Citizen Watchdogs and the News

In the lesson The Importance of a Free Press, students explored the role and importance of a free press in a democracy. With the dominance of the Internet and ubiquity of mobile media, citizens today also play an increasingly important role in creating and sharing information, often directly with the public.

• Define and discuss the term “citizen watchdog.” Is everyone who shares information on social media a citizen watchdog? Why or why not?
• Have students view the video “Combating Confirmation Bias.”  As they watch, ask students to make note of strategies that can help combat confirmation bias. (You may choose to distribute the transcript for reference.)
• After viewing, use the Wraparound strategy to capture all the tactics for combating bias shared in the video or encountered in earlier lessons. Have each student contribute one concrete action they can take—or one thing they can stop doing, one thing they can start doing, and one thing they can continue doing—to combat confirmation bias in themselves or others.

The final video features journalists and experts discussing the ways that social media and the Internet are changing the relationship between people, the press, and the news.

• View “Citizen Watchdogs and the Future of News.” Ask students to make note of what the speakers say about the impact of citizen watchdogs, what they are (and aren’t) able to accomplish, and the relationship between citizen watchdogs and the press. (You may choose to distribute the transcript for reference.)
• Debrief the video. What role did social media and citizen watchdogs play in the information aftermath of Michael Brown’s death and the unrest in Ferguson? What did they accomplish?
• In small groups, have students create a job description for a citizen watchdog, including at least five tools, resources, strategies, and/or skills that ideal “job candidates” will possess or be able to use. Give each group a few minutes to share their job descriptions and to answer questions.
• Provide time for students to reflect in their journals on what they have learned. How has social media helped to awaken the public to important events and issues over the past few years? How does this make you think about your own social media use and your role as both a consumer of information and a communicator?

To wrap up this unit, return to its central question: What is the role of journalism in a democratic society?

• First, revisit the question as a class. Given everything students have learned over the course of this unit, how would they respond?
• Then, as an in-class exercise or homework assignment, have students write an essay based on one of the following prompts:
  • What do you think are your responsibilities as a consumer, sharer, and creator of news and information? What changes will you make after what you have learned in this unit, and why? What challenges do you expect to face, and what steps will you take to address those challenges?
  • If you were to play a citizen watchdog role, what issues would you seek to spotlight in your community, local area, or country? How would you go about documenting, verifying, and sharing relevant information about these issues in order to create positive change? What actions would you try to take, and what outcomes would you hope to generate?