Take this quiz from the New York Times to see if you are able to spot fake Facebook posts 😉 I did not do too well…
Category: Media
In the news: Human Rights?
Fighting for human rights can be very dangerous. If you are a woman fighting for human rights in a country with no respect for them, it is even more dangerous… Read these stories and reflect on the courage needed to be an activist in any form and to stand up for your right to protest…
Iranian human rights laywer sentenced to 38 years in prison
Media coverage
The media has immense power, and often it is easy to forget that the cases written about, and its angle, is chosen by someone for some reason. Some media are more conservative, some more liberal, some write from one cultural background and some from another. This causes the both what is reported and how it is reported to vary from different media and different countries.
Look at the front pages of these different media: The LA Times, The Guardian, Al-Jazeera, CNN, The Australian and BBC .
Do all these media report on the same issues? Which are the recurring ones?
What are the various media focusing on? Do any of them focus on similar topics, or do they all vary?
Look up The Guardian, CNN and Al-Jazeera on social media (FB, instagram, twitter) – what are they sharing on social media? Is this different from the headlines on the actual newspaper? If so, why do you think they choose to share other cases on social media?
Choose two articles about the same topic to read, make sure they are from different media sources. Compare the two in terms of what it reports and focus on, the language – for who is this written, and possible opinions or views shining through. Write a short text where you discuss your findings.
Hanna
How different countries use newsproviding media
In the groups you have been working with all week, make a Prezi presentation of media usage in a country you of your choice You can look at Reporters Without Borders’ 2018 World Press Freedom Index for inspiration. Some things might be easy to find out, others a bit harder, and others yet again might be impossible… but let’s try! 🙂
Find out:
- do they have a free press or any kind of censorship? Why/why not?
- do they have state media or not? What could be the importance of this?
- What are the biggest newsproviding media in this country?
- Who owns these media?
- How many use these?
- Are they politically minded – liberal, conservative etc? If so, how is this seen?
- Find the three biggest newsproviding media in this country and look at their frontpages: compare headlines, choice of causes, focus, read a story from each and comment on the journalism. Also, find them on social media; check out their Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram account. How are they on social media? Many followers? What kind of profile do they have here? What kind of cases are their fronting on their social media?
The presentations should be ready at 11 today.
Here are some previous student answers to look at for inspiration as well.
Hanna
In the news: The Terror Attack in New Zealand and how their PM is standing up for the nation
Great article from The Guardian on the role the prime minister of New Zealand has taken on after the attacks:
Read these articles to find out more about and debate the role of the media in terror attacks:
Terror attacks by Muslims receive 357% more press attention, study finds (The Guardian)
Christchurch shootings: Social media races to stop attack footage (BBC)
Freedom under attack
Democracy is under pressure in many parts of the world. Take a look at this video to find out more.
Another sign of threats to the freedoms associated with democracy, is the number of journalists killed while carrying out their job. According to CPJ, Committee to Protect Journalists, 53 journalists were killed in 2018. Read about some of them here and pick one story that you share and comment on in your blog.
Documentary: Meeting the Enemy
Are multicultural societies doomed to end in conflict? Watch this documentary by Deejah Khan to learn about right wing extremism in the USA.
This is 18 around the world
Recommended reading – although it is mostly pictures – a very interesting piece from the New York Times about 18 girls around the world turning 18. What are their lives like – differences, similarities, hopes, dreams etc. Take a few minutes and look at the photos and read the few captions here.
Hanna
Photojournalism
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-powerful-moments-photojournalism-2017
What is the purpose of photojournalism? How is it different from other forms of photography? Pick one of the images in the link above or find another example of a photojournalistic image that has made a great impression on you. Write a blog post where you add the image and describe what it shows, what you think is so great about it, and what message(s) it carries.
Read more about photojournalism here: http://www.photography-schools.com/photojournalismhistory.htm
Freedom of speech for everyone?
The French philosopher Voltaire once said:
“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Watch Farred Zakaria on CNN talk about how conservative voices are being silenced, being concerned about how on both sides of the political spectre, people seem less interested to hear the arguments and opinions of the other side.
How far does freedom of speech go?
Can you lose your freedom of speech? How/why?
How should we react when someone uses their freedom of speech to offend us?
Visit this site from The Wall Street Journal and choose a topic.
See how conservative and liberal Facebook present the topic you have chosen.
Write a post where you discuss:
- which topic did you choose to look at?
- What is the conservative posts about, and what is the liberal posts about?
- Are there any posts which you felt were offensive or promoting hate/negativity? Why?
- Think about freedom of speech, should we be allowed to post whatever we want on social media, or are there limits?
- Look at the side you disagree the most with, and try to find their best argument. Is there anything you can see having merit, making sense, something you can understand that people would think? What?
(Picture from https://thequeerness.com/2016/03/07/freedom-of-speech-is-no-longer-about-rights-its-about-power/)
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