The Evolution of News Media

Teacher Background for this lesson

Since the Internet has become popular, several blogs have sprung up that report the “news.”  Such blogs include The Drudge Report, The Daily Kos, even Pink is the new Blog.   These sites are numerous, and represent a dramatic shift of how we used to consume news.  According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, 58% of Americans read the newspaper in 1993, compared to 34% in 2008.  The shift seems to be headed online, where 27% of Americans g0t their news in 2008  (Pew, 2008).  However, as we move online, it is important to consider the source of news sites.  In 2008, Nielsen ranked the top 30 news sites, and the Drudge Report and Daily Kos were 1 and 2 respectively  (Newspaper Association of America, 2008). 

“Journalists” also enjoy the journalist’s privilege, which allows them to protect their sources (Cohen, 2008).  The debate rages as to whether or not this privilege should be applied to bloggers.  This is a great example of a debate that continues, and could be a great discussion in your class.  In other words, there is no right answer just yet. 

Lesson Outcomes and Conclusions: At the end of this lesson, students will have a firm grasp on the evolution of our news media.  They will be able to critically look at the source of their news, and determine credibility.  They will also understand the “journalistic privilege” and be able to form their own opinions on whether or not it applies to bloggers. 

Grade: 9-12

Class Discussion 1:

Discuss the shift from national news organizations to individual journalists.  What makes someone a “journalist” these days?  What is the difference between a blogger and a journalist? 

Bring up these popular blogs and discuss if these bloggers should be considered journalists?

     Note: PerezHilton.com is a very popular celebrity blog that your students have most likely all seen. With that said, it is a celebrity site that sometimes has compromising photos.  You may want to use a still screen shot of the blog for demonstration purposes to make sure you aren’t “surprised” with risqué content. 

Explain the privileges that “journalists” enjoy – “Journalist’s Privilege” allows them to protect their confidential sources. 

Explain the concept of “citizen journalism.” 

Class Discussion 2:  Watergate was one of the most famous uses of the Journalist’s Privilege.  An informant nicknamed “Deep Throat” gave numerous tips to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein which lead to their uncovering several  inappropriate actions conducted by the Committee to Re-elect Richard Nixon.  The journalists’ making these facts public ultimately lead to Nixon’s resignation from President of the United States.  Although “Deep Throat” revealed his own identity before his death, the journalist’s privilege protected Woodward and Bernstein from having to publicly reveal their source.  

Suggest a similar hypothetical situation in which an anonymous informant tips off a blogger such as Perez Hilton about drug trafficking by a well known celebrity.  Hilton publishes the report and gets millions of page views.  While investigating the drug charges, the police request that Perez reveal his source.  He refuses.  Should he be protected by the journalist’s privilege?  Why or why not?

 Homework Opportunity:  Pick an event at the school and have each student write their own news account of the event.  Read the stories out loud, and discuss the differences in facts and point of view.  Discuss how, without journalism training to cover specific facts and remain impartial, a citizen’s account of an event as the stand alone news source could be misleading.  Pick the two accounts that differ the most, and discuss how printing one or the other might affect the public perception of the event. 

Homework Opportunity:  There are several relevant readings for this topic, you may consider giving a few articles as homework. 

Relevant Reading

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