1. Students, yesterday, looked at newspapers searching for examples of bias in news articles. They were to find three articles, one editorial and one letter to the editor. These last two will obviously have bias in them as they are opinion pieces. News reports, however, giving information for the public should be as free from a leading opinion or agenda as possible. As we discussed, this is very difficult to do, to write without imputting your personal feelings on the subject.
2. Students were given a poster assignment today to work in their groups from yesterday. There were three requirements for the posters and they will be presented by their groups tomorrow.
3. For tomorrow’s class, after the presentations, students will begin viewing a video online. (See below.) The next assignment will be a written one where students will respond to the video and answer the question: bias or no bias. This is a documentary that discusses the American use of napalm during the Vietnam war and also a too-similar chemical during an attack in the Middle East. Is this video simply giving information to the viewer that was previously unknown to them, or are they turning phrases, using images, or excluding others to specifically ‘lead’ the viewer to a predetermined conclusion? Watch the video and piece specific examples to support of prove your opinion. There will be a writing assignment next.

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