Welcome to News and Current Events 301! For this
week, we will cover five significant events. There will be a background
presented, but homework questions will involve more research.
This Unit is the Anderson
Cooper 360 unit. It will deal with 3 significant events that shaped the
course of politics and/or history this year. Additionally, there will be a 4th
event, an AC360 special entitled: Kids on
Race – The Hidden Picture. A final event is a fond farewell to a journalist
killed within the last year (in February).
For Anderson Cooper, the months of May and June were the
strongest for political events that I want to cover. They were:
1) An
episode they did that “fact-checked” Obama on his position on same-sex marriage
2) An
escaped political prisoner’s story (he came from China)
3) The
upholding on the Affordable Health Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare.
We’ll begin with what is, in my opinion, the #3 of those
stories. That one is the fact checking of Obama on same-sex marriage.
Biden on Same Sex
Marriage (before Obama came out in favor of it)
May 7thth, 2012: The Monday after Biden came out
in favor of Gay Marriage. But did this mimic the President’s position? AC360
investigated.
Discussion:
1) How
did the President’s stance evolve? Was it really an “Evolution?”
2) Do
you think that “Evolving” was just Obama’s way of keeping his views a secret?
If you were him, would you have kept it under wraps for this long?
3) What
does the poll say?
4) Given
the clips being presented, was it obvious that this is how Obama felt? Why or
why not?
Long Question: Why would Obama have come out in favor of
Same-Sex Marriage in June? Could there be political ramifications behind this?
If so, what are they?
SC upholds ObamaCare
June 27th: The day that the SC upheld ObamaCare.
The question for the longest time was: What will the Supreme Court do, why will
it do it, and how will it effect us? Thus when the SC ruled in favor of
ObamaCare, the status quo was upheld. But…why was it upheld? AC360 helpfully
placed the link on their website as well as Jeffrey Toobin discussing why it
was upheld the way it was.
Below is the ruling:
One question from here: Was the ruling of the individual
mandate as a tax based on stare decisis, or was it a completely new ruling?
Here is Jeffrey Toobin’s (CNN’s chief legal analyst’s) reaction:
Discussion Questions:
1) Why
was Toobin critical of Donald Verilli? Would you have thought the same thing?
2) Do
you think that Roberts played “umpire” instead of batter or pitcher? Why do you
feel this way?
3) Do
you think that Roberts is “still conservative?” Why or why not?
Long Question: This is an example of how the media can shape
public opinion by declaring a decision before a decision is actually made. Find
another example of this happening. Do
you think that it is right for the media to make verdicts before the actual
verdict is read? Why or why not?
Chen’s First U.S.
Interview
Chen was an escaped political prisoner from China seeking
Asylum in the United States Embassy. The United States, some say, botched their
response. However, this time we are focusing on the first interview Chen gave
to the US media, in this case CNN.
Discussion:
1) Who
was Chen?
2) What
was the point of showing the Live Chinese Feed of CNN International? Did it cut
out? Why do you think it did or did not? What would you have done were you
running China?
3) Why
did Chen want to find a way out?
4) What
got Chen under arrest? Why would China have cared about this?
5) Do
you agree that China’s practices (in this instance) are “evil?”
6) Why
did Chen’s friends all take responsibility? Would you have done the same?
Long Question: Why was Chen’s escape so important on the
political stage?
Marie Colvin killed
Marie Colvin was a journalist killed in Syria after sneaking
across the border. CNN has a fond farewell to Marie Colvin in this clip. As you
look at this clip, here are the questions:
Discussion Questions:
1) How
did Marie Colvin report from Syria?
2) Why
is this type of dangerous reporting done?
3) Do
you think Marie Colvin was targeted? If so, why would they have done it?
4) Why
are there “Very few” places telling the story of Syria?
5) What
country does Christiane Amanpour think will have the most influence in Syria?
Why?
6) What
effect do travelling reporters have on their families?
Long Answer: What do you think of reporters who go into
dangerous places? Would you do the same as them? How big of a loss is her
death?
Kids on Race
In April, AC360 did an exposé on what kids thought about
race. The results may be surprising to you.
Discussion Questions:
1) What
are the pictures designed to do?
2) What
is the difference between the two pictures being presented?
3) What
does the first child feel about the color of people’s skin? Why does he think
that that’s okay?
4) Why
does the second kid think he will get in trouble if he invited someone over who
was a different skin color? Why does he feel that way?
5) The
third kid got bullied in school. Why does he think he was bullied in school?
6) Does
the fourth kid agree with her parents? Why or why not?
7) What
do the other kids think? Does skin color matter to them?
8) What
do white kids think about interaction with those of the opposite skin color?
9) What
is “implicit bias?”
10) What do
black kids think about interaction with those of the opposite skin color? According
to the psychologist, why do they think this?
Long Answer: If kids think this way at such an early age, do
you see this having ramifications for the rest of their life? How do we correct
this? Is it possible?
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