GSP163e: LONDON (NYTIMES) – When Mr. Boris Johnson was Campaigning for Britain: Introduction to Critical Media Literacy Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Assignment Overview:

Annex A

The Straits Times Article

Behind the coronavirus report that jolted the US and Britain into action

LONDON (NYTIMES) – When Mr. Boris Johnson was campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union in 2016 – a path that many experts warned would end in disaster for the country – one of his close allies, Mr. Michael Gove, famously declared that “people in this country have had enough of experts”.

Now, Mr. Gove and Mr. Johnson are leading the British government as it confronts the calamity of the coronavirus, and Mr. Johnson, now the prime minister, insists that the process is being guided by experts. The trouble is, those experts can often disagree with each other or change their minds about the right course of action.

That messy back-and-forth has been on vivid display this week with the publication of a startling new report on the virus from a team at Imperial College London. The report, which warned that an uncontrolled spread of the disease could cause as many as 510,000 deaths in Britain, triggered a sudden shift in the government’s comparatively relaxed response to the virus.

Annex B

The Straits Times Article

Coronavirus: ‘Too big a price to pay’ to achieve herd immunity in Singapore through natural infection

SINGAPORE – Achieving herd immunity to Covid-19 through natural infection in the population will lead to a higher number of deaths and infections and overwhelm Singapore’s healthcare system, said Health Ministry director of medical services Kenneth Mak.

Speaking during a virtual briefing on Tuesday (May 12), Associate Professor Mak made clear that there was “too big a price for us to pay” to reach herd immunity in this way, and thus it has not been part of Singapore’s strategy to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“If we assume that we’re going to let Covid-19 spread freely in our population, we will then have to accept the costs associated with more seniors getting ill, more seniors getting complications, and a significant number of seniors even dying from infection.

Annex C

CNN Business Article

Fox News looks the other way as the US passes grim 100,000 death milestone

To begin her program on Wednesday night, Rachel Maddow walked viewers through the front pages of the nation’s top news organizations. Maddow pointed out that the top headlines across the board were about the United States passing a grim milestone: 100,000 deaths from coronavirus. NYT, WaPo, CNN, and others were all leading with that story, she explained to viewers.

But there was one outlier. “Just so you’re aware, this is what is, in contrast, this is what the front page is for our friends at the Fox News Channel right now,” Maddow said. “It’s as you can see a little bit different.” Indeed, above the fold, Fox was covering everything but the death toll.

“If you scroll down and scroll down and scroll down, eventually you do get — they do ultimately get to, oh yeah, 100,000 Americans dead,” Maddow said. “They do get to it eventually.”

Question 1

Consider the story “Behind the coronavirus report that jarred the US and Britain into action” which first appeared in the New York Times. (Refer to Annex A).

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/behind-the-coronavirus-report-that-jarred-the-us-and-britain-to-action

1. In your opinion, does the NYT story create a sense of clarity or confusion, by citing a number of experts? Explain your view. Limit your answer to 350 words.
2. Demonstrate whether the NYT article “Behind the coronavirus report that jarred the US and Britain into action” portrays the British politicians in a good light or a critical one. Limit your answer to 150 words.

Question 2

Consider the article “Coronavirus: Too big a price to pay to achieve herd immunity through natural infection” (Refer to Annex B).

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/coronavirus-too-big-a-price-to-pay-to-achieve-herd-immunity-through-natural-infection

Does this article create a sense of confidence or confusion? State your view and explain how the article does that. Limit your answer to 200 words.

Question 3

Consider the story “Fox News looks the other way as US passes grim 100,000 death milestone” (Refer to Annex C).

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/media/fox-news-coronavirus-deaths-reliable-sources/index.html

The 100,000 figure is big news, and other media outlets have given it prominence. However, Fox News chose to ignore it, mostly. State which THREE of Chomsky’s and Herman’s filters could have been at work to make Fox News overlook the news that its competitors were covering. Develop sound justification for your selection of filters. Limit your answer to 250 words.