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How Do We Find Truth Again? =In the Beginning….=

The desire to find the truth has been the foundation of media throughout the history of mankind. Before digital or print media were available, those who could read and write were powerful and ruled the people. The means to record information had been used for centuries, however, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press, invented in 1440, transformed the availability to reach a mass audience. As print became available and literacy became more common in the middle and lower classes, the elite “They lost control of knowledge, and they lost control of Truth.” (Poe 102). This knowledge was now in the hands of the common people and so the evolution of media began. The printing press played a major role in the Protestant Reformation in 1517 when Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. “Luther told his followers that scripture alone (sola scriptura) was the source of revealed truth and that they must, therefore, understand it if they wanted to receive the word of God.” (Poe 108). Prior to this only the elite within the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were able to read and interpret the Bible. This began mass production and translations of the Bible and resulted in the creation of many other churches. Print became an efficient and inexpensive way for bankers, merchants and politicians to communicate with the people. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Newspapers were printed and schools opened to ensure more people could read.

=Distorting the Truth?= media type="youtube" key="KaPRnsgFxOU?version=3" height="200" width="358" align="right" As literacy of common people increases, the revolution of political newspapers and other print materials began to transform public knowledge. “Moreover, print could be used to shape emergent public opinion.” (Poe, 110). Overtime the elite became concerned with censorship and began to regulated what could be printed. Kings, Dictators, Prime Ministers and eventually American Presidents began censorship as a means of political gain and control. Beginning in the seventeenth century, American newspapers were politically related and reflected the views of the President. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson became chief sponsor of the National Intelligencer in response to Alexander Hamilton's pro Federalism newspaper Federal Gazette. The creation of the National Intelligencer was a counter response to Hamilton's views and began the political debates of the media.

=** Radio and Television **=

In 1895 Nikola Tesla "....discovered that he could transmit and receive powerful radio signals when they were tuned to resonate at the same frequency." (PBS.org). Before his U.S patent was approved, Guglielmo Marconi an Italian inventor received a patent in England and used some of Tesla's inventions to enhance his invention. Due to financial backing Marconi began to produce radios through the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company and eventually won the Nobel Peace prize. However the first commercial broadcast did not occur until 1920 by Pittsburgh's KDKA. Although the introduction of radio was slow, like newspapers it played a major role in politics.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President to use television and radio for political purposes increasing their popularity and interest in America. He first used radio to communicate his "fireside chat"s to Americans. Although television was less popular at the time, it debuted at the World's Fair in New York with FDRs Presidential address. The production and interest of techonology took off in America. By 1950,"90 million radio sets, 10 million TV sets in use in U.S. homes " (PBS.org). media type="youtube" key="WIouMYBXySc?feature=player_detailpage" height="230" width="408" align="left"

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=Profiling Our Culture= Throughout our culture, the need for "breaking news" has become a key element to the success of the media. The availability of iPhones, iPads, tablets and various forms of portable electronics has increased our cultures need for instant gratification. With so much available at our finger tips we add mirrors to the information that we expose ourselves too. Brooke Gladstone argues, "The media landscape is so cluttered with mirrors facing mirrors that we can't tell where an image begins or ends." (p xxi). We often find ourselves so overwhelmed with information that is available that we rely on the media to give us the facts. Unfortunately, we often forget that media can be biased or distort our view of the truth we seek to find.

Students can explore their perceptions of the media by making lists of news media they consider to be reliable and unreliable sources. This can include television, newspapers, magazines, and internet. Open discussion about the Florida killing of Trayvon Martin that flooded national headlines with claims of racial profiling and race crimes after the Today Show aired an edited version of the 911 call George Zimmerman made the night of the shooting. Students can view the television clip and answer the questions regarding Media Analysis from handout created by the National Associations For Media Literacy Education. media type="custom" key="20179330" align="center" width="99" height="99"
 * Activity #1 - Media Analysis **

Following this release of the edited version of the call, headlines made claims of racial profiling, accusations of a hate crime was made, and bounties for George Zimmerman where made by the Black Panther movement. Share and discuss the headlines following the Today's Shows news report. [|the guardian] [|The New York Times] [|Time]
 * What feelings do you experience when reading and watching the media coverage?
 * What messages are communicated? What is the main focus of the media coverage?
 * How might different people interpret this message differently?

A few days later it was discovered that the 911 call was edited. Share the unedited version of the 911 call. media type="youtube" key="mOpGAOXL5Uk?version=3" height="180" width="320" align="right"
 * How does this change perception of the Today Show as reliable news reporting?
 * Did the complete 911 conversation change your perception of George Zimmerman?
 * How might this version of the 911 call have changed the outcome of the communities response to this incident?

