On what platform (e.g., TV, online, radio, print, etc.) do most Americans get their news?
How accurate was your prediction?
What most surprised you about this data?
What trend do you see in the data?
Why do you think that change is happening?
What is one consequence of this change?
What is the impact of the rise of online news on the American political system?
Is this information good news, bad news, or other?
How do you think media consumption differs by age group?*
Facebook reportedly has handed over documents related to the hundreds of Russian paid ads it ran during the 2016 election. Have you ever been fooled by these Russian ads? How do you know? And have you been fooled by fake news? And how do you know? Do these paid Russian ads actually influence public opinion and voting? And what should the government/media companies/schools do about this????
What do you think this chart looked like 20 years ago?
What do you imagine this chart will look like in 20 years?
Have you ever read a newspaper (like an actual newspaper - not on a screen but on a piece of paper????) You should try it some time. What is the main difference between newspaper news and online news?
Marshall McLuhan famously said, "the medium is the message." In other words, what is communicated is less important than how it is communicated. What do you think he meant by that, and do you agree with McLuhan?
Let's say that you wanted the government to regulate this. What government agencies would be in charge of this and what would you like them to do about it?
Imagine that suddenly the internet and television stopped working and you had to get all your news from newspapers (FYI: this was the entire world just about 75 years ago). How would that change your life?
And how would that change American politics?
Learning Extension
Check out the Pew report about changing U.S. news consumption or watch this...
Action Extension
On one day, spend just 5 minutes getting news from each of the following sources: TV, online, print, radio. Reflect on how information from the various platforms was similar, how it was different and how it impacted you.