Media: A Critical View

2. Media: A Critical View Using Media to Study World Issues

3. Agenda: • Review of what is an ISSUE? • Defining “media” • Types of media bias • Steps for detecting bias • Detect it yourself!

4. World Issues • What is an issue? • Issue: an important subject open to discussion or debate. In general, issues:Generate concerns about how the outcome will affect the well-being of the earth's environments and species; • Involve interrelated political, environmental, social, and economic aspects; • Have complex causes and complex solutions.

5. Global Issue • What is a global issue? • Global issues are significant issues relating to or involving most of the Earth. An issue is global if it: • Persists or is long-acting; • Is transnational or trans-boundary; • Affects large numbers of people; • Is an underlying cause of events; • Is connected to other issues that meet these criteria.

6. Types of ISSUES – seminar ideas • SPEEC • We will consider global issues from 5 distinct perspectives: • Social: interpersonal relations or relations between communities; • Political: power and control. • Economic :financial costs and benefits; • Environment: how we impact the environment and how the environment impacts us; • Cultural: shared knowledge, behavioral norms, values and beliefs that help people to live in families, groups and communities

7. What is the Media? • In general the term “media” refers to all the various forms of mass communication • Examples: television, radio, newspaper, ads, commercials, billboards, online sources (blogs, YouTube channels, etc), and social media (Facebook, Twitter)

8. Media and the study of world issues • Main source of information on world issues • Real-time now thanks to social media (Twitter, Facebook) • Great benefits, but also great challenges TAKE 2 • What challenges can arise from having such a huge amount of available information at our fingertips? • What factors do we need to consider when analyzing different media sources?

9. What is bias? • Prejudice in favor of or against one perspective, group, organization, institution or individual • Examples?

10. Six Main Types of News Media Bias: Gate-keeping Bias • Declining to report on stories or keeping stories covered up Coverage Bias • Reporting on only certain aspects of a story • Coverage only focuses on one stakeholder in the story or one perspective

11. Types of Bias Mainstream Bias • Reporting on stories that other media is reporting on, while ignoring others Sensationalism Bias • Reporting on events that are unusual or rare, as if they are more common

12. Types of Bias: Advertising Bias • Stories are covered-up, selected or modified to appease the advertisers Corporate Bias • When the owners of the medium have an agenda or bias

13. 10 Steps for Critical Analysis 1) What is the main message of the text? 2) What is its purpose (to inform, educate, persuade, entertain)? 3) Who is the author or creator? 4) What is their socio-political position? 5) With what social, political and/or professional groups does the author identify with? 6) Does the author have anything to gain from delivering the message? 7) Who is paying for the delivery for the message and where does it appear? 8) What bias can you detect in the text? 9) What data does the author/creator reference (facts, statistics, opinions)? 10) What conclusions can you draw from the text?

14. Facts and Opinions • Examples… • 60% of teenagers spend an average of 20 hours watching TV • 75% of teens aged 12-17 own a cell phone Facts • Be critical of how they are used • How was the data collected? • Who collected it? • Would someone else collecting it produce the same “facts” • What facts were not given as evidence (what is omitted)? Opinions • Not all opinions are useful • People are not impartial • All opinions are biased!