DOCUMENT RESUME ED 127 955 IR 003 920 AUTHOR Schmitz, William J. TITLE Teaching a Mass Media Survey Course (Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television and Movies) in Secondary Schools with Emphasis on Critical Thinking. PUB DATE May 76 NOTE 295p.; Ph.D. Thesis, Walden University EDRS PRICE MF-$0.63 HC-$15.39 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Course Descriptions; *Critical Thinking; Films; Literature Reviews; *Mass Media; Newspapers; Periodicals;\Radio; Secondary Education; Television ABSTRACT This thesis provides a format for the use of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and movies in the secondary school classroom. It attempts to inform teachers of what materials are most appropriate to the interests and informational needs ofhigh school students, and it attempts to provide a method to teach students how to systematically question and criticize the content of the media. Included are:(1) am overview; (2) a review of the literature and the research relevant to the topic; and (3)an outline of a course in media and critical thinking.(EMH) 0 Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality *- * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can'be made from the original. *********************************************************************** US OEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EOUCATION & WELFARE __NATIONAL.INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION 7.-415DOCUMENT HAS BEEN QEPBO- DuCED EXACTLY AS RECErVED CPOM THE PEPSON OR ORGANiZATiON OBICN- ATNC, :1 POINTS OT vIEW.OR OPiNIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARR.Y PEPWE SENT OFF ICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUEA ,ON POSITION OP POLICY Lf1 TEACHING A MASS MEDIA SURVEY COURSE rNi (Newspaoers, Magazines, Radio,. Television and Movies) f=3 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS WITH EMPHASIS La ON CRITICAL THINKING By W4lliam J. Schmitz , B.S., Regis College, 1958 (--- Robert N: Hubbe 1 Advisor Co6fdinator, Jackson-Grand Community Counseling Center A Project Submitted in Partial Fu1fi1lns oL The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 0 WALDEN UNIVERSITY MAY 1976 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART I 'Chapter I. TEACHER ORIENTATION 7 Rational 9 Statement of the Drobl,mm 9 The Theory: P = I0p2 11 The Practical Value of this Material. -Definition. of Terms A,Word of Encouragement . .. .' li Student Survey 18 Final:Examination "Essay" Questions . 19 - ,, .;,...., REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 20 Rephrasing the Question 20 Instinct of Government 27 News from Nowhere 33 III. RESEARCH TECHNIQUES AND CLASSROOM TEACHER'S STRATEGY FOR THIS COURSE 42 Summary: ,What Other Teachers Have Done. 42 Explanation and Test Results from the Watson-Glaser Critical Th4nking Pre- and Posttest 43 Strategy Considerations 47 Cost of this Course . 56 Use of the Bulletin Board 57 PART II IV. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN OF THE COURSE: TEACHING A MASS MEDIA SURVEY COURSE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS WITH EMPHASIS ON CRITICAL THINKING. 61 Course Out;.ine and Use of This Material. 62 The Teacher's Role 63 Pretesting 67 The Role of Mass Media 69 Four Theories of the Press. 73 Freedom of the Press 75 - Chapter Some Common Fallacies in Accurate Percep- tion of the Media 76 Deductive-Inductive Reasoning 85 Unit 1: NEWSPAPERS 93 Do Teachers Read Newspapers 93 Where to Begin . 103 Wire Services 108 Unit 2: MAGAZINES 124 Magazine, 'PY-e-appraisal, Discussion Questions 134 Checking the "Internal Criteria of Reliability" 138 Unit 3: RADIO 339 Something for Everyone 142 Musin 154 Unit.4: TELEVISION 163 Conducting Your Own Television Survey 165 Unit 5: MOVIES 184 Review Before Posttesting 189 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 193 Summary 193 Conclusions 195 Et Cetera 198 APPENDICES 1.99 A. LETTER TO EACH STATE SUPERINTENDENT AND EXCERPTS FROM THEIR REPLIES 200 B. LETTER AND QUESTIONNAIRE TO TEACHERS WHO ARE TEACHING A SPECIFIC COURSE ON MASS MEDIA 205 C. NAMES AND SCHOOL ADDRESSES OF THE FIVE 2EACHERS IN THE DENVER METROPOLITAN AREA WHO USED 'I:11S MATERIAL IN THEIR OWN CLASSES 210 D. LETTER AND QUESTIONNAIRE TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WERE ,TAUGHT THIS COURSE 212 E. TEACHING TOOL: "THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS . WEEK 217 F. TEACHER REFERENCE: FOUR THEORIES OF THE PRESS . 219 G. TEACHING TOOL: PREFACE TO THE PURSUIT OF LONELI- NESS BY PHILIP E. SLATER 222 H. TEACHER SURVEY CONCERNING STUDENT REACTION TO USING THE DENVER POST IN CLASS 224 I. TEACHING TOOL: NEWSPAPER READING INVENTORY. 227 iv 4 Appendix J. OBJECTIVES OF NEWSPAPER PROGRAMS REVEALED BY THE ANPA FOUNDATION NEWSPAPEP TEST 229 K. SUMMARY EVALUATION OF THE FIRST COURSE BY NEWSPAPERS 235 L. "AMERICAN PIE SLICE BY SLICE" 240 M. FCC STATION LICENSE RENEWAL DATES AND WHERE TO WRITEREQU'EtSTINGINFORMATIONCONCERNING A SPECIFIC NETWORK 247 N. SUGGESTED "ESSAY" QUESTIONS 251 0. "PROFESSIONAL INVENTORY," BUREAU OF RESFARCH, UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO, GREELEY, COLORADO 253 TRANSPARENCT7S 257 3I3LIOGRA2Hv 0 263 LIST. OF T43LES 1. "Which of the Media 34 2. