JM - Module Overview and Key Terms

Journalism and Media

Introduction

This vintage illustration shows a printing press with the text "The tyrants' foe, the peoples' friend."

We will be traveling around the world in this module reading the news, but we will also look nearby for the local news. The study of journalism in conjunction with language allows for students to read and experience a variety of media and genres--more than can be covered in a single unit. We will start with the political philosophy that ensured the right of the freedom of the press.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

- First Amendment to the Constitution, "The Bill of Rights"

The inclusion of the freedom of the press with freedom of religion, speech, and assembly illustrates the defining force that 18th-century journalists played in forming the United States. The following topics will progress from the early newspapers to the crisis facing this medium now. Next, the 20th century has been called the Television Age. Television and its purpose in society have been hotly debated and remain an open question today. This question will be asked on a timed essay resembling the prompts often asked on the AP Language Exam. Finally, the internet and the devices that connect to the web have revolutionized journalism. They have revolutionized the way we think. After a brief look at the writing on the web, we will create a Personal Learning Network that may help you glean information and find the depth of information too often missing.

In this editorial image, a label appears on a newsprint page from a newspaper. The label has a document icon and the recycling icon, along with the text "WARNING: This article is basically just a press release, copied and pasted."

Please be aware of how writers attempt to convince their audience of the validity of their arguments or even observations. The art of journalism, whether in the newspaper or whether in the latest blog, relies on the effective use of language. Specifically, credibility results not just from the investigative research, but also the capability of convincing an audience that the information is both accurate and important.

The word cloud incorporates many key words and phrases for the AP English Language course."

Essential Questions

  1. How do editorials differ from news articles?
  2. What strategies are employed to persuade readers?
  3. Can writing be objective or unbiased?
  4. How does diction delineate between fact and opinion?\

Omnimedia

This is a new term to describe our current interaction with information on the web. This may be the culmination of the Information Age. "Omnimedia" refers to the confluence of once separate news outlets--newspapers, magazines, radio, television--all now available in the palm of our hands instantly. We inhabit a digital world in which information is nearly instantaneous. Common sense would suggest that this should create a more informed and intelligent population. Not so, says Patrick Kingsley of The Guardian, a major newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Reading Assignment: "The Art of Slow Reading," Patrick Kingsley

Click here to read "The Art of Slow Reading," an essay by Patrick Kingsley, regarding the increased pace of the information and the possible detrimental consequences. Links to an external site.

"…our hyperactive online habits are damaging the mental faculties we need to process and understand lengthy textual information."

This writer asserts his authority by citing expert researchers, offering counterexamples, and employing generalizations to make his case.

A garden snail creeps along the pages of an open hardbound book.

Key Terms

  1. Advocacy: A style of journalism in which a reporter takes sides in controversial issues and develops a point of view.
  2. Angle: A particular emphasis of a media presentation, sometimes called a slant.
  3. Attribution: Credit given to who said what, or the source of facts.
  4. Bias: A position that is partial or slanted.
  5. Column: An article in which a writer or columnist gives an opinion on a topic.
  6. Editor: The person who: edits a story by revising and polishing, and whose job is to approve copy when it comes in and to make decisions about what is published in a newspaper or magazine.
  7. Feature article: The main article on the front page of a newspaper, or the cover story in a magazine.
  8. Hard news stories: Factual accounts of important events, usually appearing first in a newspaper.
  9. Headline: The "title" of a newspaper or magazine story.
  10. Human interest story: A story that focuses on the human side of news and often appeals to the reader's emotion.
  11. Investigative journalism: A story that requires a great amount of research and hard work to come up with facts that might be hidden, buried, or obscured by people who have a vested interest in keeping those facts from being published.
  12. Newspeak: Language that distorts, confuses, or hides reality.
  13. Voice: A writer's development of distinctive characteristics and idiosyncrasies of language use that make his or her writing as easily recognizable as the inflections, tone, and pronunciation of speech that make a person's vocalized speech patterns distinctive.

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.