MODULE FIVE: BROADCASTING THE NEWS

Table of Contents
Learning Objectives: ......................................................................................................................................................2
Origins and Current State of the Digital Age .................................................................................................................3
Quiz 20: Origins and Current State of the Digital Age ...................................................................................................5
New Media Language and Structure .............................................................................................................................6
Quiz 21: New Media Language and Structure ...............................................................................................................9
Types of New Media Stories ........................................................................................................................................10
The Impact on the Journalistic Process .......................................................................................................................13
The Impact on Traditional Media ................................................................................................................................15
Language Focus: Present Perfect Form .......................................................................................................................16
Quiz 22: Present Perfect Form .....................................................................................................................................18
Challenge One: The Digital Divide ...............................................................................................................................19
Language Focus: Data Commentary ............................................................................................................................21
Quiz 23: Choose the Appropriate Data Commentary ..................................................................................................23
Citizen Journalism ........................................................................................................................................................24
Challenge Two: Ethics in the Digital Age......................................................................................................................26
Challenge Three: Intellectual Property and Censorship ..............................................................................................28
Intellectual Property ....................................................................................................................................................28
Module Five Check ......................................................................................................................................................30

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Welcome to Module Five of English for Journalism! In the final module of the course, you will analyze the growth,
impact, and challenges of digital news. By examining digital news sources, you will understand the benefits and
obstacles of modern-day reporting.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
• Identify the ways digital technology has impacted print and broadcast journalism.
• Use the present perfect to discuss the impact of digital technology in journalism.
• Use data commentary and new vocabulary to evaluate the digital revolution and describe data.

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ORIGINS AND CURRENT STATE OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license

[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello. In this video we'll look at the digital age, past and present. First, we'll define important vocabulary, then
we'll look at the different steps in digital media that take us to the present. Take notes as you listen. It will help you
play the game that follows this video.
What is the Digital Age?
Let's define some of these terms. Digital means electronic technology. The Digital Age is the time from the 1940's
to the present day of electronic technology. Digital media refers to any news that is sent over the internet. It
includes words, pictures, audio and video. So, for example, digital media is a web page from an online newspaper
or a video from a news channel. News and images shared through social networking sites, like Twitter or Facebook,
are also examples of digital media.
20th Century Innovations in Global Communication

Colossus via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under Public Domain.

Ever since the first computers were created in the 1940's, people were thinking about global communication or
sharing a message with the whole world.
Throughout the 1960's, people worked on ways to share information using telephone lines to transmit data.

"Acoustic Coupler Modem" by SecretLondon via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

In the 1980's more people got personal computers at home. Some newspapers started to offer a service that
allowed customers to print a version of the newspaper at home. However, this was very slow and expensive, and
people could not print pictures, only words.

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Untitled Image by ccmsharma2 via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The invention of the world wide web in 1989 changed everything. The world wide web is a system that connects
documents to each other, and allows the user to look for information, by moving from one document to the
other. People still used their telephone lines to receive information, but now they could search through many
different sites. More powerful computers and better graphics meant that people did not need to print out the
newspaper, they could look at it on their screens. These days, almost all newspapers have an online version.

The biggest change in digital media, happened in the 21st century. Readers now had the ability to interact with a
news source. News changed from being a one-way communication system where the newspapers and TV
programs produced the news and the readers read it to a two-way communication system where readers and
viewers can give their opinions.

Web logging or blogging, began in 2003, allowing anyone with a computer and an internet connection to share
their views with the world. The social media site, MySpace began in the same year. A year later, a more famous
social media site, Facebook, was created. This was a site where people could receive the news, comment on it, and
share it with their friends and family. In the same year, the site Flickr launched. This was a site where people could
share their photographs. YouTube which allowed viewers to upload and share their videos began in 2005. In 2006
Twitter, which lets users, including journalists, share very short message started. News reports became even
shorter and needed to be more sensational to get the reader's attention. As mentioned previously, over half of the
adults in the USA currently get their news from Facebook or Twitter.
Summary

In this lesson, we defined digital, the digital age, and digital media. We looked at the origins of the digital age, and
early attempts to send out news messages. We looked at the creation of the world wide web and how news
broadcasting became a two-way communication resulting in our current situation.

Next, you can test yourself by playing a game, all about the origins of digital media.

4
QUIZ 20: ORIGINS AND CURRENT STATE OF THE DIGITAL
AGE

Instructions:

Choose the correct date for each of the following stages of the history of digital media.

