Format
Use a word processing program on your computer (like MS Word) to type a 1000-word (minimum), double-spaced essay with one inch margins all around. Use a normal font (Times New Roman, Courier, any default, etc.). You do not need to include your name or class information, just a title and then the text of your essay. No citations or references necessary. Double-check for spelling, grammar, and organization to present your ideas in the best light possible. Save essays in a MS-Word compatible file format (.docx, .doc, or .pdf) and upload them to Canvas.
Content
This essay will engage two concepts from our last set of lectures: cultural values and cultural definitions (and in this particular case, the way they affect news media coverage).
Recall that the term “cultural definition” refers to “the facts and impressions a society attaches to an object/person/situation”—basically, what our brains seem to instantly know about what we’re seeing in our immediate environment, how we should feel about it, and what we might do about it. Cultural definitions answer the questions, “Where am I? What am I looking at? What is going on here?” In class, we discussed the definitions of childhood that have changed over the years: from the definition of a “child” as an “adult in training,” who should be treated seriously; to the definition of a “child” as “a special stage of life” in which young humans should be protected and encouraged to have fun. Stretching this idea into the world of news coverage, we can imagine that different journalists might have different “cultural definitions” of the items, people, and/or issues that they’re covering.
In our most recent lecture on politics, we noted that news coverage in the mass media—TV, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc.—has become increasingly biased, with different sources often reporting on the same stories, but drawing from different cultural definitions of what’s going on or who is involved. They may reference particular stereotypes or use biased language to help them reach particular target audiences. For this essay, you will compare and contrast two versions of the same news story, then explain the different “cultural definitions” expressed by each.
Your essay must contain four elements:
Two news articles reporting on the same story. You don’t have to provide an APA or MLA citation, but give me enough info that I can find the same sources: either a link to a website or the name and date of the publication; or a copy of the actual article—cut and paste is fine, scanned or photographic images…just so long as I can tell the article really exists, and I can tell who wrote it, where it was published, and when it came out.
Brief summaries of each of your two sources. Talk a little about the basic issue or event covered, then get into the similarities and differences between the pieces. Do they take a different tone, use different language, focus on different details, quote different people or sources, suggest different future outcomes…basically how do they “spin the story” in different ways?
Explain the cultural definition(s) you think each author is arguing for, which leads them to write about the same issue or event in different ways. Note a few details from the articles to support your claim. There’s no right or wrong here, just tell me what you think they think, and why. You may want to mention some alternative definitions that you could have seen, but didn’t, and what the impact is of the author’s choice of definition.
When you write this up, make sure to include the specific term “cultural definition”; identify what exactly the article’s author is “defining”; and explain how exactly they are “defining” that thing.
For example: “Both authors are talking about the conflict in country X, but one uses the cultural definition of “war” and the other uses the cultural definition of “special military engagement,” which leads them to point out facts like A, B, C; and suggest solutions like…”
Another example: “Both authors are talking about a new pharmaceutical being debated by doctors and politicians. One author uses the cultural definition of “medicine” to describe this product, pointing out facts about it like A, B, C; the other author applies the cultural definition of “recreational drug” to describe this product, pointing out A, B, C, and suggesting we do something like…”
I know using this term can sound a little unfamiliar and clunky. But even if it doesn’t have a beautiful sound to it, I want to see the term clearly used throughout this essay, to be sure you grasp the concept. Let me know if you have any questions!
Explain what cultural value(s) you think are important to each author, and how those values might be related to the cultural definition they argue for. For example, if you “value freedom,” you may “culturally define gun ownership as an individual right”; but if you “value safety,” you may “culturally define gun ownership as a risk to children in the house”…etc. There’s no wrong answer here, as long as you make a good case for the link between definition and value.
Finally, close your essay with a reflection on how you feel about news bias. Were you shocked by the similarities or differences you found? Do you think it’s possible to write without bias, and should we? Or is it okay to express different beliefs when reporting the facts of events?
PreviousNext
Please Do not use AI it was detected last time that I had someone do my essay.
