One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by photojournalist David Carson. Individuals then are asked to select an image to accompany a front page news story reporting on events of the night of August 10 and to explain the rationale for their choice.

Concepts

broadcast journalism, investigative journalism, journalism, journalism ethics, photojournalism, racism, media analysis, media coverage, media bias

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Bring in copies of a variety of newspapers from the same day, post the front pages, and have class members consider the similarities and differences in the headlines and images

Classroom Considerations

• The seventh in an 11-resource case study of the social media and professional news reporting of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer
• Review the class contract for respectful discussions before beginning the lesson

Pros

• The packet includes a teacher's guide that details a strategy for teaching learners how to critically analyze an image
• Links to all required materials are included in the packet

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.7 RI.11-12.1 RI.11-12.7