A1 Level – Elementary
1. Where do you get your news?
2. Do you watch TV news?
3. Do you trust all the news you hear?
4. What is the difference between good news and bad news?
5. What makes a news story important?
6. What time of day do you usually check the news?
7. Do you like reading the newspaper?
8. What is a common topic in the news?
9. Do you use social media for news?
10. What is a “headline”?
11. Do you think news should always be serious?
12. What makes a picture news-worthy?
13. Do you talk about the news with friends?
14. What makes a reporter good at their job?
15. What is the opposite of true news?
A2 Level – Pre-Intermediate
1. What are the key differences between national news and international news?
2. Describe one news story you followed closely and why it interested you.
3. What are the pros and cons of getting news instantly on your phone?
4. What kind of questions should you ask yourself to check if a news story is true?
5. Have you ever realized that a news story you believed was completely false?
6. What specific things can people do to consume news more responsibly?
7. What is the difference between a fact-based report and a commentary piece?
8. What are common ways media outlets use emotional language to grab attention?
9. How has the rise of citizen journalism changed the way major events are covered?
10. What are the biggest challenges of covering news in a country with strict censorship?
11. What is the importance of having a variety of different news sources?
12. Do you think people should be required to pay for high-quality news content?
13. What are the challenges of translating a news report for an audience with a different cultural background?
14. What are the best ways to teach young people to be skeptical of social media news?
15. What is the difference between hard news (e.g., politics) and soft news (e.g., lifestyle)?
B1 Level – Intermediate
1. Discuss the impact of the 24-hour news cycle on the quality and depth of reporting.
2. How can people avoid falling into an “echo chamber” where they only see news that confirms their existing beliefs?
3. What are the ethical issues surrounding the media’s focus on sensational crime and disaster over complex social problems?
4. Do you agree that the primary function of the news is to hold political and corporate power accountable?
5. Describe a time when a major news event personally affected your mood or plans.
6. To what extent should journalists be allowed to express their personal opinions on social media?
7. What role do news aggregators and algorithms play in determining what news you see first?
8. How do cultural and political norms in different countries influence the reporting of the same international event?
9. Discuss the psychological phenomenon of “news fatigue”—feeling overwhelmed and anxious by the constant bad news.
10. What are the challenges for local news organizations in competing with massive national and global media outlets?
11. How does the concept of “framing” (how a story is presented) subtly influence public perception?
12. Should public funding support independent, non-profit investigative journalism?
13. What is the difference between a genuine error in reporting and deliberate misinformation?
14. Discuss the concept of “media bias” and the difficulty of finding a truly neutral news source.
15. What is the long-term impact of constantly consuming negative news on a person’s general outlook on life?
B2 Level – Upper-Intermediate
1. How does the decline of traditional newspaper revenue affect the ability to fund in-depth, high-quality investigative journalism?
2. What are the ethical arguments about the media’s coverage of private details concerning victims of crime or public tragedies?
3. Should major social media platforms be legally responsible for the political disinformation spread on their services?
4. What are the psychological reasons why people prefer to consume news that confirms their worldview (confirmation bias)?
5. How has the rise of personal newsletters and direct-to-consumer journalism affected the media landscape?
6. Discuss the idea that media content is increasingly tailored to individual emotional responses rather than factual clarity.
7. What is the role of the press in maintaining a healthy democracy and holding elections accountable?
8. How do our cultural assumptions influence our interpretation of news about foreign countries?
9. What are the challenges of covering complex, slow-moving issues like climate change or systemic inequality?
10. Discuss the concept of “media transparency”—the news organization disclosing its funding and potential conflicts of interest.
11. What is the difference between censorship and a responsible editorial decision not to publish sensitive material?
12. Should public broadcasting (e.g., state-funded radio/TV) receive more funding to provide unbiased alternatives to commercial news?
13. What is the impact of declining readership on the long-term historical record kept by newspapers?
14. How does the history of propaganda and wartime censorship continue to affect public trust in contemporary news?
15. Discuss the idea that the power of the press is shifting from traditional organizations to individual content creators.
C1 Level – Advanced
1. Analyze the socioeconomic factors that correlate with low access to reliable news and high vulnerability to misinformation.
2. To what degree should the legal system protect journalists who refuse to disclose confidential sources in court?
3. Discuss the philosophical concept of “freedom of information” and its role in a functioning society.
4. Evaluate the impact of generative AI on the future creation and verification of news content.
5. How does the strategic use of visual media and photography subtly influence the emotional and political response to a news story?
6. Examine the legal challenges of regulating international news flows and preventing the spread of state-sponsored disinformation.
7. What ethical guidelines should govern the use of AI algorithms to filter and prioritize news content for users?
8. Discuss the concept of “epistemic bubbles”—closed communities where people are only exposed to self-confirming information.
9. How do different national policies on media ownership affect the political diversity of available news sources?
10. Analyze the interplay between the financial interests of major advertisers and the editorial independence of news magazines.
11. What ethical challenges arise when journalists must decide whether to publish information that might inadvertently endanger lives?
12. Debate whether the focus on immediate digital news is destroying the public’s capacity for long-form, complex analysis.
13. How does the architecture of news headquarters reflect the industry’s historical shift from print to television and digital?
14. Discuss the concept of “solutions journalism”—reporting on responses to problems rather than just the problems themselves.
15. To what extent does the modern pursuit of “hyper-local” news content act as a necessary counter-force to global media consolidation?
C2 Level – Proficiency
1. How do you analyze the idea that the news media is fundamentally an institution designed to manage public attention and anxiety?
2. Formulate a critique of international legal frameworks designed to prosecute journalists for “sedition” or “anti-state” activities.
3. Analyze the intersection of digital security, anonymous sources, and the protection of journalists operating in high-risk zones.
4. Discuss the philosophical distinction between “reportage” (unfiltered observation) and “narrative” (structured storytelling) in the news.
5. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of fact-checking organizations in reversing the spread and acceptance of viral misinformation.
6. Propose a new, globally applicable standard for news transparency that mandates disclosure of all funding sources and potential conflicts of interest.
7. Examine the psychological function of consuming news rituals (e.g., checking the phone repeatedly) in stabilizing daily uncertainty.
8. How does the semiotics of news design (e.g., urgency in font, color, and sound) communicate emotional and political intent?
9. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of media outlets in ensuring that their archives and historical reporting remain accessible and unaltered.
10. Analyze the historical relationship between cycles of technological innovation and the subsequent centralization or decentralization of news power.
11. Articulate the inherent tension between the universal principle of press freedom and the necessary legal limits on hate speech and incitement.
12. Debate whether a system of mandatory “news literacy education” can overcome deep-seated political polarization in a society.
13. Assess the long-term societal effects of chronic exposure to personalized, non-shared news narratives on public consensus.
14. Discuss the philosophical definition of ‘objectivity’ in reporting and the challenge of separating facts from interpretation.
15. How might the principles of news verification be used to model processes of organizational knowledge validation and intelligence gathering?
