, resulting in the concentration of ownership in a small number of conglomerates. In addition to mergers, rules have changed that govern ownership of radio and television stations in the U.S. For decades the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limited the number of stations that could be owned by any one company within a given market. This was done to prevent control of news and entertainment by one dominant voice in a community. With the emergence of new cable and Internet technologies, the limits have been changed and may be removed altogether in the future.

There are two sides of the ownership issue, which can be summarized as follows:
1. Rules governing ownership are no longer necessary. Consumers have many choices when it comes to media, and market forces should determine how the industry is structured and how it operates.
2. Concentration of ownership (that is, only one or two companies own the radio and television stations as well as the cable outlets in a community) limits the diversity and number of voices giving us news and information, and this in turn undermines our democracy.

Students can literally get a picture of media ownership today by going to
www.mediachannel.org/ownership and scrolling down to the section "The Media Ownership Chart". To get a picture of media ownership in the U.S., under Facts and Figures click on "The Big 10". You may want students to print out one or both of these charts.

For information on FCC regulations and the proposed changes, go to
www.medichannel.org/news/indepth/fcc. Scroll down to "Arguments against Deregulation" and click on Chart: FCC Ownership Rules and Why They Matter. Both this URL and the one above provide arguments on both sides of the issue, especially those of FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who favors a market approach, and Mark Crispin Miller, who opposes deregulation.

To find out about media ownership in their community, students can go to
www.pbs.org/newshour/media/conglomeration. They can then check to see if any of the local media are in turn owned by any of the "Big 10" (see above).

Have students prepare a debate on the ownership issue using information from these Web sites.

Students can write letters to the FCC stating their views on ownership and the proposed rule changes. Note: Some of the changes will affect ownership of and access to the Internet.

Work with the students to organize a forum on the issue of media ownership, with speakers invited from local news organizations, activists, journalists, producers, and community organizations.

Jefferson was a great believer in the ultimate triumph of truth in the free marketplace of ideas. He felt that a press that is free to investigate and criticize the government is absolutely essential in a nation that practices self-government and is therefore dependent on an educated and enlightened citizenry.

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them." -- to Edward Carrington, 1787.

"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." -- to Lafayette, 1823.

"The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves, nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe." -- to Charles Yancey, 1816.

"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." -- to John Jay, 1786.

"I am... for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents." -- to Elbridge Gerry, 1799.

"No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions." -- to John Tyler, 1804.

"Weighing all probabilities of expense as well as of income, there is reasonable ground of confidence that we may now safely dispense with... the postage on newspapers... to facilitate the progress of information." -- 1st Annual Message, 1801.

"Our citizens may be deceived for awhile, and have been deceived; but as long as the presses can be protected, we may trust to them for light." -- to Archibald Stuart. 1799.

"I am persuaded that the good sense of the people will always be found to be the best army. They may be led astray for a moment, but will soon correct themselves. The people are the only censors of their governors, and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their institution. To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public liberty. The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the people is to give them full information of their affairs through the channel of the public papers, and to contrive that those papers should penetrate the whole mass of the people." -- to Edward Carrington, 1787.

"Considering [the] great importance to the public liberty [of the freedom of the press], and the difficulty of submitting it to very precise rules, the laws have thought it less mischievous to give greater scope to its freedom than to the restraint of it." -- to the Spanish Commissioners, 1793.

"It is so difficult to draw a clear line of separation between the abuse and the wholesome use of the press, that as yet we have found it better to trust the public judgment, rather than the magistrate, with the discrimination between truth and falsehood. And hitherto the public judgment has performed that office with wonderful correctness." -- to M. Pictet, 1803.

Completed essay on Thomas Jefferson quote
Completed evaluation of news broadcast
Completed Comparison of news Media Chart
Participation in class discussions and activities

Additional credit:

Participation in ownership debate
Written letter to FCC

Resources
Books
Buckingham, David. The Making of Citizens: Young People, News and Politics. NY: Routledge, 2000.
Lee, Martin A., and Solomon, Norman. Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media. NY: Carol Publishing Group, 1991.
McChesney, Robert. Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times. NY: The New Press, 1999.

Web sites
Lesson plans
The Media Awareness Network (www.media-awareness.ca)
KQED (www.kqed.org/topics/education/medialiteracy/index.jsp)
The Media and American Democracy Program at the Harvard Graduate School
(www.teachingdemocracy.gse.harvard.edu/front.htm)
The NewsHour Extra (www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/)

Media Literacy
WETA's MediaSmart (www.weta.org/mediasmart)
Newsweek Education Program (school.newsweek.com)
Center for Media Literacy (www.medialit.org)
Mediachannel.org (www.mediachannel.org)

News and journalism
Columbia Journalism Review (www.cjr.org)
Fred Friendly Seminars (www.fredfriendlyseminars.org)
Today's Front Pages project from the Newseum (www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages) World Press Review (www.worldpress.org)

Regulation and ownership
Federal Communications Commission (www.fcc.gov)
MoveOn.org www.moveon.org (see bulleting of Nov. 6,2002 on media Concentration)

Other
"On the Media" - weekly NPR broadcast; check local listings

About the Author
Karen Zill is the former Manager of Educational Outreach at WETA, Washington, D.C. She is currently an independent consultant who writes educational materials, develops outreach campaigns, and conducts media literacy classes and workshops.

[ Back to Top ]