This quiz is worth 10 points. You must score 70% to pass the quiz.

You can take the quiz as many times as you like. Your highest score will be saved.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

5
NEW MEDIA LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE

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[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

In this lesson, we're going to discuss how new media content is different from print and broadcast media. Then
we'll look at the structure of new media posts and examine the type of language new media journalists use to
attract viewers.
New Media Content vs Print and Broadcast Media

Untitled Image by Gerd Altman via Pixabay under Pixabay license

Digital media is growing in popularity all over the world. Online media is the preferred source of news for many
audiences, especially younger people. Digital media has many forms, including news websites, weblogs or “blogs”,
audio podcasts, and posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter. Post is both
a noun and a verb. A post is a piece of content published online, like a photo, video, or text. For example, you
can post a picture online, and other users can comment on your post.

So, what is so new about new media? How is it different from print and broadcast journalism? There are three
main differences: New journalism is multimedia. It uses hypertext links, and it is interactive.

New Journalism is Multimedia

First, new media journalism is multimedia. Digital media journalism can use multiple types of media text, video,
and audio to tell a story. When more than one of these media types is used, we can say that it is a multimedia
story.

New Journalism Uses Hypertext Links

Second, new media journalism uses hypertext links. Digital journalists can use hypertext links to other content on
the internet. Link is both a noun and a verb. One piece of digital content links to another, and users can “click the
link” to see more content.

New Media Journalism is Interactive

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Third, new media journalism is interactive. People also call this the “democratization” of media. All people, not
only professional journalists, can post online, or publish their own stories, videos, or comments on other people’s
content.

User-generated content, or UGC, has changed news reporting. Citizens are now more direct and active
participants in the media. We will talk more about user-generated content later in this module.

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THE LANGUAGE OF NEW MEDIA JOURNALISM
How does the language of new media work?
Now, let’s look at some examples of how new media language works.
Inverted Pyramid Style
Like print and broadcast news, new media journalism uses the inverted pyramid structure we discussed in Module
Three. However, attention-grabbing headlines and leads are even more important in new media because they are
often the only parts of the story viewers can see until they click a link. The headline and lead must attract the
viewer to click a link to read the full text story or watch a video.

Short Posts
News website posts and social media news posts are very short - often limited to only 140 characters. Typical
news posts in digital media include the media outlet’s name, a headline, a picture, and a link to the full story.

More Clicks, More Money

The purpose of these posts is to generate clicks. In other words, to attract viewers to click the link to content on a
different web page. Like the TV ratings we discussed in Module Four, generating clicks is the way websites make
money.
How do new media journalists use language to generate the most clicks?
Online journalists use short sentences, active verbs, “teasers”, conversational language, emotional language,
humor, hashtags and other symbols.

Short sentences
Space is very limited in online posts, so journalists write short sentences with active verbs for impact. We
discussed active and passive verbs in Module Three. Let’s say a journalist is writing a social media post about the
tornado story we discussed in Modules One and Two. The journalist wouldn’t write: "City Is Hit by a
Tornado." This is passive. An active headline would be: "Tornado Hits City" .

Teasers
Also, like on television news, journalists often “tease” viewers into clicking through to the story by not telling the
whole story in the post. They write an attention-getting question or statement that suggests the answer is only a
click away in the story. For example, in the tornado story, they might post: "Is Your Home Safe in a
Tornado?" Viewers have to click the link to the story to learn more.

Hashtags
In addition, the post would include an eye-catching image of the tornado, and “hashtags” such as #tornado to
label the story. Hashtags make it easier to find a post and increase the number of times a post is read and shared.

Conversational Style and Emotional Language

Finally, like broadcast journalism, new media journalism uses a conversational style, speaking directly to the user.
Online media also uses emotional language – words that make people feel angry or excited – to generate more
clicks. New media journalists and social media users are also more likely to use humor, or jokes to make readers
laugh, than traditional media journalists.

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QUIZ 21: NEW MEDIA LANGUAGE AND STRUCTURE

Instructions: The questions in this quiz refer to New Media Language and Structure. You may use the video or
transcript to help you answer the questions.

This quiz is worth 10 points. You must score 70% to pass the quiz.

You can take the quiz as many times as you like. Your highest score will be saved.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

9
TYPES OF NEW MEDIA STORIES

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[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

In our last lesson, we discussed the language and structure of new media, or online journalism. Then we looked at
some examples of new media posts with user-generated content on Twitter. In this lesson, we’ll discuss the types
of stories we find online in new media journalism.

