Wednesday, November 1 passive to active voice review

Learning target: understanding and demonstrating the use of the active voice in lead writing. 

Newsleads are written in the active voice. Below is a review and practice examples. After reviewing the material, demonstrate that 
Active and Passive Voice
A Brief Grammatical Refresher

PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME AND READ CAREFULLY. THIS INFORMATION IS KEY TO WRITING A NEWS ARTICLE.
The key to understanding passive voice lies in accepting the fact that it's strictly a grammatical term which relates to how sentences are constructed. A quick grammar brush-up might be useful here. Read over the following:

The subject of a sentence is, essentially, what the sentence is about. It's usually a person, place, or thing. In most sentences, the subject is either doing some sort of action or being described. Almost all of the time, the subject is at the very beginning of an English sentence. (e.g. "Bob is silly.")

The object of a sentence appears at the opposite end, always after the action in the sentence. It, too, is usually a person, place or thing, and in most sentences it's the person, place, or thing to which the action is being done (e.g. "I laughed at Bob."). Not all sentences have objects, of course—just look at "Bob is silly," above.


Verbs are action words. Sometimes they're just used to describe states of existence (e.g. "Bob is silly."), but in most sentences you write they'll be actions (e.g. "I laughed at Bob.")
Understanding passive voice really all comes down to verbs. Whenever you put a verb in a sentence (that is: all the time), you are using one of two kinds of "voice," which is really just a fancy way of saying that you're deciding how "to indicate the relation of the subject [of the sentence] to the action." (Definition quoted from OED Online).

Agency is also very important—it's what describes the parts of a sentence in relation to the action. Both the subject and the object can be either an agent (the thing doing the action) or a patient (the thing having the action done to it), in addition to being grammatical subject and object. So, for example, in the sentence "Bob hit John," Bob is the agent (he's hitting John), and John is the patient (he's being hit by Bob).
Now, on to passive voice.

A Concise Explanation of Passive and Active Voice

There are two types of voice in English: passive and active.
Active voice is the most common, and results when the subject of a sentence is also the agent. That is, when the subject is the person, place, or thing doing the action. So you might say, for example, "I hit John with a stick." That's in the active voice because you, the subject of the sentence, are also the agent—you are doing the action, hitting John with a stick. (John is the object, and also the patient, being hit.)

Passive voice, on the other hand, results when the object of the sentence is doing the action (or is the agent), and the subject is receiving it (or is the patient). To continue abusing John, we might say "John was hit with a stick." This is passive voice because John, the subject of the sentence, is the one being acted upon.

To spot passive voice, here's all you need to do:

Examine the relationship between the subject, object, and verb of a sentence. If the object is the thing doing the verb, the sentence is passive. If the subject is the thing doing the verb, the sentence is active.

Problems with Passive Voice

For the most part, you probably want to write in the active voice when possible. That's because sentences written in active voice are generally clearer, more direct, and more compact.

The main problems with passive voice, then, are as follows:

It can be wordy. A lot of the time, passive voice requires awkward, lengthy, convoluted sentences instead of short, punchy, straightforward ones. "I found Jim's body odour atrocious" will end up "Jim's body odour was found to be atrocious by me"—yikes!

Most of the time, moving passive voice sentences to active voice will tighten your prose, make it more readable, and as a result confuse your readers less.

It can be vague. Take this example: "Bob was hit by a stick." With a sentence like that in your story, readers are going to be missing some important information: who was doing the hitting? Too much vagueness like this isn't only off-putting, but it can actually confuse your readers about what's going on so much that they'll have to either closely re-read the whole scene, or just give up and go read something else.
By moving vague passive voice constructions into active voice, you can make your story's action crystal clear.

The passive voice can lead to other grammatical errors. Know about "dangling modifiers"? These are "a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence" (Definition quoted from Purdue OWL).

 Most of the time, they're fine, but sometimes passive voice can mix with dangling modifiers to leave you with a sentence that doesn't quite say what you think it does.

The example the Purdue OWL gives is perfect: "Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on." Unlike the active version of that sentence, "Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV," a passive voice version accidentally describes the TV as doing the assignment, not Jill.

Oops? When you have dangling modifiers, you may want to make sure you're using active voice in the main clause of the sentence, or you can accidentally ascribe actions to objects (and patients) instead of subjects (and agents).

ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 

The examples below will explain the difference between active and passive voice in 

writing. This gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one.

 Also, the example explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active.

Using Active Versus Passive Voice

In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.

 The arrow points from the subject performing the action (the dog) to the individual being acted upon (the boy). This is an example of a sentence using the active voice.

The subject performing the action described by the verb.

 The active voice sentence subject (watching a framed, mobile world) performs the action of reminding the speaker of something.
Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences.

 The action is performed upon the sentence subject, meaning this sentence is passive (indirect).

This is an example of the active voice because the sentence subject performs the action.

This is an example of the passive voice.

This is an example of an active voice sentence because the sentence subject performs the action.

Image Caption: This is an example of the passive voice.

 This is an example of an active voice sentence because its subject performs the action expressed in the verb.

Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice because fewer words are required to express action in active voice than in passive.

This passive voice sentence is less concise than its active voice counterpart (shown below).

This active voice sentence requires fewer words to communicate the same idea as the passive voice version (above).

This passive voice sentence is more wordy than an active voice version.

This active voice sentence is more concise than the passive voice version (above) because the subject directly performs the action.

YOUR TURN    Due by midnight; otherwise by tomorrow for 

those who receive extended time.  Send along as a 

word document.

1. The school was struck by lightning.


2. This morning the burglar was arrested by the police.


3. One type of air pollution is caused by hydrocarbons.


4. An elaborate supper for the miners was prepared by Mr. Patel and his children.


5. The cookies were stolen by the Mad Hatter.


6. New York City's Central Park was designed in 1857 by F.L. Olmsted and Calbert Vaux.


7. It was decided by the court that the contract was invalid.


8. The first commercially successful portable vacuum cleaner was invented by a janitor who was allergic to dust.


9. After Leonardo da Vinci's death, the Mona Lisa was purchased by King Francis I of France.


10. The allegorical novel Animal Farm was written by British author George Orwell during World War II.
11. Before the semester was over, the new nursing program had been approved by the Curriculum Committee and the Board of Trustees.
12.  With five seconds left in the game, an illegal time-out was called by one of the players.
13. Later in the day, the employees were informed of their loss of benefits by the boss herself.
14. The major points of the lesson were quickly learned by the class, but they were also quickly forgotten by them.
15. For several years, Chauncey was raised by his elderly grandmother.
16. An unexpected tornado smashed several homes and uprooted trees in a suburb of Knoxville.
17. Participants in the survey were asked about their changes in political affiliation.
18. Tall buildings and mountain roads were avoided by Raoul because he had such a fear of heights.
19. "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
20. I was surprised by the teacher's lack of sympathy.

Monday / Tuesday October 30 / 31 FAKE NEWS- can you tell the difference

Halloween addition; take a peek! Dancing Skeletons

Learning Targets: I can analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.

I can integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Class assignment: Due at the close of class on Tuesday, or by midnight if you receive extended time.  Please send along as one document.

Part 1: There are two articles and a short video below relating to fake news.  Please respond to the following questions as your read / watch  them. (Class Participation Grade)

Part 2: facticious    Play this game 5 times. How good are you at spotting fake news?                                   Graded homework assignment: Copy the following headlines and identify as 

                                  real or fake.

                                 1.  Rosa Parks' Daughter Praises Trump's Response to Charlottesville 

                                  2. Someone just gave Donald Trump a full-moon salute

                                  3. Delaware Cemetery Begins Exhuming Bodies of Confederate Soldiers

                                  4. Ted Cruz pokes fun at being called The Zodiac Killer

                                  5. Durex launching new flavour condom- eggplant

                                  6. FBI seizes over 300 penises at morgue employee's home

                                  7. Ivanka Trump claims she had a "punk phase"

                                  8. Kim and Kayne's car burglarized one year after Paris 

                                  9. Female serial killer is the daughter of United States senator

                                 10. Video  poker machines taking over Las Vegas

                                 11.Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch founded  the “Fascism 

                                           Forever Club” in high school. 

                                 12. Barack Obama orders Harvard to reverse his daughter Malia's 

                                       suspension.

                                 13. Hasbro has launched a limited-edition Disney Classic 
                                       Monopoly

                                 14. Usher's herpes victim tries to drag in a Jane Doe

                                 15. Florida governor Rick Scott critically injured during hurricane                                         Irma clean up.  

                         

Number 1: Washington Post video: FAKE NEWS

                    1. How have Google and Twitter attempted to combat fake news?

                     2. List three ways one may check if news is fake? 

                     3. How does a chrome extension work?

Number 2: NPR article

                    1. How can one be media literate?

                    2. How can information be objectively verified?

                    3. What type of language in the "about us" section might make you skeptical?

                    4. How can you verify the quality of quotes?

                    5. How can you check the authenticity of an image?

                    6. How are The Onion and Clickhole NOT fake news?

                     

Fake Or Real? How To Self-Check The News And Get The Facts 

Wynne Davis

Fake news stories can have real-life consequences. On Sunday, police said a man with a rifle who claimed to be "self-investigating" a baseless online conspiracy theory entered a Washington, D.C., pizzeria and fired the weapon inside the restaurant.

So, yes, fake news is a big problem.

These stories have gotten a lot of attention, with headlines claiming Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump in November's election and sites like American News sharing misleading stories or taking quotes out of context. And when sites like DC Gazette share stories about people who allegedly investigated the Clinton family being found dead, the stories go viral and some people believe them. Again, these stories are not true in any way.

Stopping the proliferation of fake news isn't just the responsibility of the platforms used to spread it. Those who consume news also need to find ways of determining if what they're reading is true. We offer several tips below.

The idea is that people should have a fundamental sense of media literacy. And based on a study recently released by Stanford University researchers, many people don't.

Sam Wineburg, a professor of education and history at Stanford and the lead author of the study, said a solution is for all readers to read like fact checkers. But how do fact checkers do their job?

Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, says fact checkers have a process for each claim they deal with.

"You'll isolate a claim that has something that can be objectively verified, you will seek the best primary sources in that topic. Find whether they match or refute or prove the claim being made, and then present with all limitations the data and what the data says about the claim being made," Mantzarlis says.

That's the framework for professionals, but there are ways for everyone to do a bit of fact checking themselves.

Melissa Zimdars is an assistant professor of communication and media at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. When she saw her students referencing questionable sources, she created and shared a document with them of how to think about sources, as well as a list of misleading, satirical and fake sites.

Both Mantzarlis and Zimdars agreed there are a few best practices people can use when reading articles online.

Pay attention to the domain and URL

Established news organizations usually own their domains and they have a standard look that you are probably familiar with. Sites with such endings like .com.co should make you raise your eyebrows and tip you off that you need to dig around more to see if they can be trusted. This is true even when the site looks professional and has semi-recognizable logos. For example, abcnews.com is a legitimate news source, but abcnews.com.co is not, despite its similar appearance.

Read the "About Us" section

Most sites will have a lot of information about the news outlet, the company that runs it, members of leadership, and the mission and ethics statement behind an organization. The language used here is straightforward. If it's melodramatic and seems overblown, you should be skeptical. Also, you should be able to find out more information about the organization's leaders in places other than that site.

Look at the quotes in a story

Or rather, look at the lack of quotes. Most publications have multiple sources in each story who are professionals and have expertise in the fields they talk about. If it's a serious or controversial issue, there are more likely to be quotes — and lots of them. Look for professors or other academics who can speak to the research they've done. And if they are talking about research, look up those studies.

Look at who said them

Then, see who said the quotes, and what they said. Are they a reputable source with a title that you can verify through a quick Google search? Say you're looking at a story and it says President Obama said he wanted to take everyone's guns away. And then there's a quote. Obama is an official who has almost everything he says recorded and archived. There are transcripts for pretty much any address or speech he has given. Google those quotes. See what the speech was about, who he was addressing and when it happened. Even if he did an exclusive interview with a publication, that same quote will be referenced in other stories, saying he said it while talking to the original publication.

Check the comments

A lot of these fake and misleading stories are shared on social media platforms. Headlines are meant to get the reader's attention, but they're also supposed to accurately reflect what the story is about. Lately, that hasn't been the case. Headlines often will be written in exaggerated language with the intention of being misleading and then attached to stories that are about a completely different topic or just not true. These stories usually generate a lot of comments on Facebook or Twitter. If a lot of these comments call out the article for being fake or misleading, it probably is.

Reverse image search

A picture should be accurate in illustrating what the story is about. This often doesn't happen. If people who write these fake news stories don't even leave their homes or interview anyone for the stories, it's unlikely they take their own pictures. Do a little detective work and reverse search for the image on Google. You can do this by right-clicking on the image and choosing to search Google for it. If the image is appearing on a lot of stories about many different topics, there's a good chance it's not actually an image of what it says it was on the first story.

These tips are just a start at determining what type of news an article is. Zimdars outlined these and others in a guide for her students.

If you do these steps, you're helping yourself and you're helping others by not increasing the circulation of these stories.

And you won't be the only one trying to stop the spread of this false content. The company leaders behind the platforms these stories are shared on are trying to figure out how to fix the issue from their side, but they are also trying to make sure not to limit anyone's right to freedom of speech. It's a tricky position to be in, but they've said they'll try. In the end, it really does depend on taking responsibility and being an engaged consumer of news.

Here's one last thing. Satirical publications exist and serve a purpose, but are clearly labeled as exaggerated and humorous by the writers and owners. Some of the more well-known ones like The Onion and ClickHole use satire to talk about current events. If people don't understand that, they might share these articles after reading them in the literal sense.

If this happens or if you see your friends sharing blatantly fake news, be a friend and kindly tell them it's not real. Don't shy away from these conversations even if they might be uncomfortable. As said, everyone has to help fix the fake news problem.

Number 3

 1. What is typosquatting?

   2. How do cyber criminals use typosquatting?

    3. Who is Paul Horner?

   4. How do fraudsters use counterfeit sites?    

   5. How effective are security software programs?                             

  

Hackers use typosquatting to dupe the unwary with fake news, sites

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO – The proliferation of fake news has shone a light on another murky corner the web, the practice of typosquatting.

These are the URLs that pass for common ones — say Amazoon.com instead of Amazon.com — if the user isn't paying close attention to the Web address.

Always eager to capitalize on human inattention, cyber criminals have embraced this method of registering a commonly misspelled Web address to use as a base for the distribution of malware or to steal information from unsuspecting users.

“They create a site that looks essentially like the real one, at least on the surface. It’s fairly straightforward to do and then you’re simply relying on human nature to not notice,” said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at Intel Security.

Sometimes called URL hijacking, multiple media sites have been hit with the ploy, including usatoday.com (usatodaycom.com) and abcnews.com ( abcnews.com.co.)

