I. ASCRC General Education Form (revised 9/15/09)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change existing
gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be
submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status.
Group
III. Language
VII: Social Sciences
(submit
III Exception: Symbolic Systems * VIII: Ethics & Human Values
separate forms
IV: Expressive Arts
IX: American & European
X
if requesting
V: Literary & Artistic Studies
X: Indigenous & Global
more than one
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies
XI: Natural Sciences
general
w/ lab  w/out lab 
education
group
*Courses proposed for this designation must be standing requirements of
designation)
majors that qualify for exceptions to the modern and classical language
requirement
Dept/Program Journalism
Course #
Jour 110
Course Title
Prerequisite
News Literacy
None
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Phone / Email
3
Date
9/20/10
Ray Fanning
243-4747
ray.fanning@umontana.edu
Program Chair Carol Van Valkenburg
9/22/10
Dean
Peggy Kuhr
III. Type of request
New
X
One-time Only
Change
Remove
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of new general education course: General Education courses
must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/archives/minutes/gened/GE_preamble.aspx
An informed citizenry is the bedrock of American government, and a right guaranteed by
the First Amendment. This guarantee of press freedom in the Bill of Rights sets up the
journalist as a watchdog of government in a democracy, and lays the foundation for the news
media in America. But the press is not the only contributor to American press freedom.
Citizens need to evaluate the news and information they get, and then put it to work.
This course is designed to teach all students about the history and legacy of the First
Amendment and press freedom, and to help them become more discriminating news consumers
at a time when the digital revolution is spawning an unprecedented flood of information and
disinformation each day. The course will seek to help students, regardless of major, recognize
and understand the differences among various information sources available through print,
broadcast and online. Students will learn to see the difference between news and propaganda,
and news and opinion. They will learn the difference between bias and fairness, and assertion
and verification in news articles (print and online) and broadcast reports. They will also learn
why the First Amendment’s guarantee of a free press does not ensure responsible reporting.
The course seeks to teach students how to apply critical-thinking skills to analyze how the
American free press has grown, changed and developed since the First Amendment. And, how
it’s hard work to find reliable information. Students will also learn how the journalistic process
developed and operates in America, and how and why professional journalists make decisions.
V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
This course will provide a critical
Group IX: American and European
introduction to the institution of American
Perspectives
These courses present a critical introduction to
journalism, the legacy of a free press and its
the antecedents, principles, institutions,
“watchdog” role, established by the First
cultures, traditions and legacies of the United
Amendment. Students will learn the
States and Europe.
responsibility that the American model
places on journalists and all citizens, and
how citizens must be informed participants
in their government.
Courses focus on either area and can be
This course will prepare students to use
comparative in content or approach. The
critical thinking to evaluate the news media
courses are broad in theme, geography, or
and the decisions journalists make, with both
chronology. They are foundational and prepare historic and contemporary examples. By
students for further study by raising core
understanding how and why the news
questions of an academic discipline.
operates, students will also gain skills to help
them sift through the avalanche of news
information in the 21st century and to decide
what is valid, accurate and important.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
Learning Goals
Upon completion of this perspective, students
will be able to:
1. Demonstrate informed and reasoned
understanding of American and/or European
historical and contemporary behavior, ideas,
institutions, and culture; and
2. Analyze and evaluate what is distinctive and
significant about the American and/or European
experience and legacy.
At the end of the course, students will
understand the free press through the lens of
the First Amendment, how American
journalism developed and how it operates
today as an institution.
They will know how to analyze and
critically evaluate the information that flows
out of the American news media and how
the First Amendment guarantee of press
freedom differentiates American media
from other systems. They will also have the
skills to analyze and evaluate the quality of
news information that surrounds them today
VII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry
at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level. If the course has more than one
pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200
level), provide rationale for exception(s).
