The different ways that the media will report the same

Instructions for M4: Assignment

Everything has two sides. Let’s look at the different ways that the media will report the same event. 

Pick any current political event reported on by a typically “conservative” or “liberal” media source. Your media sources can be in any format (video or article). Note that the point of this assignment is to compare media bias in your sources so your sources must be reporting on the same thing and must be reporting on that issue differently. If you’re using an opinion piece from one source, you’ll need to use an opinion piece from your other source as well (to compare an opinion piece to a news piece is not a fair comparison).

Answer the following questions. 

(Remember that the assignments are not about personal opinions; instead, we are critically examining the viewpoints based on the context of the time – historically, political, social/cultural – not based on our modern views.)

Question 1: What event are these media sources reporting on (explain the event with the necessary background)?

Question 2:  Compare and contrast how your media sources report on this event/issue. What is different, what is the same?

Question 3: What are the facts? (Do some independent research, what are the actual facts unclouded by opinion by looking up a neutral source or a primary source of information (e.g., if the media is reporting on a speech the president has made, look up the transcript or video of this speech). Do either of your sources report these facts accurately?

Question 4: What assumptions are in each source?

Question 5: What opinion/bias are in each source? 

Question 6: How does this assignment relate to Module 4 (Chapters 8, 9, and 10)? What did you learn? Be specific and refer to the textbook.

On your References page, ensure that the links to the two articles are working. (Your Professor/Instructor will use the link to read the articles before evaluating your assignment.