Analyzing the News Objective: We are thinking about how language creates meaning and effect. When it comes to the news, most reporting brings together opinion with the news, revealing a sort of bias. Skill: Critically reading and analyzing the news for framing, word choice, and bias. Framing: A way to change meaning by manipulating the perspective, just as the frame around a picture influences the way we see it. For example, an optimist is said to see a glass as half full while the pessimist sees it as half empty. This view of the world is simply a matter of perspective as the glass is the same. It depends upon the context. 1. We will go over the Questions to Examine Media Bias Handout. 1. Choose a news story and use the questions to determine if and how the article is biased, and to examine how it is framed. 2. Using the handout: 1. Examine 3 news articles from the same day on the same issue. a. Compare/Contrast them for bias, and pay attention to what facts all three include or focus on, and which are omitted. b. Explore the different types of language used to target different audiences. c. What is the main perspective and framing of each article? d. Discuss how one or more texts offered a perspective you were not previously familiar with. Word Choice and Bias – Can you find one or more of these in the text? Weasel Words: words or phrases that are ambiguous, vague, or misleading. E.g.: most people believe, students are almost always offered jobs after internships. In your Argument Analysis, consider whether the author relies on such ambiguous or vague language. Glittering Generalities: broad statements so nonspecific that they do not make a meaningful contribution to a debate over an issue. Often emotionally appealing and used in an abstract and non-specific way. E.g.: Words that appeal to principles that few could be against, such as ‘freedom’, ‘democracy’, or ‘opportunity’, Euphemisms: words used to avoid unpleasant or offensive terms; euphemisms may be used to ‘sugar coat’ elements of an argument E.g.: Developing countries, emerging nations, “tender age shelters” (to refer to prisons for immigrant children and toddlers separated from their parents ) Dysphemisms: words with unpleasant connotations; the negative feelings evoked by dysphemisms are directed against the opponent or class of people being attacked by the speaker or writer. E.g.: Riots (as opposed to protests). One of the most recent examples of the use of a dysphemism took place in Rwanda prior to and during an ethnic massacre. The targeted people were referred to as “cockroaches.” The term not only had unpleasant connotations; it also served to dehumanize the targeted individuals . Loaded words: Words filled with emotion and their use is often unquestioned. E.g.: Regime; terrorists. Handout for Examining Media Framing and Bias: 1. Who are the sources? What do I know about them? Are they cited? Is credit given? Is there a diversity of race, gender, or age among the sources? Some sources are more credible than others. 2. What is the point of view of the report or article? Is space given only to those in powerful positions or are those most affected by the issue included in the report? What would be different if it had been told by someone with a different point of view? 3. What has been left out? What facts are being ignored? Does the coverage cherry pick the facts to support a specific way of looking at the issue? What would I think if other facts, numbers, or statistics had been included? 4. How is language used? Is it different for different groups of people? Pay attention to the words, especially the adjectives used to describe groups of people. Does the coverage focus on stereotypes? 5. What or whose interest is being served by this story? 6. Are there contradictions or inconsistencies in the story? 7. What are the unstated assumptions being made about the topic or the people involved? Does the story provide context or background information? 8. Does the story rely on sensationalism?
