Question

Sarah and Tom read two news articles about a new policy on renewable energy. The first article, titled "Clean Energy Revolution Brings Hope," praised the policy as a groundbreaking step toward sustainability. It emphasized the benefits of reducing carbon emissions and creating green jobs. The second article, titled "New Energy Policy Threatens Economy," warned that the same policy could lead to job losses in traditional energy sectors and increased costs for consumers. Both articles were from well-known publications, but they presented very different views. Sarah noticed the bias in both articles—one focusing on the positives and the other on the negatives. She decided to check the authors' credentials, the sources cited, and the dates of publication. She also looked for additional perspectives by reading more articles on the topic. Tom, on the other hand, felt overwhelmed by the conflicting information and decided to believe the article that aligned with his existing opinion. Sarah’s approach helped her gain a balanced understanding of the issue, while Tom remained stuck in his viewpoint. This example shows the importance of evaluating media for bias and credibility.


11.
What does Sarah do to evaluate the media sources?

a.
She checks the authors' credentials, sources, and reads additional perspectives.

b.
She asks her friends which article they like better.

c.
She ignores the articles altogether and instead speaks to her teacher about the topic.

d.
She trusts the article that matches her opinion and rejects any that do not.

Answer 1

a. She checks the authors' credentials, sources, and reads additional perspectives.