News v. public relations
by Kristin Taylor
Title
News vs. Public Relations
Description
The community gets information about what is happening at school through different publications, but not all of these publications are journalistic. In this lesson, students will differentiate between student reporting and school public relations by comparing and contrasting student publications with school public relations content such as newsletters, school-created magazines or school websites created and maintained by adults in the community.
Objectives
- Students will be able to explain the difference between public relations and student reporting.
- Students will reflect on the purpose and importance of both types of content.
- Students will analyze how they can maintain a relationship while remaining independent from school public relations content-creators.
Common Core State Standards
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.C | Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1.D
|
Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented. |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.8
|
Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses). |
| CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2
|
Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. |
Length
60 minutes
Materials / Resources
Whiteboard and markers
Teacher laptop and digital projector
Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics
School generated website, publication or other content
Lesson step-by-step
- Warm Up (5 minutes)
Written on the board: “What is the difference between public relations and journalism?” After taking some initial responses to the prompt, teacher asks, “If our school newspaper and yearbook are student-run journalism, who runs its public relations, and what forms does this PR take?” (The school may have formal or informal public relations publications content, such as newsletters, a school website, etc.)
- Teacher-led discussion (5 minutes)
Teacher reads a definition of public relations: “the professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person.”
Have students look at the “Be independent” section of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics (or their own, if they own it) and read through it. Ask, “How does this conflict with what you might do if you were a public relations professional?”
- Small group activity (15 minutes)
Teacher hands out a recent adult-created school publication or piece of content or has students access the school website’s news section. Students look through the content and consider what it has in common with their own student news publication (focus on the school, writing may be journalistic [depends on publication], may use infographics and strong images, shouldn’t include false information) and what might be different (no differentiation between news and opinion, no articles or photos that cast the school in a negative light, use of adjectives/adverbs or exclamation marks).
- Class Discussion (20 minutes)
Teacher draws a Venn diagram on the board with “School Public Relations” on one side and “Student Publication” on the other. The class fills in the circles to synthesize their conclusions about similarities and differences in small groups.
Discussion questions:
- What is the audience and purpose for public relations? Why is it important for a school to have a public relations team?
- What is the audience and purpose for scholastic journalism? Why is it important for a school to have a journalism program?
- Is journalism better than public relations? Worse? Just different?
- What should the student publication staff’s relationship be with the school’s publication relations staff? How can you remain independent? Should you ever collaborate with them?
- How does this give you insight into your own student publication policies to not use school staff’s photographs — even with permission — unless there is no other option?
- What would your response be if the school requests the use of student work created for your school publication? Do you have a policy in the staff manual for this situation?Assessment (15 minutes)
Students will go through a recent editing of a student publication and find two stories that probably wouldn’t be featured in school public relations publications and discuss why they are good journalism stories, but not good public relations stories. They can share these stories verbally or write about them.
Extension
Discuss how these same principles apply to professional media outlets as well. Can students identify when what they read takes a PR slant? What are the dangers of media outlets running a press release word for word
Read MoreIntroducing Tools of Truth package
focusing on preventing fake news
To introduce the SPRC’s new Tools of Truth package that examines approaches to cope with fake news, please go here for a sample lesson. The package consists of more than 20 lessons on dealing with fake news in four categories: censorship, satire, sloppy reporting and deceptive news.
This lesson on “How people interpret the news and why it matters” was developed by Maggie Cogar of Ashland University and JEA’s Ohio state director and is from the deceptive news category.
Cogar described the lesson as, “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, and so they can ultimately use that information to help shape their content.”
The entire package will become active by Aug. 30.
Read MoreHow people interpret the news
and why it matters
by Maggie Cogar
Title
How people interpret the news and why it matters
Description
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, and so they can ultimately use that information to help shape their content.
Objectives
- Students will explore how people process and interpret the news they consume.
- Students will interpret a news story (by examining it multiple media forms) and compare/contrast their interpretation to that of their peers.
- Students will discuss what individual differences in media interpretation means for journalistic practice.
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.9-10.6 | Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. |
| 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. |
Length
50 minutes
Materials / resources
Slideshow: News Interpretation slideshow
Access to multiple forms of media (preferably print, tv, & online)
A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication by R.J. Harris (textbook suggested but not required)
New York Times: article on confirmation bias
New York Times article on: media, race and relationships
Lesson step-by-step
*Use News Interpretation slideshow to guide this lesson
Step 1 — Entrance Slip (5 minutes)
Students should complete the “motivating activity” on Slide 1 of the News Interpretation slideshow:
- Hold up an object (select something that might elicit both positive and negative responses … like a pencil. Some students may hate the sight because it reminds them of homework, while others who love to read and write might love the sight of a pencil, etc.)
- “What do you see?”
- Have students spend one-two minutes writing down anything they can think of in relation to the object (tell them to write adjectives for how the object makes them feel, as well as any memories or connections the object brings to mind)
- Discuss that each student will have a different reaction to that object based on their own personal experiences with it (diagram schemas/connections)
Step 2 — Lecture & Class Discussion (20 minutes)
Use the News Interpretation slideshow (se below) and notes provided to lecture on how people interpret the news using their own personal schematic structure. Suggestion: for the class discussion, do a think-pair-share in small groups before going to whole class discussion.
Step 3 — News Interpretation Activity (20 minutes)
Using a trending news story, have students create a Venn Diagram (use three circles — print, tv, online). Students should compare/contrast how the media outlets cover the same news story.
Focus points and questions to consider during this activity:
- How do headlines or points of emphasis in coverage differ?
- Are there any points in the story that could be misinterpreted?
- Are there any apparent biases in coverage?
- How would different people interpret how this story was covered?
Step 4 — Exit Slip (5 minutes)
In your own words, summarize why people can interpret the same news story differently.
Step 5 — Think About It (homework)
Before our next class, think about … ”which type of media do you think has the biggest cognitive effects on audience and why? (print, radio, broadcast, web)”
Read More