Media Coverage

Teacher Guide

Assignment Summary
For this assignment, students will use a graphic organizer to monitor and analyze multiple global news
outlets across a period of time. Once they have completed the organizer, they will answer key questions
about the media’s coverage of a story and how this coverage changed and developed over time.

Background Information
In today’s world, global media outlets such as websites, newspapers, and magazines give their readers
up-to-the-minute coverage of breaking news and events from across the globe.
In the 24-hour news cycle, stories are constantly unfolding with the addition of new information and
perspectives. As situations develop, reporters work to keep their audience informed, and readers
synthesize new information with what they already know about a news event.

Student Guide
A PDF of the Student Guide is provided to students during the assignment. Be sure to allow students to
complete the assignment electronically, provide copies to students, or enable students to print the guide
themselves when they reach the assignment at the end of the lesson.

Materials
 Graphic organizer  Follow-up questionnaire
 Access to three global media outlets

Preparing for the Assignment / Alternatives

 This assignment includes both a graphic organizer and a follow-up questionnaire. These should be
submitted through the Virtual Classroom as a typed document.

 Teachers must provide students with word-processing software or other materials as needed to
complete the assignment.

 Teachers must determine the best manner for saving students’ work. They should become aware of
their institutions’ computer-usage policies and protocols, as many computer labs do not allow users
to save work on individual computers.

 Teachers must also determine the best way for students to conduct the research necessary to
complete the assignment. Many institutions employ firewalls and may restrict access to the internet.
Students must be able to access news websites to obtain information.

 Teachers may choose to extend the assignment by giving students the opportunity to present their
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 Teacher Guide (continued)

research to their peers.

Accessing the Submitted Assignment

 Teachers can access submitted work via the Web Administrator.

 Teachers can access the assessment rubric for this assignment by selecting the Course Documents
tab within the course structure.

Scoring Guide: Graphic Organizer

Students will complete a graphic organizer showing how they monitored the development of a news story
across three global media outlets over a period of time. A sample row of a graphic organizer is shown
below.
The completed graphic organizer is worth 105 points. Score as follows:
 Media outlet #1: 35 points (5 points per day)
 Media outlet #2: 35 points (5 points per day)

 Media outlet #3: 35 points (5 points per day)

Media Outlet #1: Media Outlet #2: Media Outlet #3:

New York Times Wall Street Journal Associated Press

“In Scorched California, a “Wildfires Take Los “Californians Sped through

Year of ‘Epic Firefighting’
Is Testing Limits”
◼ 4,100 acres burned in a
wildfire in San Diego
County.
◼ Health officials say
Day 1
that air pollution is “off
the charts.”
Date:
12/08/17 ◼ Three thousand
firefighters, including
teams of prison inmates
working for $2 a day, are
working to contain the
blaze.
Angeles Area by Surprise” Flames to Escape for a
Third Time”
◼ Tens of thousands of
people were forced to ◼ A couple from Ojai was
evacuate in Southern able to save their horses
California. from approaching flames.
◼ Winds blowing at 80 ◼ Homeowners in Ventura
miles an hour helped to had just delayed a deal to
spread the flames. sell their house when it
was burned down.
◼ The article opens with
man standing in front of ◼ Two neighbors returned
his childhood home that to their homes that they
has burned to the ground. thought were safe, but
firefighters urged them to
leave again. One is leaving;
the other will stay.

Scoring Guide: Follow-Up Questionnaire

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 Teacher Guide (continued)

Use complete sentences to respond to each prompt.

The completed follow-up questionnaire is worth 20 points. Each response is worth 5 points.

1. Review your graphic organizer. What was the most important piece of information in the story,
and on which day was this information first reported? Which media outlet covered this
development first? (5 points; answers will vary)

2. Review your graphic organizer. What were the similarities and differences in how the media
outlets reported the story? Which outlet provided the most information?
(5 points; answers will vary)
3. Which media outlet offered opinionated coverage in the form of editorials or op-eds? Were
different opinions presented across the media outlets? Did you detect bias in how the news was
reported? (5 points; answers will vary)

4. How would you describe the development of this news story to someone who has not been
following it as closely as you? How would you summarize the most important factual information?
How would you convey the variety of opinions related to the news story? (5 points; answers will
vary)

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