Lies and damned lies

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Lies and damned lies

• Bias and objectivity in the news

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Aims

• To show how the news can be used to inform and
  develop literacy skills.
• To share good practice.
• To gain resources and strategies.

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Discuss

• Why is the news important for literacy?

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• The school and family share the responsibility of
  preparing the young person living in a world of
  powerful images, words and sounds. Children and
  adults need to be literate in all three symbolic
  systems, and this will require an integrated
  approach to the teaching of language and
  communication.
• (UNESCO 1982)

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Popular media can be seen as part of a broader
oral culture. The meanings which circulate
within everyday discussion are read back into
individual responses, thereby generating a
dynamic interplay between social and
individual readings. (David Buckingham
Julian Sefton-Green)
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Widespread media literacy is essential if all
citizens are to wield power, make rational
decisions, become effective change agents and
have active involvement with the media. It is in
this much wider sense of education for
democracy that media education can play the most
significant role of all. (Masterman, 1985)
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Skills from the News
Visual Literacy
Facts / Opinions
Skills
Large volume of text
Bias
Writers purposes
Writers use of language
Inference and deduction
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The "7 Violations of Media Objectivity"

• Misleading definitions and terminology
• Imbalanced reporting
• Opinions disguised as news
• Lack of context
• Selective omission
• Using true facts to draw false conclusions
• Distortion of facts
• (Source www.honestreporting.com )

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Facts and opinions

• How would you differentiate between facts and
  opinions?
• With what do your students struggle and how can
  we help them?

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Comparing bias in two news stories
Tabloid Broadsheet
Facts
Opinions
Quotations
Emotive Language
Which of these newspapers is more biased against
the government? Give evidence to support your
answer.
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• Hierarchy of Words to show bias
• We agreed that the tabloid was more biased
  against the government.
• Copy down words and phrases into the pyramid
  putting the ones showing the most bias at the top
  and the ones showing least bias at the bottom.

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• Writing Biased Accounts
• Choose either a game of sport or a report about
  this school.
• Plan a biased report either supporting a team or
  against the team, or being positive about this
  school or negative.

Facts
Opinions
Quotations
Words and phrases to show bias
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Exemplar 1

• King Ecgbert School Ofsted Report
• King Ecgbert School is school with good
  facilities, pupil behaviour, and teaching
  methods. The school has a promising sixth form
  with many intelligent pupils. The other school
  pupils have excellent behaviour and the school
  successfully integrates amazing teaching methods.
  A quote by one pupil in year 10 The teachers
  are extremely good at explaining things and
  helping us to excel at subjects. King Ecgbert
  School has achieved well kept-clean toilets that
  a school would be proud of. The pupils show
  great respect towards their school building. As
  well as the amazing sixth form, the school
  successfully teaches years 7 to 11. The school
  building has just been built, and pupils moved
  from their old site approximately one year ago.
  This new building has had an amazing effect on
  the pupils. Behaviour, punctuality and
  attendance have greatly improved in the new
  building. A quote from Mr Evans, I want to
  create a college atmosphere in this school.
  Pupils believe this has been successfully
  achieved. The school canteen serves great,
  healthy, tasty food. The canteen staff are
  respected greatly by pupils and teachers. The
  school has also managed to integrate thriving ICT
  facilities. There are many ICT rooms located
  around the school and computers in most rooms.
  This system is treated with great respect and
  helped to run smoothly by network administrators.
  Overall King Ecbgert School is an excellent
  school with outstanding teaching methods, amazing
  pupil behaviour, great facilities, clean toilets
  and great food.

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Evaluating Pupils work

• What skills are these students exhibiting and
  what is your evidence?
• What skills need further development?
• What advice would you give these students to help
  them develop these skills?

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Review

• How could you use these worksheets?
• What changes would you make to adapt these sheets
  to your schemes of work?

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Ways forward

• Adapting the work for TV news
• Comparing the language used on BBC / ITV /Channel
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• News footage
• Difference between spoken and written language in
  reporting the same story.
• How video footage is linked to the report.
• Interaction of the public through mobile phones /
  internet in the making of news.
• BBC News Day Project

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Get in Touch

• Sarah Salter
• King Ecgbert School
• Sheffield
• S17 3QU