Among the most important responsibilities for citizens in a democracy
are finding and evaluating information.  In the wake of the 2000
elections and September 11th, these skills are more important than
ever.  Now that the war on terror is entering its 15th month, it is
very important to critically examine the media’s role in this very
important, generationally defining subject matter.
In this class, we will ask four key questions, dividing our time
into, you guessed it, four different parts: 1) what is bias? Are
there different kinds? How can we find them? 2) what impact do media
conglomerates have on what is reported regarding the war? 3) How
valid are typical broadcast and print media reports about the war? 4)
What does all this mean to us and our society?
We’ll also make a consistent effort to stay on top of current
developments regarding the coverage of the War on Terror.