Free Lesson Plans For Teachers: Sold

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Free Lesson Plans for Teachers
Alpha Stage

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April 2, 2007

The L.A. Times is running an article entitled, "Real Estate Magnate
Wins Bidding for Tribune."

Chicago billionaire Sam Zell purchased the Tribune Company, owner
of the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Newsday and a host
of other media organizations for $13 billion. Given the increased
popularity of Internet news sites, many potential investors stayed
away from the purchase of a newspaper company.

The article states, "(Sam Zell) said in an interview with the Associated
Press last month that he was more bullish on the company's core
businesses than most. 'I just think that newspapers are a part of our
life and they're a part of our culture and a part of our society,' Zell
said, 'and there will always be a place for them.'"

Read a Similar Article!!

Discussion-Starters for Younger Children

Ask your students where they would look if they wanted to
find out which baseball teams won games yesterday. Where
would they look if they wanted to find out if any new games or
movies were being sold in stores? Encourage them to support
their answers.

Consider showing students several pictures from the
newspaper. Ask them to think about the context of the
picture. Where was it taken? What does it show? Would
you (the students) enjoy being at the place where the
picture was taken? Why/why not?

If your class had its own newspaper what would the headlines
be from last week? What were the most important things that
happened in your class this past week?

Consider creating a class newspaper. While some
students can draw, or even take pictures, others can
write short stories. The class might hold an "Editorial
Meeting" to decide which stories to include.

Some newspapers have pictures; others don't have too many.
Do your students think that newspapers should have pictures?
Why/why not? Encourage them to come up with several
different reasons to support their answers. What can people
learn from pictures, even if they know how to read?

Consider making a list of things that people can learn
from pictures.

Most newspapers contain information about the weather. Do
your students think it's important to know about the weather?
Why/why not?

Tell students to imagine that they are going on a day trip
to a nearby city. Show them the weather forecast in the
paper. What kinds of clothes will they need to bring
with them? Why?

Discussion-Starters for Older Students

Vocabulary terms to discuss: Mogul; Entrepreneur; Flagship;
and, Fragmentation.

Do your students think that purchasing a newspaper company
is a good investment in 2007? Why/why not? How does the
Internet influence the potential of this investment?

Ask your students to imagine that Mr. Zell has asked
them to prepare memos explaining the influence that the
Internet will have on newspapers. What would they tell
him? Why? Consider letting students work in groups of
two or three.

In a similar article, the New York Times reported that the
Tribune Company currently based in Chicago wanted to find a
Chicago buyer for the company. Why do your students think
that they wanted ownership to remain in Chicago? If your
students were on the board of the Tribune Company would
they want ownership to remain in Chicago? Why/why not

These questions could prompt an interesting class
discussion. Consider asking students to share their
answers to these questions. Then ask them to support
the opposite answer. This activity will force them to
think critically.

Pose: Imagine that Sam Zell asked for advice. Should he sell off
the various parts of the company or keep them together as one
large company. Remember that the Tribune Company owns
numerous papers around the country? What questions would
your students want answered before offering advice to Mr.
Zell? Why would they want these questions answered?

Consider asking students to develop a list of five
questions that they would like answered. The class
could then speculate on the answers. Ask students if
they think that questions are important to the
development of a business plan. Why/why not?

This article is about the ownership of newspapers. In some
countries newspapers are owned by the government. Do your
students think it would be smart for the U.S. government to
publish its own newspapers? Why/why not?

Consider asking students to write responses to this
question. They might incorporate a core democratic
value into their argument.

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