GLOBAL MEDIA
Canadian & World Issues
Global Media
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Information Highway
 Credibility
of Resources
 Perspective
 Bias in the Media
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Propaganda
 The
Global Media
 Manufacturing Consent
 Doublespeak (e.g. downsizing versus layoffs)
A Matter of Perspective
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What do YOU see?
A Matter of Perspective
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What do YOU see?
A Matter of Perspective
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What do YOU see?
A Matter of Perspective
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What do YOU see?
Bias in the Media
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Every media story we encounter is the product of
reporters, editors, camera crews – individuals who
hold points of view which may be different from
our own; individuals who choose what events to
cover, who to interview, along with which words
and pictures to use in the feature.
In other words, the media story which is presented
to you is not necessarily “the truth,” but rather one
person’s or a group of people’s idea about the
truth.
Bias in the Media
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September 1, 1983: A Soviet interceptor plane blows
up a Korean passenger jet. The New York Times
Editorial, “Murder in the Air”:
 “There
is no conceivable excuse for any nation shooting
down a harmless airliner… no circumstance whatever
justifies attacking an innocent plane.”
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July 3, 1988: US forces blow up an Iranian passenger
get. The New York Times Editorial?
 “While
horrifying, it was nonetheless an accident… the
onus for avoiding such accidents in the future rests on
civilian aircraft: avoid combat zones, fly high,
acknowledge warnings.”
Bias in the Media
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In each of these examples, what factors could have
caused the difference in media coverage?
Which government involved is a friend of the
United States?
Which isn’t?
Would you expect to see a similar lack of balance in
the Canadian media?
Why or why not?
Bias in the Media
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Some people are trying to undo the effect that
media has on us, such as “Adbusters” Magazine.
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On the next few slides are a few examples of their
advertizements.
www.adbusters.org/spoofads
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Nearly 50% of
automobile fatalities
are linked to alcohol.
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10% of North
Americans are
alcoholics.
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A teenager sees
100,000 alcohol ads
before reaching the
legal drinking age.
The Global Media
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Exposure to media has become a major factor in
shaping the economic, political, social, cultural and
environmental composition of the world.
Not everyone has equal access to media. An
information gap often exists between the affluent
and poor, and between the more powerful groups
in society and those who are marginalized. The
latter cannot address serious issues if they are
unaware of the underlying causes and
interconnections.
The Global Media
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In a democratic society, information should be
designed to help individuals become informed.
There are so many opposing claims and
perspectives in all types of information that it is
difficult to distinguish rhetoric from reality.
Accurate, objective information allows individuals
to form well-reasoned opinions.
Doublespeak
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Doublespeak is language deliberately constructed
to disguise or distort its actual meaning.
• NCTE awards an annual
“doublespeak award” for
particularly brutal usage of
doublespeak by various
officials in the U.S.
Doublespeak
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush says:

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“As all of us saw on television, there's also some deep, persistent
poverty in this region, as well. That poverty has roots in a history of
racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity
of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.
So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us
rise above the legacy of inequality.”
However, a week before the President’s speech, he signed an
executive order suspending the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, thereby
allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage.
Bias in the Media
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
Bring to school 2 different examples of articles or
editorials on international topics:
 One which you consider to be a good one: balanced,
containing good factual material, and unbiased;
 One which you consider to be an example of bad news
coverage: unbalanced, distorted, lacking sufficient
information, etc.
Write a 1 page, (max. 300 words) response where you
refer to these 2 articles, pointing out the differences
between good and bad news coverage.
Bias in Maps
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The Earth is a three-dimensional sphere (hopefully this is
not news to you) and a map is flat (two-dimensional), so
it is impossible to produce a map which combines the
true shape, bearing, and distance.
ALL map projections misrepresent the surface of the
Earth in some way. There are errors in distance and
distortions in shapes.
Bias in Maps
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Cartographers try to preserve four things on a map.
Shape – an area’s shape is directly related to the actual
shape in the real world
Area – an area’s size is proportional to its actual size in
the real world
Direction – the lines of constant direction remain
constant anywhere on a map
Distance – distance measured on a map are accurate
Bias in Maps
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Mercator Projection
Used for navigation since 1569, is most common
Compass direction along a straight line between 2 points on
the map are accurate
Distortion in shape & size of regions (north is larger, tropics
are smaller)
Polar regions are larger, equatorial regions are smaller
Still used by ships & pilots, in many atlases for school use
Bias in Maps
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Robinson Projection
In use from 1988 - 1998 by National Geographic
Minimizes the distortion of size & shape of most regions
Badly compresses & distorts the shape of countries in
polar region
Bias in Maps
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Winkel Tripel Projection
Created by Oswald Winkel in 1921
Prime Meridian & Equator are straight lines while all other
parallels & meridians are curved
•Adopted by National
Geographic in 1998, replacing
Robinson as it better
represents the size & shape of
Earth features, especially in
the polar regions
Bias in Maps
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Gall Projection
Used in many textbooks
Shows area-accurate view of the world (except at poles)
Land mass size accurate, shape distorted
Is this map upside down, or is that merely a
Northern Hemisphere perspective?
Bias in Maps
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Which one is ‘reality’?
Bias in Maps
 Which
one is ‘reality’?
Bias in Maps
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Which one is ‘reality’?
Bias in Maps
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Which one is ‘reality’?
Bias in Maps
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Which one is ‘reality’?
Bias in Maps
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The only one that comes close to reality is a
globe!
Unit 1 Test
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Multiple Choice – 15 marks
Fill in The Blank (definitions) – 15 marks
Short answer – (25 marks)
Long Answer (interpret an image or comic using
terms and concepts from the unit) – 10 marks
World Map (Label stuff) – 10 marks