choose the news revised

Washington, D.C., area school groups co-sponsored by WTOP 103.5 FM and The Washington Post.

Unit Overview

We believe that your visit to the Newseum, along with this unit of study on how the news is chosen, will help you and your students better understand the process of the free press and become more informed and critical news consumers.

By actively participating in this unit, including pre-visit lessons and activities, the Newseum experience and post-visit activities, students will come to understand how journalists and editors make decisions about what to include and what not to include in the daily news. Students become editors and reporters, participating in a role-playing news budget meetings and laying out their own newspapers.

Our guiding question in this unit — How and why is the news chosen? — engenders a number of additional questions that will be good to keep in mind as you take advantage of your Newseum visit:

We appreciate your willingness to share with your students the benefi ts of viewing, hearing, reading and touching the elements of the First Amendment through which the Newseum brings history to life.

CHOOSE THE NEWS

What is news? Who decides it’s news? And how? How are newspapers designed to give readers the most important stories fi rst?

- How does the news affect our daily life?

- - Who is the audience for news?

- - Why are some events news in one community but not in others?

- - How does understanding the news process help us become more critical consumers of news? Why is that important?

- - Do we always agree that the stories printed in a newspaper or aired on a TV news show are worthy of inclusion? Why or why not?


National Standards of Learning

National Center for History in the Schools, National Standards for U.S. History (5-12)

CHOOSE THE NEWS

Content: Standard

The student understands contemporary American culture. 7-12 Explain the infl uence of media on contemporary American culture. [Explain historical continuity and change]

Era 10Standard 2D

Center for Civic Education, National Standards for Civics and Government Grades 5-8:

Content: Standard

The public agenda. Students should be able to explain what is meant by the public agenda and how it is set.

III.F.1.

Grades 9-12:

The public agenda. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions about how the public agenda is set.

III.E.1.

Public opinion and behavior of the electorate. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions about the role of public opinion in American politics.

III.E.2.

Content: Standard

Political communication: television, radio, the press, and political persuasion. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on the infl uence of the media on American political life.

III.E.3.

Forms of political participation. Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions about the means that citizens should use to monitor and infl uence the formation and implementation of public policy.

V.E.3.


National Council for the Social Studies, Curriculum Standards for Social Studies Middle Grades:

CHOOSE THE NEWS

Content: Standard

b. explain how information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference

(I) Culture

High School:

Content: Standard

b. predict how data and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference

(I) Culture

National Council of Teachers of English: Standards for the English Language Arts

Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identifi cation strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

3

Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

4

Content: Standard

Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

5

Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

12

b. identify, describe, and express appreciation for the infl uences of various historical and contemporary cultures on an individual’s daily life

(IV) Individual Development &

Identity


Pre-Visit Activities

Dear Educator,

We are looking forward to welcoming you and your class to the Newseum for the “Choose the News” school program. These two quick activities will introduce your students to two overarching questions we will explore together in more depth during the visit:

- What’s news?

- How is the news decided everyday?

We hope these activities help you and your students get excited about your upcoming fi eld trip. We’ll see you soon!

Newseum Education Staff

CHOOSE THE NEWS


CHOOSE THE NEWS

What’s News?

1. When deciding whether an event, action or idea is news, reporters apply certain tests. One test might be to ask themselves if the news item would fi t into any of these categories: Firsts, War, Peace, Breakthroughs, Life, Death, Love, Hate, Sacrifi ce, Freedom.

Below is a list of historic events and actions. Identify the categories into which they may be placed.

a. Civil rights march in Selma, Ala.

b. Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the fi rst successful heart transplant

c. Abortion rights and anti-abortion protests

d. Mother Teresa in India

e. Freed POWs are reunited with their families

f. Murder at the 1972 Summer Olympics

g. The world mourns Princess Diana

h. Neil Armstrong lands on the moon

i. Hitler refuses to withdraw from Poland

j. A mother steps in front of an approaching car and pushes her child to the curb

2. Read your local newspaper for fi ve days. Pair 10 news events with the above characteristics. Provide the headline, date of publication, page and a summary of the event, action or idea.