As we discussed in the last lesson, there are many types of online media, including news websites, blogs, social
media platforms, podcasts, and online video sites. Like print and broadcast media, online media run news stories,
human interest stories, commentary and analysis, consumer reviews, and feel-good stories. In this video, we’ll
discuss other types of stories we find online. These stories are:
• Breaking news stories
• Threaded discussions
• Data visualization stories
• User generated visuals
Breaking News Stories

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English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

The internet makes new media more flexible than traditional print and broadcast media. For one thing, online
media outlets can publish breaking news stories much faster. Online news outlets focus on posting breaking
news on the internet as quickly as possible, sometimes within minutes of the event and update the story in real
time.

Let’s take our example of the teachers protesting from Module 2. Online media reports on the protest in real time;
at the same time the protest ids happening. Eyewitnesses upload photos and video to social media, and online
journalists publish breaking news stories about the protest with minutes. The journalists then publish more
detailed minute-by-minute updates to the breaking news story as it develops.

Threaded Discussions

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This work is derivative of "Threaded Discussions" by Dvoropa via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA. This derivative is licensed CC BY SA by FHI 360 for the Online
Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Another type of online media content is the threaded discussion. Threaded discussions, also called comment
sections or discussion forums start a “thread with a question, a news article, or commentary article. Users follow
the thread of the discussion to learn more about the topic and post their own comments questions, and answers.
Many online news outlets include threaded discussions in a comment section after their stories. Some online
outlets including major newspapers like the New York times even include reader comments in the body of their
stories.

Threaded discussions below stories are excellent sources for journalists to learn about what is interesting to their
audience. The audience comments help the journalists decide what is or is not important to include in future
articles.
Again, let’s use the teachers protesting as an example. An online journalist posts a breaking news story about the
protest. Below the story, readers post comments and questions.

“How much are the teachers’ salaries?” one reader asks.

“About $2,000 a month,” another replies.

“I’m a teacher,” a third reader comments. “My school keeps cutting our budget. I have to spend $200 a month of
my salary on school supplies for my students.”

“Well, the government raised my taxes this year to pay for these schools,” another reader comments, “and I don’t
even have children.”

After reading the threaded discussion, the online journalist posts a story update with information about teacher
salaries, school budget cuts, and taxes for education. She knows this information is important to the audience, and
she includes two selected comments in the body of the story.

Another benefit of threaded discussions is that the journalist can correct any false information she sees in the
comments. She is careful to check her information with multiple sources including the school, the teachers, and
the tax office before publishing the update.

Data Visualization Stories

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This work is derivative of "Graph” by Diego Naïve via The Noun Project under CC BY. This derivative is license CC BY by FHI 360 for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Indeed, digital technology has generated more information than ever before. However, this big data is often very
difficult to understand. To report this information clearly, online journalists use technology to create interactive,
multi-media data visualization stories. In data visualization stories, journalists link video, maps, charts, and graphs
to explain complex data using visuals and text. Users can interact with the story, move through the data and see it
in many different ways.

In our example about the teacher protests, an online journalist collects data about the story as it develops. She
combines data sets about teacher salaries, taxes, school budgets, and other important information such as
students’ test scores. She writes a story with interactive graphs. Users can move on the graphs to see how taxes,
test scores, and teachers’ salaries are connected. For example, if teacher salaries rise, test scores go up as well. The
story also includes virtual tours of a classroom showing what kind of supplies the teachers need to buy, and how
much they cost. This new media data visualization story helps users understand the complicated teacher protest
story.

Breaking news stories, discussions, and data visualization stories already existed in print and broadcast media, but
new media have made them much more interactive and engaging.
User-Generated Visuals

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(OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

In addition, social media platforms have introduced completely new forms of user-generated visual content.
These formats include memes, gifs, and ephemeral media such as snaps and Facebook Stories. Ephemeral media
are posts that disappear after a short time, usually only 24 hours. These media are sometimes used by professional
journalists but mostly by social media users on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and WeChat.
Social media users create memes, gifs, and snaps, and post them on their profiles to share them with their
networks. Other users receive them on their news feeds and share them with other users. These pieces of content
can go viral, meaning they are shared by many people very quickly.
This user-generated content tells stories about using strong images, very few words, and humor. To use an
example from the teacher protest story, a social media user posts a popular meme of a teacher in front of a board
that reads “Doesn’t work all summer, wants pay raise” Other users see the meme and start a threaded discussion
about the meme.

