University Assignment: GSP163e Introduction to Critical Media Literacy

This assignment delves into the core concepts of critical media literacy, examining the nature of news and journalism. The student analyzes CP Scott's famous quote "comment is free, but facts are sacred" and explores how news stories can be constructed to create different impressions. The assignment further investigates the role of commentary in making underlying messages transparent and compares different examples of news falsehoods. Additionally, it examines the influence of media commentary, using Cherian George's article and Greenslade's assertion, to provide a detailed understanding of how media shapes public opinion and the importance of critical analysis.

Running head: GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
GSP163e Introduction to Critical Media Literacy
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
Question 1
a. Explain, in your opinion, what CP Scott meant by: “comment is free, but
facts are sacred.” Limit your answer to 60 words. (10 marks)
CP Scott in commented in his historical essay that “comment is free, but facts
are sacred”. By this he meant that the sole idea and responsibility of journalism was to
present facts as they appear. In many cases, journalists tamper or restructure facts in
order to justify the opinion they want to invoke among the readers which eliminates
the actual purpose of journalism ("Sustainability report: CP Scott's centenary essay",
2019).
b. In paragraph 8, the writer says “The facts” suddenly dissolve.” In the light
of the previous paragraphs, demonstrate how he comes to this conclusion.
Create an example of how a news “story” can be presented to create
different impressions in a reader. Limit your answer to 400 words. (30
marks)
Journalism has the ability to change and shape people’s mind and opinion. The
main role of journalism is to find the truths embedded revolving a scenario and
present them so that people can form their own opinion related to politics, society and
economy. In practice tough, the reality is far removed from it. In most cases, the facts
found needs to be ordered and structured and omit some of them in order to make
sense of them. By the phrase “”The facts” suddenly dissolve”, the writer means that in
journalism, the practice has been to twist facts and truths in order to suit the purpose
of their narratives. This happens because the reporters and editor themselves try to
influence the pinion of the mass by projecting their own opinion through the facts.

2GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
Thus, for centuries ‘sacrilegious opinions’ have undermined facts in the media
(Greenslade, 2019).
It is well known that news stories can be presented in different ways thus,
forming different opinions and impressions among the readers. The most
impressionable component of news is the headline of the article. The headline creates
the first impression among the readers and thus has the ability to influence how the
readers approach the topic. Due to headlines, the reader’s perceptions are changed and
thus the impact of the news itself. For example, if I had to produce news about the bad
effects of junk food, giving the heading, “junk food causes health issues” will hardly
get the attention of the widespread readers. If the headline says, “Fast Food Causes
Cancer: Scientists Confirm”, this is likely to get more attention from the readers. The
implication id clear in the second headline and is more sensational than the first.
Moreover, the first heading portrays that the piece might be a speculation while the
second shows that it is based on hard facts and research results. This will change the
reader’s perception of the news and how they approach about it. For the first heading,
it is likely that the readers will read with some trepidation and an open critical mind.
They will learn the facts while reading the news and form opinion based on that while
for the second heading, the readers’ opinion has already been formed (Konnikova et
al., 2019). Even before they start reading, the mention of the phrase ‘scientists
confirm’ will create a belief in the minds of the readers that what the news says is
truth.

3GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
c. The writer says the major role of media commentators is “to make
transparent…the underlying messages of so-called facts.” Describe what is
a commentary piece is, and how can it make transparent the underlying
messages. Limit your answer to 120 words. (10 marks)
A commentary piece is an opinion based response to newly published articles.
In most cases, editors themselves invite commentators to comment on some latest
news while they can also be voluntarily submitted by the readers. Media
commentator’s job is to make the meaning of the news lying underneath available to
the readers. In many cases, the media commentators are not journalists themselves,
rather they are specialists and experts in their own field and thus, commentaries made
by them have credibility (Hoong, 2019). The commentators job is analyze the news
they are commenting on and interpret the meaning, unbiased, and present them to the
readers.
Question 2
a. Do you think Cherian George’s example (Refer to Annex C), which he
cites as a test case for POFMA, is better than those cited by Shanmugam
(Refer to Annex B)? Develop and give reasons to support your answer.
Limit your answer to 550 words. (30 marks)
The test case of Reuters cited by Cherian George in his article critically
analyzes the creation of a false opinion statement that created large scale harassment
for the company as well the parliament. In an interview conducted by BBC, the
cabinet minister, Chan Chun Sing was asked whether he wanted to become the next
Prime Minister. The minister diplomatically handled the situation and answered that

4GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
all of the people engaged in politics has to ensure that they are ready to take the
responsibility if needs be. This answer was reported by Reuters as a positive answer
and they published in their story that cabinet minister answered that he was ready to
take on the responsibility of the Prime Minister. While it is true that the minister by
using the word ‘we’ had included himself in the running for Prime Minister. Still,
saying explicitly that he himself had said so in words would be a falsehood. The
Reuters had been accused of news falsehood and opinion fabrication by the
government. What the Reuters did not consider was the fact that stating explicitly that
the minister was ready to take the responsibility of a P.M. was likely to offend his
fellow politician as well as the opposition. This news created a political disturbance
and thus the government had no other option but to charge them with POFMA ("Draft
fake news laws an ‘exercise of govt power’ to set out the truth", 2019).
Shanmugan, the law minister of Singapore, on the other hand gives real life
examples of how news false hood and fabrications have created widespread panic,
distress and disruption among the law and order body as well as the public. He cited
two incidents as example. In the year 2016, a set of photos were published over the
internet that showed that the roof of Punggol Waterway had collapsed. This created
sudden panic among the people and police too had rushed to investigate the situation.
When they reached there, they found that the whole incident was a hoax. The news
was published with the claim of a local contributor who reported the incident along
with the photos. Such incidents show that the false news that are spread online have
great impact on people’s lives. Shanmugan also gives another example, where false
news was spread among the public that certain vaccine would cause autism among the
children.

5GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
Between these two articles, the law minister of Shanmugan gives better
example. I believe that the example that he gives are easy to understand. The incident
off roof collapse or the vaccination rumors both give immediate insight to the
underlying problems if the news is proved to be false. In both cases widespread panic
and distrust towards the government would arise. People living far from those places
who have relatives living near the Punggol waterway are likely to become worried.
The example of vaccination shows the readers immediately what kind of problem it
might cause. The vaccine that has been rumored so could be a lifesaving drug. But
due to the news and people’s changed perception about the medicine, people might
suffer. The example provided in the case of Reuters is complex to understand as the
difference between the news that was published and the opinion actually delivered has
a very subtle difference, which may not be interpreted by many people.
b. How does Cherian George’s article satisfy Greenslade’s assertion that
commentary must “provide a running analysis of what lies behind the
news”? Demonstrate your answer by giving two examples. Limit your
answer to 200 words. (20 marks)
Greenslade’s article expresses the opinion that a good commentary article
should only provide an analysis of the facts as they are available. In any scenario,
interpretation could different depending on the view, opinion and personality of
people. Thus, if a commentary is biased or opinionated even before they have
presented the fact, they become opinion pieces that are meant influence the thought
process and understanding of the readers. In the article written of Cherian George, the
Reuters published a false news implication. The incident is a classic example of how

6GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
media commentary can influence the opinion of the people. The commentary made by
Reuters implicates that they are indirectly announcing the winner of the next election
("How would the Online Falsehoods Act affect journalism? This test case could give
an answer.", 2019).
There are many such examples where media commentary has changed the
people’ perception of incidents. Social media has the ability to do that. In many cases
news about supernatural incidents are released in social media which are accepted as
truth by many people as there is no clarification from any governing body about their
falsehood. Another example could be the advertisements, where media uses false data
and serve to create false impression among the viewers.

7GSP163E INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY
Reference
Draft fake news laws an ‘exercise of govt power’ to set out the truth. (2019). Retrieved 30
August 2019, from https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/draft-fake-news-laws-
exercise-government-power-put-out-truth
Greenslade, R. (2019). Why media commentary is so crucial when opinions displace facts.
Retrieved 30 August 2019, from
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/aug/25/why-media-
commentary-is-so-crucial-when-op
Hoong, C. (2019). Facts are sacred, comment is free - and fact-based comment most precious
of all. Retrieved 30 August 2019, from https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/facts-
are-sacred-comment-is-free-and-fact-based-comment-most-precious-of-all
How would the Online Falsehoods Act affect journalism? This test case could give an
answer. (2019). Retrieved 30 August 2019, from
https://blog.freedomfromthepress.info/2019/04/03/falsehoods/
Konnikova, M., Petrusich, A., Paumgarten, N., Gopnik, A., Lepore, J., & Ahamed, L. (2019).
How Headlines Change the Way We Think. Retrieved 30 August 2019, from
https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/headlines-change-way-think
Sustainability report: CP Scott's centenary essay. (2019). Retrieved 30 August 2019, from
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainability/cp-scott-centenary-essay