International Conflict and the Media

ACTIVITY 4: Propaganda

Introduction

Students need to understand that the "news" that appears in newspapers or newscasts on radioand television is often slanted toward a particular position. In some cases the "news" is outrightpropaganda for a particular cause or ideology. This activity attempts to define propaganda andhow newspapers and the media are influenced by propagandists, often unintentionally.

Student Objectives

• To recognize some basic techniques of propaganda.
• To understand the difficulties that journalists face during times of conflict.
• To write a news article.

Time

1 or 2 class periods

Materials

Copies of Readings 4A-C for each student

Recommended Procedures

1. Distribute Reading 4A. After the students have read it, ask a few questions to make sure theyhave a basic understanding of propaganda.
2. Divide the class into four groups. Distribute Reading 4B. Assign one group to write a newsarticle supporting the Corona position. Assign the second group to write a news articlesupporting the Dingnabian position. Assign the third group to write a news article that is"objective and balanced." Assign the fourth group to write an antiwar news article.
3. Ask a student to read out loud the first speech by the Great Leader of Corona. Ask anotherstudent to read out loud the second speech of the President-for-Life of Dingnab. Ask thestudents to compare the different versions:

What did each account leave out?

What new details were added?

How did emotional words present the viewpoint of the speakers?

4. Distribute Reading 4C. Ask the students to review the speeches and identify propagandatechniques. Ask them to review their own news accounts of the speeches. What propagandatechniques did they incorporate into their own news accounts? Query the students:

Could a reporter be "neutral" if he lived in Corona or Dingnab?

Is it possible to write an article that is neutral under any circumstances?

Do not reporters have values and aren't these values reflected in what they write?

Extending the Lesson

1. There are many good curriculum materials and books that focus on propaganda techniques andthinking skills. If your students have difficulty recognizing propaganda, you might wish toconsult these materials to go into greater depth of this issue. Likewise, almost all advertisingand almost all political speeches and editorials include some form of "persuasive" techniques.
2. Pick up any advertisement, editorial, or speech and ask students to locate the propagandatechniques employed. Also, there will be many primary source examples of propagandapresented in this unit.
3. Students should not be left with the impression that propaganda is necessarily wrong. Manypublic-spirited campaigns employ propaganda techniques. For instance, many health campaignsuse propaganda techniques to promote better health, such as the anti-smoking promotion or acampaign in support of the United Way. Have the students identify other positive campaignsthat use propaganda techniques.

Other sources you might examine are:

Allen, Robert and Lorne Greene. The Propaganda Game, 2nd edition. New Haven,Connecticut: AIM, 1970.

Jowett, G. S., and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, 2nd edition. Newbury Park,California: Sage Press, 1992 .

Savant, Marilyn Vos. The Power of Logical Thinking. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996.

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