Create a Podcast Episode!
Overview:
For this assignment you will create a podcast episode on a topic related to Media and Society. You can choose any topic that interests you, as long as it is something you can discuss in a podcast and will give you enough material for the episode.
Details:
-Be sure to choose a topic that is well suited for a podcast episode. Something like “social media” is probably too broad, because there is too much to cover in one episode. On the other hand, a topic like “social media’s impact on body image” is more specific and might work. The topic is your choice, just be sure to think about whether it makes sense for the episode.
-Your podcast should be around 10-12 minutes. This can be a sort of mini-episode, and doesn’t need to be longer than 12 minutes. I think you will find that you will quickly fill 10 minutes. You can use any technology you want to record the podcast – even if it is simply your phone or computer. There is no need to learn or purchase any new technology. If you feel it will be impossible, or really difficult, to record your podcast, you could submit the alternative option instead (more details below), which would be your topic in written form instead of a recording.
-You can use any sources you want for the information in the podcast, but be sure to reference course readings. Sources could include course readings, news stories, info from a website, other academic articles, Supreme Court rulings, etc. Just be sure you acknowledge the sources, either in the episode or in a works cited list. You are not limited to traditional academic sources, but you should try to be sure the sources you are using are reliable.
-Be creative – you can do whatever you want! You could interview someone on your podcast; you could discuss a movie/Netflix show/book or something like that which relates to your topic; you could make the episode a debate about the topic… or anything else you think would be interesting for the episode.
-The goal here is to have fun and learn a bit more in depth about a topic you are interested in. This assignment will give you a new perspective on how a specific medium is used and how the choice of medium impacts the ways in which a message or topic is delivered. I am not expecting perfection, and I have listened to many different podcasts with many different formats, so I am not expecting something specific.
Alternative Option:
-I encourage you to take the option of creating a podcast episode. However, if you truly feel that you cannot, or would absolutely hate to, make a recorded podcast, you can write a blog post instead. If you choose this option you should still follow all of the guidelines above, but instead of producing a recorded podcast episode, you will produce a blog post of 3-5 pages (double spaced).
Let me or your TA know if you have questions! We can discuss the assignment this week in class, and you will have an opportunity to talk about it in section.
