Learning
to Write News Analysis
Author(s)
Clayton DeKorne,
The New York Times Learning Network
Tanya Yasmin
Chin, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City
Grades: 6-8,
9-12
�Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students explore
the difference between hard news and news analysis. They begin by outlining a
complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election. They then
endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local sources and
drawing their own conclusions.
�
Suggested
Time Allowance: 1
hour
Objectives:
Students will:
1. Explore the difference between hard news and news analysis.
2. Examine an example of news analysis by reading and discussing the beginning
of the article "Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month Challenge: Beat the
Incumbent."
3. In groups, closely read and outline the argument
made by the reporter in the article "Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month
Challenge: Beat the Incumbent"; discuss the inferences, sources, and
degree of balance the reporter brought to the article.
4. Write their own news analysis about the 2004 presidential election drawing
on local sources and their own inferences.
Resources
/ Materials:
--student journals
--pens/pencils
--paper
--classroom blackboard
--copies of "Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month Challenge: Beat the
Incumbent" (one per student)
Activities
/ Procedures:
1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Prior to class, print out and read The New York Times
article, Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month Challenge: Beat the Incumbent" (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20040304thursday.html). Number the paragraphs 1 through
22 for use later in this lesson. Upon arriving in class, students respond to
the following prompt (written on the board prior to class): "What is a
'news analysis'? How does a news analysis differ from 'hard news'? Think of a
common news topic, and give an example of some of the observations you would
make as a news reporter covering this topic as hard news? What would you do
differently if you were writing a news analysis on the same topic? Do all
topics lend themselves to news analysis? Why or why not?"
After a few minutes, allow
students to share their responses. On the board, create two lists -- one for
"hard news" and one for "news analysis" and record some of
the observations students suggest. Generally, hard news covers the "who
did what and when" of an event or issue, while news analysis goes into a
deeper investigation of why an event occurred, and includes interpretation and
inferences from the reporter in an effort to get to the heart of the issues at
hand. News analysis is considered one of the more difficult types of reporting.
[For background, teachers may wish to peruse the three layers of information
described in "Digging Up the Facts" in The
Learning Network's feature "Campus Weblines"
(http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/weblines/441.html).]
2. Explain to the class
that they will be reading a news analysis about the current state of the 2004
Presidential Election. As a class, read and discuss the first four paragraphs
of The New York Times article "Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month Challenge:
Beat the Incumbent," focusing on the following questions to make sure
students understand the essential details of the race between Senator John
Kerry and incumbent president George Bush:
a. Who seems to have won the Democratic nomination, according to the article?
b. Why does the author refer to him as "his party's all-but-official
nominee"?
c. What's the main challenge facing Senator Kerry now?
d. How does President Bush stand against Mr. Kerry, according to recent polls
at the time of this writing?
e. What does Mr. Bush intend to do in the next few weeks, according to the
article?
f. According to the author, how well equipped is Mr.
Kerry to meet Mr. Bush's challenge?
3. Divide students in five
groups. Explain to students that each group will be closely reading select
paragraphs from the remainder of The New York Times article, and outlining the
main points the author is making.
Group 1: paragraphs 5-7 (beginning "'It's not rocket science ...")
Group 2: paragraphs 8-11 (beginning "By contrast, Mr. Bush ...")
Group 3: paragraphs 12-15 (beginning "Earlier, Mr. Kerry ...")
Group 4: paragraphs 16-19 (beginning "Today and tomorrow, Mr.
Bush...")
Group 5: paragraphs 20-22 (beginning "For all Mr. Kerry's early
success...")
Each group will be creating
an outline of the rhetorical structure used by the reporter, using the
following guidelines (written on the board or copied in an
handout for easier student access):
--List the points that the author is making with each sentence (or groups of
sentences) in each paragraph. Record these points for each paragraph; for
example: Paragraph 5: Point 1., Point 2., Point 3., etc.
--Identify each point that author makes as a fact, a quotation, or an inference
(a conclusion derived by the author from a fact, quote, or premise stated
earlier or later in the article).
--For each fact or quotation, identify the source attributed by the reporter.
