Satire lessons
Satire
Students are funny. Students are smart. But are they smart enough to be funny with satire in a way that advances the journalistic goals of the publication? Can they do it without violating the SPJ ethical guidelines or their own publications’ ethical guidelines? Use this lesson to help students understand purpose of satire as a journalistic tool.
• Satire in your publications; who is the joke really on?
Students think of themselves as smart and funny, but does that mean they can handle satire? Satire opens students up to many legal risks including libel and invasion of privacy. Use this activity to explore some of the pitfalls of using satire in your publications.
• Satire’s role in current events
According to Wyatt Mason in an online article published in the New York Times Magazine titled “My Satirical Self,” readers in the 21st century have “taken shelter in the ridiculous.” He provides an excerpt from The Onion, a satirical online news source referenced as “America’s Finest News Source,” as an example of an escape from the inescapable ridiculousness of society, politics, and other vice and follies. New literacies have helped grow the genre of satire, and as Americans turn to this genre as a source for news and entertainment, students must understand the core elements that create satire.
To go to another of the fake news categories in Tools of Truth:
• Sloppy reporting
• Censorship
• Deceptive news
• Home
Contributors
Candace Perkins Bowen, MJE
cbowen@kent.edu
John Bowen, MJE
jabowen@kent.edu
Maggie Cogar, CJE
mcogar@ashland.edu
Michael Johnson
mjohn199@kent.edu
Lori Keekley, MJE
keekley@gmail.com
Jeff Kocur, CJE
jeffreykocur@gmail.com
Kristin Taylor, CJE
ktaylor1164@gmail.com
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Deceptive news lessons
In the era of the fight against fake news, we believe journalists must be aware of the social climate surrounding the work they do. The attacks and delegitimization of the news media on a national scale shouldn’t make us question the work we do.
We must be able to educate ourselves and our audiences about the role and mission of a 21st century journalist.
We’ve created this set of tools for educators to promote discussion about truth and credibility in the media we access as makers, sharers, consumers and evaluators. Our lessons are listed below:
Deceptive news
Interpretation, framing and sourcing
Why, and how, can two people be exposed to the exact same news story and interpret it differently? Why should this matter to journalists? People interpret the news differently depending on their cognitive schematic structure, or prior experiences. It’s important for journalists to understand this process so they can better understand how their audiences are interpreting the content they produce, so they can ultimately use that information to help shape their content
Journalists are taught to be objective, so they don’t “frame” stories” … or do they? Whether consciously or unconsciously, research suggests time and time again that what the media decides to cover, and how they cover it, ultimately influences what people find important and how they interpret the news. So it’s important for journalists to consider their story angle, word choice and even interview questions to be sure they don’t rely on social stereotypes, which could potentially be inaccurate, to tell their stories.
In the 21st century, we choose the media sources we consume in an increasingly passive manner. Stories show up in our news feeds and social media feeds, or in forwarded emails; often we don’t know the sources, or the sources look familiar, but they are from nefarious sources. Explore the changing nature of how we consume news, and help your students choose their information wisely.
Deceptive advertising
- What are native advertising/sponsored content and why should we be concerned about them and issues they raise.
- Resources for sponsored content
Questions of fake news and disinformation arise almost daily. Citizens also face information spread by sponsored content, an approach to storytelling designed to bring needed revenue to news media. The trouble is most readers and viewers cannot tell sponsored news from reported news. This lesson can help students understand how sponsored news developed, how to recognize it and ways to assist non-journalism communities in dealing with it.
Because of the rapid spread of sponsored content or native advertising, it is possible your students will have to decide whether to use them in their student media. Faced with that decision, what arguments would students raise and what decisions would they make – and why?
Because of the rapid spread of sponsored content, students may have to decide whether to accept sponsored content in their student media. How well can they recognize it and what would they do once they recognize it?
From previous lessons, student journalists should be aware of native ads and sponsored content and the importance of understanding the issues they raise. Now, they take this awareness and knowledge a step further and become the teachers to their various communities. They can use the positions they reported in the last lesson and inform others.
