Course Syllabus

Digital Media Literacy: Understanding News Media Bias

Digital media literacy (D&ML) may be one of the most important skill sets that young students will need growing up in the twenty-first century. “D&ML is defined as a skill set;…[it] is not a defined body of facts…Like traditional literacy, media literacy provides students with the tools they need to explore content in a wide range of subjects” (Scheibe & Rogow, p. 20). In other words, the emphasis in defining D&ML should always be placed on the fact that this is a skill set that is applicable to most, if not all, content subjects. This instructional unit is designed introduce students to components of D&ML using current events depicted by the news media.

The first lesson in this unit is designed to introduce students to the impact that political bias has on the news media. Students will utilize an analytical framework designed to help them  identify any potential bias imbedded in current event news articles. The second lesson in this unit will pivot attention away from external bias of the news producers and toward the internal bias of news consumers. The focus of this lesson is to help students understand how confirmation bias impacts the way they interpret particular news stories. The third and final lesson builds upon the previous two lessons, but emphasizes the power of news media’s use of imagery. This lesson provides students opportunities to apply the analytical framework introduced in the first lesson in order to identify bias imbedded in news media’s use of imagery. Overall, this instructional unit will provide student to engage with various forms of media that will foster the development of their media literacy.