www.gogetglobal.com How to choose your news. Based on Ted educational video by Dan Brown, How to choose your news. Video link: https://www.ted.com/talks/damon_brown_how_to_choose_your_news/transcript#t151763 1. Warm-up Do you watch the news to keep up with the current events? Watch the clip twice to identify the vocabulary below: 2. Vocabulary: Match these words with their definitions and use them in the sentences below: Covert c) To be refuted f) To aim for smthg b) Bias g) To tune into smthg d) To watch out for smthg e) Falsehood a) a) a lie b) to strive for a particular goal c) not openly displayed d) to pay attention to something e) to be careful f) to prove that something is wrong g) a prejudice based on personal believes You should __tune into __ the needs of your family. There have been many __covert__operations detected in this company. Our boss is __aiming for__ increased sales this year. There is a clear __bias__ against foreign applicants. You need to __watch our for__ the thieves when out so late at night Her version of the story is a downright __falsehood__! These claims haven’t been __refuted_. Explain these expressions and idioms in your own words after watching the clip and find the examples in the video: The midst of the chaos – in the middle of a chaotic situation To put the pieces together – to analyze the situation in general To take the plunge – to make a decision to do something after a long time thinking of it Created by www.gogetglobal.com Use these expressions to create your own sentences. 3. Follow-up questions How to get the best news according to the article? Is it always possible to follow different news sources? Do you share the news through social media? How can we fight fake news spread? Do outrageous headlines catch your attention? 4. Extreme adjectives We can often see extreme adjectives in the news. Complete the table below: Good Clean Dirty Loud Crowded Beautiful Ugly Cold Hot Angry Funny Happy Interesting Sad Wet Surprised Bad Great, Amazing, Excellent, Brilliant Spotless Filthy Deafening Packed, Gorgeous, Breathtaking Appalling Freezing Boiling, Scorching Furious, Exasperated Hilarious Thrilled, Delighted Fascinating Miserable Soaking, Soaked Astonished Terrible, Awful We can use extreme adjectives with the following adverbs: Absolutely, utterly, truly, completely, totally, really. Answer the following questions: What is the most appalling weather you’ve experienced? Is your house filthy or spotless? What topics do you find fascinating to talk about? Who is the most gorgeous actor/ actress you can think of? What is the most terrific food you can think of? Can you think of a brilliant book that was made into a terrible movie? Created by www.gogetglobal.com 5. Fact or Fake? Which of these headlines are fake? Source: The Guardian Teenager fined £100 for feeding a chip to a pigeon! real Two-headed sharks found! fake Police in Germany rescue man chased by baby squirrel! real Canadian zoo fined after taking bear out for ice-cream! real Elderly woman trains 65 cats to steal from her neighbours! fake Created by www.gogetglobal.com Video Transcript How do you know what's happening in your world? The amount of information just a click away may be limitless, but the time and energy we have to absorb and evaluate it is not. All the information in the world won't be very useful unless you know how to read the news. To your grandparents, parents, or even older siblings, this idea would have sounded strange. Only a few decades ago, news was broad-based. Your choices were limited to a couple of general interest magazines and newspaper of record, and three or four TV networks where trusted newscasters delivered the day's news at the same reliable time every evening. But the problems with this system soon became apparent as mass media spread. While it was known that authoritarian countries controlled and censored information, a series of scandals showed that democratic governments were also misleading the public, often with media cooperation. Revelations of covert wars, secret assassinations, and political corruption undermined public faith in official narratives presented by mainstream sources. This breakdown of trust in media gatekeepers lead to alternative newspapers, radio shows, and cable news competing with the major outlets and covering events from various perspectives. More recently, the Internet has multiplied the amount of information and viewpoints, with social media, blogs, and online video turning every citizen into a potential reporter. But if everyone is a reporter, nobody is, and different sources may disagree, not only opinions, but on the facts themselves. So how do you get the truth, or something close? One of the best ways is to get the original news unfiltered by middlemen. Instead of articles interpreting a scientific study or a politician's speech, you can often find the actual material and judge for yourself. For current events, follow reporters on social media. During major events, such as the Arab Spring or the Ukrainian protests, newscasters and bloggers have posted updates and recordings from the midst of the chaos. Though many of these later appear in articles or broadcasts, keep in mind that these polished versions often combine the voice of the person who was there with the input of editors who weren't. At the same time, the more chaotic the story, the less you should try to follow it in real time. In events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters, today's media attempts continuous coverage even when no reliable new information is available, sometimes leading to incorrect information or false accusations of innocent people. It's easy to be anxious in such events, but try checking for the latest information at several points in the day, rather than every few minutes, allowing time for complete details to emerge and false reports to be refuted. While good journalism aims for objectivity, media bias is often unavoidable. When you can't get the direct story, read coverage in multiple outlets which employ different reporters and interview different experts. Tuning in to various sources and noting the differences lets you put the pieces together for a more complete picture. It's also crucial to separate fact from opinion. Words like think, likely, or probably mean that the outlet is being careful or, worse, taking a guess. And watch out for reports that rely on anonymous sources. These could be people who have little connection to the story, or have an interest in influencing coverage, their anonymity making them unaccountable for the information they provide. Finally, and most importantly, try to verify news before spreading it. While social media has enabled the truth to reach us faster, it's also allowed rumors to spread before they can be verified and falsehoods to survive long after they've been refuted. So, before you share that unbelievable or outrageous news item, do a web search to find any additional information or context you might have missed and what others are saying about it. Today, we are more free than ever from the old media gatekeepers who used to control the flow of information. But with freedom comes responsibility: the responsibility to curate our own experience and ensure that this flow does not become a flood, leaving us less informed than before we took the plunge. Created by www.gogetglobal.com
