Overview
According to Statista, the average American is exposed to over eight hours of digital media per day and this statistic is predicted to increase in the coming years. Our computers, smartphones, televisions, radios, podcasts, etc. fill our time with information. So much information can be overwhelming to process and determine what is factual or not, which is why it is important to learn how to critically analyze what we read.
Reading news articles and written media with skepticism is essential for discerning accurate information from misinformation, bias, and propaganda. It helps individuals identify the credibility of sources, understand different perspectives, and recognize potential biases or agendas in reporting. This skill is crucial in an era of widespread media, where misleading or incomplete narratives can shape public opinion and decision-making. By engaging critically, readers can form well-rounded, informed opinions and protect themselves from manipulation or misinformation.
The second assignment in this class is going to put our critical analysis skills to practice. First, review the article titled, CRITICAL READING (attached in file) by Packer and Timpane (1989) and reflect on your own reading skills as a scholar. What is the purpose of the piece you are reading? How can you become an "active" reader? How can you break down an article to simpler components? What could be a one-sentence summary of the article? As Packer and Timpane argued, learn how to "interrogate" what you are reading. For this assignment, I want to see how you interrogate two news articles.
Please follow the steps below to complete this assignment:
- Choose one of three news categories: (1) local news, (2) national news, or (3) world-wide news.
- Hop on Google and begin searching for news sources (this can be literally any news source). Examples include the Salt Lake Tribune https://www.sltrib.com/ MSNBC https://www.msnbc.com/ The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/ etc. Just be sure it is reporting on some type of news activity that is currently happening in real-time. A news event does not include articles like, "10 Best Restaurants to try in Utah" or "This Life Hack Will Save You Four Hours Per Day"... these are more op-ed type of pieces.
- Choose two news articles for your news category to critically analyze. Your two news articles do not have to come from the same topic or source. For example, you can choose a politics-related article from the Salt Lake Tribune and then another about a flesh eating bacteria outbreak in Beaver, Utah (this is not a real story, haha). The most important component of the two articles I want you to capture is bias. Pick one article you believe is biased and second that you believe is reporting news in a neutral manner. I will leave this determination up to your own personal judgement.
- For both articles, respond to the critical analysis questions below:
- Break down the "big ideas" of the article into smaller, more detailed, points. Separately summarize articles one and two in one paragraph (four sentences minimum for both summaries).
- What is the "tone" of the article? Is it sensational? Entertaining? Is the overall writing component well done?
- In your perspective, determine what the goal of the article is. Are the authors trying to sway the audience? Or inform?
- Check out the sources used in the article (this can be found either at the bottom of the piece or hyperlinked throughout the body copy). Is this article factual? Does the article report news in a neutral manner? Do you think the sources are credible? Does this analysis make you feel like the article is more reliable? Do you trust it?
- After you have critically analyzed both articles separately in your paper, please reflect on what you learned. What does this activity teach you about the media you consume each day? How could this change how you interact with media in the future? Why is it important for news sources to be neutral, credible, and factual? Think of a few consequences when news organizations are not presenting accurate information.
- This is not a requirement, but if you would like to include other sources of information to back up your points, you are welcome to do so. If you do, please be sure to cite your sources.
- Important: Make sure you include hyperlinks/sources for the two news articles you choose to analyze. I want to check read through your selections as I grade.
- Both news articles need to be analyzed separately. Please be sure to use page breaks between (1) article one analysis, (2) article two analysis, and (3) your final reflection.
- Refer to the Assignment Format Guide to set up your paper.
- Generally aim to write four to five pages of written reflection for this paper. A citations page would not count towards the page count requirement. Your paper should contain about 1,250 to 1,500 words.
- In order to become a good writer, it is important to write your own words. Use of Artificial Intelligence (like ChatGPT) is not permitted in COMM 1130.
Here is a break down of the format and requirements for your paper: