Warm-Up!
Sit with a partner.
Introduce yourself and free-talk!
Any topic is ok, just speak in English!
Homework
Research and write about one recent news story about an
African country.
Do not copy anything from the Internet!
Copying = 0
Research and summarize the information in your own
words.
Review
In your notebooks, write three questions related to African
politics.
Don’t just copy the questions I gave you last week!
Political Science – Week 10
News and Media
Warm-Up – News!
Ask and answer with a partner:
 Do you follow the news closely?
 What kind of news do you follow?
 Where do you get your news?
 Do you trust the news you see on TV or read
in newspapers?
What is Media?
Media includes all of the technology that communicates news
and information:
 Newspapers, books, magazines, etc. (“print media”)
 Radio
 TV and movies
 The Internet
 Other “digital media”
What is Media?
Journalism
The majority of political news and information is gathered by
journalists. Some common principles of journalism:
 First duty is to report “the truth” (free of too much bias)
 Represent all citizens
 Be an independent monitor of power
 Try to be objective:
 Always use multiple sources of information
 Be transparent about those sources (avoid anonymous sources)
 Remain independent from the powerful (corporations, government,
etc.)
Digital Media
The rise of the Internet and digital media has led to
important new figures who communicate information often
not reported by the “mainstream media”, i.e. powerful
news and media corporations:
 Bloggers
 Online news shows
 “Netizens” (Internet + Citizen)
 Groups like Wikileaks
What Problems Exist Today?
Some Issues in Media Today
1. The quality of news from the mainstream media
 Not reporting the most important, relevant stories
 Simply repeating what politicians or corporate leaders say
 Focusing too much on stories that entertain or scare the
audience (i.e. “fear-mongering”)
 Not enough distinction between fact-based journalism and
opinion journalism
Some Issues in Media Today
2. Attacks on journalistic freedom and independence
 Government censorship of critical news reports
 Self-censorship by reporters to maintain access to powerful
politicians and corporate leaders
 Journalists threatened or arrested by the government
 E.g. In Korea, journalist Tatsuya Kato indicted
 Over 370 journalists killed in the last 10 years, 90% of their
killers never punished
 Eg. USA bombed Al-Jazeera offices in Iraq, Afghanistan; ISIS
killed journalists, etc.
Some Issues in Media Today
3. The reliability of information on the Internet
 Can be a great way for citizens to get and spread
information but…
 Can also be a source of rumors, bullying by netizens, etc.
 Difficult to verify the information
Fill in the Blanks
The Final Exam
 One-on-one discussions, about a random topic after the
midterm (African Politics, News and Media, Art and
Propaganda)
 You will need to ask and answer questions, make follow-up
questions and use ideas and vocabulary studied in class
 It is worth 20 points. You will be evaluated on:





fluency
clarity
vocabulary usage
confidence
comprehension (listening and understanding)
Homework
Choose one topic related to news and media. Write a
paragraph giving your opinion about it.
Examples:
Censorship in Korea
International News
The American Beef Protests
The reliability of Internet News
Etc.