The information ecosystem

Explain the difference between reporting facts and expressing an opinion, and state in which sections of a digital newspaper each type of content usually appears.

Explain the difference between a correspondent, a staff writer and a columnist in a newspaper, and what you can expect from each person's work.

Order these sources from most to least reliable for a school project and justify your order: an online encyclopaedia entry with references, an anonymous thread on social media, the website of an official organisation and an amateur's personal blog.

The figure compares three common news channels.

State which feature usually occupies the space marked with ?, explain how the answer affects the reliability of each channel and propose an appropriate use for each of the three in a school project.

Many digital newspapers are free and survive on the advertising generated by page visits. Explain what clickbait is, why this business model rewards its use, and give an invented example of a clickbait headline alongside its informative version.

A tech blog publishes smartphone "reviews" that include commission affiliate links, without disclosing it anywhere. Analyse how this differs from traditional advertising, what transparency obligations exist for sponsored content, and how this changes the trust you would place in those reviews.

Explain what a news podcast is, how it differs from traditional radio (on demand, no set timetable, from any creator), and what checks regarding authorship and sources still need to be maintained.

Explain what a hyper-local news outlet (for a neighbourhood or town) is, what news it covers that major media outlets do not, and what risk there is in being financially dependent on the local council it is supposed to hold to account.

A bystander records with their mobile phone a 15-second altercation between two people in the street and posts it on social media with the caption: "Brutal assault right in the city centre and the police do nothing!". The video reaches half a million views. Hours later, it is confirmed that the scene was part of the authorized filming of a movie and that the people involved were actors.

1. a) Justify, based on this case, why the mere recording and dissemination of images by witnesses (citizen journalism or direct eyewitness account) is not equivalent to professional journalistic work.
2. b) Detail three stages of the journalistic method (technical verification of metadata/geolocation, consulting and cross-checking official sources, and temporal contextualization) that would have prevented this hoax from going viral.
3. c) Design a three-step verification protocol that your secondary school's news channel should apply if it receives a shocking video before deciding whether it is truthful and publishable.

A news outlet runs the headline "The city is outraged" based on a poll conducted on social media. Explain why this sample does not represent the city (who uses that social network, who chooses to respond) and what minimum data a reliable poll must provide: sample size, margin of error and who commissioned it.

Compare two headlines about the same event: "Group of youths causes public disturbance in the square" versus "Local residents protest against youth centre closure". Analyse which words shape your opinion before reading the article and what technique both headlines use.

Imagine three media outlets covering the same news story: the implementation of a municipal tax on fast-food home delivery companies.

• Media Outlet A: Digital newspaper funded 80% by member subscriptions and 20% by local advertising.

• Media Outlet B: Free news portal whose two largest advertisers are the country's two main delivery platforms.

• Media Outlet C: Public municipal radio station funded 100% by the City Council promoting the tax.

1. a) Predict the editorial approach (favorable, critical, or neutral) and the possible biases or conflicts of interest that each outlet will foreseeably display in their headlines and coverage.
2. b) Justify why knowing the ownership structure and funding sources of a media outlet is essential to critically interpret the information it publishes.

In a fictional country, two business groups control 82% of the radio and television audience and 75% of digital press readership. Both groups share two banking institutions and an international investment fund as majority shareholders.

1. a) Interpret these data: if a financial fraud scandal breaks involving one of those banks, predict what risks pluralism faces and how the agenda-setting of these media outlets might be affected.
2. b) Justify why the existence of independent public media and community or cooperative platforms serves as a necessary democratic counterweight against corporate concentration.
3. c) Design a "pluralistic news diet" using three operational guidelines for a 3rd-year ESO student to cross-check technological and social current affairs without relying on a single media group.

In today's digital environment, a paradox arises: media outlets with professional investigative newsrooms set up paywalls with subscriptions ranging between 6 and 15 € per month, while clickbait, hoax, and disinformation websites are completely open and free to access, sustained by massive advertising.

1. a) Interpret the socio-political consequences of this situation: predict what will happen to the disinformation gap between social sectors with different purchasing power if this model becomes consolidated.
2. b) Critically evaluate two possible solutions: 1) funding free access to quality information through a universal public fee or tax; 2) offering free digital press licenses through the network of public libraries and secondary schools. Point out an advantage and a technical or management limitation for each one.
3. c) Design a proposal of two concrete measures that your secondary school could implement to ensure that all students have access to rigorous sources without direct financial cost.