How to submit your assignments for this class:
Select the assignment title.
Read the assignment.
Review any required readings or videos.
Complete the assignment requirements.
Write or upload your assignment and select submit.
Select the rubric to see the grading criteria for assignments.
This assignment is designed to give you an understanding of other media outlets within the world, where they rank, in terms of a free press and where the US falls in this ranking. This assignment is worth 30 points (see rubric for details). In order to have success with this assignment, you’ll want to do the following:
Please note that this assignment is based on the 2023 Report.
Every year the group Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information issues a report on the state of press freedom around the world. You can read and watch the introduction to their 2023 report here: 2023 World Press Freedom Report
Within the overview, there are multiple links to other areas of the report for you to read:
What is it? (Links to an external site)
Index Analysis (Links to an external site)
Map (links to an external site)
Ranked List of Countries – Click on tab at the bottom of map (Links to an external site)
Read the opening summary (the 2023 World Press Freedom Report link above), then use the following links it to write a 700-800-word essay that looks at how democratic practices vary in regard to freedom of speech and of the press across the countries in the study. You will need to have read Chapter 11 in your text (especially about the different press systems/theories) to complete this assignment. You will find it helpful to use information from the complete report as well. (If you click on each country’s name, you will go to a page with more information on it.) In your essay, you should address the following issues:
Which three nations had the best records on freedom of the press? Why did they get those high ratings? How do they behave as democracies? How would you describe their approach to freedom of the press (be sure to cite each theory using the theories of the press material from chapter 11 of the book, along with properly citing our text)?
Which three nations were at the bottom of the list? Why did they get those low ratings? What kind of governments do they have in those countries? How would you describe their approach to freedom of the press (be sure to cite each theory using the theories of the press material from chapter 11 of the book, along with properly citing our text)?
Where did the United States fit in on the rankings? Was it up or down from the previous year? Why is it ranked where it is? Based on what you have read, how would you describe the United States’ approach to freedom of the press? Make sure you include specific examples, with source citations and hyperlinks, when needed.
Where were the biggest or most important changes in the world in freedom of the press for 2023? What were these changes?
NOTE: This is the assignment that most students try to use AI on. Do note that should you use AI to complete this assignment, the answers that you will give will be wrong (AI cannot access the information in these links and will give you old information. I know the information AI gives and the correct information, so it’s easy to spot the use of AI for this assignment). Review the AI policy noted in your syllabus and in the Syllabus and Schedule tab of our site, for consequences of usage.
