STUDENT ORGANIZER QUESTIONNAIRE          Part I -- Newspaper Coverage Directions: Each group will act as a newspaper publisher/journalist and must decide how to present the Jeff Gannon story to their readers. Answer the following questions: Conduct research on the media coverage of the Jeff Gannon/James Guckert story and on the guidelines for journalists. Provide a bullet point list of the most important facts you learned and provide a citation for each fact. For each citation try to determine if the organization has any political leanings and explain how you came to that conclusion. Attempt to find a variety of viewpoints on the story. Create a list of the facts that you feel your newspaper should focus on in covering the Jeff Gannon story. Explain why you chose these facts. As a group, select the final facts you will cover in your newspaper article. Using the research you conducted on guidelines for journalists provide a rationale for why your newspaper chose to cover the story in this fashion. Do you think your newspaper is biased? Part II -- Position Paper Directions: Write a 1-2 page position paper on one of the below topics. This is an opportunity for you to express your view on this position using a combination of research and personal opinion. Use the questions as a guide in writing your position paper. Include a bibliography of the sources you used in researching your position. Position on Journalism What is a journalist? Is a journalist allowed to express an opinion, or should journalists just report the facts? Are there instances when a journalist can express opinion, for example in an editorial? What are a journalist's responsibilities? Do they have a responsibility to the public? What qualifications do you need to be a journalist? What is a legitimate news source? When is a little bias too much bias? Whose responsibility is it to set journalistic guidelines? The public? The government? Journalist organizations? Who are the stakeholders in the interplay between journalism and society? Position on Media Control Should there be controls on commercial and/or public television. If so, who should decide what is broadcast? Should there be any government control on media? If so, should there be limits on the control? What is the difference between legitimate media control and censorship? Do your answers to the questions above reveal your own cultural/political beliefs?