It's News to Me

1. Chronicle, Dispatch, Tribune, and Post are names of some newspapers. What do they mean and why were such names chosen?
2. How many different newspapers can you name? What is your local newspaper?
3. Look at the editorial page of any newspaper. Find the publisher and editor(s). What other jobs are listed?
4. Do you have a school newspaper? What is its name and why? If you began your own paper, what would you call it? Why?
5. What is a tabloid? How is it different from a regular newspaper (called a broadsheet)? Choose a historical event such as the landing of Columbus in 1492. Write a headline about it for a tabloid. Do the same for a broadsheet.
6. What connections do then following have wioth the history of American newspapers?
   • Nellie Bly
   • Margaret Bourke-White
   • Horace Greeley
   • Bill Mauldin
   • Thomas Nast
   • Ernie Pyle
   • Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
   • Peter Zenger
7. Benjamin Franklin was a "printer's devil." What does this term mean? Why was this important in his life?
8. What is a "wire service" (may be found under "news service" or "news agency"). Name some. See how many different ones are used in a newspaper.
9. What are the names of some newspapers published in other countries?
10. "Freedom of the Press" is guaranteed by the First Amendment, yet at various times the government and individuals have sought to limit that freedom. Look for an instance in which freedom of the press was challenged. Debate the two sides.

Copyright 2003 by School Librarian's Workshop. For-profit use prohibited.