Students discuss how journalists can impact their audiences, and develop an impact goal for a story they are working on.
Learning Goals
Students will learn to think about the potential impact of their stories from the beginning of the reporting process.
Time
15–30 mins
Note: This lesson should be done after students have developed and done some initial research on a story idea.
Process
Exercise
Step 1:
Explain to students what this activity will be about: how the stories you write and the information you distribute can have an impact on how your audience thinks, talks about, and acts on certain issues. Discuss as a class. Some questions to consider:
- How can your journalism empower your audience and engage with the community?
- Is your journalism empowering the audience to make good decisions in their own lives?
- How might you, within the confines of journalism ethics, encourage this?
Step 2:
Have each student apply these ideas to a specific story they are working on. Give them a few minutes to think and jot down some notes. Some questions for them to consider:
- What do you hope your audience will do after reading your story?
- How do you want your audience to be able to participate in the story you are telling?
- Be specific: Do you want them to vote? Attend a community meeting? Build relationships with neighbors? Join an organization?
Step 3:
Have each student develop a specific impact goal for their story. This is their “North Star”—an objective to help them focus their story. Ask them: What would success look like?
Step 4:
Have students pair up with the person next to them to discuss their North Star. This will likely lead to broad conversations about the purpose of journalism and the role of the journalist in the audience’s life, as well as specific ideas for their stories. Encourage students to think imaginatively about the constraint and to consider how journalism both overlaps with and differs from activism.
Step 5:
Encourage students to run through this exercise with every story they produce. You can also include it in future story assignments.
Have questions? Feedback?
We’d love to hear about your experience using these activities in your classroom, get your thoughts on what we could improve. Email us at resources@journalismdesign.com or fill out this form.