Objective: The purpose of this assignment is for
you to locate sources of information about a current event in the news
this week and write a short summary.
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Background Information: The World Wide Web is one
of the best places to get useful information about fast breaking news stories
and events around the world. But be careful, some information may be biased
or just plain wrong!
How can that happen? Remember that just about anybody can put up a web
page and distribute information. Just because it is online...does not
mean it is accurate. If you have ever had to write a research paper,
I am sure that your English teacher has spoken to you about the accuracy
of your sources. Here are a couple of suggestions for you to help determine
how much you should trust what you read on a web page.
- Do you know who wrote the information? If you can't tell who the author
is, or at least the organization that put it online, you should be skeptical.
Ideally, the e-mail address of the author should be listed so you can contact
him or her to verify facts.
- Is the information current? If you can't tell when the information
was posted online and or updated, you should be skeptical. The posting
date on a web page tells you how "fresh" the information is...
kind of like the "freshness" date on a carton of milk!
- Is the information biased? The person or group presenting the information
may be pushing an opinion to try and get you to do something or buy something.
Think about the so-called "comparison" advertising you see on
TV or the telemarketers that call your house at dinner time to try and
get you to switch phone companies. Are they the best source of unbiased
information about their competitors? Keep an open mind about what you read
on a web page, but be skeptical.
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Homework Assignment: Listed in the table below are some online
sources for current event inofmation.
- What are the top news story this week? Choose one that is interesting
to you. Use the links to ABC News, the Washington Post, and Time Magazine
(just click on the icon to get to the site) to read about the current event
you have selected. Based on what you read, write a one paragraph summary
of the event. Also, briefly compare any similarities or differences in
the way the television, newspaper, and magazine online sites covered the
event. E-mail your answers to me.
- Listed on the right side of the table are several other sources of
information in each category (telvision, newspaper, and magazine). Use
a search engine to locate one online site in each category. When you visit
each of the sites you choose, set a bookmark for the site, and send me
an e-mail message listing the URL for each of the three sites.
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Television |
CBS News
NBC News
CNN News |
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Newspaper |
New York Times
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Wall Street Journal |
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Magazine |
Newsweek
Life
U.S. News & World Report |
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Competencies: After completing this assignment, you should be
able to locate information in a variety of online news sources to learn
about current events.
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