In this lesson, the teacher will lead students to create a Pinterest board that identifies native ads and sponsored content since it always helps to visually explain journalism terminology.
This lesson should follow other lessons on sponsored content. To help maintain student awareness of native ads and sponsored content, students will create Storify news stories and publish them to keep themselves and their communities aware of each.
Identification of Fake News
There has been a lot of talk lately about “fake news” because it has been particularly prevalent during the recent 2016 Presidential election campaign. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 62 percent of Americans get their news from social media sites and 44 percent get their news specifically from Facebook. Nearly 90 percent of millennials regularly get news from Facebook. In addition, a recent study from Stanford University revealed that many teens have difficulty analyzing the news; 82 percent of middle school students surveyed couldn’t tell the difference between an ad labeled “sponsored content” and a legitimate news story.
This lesson provides an opportunity for students to learn what fake news is, differentiate it from other types of news (including satirical, misleading and tabloid news), develop strategies for spotting fake news and consider what can be done about the proliferation of fake news.
Following the How to Spot Fake News lesson or Satire’s role in Current Events lesson (or perhaps even on its own or before the lesson), urge students to download the Jeopardy-style game to see how they really do in identifying fake news.
In this lesson, students explore propaganda techniques, and discuss how they are the targets of advertisers and politicians. Students will understand and identify how propaganda techniques are used to influence them into doing, feeling and believing a message that may or may not be of benefit to them. Students will create their own propaganda message using one (or more) of 11 known propaganda techniques. The key is to help students begin an awareness of, and the ability to identify, how their outlook on life is related to the messages they see. This lesson takes one 60-minute class period to complete.
In this lesson, students pick up where they left off in propaganda techniques as well as the concept of “spin” and discuss how politicians use these techniques to sway public opinion. Students will identify propaganda used in past and current ads and create their own advertisement using an assigned propaganda technique. Students will also examine how politicians spin current events to suit their own agendas and will assume the role of a prominent political figure’s communication representative who is responsible for spinning news events.
To go to another of the fake news categories in Tools of Truth:
• Sloppy reporting
• Censorship
• Satire
• Home
Contributors
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Resources
Resources for sponsored content/native advertising
• 12 examples of native ads (and why they work)
http://www.copyblogger.com/examples-of-native-ads/
•3 examples of branded content marketing done really, really well
http://oursocialtimes.com/3-examples-of-branded-content-marketing-done-really-really-well/
• 7 great examples of branded content
http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/7-great-examples-branded-content-61620674
• An ethical framework for sponsored content
http://www.wnyc.org/story/307741-ethical-framework-sponsored-content/
* Article or ad? When it comes to native advertising, no one knows
https://contently.com/strategist/2015/09/08/article-or-ad-when-it-comes-to-native-no-one-knows/
• Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning
https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive%20Summary%2011.21.16.pdf
• How ‘deceptive’ sponsored news articles could be tricking readers – even with a disclosure message
• How news organizations can sell sponsored content without lowering their standards
• Knowing what is what: Is it editorial content or is it advertising?
http://jeasprc.org/knowing-what-is-what-is-it-editorial-content-or-is-it-advertising/
• Making sense of the news: Distinguishing news from sponsored content
http://billmoyers.com/story/making-sense-news-distinguishing-news-sponsored-content/
• Media ethics and society
http://scrippsmediaethics.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-ethics-of-sponsored-content.html
• Most students cannot tell the difference between sponsored content and real news
https://www.theverge.com/2016/11/22/13712996/fake-news-facebook-google-sponsored-content-study
• Most students don’t know when news is fake, Stanford study finds
• Native advertising
http://www.outbrain.com/native-advertising
• Native advertising examples: 5 of the best (and worst)
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/07/07/native-advertising-examples
• Native advertising: Last week tonight with John Oliver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc
• Of 17 editorial ethics challenges, sponsored content is most vexing to Ethics Chat attendees
• Sponsored content/native advertising
http://jeasprc.org/sponsored-contentnative-advertising/
• Sponsored content presents opportunities, ethical concerns for newsrooms
https://ijnet.org/en/blog/sponsored-content-presents-opportunities-ethical-concerns-newsrooms
• South Park sponsored content segment
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113842/
• The best branded content of June: Heavy on the content, light on the brand
• The definition of ‘sponsored content’
• The ethics of using paid content in journalism
https://hbr.org/2013/07/the-ethics-of-using-paid-content-in-journalism
• The slippery slope of sponsored news
https://medium.com/@amdbeattie/the-slippery-slope-of-sponsored-news-9d8aac2a24f3
• Understanding the rise of sponsored content
• What is the difference between sponsored content and native advertising?