--Identify whether each paragraph pertains to Senator Kerry, President Bush, or
both Kerry and Bush; label each paragraph accordingly with "K,"
"B" or "K/B."
Allow students about 15
minutes to outline the paragraphs they have been assigned, then
reconvene as a class. Allow students to record their outlines on the board,
listing the paragraphs and points in order from 5 to 22. Then, discuss the
following questions: What is the purpose of this article? How often does the
author report a fact? How many sources does the author use? What are some of
the inferences the author makes? Do you think he always substantiates the
conclusions he draws? Why or why not? Based on the breakdown of "K"
and "B," would you say the reporter wrote a balanced story? What,
besides simply focusing on one candidate or another, determines balance in news
reporting?
4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK:
Individually, students respond in writing to the following prompt (written on
the board for students to copy before leaving class): "Write your own
analysis (500 to 1,000 words) of the "The 2004 Presidential Election: A
Local Perspective.' Rely on your own sources, quoting members of your local
community (both inside and outside school). You may choose to rewrite The New
York Times article, using the structural outline created in class, or a similar
rhetorical structure. Make an effort to write a balanced report, and draw your
own conclusions about the facts and statements you gather from others." In
a future class, students may share their analyses.
Further
Questions for Discussion:
--What advantages and disadvantages does incumbency lend a presidential
candidate?
--In your opinion, what do you think are the "deciding issues" that
candidates should focus on to win the upcoming presidential election?
--Who do you think will ultimately win this presidential election?
--What is the difference between the electoral college
system and the popular vote? What is more important in a presidential election?
--What are some ways that students can encourage parents and other adults to
vote?
Evaluation
/ Assessment:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal writing, thoughtful
participation in class discussions, careful breakdown of an example of news
analysis, and thoughtful completion of their own news analysis of the 2004
presidential election using original sources and conclusions.
Vocabulary:
rival, nominee, electability, inevitability,
incumbency, illusions, fray, rankle, infighter, aftermath, wrangling,
unshrinking, interspersed, delegate, agenda, electorate, vulnerability,
scrutiny
Extension
Activities:
1. Compare the article "Wins Leave Kerry With 8-Month Challenge: Beat the
Incumbent" to a hard news article on the same topic: "Massachusetts
Senator Effectively Captures Democratic Nomination" (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/pop/articles/03ELEC.html). Closely read both articles, and
write a brief description of how the hard news article differs from the news
analysis. On what contest does the hard news piece focus? How does this article
address the upcoming presidential election? Why would it be difficult for the reporter
of the new story to focus on the upcoming election more than the contest in the
past?
2. How does commentary
differ from analysis? Read the "Guidelines for Writing Op-Eds" presented by
3. Investigate the parts of
a newspaper, referring to the worksheet from the British Film Institute's
Teacher Resources (http://www.bfi.org.uk/education/resources/teaching/secondary/schemesofwork/download/newspaper_wksheets_parts_of_a_newspaper.pdf). Using a copy of The New York
Times, clip examples of each item listed on the worksheet, creating an
"Anatomy of a Newspaper" presentation for your classroom or school
library.
4. Read "The Committed
Observer" (http://www.journalism.org/resources/tools/reporting/independence/observer.asp?from=print), then
write a reaction. Do you think news journalists can be fair observers of
political contests? Why or why not? What is the difference between a
"committed observer" and an "objective observer"? Is it
possible to remain impartial and demonstrate a commitment to the job of reporting
or is a certain level of bias unavoidable? Explain.
In just six weeks, John
Kerry has made short work of every dogged Democratic rival, rebounding from
political near-death to vibrant life as his party's all-but-official nominee.
But as Ronald Reagan delighted in reminding the Democrats 20 years ago when he
became the last Republican president elected to a second term: "You ain't seen nothin'
yet."
Propelled by the twin tides
of electability and inevitability since his upset
victory in the
But the real test is just
beginning.