Many media experts argue that these types of posts are not journalism. However, a large and growing audience
get their news and information from social networks in the form of memes, gifs, and snaps. They have become
important as a media form. We will talk about some of the problems this can create in a later video.

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THE IMPACT ON THE JOURNALISTIC PROCESS

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license
[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello, welcome to this lesson on the impact of digital journalism on traditional journalism. In this lesson, we'll
examine three ways the Internet has influenced traditional journalism: speed, connection to the audience, and
more competition.
Speed

Untitled image by stevepb via Pixabay under Pixabay license

Journalists or even regular people can post to the internet at any given time. And this means journalists must work
faster and faster to keep up. Pressure to be the first to publish a story isn't new. Even before the internet, being
first was part of competition between news sources. However, the internet has made this situation worse.

Generally, when someone rushes to complete something more mistakes are made.
These mistakes can cause huge problems when we are talking about inaccuracies in the news. News organizations
need to remember the principles of accuracy and truth. Which are more important than being first to break the
story
Connection to the Audience
Before the Internet, the audience received the news from the news programs and newspapers. Nowadays, the
complete opposite can happen, people can send news programs, videos from their cellphones of events happening
in real time. Additionally, with social media people, have more ways to connect with the news now more than
ever. For example, TV news suggests Twitter hashtags or invitations to join the discussion on Facebook. People feel
empowered when they can share the news with others and share their thoughts with the news.

Increase in Competition

Untitled image by S. Hermann and F. Richter via Pixabay under Pixabay license.

13
The third way the internet has affected the journalistic process is through an increase in competition. With the
internet, it's become a lot easier and cheaper for channels to broadcast their programs. While having choices is
generally a good thing, especially when talking about the news, we as the audience have to be critical of what we
read or see on the Internet. Remember, being a critical thinker means being curious or wanting to know more and
being skeptical or questioning whether to trust what you see.

Just because somebody can post a video or start a blog, it doesn't mean that that news story has been verified, or
that it's accurate. News media in general needs to be able to adapt to confront these new challenges. Later in this
module, we'll take a closer look at these challenges and how they have changed the way the news is delivered.

14
THE IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL MEDIA

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license

[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello, welcome to this lesson on the impacts of digital journalism on traditional print media. In the previous lesson,
we talked about how digital journalism has impacted the traditional process of gathering information and
distributing stories. In this lesson, we're going to talk about how the internet specifically affected newspapers.
We'll talk about how newspapers make money, how they employ people, how they share the news.
How Newspapers Make Money

“Untitled image’ by Lewis Hine via Wikimedia Commons is under public domain

First, let's talk about the business side of print media. In the US, newspapers are a business. They need to make
money. What do they need money for? They need to pay journalists, editors, and other employees. They need to
pay for paper, ink, and the machines that print newspapers. They also need to pay the people to take newspapers
to people's homes every day.

In the days before the internet, newspapers made money mostly through advertisements. In fact, 80% of money
made by newspapers was from advertisements. Subscriptions, or money made from people who pay to read a
newspaper, was only a small part of the money needed to run a successful newspaper.
How the Internet Disrupted Traditional Media
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, more and more people started using the internet for all sorts of reasons.
Businesses decided that the internet was a better and cheaper place to advertise. Between 2005 and 2009,
newspaper advertising dropped 44%. This incredible drop forced newspapers to make some very difficult changes.

The first area that changed because of the loss of money was staffing. Before the Internet, 50% of the
newspapers' budget, or the plan for spending money, was spent on paying people who worked for the newspaper.
With this huge drop in advertising dollars, newspapers were forced to reduce their staff by 25%. This resulted in
fewer stories on fewer topics. The newspaper just could not print as many stories with fewer journalists on staff.

Another effect the Internet had on newspapers was a change in the way people received the news. Before the
Internet, newspapers had teams of people who picked up the paper very, very early in the morning and then drove
to neighborhoods and left a newspaper on the door of every person who had paid for it.

Sometimes people sold newspapers on busy street corners or newsstands on bookstores. It cost a lot to distribute
or share the news this way. Once the internet became very popular, lots of people stopped reading paper copies of
the news, instead they went online. Internet publishers could post stories immediately. They did not have to wait
until the next day to print a story and readers preferred to have their news quickly too.