• What journalists need to know about ‘content marketing’
https://www.poynter.org/2012/what-journalists-need-to-know-about-content-marketing/187229/
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What happens when a journalist
gets it wrong?
by Jeff Kocur
Title
What happens when a journalist gets it wrong?
Description
Inaccurate reporting is not the same as fake news, but it can carry the same consequence. What are the forces at play that compel journalists to strive for accuracy? How do media organizations stay accountable for the work of their journalists? What happens when a journalist makes a mistake, and what happens when a media outlet loses the trust of its audience and/or advertisers.
Objectives
- Students will understand free market forces which drive media outlets to strive for accuracy.
- Students will become familiar with the consequences of inaccurate reporting.
- Students will research an incident of inaccurate reporting including the responses from the culpable media organization afterward.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1 | Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
|
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1 |
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.4 | Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials / resources
Story on CNN reporter resignations
Exit ticket (below)
Lesson step-by-step
- Read the attached article as a jump-in reading activity, and have students discuss the following question as a think-pair-share. (15 minutes)
After the information was deemed unreliable, what steps did CNN take to show they
were not purposefully peddling fake news?
- After a brief discussion, share that the CNN incident is not by any means the first time a
news organization has been exposed for stories that were inaccurate or blatantly untrue.
(30 minutes).
Ask the students if they know of any off the top of their heads?
Place your students in groups of four, and share the attached Disgraced journalists slideshow(see the slideshow below) with them. Each group will choose one journalist (make sure groups report out who they are researching to avoid duplicates) who ruined his or her career by reporting false, inaccurate, or poorly reported information.
Each group will have about 15 minutes to research and create, and about two minutes to report out.
- Final Steps/Assessment (5 minutes)
Exit ticket:
Ask the students to reflect on the following question before they leave the room:
What are three concrete steps a reputable media operation should take when they discover a published story has major errors in it?
Disgraced journalists slideshow
How the media frame the news
and what journalists should consider
by Maggie Cogar
Title
How the media frame the news and what journalists should consider
*The lesson plan “How people interpret the news and why it matters” is meant to be used before this lesson. It will help give students a background on news interpretation and processing before moving on to news framing and effects.
Description
Journalists are taught to be objective, so they don’t “frame” stories” … or do they? Whether consciously or unconsciously, research suggests time and time again that what the media decides to cover, and how they cover it, ultimately influences what people find important and how they interpret the news. So it’s important for journalists to consider their story angle, word choice and even interview questions to be sure they don’t rely on social stereotypes, which could potentially be inaccurate, to tell their stories.
Objectives
- Students will explain and discuss how the media frame content.
- Students will evaluate word choice and story angle in existing news stories.
- Students will apply these concepts to their own writing, by adjusting interview questions, story angle and word choice as needed.
- In the extension assignment, students will research a specific topic to see how the media frames it (i.e. female athletes, climate change, etc.).
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 | Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.7 | Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials / resources
Clip: Framing video clip
Slideshow: See How the media frame the news at the bottom of the lesson
Also see: Related lesson plan
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Entrance Activity (5 minutes)
Show the following video clip from the tv show Scandal, that considers gender stereotypes in the news (refer back to previous lesson plan on news interpretation for the social construction of gender) … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1oyIEgDWAQ
Step 2 — Lecture & Class Discussion (20 minutes)
Use the framing slideshow (with instructor notes) to discuss how the media frames the news. (see the bottom of the lesson)
Step 3 — Framing Activity (20 minutes)
Students will …
- Make four columns on a piece of paper and label them story angle, visuals, design and word choice
- Read this story and takes notes in each column with overall impressions in each category.
