Hello All,
Welcome to this summer's Current Events Class. We are very excited to explore the different types of media/news available to us, where they came from, and how they are or have been used throughout history.
This class will focus on the most popular media outlets of the past 100 years, as well as offer a current understanding of what’s happing now. In addition, this class will provide you with a basic understanding of how to desirer the content, potential bias, and validly of the news. E.g., there is a difference between hard news and soft news. There are opinion shows masked as hard news sources. We have the TV, Internet, Radio, Blogs, and Newspapers—does it matter which one we look at or they all the same? And, of course, people like Jon Stewart from the Daily Show. Is he news? We’ll find out.
When we talk about current events it is very important to take into consideration the source from which the information comes from. As we will learn, the introduction of the “penny press” was designed to provide the American people with a clear, unbiased voice of the days events. Eager politicians and corporate giants with something to gain or loose, however, have rendered all media outlets a soapbox from which to shout propaganda from. It is imperative to your understanding of the day’s events that you are able to tell the difference from a true news article and one that has an agenda to persuade.
Please use the links on the left of the page to navigate the course. You're first stop should be Course Info!!!
