Here are all the instructions and the link needed.
For this week only, I am offering you extra credit to watch the documentary Outfoxed. You can access here for free: https://www.hulu.com/watch/407929. To earn the extra credit, please watch the film and respond in short essay form to the questions below.
If you are at all politically inclined the documentary will likely get you inflamed one way or the other. So remember in your responses to avoid editorializing, and try to, instead, focus on the arguments of the documentary.
While you watch the film, consider and respond to the following questions:
To what extent do you think Fox News contributes to the good and bad types of journalism you’ve read about in this week’s reading?
What is the difference between reporting the news and reporting commentary? Is it possible to report without commentary? If so, how is it possible to be objective. If not, what can news organizations do to work against bias? To what degree does democracy depend on knowing the truth? Peter Hart argues that journalists use phrases like “some people say” or “officials say” when they are trying to insert anonymously information in a story that advances the storyline. How does Fox do this? What are other techniques that can fuel propaganda? What about the sources that were used for the documentary itself? How do you view their credibility or authority?
Bob McChesney (Founder of Free Press) argues “I mean for any self-respecting journalist–if you’re told, the more people consume your media, the less they’ll know about the subject and the more they’ll support government policy, then that’s, that’s exactly the worst thing any journalist would ever want to hear, or should want to hear. Is it your opinion that Bob McChesney’s statement suggests a conspiracy of misinformation at Fox News? Is Rupert Murdoch really ‘waging a war on journalism? Why, or why not?