Media Literacy. Assigned 9/5, due 9/9 at the end of the period - Minor

  Now on to Media Literacy

 It's time we looked at one of these charts:

Here is a direct link to the chart above. There is an interactive version. I am not vouching for the validity of this chart, but it is a starting point for a discussion on Media Literacy and Media Bias.

https://www.adfontesmedia.com

On your blog please complete the following tasks, using the chart above:

1. List 3 sources that are comprised of mostly original fact reporting and are as neutral as possible.
2. List 3 sources that are mostly analysis and slant liberal
3. List 3 sources that are mostly analysis and slant conservative
4. List 2 liberal and 2 conservative sources that show extreme partisan bias

So part of this discussion and its relationship to our class is how we look at our sources for The Dispatch. You can kind of look at these ideas in three distinct ways:

Opinions
Facts
Informed Opinions

Take a look at these three interpretations:

https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/_documents/academics/support/learning-centers/writing-reading-learning-ctr-rockville/student-resources-tech/fact-vs-opinion.pdf

In your own words please come up with your own definition:

5. Facts
6. Opinions
7. Informed Opinions

Okay, so hopefully you have an idea of these three concepts. Now let's apply them to picking sources.

8. Where might you find facts when writing for The Dispatch?
9. Who might provide Informed Opinions on any specific story you might write?
10. How might opinions creep into your writing?
11. What specific words could cue you in that you are writing an opinion when you self edit?

To get back to media literacy, it is also important to define what the role of the media is supposed to be in the United States. That role has been the subject of much discussion the past two years, but it is clear the founding fathers took the role of the press seriously. We only have to look at one document to determine this; the Constitution. Here is a link to the Bill of Rights:

https://www.ushistory.org/us/18a.asp

12. Which amendment specifics the rights of the press?
13. What does that amendment say directly?

Now lets look at some more modern interpretations about that role today:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11tJjkP0Xjecc4tNJLglR_twb7ysUK83CsloRkyOqKJk/edit?usp=sharing

14. In your own words - what do you think the purpose of the media/journalism is in today's world?

Of course this is a touchy subject right now, and there will be more in the future about why journalism is important to our way of life, to democracy in general. As a former journalists and someone who teaches journalism, I cannot help but being slightly biased here to say that journalists are a valuable part of our society and you have joined a program where you will be a working reporter very soon. You are part of the team now.

Finally, let's take our last look at how the media handled a specific event, the verdict in the trial of Paul Manafort from a couple of years ago. He was the former campaign manager for former President Donald Trump.

Take a peek at these four links.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-russia-manafort/former-trump-campaign-chairman-manafort-convicted-on-eight-of-18-charges-idUSKCN1L60WU

For the record the link below was the original story publish around 24 hours after the verdict was reached. It has since been pulled down by Fox News. Notice that it is the only story about the event that no longer works. Can you think of reasons why a news agency would decide to remove a story? I bet you can think of a few.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/21/jury-announces-partial-verdict-in-manafort-trial-cannot-decide-on-several-counts.html

I did some searching using the information in the URL above (Fox News August 21 Manafort verdict was the direct search I did) and found this story. It does have the correct date and it also has an updated date of August 22). I do not know what happened to the original story. Here is what I found:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/paul-manafort-trial-tested-mueller-trump-what-to-know-about-the-case

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/paul-manafort-convicted-by-jury-on-bank-and-tax-fraud-charges-mistrial-declared-on-10-counts

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/23/641359637/u-s-media-is-divided-on-its-coverage-of-the-cohen-plea-and-manafort-verdict

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/21/640537446/paul-manafort-jury-asks-for-instructions-about-consensus-on-1-charge


15. What did you notice about the headlines of the three articles?
16. Do you think the bias of certain media outlets is evident based on what you saw?
17. Why do you think Fox news and Brietbart chose to cover other things on the front of their websites?
18. Do you think all media should treat coverage the same?
19. Is it okay from some media outlets to be slanted towards one side or the other, as long as people know it before they click on that site?
20. Is there any reason to click on a media sources that doesn't report the news the way you want?


Now that you have completed those tasks, here is how many interpreted the conservative media's coverage of the Manafort decision:

https://mashable.com/2018/08/21/fox-news-manafort-cohen-meme/#3n25G.4GOaq3

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/22/how-right-wing-media-dealt-with-a-devastating-day-for-trump/

Let's leave off this discussion with one final point:

21. How do you think the media can accurately report on what is happening in our world?

More to come in the future on this topic.