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Diversifying source perspectives

Suggested Time
45-60 minutes
Skills

Summary

Using sources other than police and prosecutors doesn't guarantee a balanced story. A news item quoting a prosecutor who thinks prison sentences are too mild, a state senator who sponsors a bill to lengthen prison sentences, and a voter who supports the bill won't fully explain the issue. This kind of story only shows one side of a high-stakes policy debate. In this lesson, students will analyze the views of people quoted in news articles  about public safety issues. Students will reflect on the importance of sourcing practices and brainstorm methods to include multiple perspectives in their pieces. Instructional Note: Prior to this lesson, ensure students have a solid understanding of sourcing and the different types of sources that journalists access to obtain information in public safety reporting.

  • Demonstrate the overreliance of police perspectives in crime reporting.

  • Illustrate how relying on multiple sources does not always result in multiple perspectives.

  • Discuss the types of sources journalists should seek out to reduce bias and improve accuracy.

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • Critically assess source viewpoints.

  • Identify missing perspectives in a news story about public safety.

  • Determine which perspectives are needed to provide balanced sourcing when writing a public safety story.

  1. Pose the question to students: Why is it important to include multiple perspectives when writing about a crime or public safety issue? If these points don't naturally arise in the conversation, explain to students that multiple perspectives help reduce bias, improve accuracy, and ensure that agreement with the status quo is not given preference. 

  2. As a whole class, or breaking students into pairs or groups, provide students with an article to examine, using one of your own or one of the examples provided in the Additional Resources section of this lesson plan. Instructional Note: While the following activity can be done with a single article for the whole class, it is recommended to break students into smaller groups if possible, to allow students to see the pattern of sourcing emerge across multiple news stories.

  3. While students read, instruct them to annotate the sources quoted or paraphrased, writing “CL” if the source is a criminal legal system actor (police, prosecutor, judge, warden, etc…) or “NCL” for sources that are not criminal legal system actors. For NCL sources, they should also note “A” if the source agrees with the CL source or “D” if they present an alternate viewpoint. 

  4. Ask students what percentage of sources in their article were criminal legal system actors? 

  5. Brainstorm with students: What other types of source perspectives would add value to this piece? How could these perspectives impact the overall narrative?

  6. Discuss with students the basics of identifying multiple sources for their stories, including: 

    1. People who are directly involved with the story.

    2. People who are affected by the story. 

    3. People who have a stake in the outcome of an ongoing issue.

    4. People who have professional or personal expertise on the subject.

  7. Return back to the article and ask students: Of the NCL sources, how many agree with the CL sources? If the number is high, why might this be problematic? Instructional note: Here, it is important to emphasize that while many articles might quote non-police sources, the sources don’t offer varied viewpoints. This is especially problematic if all of the sources are supporting a position that is not backed up by evidence.

Using the article they analyzed, students should identify places where different source perspectives would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issue for the audience.  Students should conduct research on the issue and rewrite the article, reflecting excluded perspectives. Instructional Note: If time or resources are limited, students can creatively construct the information for the rewrite by imagining different perspectives on the issue rather than researching them.

Sample News Stories:

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Topic: Source Perspectives Theme: Sourcing Skills: Diversifying Sources Identifying Credible Sources Reducing Bias