Fact or Opinion
What age group is best at telling factual news statements from opinion news statements?
How accurate was your prediction?
What most surprised you about this data?
What story does the data tell?
Why do you think that is?
What is one consequence of Americans not being able to tell fact from opinion?
The Fairness Doctrine was a 1949 FCC (Federal Communications Commission) rule designed to minimize any possible restrictions on free speech caused by limited access to broadcasting outlets. The idea was that, as one of the conditions for receiving an FCC broadcast license, a station had to "devote reasonable attention to the coverage of controversial issues of public importance," and consequently had to provide "reasonable, although not necessarily equal" opportunities for opposing sides to express their views.
Because of the Fairness Doctrine, talk stations had to hire and program symmetrically: if you had a three-hour program whose host's politics were on one side of the ideological spectrum, you had to have another long-form program whose host more or less spoke for the other side. In 1987 the Fairness Doctrine was repealed during the second term of President Ronald Reagan. What has been the impact of the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine?
Explain whether you think the government should reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.
How would American politics and the media change if we brought back the Fairness Doctrine?
Given five facts, only 17 percent of people over 65 were able to identify them all as factual statements. Take a look at the statements below and see if you can distinguish fact from opinion.
Republicans and Democrats were more likely to factual and opinion news stories as factual when they favor their side. Why do you think that is?
Do you do that?
What is a consequence of this?
What could the media do to make people more aware of the difference between fact and opinion?
What could the government do to make people more aware of the difference between fact and opinion?
