Grade by Grade
B. Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life · Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life

Can Media Make a Difference? Assessing Media and Global Issues

B1.4About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe ways media (news, ads, music, social media, celebrities) try to improve quality of life.
  • I can assess how effective media campaigns are, including possible harms such as stereotypes.
  • I can explain what makes a media message about a global issue fair and respectful.

Words to know

media
Ways of communicating with many people: news, TV, radio, films, music, advertising, websites and social media.
awareness campaign
An organized effort to inform people about an issue and encourage action.
telethon
A long TV or online broadcast that asks viewers to donate to a cause.
stereotype
An oversimplified, often unfair idea about a group of people or a place.
compassion fatigue
When people see so many appeals and sad stories that they stop paying attention or stop caring.
slacktivism
Supporting a cause in an easy way (like sharing a post) that may not lead to real action.

Hook: a song that raised millions

In 1984, a famine in Ethiopia was shown on TV news. British and Irish musicians recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" as Band Aid, and in 1985 the huge Live Aid concerts were broadcast around the world. Canadian musicians recorded "Tears Are Not Enough" as Northern Lights in 1985. These projects raised large amounts of money. But some people also criticized them. Can media really improve quality of life? Let's investigate.

A large empty outdoor concert stage with lights and speaker towers in a field at sunset.
Benefit concerts on stages like this have raised large amounts of money for global causes. Can media and music really improve quality of life? AI-generated image

How media try to help

  • News journalism shows disasters and injustices, which can push governments and people to act. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Government of Canada matched donations Canadians made to eligible charities.
  • Fundraising ads and telethons ask people to give money.
  • Celebrity spokespeople use their fame to draw attention.
  • Music and concerts raise money and awareness.
  • Social media campaigns spread fast. In 2014 the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge went viral and raised money that helped fund research on ALS, a disease that affects nerves and muscles.
  • Documentaries explain issues in depth.

Possible problems

  • Stereotypes: some campaigns show people only as helpless victims, often from Africa, waiting to be rescued. This ignores people's own strength, work and solutions. In 2012, Norwegian students made a funny video called "Africa for Norway" (part of the Radi-Aid campaign), in which Africans collect radiators for freezing Norwegians, to show how silly stereotyped campaigns can look.
  • Short attention: coverage fades quickly after a disaster, even though recovery takes years.
  • Compassion fatigue: too many sad images can make people stop paying attention.
  • Slacktivism: liking or sharing may make people feel they helped when nothing changed.
  • Accuracy: viral posts can spread misinformation.
  • Focus on the media star: sometimes the celebrity gets more attention than the people affected.
News coverageNeed for help with rebuildingdisasteryears laterTimeAmount
A typical pattern, not real data: news coverage spikes after a disaster and then fades quickly, but the need for help with rebuilding lasts for years.
Question to askWhy it matters
Who made the message, and why?Charities need donations; news needs viewers; that can shape what is shown.
Are local people shown as active, with names and voices?Respectful messages show people's strengths and solutions, not just suffering.
Are facts accurate, with sources?Exaggerated or false claims damage trust.
Does it explain causes, not just symptoms?Lasting change needs people to understand why the problem exists.
Did it lead to measurable results?Money raised, policies changed, lives improved, and over the long term.
Criteria for assessing a media message about a global issue.
Just for fun

Slacktivism check: if world problems could be solved by "likes", cat videos would have ended world hunger years ago. Sharing is a start; the next step is doing something you can measure.

Worked example

Let's assess a campaign

A fictional charity ad shows a sad child alone in dust, sad music, and the words "Only YOU can save her." It gives no name, place or facts. Assess it.

  1. Purpose: to raise donations quickly. It may work in the short term.
  2. Respect: the child has no name, voice or community, and the ad suggests local people can't help themselves. That is a stereotype.
  3. Accuracy: no facts, place or source, so we can't check what the problem is or how money will be used.
  4. Causes and results: it explains no causes and shows no evidence of results.
  5. Improvement: show the child's community leading a project (for example, a women's group running a water committee), give facts with sources, and report results.

The ad may raise money, but it is not fair or respectful and gives no evidence. A better ad would show local leadership, facts and results.

Stereotyped adSad child, alone, no nameNo place, no facts"Only YOU can save her"No results reportedRespectful adNamed people, in theirown communityFacts with sourcesShows local people leadingReports results later
The fictional ad from the example (left) and a better version (right). The respectful ad shows people as active, with names, facts and results.
Hands-on activity

Media audit

You need: access to TV, YouTube, a news site or social media, with a grown-up, and paper.

  1. Find two media messages about a global or national quality-of-life issue (a charity ad, a news story, a music video or a social media campaign).
  2. Use the five questions in the table to score each from 1 (weak) to 3 (strong).
  3. Write which message is more effective and respectful, and why.
  4. Redesign one weak element: rewrite a headline or caption, or sketch a new poster.

Look for: both messages assessed with all five questions, a clear judgment with reasons, and a redesign that shows people as active and gives facts with sources.

Your turn

1

Name three types of media used to raise awareness of global issues.

2

How did the Government of Canada respond to Canadians' donations after the 2010 Haiti earthquake?

3

What is a stereotype, and how can charity ads create one?

4

What is compassion fatigue?

5

Give one strength and one weakness of social media campaigns.

6

What was the point of the "Africa for Norway" video?

7

Why is it important for a media message to explain causes?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a telethon?

2

What was Band Aid's song called?

3

What was the Canadian group of musicians called in 1985?

4

What does slacktivism mean?

5

Which 2014 social media campaign raised money for ALS research?

More practice: on your own

1

Why might news coverage of a disaster help in the first weeks but not later?

2

How could a celebrity spokesperson help and hurt a campaign?

3

Rewrite this headline respectfully: "Helpless villagers wait for Western saviours."

4

How could you check whether a viral post about a global issue is accurate?

5

Why does a charity have a reason to show the worst conditions?

Challenge

1

Assess Band Aid and Live Aid: were they effective in improving quality of life? Give one argument for and one against.

2

Design a social media campaign about a quality-of-life issue that avoids the problems in this lesson. Describe three features.

3

Is media more effective at changing policies or raising money? Use an example.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is an example of a media campaign for a global issue?

2.

A charity ad shows people only as helpless victims. This is a problem because it…

3.

Compassion fatigue means…

4.

Which is the best question to test whether a media campaign was effective?

5.

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Government of Canada…

6.

Which headline is most respectful?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson is about: assessing the effectiveness of media in improving quality of life (B1.4). The curriculum's examples include aid ads, celebrity spokespeople, disaster journalism, fundraising broadcasts and charity songs.

How to help at home:

  • Watch or read one charity ad or news story together and use the five questions in the table.
  • Supervise online searching and talk about checking sources before sharing.

Common difficulties:

  • Assuming emotional = effective.
  • Being cynical about all campaigns. Encourage balanced judgments: many campaigns do real good, and can be done more respectfully.