October 7th, 2008 by Learning Systems

Will blogging applications replace the traditional newspaper column? Some argue that blogs are the democratization of world news learning content. More newspapers are hiring bloggers in an effort to diversify the perspectives expressed in their columns. But some people claim that blogs are too casual, written by ad hoc reporters who don’t need to adhere to the same ethical standards that paid reporters do. Blogs may contain misinformation and misguiding learning content. 

On the other hand, the sheer variety of opinions and insight blogs provide makes them an interesting source of learning content that many people have come to trust. And given the fact that “objective” news sources are elusive, many people would just as soon hear from a collection of openly opinionated voices, rather than one biased–albeit professional–voice.

October 6th, 2008 by Learning Systems

The difficulty in finding objective news coverage, and the suspicion that truly bias-free learning content about current events doesn’t exist, has an alienating effect on the public. One trend, however, that reaches out to readers and invites feedback and discussion is the launching of blogs on online newspapers. When done right, blogs are written with the same journalistic integrity as traditional new items, rather than engaging in casual chatter of little substance. Blogs interactively provide and create current event learning content.

Blogs serve as a space for community conversation, like a town hall large enough to accommodate an unlimited number of people. Despite some criticisms blogging faces, including a tendency to hire rookie journalists for blog-writing, they are an emerging trend in delivering news learning content to the world. 

October 6th, 2008 by Learning Systems

Have you ever seen a remarkably unflattering picture of a politician or other figure in a paper? Did you wonder whether or not this was the best one shot for the news item? Newspapers and TV programs tend to choose photos and captions for news items to suit their own views about a topic. Visual information heavily affects readers’ and viewers’ ability to take in objective learning content about current events. 

Another way in which the media inserts its own bias into its learning content is through statistics and crowd counts, which are both very slippery kinds of numbers. One way in which you can help filter quality learning content in papers is to consider where the information comes from. Is it supplied by an official, an eyewitness, or a reporter? Each might have a certain bias of his or her own.

October 6th, 2008 by Learning Systems

News companies and individual journalists have enormous power over public learning content about world events. This power is wielded in all imaginable ways, ranging from very liberal to very conservative, as well as other spectrums of interests and views. One way in which certain perspectives make their way into news learning content is the placement of news items within a program or newspaper. The most significant stories, of course, appear on the first page. But individual papers decide which stories are more important than others. 

Another way is the phrasing of headlines. For those without much time to digest all the news each day, these titles play an important role in their processing of world event learning content. Many people skim the headlines rather than read each article, and impressions are built upon those quick look-overs. The tone and word choice of the headlines carry a profound impact.