There is a book I'm going to recommend not just to Teacher Librarians but to everyone because of its relevance.
It is: Blur: How to Know What's True In The Age of Information Overload by Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel.
Why? In this age of 24 hour news cycles, abundance of information in many formats and differing views, it is so important that we take time to examine the information that is presented to us.
Society is fast paced and people want to get their information quickly. Those involved in getting the information like journalists are also required to meet tight deadlines.
The book encourages us to be more critical about we see, read and view. It encourages us to determine if the information fulfills its purpose. Does it inform us? Does it answer the questions that we as the viewer are seeking. Is there truth in the item? Is the information accurate?
Do we get the full story which is balanced? Do we get detailed information? Was it well researched?
Even characterisation is looked at. Some journalists especially on TV like to assume roles of characters in order to get points across and we need to see how that impacts on the information we get from the story.
The two part telemovie Power Games (Nine Network Australia, 2013) allowed me to reflect on this particularly Sir Frank Packer's insistence that his Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph favour the Liberal Party and be anti communist when it was part of Consolidated Press (the paper joined News Limited in 1972). There was also the battle between the same paper and the now defunct newspaper The Daily Mirror operated by Rupert Murdoch in advocating for candidates for the Australian Prime Minister ship following the disappearance of Prime Minister Harold Holt in 1967.
Would a biased approach to an event be fair? For someone like me, its not. I want to hear all sides of a story, not one. Both Packer and Murdoch went for one side by focusing on a particular candidate. Packer choose William McMahon because he was a personal friend while Murdoch supported John Gorton. If I was around in that time, I want to find out about both contenders and find out why they are suited to the job; like I would in the current battle for the Labor Party Leadership between Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese. I also think bias leads to distortion of the truth as well, not good.
I find its similar to the approach that historians undertake in historical research where they need to assess a source for its usefulness and reliability as part of their research. This includes the fundamental questions of any investigation - Who, What,Whee, When, Why and How? If we can have this information, then we can determine if there is truth in what we see, view, read and listen.
