LEARNING RESOURCE MATERIAL...releases hit stores each year, but 90 percent of the records lose money. Record companies rely on a few hit songs to make a proﬁ t (see page 20). With

LEARNING RESOURCE MATERIAL

About Media MadnessHow is your favorite TV show created? Why do magazine models look so great? How much money do musicians make when you buy a CD? Can radio DJs play anything they want?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in Media Madness: An Insider’s Guide to Media. Max McLoon takes you behind the scenes and reveals the secrets professionals use to keep you glued to your favorite media. You’ll also visit media workplaces in action and learn how to analyze tv shows, music and magazines.

Let the media madness begin!

Media Madness Table of Contents

Television ...................................................... 6–19

Makin’ Music .............................................. 20–33

Magazines ................................................... 34–41

Comic Books ............................................... 42–47

Newspapers ................................................ 48–53

Video Games & the Net ............................. 54–61

About the Author Dominic Ali is a Vancouver journalist currently working for the David Suzuki Foundation.

About the Illustrator Michael Cho is an artist, designer and illustrator living in Toronto. He designs Web sites, books, posters, storyboards, trading cards and CD covers.

Media Madness: An Insider’s Guide to Media © 2005. Written by Dominic Ali and illustrated by Michael Cho. www.kidscanpress.com

Television

The following discussion questions and activities are suitable for classes in language arts, social studies and technology.

1. Advertisers use television to showcase their products (see page 11). One effective technique advertisers use to keep viewers entertained and thinking about their product is a jingle or catchphrase.

Divide the class into groups and ask each group to pick a random object in the classroom (a chalkboard eraser, pencil sharpener, notebook, box of chalk, etc.). Have each group come up with a catchy one- to four-line jingle to advertise the object as a product. The group can then attempt to sell the object to the class by presenting their jingle.

2. With networks, cable channels and public broadcasters, viewers are inundated with programming choices (see page 14). Discuss with your class the difference between networks, cable channels and public broadcasters. How are they similar? How are they different? Is one better than the others? Will one outlast the others?

Note: A network is a group of stations that broadcast the same programs. For example, ABC, NBC, Global and CTV are all networks (see pages 14–15). Networks make most of their money by selling advertising. Cable channels cater to specifi c types of viewers with targeted programs and charge a subscription fee. Public broadcasting is government owned or recieves much of its money from taxes, businesses or individuals. It does not rely solely on advertising so it can take more risks with controversial or critical content than commercial networks.

Discussion Questions and Activities

1. Does the message of a song change when a musician incorporates the song into a music video? Bring a selection of songs and their respective videos to class for students to listen to and watch. Ask students to compare the song to the video and discuss whether the message changes from song to video. Ask students to consider aspects such as costumes, lighting, setting, storyline and character development. How do these or other elements in the video affect their interpretation of the song?

Students should also apply the Big Six (see page 5) to the video and consider whether it is an art form or just a three-minute ad.

2. Approximately 27 000 new CD releases hit stores each year, but 90 percent of the records lose money. Record companies rely on a few hit songs to make a profi t (see page 20). With your class, discuss Internet piracy

and how it has affected musicians and the music industry. Should it be legal to download music online for free? As a follow-up question, ask students whether downloading for free is a fi nancial or an ethical choice.

Makin’Music


1. Magazines rely on subscriptions, newsstand sales and advertisers to stay afl oat, but advertising is by far the most lucrative of the three. How do advertisers use this medium to attract consumers to their products? As an individual class assignment, ask students to collect a variety of magazines from home, school or the library and pick a product of their choice. Once they have picked out the product, they should go through each magazine and analyze how that product is presented and advertised. Then ask students to create a collage of that product using the ads from each magazine. As part of the assignment, students should answer the following questions: Who do the ads focus on? Who are the ads targeting? What message are the ads trying to depict? Do the ads play on existing stereotypes?

2. Magazines need stories that will grab the attention of their readers (see page 39). As a group assignment, ask students to pick a magazine they imagine is aimed at their age group. Have each group prepare a list of questions: What caught your attention in the magazine, the stories or the ads? Please choose a story to read. What caught your attention about the story? Would you buy this magazine if you saw it displayed on a newsstand? Ask them to survey eight to ten people they know using the questions they created. Have each group hand in a two-page report detailing the survey and what they learned about their magazine’s target readers.

Magazines

1. Comics have rich dynamic characters that are embedded in interesting ongoing story plots (see pages 42–44 to fi nd out how writers keep their storylines fresh and their readers wanting more). As a classroom discussion, ask students what type of comic book they would create if they had the opportunity. Would they incorporate their culture or aspects of their personal lives into the comic? Would they create superheroes? How would they try to negate cultural stereotypes?

2. Comic books also use archetypes, plot twists and obstacles to keep readers coming back, but it is the strong relationship between art and narrative that draws a reader into the story. As an in-class assignment, ask students to create their own one-page storyboard comic, made up of six to eight panels, using elements of art and narrative. Each storyboard should include main characters, settings and confl icts that may or may not be resolved in the one-page storyboard. Students should steer clear of comic book stereotypes (see page 44) and have the option to work alone or collaboratively on this assignment.

Comic Books


Newspapers1. Newspapers inform readers about people and events that happen in the world around them and refl ect the social and cultural values of our society. As a classroom activity, ask students to read the Newspapers section (pages 48–52) and come up with ideas to create a class newspaper. Each student should be assigned a role (see pages 48–49). Students should work together to track and report on various events taking place at their school over the course of a month and provide updates on leads and stories on a daily basis. After a month, all stories should be submitted, and students should edit, cut and paste the stories together and print them as a booklet. (If a digital camera is available, ask students to take pictures where appropriate and include them in the booklet.) Have students come up with a creative name for the newspaper, and then make the booklet available for other students to read.

2. Using the Big Six (see page 5), ask students to read their local newspaper and write a letter to the editor in response to an issue that matters to them. This is an individual assignment. The article should refl ect the student’s opinion on the subject and take a stance on the issue. Once they submit their letters, encourage students to continue to read the paper to see if any of their letters get published.

Video Games & the Net

1. The Internet has altered every aspect of our lives, from the way we interact with people to the way we process information. As an individual class assignment, ask students to interview different members of their family from different generations and write a report comparing life before and after the Internet (see page 59 for advice on seeking out reliable Web sources).

2. Video games are a great form of entertainment, but are they affecting us subconsciously? As a class discussion, ask students whether they think there is a correlation between playing violent video games and violence. Should there be a tougher game rating system? Should certain games be banned altogether?


The activity pages in this learning resource have been designed as originals that can be reproduced for home or classroom use only. For more learning resource materials, please visit kidscanpress.com.

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LEARNING RESOURCE MATERIAL...releases hit stores each year, but 90 percent of the records lose money. Record companies rely on a few hit songs to make a proﬁ t (see page 20). With