Post for June 18th - Activity for Critically Analyzing the News

In helping students to learn how to critically analyze the news and the value in doing so, I would bring in a video of a local newscast to be viewed as a class. I would have students take notes during the viewing - some students writing the individual segment topics/titles and some students timing how long each segment lasted. As a class, we would then look at and discuss why the news would give more time to some topics over others. Next I would bring in the local newscast of a different non-Minnesotan city and follow the same procedures as above.

After viewing both broadcasts, I would have students look at the differences and similarities between both local news broadcasts. We would look at what the Minnesotan broadcast might say/reveal about Minnesota culture, and relate those ideas to the other broadcast.

I would follow up this activity with a project where students make skits of different news broadcasts of various communities within and around the school. This would give them the chance to make selection and cater to the audience they want to serve. With this project, students would be able to experience how a news broadcast may want to tailor their stories to a specific audience, but also how they may want to be careful about their selection of news in order to maintain an audience.