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
News Literacy — Jour 110
Purpose of the course:
This course is designed to teach students in all disciplines about the American free press
as designed by the First Amendment. Students will understand how it began, and how it has
changed and developed over time. Students will also learn about the importance of their role in
a free press system and how to become more discriminating news consumers at a time when the
digital revolution is spawning an unprecedented flood of information and disinformation each
day. The course will take a critical look at the American news media and seek to help students
recognize the differences between news and propaganda, news and opinion, bias and fairness,
assertion and verification, and evidence and inference in online, broadcast and print reports. It
seeks to teach students how to apply their critical-thinking skills to these goals so they can act
on reliable information and understand how the First Amendment freedoms face continual
testing in a modern society. As part of their instruction, students also will learn how the
journalistic process works and how professional journalists make decisions.
Required texts and materials:
“The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should
Expect,” Kovach and Rosenstiel, Three Rivers Press, New York.
Students also will use the following Web sites:
Committee to Protect Journalists: www.cpj.org
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: www.people-press.org
Poynter Online: www.poynter.org
Other requirements and recommendations:
Students are required to keep up with news events on a timely basis. You are
encouraged to subscribe to a daily newspaper (student discounts are available for The New
York Times) and routinely monitor broadcast and online news. You will be required to set your
home page to one of four news sites (nytimes.com, cnn.com, npr.org, or abcnews.com) for the
remainder of the semester. You also will be required to keep a News Log examining specific
broadcast news reports, newspaper articles and news websites. The News Log format will be
distributed early in the semester.
Class Schedule:
Week 1
Lecture 1: Why News Literacy Matters: From Johann to Jon
An introduction and overview of the course, highlighted by an outline of the role of a free
press in a democratic society and examples of timely print and broadcast stories that illustrate
why news literacy matters to students – and society. We define “the news media,” and put the
course in the context of the accelerating communications revolution, ranging from Johann
Gutenberg to Jon Stewart. Students leave this class with an understanding of the purpose of the
First Amendment in our society and the core definition of News Literacy: The ability to judge
the credibility and reliability of news reports–and why that matters to them.
Discussion 1: What the Public Thinks of the News Media and Why
Students discuss their “news blackout” experiences as well as the results of the student
media survey. Class focuses on where and how students get their news, with discussion of
which news sources the students will use during the semester. How do students view the news
media? How does it compare with the general public’s view? What’s the source of the public’s
current unease? Is it justified? What’s a news consumer to do? Does it threaten our democratic
institutions?
Week 2
Lecture 2: The Mission and Legacy of the American Press
This class looks at the philosophical and practical underpinnings of a free press in
America and the ongoing tension in a democracy between the news media and the government.
We examine the First Amendment and what freedom of the press really means, looking at
landmark Supreme Court cases (Near vs. Minnesota, Pentagon Papers and others). We
examine the role of the press in wartime, issues of censorship and press responsibility and its
role as a “watchdog.”
Discussion 2: The New York Times and National Security
Case study: Did The New York Times act responsibility or commit treason in disclosing
Operation Swift? Students will debate which principle takes precedence: national security or
the public’s right to know. They conduct a mock trial of the Times’ reporters balancing the
constitutional role of the press with national security issues.
Week 3
Lecture 3: The Power of Information
We explore the universal need to receive and share information and the function that
news has played in every recorded society: to alert, to connect and to divert. Paying attention to
disaster and celebrity stories – even dog stories – is embedded deeply in our DNA. We then
examine the specific cases in the United States and the role technology has played in
amplifying information – from smoke signals to television – and how this also has enabled the
sender to control the news. This leads to a broader discussion of how information is power and
why there is a global battle for information control. Students leave this class with a clear
understanding of why there is a need for a free flow of information in American and other
cultures and why some people are willing to kill (and journalists are willing to die) in the battle
to control information.
Discussion 2: The Battle over Information
The class contrasts the American and Western European experience with other
countries, using China and Iran as timely examples in the news of the struggle for information
control. What is the conflict in China really about? Have executives with Google or Yahoo
been right in agreeing to operate within China’s designated rules? How successful are Iranian
authorities in suppressing information? What is the role of new technologies spreading the
word about Iran’s disputed election? Why do governments try to control news? What is the
difference between news and propaganda? Does the U.S. government try to control news?
