You spin me right round baby right round
February 21, 2010 6:18 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for recent news stories that could exemplify spin to a group of middle schoolers.
I am teaching a media awareness class to a middle schoolers and I'm looking for recent articles that could show them how the news is spun. I'm aware of sites such as pr watch, but the links are either too meta or they explain too much. I want the students to get it straight from the source so they can create their own ideas on what is acceptable and what is not in news publications.
Since these are middle schoolers anything about the olympics, pop culture, etc would probably be more helpful than articles about republican or democrat spin or healthcare.
Thanks in advance!
I am teaching a media awareness class to a middle schoolers and I'm looking for recent articles that could show them how the news is spun. I'm aware of sites such as pr watch, but the links are either too meta or they explain too much. I want the students to get it straight from the source so they can create their own ideas on what is acceptable and what is not in news publications.
Since these are middle schoolers anything about the olympics, pop culture, etc would probably be more helpful than articles about republican or democrat spin or healthcare.
Thanks in advance!
Response by poster: I actually do have a Daily Show clip that I was planning to show the students where Stewart is pointing out some Fox News biases. I'm hoping that I can show that at the end after they get it in terms of what spin is and why people care.
posted by aetg at 6:29 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by aetg at 6:29 AM on February 21, 2010
The recent Toyota recalls spawned news stories that I found really frustrating. Drama-laden headlines like, "Prius and Other Models Now Under Suspicion!" when of course regulators investigate related products from a given manufacturer. So you could probably contrast lots of scare-mongering spin on one side, with plenty of "nothing to see here" PR spin from Toyota. In the middle is a rational review of automotive recalls (they happen all the time) and the safety issues/regulatory process involved.
posted by headnsouth at 6:33 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by headnsouth at 6:33 AM on February 21, 2010
I meant to add that the scare-mongering stories I read had a distinct "Toyota is foreign" edge to them ... like maybe this is a good opportunity to get people to start buying American again.
posted by headnsouth at 6:36 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by headnsouth at 6:36 AM on February 21, 2010
If you can find two different articles about the same issue, but each has a different spin, then getting them to compare and contrast may be a good place to start:
"Okay, THIS article is talking about Taylor Swift at the Grammies and how 'bad' she was singing, but THIS article just says she was there and doesn't even talk about her performance at all. Those are two really different perspectives, huh? Why do you think that is? Why do you think THIS news source wanted to talk about it but THIS one didn't? What does each article make you think about Taylor Swift?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:43 AM on February 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
"Okay, THIS article is talking about Taylor Swift at the Grammies and how 'bad' she was singing, but THIS article just says she was there and doesn't even talk about her performance at all. Those are two really different perspectives, huh? Why do you think that is? Why do you think THIS news source wanted to talk about it but THIS one didn't? What does each article make you think about Taylor Swift?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:43 AM on February 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
One good way to find examples of media spin is to look at the official news reports from two parties involved in a conflict. For example, the Israeli account of an incident yesterday agrees in most of the details with the Al-Qassam Brigade report, but differs greatly in the way the info is presented. A lot of it is in the way the sources refer to the subjects of the report, such as "youths" vs. "armed Palestinian terrorists", or "IDF forces" vs. "Zionist soldiers". Also, Al-Qassam's report seems to indicate the men were innocently driving around when they were shot by IDF soldiers, while the IDF report indicates they were on their way to blow something up.
Maybe that's too intense for middle schoolers. But that sort of thing should produce interesting spin examples. Maybe try looking for two reports of the same event from China and Taiwan.
Oh, sorry, I also forgot you preferred something in sports or pop culture.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 6:56 AM on February 21, 2010
Maybe that's too intense for middle schoolers. But that sort of thing should produce interesting spin examples. Maybe try looking for two reports of the same event from China and Taiwan.
