Imagine you are a political writer with your own blog. You write about current events and what they mean for the U.S. government and its citizens. You have been asked to write a blog post of 2-3 typed pages about an event from the last 3 months involving U.S. political issues or policies.
Instructions
Step 1: Choose one of the following political issues or policies:
the U.S. President
congress
administrative departments
political activists
judicial rulings
a campaign
an election
Step 2: Choose 1 reputable news source that has reported on your chosen event.
Here are some sources to choose from:
liberal leaning news: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vox, HuffPost, Politico, CNN, Time Magazine
conservative leaning news: National Review, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Federalist, Fox Online News, Washington Examiner
centrist news: NPR Online News (National Public Radio), Reuters, BBC, CNBC News, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Pew Research Center
To see ratings of news sources, visit AllSides’s Media Bias Ratings.
Step 3: Summarize your chosen current event in 1-2 paragraphs. Include what the event is, when it took place, and the political issues or policies to which it connects.
Step 4: In addition to your brief summary, answer each of the following questions:
What specific branch of the U.S. government is involved in this current event? (1-2 paragraphs)
Who or which groups are affected by this event? (1-2 paragraphs)
What biases or leanings exist in the media source you chose? Give examples. Were these counterbalanced in any way? (1-2 paragraphs)
What are your opinions on the issue? Use relevant facts and supporting evidence from your source(s) to support your opinion. (1-2 paragraphs)