Monitoring the Media

While studying the role of the media on political life in the United States, students will look at the issue of bias in the media.  The class will be divided into groups.  Each group will monitor a newspaper, television station, or radio station.  The class will create a chart that will list the media sources they monitored and rate their news coverage from "balanced to "very biased."  The chart will also include the type of bias. They will copy the form and hand it out to other students.   Students will also write a letter to the newspapers, radio or television stations suggesting ways their news coverage could be more balanced.