Suggestions for Final Projects

I am OK with collaborations; I encourage them. I believe ideas are better when shared and worked out externally. Just make sure to speak with me first so I can check up that each of you are pulling equal weight. 

1) Create an advertisement or video commercial and write a 4-5 page write up that includes an explanation of:

-The tactics you used including aesthetics (the type of environment/ color scheme /camera angles/ focus), actors (sex, race, age), body language, etc.

-WHY did you implored those tactics: what audience were you trying to reach; what were you trying to make your audience feel; what is the advertisement's intent

-What advertisements inspired your work

- Are you critical of these types of advertisements

2) Make an 8-10 minute video documentary on any media-related issue (this must be a contemporary analysis; it can not simply be the history of a specific medium, though that information may be included)

3) Make an 8-10 minute podcast. This, too, must take a contemporary look at a given subject. No historical timelines. Those are boring and include no new information. Listen to the NPR shows "This American Life" and "On the Media" for inspiration. 

3) Write a 10-page academic paper on any contemporary media-related issue such as Objectivity or Media Ownership

4) Write a 10-page creative non-fiction essay that is critical of a contemporary issue. Re-read Joan Didion or Hunter Thompson for inspiration.

Definition of a journalist

The digital world of news gathering and reporting has complicated the traditional definition of the journalist, which was defined in 1987 as one who gathers and reports information to disseminate to the public. Because of the broad-nature of this definition and the increasing number of people claiming to be journalists (bloggers, especially), many are arguing for a more specific definition.

As we discussed in class, the benefit of being defined, by law, as a journalist is their right to keep anonymous sources confidential and a protection against certain modes of speech.

Take a look at the following arguments in the debate section of the New York Times then write a response to whether you think Crystal Cox (and all bloggers for that matter) should be considered journalists by the law. Please use the following link as a source as well as two others (one may be from the textbook, though it doesn't have to be; you can rely on online sources for this post).

  http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/12/11/are-all-bloggers-journalists

Sandy Hook School Shooting due Wednesday March 6 at 10 p.m.

The following is a quote from our text:

In the nineteenth century and far into the twentieth century, newspapers and then TV news strove for “objectivity,” or neutrality, muting their political viewpoints to appeal to the broadest possible audience. However, in today’s fragmented marketplace (where we now have more and more media options), newspapers and TV news have lost a lot of their audiences to smartphones, social networks, and the Internet. This means that the media must target smaller groups with shared interests— such as conservatives, liberals, sports fanatics, history buffs, or shopaholics— to find an audience—and the advertisers and revenue that come with them.

Take this quote into consideration as you do the following:

1) Read a number of reports on the Sandy Hook School shooting from DIFFERENT news sources. Some you may want to look at are: NYTimes, Fox News, BBC, NPR, New Yorker, Newton local papers, and Hudson Valley local papers.
2) After reading a few, pick two or more that are vastly different in their reporting/storytelling.
3) Summarize both and explain 1) The major differences and 2) The reason you believe the newspaper reported it the way they did. What were their aims? How did they want their readers to feel? React?

Make sure to use at least one citation from Chapter 7 of our textbook.

Do not feel limited to only report on the event itself. You may choose to focus on gun control, for example, an issue that has exploded after the shooting.