Example: Life/Death“20 Million Chickens Given Tainted Feed: Birds Held From Market for Study,” May 5, 2007; A8. To keep tainted chickens from entering the food supply, Agriculture Department offi cials in several states have placed a voluntary hold on chickens that consumed melamine-tainted pet food.

Name Date


CHOOSE THE NEWS

My CommunityHow Is the News Decided Every Day?

Pretend you live somewhere else. What if your parents told you that your family was moving to where you live now? What do you want to know about this place, and how would you learn about it? There are several ways to get to know a community.

1. Use the U.S. censusBefore moving, you could visit online sources to form a profi le of the community. Every 10 years, a census is held. The information is available online at census.gov. Use American FactFinder to provide the following information:

- Population:

- Females: % Males: %

- Median age, 18 years and over:

- Education, high school graduate or higher: %

- Median household income: $

- Another piece of information that you fi nd interesting:

2. Interview a residentIndividuals who have lived in a community watch the people, buildings and activities change over the years — or remain the same and become a tradition. Interview someone who has lived in your community for more than 20 years. Write fi ve questions to ask this person.

Name Date


CHOOSE THE NEWS

3. Read the local newspaperA newspaper covers a community, refl ects the readership and provides information that the residents of a community want to know, need to know and should know. Read the front page of your newspaper, and answer the following questions.

How many stories are about an event or action that took place outside of the United States?

Focus of the stories:

The way in which the stories relate to your community:

How many stories are about a national event or action?



How many stories are about a state event or action?



How many stories are about a local event or action?



Name Date


CHOOSE THE NEWS

Post-Visit Activities

Dear Educator,

We hope you enjoyed your recent visit to the Newseum. We anticipate that your students will look at the front page of your daily newspaper with a more critical eye and have more awareness of the decision-making process that resulted in the stories that appear in each day’s newspaper.

On the following pages are suggested activities that may extend the experience and allow you to apply concepts that were presented in the Choose the News lesson.

Newseum Education Staff


CHOOSE THE NEWS

Post-Visit Activities

11 Invite the managing editor of your local newspaper to visit your class. Prepare for the visit by:- Reading the newspaper daily and charting the international, national, regional and local stories.- Noting how stories have been localized.- Preparing interview questions.

22 Attend a budget meeting of your local newspaper. Read the next day’s newspaper to see how it refl ects what took place in the budget meeting. Did a breaking news story change any of the content that students were expecting? If your newspaper has more than one edition, compare and contrast the front page and sports coverage of the different editions.

33 Evaluate how your student newspaper operates its budget meeting. How could it be improved to increase coverage of the entire school community? If a budget meeting is not currently held, formulate a plan for instituting this practice. How might it benefi t the staff and coverage?

44 Divide the class into two to four groups to produce class newspapers. Each group should select its managing editor, photography editor and arts/graphics editor. Other students could be given beats to cover news, style/entertainment, sports, academics and clubs/organizations. Also, select students for an op-ed section. Students are given a day to brainstorm stories and sources.

The op-ed portion of the staff will hold their own meeting while the budget meeting is taking place. Why do they remain independent from the rest of the staff?

After story ideas have been pitched, the content decision is made. Stories are written. You may include the application of technology, art and photography skills by having students lay out and print their newspapers.


In the Newseum

Visit the Today’s Front Pages Gallery (Level 6)The Newseum receives more than 600 front pages daily from newspapers across the country and around the world. Here we display some of these front pages. Some days the stories on the front pages are all very similar; some days they are very different.

Find a newspaper from a state where you have relatives or friends and a newspaper from your home state and compare them:

CHOOSE THE NEWS

Home state:

Newspaper:

Lead story:

How many stories are on the front page?

How many of those stories are local?

National?

International?

How many photos or graphics are on the front page?

