Good News -- And Bad
GOOD NEWS -- AND BAD
Practice English with your teacher
Warm-up
Talk about these questions with your teacher.
선생님과 이야기해 보세요.
- The passage discusses the tension between press freedom and individual reputation. Have you ever seen someone's life damaged by a news report, whether accurate or not?
- The text says there is no way to protect individuals without changing the Constitution. Should there be stronger protections against media harm, even at the cost of press freedom?
Vocabulary
Listen and repeat after your teacher.
선생님을 따라 읽어보세요.
Reading
Read the passage with your teacher.
선생님과 함께 지문을 읽어보세요.
One of the latent dangers indigenous to our constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press has to do with the protection of the individual against the detriment that might come from news reports involving him. There are libel laws that protect against false charges. If an individual believes his character or livelihood have been damaged by a defamatory article, he can sue. As the plaintiff he must refute the story and show how the defendant attempts to substantiate the truth of the article. The printing of news may besmirch and individual’s character, but there is no way to alleviate this problem without changes in the Constitution. This would be tantamount to destroying the efficacy of our coveted right to learn the truth from the press. We all deprecate a situation in which someone suffers because of exposure in the newspapers. Only when the harm is caused by someone with a desire to malign under the guise of printing the news can the individual expect to win compensation through the courts.
Dialogue Practice
Practice the dialogue with your teacher.
선생님과 대화를 연습해 보세요.
What is the main idea of the article?
Is graffiti considered a social problem?
What is graffiti? Where do you see it? i.e. walls, trains?
What messages do you see? i.e. political, love messages, funny, personal,
poetic?
Should the government punish those who write graffiti?
Should the government reserve places for those who want to write?graffiti?
Is graffiti a type of "art"?
If you were allowed to write something, what would you say?
What can we do about graffiti writers?
Korean Trap! / 한국인 실수 교정
Common mistakes Korean speakers make.
한국인이 자주 하는 실수를 알아봅시다.
'sue'는 'for + 이유'로 쓰입니다. 'because of'는 부사구로 다른 문장 구조에서 쓰세요. 'sue someone for something'이 올바른 패턴입니다.
Discussion
Share your thoughts with your teacher.
선생님과 의견을 나눠보세요.
- The passage says the press can "besmirch" someone's character legally. In the age of viral social media, has this problem become worse than what traditional media could cause?
- The text distinguishes between legitimate reporting and someone who wants to "malign under the guise of printing the news." How can we distinguish between investigative journalism and character assassination?
- Korea has strong defamation laws that can lead to criminal prosecution. Are these laws appropriate protections, or do they chill free speech?
- The passage uses legal terms like "plaintiff" and "defendant." Should media literacy, including understanding legal rights, be taught in schools?
- In the "fake news" era, who should be responsible for verifying the truth of published information -- the media, the government, or the readers themselves?
Lesson Summary / 수업 요약
Today's Topic: GOOD NEWS -- AND BAD
Level: Low Advanced (L.A)
Review this lesson before your next class! / 다음 수업 전에 복습하세요!