What does the law say about propaganda in the United States? The class ends with an
introduction to other categories of information beyond news and propaganda.
Week 4
Lecture 4: Know Your Neighborhood – What Makes Journalism Different
What makes journalism different from other kinds of information? The first rule for a
smart news consumer is this: always know what information “neighborhood” you’re in. This
lecture explores the differences between news, propaganda, publicity, advertising,
entertainment and raw information. Students begin work on an Information Grid that defines
these “neighborhoods.” In the journalism neighborhood, a news consumer should always find
three key values: verification, independence and accountability. But the lines on the grid are
blurring, often by design, and it’s easy to be deceived as to what journalism is and who is a
journalist. Class also discusses how American institutions and laws view these different
neighborhoods. The class watches Video News Releases, war “coverage” on YouTube and Jon
Stewart.
Discussion 4: The Blurring of the Lines
Together, students complete and review the Information Grid. Students debate whether Jon
Stewart is a journalist and whether a consumer can find reliable news reports on YouTube and
whether this information plays the same “watchdog” function envisioned for the press in the
Constitution.
Week 5
Lecture 5: What Is News and Who Decides?
What makes some information news? This class examines news drivers, news values
and how the news process works. What is the decision-making process that determines whether
a story gets published or broadcast? Who decides? How do editors balance the interesting and
the important? What is “news play,” or presentation, and why does it matter? What is
proportionality? What is sensationalism? Are news decisions driven by the profit motive or
social responsibility or some combination of the two? Students examine the question of
whether there is too much bad news.
Discussion 5: You Be the Editor
Students decide what to put on the front page of the “Griz World.” After an examination
of the news judgment, ethical and legal issues editors must deal with every day; students break
into small news meetings and plan the front page of a campus newspaper.
Week 6
Lecture 6: Opinion: The License to Kill
What is the difference between news and opinion within the journalism neighborhood
and why are the lines blurring so rapidly? How can you differentiate news from opinion in a
newspaper, on television, on the Internet? What is a columnist? A commentator? Are bloggers
journalists? Are Keith Olbermann and Lou Dobbs presenting news or opinion? How can a
news consumer identify the difference? And why does it matter? Does this blurring of opinion
and news have effects on the media’s relationship with the government? Does it compromise
the idea of creating an informed citizenry and instead generate a polarized one?
Discussion 6: Test #1 and Opinion review
Test takes about half of class time. Covers all material to date.
Remaining class time: Students review the differences between news and opinion using their
assignments as examples. A discussion on the importance of paying attention to labels. How do
newspaper editorials and endorsements work? Would we be better off without any opinion? Or
should everything include the journalist’s opinion?
Week 7
Lecture 7: Fairness and Bias.
This class explores one of the most controversial and contentious issues surrounding the
press. Are the news media fair and balanced? What do those terms mean? How can a news
consumer tell? What is bias? What’s the difference between media bias and audience bias? Is
this a particularly American phenomenon or are other cultures struggling with this?
Discussion 7: Exploring Fairness and Bias: Case Studies
A discussion of the issues of fairness and bias. Students divide into groups and examine
whether stories are fair. Students also discuss their responses to an Internet-based test of their
own possible biases.
Week 8:
Lecture 8: Truth and Verification: What Is Journalistic Truth? How Do Journalists
Verify Information?
What do journalists mean by “truth”? How does journalistic truth differ from
philosophical truth, or scientific truth? What standards do journalists use to try to verify
information? This class explores the pursuit of journalistic “truth” and the verification process.
What makes some news sources reliable and others unreliable? What are the differences
between direct and indirect evidence, assertion and verification, evidence and inference? How
news consumers can assess journalistic evidence and why the verification process breaks down.
A look at news coverage of Hurricane Katrina and how it relates to themes in the lecture.
Discussion 8: How Journalists Verify Information.