Other state:

Newspaper:

Lead story:

How many stories are on the front page?

How many of those stories are local?

National?

International?

How many photos or graphics are on the front page?

Name Date


CHOOSE THE NEWS

Human interest: Appeals to your humanness.Proximity: How close to you?Celebrity: How prominent is the person involved?Timeliness: Recent; event of immediate concern.Impact: On your community; many people.Magnitude: Storms; economic impact on the dollar.

What kinds of stories are the lead stories? Are they a combination of these types?

Home newspaper:

Other newspaper:

Pick one story from each of the two front pages that you would not have included if you were the editor and explain why.

Home newspaper:

Story you would cut:

Why?:

Other newspaper:

Story you would cut:

Why?:

Reading these two front pages, what do you think is important to these communities?

Home newspaper:

Other newspaper:

Name Date

What is News? What is News? What is News?

When we talk about events that are “news,” we usually mean events that fit into different categories:

Firsts Life Hate

Freedom War

Death Sacrifice

Peace Love

Breakthroughs

Could one story fit more than one category? Could it fit several? Could a story ever only fit into one category? When looking at the

categories, does it matter who tells the story?

Human Interest appeals to your humanity

Proximity how close is it to you?

(It’s not just about physical proximity.)

Impact on your community, many people

Timeliness recent, an event of immediate concern

Celebrity how prominent is the person involved

Magnitude storms, economic effect on the dollar

News Values News Values

News Values

What news is most important? Why?

Take a look at the questions below. Your group must reach consensus. Be prepared to explain your answers. Into which of the news categories does, or could, this story fit? What news values might impact how important this story is to you? Do you have enough information to report this story and be fair, accurate and clear? Decide if what Level of story this is and then what three media types would be best for disseminating this story from the list below.

Questions for Discussion

Level

International National Regional State City

Community/Neighborhood Friends/Family

Media Type

Nightly newscast Daily newspaper

Daily newspaper web site Daily radio news show

Daily blog Weekly newspaper Weekly newsletter

Flyer E‐mail

Newseum | 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20001 | newseum.org Page 1 of 7

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES The activities in this lesson plan are created for use in conjunction with the Newseum’s daily “Today’s Front Pages” exhibit, “The Front Page” poster and the “Stories of the Century” exhibit. Grade levels: 6-12 Exhibit summary: “Today’s Front Pages,” updated daily at newseum.org, features the front pages of more than 500 newspapers from all 50 states and countries around the world. Newspapers are listed alphabetically, first by state for the United States, and then by country for the international papers. The Newseum web site also features archived front pages that chronicle events of historical and journalistic significance. Objectives Students should gain an understanding of the following:

How newspapers serve as primary source documents for historically significant events

How the newsworthiness of a story is determined by impact, time, location and reader interest

How newspapers determine story placement based on perceived newsworthiness, editorial considerations and readership

How readership, location and competition from other news stories influence how a story is presented in the newspaper

How a newspaper’s layout and style are deliberate

How a newspaper’s mission is to be fair, accurate and clear

Students will:

Prepare for the exhibit by gaining prerequisite knowledge and skills

View the exhibit

Reflect on the exhibit by responding to analytic questions and tasks

Extend the exhibit through activities that expand on and enrich the exhibit’s content

Apply what they’ve learned to their own experiences as they shape their world view


Preparing for the Exhibit Key Concepts 1.) Familiarize students with the elements that comprise the front page of a newspaper. The Newseum has an excellent resource for this purpose: the annotated “Front Page” poster, which can be downloaded along with this lesson plan from the Newseum’s web site. The poster utilizes a sample front page from The Washington Post to illustrate how a front page is formatted. Have students analyze the sample front page by answering the following questions:

How do you, the reader, know what is the most important story on the front page?

What are the techniques the newspaper utilizes to draw your attention to the content?

The jump line tells the reader on what page a front-page story continues. Why do front-page stories often continue on another page?