Oh, sorry, I also forgot you preferred something in sports or pop culture.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 6:56 AM on February 21, 2010
Concerned Children's Advertisers is a Canadian organization that's there to point out to kids the influence of the media. It does a lot of PSAs on Canadian TV (the house hippo one is pretty great) and I'm sure you could find something on their website for your purposes.
posted by pised at 7:08 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by pised at 7:08 AM on February 21, 2010
More advertising than news, but it's struck me tha companies like McDonalds must be sponsoring (or at least advertising support for) many many countries at the Olympics. If you could track down a number of these ads, maybe you could make them see McDs doesn't care who wins, just as long as they get a warm fuzzy brand associated message to as many people as possible.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:11 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by yellowbinder at 7:11 AM on February 21, 2010
If you can find any of the articles quoted in this one about journalists running the Olympic torch, it could work well- the two sides are basically half of the journalism community saying "this isn't right, these reporters will be biased" and the other half saying "why does it have to be this way? we earned it" (It's from a few weeks ago so it shouldn't be that hard, but I'm rushing out the door right now)
Also, I would look at the Opinion column in the paper for things that might work- not necessarily using that as a source but it could give you good ideas about local/interesting topics to look into. Celeb gossip sites could also work...sites like Perez Hilton and the like are ridiculously biased, although you would have to find school-appropriate bias, which may be a little more difficult. The recent stories about Tiger Woods could be good, too...opinions on him range from "He's a monster and a horrible human being and he should be stoned" (paraphrasing, obvs) to "He made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, he's still a good guy".
posted by kro at 7:55 AM on February 21, 2010
Also, I would look at the Opinion column in the paper for things that might work- not necessarily using that as a source but it could give you good ideas about local/interesting topics to look into. Celeb gossip sites could also work...sites like Perez Hilton and the like are ridiculously biased, although you would have to find school-appropriate bias, which may be a little more difficult. The recent stories about Tiger Woods could be good, too...opinions on him range from "He's a monster and a horrible human being and he should be stoned" (paraphrasing, obvs) to "He made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, he's still a good guy".
posted by kro at 7:55 AM on February 21, 2010
Do you have a local newspaper/journalistic blog/similar? Stories the kids KNOW about are very interesting to use for this purpose; not only do they see the spin right away, but they get hot about it because they know what "really" happened. Stories about the schools, or about a local child in trouble with the cops, or something like that, that will typically get them going.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:27 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:27 AM on February 21, 2010
Best answer: Camera in a school lap top is evil evil evil.
Camera in a school lap top protects against theft.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:46 AM on February 21, 2010
Camera in a school lap top protects against theft.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:46 AM on February 21, 2010
Best answer: First, look at a press release or a news conference, then look at the old school news story reporting on that release/conference, and then look at blog (or even Daily Show) coverage of the event and news story. There is spin present in all three, but each one adds a new layer. This approach also shows the changing face of news coverage.
You could talk about how spin is sometimes intentional but also unintentional--people covering the news have their own biases that shade the story. Maybe have them listen to a press conference or look at a news picture, and ask them to write a headline and lede. Then compare the angles different students took.
I picked the controversy over Mark McGwire using steroids--nonpolitical, no violence or sex involved, just plain old cheating.
Press Release
Text of McGwire statement admitting steroid use.
Old School News Coverage
New York Times: "McGwire Admits That He Used Steroids"
CBS Sports video: "McGwire Admits Using Steroids"
New Media Coverage
Slate.com: "I'm Here to Talk About the Past: Mark McGwire Finally Confesses His Steroid Sins"
Beltway Blips: Twitter Reactions to McGwire's Statement
Deadspin.com blog: "Five Offensively Stupid Reactions to Mark McGwire's Steroid Admission" [this is great because it explicitly covers the news covering McGwire--BUT you will need to selectively edit what you include because in the first example the author drops the f-bomb and a reference to blowjobs. The others are much more middle-school appropriate, though.]
posted by sallybrown at 9:25 AM on February 21, 2010
You could talk about how spin is sometimes intentional but also unintentional--people covering the news have their own biases that shade the story. Maybe have them listen to a press conference or look at a news picture, and ask them to write a headline and lede. Then compare the angles different students took.
