2021 – Summer

Dismantling Bias in the Media (Session 1)

Course Number: SS1: JOUR-UA TBD

Day & Time: M/W 2:00-5:00 pm

Location: Online

Instructor: Prachi Gupta

Syllabus: Download

Albert Class Number: TBD

How do you report on two sides of a polarizing issue without legitimizing bigotry? How do you cover the rise of white supremacy without normalizing it? To what extent are these concerns the responsibility of a journalist, who is expected to remain objective? These are some of the pressing questions that journalists today must consider and resolve as they cover our nation’s divisive social and political climate.

In this course, through readings, critical thinking exercises, and written assignments, students will examine the media’s dominant notion of “objectivity” and the role that it plays in perpetuating bias. Over the course, students will study how newsroom decisions—including what to cover, how to frame a story, and how to source–shape social and political narratives about diverse communities, in particular. Students will then put these lessons into practice by reporting on a local political event for which they will identify and interview multiple sources, and will contextualize the issue with relevant research and information that strives for accuracy and fairness.