Some newspapers feature an index on the front page; others feature the index inside the paper. Why might a newspaper want the index on the front page? Why might a newspaper not want it on the front page?

Why do you think many newspapers don’t feature advertisements on the front page? Consider the role perceptions play when advertisements do appear on the front page.

The overline or teaser prompts readers to look at articles inside the newspaper. The key or refer serves the same purpose. What other features on the front page seek to draw the reader’s attention to significant stories?

2.) Distribute hard copies of today’s local newspaper. Ask students what is the first thing on the front page that grabs their attention. Various students will give different responses, but a focus on headlines and photographs will likely emerge. Give each student a copy of Handout 1-1 (attached) to complete individually or with a partner. (Each student or pair will also need 15 adhesive notes.) Use the completed handouts to discuss their analyses. 3.) Visit the Newseum’s online exhibit “Today’s Front Pages” to see various newspapers from the same day or week. Download several front pages from the same day of the week, choosing the greatest variance in style and purpose as possible. Establish stations around the room at which students can examine each paper and, using a journal or teacher-created guide, note its features, style, the kind of news it covers, and the intended audience. Reconvene to discuss students’ observations. Ask the students which papers give the best daily news coverage and why. 4.) Distribute copies of a newspaper. (They don’t have to be from the same day or week.) Ask students to choose a story from the newspaper. Have them create a table and record quotes from people affected by the actions reported in the story that give different views on the story’s topic. Ask the students if the story is balanced.

http://www.newseum.org/images/download/posterF.pdf


Enrichment 1.) Invite a journalist from your local newspaper to talk to your class about how editorial decisions are made at the newspaper. In particular, the journalist should address how planning the front page differs from planning the rest of the paper’s layout; how the elements that comprise the front page differ from similar elements inside the paper; how the front-page photos are chosen; and how front-page stories are determined.

2.) Clip front-page stories from the past week’s newspapers and remove the headlines. Discuss the qualities of effective headlines and how front-page headlines differ or are similar in purpose and style from headlines throughout the paper. Then, instruct students to read the articles and create their own headlines. Let students compare the actual headlines to their own. Use the students’ headlines to extend the discussion about writing effective front-page headlines. Point out that headlines about events that have already happened are usually written in the present tense, and ask students why they think this is the case. 3.) Collect a variety of newspapers for students to peruse. These can include the school paper, the community paper, specialized newspapers, or regional and national papers. After reviewing the parts of a front page on the Newseum’s “The Front Page” poster, ask each student to choose one newspaper’s front page and, using Handout 1-2 (attached), compare elements with the sample front page on the poster. 4.) Arrange to visit your local newspaper and attend a budget meeting. Who on the newspaper staff attends this meeting? What decisions are made? How are the decisions made?

Viewing and Responding to the Exhibit Suggested activities for students Today’s Front Pages 1.) Review the front pages of two different newspapers from the same U.S. city (many major cities still have two papers). How does the perspective on national and local news vary between the two papers? How can you explain or account for the differences and similarities? 2.) Follow one paper’s front page for one week or longer. Keep a journal that chronicles the front-page content and your impressions of it. In particular, note story headlines, story subjects and photographs. At the end of the week, review your notes to answer the following questions:

What do the stories that were featured most prominently have in common? In other words, what makes for a good front-page story?

What attributes do the photographs chosen for the front page have in common? In what ways are they different?


3.) Choose five to 10 front pages from different U.S. cities to review. Begin with the newspaper from the city closest to your school. What is the paper’s lead story? Do other U.S. newspapers cover the same story? Do they give the story the same placement or emphasis? How do the various papers’ perspectives on the story compare? How does reading numerous versions of the same story shape your own perspective on the story? Many newspapers will use the same story from The Associated Press or another wire service. Why would a newspaper want its own reporter covering a story that they could get from a wire service?

