Before examining any news story, introduce students to these key concepts about media literacy:

1. All media are "constructed."
2. People construct media using identifiable conventions of media "language."
3. People interpret media messages through the lens of their own experience, so people may experience the same media message differently.
4. In addition to obvious or overt messages, media convey embedded values and points of view.
5. People who make media have specific goals and motives.

(Adapted from the Five Core Concepts from the Center for Media Literacy)

Using these concepts, help students analyze news reports by asking:

Who is providing this report?
Help students see all the people involved beyond the reporter doing the stand-up or the journalist named in the byline. Include camera and sound crews, news directors, copy editors, sponsors, etc.

What techniques are they using to convey the facts?
There are literally dozens of things you might highlight. To start with,

For TV:

• Have newscasts given the event a title, logo, and/or theme music?
• How might these influence how I think about what I see?
• Does it feel like I am watching a prime time drama or movie rather than a newscast? Why?
• How might that kind of presentation influence my thinking?
• When a reporter does a stand-up, what kinds of backgrounds do they use?
• Do people become part of the set, like props, or are they shown as individuals?
• How might the portrayal influence my attitudes towards those people?

For a newspaper or website:

• What placement does the story get? Which parts of the story are reported on the front page? What sizes are the headlines of various pieces?

• What is in photos accompanying the story? How do the photos draw my attention? Do they provide accurate illustrations for the specific points made in the story?

For any source:

• What sources are they using?
• Which sources would be most credible for the information you want to know?

Note: There is no perfect source of information in a disaster. Consider that people on the street have direct experience but no means of verifying things they hear from others. Government officials may not be on scene but may have radio contact, news footage, or views from aircraft.

 
How might others interpret what they are seeing, hearing, or reading differently from me?

• How might someone who lives in the neighborhood being shown react differently from someone who has never visited a Gulf Coast town?
• How might the reaction of a person who sees people like themselves (e.g., same race, same age, same gender, same sports team baseball cap, same wheelchair, etc.) differ from those who don't see people like themselves?

In addition to the basic facts of the story, what values are being expressed?

• Are reporters limiting themselves to relating the story, or are they adding personal or editorial commentary? If so, do you agree with the opinions they express? Why do you or don't you find those opinions convincing?
• How much space, time, or prominence is given to particular points of view?
• Who are labeled as "experts?" Who gets to speak for themselves and who is forced to rely on others to get their story across?
• Who benefits from this report?

Why has this media outlet chosen to report this particular story?
When disasters happen, people are often "glued" to the media. That makes for big ratings. So, in addition to students recognizing that news organizations report the story because it is their job as journalists to do so, help students recognize all the motives involved, including money. One way to help students see multiple motives is to ask: Why might this media outlet have chosen to report this particular story in this particular way?

 
What has this report omitted?

• Who might have a stake in this story?
• Who is not given voice in the story? What do you think they might say?
• Did interviewers ask the questions you would have asked? If not, what would you have asked and why?
• Did interviewers seek interviews with all the people you would want to hear from? If not, who else might have had valuable information or insight but was not interviewed?
• How important are pictures in determining what is covered? Are there stories that aren't being reported because they aren't easy to show or because no one has good footage?

 

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