HOW TO

CHOOSE
YOUR NEWS
1 Warm up

In pairs, answer the following questions.

1. Where do you usually read or watch the news? Newspapers? Social media? Online news?
2. How much time do you usually spend reading news articles and watching videos about news
on TV or the Internet each week? Is it something that is important for you to do? Why/Why
not?

3. What are the main sources for news in your country? What is your opinion about each of
those sources?

4. Where did your parents get their news from when they were growing up? Is it the same as
where they get it now? If it has changed, how is it different?

5. How much do you trust your news sources? What steps if any do you take to make sure you
are getting a true and full picture of current events?
2 CO - Understanding the introduction of a document

You are about to watch the introduction of a video entitled “How to choose your news”
Number the extracts from the introduction to the video in order from 1 - 9. The first one is done for
you.

3 - won’t be very useful unless you know how to read the news. To your grandparents, parents
or even older siblings,
2 - The amount of information just a click away may be limitless, but the time and energy we
have to absorb and evaluate it is not. All the information in the world
9- a series of scandals showed that democratic governments were also misleading the public,
often with media cooperation.
4 - this idea would have sounded strange. Only a few decades ago, news was broad-based.

5- Your choices were limited to a couple of general interest magazines and newspapers of record,

8- While it was known that authoritarian countries controlled and censored information,

6- and three or four TV networks where trusted newscasters delivered the day’s news at the
same reliable time every evening.
1 How do you know what’s happening in your world?

7- but the problems with this system soon became apparent as mass media spread.

Now watch again the first part of the video (00:00 - 01:04) to check your answers.

Find words in the text, which mean the following.

1. to listen to and understand something over a period of time: a b s o r b

2. to decide how good something is after studying it carefully: e v a l u a t e

3. covering a lot of different subjects, not limited in what it talked about: b r o a d - b a s e d

4. people who present a news program and deliver the news: n e w s c a s t e r s

5. not difficult to understand:

6. governing in a strict way where it’s very important to follow the rules: a u t h o r i t a r i a n

7. governing in a way where the people decide who works for them in government through free
and fair elections: d e m o c r a t i c

8. giving the idea that something is true when it isn’t, or the opposite: m i s l e a d i n g
3 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. assassination (n) a. to carefully choose or collect a number of things

2. undermine (v) b. when someone says they believe a person acted wrongly or illegally

3. chaotic (adj.) c. not acceptable or very rude

4. accusation (n) d. to make something weaker or less effective

5. refute (v) e. with no organisation at all

6. rumour (n) f. to say that something is incorrect or not true

7. outrageous (adj.) g. an organised murder of someone in a powerful position, usually for

political reasons
8. curate (v) h. information that people are discussing which is not supported by
evidence

Part B: Read the following sentences and, in pairs, discuss what you think the vocabulary in bold
means. Write down your answers.

1. The newspaper published a report suggesting that the government was involved in a number
of
covert wars in Africa and the Middle East.
Hidden military operations

2. The journalist was advised not to write a story which went against the official narrative of
events.

The original version

3. The only way to get the news while I was growing up was from mainstream sources.

Mass news media

4. If we’re writing a news article about Latin America, we’re often forced to use middlemen as
we don’t have an office in that part of the world.
3 Focus on vocabulary
Intermediaries

5. I was present at the demonstrations, so it was interesting to read the polished versions of
events afterwards.

Modified

6. While we take great care with our material, it’s virtually impossible to completely remove all
media bias.

Media reporting manipulated news

7. I started this blog as a way to provide an alternative to the traditional media gatekeepers.

To filter/control what information gets published or not

8. We did as much preparation for it as possible, but at some point, you have to take the plunge.

To take a decisive action, dive in

Now, prepare to discuss the following questions.

1. Which media companies or newspapers in your country are most likely to give the official
narrative
of events? Do you often use those media sites or read those newspapers?

2. What examples can you give where you have seen media bias?
 Understanding an extensive document
4
6
Watch the rest of the video (01:04 - 04:46) and choose the best answer to the following questions.

1. What caused the public to stop trusting mainstream media?

a. Revelations that the government were paying the media to report them in a good light.

b. The invention of the Internet, which showed there were other ways to look at the news.

c. Evidence that they were working with democratic governments who were not operating
honestly.

2. What is the problem with the increase in media sources due to the Internet?

a. Too many differing views, which may not always have the same opinion or even agree on what is a
fact.
b. It has become expensive to get the full range of opinions due to subscription charges.

c. If there is a connection problem with the Internet, then it is very difficult to find out the news.

3. What does the video suggest as a good way to get to the truth?

a. Subscribe to a high-quality news show or blog, which will interpret the news honestly.

b. Locate the source of the news story rather than an interpretation of the event.

c. Find out what politicians are saying about the event and listen to their words, not what you are
told they said.

4. What does the video suggest in situations where you cannot get direct sources of the news?

a. Check social media and find out what people are saying, as it will often be discussed there more
quickly than in the media.
b. Get news from different places and compare what they are saying and what they agree on to get a
full picture.
c. The main news channels are usually the best source in this situation, as they will have reliable
access to the story.

5. What does the video warn that news reports should not contain?

a. Information from people who are not named, as this could be people trying to change the story
to one which benefits them.
b. Information from several different sources, as they will not be clear and may confuse the situation
more.
c. Information which is based on a news blog, as blogs are often paid for by politicians.

6. What does the video suggest about sharing news on social media?

a. Avoid using social media for news as it’s nearly always false.

b. Check news items before sharing by finding other sources.

c. It’s the fastest way to share news, so that’s the first place to go.
 Understanding an extensive document
4
6

Discuss the following questions.

1. What makes you choose the sources where you get your news stories from? What do you like
about them?
2. Which sources of news do you not use? Why?
3. Can you give an example of a news story which was reported in different ways by different
sources? What did they say? Why were their versions different?
4. Now you have watched the video, will you do anything different in the way you choose your
news? Why/Why not?

5 Extended activity/homework
You are going to write a short report on how the news is reported by different news sources.
Follow these steps:

1. Find a news story that is being reported by a lot of different media sources. You may want to try
looking at the following: CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, The BBC, The Times, The Guardian, The
Intercept, The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The New YorkPost and any news blogs you may be
familiar with.
2. Look at the different language that is used in those stories. Is the event being told by the
people who saw it, or is it the words of the reporter?
3. How is the event being reported differently by different sources?

Now write a report of about 250 words which gives:

• a brief summary of what the story was about

• what the different sources said about the story
• examples of how the different sources used language to report the story and what effect this had
on the story