{"id":234,"date":"2014-09-26T18:21:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T18:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/gobehindthenews\/?post_type=chapter&p=234"},"modified":"2017-05-08T21:41:28","modified_gmt":"2017-05-08T21:41:28","slug":"the-octopus-that-almost-ate-seattle-balance-fairness-and-bias","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/chapter\/the-octopus-that-almost-ate-seattle-balance-fairness-and-bias\/","title":{"raw":"The Octopus that Almost Ate Seattle","rendered":"The Octopus that Almost Ate Seattle"},"content":{"raw":"

December 30, 2013<\/p>\r\n\"\"When diver Dylan Mayer caught a giant Pacific octopus in Seattle\u2019s Puget Sound, a controversy erupted. When pictures of Mayer\u2019s catch hit the Internet, they caused an uproar among local environmentalists, who falsely believed the octopus was endangered and might eventually disappear from the Sound. The story and its aftermath were captured by Marnie Hanel, a journalist based in Portland, Oregon, in a New York Times Magazine feature article entitled \u201cThe Octopus that Almost Ate Seattle.\u201d\r\n\r\nAlthough the environmentalists\u2019 fears were misplaced \u2013 the giant Pacific octopus population is in fact robust and the animal is routinely enjoyed by diners at a trendy \u2018locavore\u2019 restaurant favored by Seattle\u2019s \u201cfood community\u201d \u2013 the story offers a great window into some key News Literacy concepts, including balance, fairness and bias, as an interview conducted by Center for News Literacy Director Dean Miller with both author Marnie Hanel and her editor, Jon Kelly, revealed.\r\n\r\nAudio Clips<\/strong>\r\n\r\nREADER BIAS<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\nJournalist Marnie Hanel first describes the inherent bias in the reader.\r\n\r\n[embed]http:\/\/drc.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/sites\/default\/files\/wp-uploads\/2013\/12\/Marnie_BiasRecut.mp3[\/embed]\r\n\r\nEditor Jon Kelly followed up on the discussion of the reader\u2019s bias brought to the story.\r\n