Accountability in journalism: What does it mean for student journalists?
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
LESSON PLAN: Quick hits: questions for online discussion, inclusion in staff policies: The buzzword accountability. What does it mean?
In this lesson, students will discuss three questions:
• For what should journalists (commercial and scholastic) be accountable?
• How do we define accountable?
• How can we convince others this is the best definition?
The discussion will lead toward the development of positions and process for a staff manual
Summative evaluation tool: Student created product
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.5b
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.4
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Critical thinking, collaboration
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Handouts, software for desktop publishing (online or computer installed), examples of magazines, yearbooks and newspapers
Length of the Lesson: 45 minutes
Evaluation tools:
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson:
In answering the questions, students will read this online article:
• Trustworthy journalism in a fact-checking-free world
http://craigconnects.org/2013/07/trustworthy-journalism-in-a-fact-checking-free-world.html#.UfGLjCOf7EM.twitter
They will also note this question from the article as a focal point of their work:
“Any news outlet that wants to succeed must be trustworthy, that is, accountable.”
Lesson details:
Break students into small groups and have the students discuss these questions:
• How would you define responsibility in terms of scholastic journalism?
• For what journalists be accountable?
• How should journalists define accountability?
• How should scholastic journalists define accountability?
The whole class will discussion each group’s definitions and positions and work to reach agreement.
As they do this, they will develop a position statement and a process to express the position for their staff manual.
Hints for points they could raise:
–relevance
–context
–perspective
–attribution
–ethics
–attribution
–accuracy
–truth
–facts
–diverse views
–complete
–thorough
–coherent
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Comparing sourcing, and verifying stories in print, digital media
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
3. Comparing sourcing, verifying stories in print, digital media
In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the need for sourcing in digital and print media and develop for each platform. Policies should be consistent with professional journalism standards and allow for coherent, accuracy, thorough and complete reporting and audience understanding.
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Critical thinking, collaboration
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Handouts, online resources and computer or tablet equipment
Length of the Lesson: 90 minutes
Evaluation tools: Student created product , task performance
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson:
With student media considering either expanding their print media to include digital media platforms – or to replace it. Additionally, the perceived need for quick publication of information in a digital environment raises questions about time-tested practices of sourcing and verifying information before publication. This lesson can help address that process. The goal is to have students develop process and policy for use of sources and verification of information for print and digital media.
Lesson details:
Day 1: (and homework)
The first step in the process is to have students examine current thinking in the areas of sourcing and verifying for print and digital media. The teacher will divide the class into teams examining sourcing issues and verifying issues.
Introductory activity:
Have students examine the July 12, 2013 KTVU-TV hoax of the release of pilot names in the San Francisco airplane crash. Discuss the legal, ethical and journalistic issues involved, including:
• What verification steps should the station and any media outlet take before publishing or airing names?
• Is the rush to be first that important? What alternatives could there be/
• Should media outlets have policies in place for handling such questions? What would they look like?
• What should journalists do if they make such mistakes?
Checking your sources, evaluating and verifying them
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
4. LESSON PLAN: Quick hits: Checking your sources, evaluating and verifying them
In this lesson, students will complete a quick exercise in which they attempt to check a publication’s sources, evaluating and verifying them.
The discussion will lead toward the development of a process for a staff manual.
Summative evaluation tool: Student created product
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Critical thinking, collaboration
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Handouts, software for desktop publishing (online or computer installed), examples of magazines, yearbooks and newspapers
Length of the Lesson: 45 minutes
Evaluation tools:
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson:
Students will access the following article online, reading it, evaluating the information and sources and attempting to verify the information.
Article: Government caught paying protesters after Trayvon Martin shooting to create racial division
http://intellihub.com/2013/07/17/government-caught-paying-protesters-after-trayvon-martin-shooting-to-create-racial-division/
Lesson details:
Individually, give students the article and have them read and begin to evaluate the information and the sources.
Once they have done that, have them see if they can verify the information. That process should lead students to critique not only the information but also the sources and the websites.
As they try to verify the information, have them keep track of the types of sources, the links and their credibility.
The can also consider questions like these:
If they were going to publish this information, what would they do to:
• ensure they were accurate and had reported verified, reliable information
• accept responsibility for reporting the information
• being accountable to their audience
What should a journalist do if/when s/he finds information:
– Provably false
– Non verifiable
– Non existant or misapplied sources
What additional sources might they use to help them evaluate this story and its information?
What ethical considerations should they take if they were to publish the information
How does this exercise help them establish a process for reporting their stories, one they can include in their staff manual
Possible additional exercise: Find a story they feel has information that should be evaluated and verified and do the evaluation.