I picked the controversy over Mark McGwire using steroids--nonpolitical, no violence or sex involved, just plain old cheating.
Press Release
Text of McGwire statement admitting steroid use.
Old School News Coverage
New York Times: "McGwire Admits That He Used Steroids"
CBS Sports video: "McGwire Admits Using Steroids"
New Media Coverage
Slate.com: "I'm Here to Talk About the Past: Mark McGwire Finally Confesses His Steroid Sins"
Beltway Blips: Twitter Reactions to McGwire's Statement
Deadspin.com blog: "Five Offensively Stupid Reactions to Mark McGwire's Steroid Admission" [this is great because it explicitly covers the news covering McGwire--BUT you will need to selectively edit what you include because in the first example the author drops the f-bomb and a reference to blowjobs. The others are much more middle-school appropriate, though.]
posted by sallybrown at 9:25 AM on February 21, 2010
From a UK perspective, you can't really do better than Tabloid Watch and Newswipe.
posted by turkeyphant at 1:17 PM on February 21, 2010
posted by turkeyphant at 1:17 PM on February 21, 2010
Response by poster: headnsouth : The Toyota suggestion is a good one. It is current and good for the car lovers, thanks.
Salvor Hardin: Good suggestion, but yeah probably a little too much for middle schooler. At least too much for the amount of time I have for this lesson.
Tell me no lies : I hadn't heard this webstory, nice find! The two stories are pretty well juxtaposed, also.
Sally Brown : I will be definitely using some of the Mark McGuire steroids abuse stuff.
posted by aetg at 1:19 PM on February 21, 2010
Salvor Hardin: Good suggestion, but yeah probably a little too much for middle schooler. At least too much for the amount of time I have for this lesson.
Tell me no lies : I hadn't heard this webstory, nice find! The two stories are pretty well juxtaposed, also.
Sally Brown : I will be definitely using some of the Mark McGuire steroids abuse stuff.
posted by aetg at 1:19 PM on February 21, 2010
Best answer: You could contrast the coverage of the Olympics in The Tyee, a left-wing alternative news site, and in The Vancouver Sun, a centrist mainstream newspaper.
Tyee headlines:
With Olympics Came New Laws to Sweep up Homeless: Four recent host cities criminalized and removed street dwellers leading up to Games
Three Billion Watch the Games? That's Crazy Talk: Hey, lots will tune in. But number claimed by IOC and politicians deemed absurd by experts
Brown Edges to the "Green Games": These Olympics use 5,600 vehicles, burn 20 million litres of petro, carve up nature. Critics cry 'greenwash!'
Vancouver Sun headlines:
Video: Olympics Fans Are Lovin' It: Are the Olympics good for Vancouver? How couldn't they be with such high spirits on the streets?
Thousands of Happy Visitors Jam Vancouver Streets
Athletes' Village 'Greenest in North America': Vancouver neighbourhood, with its green buildings and habitat restoration, receives LEED certification
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:24 PM on February 21, 2010
Tyee headlines:
With Olympics Came New Laws to Sweep up Homeless: Four recent host cities criminalized and removed street dwellers leading up to Games
Three Billion Watch the Games? That's Crazy Talk: Hey, lots will tune in. But number claimed by IOC and politicians deemed absurd by experts
Brown Edges to the "Green Games": These Olympics use 5,600 vehicles, burn 20 million litres of petro, carve up nature. Critics cry 'greenwash!'
Vancouver Sun headlines:
Video: Olympics Fans Are Lovin' It: Are the Olympics good for Vancouver? How couldn't they be with such high spirits on the streets?
Thousands of Happy Visitors Jam Vancouver Streets
Athletes' Village 'Greenest in North America': Vancouver neighbourhood, with its green buildings and habitat restoration, receives LEED certification
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:24 PM on February 21, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone who answered. I marked best answer for those suggestions I'll be using in class.
posted by aetg at 6:13 PM on February 23, 2010
posted by aetg at 6:13 PM on February 23, 2010
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posted by Salvor Hardin at 6:26 AM on February 21, 2010