The Latest – Page 30

Satire’s role in current events

by Michael Johnson Title Satire’s role in current events Description According to Wyatt Mason in an online article published in the New York Times Magazine titled “My Satirical Self,” readers in the 21st century have “taken shelter in the ridiculous.” He provides an excerpt from The Onion, a satirical online news source referenced as “America’s…

Journalists as professional skeptics

by Kristin Taylor Title: Journalists as Professional Skeptics Description The first lesson explores ethical decision-making about what to publish and the importance of verification in that process. It is a case study that puts students in the role of an editor as they walk through a hypothetical story pitch and consequences of publishing an unverified…

Solutions journalism in student publications

by Kristin Taylor Title Solutions journalism in student publications Description Critics accuse the news media of only reporting bad news, but journalists must investigate and report on problems. One alternative to reporting solely on the problem is to report on how people and communities are seeking to solve those problems. This form of investigative journalism…

Self-censorship examination

by Lori Keekley Title Self-censorship examination Description This lesson examines the self-censorship on the individual level. The lesson starts by providing a prompt in which students examine what they would like to cover, but feel they can’t for some reason. Discussion addresses why this self-censorship exists and examines whether this self-censorship should be abandoned. …

How the media frame the news
and what journalists should consider

by Maggie Cogar Title How the media frame the news and what journalists should consider *The lesson plan “How people interpret the news and why it matters” is meant to be used before this lesson. It will help give students a background on news interpretation and processing before moving on to news framing and effects….

Propaganda

by Michael Johnson Title Propaganda Description In this lesson, students explore propaganda techniques, and discuss how they are the targets of advertisers and politicians. Students will understand and identify how propaganda techniques are used to influence them into doing, feeling and believing a message that may or may not be of benefit to them. Students…

Real, fake or satire?
A quick review

by Michael Johnson Jeopardy-style game activity Following the How to Spot Fake News lesson or Satire’s role in Current Events lesson (or perhaps even on its own or before the lesson), urge students to download the Jeopardy-style game to see how they really do in identifying fake news. There are three predominant types of news…

Spin and how it works

by Michael Johnson Title Spin and how it works Description In this lesson, students pick up where they left off in propaganda techniques as well as the concept of “spin” and discuss how politicians use these techniques to sway public opinion. Students will identify propaganda used in past and current ads and create their own…

How to spot fake news

by Michael Johnson Title How to spot fake news Description There has been a lot of talk lately about “fake news” because it has been particularly prevalent during the recent 2016 Presidential election campaign. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 62 percent of Americans get their news from social media sites and 44…

Jeopardy-style game activity

by Michael Johnson Following the How to Spot Fake News lesson or Satire’s role in Current Events lesson (or perhaps even on its own or before the lesson), urge students to download the Jeopardy-style game to see how they really do in identifying fake news. There are three predominant types of news in our world…

What should go into an editorial policy?
What should not? QT3

Editorial policies are the foundations for your journalism program. Often short, these statements address forum status, who makes final decisions of content and prior review. Think of it this way: a strong policy is prescriptive. It says what students will do. A policy is like a constitution and sets the legal framework for student media….

News v. public relations

Our second Tools of Truth lesson addresses fake news by helping communities differentiate between public relations and journalistic news. The entire package will be available Wed., Aug. 30. The Tools Truth package consists of more than 20 lessons on how to deal with fake news in four categories: censorship, satire, sloppy reporting and deceptive news. This…