As long as there have been news media, there have been accusations of media bias.

In this activity,
students use the E.S.C.A.P.E. strategy to closely analyze a historical source, shedding light on
historical instances of bias in the news and drawing comparisons to present-day problems and
complaints.

GRADE LEVEL: Middle and high school

TIME: 30-60 minutes

MATERIALS: Copies of the Bias Through History worksheet; access to the gallery of historical
sources on this page (either printed copies or via devices); contemporary examples of bias in the
media, such as politically driven news sources (optional); E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News poster for reference
(optional, download)

PREPARE
1. Make copies of the Bias Through History worksheet, one per student.
2. Review the gallery of historical sources on this page.
3. Prepare access to/copies of example(s) of contemporary biased media (optional).

DO
1. Ask students to help define bias. Be sure your definition includes the concepts of expressing an
unfair judgment based on pre-existing thoughts, habits or opinions, and be clear that there are
many different forms of bias. Some are more serious, such as political, cultural or racial bias
that can affect our understanding of and experiences in the world. Others are less serious, like
bias for/against certain sports teams, foods or lifestyles. We all have biases. But bias in the
news media can be a problem if we don’t realize it’s there, because we may accept a twisted
version of the truth as fact.
2. Hand out the Bias Through History worksheets and assign students one of the historical
sources in the gallery on this page to analyze. Students may work in teams, pairs or individually.
You may choose to go over the E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News poster to prepare students to employ
its six ways to analyze an item: evidence, source, context, audience, purpose and execution.
3. When students have completed their worksheets, look at the historical sources in the gallery as
a class and briefly explain what each one is.
4. Then discuss the questions below.

DISCUSS
1. Consider each source. Is it biased? How do you know? If so, what is it biased against/toward?
2. Drawing evidence from these sources, how can media bias shape public understanding of
what’s happening in the world?
3. Do you think these sources are open about their biases? Or do they attempt to conceal their
biases and appear objective? Explain.
4. Is it possible for a journalist to be completely free from bias? Explain.
5. Do you think any of these sources could be confusing to readers? Explain.
6. Why is it important to recognize bias when looking at historical sources? Why is it important
when looking at present-day media?
7. How are these examples of biased journalism the same as/different from biased media seen
today? (You may present contemporary examples for comparison if desired.)

Washington, D.C., area school groups are sponsored by WTOP 103.5 FM.