i'm looking for idea help, not for help on the paper. i can't decide what to write about..
The purpose is to demonstrate how the media works or to analyze some event or trend. Below, I’ve provided three broad approaches—pick one or create your own (yours will need my approval).
1. The purpose of this essay is to question why some events are ‘news’ and others aren’t. Philosopher Michel Foucault famously asked why one question is asked and not the other? Uncover the absent questions, he argued, and you’ll find the more important (real) issues. Select any news vehicle—newspaper, magazine, television, on-line news, documentaries—and ask what is missing and why that matters. Who wins when (blank – the thing the news is not covering) is overlooked? What are the consequences of these content decisions and why should we care?
2.Compare how the same news event is handled by three different sources. For example, what did Minnesota Public Radio emphasize during the Republican National Convention, as compared to the Star Tribune or The New York Times? Why do you think the differences (or similarities) exist and what consequences do they have? You can pick any event and if you have only three sources, only one can be on-line. If you have more sources, you can expand your on-line list.
3.Take one highly contested topic (abortion, capital punishment, the war in Iraq, Palestine/Israel, US relations with Syria, animal rights, euthanasia, etc) and highlight continuities you discover in the presentation of these issues. This approach could lead you in a number of directions. For example, you might notice how often the state department uses the term ‘axis of evil,’ to what degree that term is also adopted by the news media, and what consequences emerge? Or you might critique the strategy used by abortion rights advocates: what key elements of their argument do they emphasize and why? Is this emphasis effective or flawed? The same analysis could be done for right to life advocates.
4.“Read” advertisements, television shows, podcasts, websites—any media outlet—to uncover any subliminal narrative or message. A recent example is the 2008 Olympics, where the women’s beach volleyball team wore tiny bikinis while the men’s wore long shorts and t-shirts. What does this say about the complete sexualization of the female body? Or, how does Nike advertising construe the prototype for someone who uses their product? Perhaps the youthful looking pictures on the AARP web site is a pathway into our deeply our culture fears aging, and death.
The purpose is to demonstrate how the media works or to analyze some event or trend. Below, I’ve provided three broad approaches—pick one or create your own (yours will need my approval).
1. The purpose of this essay is to question why some events are ‘news’ and others aren’t. Philosopher Michel Foucault famously asked why one question is asked and not the other? Uncover the absent questions, he argued, and you’ll find the more important (real) issues. Select any news vehicle—newspaper, magazine, television, on-line news, documentaries—and ask what is missing and why that matters. Who wins when (blank – the thing the news is not covering) is overlooked? What are the consequences of these content decisions and why should we care?
2.Compare how the same news event is handled by three different sources. For example, what did Minnesota Public Radio emphasize during the Republican National Convention, as compared to the Star Tribune or The New York Times? Why do you think the differences (or similarities) exist and what consequences do they have? You can pick any event and if you have only three sources, only one can be on-line. If you have more sources, you can expand your on-line list.
3.Take one highly contested topic (abortion, capital punishment, the war in Iraq, Palestine/Israel, US relations with Syria, animal rights, euthanasia, etc) and highlight continuities you discover in the presentation of these issues. This approach could lead you in a number of directions. For example, you might notice how often the state department uses the term ‘axis of evil,’ to what degree that term is also adopted by the news media, and what consequences emerge? Or you might critique the strategy used by abortion rights advocates: what key elements of their argument do they emphasize and why? Is this emphasis effective or flawed? The same analysis could be done for right to life advocates.
4.“Read” advertisements, television shows, podcasts, websites—any media outlet—to uncover any subliminal narrative or message. A recent example is the 2008 Olympics, where the women’s beach volleyball team wore tiny bikinis while the men’s wore long shorts and t-shirts. What does this say about the complete sexualization of the female body? Or, how does Nike advertising construe the prototype for someone who uses their product? Perhaps the youthful looking pictures on the AARP web site is a pathway into our deeply our culture fears aging, and death.