Case study: Anderson Cooper’s reporting about the Indonesian tsunami. Students
identify key factors in the verification process. Class also reviews the difference between
assertion and verification and how separating the two can help news consumers. How does this
process play out in the laws governing the media?
Week 9
Lecture 9: How Can You Tell If You Are Getting the Truth from the News Media?
This class examines how to “deconstruct” news stories to judge their credibility and
reliability by asking a series of key questions. The class reprises previous classes on evidence,
sourcing, and fairness, but also explores context, transparency and thoroughness.
Discussion 9: How to Deconstruct a Story, Part II
Students practice deconstructing several news stories together. Class also reviews
assignment dealing with The Washington Post story on Walter Reed Hospital.
Week 10
Lecture 10: The Power of Images
For the past 150 years American news consumers have been getting their news not only
from text, but from powerful visual images, a trend that has accelerated in recent years. This
class explores the power of news images to inform, move and verify, but also manipulate and
offend, from photojournalism to TV and the web. What are the special strengths of visual
journalism? How do these technological developments affect the role the press has played in
democratic governance? What are the potential pitfalls for news consumers? What makes TV
news different from other kinds of news? What special challenges does new digital technology
that can alter images pose for news consumers?
Discussion 10: What Do Ethics Have to Do with It, Anyway?
Self-censorship, when and why the news media withhold information, the First
Amendment vs. the right to a fair trial or the right to privacy, the right to privacy vs. the right to
know: How do these affect content and credibility? Students break into groups and examine a
series of ethical case studies and “make the calls.”
Week 11
Lecture 11: Deconstructing TV News
Students apply the principles of deconstruction to TV news stories. We will analyze a
series of “winners” and “sinners” and discuss how you can tell the difference. Representatives
from each discussion section will be asked to present their “ethical cases.”
Discussion 11: TEST #2
Test takes about half of class time. Covers all material to date.
Remaining Discussion Time: Radio, The Forgotten Medium. Where does radio news fit in the
modern media world? Special attention will be paid to NPR and its unique position as a
partially public institution and what challenges it faces because of its partial governmental
support.
Week 12
Lecture 12: News on the Net
This class examines the special challenges and opportunities for news consumers
navigating the net: the potential for unprecedented sources of information, but also the potential
to be deceived. This is a hands-on class on how to evaluate news websites, online stories, blogs
and sources to avoid deception and maximize the Internet’s advantages. Students will consider
whether the audience fragmentation enabled by the web is actually creating partisan views of
America that could threaten our institutions.
Discussion 12: The Internet: A Blessing or a Curse?
A discussion of the revolutionary changes the Internet has spawned and the potential
positive and negative consequences for news consumers. This is in advance of our next lecture
on the Internet. Students also review an assignment deconstructing a major TV news story.
Week 13
Lecture 13: The Future: Who Will Report the News and Who Will Pay for It?
From Ben Franklin to Rupert Murdoch, American media outlets have always been
driven by both profit and public service. How has the business of the news media evolved and
why should we care? Is concentration of media ownership bad for democracy? Does it raise any
questions of fairness or bias? How do the sweeping changes and economic problems in the
news industry today affect the quality of journalism? Will new digital models and technologies
make it more difficult—or easier--- to be a critical news consumer? Will the changes make the
news media more democratic, or less? What are the prospects for the future?
Discussion 13: Economic Stories and the Use and Misuse of Numbers.
A look at how news consumers should assess stories on business and economics. How
statistics can be used and misused by journalists, and how a savvy news consumer can tell
when the numbers in stories really add up. This class unfolds to the backdrop of the current
proliferation of important economic stories.
Week 14:
Lecture 14: We’re All News Consumers and Publishers in the Digital Age
This class looks at the new opportunities—and responsibilities—for news consumers in the
digital age, given the growing proliferation of viral news, e-mail and “citizen journalism.” Is
this the culmination of the world Thomas Jefferson envisioned for America or the destruction
of it? The class also reprises the top lessons for smart news consumers and prepares students
for the portion of the final exam that involves deconstructing TV stories.
Discussion 14: Course review and practicing for the final
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and
corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.