Resource:
The good, the bad and the ugly
http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html
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Reporting sharks in the subway: Evaluating the credibility factor
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
5. Lesson plan: Reporting sharks in the subway: evaluating the credibility factor
In this lesson, students will examine several leads on a common topic and evaluate the use of sources, facts and the value of the news itself.
Summative evaluation tool: Class discussion
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.3
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Critical thinking, communication, information media skills
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Internet
Length of the Lesson: 50 minutes
Evaluation tools: Application of skills, development of guidelines
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson: Students will discuss various leads on a recent, unusual topic in terms of strength of leads, attribution, type of sources, news value and ethics.
Lesson details:
Question: Given several leads, including a lighter approach and a more serious one, which of the leads below, on the same subject, is more acceptable, and why.
For instance:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/us/new-york-subway-shark/index.html?iref=allsearch
Compare that to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/nyregion/after-cries-of-shark-riders-scurry-for-photos.html?hp&_r=1& (Check out this NYT piece, “Not Native to N Train, a Shark Hitches a Ride” )
Additional coverage:
• Subway shark found on New York Train (ABC)
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/08/subway-shark-found-on-new-york-train/
• Dead shark found on NYC subway (update)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/dead-shark-subway_n_3719391.html
• Stand clear of the closing jaws: Shark found on NYC subway
http://www.today.com/news/stand-clear-closing-jaws-shark-found-nyc-subway-6C10875396
• The Discovery Channel is really upset about that dead shark on a New York subway
http://www.businessinsider.com/discovery-reacts-to-shark-on-nyc-subway-2013-8
• There was a dead shark on the New York subway this morning
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/08/there-was-dead-shark-new-york-subway-morning/68076/
• Dead shark found on New York City subway
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-07/news/sns-rt-us-subway-shark-20130807_1_shark-week-dead-shark-subway
• Sources say they know exactly where that subway shark came from
http://gothamist.com/2013/08/08/sources_dead_shark_on_subway_came_fr.php#photo-
Compare and contrast the first two leads. Which works best for you, and why? Then examine the others. What do they add – or omit – and what are their strengths or weaknesses?
Which story do you prefer, and why? Is that the best way to tell the story? What should the audiences walk away with/
And now, the hidden agenda: Discuss attribution with students. Note that both pieces mention the shark “posing” with soda cans and Metro cards.
The Times attributes or “verifies” this with mentioning photos posted on the Gothamist website
(http://www.weather.com/video/shark-found-on-ny-subway-38269 ) while CNN gives no such attribution for the “fact.”
And, by the way, Shark Week was just to begin.
Is the story even news?
What ethical issues are raised?
Additional work (and maybe additional time)
Based on the exercise, discuss (and maybe even develop) guidelines for:
• Fitting leads to the content of stories
• Identifying credible sources
• Asking what type questions to get an accurate, complete, thorough and coherent story?
• Developing ethical standards for reporting stories
Potential ethical issues: the reporter contacted the Discovery Channel for a quote, after conspiracy theories surfaced that it was a marketing ploy.
The quotes themselves are lovely little jewels, which makes one wonder about the conversation and questions the reporter posed in order to get these responses. And how did he find the people on the train who saw the shark
Check out the caption on the photo, too. Does it give the audience enough information?
(Thanks to Ellen Austin and Tracy Anne Sena for ideas and the heads up to this great mini-lesson and discussion starter)
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Effective and complete use of sources
Part of JEA’s Scholastic Press Rights Commission’s Constitution Day lessons and activity package:
2. EFFECTIVE AND COMPLETE USE OF SOURCES
Judges of all types of scholastic media platforms report a definite increase in the lack of sources – and not just appropriate ones. These lessons can help students understand the importance of identifying sources and how to assure their audiences that their stories have the right sources – people or other resources.
Summative evaluation tool: Student task performance and created product
Primary Common Core: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2
Secondary Common Core Standard(s) Addressed: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2e
21st Century Skills Incorporated: Communication and critical thinking
Supplies, Technology, Other Materials Needed: Handouts, online resources and computers
Length of the Lesson: 90 minutes (2 class periods)
Evaluation tools: In-class and homework assignments
Appropriate for Grades: 9-12
Created by: John Bowen, MJE
Brief description of lesson:
Students will critique existing stories for use of appropriate and relevant sources and then apply what they learned to an existing story of their own or a future assignment for their student media.
Teachers may want to use a coaching writing model for this activity, which an explanation can be found at: http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/chip-on-your-shoulder/11214/the-coaching-way/
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