Media Feature MS CCRS RI.7.

7: Compare and contrast a

text to an audio, video, or multimedia

Comparing Text to Other Media version of the text, analyzing each

medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g.,
how the delivery of a speech affects the
impact of the words).

Think of a recent news story that made you feel sad, excited, angry, or amazed. Maybe it was a
natural disaster, or an important sporting event, or something that happened right where you
live. How did you first hear the news? Did you read it online? See a TV news report? Hear about
it on the radio?

How information is delivered can be as important as the information itself. That’s because
images and sound often affect how people react to news. The first televised Presidential
Debate in 1960 proved just how important images are. Americans who listened to the debate
on the radio were positive that Richard Nixon won. But almost everyone who watched it on TV
felt just as strongly that John F. Kennedy won! Why? Well, experts thought it was because of
the way the men looked. Kennedy was younger and appeared very relaxed. Nixon was older
and was sweating throughout much of the debate.

When you read and then view a speech, you can understand how the way in which you receive
information can affect your response to it.

The chart below shows some of the benefits of reading a speech, versus watching and
hearing it. After you complete the activities on the next page, you will consider limitations
as well as benefits of these different ways to experience and understand the content of
a speech.

Reading a Speech Watching and Listening to a Speech

Benefits Benefits
You can… You can…
• take as much time as you like to read • see the speaker’s expressions and gestures
through it • hear the speaker’s emotion
• reread anything that is unclear • notice which words and ideas the speaker
• evaluate every detail emphasizes
• study and appreciate word choice • hear the rhythm of the words
• examine the way the information is • see and hear how other people may be
structured reacting to the words

Discuss the differences between reading a news story in a newspaper or magazine

versus seeing it on TV or online. Which medium would you rather use to learn about
a sporting event? How about a natural disaster or the buzz about a new movie?
Why?

Comparing Text to Other Media 205

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 Media Feature

On the previous page you learned how reading a speech can be a very different experience from
watching and listening to one. Now you’ll look at a specific example of a famous speech as it appeared
in print and on TV. Think about how the medium used to deliver the message affects your response.

Read this excerpt from President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech. It is considered to be one of
the best inaugural speeches in American history. Underline words and phrases that seem especially
powerful.

President John F. Kennedy

excerpt from his Inaugural Speech, January 20, 1961

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of
defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—
I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any
other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our
country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can
do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we
can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same
high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure
reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love…

Now that you’ve read the excerpt, you’ll find out how Kennedy actually looked and sounded when he
delivered it. First, you’ll hear the speech. The second time, you’ll both hear and see it. Take notes on
what you noticed as just a listener, and then as both a listener and a viewer. Were the phrases and
words you underlined in the text of the speech the same ones that impressed you as you listened and
watched?

Discuss the differences between reading Kennedy’s speech and then seeing and hearing it.
Which experience is more powerful? Why? What are the limitations to each experience? Did
reading the text first help you appreciate Kennedy’s delivery of the speech?

206 Comparing Text to Other Media

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