Media - Lesson 1

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5,6

Media

Study tips for reading and selecting articles for your documap.

What do you know about 'old-fashioned' newspapers?

Two types of newspaper.

* broadsheet

*tabloid

What's the difference between the two types?

What are we going to do?

We're going to have a look at the different types of newspapers, the use of language, the layout, and the types of articles they use.

Assignment

You have some numbered articles in front of you. In the following slides note if they are broadsheet or tabloid articles.

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

Democracy & Journalism

We're looking at the role journalism plays in keeping our

democracy healthy, effective and functioning. We need information to make informed decisions. We need our information to be accurate, honest and free from bias.

Short assignment

Find a broadsheet style article; check it fits the criteria

Do the same for a tabloid style article

Use of language

News articles use language that is more formal (i.e. facts) than that used in everyday conversation. ​

Read over the following statements and decide if the statement is ‘news-worthy’, or if it's written in a narrative style. 

One time, there were these students at the school who were in a bus wreck.

The committee unanimously voted to suspend him until a thorough investigation could be organized.

One day while a girl was walking, she came upon two people fighting.

The case has been unsolved and the suspects are still at large.

Factual vs. personal

News is factual – it can be proved or disproved. ​

For example:

​

“Last Saturday was a rainy day.” ​

This is a factual statement, because it can be clearly shown that last Saturday either was or was not rainy. ​ 

“Rainy days are depressing.” ​

It is not a factual statement, because it is a personal opinion.

Assignment

In the following slides state whether the sentence is a fact or an opinion.

Commas are the hardest type of punctuation mark to study.

On Tuesday, the 7th of October, the talented English teacher presented the punctuation rules to the committee.

Professor Smith presented evidence to support the rules of punctuation in a forum last Tuesday.​

The English language is studied in many regions of the world.​

The English language is the most difficult language to study in the world.​

Trick

Most journalists try to follow certain​ guidelines in their work. These principles of journalism help make sure that when ​ people open a newspaper, they can believe what they read.​ 

​A news article tells the truth: the journalist writes facts that are, to the best​ of his/her knowledge, true. A careful journalist only states things that​ he/she can prove to be true, and will ‘cite’ the source of any uncertain​ information.​ 

Example: “According to Mrs. Brown, principal of North Oaks​ High School, most high school freshmen take Spanish as a second​ 

language.”​ 

​Trick to reporting:​ 

The journalist has not lied.​ 

He/she has only claimed that Mrs. Brown says more freshmen take​ Spanish, which is still a true statement.

Citizen journalism
What is this?

Pros and cons of
Citizen journalism
(key words/phrases)

Documap study tip

While reading  the articles , be aware of tricks in language used by the reporter  in order to 'cover his/her back'. 

Be critical of factual reporting.

Subjective/objective/sensationalist?