WebQuests (ICT Integration)

Freedom of Expression

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".
- Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

One of the major issues in today's society is the question of whether it is right for journalists to tackle and expose unpopular subjects and uncover issues that some feel shouldn't be investigated or reported. Some people feel that the role of journalists (reporting in the form of newsprint, TV, and radio) should not be to destabilize the social environment by questioning government or corporate practices. Others feel that journalists are the watchdogs of our society and that it is their duty to bring the horrors of war into our living rooms. What do you think?

Task

A parent of someone in your class is a freelance journalist and regularly writes articles for a local newspaper. This journalist recently received a "heated" reaction from other parents and the local community for expressing her views on the standard of parenting in the community and naming several parents in the process. Your friend has received a lot of unfair comments from learners at the school as a result of this. More seriously, members of the community have engaged in hate speech and death threats against the journalist.

As an act of community service your school appoints you to a team that will write a newsletter to bring the issue of freedom of expression to the fore and to inform the learners and staff at the school and the local community about issues that journalists face.

Process

Your team newsletter will include, at a minimum, the following:

(a) Four newsworthy articles that highlight or focus on local news, events, issues relating to other incidents of press censorship. Each team member will be responsible for one of the four articles to be included in your team’s newsletter.

You may choose to use any of these articles /reports, using the proper journalistic style:

News Report Article: An article that is a short summary, write-up, or account of a news item.
News Interview Article: A summary written after conducting an interview (with a pre-prepared list of 20 questions) with a subject
Investigative Report: Includes research on a significant issue that affects the audience, and the use of the data (from various sources, including interviews, electronic and print media) to create a report
Speech or Event Article: This is written after listening to a public speech, press conference, or some other public event. This kind of article usually includes background information on the speaker/event and reaction to the speech or event.

Your team should begin by brainstorming ideas for topics to be selected for these four articles in each newsletter.

(b) At least two additional features articles of interest to the targeted audience. Features articles are usually on a topic of the writer's choosing, but should still be directed toward the audience's interest. You may work in pairs to write the features articles. Any of the following may be included:

Advice Column
Editorial
Letter to the Editor
Advertisements
Comic Strip
Community Events
Calendar
Announcements
Survey
Graphs
Personal Profiles
How-to Tips for a Product or Service

You should realize that each different section of a newsletter uses a different writing style.

Start your team discussion by examining some case studies of similar incidents and drawing up a set of guidelines that could assist you in your team viewpoint.

For this assignment, you will work in teams of four and you will divide your task into roles as follows (click on each role for more information):

Editor

Your task is to write two articles: one will be the editorial comment (a type of introduction giving the team's view on freedom of expression while raising some questions for the readers' further consideration). Your second article should be one of the newsworthy articles. In at least one of your articles you should highlight the differences between news articles and newspaper columns, as well as between freedom of expression and hate speech.

You will also lead the team and oversee the final editing of the entire newspaper.

Community journalist

Your task is to write two articles in which you highlight community perspectives on freedom of expression, reporting from the viewpoint of members of the community or relating an incident that occurred in the community. At least one article must be a newsworthy article. One of the articles could be a feature article such as letters to the editor or an advice column.

Discuss the nature of your articles with your editor and team members.

Feature writer

Your task is to write two feature articles on the issue of censorship and freedom of expression. It is your job to bring a fresh perspective to the newsletter by increasing the readers' understanding in a diversity of ways.

Discuss the nature of your articles with your editor and team members.

Student journalist

Your task is to write two articles in which you highlight student perspectives on freedom of expression, reporting from the viewpoint of learners in the school or relating an incident that occurred involving learners at other schools. At least one article must be a newsworthy article. One of the articles could be a feature article such as letters to the editor or an advice column.

Discuss the nature of your articles with your editor and team members.

Meet as a team to discuss the number and types of articles that you would like to include in your newsletter. The editor will assign tasks and deadlines to the journalists. Arrange another meeting to discuss the layout and design of the newsletter. You will share the responsibility of preparing the layout and you will work as a team with your editor when compiling the final product.

Resource

» http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

» View the Freedom of Expression Discussion Document

» http://www.ifex.org/
IFEX: International Freedom of Expression eXchange

Conclusion

By completing this activity you and your team will have examined the issue of freedom of expression in some depth. You will hopefully have developed a well-informed opinion and communicated this effectively. Your newsletter should be a resource which can genuinely be used in the school and community as an opportunity to educate both peers and adults about freedom of expression.

» Download the Presentation Assessment

Related Scenarios

» Censorship
» Ethical Journalists
» Being Right About Copyright