How the World Views the News

Procedures

1. Identify a major international news story from the past week. Write an appropriate title below,
for example, "Terrorist Bombing in Saudi Arabia."

2. Using the suggested sites, locate the story in three different news sources, including one from
the United States and one from the nation or region where the event is occurring. Print or
save a copy of the story from each news source. List the three news sources below.

◦ News source 1:

◦ News source 2:

◦ News source 3:

3. Using the suggested map site, find and briefly describe the geographic location of the story,
for example, "On the east coast of Saudi Arabia near the Persian Gulf city of Dhahran."

4. List the key geographic features of the location.

5. Did the geographic location and/or features influence the news event? If so, how?
 How the World Views the News

6. After reading the three news accounts, compare the articles. Identify specific similarities and
differences in the stories. Look specifically for differences between the way the story is
portrayed by news sources in the United States and those of the region or nation where
the event occurred.

Similarities Differences

7. Hypothesize reasons for the difference in the news accounts and perspectives. What political,
social, or economic conditions might influence the press coverage?

8. Write a brief, objective description of the news event and then compare the coverage of the
event in newspapers from two different countries. Conclude your description by
addressing how, and if, the newspapers are influenced by national conditions or
considerations.