Note to teachers: A variation on this activity is to have each student read the same front-page story as covered by different newspapers. (This assumes a story of national significance.) As they read, students should write down the facts of the story in one column and the story’s sources in another. Then, create a three-column chart on the board or overhead. The third column will serve to note the newspaper from which the fact comes. If the fact is included in all story versions, write “all” in the third column. Use the completed chart to demonstrate the differences in perspective or approach a newspaper can take on a story.

4.) Compare today’s headlines in major U.S. newspapers with headlines in international cities. (Peruse papers in foreign cities that are familiar and unfamiliar to you.) What international events and news are receiving front-page coverage? How do the types of front-page stories in a particular international city or country compare with the types of stories that typically receive front-page coverage in the United States? 5.) View at least three front pages written in languages that are foreign to you. Despite the language barrier, what elements provide clues that give you insight about the story content? How important is a photograph? 6.) Compare the front-page layout in one or more international newspapers with typical front-page layouts in U.S. newspapers. What features of these international front pages would you not expect to see in U.S. newspapers? Why not? Explain the similarities and differences you see, including why you think those similarities and differences exist. 7.) Follow coverage of a front-page story in your local paper for a week or longer. (Keep in mind, the story might “move” from the front-page to another page in the newspaper.) Clip the articles in case you need to refer to them later. How did the story change or evolve? What elements, if any, were constant?


Today’s Front Pages Archive The archive section of “Today’s Front Pages” includes front pages that chronicle events of historical and journalistic significance. Review the list of events the Newseum has identified as historically significant on the archive page.

1.) Do you agree that these events are historically significant? Why or why not? Which events, if any, might have more journalistic significance than historical significance? Explain your reasoning. 2.) Choose one story from the archive and write about how its historical significance changed or might change over time.

3.) How does a news story evolve into a historically significant event? Is there a specific point or time when a news story becomes historically significant? What determines whether or not a news story becomes historically significant? Cite specific examples. 4.) Review the archived front pages for several historically significant events. Take note of changes in technology and the purchase price of the newspaper. How does the layout and content of the front page change over time? Why does it change? 5.) Choose a set of front pages for one historically significant event to review and compare, then answer the following questions:

In your opinion, which headlines communicate the importance or essence of the event? Why?

In your opinion, which images best communicate the importance or essence of the event? Why?

How did different U.S. newspapers approach the event on their front pages?

How does international newspaper coverage of the event compare to U.S. newspaper coverage? What factors might explain the differences and similarities?

How do front-page images of the event in international papers compare to images in U.S. papers?


Extending the Exhibit Suggested activities for students Follow-up Activities 1.) In addition to the headlines and photographs, a significant feature on the front page is the masthead (also called the flag, logo, or nameplate). In it, a newspaper typically features the name of the city, coupled with a word like Tribune, Courier, Register, Post or Times. Find as many different names for newspapers as you can. Then, locate definitions or explanations of each word. Why is the term appropriate for a newspaper? Do some of the terms appear to be more or less appropriate than others? How so? Why are they used? Research the origins of your school or community newspaper’s name. This might involve contacting the editor or owner, reviewing archived copies of the paper (perhaps the name changed at some point), contacting sources who previously worked at the paper, or doing research at your local library. 2.) Use your library’s archives to locate the first edition of your local newspaper or another newspaper of your choice. (This could be a hard copy, but many libraries retain an archive of newspapers on microfilm, microfiche or in a computer file.) How has the front-page layout changed? If possible, locate editions of the paper from every 20 or 25 years since its first edition. What changes appear to be subtle and what changes dramatic? What do you think prompted the changes? (3) The poster “History Through the Headlines” features 11 final newspaper editions of breaking news stories through the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Choose one of the 11 stories or another story from the “Stories of the Century” poll (right side of the poster). Locate your local newspaper’s coverage of the same story. Where is the story featured (i.e., on the front page, inside the first section)? Why do you think it’s placed where it is? Also, what, if anything, did the paper do to localize the story or to make it more relevant to your community? Next, review the newspaper issues in the days following the event. How long did the story stay in the paper? Did it “move” from the front page to elsewhere in the paper? If so, why do you think it moved? How did the story evolve or change? 4.) Sometimes news stories that become historically significant do not begin as front-page news. Go to the Newseum’s online exhibit “Stories of the Century” at www.newseum.org/century and review the top 100 news stories of the 20th century. Which stories do you think started as front page news and which stories do you think evolved over days, weeks, months or even years before becoming front page news? Research and justify your answers. 5.) Choose a front page from “Today’s Front Pages” to compare with the home page of the newspaper’s online version. (In most cases, a link to the newspaper’s online counterpart appears on the web page featuring the front page.) The content and layout differences will be obvious, but focus on why the differences exist. How do the differences between online and print media influence content and layout? What can the online version accomplish or offer that the print version cannot, and vice versa? Which medium do you prefer, and why?