The technique can make made-up stories seem more legitimate and give them a brief but powerful ride in legitimate news sites until they're debunked. Such articles played a role in this year's presidential election, though how much they influenced the outcome is unknown.

On Nov. 17, a fake story claimed to report on someone paid $3,500 to protest at rallies for then-presidential candidate against Donald Trump. The story was credited to the Associated Press, though it was not from that legitimate news outlet, and appeared on the fake news site abcnews.com.co.

The story was in fact created by Paul Horner, who earns his living writing fake stories and who told the Washington Post he made $10,000 each month selling ads on his fake news sites.

In May, the same faked ABC site published a “story” that Michael Jordan was threatening to move his NBA team from Charlotte, N.C. unless the state repealed a recently-passed law that kept transgender people from using the bathroom of their current, as opposed to original, gender.

The fake story was picked up by multiple outlets before it was finally unmasked as a hoax.

Two years ago, a Change.org petition was created in response to a made-up article from the satirical National Report, which was later picked up by a faked nbc.com.co site. The article claimed that Arizona had passed a “self-rape” law under which a 15-year-old boy was sentenced to prison after his mother found him masturbating.

These websites are created to make money in two different ways, said Akino Chikada, senior brand protection manager with MarkMonitor, a San Francisco-based company.

Fraudsters use counterfeit sites as phishing farms, trying to entice those who visit them to fill out personal information that can be used to steal credentials and other potentially saleable information.

“If you accidentally mistype a particular brand name, it could lead you to a survey. You think it’s for a brand you love, but it’s actually a thief trying to steal information about you,” said Chikada.

Companies can’t always protect themselves against this type of fraud because they can’t register every conceivable variant on their names. “It’s too expensive and inefficient. Though they do tend to register the most common typos. Then they just have to monitor,” said Chikada.

Another common ploy is for criminals to place banners or ads that link to slightly off URLs.

“You go to your site and at the bottom, you see what looks like an Amazon ad that says there's a Macbook Pro for $299. But when you click on it, it doesn’t really go to Amazon, maybe it goes to amazoon.com. But how carefully are you going to study the URL you’re clicking?” Grobman said.

Fake news sites especially take advantage of the urgency they try to create in their readers.

“They’re using the sensationalized aspect of it to make you click much quicker than if you were going through the process rationally," he said. A sensational headline, especially if it reinforces or denounces a strongly-held belief, might cause a reader to be less cautious.

Many security software programs are fairly effective against blocking such typo-ridden URLs if they go to a known malware-infected site, but some can slip through, he said.

But as with most things online, the key is awareness and taking an extra moment to stay safe. That includes glancing at a URL before accepting it as valid or perhaps opening a new browser window and actually typing in a desired destination, rather than simply clicking on a link on a site that seems dubious.

               

Wednesday / Thursday October 35 /26 news perspectives

 per·spec·tive

pərˈspektiv/

noun

a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a

 point of view.

"most guidebook history is written from the editor's

 perspective"