15
LANGUAGE FOCUS: PRESENT PERFECT FORM

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[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello, welcome to this Language Focus lesson on the Present Perfect. In the last few lessons, we have been
discussing how the internet has changed journalism. When we do this, we use a certain verb form called the
present perfect. In this lesson, we will first define the present perfect. Then, we will talk about the structures, and
one of the uses of present perfect verbs.
What is the present perfect?
First, let’s talk about what the present perfect is in general before moving on to structure and uses. You may have
seen this tense before. Here is an example. The internet has changed journalism.

Notice, we are not using the simple past: "the internet changed journalism". In the simple past, the changes that
the internet caused would have started and ended in the past. Instead, this sentence is in the present perfect
form.

The internet has changed journalism.

The internet started to change journalism in the past and the internet may continue to change journalism in the
future. Therefore, we need a verb form that shows this relationship, and that verb form is the present perfect.
Structure of the Present Perfect
To form the present perfect, we use helping verb have or has and the past participle of the main verb.

Present Perfect = have/has + past participle

Remember, we use “have” if the subject is “I”, “you”, “we”, or “they”, or any plural subject
like “journalists” or “newspapers”.

We use “has” for “she”, “he”, and “it”, or any specific singular subject like “the editor” or “Christiane Amanpour”.

Example 1: It has become important to be first when breaking a new story.

Here, we use “has” because of subject it and we use “become” which is the past participle of the verb “to
become”.

Example 2: Since the beginning of this course, you have seen many videos and have written several assignments.

Because the subject is “you”, we use helping verb “have” and past participle forms “seen” and “written”.

Remember, in many cases, the past participle and past tense forms are the same. If you can add -d or -ed and put
the verb in the past tense, then the past participle is the same form. But as we discussed in Module One, there are
as many as 400 irregular verbs.
Some of those irregular verbs, the simple past and past participle forms are the same. But for others they are
different, as it the verbs become seen and written.

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Using the present perfect

Now, let's talk about how to use present perfect verbs. There are many ways to use this tense and we will talk
about one of those uses now. We often use the present perfect to talk about actions that began in the past and
that could continue into the present and even the future. Let's look at some examples:
Example 1: Beyoncé

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Netowrk, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Beyoncé has written many songs and has won many awards over the course of her career.

You can see that we are using present perfect verbs here: has written and has won. We are using the present
perfect because Beyoncé is still creating music. Beyoncé Knowles was born in 1981 and started writing songs. She
wrote her first song as a child. She won her first Grammy Award in 2000. She is still writing songs and winning
awards. Beyoncé has written many songs and has won many awards.
Example 2: Mozart

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for the Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Mozart wrote many famous pieces of music.

Here we used the simple past, wrote, rather than the present perfect. Why do you think that is? Well, Mozart died
in 1791. There is no possibility that he will create anymore music. Therefore, we will put the verb write in the
simple past. Mozart wrote many famous pieces of music.

Summary
To show that the process started and ended in the past, we use the past simple. To show that the process started
in the past but that it is expected to continue into the future, we use the present perfect.

In the next lesson, we will discuss different challenges of digital journalism.

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QUIZ 22: PRESENT PERFECT FORM

Instructions: Choose the correct verb form.

This quiz is worth 10 points. You must get 70% correct to pass the quiz.

You can take the quiz as many times as you like. Your highest score will be saved.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

18
CHALLENGE ONE: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

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[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello. Earlier, we looked at the impact that digital media has had on traditional media. Now, we are going to look
at something called The Digital Divide, meaning the way that some people around the world can easily use
technology, such as cellphones and the internet, and others cannot.

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We will explain how this digital divide occurs and talk about why it is important to bridge the gap. Meaning, to
create a situation where everyone can use digital technology.

The digital divide can refer to differences within a country, between a city and out in the countryside, for example.
Or it can refer to the differences between developed and developing countries. Something that we call the global
digital divide.

Because so much information is sent digitally via the Internet, the people on the wrong side of the divide are
missing a lot of the news going on in the world.

Let's look at some of the reasons why the divide occurs: infrastructure, equipment, and literacy.

Digital Infrastructure
The biggest reason for the digital divide is infrastructure. This means the basic structures needed to run a society.

