6.3: Reading the News - Assessment
- Page ID
- 248563
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Introduction
As Damon Brown remarks in “How To Choose Your News,” “today, we are more free than ever from the old media gatekeepers who used to control the flow of information. But with freedom comes responsibility: the responsibility to curate our own experience and ensure that this flow does not become a flood, leaving us less informed than before we took the plunge.” His invocation of Spider-Man is not without justification: how we, the public, inform ourselves of the happenings in the world has fundamental consequences on what kind of ideas, politics, practices, and relationships we hold to be self-evident. Whether you’re a daily reader or a second-hand nomad, the news of the day is one of the most important elements of a healthy, happy, and thriving social public, which means making sense of the news—both what is reported and how it’s reported—is of vital importance for all of us.
Our readings and activity for this week centered on ‘critical news practices,’ shining a light on the ‘SIFT’ method for determining factors like accuracy and relevancy, and Alexandra Bell’s ‘Counternarratives’ project for noting the ways in which bias and subjectivity can alter one’s takeaways of any given event. This closing activity looks to cement these practices by having you look at the same story across multiple outlets and answer some short-response questions.
Assignment
- Step One: Find the same story as reported by at least two different news purveyors. Share a link to both stories.
- For example: you could look at, say, coverage of a recent town hall, or reporting on a new law passed by Congress, or an investigation into a company malpractice case, or even coverage of a recent celebrity mishap. All is fair game, as long as it’s the same story, as reported by multiple outlets
- Step Two: What similarities are shared between the two stories? Differences? Be sure to consult the SIFT materials, as well as your ‘Counternarratives’ classwork.
- For example: is all the information the same? Do the reporters use the same sources? Do they use the same pictures? Do they use the same language? Do they provide similar context?
- Step Three: What, in your view, was gained by using the SIFT method in your analysis? Did it aid in your ability to confidently determine the legitimacy and accuracy of the story?
- Step Four: What, in your view, was gained by taking on the critical perspective provided by Alexandra Bell? Did it aid in your ability to ‘see’ the potential subjectivities of the author(s)?