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test Results 48 3. Reading Inventory of Teachers 95 4. Parts of Newspaper Most Frequently Read by Students . 97 5. Magazine Growth 131 6. Radio's Reach by Time Periods 145 7. Where People Get Their News .148 8.,Excerpts from Professional Inventory 197 6 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Basic communication process. ..... 38 2. Johnson's Communication process 39 3. Areas of similarities as well as differencet . 58 4. Combined illustration of the communication process 59 5. Inverted pyramid style of writing 64 6. Suggested "homework assignment"' 92 7. Newspaper and magazine Area of similarity 130 8. Magazine "in-depth".reporting 130 .9. 'Symbols to draw 165 10. Television viewing assignment sheet' 167 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS One's indebtedness to others begins early in life. Public recognition is gratefully extended to those whose interest and counsel are reflected in this writing. The list begins with my parents who were disappointed when I dropped out of high school but managed to keep faith and trust in what I was doing. ,Next, I am grateful to the many high school students who accepted me as their teacher for the many years that I was able to teach them. I am also .grateful to the five teachers mentioned in this writing who were willing .t.0 use this material in their classes and offer constructive criticism. I am certainly grateful to Dr. Bob Hubbell for his concern that I finish this writing. However, I am more in- debted to him for his insistence that I must first know the rules before properly taking exception to them. When the original draft was typed by Mary Ann Oliver, Liz Arraj, copywriter for the Denver Post, provided the edi- torial assistance which is, as all readers know, vital. Final typing of the manuscript was completed by Eloise Pearson. Most especially, this work is dedicated to my. wife Pat and our five children: Nancy, Bud, Barbie, Sally, and Tommy. viii 8 7- THE FIRST AMENDMENT ". presupposes that right conclusions are more likely to bega- thered out of a multitude of tongues, than through any kind of authoritative selection. To many this is, and always will be, folly; but we have staked upon it our all." -- Judge Learned Hand, American Jurist INTRODUCTION This is a descriptive,study foryoung people ages 16-19, all of whom have one thing in commOn. They are the post-Korean-war children, born shortly before the assassin- ation of President John F. Kennedy. Within another decade they will be .in the agegroup from 26 years to 29 years, and they will be at the stage of traditionallygreatest consumption, raising families, buyinghouses (or condomin- iums) and amassing some of the material,espects of well- being that are part of life in this countryas we know it today. This is a descriptive study for teachers who have these young meople now and, since the birthrate isde- 1 clining, no such rich harvest from a new crop of children will be coming along in thenear future. 14 another decade, this presentgroup of young people will be coming into control ofour social institu- tions and, as it has been stated inmany different ways, many of them are not entirely satisfied with the traditIonal American goals of material consumption,nor are they ready to accept goals which may tend to destroyspiritual values 1 Richard A. Falk, ThirAllgesedna_41It(New York: Vintage Books, 1972), pp. 14E,-159. 1 10 2 as well as the environment. The prevailing nostalgia is an indicator that they may notconsume as previous generations have, because they better understand the meaning of "buynow and pay later."' This is a descriptive study for teachers who have young people in their classrooms now who havenever known a world without television. They grew up with television and, as many educators know, they have become psychologically attuned to the picture tube and have developeda special kind of emotional involvement with televisionas their means of receiving communications. This author asserts that.the.print media withits sequential presentation of messages--letter-by-letter, represents a linear process that may become alien to this .next generation, unless both the print and:electric mediums are used as a catalyst for increasing sensitivi to the meaning of words and how these words helppeople establish their value systems. Educators may ask, "Can the study ofmass media be an effective tool in helping young people work toward estab- lishing their own values?"And the answermay very well be "Yes." Because, what does the media talk about? People! And what better way is there to examine one'sown thoughts than to compare theM with the thoughts and aspirationsof others? Using a newspaper first, then magazines followed by , radio, television and movies, the student has--rightin front of him--a gamut of events involvinga variety of 11 thoughts and values.