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Watching the News

Whether on TV or on a video-sharing site, you can tune in to the news to find out what is happening in your city or beyond. In either case, you need to watch and listen carefully and then judge whether a news story is complete, correct, and balanced.

Watch for Completeness

A good news story is complete. It answers the 5 W's (who? what? where? when? and why?). Here is the beginning of a news story. Notice how all 5 W’s are answered in the first sentences.

When viewing a news story, always listen carefully for its context. The story above went on to describe how the image shows a section of sky equal to a grain of sand held out at arm’s length. The “empty” spot turned out to be swarming with thousands of galaxies. This new image is an update and improvement on the original Hubble Deep Field image from 1995. Understanding the context helps you appreciate the importance of the story.