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In digital media terms, this means cables, wireless networks, and cellphone coverage. Because these can be
expensive to create, not everywhere is covered by this kind of infrastructure.
Digital Equipment
Another reason for the digital divide is equipment. Hardware like laptops, tablets, and cell phones are expensive.
Not everyone can afford it. Technology changes so quickly that older models can no longer be used.

Digital Literacy

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sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

A third reason is digital literacy. Literacy means you can communicate by reading and writing. Digital literacy
means you can communicate by using technology. This means knowing how to type on a keyboard, knowing how
to use a mouse or a touchscreen, and knowing how to use all the programs that allow people to communicate
digitally. If people cannot use technology, then having enough infrastructure and equipment will not help them.

So, why is it important for societies to try and bridge the digital divide or make it possible for more people in
society to use digital technology? There are two main reasons. Economic and social.

What can you do if you do not have digital technology? You can read a newspaper, watch TV, or listen to the radio.
However, you cannot participate in the ways we have talked about in earlier videos, writing a blog, sharing a post
or photo, etc. People who are able to use this digital technology have a better chance of avoiding poverty. And it is
better for the country too because digital technology does not use so many natural resources, like coal, or gas.

There are social advantages too. People who can use digital infrastructure can read the news about health,
careers, and entertainment more easily, as more and more information is put online. People can also access civic
services such as the police or an ambulance more easily if they are digitally connected and journalists can write
about them more easily.

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LANGUAGE FOCUS: DATA COMMENTARY

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[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello! In this lesson, we will look at data commentary. This means describing data from tables and
figures. Journalists use data commentary to help people understand the numbers and figures in an article.

Data commentary has three steps:

1. Help the audience find the data
2. Tell the audience what the data means,
3. Moderate the claim

Data commentary in journalism is important because tables and figures are often difficult to
understand. A figure uses pictures like a chart or a graph to show information while a table uses words and
numbers.

If a reader just looks at the table or figure, they might not understand the important information there.
Journalists use data commentary to help readers understand these tables and figures.

Step 1. Help the audience find the data

At the beginning of the data commentary, it is important to let the reader know which table or figure they're
looking at. We use the structure "Table + Number + Verb" or "Figure + Number+ Verb". The most common verb in
data commentary is “shows”. Other common verbs are “presents” and “illustrates”.

So, you can begin your data commentary by saying, "Table 1 shows," or "Figure 3 presents," or "figure 2
illustrates."

You can use any of these verbs with both figures and tables.

Step 2. Tell the reader what the data means

Right after you tell the reader where to find the data, you tell them what the data means. You want to tell the
reader something interesting about the data.

Use the structure that + subject + verb + object.

Let's look at an example of these two things.

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Here's some data in the form of a simple figure. We will call it “Figure 1”.

This work is derivative of "politician" by Nho) via The Noun Project under CC BY. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Some people were asked which politician they like best. A or B? As you can see, Politician A is more popular with
the people than Politician B. We begin our data commentary by telling the reader where the data is, “Figure 1
shows...." Then we tell them what it means, "…that people like politician A more than politician B."
“Figure 1 shows that people like politician A more than politician B.”

Step 3. Moderate your claim

The last part of data commentary is moderating a claim. Let's look at those two words. A “claim” is when you say
something is true. For example, "People like politician A more than politician B." We are saying that this is true.
Moderating a claim means you do not claim too much from the data. What you say should be reasonable. You
should not make a claim that is too strong. You should make a reasonable claim. At the moment, our claim is too
strong. Meaning that it is not totally true. Let's use figure 1 as an example and give you a little more data.

This work is derivative of “politician” by Nhor via The Noun Project under CC BY. This derivative is licensed under CC BY by FHI 360 for the Online Professional English
Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

As you can see, the “people” are young people from the city of Chicago. More of them preferred politician A to
politician B, but the difference is quite small, 53% to 47%. The claim we made earlier was this. “Figure 1 shows
that people like politician A more than politician B.” We need to moderate this claim because it is too strong.

Do we have data from all people? (No, just young people)

Do we have data from all cities? (No, only from Chicago)
Was there a big difference in preference for A over B? (No, only a little difference.)

So now our claim is this: “Figure 1 shows that young people in Chicago like Politician A a small bit more than
Politician B.” Now we have moderated our claim and it is an accurate commentary on the data.

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QUIZ 23: CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE DATA COMMENTARY
Instructions: Look at the data in Table 1 below and then choose the accurate data commentary for each of the
questions. The goal of this game is to choose the most appropriate language.