synonyms Our next step is integrating news stories with perspective, so as to have  a deeper understanding of how different news sources  handle a story. Is it possible to remain unbiased? DIRECTIONS: 1.Open a word document  2.Below you will find three paired stories, labelled by number and letter. ie.  story 1 a, story 1 b. 3.  Read each pair carefully, noting language  usage and tone  4. Copy and paste the story headlines and author  into your word document THEN 5. Write a comparison paragraph of approximately 100 words for each of the paired stories that explains how each of the news sources handled the story. Use specific textual examples to support your analysis. (You will have three paragraphs in total.)  Within each of the paragraphs, conclude with an evaluation  as to what extent the story was written objectively, or has demonstrated bias. 6. Rubric: demonstrates accurate understanding of the  articles; textual evidence; evaluation of the two news sources and language conventions (grammar, spelling, syntax.) 7. There are three paired articles. DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY: OTHERWISE BY Thursday. STORY 1 A Melania Trump cuts bloated first lady payroll from Michelle Obama days By Alex Pappas, Fox News Melania Trump is embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady – but she still runs one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history. According to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports, Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady's office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama. During then-President Barack Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year. This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700. The details are contained in an annual report the White House sends to Congress showing the names, positions and salaries of all its personnel. Both the Obama and Trump administrations acknowledged several additional staffers beyond those listed in the report with the term “first lady” in their titles. But even counting all those employees -- 24 for Michelle Obama and nine for the current first lady -- Melania Trump's office is relatively small. It's an approach her spokeswoman says is intentional.  “As with all things that she does, she is being very deliberate in her hiring, focusing on quality over quantity,” communications director Stephanie Grisham said in an email. “It is important to her that the team is a good fit for what she wants to accomplish as first lady, and that everyone works well together. She also wants to be mindful and responsible when it comes to taxpayer money.” STORY 1 B MELANIA TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE: HOW SHE COMPARES TO MICHELLE OBAMA DURING FIRST 100 DAYS BY CHRIS RIOTTA  Newsweek Just like "the girl from the south side" who came before her, Melania Trump’s rise to first lady was entirely unprecedented, and no less fascinating to witness in its own right. Nearly 100 days into her new role, the Slovenian former model is still finding her footing as first lady while balancing the demands of motherhood, as well as her own desire to stay out from under her husband’s political shadow. Trump has so far fallen on her promise to tackle cyber bullying and online harassment and the new first lady has only hosted a handful of events at the White House, whenever she’s decided to take the 90-minute helicopter commute from her $100 million penthouse in New York City’s Trump Towers into the U.S. capital. Melania Trump's office in Washington, D.C. remains virtually empty, while White House crews and staff typically overseen by the first lady have been left unmanned and without order. While hosting the nation’s governors and the capitol’s most influential women for soirees and luncheons earlier this year, the new first lady asked her guests to leave "political labels and partisan interests behind" while in her presence. Her public appearances have otherwise been somewhat brief. Due to a reported scheduling miscommunication, Melania Trump was only able to catch the tail-end of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's trip to the U.S. with his wife, skipping their time in D.C. to take her counterpart to a Japanese garden in Florida. She also visited an all-girls public charter school in Washington with Queen Rania of Jordan. Other than that, Trump has largely stayed out of the public eye, avoiding any interviews while living with her 10-year-old son Barron Trump as he completes his year of school in New York City. The local operation to protect the first family in their expensive abode and during school commutes costs taxpayers nearly $1 million each week.  In contrast, Michelle Obama steadily paved her own way from the very beginning of her husband's presidency, embracing the responsibilities of the White House and moving her daughters from the family's hometown of Chicago to Washington, D.C., soon after their father became the leader of the free world. She used her first months in office to slowly introduce her goals as first lady, a campaign including new fitness, nutrition and other health goals for the nation’s future generation. Whereas the Trumps–or the president alone, for that matter–have yet to visit a single country, the Obamas toured Europe upon taking office, though the first lady returned to see Malia and Sasha Obama off during their first day of private school at D.C.’s Sidwell Friends. She made herself at home in the capitol, making her family more comfortable by planting an organic garden at the White House and adding a new family member to the people’s house: Bo, a six-month-old Portuguese water dog. Michelle Obama also spent time in her first months in Washington visiting federal agencies on behalf of the president to boost morale and usher in a new era of politics.  Of course, Melania Trump is not Michelle Obama and Donald Trump is not Barack Obama. Previous first ladies have said the unpaid job of White House hostess is a tough road to navigate, one nobody can truly be prepared for.  "The role of first lady is whatever the first lady wants it to be," Laura Bush once said.  STORY 2 A Trump incorrectly suggests link between terrorism and rising UK crime rate By James Masters and Richard Allen Greene, CNN London (CNN)President Donald Trump incorrectly suggested there is a link Friday between rising crime rates in the United Kingdom and the "spread of Radical Islamic terror." "Just out report: 'United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.' Not good, we must keep America safe!" the President tweeted. But although Trump was correct in asserting that there had been a 13% rise in "victim-based crime" in the UK in the year ending June 2017 compared to the year before, there was no evidence that the rise was linked to "Radical Islamic terror." The Office for National Statistics -- which compiled the report, "Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2017" -- told CNN it did not draw any link between the rise in "victim-based crime" and "Radical Islamic terror." Even counting the 35 people killed in the Manchester and London terror attacks over the past 12 months, the murder rate was down 2% on the previous year. However, the number of attempted murders rose by 59%, the report found, with 69% of that increase a result of the two terror attacks. The greatest rises came in the