Tomorrow, the Bush campaign
will begin spending the first of its tens of millions of dollars on campaign
advertising aimed at shaping the race: first celebrating Mr. Bush, then
reintroducing Mr. Kerry, the
"It's not rocket
science," said John Weaver, who learned what it was like to run against
Mr. Bush as the political director for Senator John McCain's presidential
campaign four years ago. "There'll now be a `definition race' and the
Bush-Cheney forces will try to define Kerry as quickly and negatively as
possible in the coming months, and his challenge is to not only fight that off,
at least to a draw, but at the same time in doing so, define himself."
In war and politics, Mr.
Kerry has proved himself in past battles and he professed to be ready for the
fray. "Before us lie long months of effort and of challenge and we
understand that," he said in victory last night. "We have no
illusions about the Republican attack machine and what our opponents have done
in the past and what they may try to do in the future. But I know that together
we are equal to this task. I am a fighter."
Still, Mr. Kerry's last
opponent, Senator John Edwards of
By contrast, Mr. Bush has
shown himself to be a sharp, disciplined, resourceful political infighter when
his back is against the wall. "No more Mr. Nice Guy" may now be the
phrase of the day.
Already, the Kerry and Bush
camps are exchanging daily dueling e-mail messages. Yesterday, the Bush
campaign's morning "Kerry Line" celebrated the first anniversary of
the Department of Homeland Security by attacking Mr. Kerry for joining Senate
Democrats in initially resisting Mr. Bush's efforts to alter Civil Service
rules in the proposed department. The Kerry campaign countered with a statement
from former Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, who was defeated for re-election in
the bitter aftermath of wrangling over the issue, saying: "George Bush is
all hat and no cattle on the issue of homeland security."
Last night, Mr. Kerry
attacked Mr. Bush as "the great divider" for proposing to amend the
Constitution to ban gay marriage.
"We say that he has no
right to misuse the most precious document in our history in an effort to
divide this nation and distract us from our goals," Mr. Kerry said in his
most pointed language on the subject by far. "We resoundingly reject the
politics of fear and distortion."
Earlier, Mr. Kerry left the
campaign trail and returned to the Senate to cast an unshrinking vote in favor
of extending a 10-year ban on assault weapons that expires this year, and to
accuse Mr. Bush of "walking away" from his 2000 campaign pledge to
support its extension.
He may be from
With his main rivals now
finished, Mr. Kerry can devote himself to raising the money he badly needs to
compete with Mr. Bush. Because he chose, like Mr. Bush, not to accept matching
federal campaign money, he will not be bound by spending or contribution
limits. Independent advocacy groups and the Democratic Party are also prepared
to spend millions of dollars against Mr. Bush.
For now, the Democrats' spirited
primary contest and Mr. Kerry's almost weekly victories have put the
Republicans on the defensive. Vice President Dick Cheney, who has emerged in
some recent polls as a potential drag on his party's ticket and who rarely
gives interviews, appeared yesterday on all three cable news networks, his
comments interspersed with coverage of Mr. Kerry's big day.
Today and tomorrow, Mr.
Bush will be in
But Mr. Kerry can no longer
count on the automatic platform provided by contested primaries to keep his
name in the headlines. Mr. Bush now has a single, big target in Mr. Kerry and
can focus on him in the long months leading to the Democratic convention in
"I don't think the
frame has been set for this election at all," said Don Sipple,
a veteran Republican consultant who worked for Bob Dole in his 1996
presidential campaign. "A natural agenda is in the minds of the
electorate, and I think the first one who kind of connects with that will
benefit from it.
"The economy is going
to be an issue, and so is the war," Mr. Sipple
continued. "The picture's murky on both peace and
prosperity, which suggests you're going into a very tight contest with a lot of
twists and turns. I think the administration will have a period of a good three
weeks or so and the data will show it, and then the Democrats will, and it'll
all be within the margin."
For all Mr. Kerry's early
success, his biggest vulnerability may be that so few voters really know him.
In his two decades in the Senate, his reserved personality has not always worn
well with colleagues and party leaders. He now faces scrutiny,
second-guessing and investigations that might make the primaries look like a
picnic.
Three days before the 10
Democratic contests of Super Tuesday, a national poll by the National Annenberg
Election Survey at the
Starting now, Mr. Kerry
must help fill in the blanks. Mr. Bush will be only too ready to do so.