Description

The amount of information out there sometimes seems limitless.  But this limitless sea of opinion, facts, surveys, interviews, and on scene reports are useless if we don’t know how to navigate our way around.  Mass media certainly has it’s benefits, for instance undermining official propaganda and providing a wider variety of perspectives.  But it also has it’s downsides, like bloggers reporting on speculations as if they’re facts in order to ‘get the scoop’ or simply a lack of time to sift out the garbage.  This video has some great tips for how to manage these and other issues.

Discussion Questions

• What are some of the pros and cons of the diversification of mass media?
• In what ways can we try get a better perspective on important events as they are happening?
• How can we become better informed about recent scientific advancements in the news?
• How might we go about getting a balanced view on a particular contentious social debate?

Keywords: news, media, politics, information, education, bias, brainwashing, critical thinking, skepticism, propaganda, society