categories of "stalking and harassment," robbery and motor vehicle theft. ONS statistician John Flatley said the numbers probably represent both an increase in crime incidents and improvements in police recording of crimes. "We judge that there have been genuine increases in crime -- particularly in some of the low incidence but more harmful categories," he said in a statement accompanying the report. ONS also notes that overall crime figures are down from where they were a decade ago, including an 18% fall in victim-based crime. UK politicians were unimpressed with Trump's tweet. Opposition Labour party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq simply wrote: "Delete your account." STORY 2 B Trump links UK crime rise to 'spread of Islamic terror' In latest Twitter outburst US president makes terrorism link even though annual figures cover all police-recorded offences Guardian News (no writer listed) Donald Trump has erroneously linked a rise in recorded crime in England and Wales to the “spread of radical Islamic terror” in his latest outburst on Twitter. “Just out report: ‘United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.’ not good, we must keep America safe!” wrote the US president. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), in its quarterly update on crime on Thursday, reported a 13% increase in all police-recorded offences across England and Wales. The ONS said police had recorded 5.2m offences in the year to June, including gun crime, knife crime, robberies, sexual offences, stalking and harassment, burglary and car crime. Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you Read more The report barely mentions terrorism other than to refer on one occasion to the impact recent terrorist attacks in Britain had on the headline murder rate. Thirty-five people were killed in the incidents in London and Manchester. The president’s attention to the crime figures will not please Downing Street, as there were aspects of the ONS report that would have sounded political alarm bells, namely the acceleration in the rise in the number of police-recorded incidents of violent crime in the past two years. There were double-digit increases in certain types of violent crime, such as gun crime, knife crime and sexual offences. The tweet was immediately seized on by far-right groups and commentators. It was retweeted by the former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson. The newspaper columnist Katie Hopkins quoted Trump’s tweet with a reference to “child rape squads”, which was in turn retweeted by Paul Watson, the alt-right conspiracy theorist. Trump’s concern to “keep America safe” comes at a time when gun control is once again on the political agenda after the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual on US soil. Trump’s concern to “keep America safe” comes at a time when gun control is once again on the political agenda after the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual on US soil. Advertisement Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds at a music festival in Las Vegas with one of 23 legally purchased guns he had in his hotel room. Trump has previously exaggerated the impact of so-called radical Islamism on life in Britain. During his presidential campaign, he suggested that police in London feared for their lives because of the significant number of radicalised individuals in the capital. In remarks made shortly after he called for a “shutdown” of Muslims entering the US, he said: “Look at what happened in Paris, the horrible carnage, and frankly, if you look at Paris, and I hate to do this because the Chamber of Commerce is going to go crazy, but Paris is no longer the same city it was. “They have sections in Paris that are radicalised, where the police refuse to go there. They’re petrified. The police refuse to go in there. We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.” The England and Wales data published on Thursday included a 27% rise in gun crime to 6,696 offences, a 26% increase in knife crime to 36,998 offences, robberies up 25% to 64,499, sexual offences up 19% to 129,700, and stalking and harassment up 36% to 243,086 reported incidents. STORY 3 A Harvey Weinstein scandal: Who has accused him of what? no writer listed - from BBC news Kate Beckinsale, Lysette Anthony and Gwyneth Paltrow are among dozens of women who have come forward with allegations ranging from rape to sexual harassment by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Together, the claims build up a picture of one of the most powerful men in the industry exerting pressure on younger women at the start of their careers, often in hotel rooms and offices. He has admitted his behaviour has "caused a lot of pain" but has described many of the allegations against him as "patently false". His spokesperson has said "any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied" and there were "never any acts of retaliation" against women who turned him down. Here are some of those who have made allegations against him. The Oscar-winning star of 12 Years a Slave has accused Harvey Weinstein of luring her to his bedroom under false pretences when she was a drama student. In a New York Times article, the 34-year-old said she had been invited to his family home in Connecticut, apparently to watch a film, shortly after they first met in 2011. She claims he led her into his bedroom and offered her a massage. "I panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead," she wrote. "Before long he said he wanted to take off his pants," Nyong'o continued. "I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable." The actress said she rebuffed a subsequent advance and that Weinstein had admitted he had treated her badly when they met again in 2013. Game of Thrones actress Headey described an encounter with Harvey Weinstein that left her in tears and feeling "completely powerless". In a series of Twitter posts, she described sharing a lift with Weinstein after he had invited her to his room to show her a script. "I'm not interested in anything other than work, please don't think I got in here with you for any other reason," she recalled telling him. Headey said the Hollywood mogul was "furious" and walked her back to the lift, holding her "tightly" by the arm. She went on to claim he told her not to tell anyone about their alleged encounter. The New York Times reported that in 1997 Weinstein reached "a previously undisclosed settlement with Rose McGowan" after an alleged episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival. The $100,000 (£84,000) settlement was "not to be construed as an admission" by the movie producer, but intended to "avoid litigation and buy peace," according to the legal document, which was reviewed by The Times. At the time McGowan was 23 and had just appeared in Scream. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter she called on the Weinstein board to resign immediately, asking "for other men to stop other men when they are being disgusting". "Men in Hollywood need to change ASAP," she said. "Hollywood's power is dying because society has changed and grown, and yet Hollywood male behaviour has not." She has now publicly accused Weinstein of raping her. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. STORY 3  B Cartoons: Harvey Weinstein and Hollywood sex scandal Mercury News    NateBeeler

