What’s Out of the Frame?
Tell students that one way of identifying what might have been left out of a story is to can ask yourself first who or what you think ought to be included.
Have students navigate to the student chapter What’s Out of the Frame? and have students complete the first activity.
When students have completed it, ask students why each group of people should be included in the story:
- Doctors who treat the disease: They know about the current treatments and how important a new treatment would (or would not) be.
- Scientists who developed the treatment: They know the most about the new treatment (why they developed it, what the research shows, etc.)
- Other scientists in the same field: They would give a sense of how the new finding relates to the consensus on the issue. Does it build on what scientists already think? Does it suggest current treatments don’t work?
- People living with the disease: They’re the ones who would be most affected if the new treatment works (and is better than current treatments.)
Next, have students complete the second interactive activity.
When they have finished the activity, ask:
- How important is it that other scientists in the field weren’t included? (There is no single right answer, but you can mention that this depends in part on how settled the consensus is in the field.)
- How important is it that nobody who is living with the disease was included? (That’s a major flaw in the article. The story is really about them, but if their voices aren’t included we don’t really know what the new discovery means. For instance, we don’t know if people are happy with the current treatments or whether they’re hoping a new one will be developed.)
- Why might the article have included a spokesperson for a group that advocates for people living with the disease? (You can point out that they might be easier for a reporter to reach than an individual person.)
- Why might the article have included a celebrity? (You can point out that rightly or wrongly, people pay more attention to things celebrities say.)
- Can you think of a situation where the celebrity might have been a relevant source? (If they or someone close to them has the disease, or if they’ve done advocacy or fundraising work for research on the disease.)