Three politicians are trying to become the Mayor of Newtown. The voters have been divided by age group. The
data show the percentage of voters in each age group who say they will vote for each candidate.

Voter Preference by Age Group:

Voters' Candidate Candidate Candidate Total

Ages Smith Brown Jones
18-25 45% 42% 13% 100%
26-49 40% 28% 32% 100%
50+ 15% 30% 55% 100%

This quiz is worth 10 points. You must get 70% correct to pass the quiz.

You can take the quiz as many times as you like. Your highest score will be saved.

>>>> Please note that this quiz can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

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CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license

[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello, back in Module 1, we mentioned the role of citizen journalism in today's digital media. In this lesson, we are
going to look more closely at the two main types of citizen journalists and talk about the ways that ordinary
citizens can get involved.

Citizen journalism refers to the way that ordinary members of the public, not professional journalists, collect and
distribute information via the Internet. By doing this, citizen journalists can give ordinary people a voice.
There are two main ways that the general public can become citizen journalists: by working on their own and
by working with news organizations. Let's look at these two types in more detail.

Citizen Journalism: Working on your own

"Citizen Journalism" by Nick Gulotta via Flickr is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The first type of citizen journalism is where citizen journalists work on their own, not affected by traditional media.
Citizen journalists are not adding to articles that already exist. They are creating something by themselves. There
are two main ways that people can do this: through social media or by creating a blog or website.

Many people have a social media account such as Facebook or Twitter. By publishing photographs and opinions
and sharing stories, the public can help to report what is going on in the world. During the Arab Spring in Egypt in
2011, protesters used social media to coordinate their demonstrations against the government.

When a person feels strongly about an issue, they might create their own blog or website, to share their opinions
with other people. This is an opportunity for someone to write more or to continue with the same topic over a
period of time. With a website, a citizen journalist can use different types of media to communicate their message.

Citizen Journalism: Working with Existing News Organizations

Some citizen journalists work with existing news organizations. There are three main ways to do this:
• Commenting on articles
• Crowdsourcing
• live blogging

Commenting on articles
Commenting on articles refers to the comment that readers make on an online news article. You can give your
opinion on the topic or comment on the article itself. Other readers can reply to your comment as well as the
original article.

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Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing means using a crowd, a lot of people to work on a project. In journalism, it means asking the
general public to provide additional information to complete a story. Journalists usually do this when a task is very
big and needs many people. For example, if a very long document, too long for one person to read is made public,
a newspaper might ask its readers to each read a part, to check the facts or look for details.

Live blogging
Live blogging occurs when something happening live such as a concert, a political meeting, a sports match or a
severe weather event like a snowstorm. If we take the example of a snowstorm, online newspapers will ask the
readers to send in stories of how the snow is affecting them, along with photographs of the snow. Readers might
also talk about travel delays or places being closed.

So, in this lesson, we looked at the role of citizen journalists in the digital media. We saw that there are two types
of citizen journalism. Working on your own, using social media, blogs, and websites. And working with news
organizations, by commenting on articles, crowdsourcing, and live blogging.

Next, we will look at ethics in the digital age.

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CHALLENGE TWO: ETHICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license

[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

Hello, in the previous lesson you looked at how members of the public can become citizen journalists. In this
lesson we will look at ethics in the digital age. We will think about the rights and responsibilities of citizen
journalists and talk about the advantages and disadvantages of having more voices in the media.
The Rights of Journalists

The First Amendment by Brent Payne via Flickr, under CC BY 2.0.

You may remember that back in Module One, we looked at the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

This says that journalists are free to report the truth without the government trying to control what they write.
This amendment also protects citizen journalists in the US when they write the truth. They just have to make sure
that they are writing the truth.
The Responsibilities of Citizen Journalists
Citizen journalists also have responsibilities. They should think about some of the same principles of journalism as
professional journalists when they write. When they write an article or post on a blog, they should think about
originality (not copying someone else's work) and fairness. They should also be concerned about impacting
people. They should consider humanity, respect for others and empowerment, giving power to those who do not
have it.

Having more voices in the media means the democratization of journalism. Democratization means ordinary
people have more power. In journalism, it means that more people have an opportunity to tell the world what
they think.

This is certainly true in the digital age. People can use blogs and social media to share their ideas with the world
much more easily than before the internet existed. However, this has both advantages and disadvantages,
meaning both good things and bad things.