synonyms
Our next step is integrating news stories with perspective, so as to have
 a deeper understanding of how different news sources
 handle a story. Is it possible to remain unbiased? DIRECTIONS:

1.Open a word document

 2.Below you will find three paired stories, labelled by number

and letter.

ie.  story 1 a, story 1 b.


3.  Read each pair carefully, noting language

 usage and tone

 4. Copy and paste the story headlines and author

 into your word document
THEN

5. Write a comparison paragraph of approximately

100 words for each of the paired stories that explains how

each of the news sources handled the story.

Use specific textual examples to support

your analysis. (You will have three paragraphs in total.)

 Within each of the paragraphs, conclude with an

evaluation  as to what extent the story was written

objectively, or has demonstrated bias.

6. Rubric: demonstrates accurate understanding of the

 articles; textual evidence; evaluation of the two news

sources and language conventions (grammar, spelling,

syntax.)
7. There are three paired articles. DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON TUESDAY: OTHERWISE BY
Thursday.

STORY 1 A

Melania Trump cuts bloated first lady payroll from Michelle Obama days

By Alex Pappas, Fox News

Melania Trump is embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady – but she still runs one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history.

According to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports, Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady's office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama.

During then-President Barack Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year.

This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700.

The details are contained in an annual report the White House sends to Congress showing the names, positions and salaries of all its personnel. Both the Obama and Trump administrations acknowledged several additional staffers beyond those listed in the report with the term “first lady” in their titles. But even counting all those employees -- 24 for Michelle Obama and nine for the current first lady -- Melania Trump's office is relatively small.

It's an approach her spokeswoman says is intentional. 

“As with all things that she does, she is being very deliberate in her hiring, focusing on quality over quantity,” communications director Stephanie Grisham said in an email. “It is important to her that the team is a good fit for what she wants to accomplish as first lady, and that everyone works well together. She also wants to be mindful and responsible when it comes to taxpayer money.”

STORY 1 B

MELANIA TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE: HOW SHE COMPARES TO MICHELLE OBAMA DURING FIRST 100 DAYS

BY CHRIS RIOTTA  Newsweek

Just like "the girl from the south side" who came before her, Melania Trump’s rise to first lady was entirely unprecedented, and no less fascinating to witness in its own right.

Nearly 100 days into her new role, the Slovenian former model is still finding her footing as first lady while balancing the demands of motherhood, as well as her own desire to stay out from under her husband’s political shadow. Trump has so far fallen on her promise to tackle cyber bullying and online harassment and the new first lady has only hosted a handful of events at the White House, whenever she’s decided to take the 90-minute helicopter commute from her $100 million penthouse in New York City’s Trump Towers into the U.S. capital.

Melania Trump's office in Washington, D.C. remains virtually empty, while White House crews and staff typically overseen by the first lady have been left unmanned and without order. While hosting the nation’s governors and the capitol’s most influential women for soirees and luncheons earlier this year, the new first lady asked her guests to leave "political labels and partisan interests behind" while in her presence.

Her public appearances have otherwise been somewhat brief. Due to a reported scheduling miscommunication, Melania Trump was only able to catch the tail-end of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's trip to the U.S. with his wife, skipping their time in D.C. to take her counterpart to a Japanese garden in Florida. She also visited an all-girls public charter school in Washington with Queen Rania of Jordan. Other than that, Trump has largely stayed out of the public eye, avoiding any interviews while living with her 10-year-old son Barron Trump as he completes his year of school in New York City. The local operation to protect the first family in their expensive abode and during school commutes costs taxpayers nearly $1 million each week. 

In contrast, Michelle Obama steadily paved her own way from the very beginning of her husband's presidency, embracing the responsibilities of the White House and moving her daughters from the family's hometown of Chicago to Washington, D.C., soon after their father became the leader of the free world. She used her first months in office to slowly introduce her goals as first lady, a campaign including new fitness, nutrition and other health goals for the nation’s future generation.

Whereas the Trumps–or the president alone, for that matter–have yet to visit a single country, the Obamas toured Europe upon taking office, though the first lady returned to see Malia and Sasha Obama off during their first day of private school at D.C.’s Sidwell Friends. She made herself at home in the capitol, making her family more comfortable by planting an organic garden at the White House and adding a new family member to the people’s house: Bo, a six-month-old Portuguese water dog. Michelle Obama also spent time in her first months in Washington visiting federal agencies on behalf of the president to boost morale and usher in a new era of politics. 

Of course, Melania Trump is not Michelle Obama and Donald Trump is not Barack Obama. Previous first ladies have said the unpaid job of White House hostess is a tough road to navigate, one nobody can truly be prepared for.  "The role of first lady is whatever the first lady wants it to be," Laura Bush once said. 

STORY 2 A

Trump incorrectly suggests link between terrorism and rising UK crime rate

By James Masters and Richard Allen Greene, CNN

London (CNN)President Donald Trump incorrectly suggested there is a link Friday between rising crime rates in the United Kingdom and the "spread of Radical Islamic terror."

"Just out report: 'United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.' Not good, we must keep America safe!" the President tweeted.

But although Trump was correct in asserting that there had been a 13% rise in "victim-based crime" in the UK in the year ending June 2017 compared to the year before, there was no evidence that the rise was linked to "Radical Islamic terror."

The Office for National Statistics -- which compiled the report, "Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2017" -- told CNN it did not draw any link between the rise in "victim-based crime" and "Radical Islamic terror."

Even counting the 35 people killed in the Manchester and London terror attacks over the past 12 months, the murder rate was down 2% on the previous year. However, the number of attempted murders rose by 59%, the report found, with 69% of that increase a result of the two terror attacks.

The greatest rises came in the categories of "stalking and harassment," robbery and motor vehicle theft.

ONS statistician John Flatley said the numbers probably represent both an increase in crime incidents and improvements in police recording of crimes.

"We judge that there have been genuine increases in crime -- particularly in some of the low incidence but more harmful categories," he said in a statement accompanying the report.

ONS also notes that overall crime figures are down from where they were a decade ago, including an 18% fall in victim-based crime.

UK politicians were unimpressed with Trump's tweet.

Opposition Labour party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq simply wrote: "Delete your account."

