Session 7 Discussion: What is left out?

Find a news story about a community you belong to, or one you know well. What has the journalist got wrong — not in terms of facts, but in terms of what they have chosen to include and leave out? Whose perspective is missing?

Try to use: underrepresented, perspective, positionality, parachute journalism, lived experience

A news article about a strike at a factory quotes three economists, two government ministers, and the company's CEO. It does not quote a single worker. How does the choice of sources shape the story? What would change if a worker had been quoted?

Try to use: representation, angle, dissenting voice, footnote, amplify

Is the omission of a perspective always deliberate — or can it be unconscious? Can a journalist have a blind spot without being aware of it? What kinds of structural factors in newsrooms might produce systematic omissions?

Try to use: positionality, echo chamber, selection bias, invisible majority, counternarrative

Some argue that giving equal coverage to fringe views alongside well-evidenced ones is "false balance" — that it misleads audiences by suggesting both sides are equally credible. Others argue that suppressing any view is censorship. How do you navigate this tension?

Try to use: false balance, nuance, complexity, epistemic injustice, dissenting voice

International news coverage tends to focus on conflict, disaster, and crisis in the Global South, while everyday life, culture, and politics go largely unreported. What are the consequences of this pattern? Who does it serve — and who does it harm?

Try to use: representation, parachute journalism, framing, invisible majority, counternarrative

Think of a story that has been almost completely ignored by mainstream media in your country but that you believe is genuinely important. Why do you think it has been left out? What would need to change for it to get coverage?

Try to use: underreported, angle, silenced, dog whistle, agenda