Objectives:

• To understand that we all (journalists included) have certain life experiences, which influence our attitudes and perception of the reality;
• To realise that different experiences have an effect on selecting and understanding information;
• To explain how different mechanisms may influence the media content;
• To identify the factors, which influence the stories and content, created by the media.

Materials:

Computer, projector, speakers, video: One Word – Episode 25: Christopher Columbus (http://internationalstudiesandsociology.blogspot.com/2015/11/on e-word-episode-25-christopher.html)

Process:

Begin with showing the participants a video on how the indigenous Americans – the Indians – received Columbus and his invasion to America. If you don’t want to use the video due to a possible language barrier (the video is in English), you can immediately jump to the discussion.

Discussion questions:

• Who discovered America? Was America discovered?
• Has somebody already been living in America before Columbus discovered it? If so, then why do we speak of its discovery?
• Had someone else visited America before Columbus? (Vikings – Leif Erikson)
• Did anyone live in America before the vikings went there? Who?

• What did you learn at school during history lessons, or what information did you get from the media on the discovery of America?
• Who was Christopher Columbus?
• Why did he name the local Americans as Indians?
• What could a media message on an anniversary of the discovery of America look like, written by European journalists? What would it look like, written by indigenous Americans? You can divide the participants into smaller groups and ask them to write short press releases.

Summarise your discussion – the factor of power, which influences our attitude towards reality and its effect in the content, produced by the media. The participants should be encouraged to think and answer how the factor of power influences their personal attitude towards reality and how various facts reflect in their attitude or the content of the media messages.