Themepark

communication
News

Never before has our world been so connected. Where it used to take days, weeks, or even months for news of noteworthy events to reach interested ears, now the same information can be conveyed almost instantly via radio, television, and even the Internet. Access to news is now, quite literally, only a click away.

This proliferation of news and information can be both good and bad. Increased awareness of events-both locally and globally-helps us to become better informed and more vigilant citizens. And the important role of a free press in a democratic society is undeniable. 

However, the very wealth of information now available to us can seem a bit overwhelming. One weekday edition of The New York Times, for example, contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in seventeenth-century England. According to John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, "We now mass-produce information the way we used to mass-produce cars." This increased proliferation of information is also accompanied, at times, with a decrease in quality and accuracy. Consequently, it's important that we take the time to learn about events in depth and from a variety of credible sources.

 

Places To Go    People To See    Things To Do    Teacher Resources    Bibliography

Places To Go

CNN.com
Get the latest news from Cable News Network (CNN). Site includes story headlines and briefs.
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
FAIR works with activists and journalists to advocate for greater diversity in the press and to scrutinize media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints.
News Link
This site contains links to over 3,400 U.S. papers and over 2,000 non-U.S. papers that are currently available online.
Online Journalism Review
This site covers a full range of journalistic issues in all media, but with a particular emphasis on the Internet. The site is a great resource for journalism students at high schools or colleges. OJR's Guide to Online Reporter Resources is a great place to start students that want to do journalism research online.
Time for Kids
 Check out the kids' version of the popular news weekly.

Back to Top

 

People To See

Ask a Reporter
Read answers to questions posed to New York Times reporters.
Ask CNN
Pose a question to CNN about anything from the day's news to science or sports--or just something you've always wanted to know.
Joseph Pulitzer and The Pulitzer Prizes
Learn more about the man for whom the Pulitzer Prize is named.

Back to Top

 

Things To Do

CNN Interactive: You Be The Producer
Students act as producer to decide which stories make it to the news broadcast.
CRAYON (Create your Own Newspaper)
This resource is for anyone who wants to "CreAte Your Own Newspaper." Start by entering a name and slogan for your paper, then choose your news sources, add comic strips, and any additional features you might want. Your paper can be formatted as a single page, a framed page, or in two windows. Simply "click" to save and view. 
National Public Radio
Although you'll need to download the RealMedia Player to do so, at this site you can listen to National Public Radio.
Parts of a Newspaper
This is an activity to help students understand how stories are assigned to specific sections of a newspaper.

Back to Top

 

Teacher Resources

C-SPAN in the Classroom
C-SPAN in the Classroom is a free membership service that provides support and materials to educators.
School Journalism
This site for students and teachers provides hundreds of lesson plans and resources related to journalism, news literacy and civic education.
Ethics Cases Online
This database has been created for users to explore ethical issues in journalism. The cases raise a variety of ethical problems faced by journalists, including such issues as privacy, conflict of interest, reporter- source relationships, and the role of journalists in their communities.
New York Times Learning Network
Lots of lesson plans and ideas for integrating news stories into classroom activities.

Back to Top

 

Bibliography

  • Bradlee, Benjamin C. A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures. Simon & Schuster, 1996.
  • Bragg, Rick. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. University of Alabama Press, 2000.
  • Conkite, Walter. A Reporter's Life. Random House, 1996.
  • Frankel, Max. The Times of My Life and My Life with the Times. Random House, 1999.
  • Garner, Joe. We Interrupt this Broadcast: The Events that Stopped Our Lives.from the Hindenburg to the Death of John F. Keneedy, Jr. Sourcebooks, 2000.
  • Hane, Paula J. and Reva Basch. Super Searchers in the News: The Online Secrets of Journalists & News Researchers. Information Today, Incorporated, 2000.
  • Klement, Alice M. and Carolyn Matalene. Telling Stories/Taking Risks: Journalism Writing at the Century's Edge. Wadsworth Publishing, 1997.
  • Mitchell, Margaret. Reporter. Hill Street Press, 2000. 
  • Scanlan, Christopher and Jim Naughton. Best Newspaper Writing: Winners: The American Society of NewspaperEditors Competition. Bonus Books Inc, 2000.
  • Stahl, Lesley. Reporting Live. Simon & Schuster, 1998.
  • Weinberg, Steve. The Reporter's Handbook: An Investigator's Guide to Documents and Techniques. St. Martin's Press, 1995.