The advantages of the democratization of journalism

The main advantage is we can see more events happen in more places. Because of technology like smartphones,
anyone can record what they see and broadcast it to the world. This means that when people see powerful people
causing problems. At a rally or a demonstration for example, they are in a good position to record and share it.

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A lot of the video and images that professional journalists use are filmed by citizen journalists, who are at the
scene. Citizen journalists can help professional journalists in this way. Another advantage is that citizen journalists
do not have to worry about how many readers or viewers they get.

Global professional news organizations have to think about the size of their audience, how many clicks each article
or video gets. A citizen journalist can cover any story, even those that might not be very popular. In this way stories
that normally do not get any attention will be told.

The disadvantages of the democratization of journalism

The disadvantage of democratization of the news media is that nobody's checking what is written. Citizen
journalists have to check themselves. And this is not always successful. Their articles can be badly written, much
too long, or simply not true sometimes. A good example happened in 2008 when a citizen journalist reported that
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple suffered a heart attack. Apple stock fell 10% in 10 minutes, until people realized
that the report was false.

A report from a professional journalist would have been edited and checked before it was published, avoiding this
problem. So, in this video we looked at ethics in the digital age. We talked about the rights and responsibilities of
citizen journalists and about the advantages and disadvantages of having a democratized media.

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CHALLENGE THREE: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND
CENSORSHIP

Untitled Image by 200 degrees via Pixabay is licensed under Pixabay license

[Video available online for viewing. Script below.]

In the previous lessons, you learned about the digital divide and citizen journalism. In this lesson, we will start by
defining both intellectual property and censorship. Then we will talk about how these two aspects of journalism
have changed with the digital revolution.

Intellectual Property

This work is derivative of "copyright)" by Stefan Parnarov via The Noun Project licensed under CC BY 4.0 and untitled image by Mohamed Hassan) via Pixabay
under Pixabay license. This derivative is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by FHI 360 for Online Professional English Network (OPEN), sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State.

First, let's talk about intellectual property. Intellectual property means making it illegal to copy the work of a
writer, musician, or other creator.

In the United States, there are many laws in place to protect people and their ideas. For example, when a musician
writes and records a song, they copyright that song, meaning they get a government document that says they
wrote and recorded that song and that no one else can create a song that sounds the same.

The same goes for journalists. When a journalist writes an article, no one else can copy that article without using
the journalist's name.

As digital journalism becomes more popular, journalists face new challenges. For example, it has become easier
and easier to simply copy and paste information from one site to the next. When a journalist copies entire
sentences or paragraphs from another article and puts it in their article, it is called plagiarism.

We talked a little bit about plagiarism in Module One. It relates to the principle of originality. Journalists must write
their own stories and not copy and paste anything from other journalists. Not only is this against the law, but
readers might lose trust in that journalist or news organization. Why read the copied work when you can read the
original?

Another challenge with the Internet and intellectual property is that images are so easily shared on social
media. Sometimes a citizen posts a picture of an event on their Facebook page or Twitter. That image can be easily
copied and pasted into newspapers and shown on a news program. The question is, who owns that
picture? Should the news organization tell people who took that picture? Should news organizations ask the

28
person before taking that image from their social media site? These issues of intellectual property will continue to
challenge news organizations as they work online more and more.

The second challenge we will discuss in this video is censorship. We talked about censorship in Module One, when
we were learning about the history of journalism. Censorship is how governments control the media. Censorship
works against freedom of the press.

Censorship and digital journalism is an ever-changing challenge. For example, there are countries that often
control what citizens can see on the Internet. If the government does not like what people are reading or
watching, they might block people from being able to see it.
A recent example of this was in 2011, in the Middle East. Activists used social media to talk about their anger
towards the government and to organize their protests. Journalists used what they saw on social media as a source
when researching their stories. Some countries completely shut the Internet down in order to stop this type of
political organization. This is a form of censorship.

To summarize, as journalists start to use these new digital tools, they have new challenges to face. The question of
intellectual property asks, who owns information on the Internet? The question of censorship asks, who controls
what we see on the Internet? These questions are very important as we move away from traditional media sources
like newspapers and television news.

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MODULE FIVE CHECK
Please answer one question to verify that you have completed all activities in Module Five.

You must choose "Yes" in order to move on in the course.

This quiz will count as 1 point toward your grade.

>>>> Please note that this activity can only be completed in Canvas. <<<<

>>>> This is the end of Module 5 <<<<

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