AJR in the Classroom
Discussion questions for the December 2004 / January 2005 issue, along with suggestions for further readings:


Story 1: When Everyone's a Journalist  | Story 2: Lesson Learned | Story 3: Campaign Trail Veterans for Truth  | STORY 4: Offensive Interference

We the Media book cover

STORY 1: "When Everyone's a Journalist: A seismic shift, thanks to the Internet," a review by Carl Sessions Stepp of Dan Gillmor's book: "We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People"

MORE INFO: Stepp and Gillmor write that technology is redistributing power from news producers to consumers. Web logs, e-mail and chat groups allow anyone with access to a computer to publish to a worldwide audience. And camera cell phones and other mobile devices are turning onlookers into reporters. Potential pitfalls: questions of accuracy and fairness arise over the information being disseminated.

ESSAY / DISCUSSION / INTERVIEWING ASSIGNMENTS:

  • Washingtonpost.com recently published a "Best Blogs Politics and Elections page," based on readers’ picks for 2004. Ask students to click through the Web logs linked to the page, then write 400-word critiques of what they consider to be the best/most useful site and the worst/least useful site. Some criteria to consider: Do the bloggers back up / give sources for assertions? Or do they seem to be publishing unsubstantiated rumors? Do the sites provide useful information and lots of links to other sites? Are they updated frequently? Do they have healthy interactions with readers? Do they correct mistakes? Students should be prepared to discuss their analyses in class.
  • Plan a telephone call (on speaker) during class time with editors of two local newspapers. Have students interview the editors about their thoughts on Web logs (which are often opinion-based) and citizen "reporters" and photographers for news stories. Potential lead-off questions: Are the editors concerned that this trend in citizen publishing will erode traditional media's gatekeeper role? Or do they see it as ways to encourage interactivity with readers and a multiplicity of voices -- and to get more local news published? Are they embracing the trend (by launching blogs from their sites, for instance) or resisting it?

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

 

 

STORY 2: “Lesson Learned: A behind-the-scenes look at election night coverage" By Rachel Smolkin

MORE INFO: Reeling from the election-night-coverage debacle of four years ago, the "usual race to scoop competitors became an unlikely contest in most ostentatious show of responsibility," Smolkin writes.

LONG-RANGE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT / SHORT-TERM WEB ANALYSIS:

  • Much has been said about the media's coverage failures during election 2000. Have students write a 10-page, footnoted research paper, documenting other U.S. election coverage failures of the last century.

  • How well did prominent news Web sites cover and package the 2004 U.S. elections? Have students check out the BBC's Special Report, along with special reports from five major U.S. news organizations: washingtonpost.com, usatoday.com, cnn.com, chicagotribune.com and nytimes.com. What did these Web sites offer readers that their print or TV counterparts did not? (For instance, did they have interactive maps; photo galleries; video and print archives of previous stories; searchable databases; chats with readers or political analysts?) Findings should be summarized in an 800- to 1,000-word analysis.

 ADDITIONAL READINGS:

  • "The Magic Lantern: Election night reminded us how wonderful television can be," column by Thomas Kunkel, December 2004/January 2004 AJR.

 

STORY 3: "Campaign Trail Veterans for Truth: As the election neared, news organizations aggressively fact-checked the assertions of the presidential contenders in analysis pieces and sometimes in spot news stories. But this close scrutiny should have begun much earlier.” By Lori Robertson

 

MORE INFO: Critics say more fact-checking needs to be integrated into daily coverage.

 

RESEARCH  ASSIGNMENTS:


  • Have students do a review of one local and one national newspaper to see how often and how well those publications checked assertions made by candidates during the presidential campaign. Perhaps political stories and columns for the last three months of the general election campaign could be reviewed. Findings could be summarized and footnoted in a research paper.
  • Does media fact-checking make a difference in the messages delivered by politicians? Ask students to pinpoint a campaign statement by Democratic nominee John Kerry or President Bush that was corrected by a reporter, then have students conduct a Lexis-Nexis search to see if that inaccurate statement was later repeated by the candidate. (One example would be Kerry's allegation that former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki was forced into retirement after disagreeing with the administration's view of how many troops were needed in Iraq.)

ADDITIONAL READINGS / RELEVANT LINKS:

  • Statements by Swift Vets and POWs for Truth launched a blitz of fact-checking.
  • The nonpartisan FactCheck.org and Spinsanity.org monitored the accuracy of statements by political players. Media organizations also got into the act, including The New York Times with "Fact Check."
  • "Win Some, Lose Some": Once again the news media went ga-ga over polls. But by campaign's end they had begun to aggressively fact-check the assertions of the presidential rivals," column by Rem Rieder, December 2004/January 2005 AJR.


STORY 4: “Offensive Interference: For decades women sportswriters faced intimidation and harassment from male athletes, coaches and even colleagues. Thanks to the perseverance of pioneers, the blatant sexism has subsided, and locker-room doors are open to both genders. But the battle for equality isn't over.” By Sherry Ricchiardi

MORE INFO: Women complain too few of them are tapped for top management positions, for sports columnist jobs or for coveted assignments like covering the Super Bowl.

RESEARCH / INTERVIEWING ASSIGNMENTS:

  • Have students contact the managing editors of campus newspapers, radio and TV stations, to find out the percentages of their sports staffs that are women. If the numbers are low, ask the MEs why: Are women being turned down for the jobs, or are they simply not applying? Then ask students to interview some of the female sports reporters, to find out the type of assignments they are given by bosses, and the type of treatment they receive from players and coaches. Do they believe biases in hiring and treatment still exist? Students should type up their findings and be prepared to present them to the class.
  • Have students research and write a 1,000-word paper on a woman sports journalist pioneer.

 

ADDITIONAL READINGS / RELATED LINKS:

 

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Teachers' guide written by Chris Harvey, online bureau director at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism and former managing editor of AJR.
Published Dec. 3, 2004; updated with additional links and questions Dec. 14, 2004.

Copyright © 2004 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Permission is granted to freely print, for classroom use, up to 100 copies of the most up-to-date version of this document, as long as the document is not modified.