Applying What You’ve Learned 1.) Consider the U.S. and international front pages you viewed in the exhibit. Which front pages are the most visually appealing? The easiest to read? What other features of those front pages impressed you the most? Using this list, choose one of the following options:

Design a front-page layout of your own newspaper or newsletter

Redesign the front page of an existing school, community regional or national newspaper

Whichever option you choose, be sure you are able to explain the rationale for your design choices. There are three rules for designing a front page: put big headlines at the top, don’t “bump heads” (put two headlines side by side) and keep it simple.

2.) In spring 2005, the Carnegie Corporation released “Abandoning the News,” a report based on a survey of 18- to 34-year-olds’ current and future sources for news. The report summarized the results in a slideshow at www.carnegie.org/pdf/AbandoningTheNews.ppt (note: URL is case sensitive). Review the charts and other information to answer these questions:

According to “Abandoning the News,” how do 18- to 34-year-olds view daily newspapers as a news source?

How do their views compare with your own? 3.) Based on the survey questions in “Abandoning the News,” create a survey for students in your school or grade level to determine their present and future sources of news. Present the results in a visually appealing manner to the editor of your local newspaper. Be sure to address the implications of the results (i.e., what the results mean) and suggest ways newspapers can enhance their appeal to people in your age group. 4.) Create your own “History Through the Headlines” compilation or exhibit for the stories of the 21st century. Start by identifying the top 10 most newsworthy stories from 2000 to the present. You might review archived newspapers or news magazines, poll friends and family members, or ask local journalists. Your final product should include rationales for choosing each story and evidence of each story on the front page of at least one regional or national newspaper and one local paper.

Newseum | 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20001 | newseum.org

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES Handout 1-1 Preparing for the exhibit – Foundational Newspaper name: 1.) Using the adhesive notes provided by your teacher, locate the following features on the front page of the newspaper:

Headline Issue number Nameplate/Masthead Photo credit Subhead Edition The lead story Photo caption Byline Price Jump line Agate line/credit line Dateline

2.) Respond to the following questions:

FEATURE

ANALYSIS

Headlines

How important is the headline to an article? Why? How does the purpose of front-page headlines differ from the purpose of headlines elsewhere in the paper? Why do you think there is sometimes more than one headline for an article?

Images

How important are the images on the front page? How does the purpose of front-page images differ from the purpose of images elsewhere in the paper? How do you think front-page photographs are chosen?

Agate line/credit line

Sometimes, instead of or in addition to the byline, you will see an agate line that reads AP (Associated Press) or Reuters. What do you think this means?

Edition

Newspapers in larger cities often distribute several editions of the same day’s paper. Why might they need or want to do this?

What other questions or insights do you have about the features, content or layout of the front page?

Newseum | 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20001 | newseum.org

TODAY’S FRONT PAGES

Handout 1-2 Preparing for the Exhibit – Continuing

Element in The Washington Post

Is this represented on

your paper’s front page? If yes, how?

If no, why might your paper not include this?

What elements do you see on the front page of your paper that are not represented on The Washington Post front page?

Consider the similarities and differences between the layout of your paper and The Washington Post. Why do you think these similarities and differences exist?

choose the news revised

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