A Teen's Guide to Election Coverage

With the presidential election right around the corner, we are being bombarded more than ever with the facts and figures of the race: Does Iraq have a $79 billion surplus, as Barack Obama claims? Will Americans receive $5,000 tax credits under John McCain’s health care plan? Sifting through the information is a constant struggle, and it's no different for your teen, for whom these issues are just as pressing. Even if your child isn't old enough to vote, he's old enough to learn about politics in the media. Below is a cheat sheet to help your teen learn the ins and outs, including how to identify bias, how to read the media, and ways to view political satire.

Politics 101

The first thing your teen needs to understand is that every media organization provides a lens through which to view the cold hard facts. Unfortunately, these lens often skew the truth. Jay Rosen at the Center for Media Literacy writes, “We ask journalists to be objective, to be fair, to remain detached.” This isn’t always the case. “Bias” is a personal judgment: an instance of prejudice or tendency to favor a certain outlook.

Two words we hear nonstop in politics normally refer to direction: “left” and “right.” A TV network may be labeled “far to the right,” which means it presents conservative views. A newspaper may be dubbed “left-wing,” meaning it favors liberal perspectives. “Spin” also takes on new meaning: to spin is to manipulate facts or events to promote one’s agenda or discredit an opponent.

Another new term may be “watchdog organizations," which monitor the accuracy of journalists. But, even watchdogs can be "partisan" or connected to a political party. The conservative Media Research Center “exposes liberal media bias,” for example, while Media Matters for America “monitors conservative misinformation.” Some “nonpartisan" organizations, like FactCheck.org, examine the accuracy of candidates’ statements. It targeted a McCain ad that distorted Obama's remark on Afghanistan, for instance, but also red-flagged an Obama ad for misrepresenting McCain’s Social Security plan.

Sound confusing? Well, after you study the types of media, you will identify bias and make judgments on what you read, see, and hear.  

The Media

“Media” refers to the forms in which information is “disseminated” or spread. Each has a distinct audience. Newscasts, publications, and websites report the same stories, but analysis on CNN may be different from FOX News, or headlines online at The Huffington Post may differ from links on BillOReilly.com.  

Take the boob tube, for example – a fitting medium for audiovisual thinkers. The Big Three networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – have a general audience, while networks like MTV or Oxygen have specific viewers.  “Sound bites,” or brief catchphrases, abound on TV, like “Drill, baby, drill,” or “You can put lipstick on a pig – it’s still a pig.” Such sayings, accompanied by images from debates and rallies, are ingrained in your head.