STORY 2 B

Trump links UK crime rise to 'spread of Islamic terror'

In latest Twitter outburst US president makes terrorism link even though annual figures cover all police-recorded offences

Guardian News (no writer listed)

Donald Trump has erroneously linked a rise in recorded crime in England and Wales to the “spread of radical Islamic terror” in his latest outburst on Twitter.

“Just out report: ‘United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror.’ not good, we must keep America safe!” wrote the US president.

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), in its quarterly update on crime on Thursday, reported a 13% increase in all police-recorded offences across England and Wales.

The ONS said police had recorded 5.2m offences in the year to June, including gun crime, knife crime, robberies, sexual offences, stalking and harassment, burglary and car crime.

Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you

Read more

The report barely mentions terrorism other than to refer on one occasion to the impact recent terrorist attacks in Britain had on the headline murder rate. Thirty-five people were killed in the incidents in London and Manchester.

The president’s attention to the crime figures will not please Downing Street, as there were aspects of the ONS report that would have sounded political alarm bells, namely the acceleration in the rise in the number of police-recorded incidents of violent crime in the past two years. There were double-digit increases in certain types of violent crime, such as gun crime, knife crime and sexual offences.

The tweet was immediately seized on by far-right groups and commentators. It was retweeted by the former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.

The newspaper columnist Katie Hopkins quoted Trump’s tweet with a reference to “child rape squads”, which was in turn retweeted by Paul Watson, the alt-right conspiracy theorist.

Trump’s concern to “keep America safe” comes at a time when gun control is once again on the political agenda after the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual on US soil.

Trump’s concern to “keep America safe” comes at a time when gun control is once again on the political agenda after the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual on US soil.

Advertisement

Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds at a music festival in Las Vegas with one of 23 legally purchased guns he had in his hotel room.

Trump has previously exaggerated the impact of so-called radical Islamism on life in Britain. During his presidential campaign, he suggested that police in London feared for their lives because of the significant number of radicalised individuals in the capital.

In remarks made shortly after he called for a “shutdown” of Muslims entering the US, he said: “Look at what happened in Paris, the horrible carnage, and frankly, if you look at Paris, and I hate to do this because the Chamber of Commerce is going to go crazy, but Paris is no longer the same city it was.

“They have sections in Paris that are radicalised, where the police refuse to go there. They’re petrified. The police refuse to go in there. We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives. We have to be very smart and very vigilant.”

The England and Wales data published on Thursday included a 27% rise in gun crime to 6,696 offences, a 26% increase in knife crime to 36,998 offences, robberies up 25% to 64,499, sexual offences up 19% to 129,700, and stalking and harassment up 36% to 243,086 reported incidents.

STORY 3 A

Harvey Weinstein scandal: Who has accused him of what?

no writer listed - from BBC news

Kate Beckinsale, Lysette Anthony and Gwyneth Paltrow are among dozens of women who have come forward with allegations ranging from rape to sexual harassment by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Together, the claims build up a picture of one of the most powerful men in the industry exerting pressure on younger women at the start of their careers, often in hotel rooms and offices.

He has admitted his behaviour has "caused a lot of pain" but has described many of the allegations against him as "patently false".

His spokesperson has said "any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied" and there were "never any acts of retaliation" against women who turned him down.

Here are some of those who have made allegations against him.

The Oscar-winning star of 12 Years a Slave has accused Harvey Weinstein of luring her to his bedroom under false pretences when she was a drama student.

In a New York Times article, the 34-year-old said she had been invited to his family home in Connecticut, apparently to watch a film, shortly after they first met in 2011.

She claims he led her into his bedroom and offered her a massage. "I panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead," she wrote.

"Before long he said he wanted to take off his pants," Nyong'o continued. "I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable."

The actress said she rebuffed a subsequent advance and that Weinstein had admitted he had treated her badly when they met again in 2013.

Game of Thrones actress Headey described an encounter with Harvey Weinstein that left her in tears and feeling "completely powerless".

In a series of Twitter posts, she described sharing a lift with Weinstein after he had invited her to his room to show her a script.

"I'm not interested in anything other than work, please don't think I got in here with you for any other reason," she recalled telling him.

Headey said the Hollywood mogul was "furious" and walked her back to the lift, holding her "tightly" by the arm. She went on to claim he told her not to tell anyone about their alleged encounter.

The New York Times reported that in 1997 Weinstein reached "a previously undisclosed settlement with Rose McGowan" after an alleged episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival.

The $100,000 (£84,000) settlement was "not to be construed as an admission" by the movie producer, but intended to "avoid litigation and buy peace," according to the legal document, which was reviewed by The Times.

At the time McGowan was 23 and had just appeared in Scream.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter she called on the Weinstein board to resign immediately, asking "for other men to stop other men when they are being disgusting".

"Men in Hollywood need to change ASAP," she said. "Hollywood's power is dying because society has changed and grown, and yet Hollywood male behaviour has not."

She has now publicly accused Weinstein of raping her. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

STORY 3  B

Cartoons: Harvey Weinstein and Hollywood sex scandal

Mercury News    NateBeeler