Media & Information Literacy For Teachers

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  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Modules
    • Module 1 : Citizenship, Freedom of Expression and Information, Access to Information, Democratic Discourse and Life-long Learning
      • Unit 1: Understanding Media and Information Literacy – An Orientation
      • Unit 2: MIL and Civic Participation
      • Unit 3: Interactive with Media and Other Information Providers such as Libraries, Archives and the Internet
      • Unit 4: MIL, Teaching and Learning
    • Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics
      • Unit 1: Journalism and Society
      • Unit 2: Freedom, Ethics and Accountability
      • Unit 3: What Makes News – Exploring the Criteria
      • Unit 4: The News Development Process – Going Beyond the 5Ws and 1H
    • Module 3: Representation in Media and Information
      • Unit 1: News Reporting and the Power of the Image
      • Unit 2: Industry Codes on Diversity and Representation
      • Unit 3: Television, Films, Book Publishing
      • Unit 4: Representation and Music Videos
      • Unit 5: Digital Editing and Computer Retouching
    • Module 4: Languages in Media and Information
      • Unit 1: Reading Media and Information Texts
      • Unit 2: The Medium and the Message – Print and Broadcast News
      • Unit 3: Film Genres and Storytelling
      • Unit 4: Camera Shots and Angles – Conveying Meaning
    • Module 5: Advertising
      • Unit 1: Advertising, Revenue and Regulations
      • Unit 2: Public Service Announcements
      • Unit 3: Advertising – the Creative Process
      • Unit 4: Advertising and the Political Arena
      • Unit 5: Transnational Advertising and ‘Superbrands’
    • Module 6: New and Traditional Media
      • Unit 1: From Traditional Media to New Media Technologies
      • Unit 2: Uses of New Media Technologies in Society – Mass and Digital Communications
      • Unit 3: Use of Interactive Multimedia Tools, Including Digital Games in Classrooms
    • Module 7: Internet Opportunities and Challenges
      • Unit 1: Young People in the Virtual World
      • Unit 2: Challenges and Risks in the Virtual World
    • Module 8: Information Literacy and Library Skills
      • Unit 1: Concepts and Applications of Information Literacy
      • Unit 2: Learning Environments and Information Literacy
      • Unit 3: Digital Information Literacy
    • Module 9: Communication, MIL and Learning – a Capstone Module
      • Unit 1: Communication, Teaching and Learning
      • Unit 2: Learning Theories and MIL
      • Unit 3: Managing Change to Foster an Enabling Environment for MIL in Schools
    • Module 10: Audience
    • Module 11: Media, Technology and the Global Village
      • Unit 1: Media Ownership in Today’s Global Village
      • Unit 2: Socio-Cultural and Political Dimensions of Globalized Media
      • Unit 3: Commoditization of Information
      • Unit 4: The Rise of Alternative Media
    • Module 12: Freedom of Expression Toolkit
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Home / Modules / Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics / Unit 4: The News Development Process – Going Beyond the 5Ws and 1H

Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics

Unit 4: The News Development Process – Going Beyond the 5Ws and 1H

DURATION: 3 hours

KEY TOPICS

  • Identifying news and recognizing the story (the news development process)
  • Discipline of verification as the essence of journalism

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing this unit, teachers will be able to:

  • describe the process of how the news story is developed from story idea to data gathering to news writing
  • understand the core principles of the discipline of verification, as distinguished from the journalism of assertion, and how they are applied to the news development process
  • analyze how news reports can apply the techniques of verification to fulfil the journalistic standard of truthfulness and accuracy
  • understand and describe the relationship among journalists, news sources, senior editors and media owners

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES and ACTIVITIES

‘The news of the day as it reaches the newspaper office is an incredible medley of fact, propaganda, rumour, suspicion, clues, hopes and fears, and the task of selecting and ordering that news is one of the truly sacred and priestly offices in a democracy.’
– Walter Lippmann, in News Reporting and Writing

STUDY VISIT TO A NEWS MEDIA ORGANIZATION

A field trip may be done to a media office to dialogue with the editor-in-chief or a senior editor and observe firsthand the news development process at the editorial office level. Participants will be asked to write a reflection paper on what they observed and learned during the visit.

PROCESS ENQUIRY (A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A NEWS REPORTER)

The trainee accompanies a news reporter while covering his or her beat and documents the following: (a) what elements of the news were identified and written about, compared to what happened in the field (or the process of sifting through the data gathered); and (b) how and why did the reporter tell the story (put meaning to the data) the way he or she did.

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

The teacher analyzes newspaper accounts of a major issue or event and examines the information provided. He or she explains the assessment, considering the factors and process in ‘identifying news and recognizing the story’:

  • Elements of the news (5Ws and 1H: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?) and redefining them: news is data with meaning (who is character, what is plot, where is setting, why is motivation or causation, how is narrative)
  • Journalism as ‘storytelling with a purpose’: finding the information people need to live their lives, and making it meaningful, relevant and engaging.

The teacher will check for verifiability, based on the core principles of verification: do not add; do not deceive the audience; be transparent as possible about methods and motives; rely on own original reporting; and exercise humility.

The teacher will also apply at least one technique of verification: sceptical editing, accuracy checklist, method of verifying presumed facts, rules on anonymous sources, etc. (Reference: Kovach and Rosentiel, The Elements of Journalism)

PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION

The training facilitator or teacher coordinates with the adviser of a school publication (or school broadcast station) to allow trainees to come up with an issue plan for the next publication/programme. The issue plan includes the line-up of articles or stories to be written or produced and the basis for their inclusion, scope of each story, and possible angle or treatment of each story.

MEDIA LOG

MEDIA LOG

Teachers are required to maintain a journal or log book where (daily) observations on the topic (e.g. news values, news judgements, criteria of verification, citizen reporting) are recorded for summary and synthesis at the end of the course.

ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Media log
  • Production
  • Reports on study visit, immersion, textual analysis
  • Participation in group learning activities, e.g. workshops, class discussions
TOPICS FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION
TOPICS FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION

  • News sources and news gathering techniques (including use of ICTs)
  • Taste and appropriateness in news coverage
  • Unit 1: Journalism and Society
  • Unit 2: Freedom, Ethics and Accountability
  • Unit 3: What Makes News – Exploring the Criteria
  • Unit 4: The News Development Process – Going Beyond the 5Ws and 1H

Modules

  • Module 1 : Citizenship, Freedom of Expression and Information, Access to Information, Democratic Discourse and Life-long Learning
  • Module 2: Understanding the News, Media, and Information Ethics
  • Module 3: Representation in Media and Information
  • Module 4: Languages in Media and Information
  • Module 5: Advertising
  • Module 6: New and Traditional Media
  • Module 7: Internet Opportunities and Challenges
  • Module 8: Information Literacy and Library Skills
  • Module 10: Audience
  • Module 11: Media, Technology and the Global Village
  • Module 12: Freedom of Expression Toolkit

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