Sunday, October 29, 2006

Chicago's Most Haunted

Did you know that ghosts haunt the site of a theater fire in Chicago? No really! It was on the local news.

Check the video clip right here.

Read the text of the report here.

They wouldn't report it as fact if it weren't really a fact. They didn't even include the token, highly-edited soundbite from a low-level skeptic. Obviously... because the ghosts are really real.

Anyway, back to reality. Here's the lesson plan, teachers.
1. Make a list of "facts" as reported in the piece. Have students label each one as to how it was reported: as fact or as speculation.
2. Were alternate explanations offered?
3. Who supplied the photos that included "images" of spirits or ghosts?
4. What "weasel words" did the newscast use to circumvent journalistic accountability?

Super-Bonus: "Psychic Detective" Ken Melvoin-Berg and "PhyzBlogger Extraordinaire" Dean Baird have something significant in common. What is it?

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