Level(s): Grades 10 - 12
Overview
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This lesson introduces students to the concept of bias or slant, in newspapers and in television newscasts. Students begin by comparing three newspaper articles about the same news event - each reported from a different perspective. They then explore the role the gatekeeper, or editor, in determining the slant of a story and analyze the titles of newspaper stories for slant or bias. Once students have looked at newspapers, they will use viewing logs to analyse television newscasts from two different television stations. These newscasts will be analysed based on language usage, story selection and story order.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- recognize how a single event could generate more than one news story
- identify a point of view or bias, based on the language used
- experience and understand the role of subjectivity and perception in the media
- understand the role of the "gatekeeper"
- critically analyse or deconstruct two newscasts for potential bias through comparison, focusing on language, story selection and story order
Preparation and Materials
Photocopy class handout articles:
Following copyright guidelines, tape news broadcasts for The National on CBC at 10 p.m. and the CTV National News on CTV at 11 p.m.
The Lesson
Activity One
- Divide your class into groups of three or four.
- Using the Sir Sam Hughes story in this lesson, hand out "Sir Sam steps down!" to one side of the class and "Hughes fired from cabinet" to the other side.
- Have students read their particular article and jot down a list of words that would describe Hughes, based on the information in front of them.
- Ask for descriptive words from one side of the room only. A fairly uniform picture of Hughes will emerge. It will, however, be totally different from the picture which the students on the other side have formed.
This class exercise illustrates how bias or slant operates, by presenting only one side of a story.
Activity Two
Hand out "Humphrey discounts allegations" and ask students to complete the assignment. This exercise allows you to introduce the following terms:
- placement - where news stories are located in the paper, by section and page
- gatekeeper - the person (editor, news producer etc.) who decides which news to print or broadcast and which stories to hold back
In this exercise, each student is playing the role of the gatekeeper.
Once students have completed their assignments, discuss their answers as a class.
It's important to note that blatant bias may be hard to find and that each network has only so much time to present a picture of the world, so gatekeepers must make decisions that affect how we view current events. Sometimes what we perceive as bias may be far from intentional on the part of the news network or newspaper.
- Distribute the student handout News Judgement and discuss these points with students.
Activity Three
The concepts of bias and gatekeeping can be explored by comparing how different newspapers treat similar stories. For example here are three headlines that appeared dealing with the same news item:
Globe and Mail: "Senate votes 80-1 to give up $6000"
Toronto Star: "Repentant senators hand back $6000 hike"
Toronto Sun: "SENATE WAKES UP"
Ask your students how each title affects their perceptions of the issue.
In class, ask students to compare the two pre-recorded newscasts, analysing them for language usage, story selection and story order. The National, on CBC at 10 p.m. (a 15-minute newscast) and the CTV National News, on CTV at 11 p.m. (a half-hour newscast with commercial breaks) lend themselves well to comparison.
- Divide the class into groups of four.
- For both newscasts, ask students to list each story and note whether there was:
- a live anchor-reporter interview
- a taped report from a reporter
- videotape footage with a commentary read by the anchor
- straight news copy read by the anchor without accompanying visuals
- Also ask students to note the running time for each item, as well as any interesting use of language or other elements which catch their attention.
Their charts/logs might look something like this:
| Number | Running
Time | Story
Time | Story | Anchor
Reporter | Video |
1_________ |
________ |
________ |
____________ |
___________ |
_______ |
2_________ |
________ |
________ |
____________ |
___________ |
_______ |
Note: Screening the newscasts, filling in the charts and calculating the story lengths may require two periods. You may want to play them both on day one and repeat them on day two.
Have students compare similar stories on both newscasts and answer the following questions:
- Where did the story appear in each newscast?
- How much time was it given?
- Was there video, or just straight copy?
- Was a reporter sent to cover the story?
- Was it a CBC/CTV reporter, or one from another news organization?
- Is one network missing a "big" story? Why?
Students can compare top stories or "light" final newscast items; the flow of national and international stories; or the ratio of "hard" news or political news to "soft" news or human interest stories.
Have each group put together a package consisting of a CBC log, a CTV log, and a conclusion.
The conclusion can address questions such as those suggested above.
In their conclusion, students might also try to determine which newscast appears to be more objective, more free of bias:
On what do they base their conclusions?
If they had been the gatekeepers, what choices would they have made?
Note: You may find that giving the class a dry run, perhaps with one of the short hourly Newsworld newscasts, will focus the students and produce a better end product.
Evaluation
| Log 1 | 10 marks |
| Log 2 | 10
marks |
| Conclusion | 20
marks |
| Total | 40
marks |
