News delivery

At this very moment there are all sorts of things going on in the world. How do you keep track of the news? What is your main source? Is it social media? Newspapers or online news networks? TV news? The following images provide us with examples of how the news and news delivery changed and developed over time.

Purpose of a news article

What do you notice about the way in which the delivery of the news has changed over time?

Consider the purpose of a news article. Is it to persuade, entertain or inform?

Record your thoughts using a method of your choice.

Newspapers

For many people, newspapers are still their preferred way to consume journalism. Newspapers can be like a “one-stop shop” because they have lots of different stories. Most large newspapers include world news, national news, and local news. Newspapers are organized in several sections including sports, leisure, fashion, travel, and arts. They also usually contain things like advertisements, comics, puzzles, and many other things.

If you were an editor, what sections would you include?

Next up, we are going to explore examples of news articles. Many articles are organized according to a specific structure. This means that there is an order in which information is introduced in the story. Parts of a newspaper story include the date, a headline, a photo, the photo caption, the author of the article, and the text.

Task 1

Explore the Fred Saskamoose article, “Sasakamoose Remembered As Pioneer Who Paved The Way For Indigenous Hockey Players.” Try to identify the elements you just learned about. Is every element in this article?

All of the elements that were discussed are present in the article. The headline, or title, of the article is: “Sasakamoose remembered as pioneer who paved the way for Indigenous hockey players.” The date the article was published is November 25, 2020. There are photos displayed throughout the article. For example, the first photograph shows Indigenous hockey players being honoured at a hockey game. The caption underneath the photo is: “Former Chicago Blackhawk and Indigenous pro hockey pioneer Fred Saskamoose (centre), seen here being honoured at an Edmonton Oilers game in 2017, died on Tuesday.” The text makes up the rest of the article.

The text includes all of the important facts that we need to understand the event:

• Who: Fred Sasakamoose
• What: passed away from Covid-19
• Where: at a hospital
• When: Tuesday November, 24, 2020
• Why: this event is significant because Fred Sasakamoose was one of the first Indigenous athletes to play in the National Hockey League, which provided Indigenous people in Canada with hope and inspiration

Task 2

You will now try to find these key elements in a news article of your choice. Choose any article that piques your interest and find all of these elements: headline, date, author, photo(s), photo caption(s), and text. Record your ideas in an audio recording or fill out the information in the chart below. Find another article and complete the same type of “scavenger hunt.”

Complete the In the News Scavenger Hunt in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document.

News Article

You are now going to create your own news article. Select an event that involves or involved your local community or city. Then, select your medium. What form will your news article take? You may write, type, or create a video or audio recording. Use the Five W’s to guide your writing or your script. Be sure that your news article includes a headline, the date, author’s name, and that any visual components are accompanied by a caption.

Reflection

As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.