ANTH:2190 Love Rules: Law and Family Across Cultures: Media
How to Choose Your News
Evaluating Media Sources
-
AllSidesNews & issues from multiple perspectives.
-
False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and "Satirical" News Sources:By Merrimack College Communication Professor Melissa Zimdars
-
Media Bias/Fact Checking:Comprehensive media bias resource.
Streaming film at the library
What Media Literacy Is Not
- The following is a list of ideas to help explore and understand how media literacy is different from other literacies and what are some of the basic elements of a more comprehensive media education.
- +Media 'bashing' is NOT media literacy, however media literacy sometimes involves criticizing the media.
- +Merely producing media is NOT media literacy, although media literacy should include media production.
- +Just teaching with videos or CDRoms or other mediated content is NOT media literacy; one must also teach about media.
- +Simply looking for political agendas, stereotypes or misrepresentations is NOT media literacy; there should also be an exploration of the systems making those representations appear "normal."
- +Looking at a media message or a mediated experience from just one perspective is NOT media literacy because media should be examined from multiple positions.
- +Media Literacy does NOT mean "don't watch;" it means "watch carefully, think critically."
- From Center for Media Literacy
How to Spot Fake News
Other resources
-
Center for News Literacy:Stony Brook University School of Journalism. Helps students develop critical thinking skills in order to judge the reliability and credibility of information.
-
CounterSpinWeekly radio show that exposes and highlights biased and inaccurate news, censored stories, and more.
-
FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting:National media watch group offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship.
-
SnopesOnline touchstone of research on rumors and misinformation
-
Solutions Story Tracker - Solutions Journalism NetworkA curated database of rigorous reporting on responses to social problems from the Solutions Journalism Network. Stories focus on problems and evidence-based responses to them.
Online Media
-
PodcastREA free, searchable archive of podcasts.
Selected Websites
-
The Gender Justice Collection - Cornell Law School"The Gender Justice Collection provides access to international, regional, and domestic case law and legislation related to promoting gender justice and ending gender-based violence. Nothing in the Gender Justice Collection should be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered to be the position or opinion of Cornell University, Cornell Law School, or the faculty of either.." (Quote taken from the Web site)
-
Foreign and International Law: Topics - Cornell University Library GuideA selective guide to Web sites providing links to texts of laws and court decisions, research guides and commentary on laws, international documents, directories, trade information, and statistics, maintained by librarians at Cornell Law Library.
Bias
Bias
There are more types of bias than political bias. Be sure to watch out for:
Commercial Bias
News is sponsored by advertisers. Does the news presented reflect the advertisements embedded within the media?
Temporal Bias
News agencies look for "breaking stories," often relegating old news to the back page or leaving it entirely uncovered. Scan the back pages too!
Visual Bias
Including visuals will draw the reader's attention. Do images presented evoke specific responses? Do they prejudice the reader to view the news one way?
Sensationalism
Good news is less exciting than news that is shocking or frightening. Does the media exaggerate details to make a story more interesting? Does the news agency focus only on the negative aspects of a story?
Narrative Bias
Writers will generally develop a plot line - beginning, middle, and end - complete with drama. News, however, is rarely so tidy. Remind yourself that stories you read in the news are "unfolding." If a story captures your attention, its best to follow that story over a period of time.
Fairness Bias
Ethical journalism is, in theory, fair. When a controversy arises, reporters will generally attempt to get the "other side" of the story. When a rebuttal is reported, it can seem like the media is taking one side or another. Read carefully to determine if presentation of both arguments is neutral.
Expediency Bias
News is driven by deadlines. Those deadlines sometimes mean that reporters will return to experts they know well and have had successful contacts with previously. This may slant news in towards the political views of these experts.