**Activity #2** - **Creative Writing** Following activity #1 students will work in small groups choosing a news article or news clip to research. They will then created two versions of the story by writing a news article or video clip to demonstrate their two sides and share with their classmates. Students will need to explore ideas using the NAMLE handout abouve.

"Media compostition projects offer this same type of practical real-world activity that promotes and sustains intellectual curiosity, collaborations and social responsibility." - Hobbs, Digital and Media Literacy p90. Although we will never really know if George Zimmerman's decisions were racially motivated, we live in a culture that thrives on the need for immediate news and our society reacts to it just as quickly. In the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman the focus isn't just on the the death of a teenager, or a bad decision of a neighborhood watchman, or gun laws; we are again reminded of the impact that race has on the division of our country. How do we teach our children to make critical decisions when we can't promise them the research they do will always be accurate? In this particular case, we are fortunate that the truth was uncovered, but at what cost?

//The Hunger Games// - students can explore the influence of media in the truth in the Hunger Games trilogy.
 * Literary Connections: **
 * How does the Capital use media to distort the percepetion of truth to the Panem Districts? the Hunger Games?

=Finding the Truth= The use of the internet and the media has become an integral part of our society. Students consider media and the internet a "neccessity" in their daily lives. It is often used in the classroom to assist with research papers, games to help them prepare for PSSAs, and at times pure entertainment. As teachers, it is our responsibilty, as well as a great teaching opportunity, to teach our students critical thinking while using these tools. While many students are using blogs, video games and other applications on the internet that we may not be familiar with, we have an obligation to help them use these tools in a meaningful way.

"Students have lots of things to say about this because media and technology are so important to them. Some are using genres and formats that many of their teachers and parents don't even recognize (web comics, discussion boards like 4chan, and fake Wikipedia sites, for example). Some teens will have though deeply about media and technology in terms of the positive and negative funtions, while others just take it all for granted. " Hobbs, Digital and Media Literacy p.11

Our responsibility to our students is to help guide them to become educated voters, parents, adults, and search for truth in the world around them. Too often we find the truth is distorted, but we do not know how to use the tools we have to uncover the truth. Kim Moody addresses the search for truth in her study Credibility or Convenience? Political Information Choices In a Media-Saturated Environment. The purpose of her study was to look at political choices and the resources used to influence those choices. She classified two types of information seekers. "The data show that non-news media information sources are chosen by people who are seeking accurate information with which to orient themselves to the world (surveillance gratifications), who enjoy thinking and prefer deep as opposed to shallow content (NFC), and who find the mainstream media to be lacking in credibility (media scepticism). Further, people who simply wish to be distracted from the real world (escape gratifications) use fewer non-news media sources." (p.8). Many of our students would fall into the "wish to be distracted from the world" category, however, the benefits to learning how to be information and truth seeking citizens has a greater value in their educations.

**Activity #3** - **Anaylyzing Ads**
 * Students will begin to discuss and make a list of the differences between fact and opinion with a partner. Students will then share their lists with classroom discussion and make a combined class list on the board together.
 * What makes something a fact? Opinion?
 * Are facts always the same? What factors can change facts?
 * Students view video clip on [|Campaign Promises] and write in their journals the strategies they learned while watching the clip.
 * Students discuss the strategies they have learned from this clip and add addition strategies they think will be important.
 * Students will analyze campaigne ads from newspapers, television or the internet making comparisons and determine what information is fact and opinion.
 * Students present their findings in small groups.

//Nothing But the Truth by Avi// - students will explore truth and how easily it can be distorted or inaccurately interpreted when taken out of context.
 * Literary Connections: **
 * How does the media distort and influence Phillip Malloys story?
 * How does editing influence our interpretations of the truth?

= Additional Resources = [|PBS Kids Advertising] [|Admongo.gov] [|Fact or Opinion in the News] George Gerbner's theory of [|The Mean World Syndrome] is an example of how media can often distort our views.

**Works Cited** 1800 Anti-Thomas Jefferson Negative TV Ad - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . Retrieved July 13, 2012, from []#! An Outline of the History of the Transistor. (n.d.). PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved July 19, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/ Trayvon Martin 911 Call - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . Retrieved July 13, 2012, from []

911 calls eyed in Killing of Florida Teen. (2012, March 19). Today. Retrieved July 6, 2012, from video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46781173#46781173 Baker, F. W. (2012). Visual Literacy. Media literacy in the K-12 classroom (pp. 41-71). Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education. Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press. Moody, K. E. (2011). Credibitlity or Convenience? Political Information Choices in a Media-Saturated Environment. Media International Australia, Aug2011(140), 35-46. Retrieved July 7, 2012, from the EbscoHost database. Poe, M. (2011). A history of communications: media and society from the evolution of speech to the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Truth About Campaign Posters on Vimeo. (n.d.). Vimeo, Your Videos Belong Here. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from http://vimeo.com/30862019