Evaluation Task
Instruct students to access the assignment sheet Bias and Crime in Media. Have students find at least ten news stories relating to crime from print, broadcast and online sources.
They can use the following sources:
Students will analyze and sort them under the following categories:
- No identification of the suspect or perpetrator’s diverse identity
- Relevant diversity identification
- Unnecessary diversity identification
Where identification occurs, they will also take note of:
- Tools and techniques used in reporting the story
- The tone and perspective of the story
- The overall effect on the reader
Students will complete a short paper that explores the issues associated with diversity identification in stories about crime. Included in this paper will be what was learned from the month of monitoring stories relating to crime and a list of ethical guidelines for journalists when it comes to identifying diverse identities in a news story.
You can assess’ the students papers with the Assessment Rubric.