Show students examples of misleading ways in which data are presented in media, *or in which ideas are presented. John Stewert has a whole show dedicated to this idea, where he mocks tv cable news, especially fox news. There was that one segment where he showed fox news shows, which make up only two shows on the network had stories like, "people are saying", or "reports are coming out", about issues fox news supports. The thing is that these reports were from fox news channel, more specifically opinion shows on the network, which make up 80% of the shows.
Pointing out language constructs. Thom Hartmann, and David Sirota play this game well, when they talking about framing a debate. Like Obama's health care bill, the opposition republicans tried to use a negative name to make him own it, calling it obama-care. Or Hartmann like to say we do not have an illegal immigrant problem we have an illegal employer problem. Immigrant problem blames the immigrant, the person risking life and limb to come here to make a better life for his family. This is the story everyone in this country can relate to because our ancestors all went through it. Only the bravest came here. The lazy stayed in Europe. But the media, trying to make them seem bad, labels them illegal, which they are.
But Thom points out they came here for a hundred years and left in the fall after harvest season. And only in the past few decades did they begin to stay because of lax laws on companies hiring them. If no company would hire them through the winter they would return to south american and Latin america like they have for hundreds of years. The business friendly media does not blame the employers, Yet if no one hired these immigrants we would not have an issue.
Another great selling of language is Republicans use of Welfare. When anyone thinks of welfare today they think of lazy, poor people who sit home all day, don't work, and collect a government check. While this is true, they do not milk the system as much as corporate welfare. Take oil companies, back in the 70's when oil was a record low price and oil companies had a hard time making money our government passed subsidies that actually paid them to stay in business. Today when oil prices are record high, and oil company profits are the highest in the world of any corporation, the subsidies are still used. Makes no sense. This one subsidy probably is more than all poor welfare programs.
*Have the students create innacurate messages to gloss over a terrable issue. *
How the message reflects the creator, fox news is owned and operated by a former republican speach writer. Or how movies are created onthe editing floor. where so many differernt movies could be created from teh same film.
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