NEW York Times
Instructions for this Activity
In undertaking this activity, we are looking to recognize how news organizations are using innovative communication practices in order to both succeed as businesses and maintain their central mission of informing the public.
We also want to analyze these practices as a way of understanding how these organizations are finding new ways of communicating with the public.
All of you within your group should engage in thorough analysis of your news organization across platforms: print, television, online, social media. Even though these are print and television networks, they still seek to engage audiences and platforms online.
It is imperative that you gather information quickly, monitor the discussion often, and post as soon as possible so that the leader can post the video presentation on time.
Required Questions:
Is this, in your collective mind, an objective news organization? Explain through examples.
Does this news organization, in your collective mind, serve the public interest in a healthy manner? That is, does it provide information that is in the best interest of the audience and that promotes healthy engagement in civic life? If so, how? If not, articulate “the problems.”
These can range from sensationalism to clickbait to bias to outright misleading or questionable information. Remember: It’s ok to have a news mix that offers hard news and soft news (the latter being more entertaining, lighter stories), but news should also be like a doctor-patient relationship, telling us what we need to know about our community or the world.
If you could make any changes to this news organization and the way in which it delivers information, what would it be?