1. WHAT IF MAY 4TH
HAPPENEDTODAY?
An activity to explore what media would look like
Candace Perkins Bowen, journalism professor
Aug. 2, 2019
2. First, some background
■ If May 4th events happened today
■ When protesters and the National Guard clashed on Kent
State’s campus in 1970, newspapers, television and radio
covered the events, some many hours after the fact. But what
if this all happened 50 years later?
■ First we’ll look at what was produced in 1970, then discuss
what might have changed if digital and social media had been
around to tell the story and show what was happening in real
time. We’ll explore how this could be a lesson plan for English,
journalism, history and other social studies classes.
3. Television coverage – NBC Nightly News
■ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156607570673689
4. What stands out?What is different?
■ Black and white
■ Really bad video
■ No stand-up reporter
■ No interviews – live or otherwise
■ No apparent sources for some statements of “fact”
■ What else?
5. •The next day
• Large photo (but look at it…. We’ll
talk about it later)
•Black and white
•Page is mostly on the topic or
related ones
•What else?
What about newspaper
coverage?
6. • It’s the May 5th paper
• Large photo
• Black and white
• Head shots of those killed
• Most of the front page is this story
•What else?
What about newspaper
coverage?
7. What about news
photos?
• How many
were published?
https://www.ohio.com/photogallery/oh/20190503/news/503009994/PH/
1
9. What was media missing then?
■ Online news site
https://www.nytimes.com/
■ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/nytimes/?hl=en
■ Twitter
https://twitter.com/nytimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ea
uthor
■ Podcast
https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/podcasts
■ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNewYorkTimes
■ Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/
10. Things to consider about digital media
■ Quicker dissemination – what would this have meant May 4th?
■ Farther distribution – what might that mean?
■ “Fake news” and fact checking?
■ Interactive possibilities
■ “Room” for many more photos and visuals
■ Crowd sourcing – what if students were all shooting video with
smart phones?
■ In-depth possibilities?
11. What if this had happened in 2020?
The assignment
■ Explore these and other media coverage of May 4
■ Depending on course, divide in groups, making lists of
what’s different and what’s missing.
– For journalism or English class, assign each group a
news outlet and have them decide how that outlet
would cover the story today
– For history?
– For social studies?
Editor's Notes
Television news was also on at specific times. People were used to turning on the 6 or 10 o’clock news. Rarely did stations interrupt with breaking news. How quickly does news get out now? What does that do to create more competition between stations? Why might that affect coverage?
Notice the lighter color above the girl’s head. Keep that in might when you see this photo again. What do you notice about the tone of the headlines?
How is this page from the closest major paper near Kent differ from The Plain Dealer, in Cleveland about 35 miles northeast? Note the head shots. What purpose do those serve?
These 103 photos are from the Akron Beacon Journal and some of its photographers. Think back to photos you may have seen from May 4th. What are they? Many would have seen John Filo’s Pultizer Prize-winning one of Mary Ann Vechhio, screaming as she kneels by the body of Jeffrey Miller (on page 1 of The Plain Dealer). Others might remember the photo of Alan Canfora, who was later wounded, shown waving a black flag at the National Guard. (#13) But do any of THESE photos show images that might make people feel a little differently? Or make them angrier? (#11 in this collection? Why can we now see more photos in the news than people did in 1970? (digital media has practically unlimited space, crowdsourcing shots add to the possibilities, etc.)
He talks very fast and has little expression. He does at least essentially source his story, but he has no natural source, no interviews with bystanders OR experts.
Discuss how the content is different for each of these digital platforms. What are their purposes?