- Questions to consider:
- What is the main angle of the story? Is it biased? One sided?
- Do the visuals match the main angle of the story? Do the visuals enhance understanding of the story or distract from it?
- How does the overall design of the story frame it? I.e. what is main angle of the story as told by the design?
- Are there any words used in the story that could have loaded meaning or be interpreted the wrong way? Are there any words that may paint the picture in a more positive or negative light?
Step 4 — Exit Slip (5 minutes)
On a piece of paper respond:
Will what you learned today impact what you do as a journalist? How?
Extension
Have students research a specific group or issue to see how the media portrays it. Examples of research topics include …
- Gender (specifically they could look at female athletes, female politicians, parent roles, male models or athletes, etc.)
- Race (they can look at this in relation to many things like race & athletes, race & criminal coverage, etc.)
- Climate change
- Abortion
- Equal marriage
Further resources: Links to stories to analyze framing
http://www.dispatch.com/article/20160125/NEWS/301259783
How the media frame the news slideshow
Read MoreSolutions journalism in student publications
by Kristin Taylor
Title
Solutions journalism in student publications
Description
Critics accuse the news media of only reporting bad news, but journalists must investigate and report on problems. One alternative to reporting solely on the problem is to report on how people and communities are seeking to solve those problems. This form of investigative journalism is called “solutions journalism.” This lesson provides an introduction to solutions journalism and encourages student reporters to generate ideas about how they could use this approach in their own reporting.
Objectives
- Students will be able to define solutions-based journalism and analyze how it differs from traditional news coverage.
- Students will read examples of solution journalism and analyze how a solutions approach changed the article.
- Students will apply solutions-based thinking to a current topic they could report and create a reporting plan.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 | Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2 | Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4 | Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6 | Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text. |
Length
60 minutes
Materials
Whiteboard and markers
Teacher computer and digital projector
Student computers, if available
solutionsjournalism.org video
“Bad news isn’t the whole story” episode of On The Media podcast
Lesson step-by-step
Step 1 — Warm up (5 minutes)
Ask, “What is the difference between journalism and advocacy? Given fears about being perceived as advocates rather than objective journalists, how can a reporter write a story about solutions to problems?” Students offer thoughts; teacher records ideas on the board. Say, “Today we are going to explore the concept of Solutions Journalism and think about how you might use this approach for one of your own stories.”
Step 2 — Video and think-pair-share (10 minutes)
Teacher plays two-minute video from solutionsjournalism.org introducing the concept of solutions journalism. In pairs, students summarize what they learned about the concept and come up with a definition for “solutions journalism.” Partners share their definitions with the class.
Step 3 — Class discussion (10 minutes)
As a follow-up, the teacher asks questions to make sure they understand these key ideas:
- The video does not suggest that ALL journalism should focus on solutions, but rather suggests there should be a mix. Why is that so important?
- Why would it be important to look at solutions that aren’t working alongside those that are?
- How is this kind of journalism different from straight advocacy?
Step 4 — Partner activity (25 minutes)
Students meet back up with their partners and go to solutionsjournalism.org. Together, they select two stories to read from “The Best Solutions Journalism of 2016.” (If students do not have access to computers, the teacher can pick out two stories ahead of time and print them out for the class.) Partners should discuss these stories and why the Solutions Journalism Network selected them. They should consider how each story would have been different if it didn’t have a solutions focus.
Step 5 — Assessment (10 minutes)
Groups will share final thoughts and takeaways from these articles and then brainstorm at least three potential problems at school or in our local community. As a class, look at each problem and discuss how students could investigate that problem from a solutions journalism mindset.
Extension
Students can listen to the 11-minute podcast episode of On the Media called “Bad News Isn’t the Whole Story,” an interview with one of the cofounders of the SJN. The class would discuss how Rosenberg responds to journalists who fear being labeled advocates if they practice solutions journalism.
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