Lesson 7 Inquiry

Inquiry

Detecting Bias

In this inquiry you will consider your ideas about bias. 

To detect bias, consider

• What is selected? (Why are some details chosen as more newsworthy than others?)
  
• What is missing from the story? Are details missing or omitted? (You need to read a lot of news papers or watch the news from various sources to find this.)
  
• Where is the story placed? (at the front, in the beginning etc. Placement near the beginning suggests this is an important event.) 
  
• Where is the news source from? (police, eye witness, government, reporter?)
  
• Are the numbers accurate? (Fewer than 15 people showed up at the rally sounds different than dozens of people showed up to protest.)
  
• How is language used? (Is a hockey game described as a near win, or a total loss?)
  

Resources for Inquiry

1. Textbook
   
• Read page 50 of the textbook.
  
  
• Read the two newspaper articles on page 51. As you read, consider the list of questions in "Practise the Skill" at the top of the page.
  
  
2. In any newspaper (print or online), find an article that you think is biased. 

Notebook