GRADE THE NEWS
Assignment Description
News is a funny thing -- it’s always changing and always different depending on who is sharing the story. Sometimes news is defined as new information. Other times, it is characterized as noteworthy information or something that gives a person pause in their life. But what do you consider news? More importantly, what does the media consider news?
This website is dedicated to learning more about different news mediums and distinguishing how
news is perceived and reported by each of them. This project was completed in several steps. First, we chose three news outlets from each medium (broadcast, print, internet, and wire). After the three outlets were decided, we researched their background information.
Next, each source was analyzed over a period of three days. During this time, the grader will fill out a scorecard (see Rubric for more information) for each day. This will help the grader know what information to look for and assure each source’s grading is done identically.
After this was completed, the scores were analyzed and compared and we wrote a conclusion. We were able to tell which news source ran the most substantive news stories and which was most credible.
By “evaluating the credibility of common news sources” (Carter Olson, 2014) we begin to understand that using critical thinking and media literacy principles can be very important so you don’t accept the wrong information at face value.