Length: 5-6 full pages of text (+ References, and Figures if applicable)
Format: Typed, double spaced, 12 point font, 1” margins
Weight: 210 points / 21% of course grade (Paper=170, Topic approval=20, Outline=20)
Required outside scholarly sources: 4
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to explore one new media venue and evaluate or critique it using the methods and theories demonstrated in the course readings.
Additional references:
Four sources (outside of course readings) must be referenced when examining your chosen new media venue. At least three must be scholarly sources (either from peer-reviewed journals or published by an academic press). One may either be another scholarly source, or a valid source for statistical evidence (e.g., Nielson ratings are not “scholarly,” but represent a valid authority on ratings).
You must cite the sources in the body of your paper and include a reference list on a separate page. You can choose to use MLA, Chicago, or APA, but your style must remain consistent throughout.
Topic:
You may choose any media venue, as long as it represents the proper amount of data and it counts as “new” under one of the appropriate definitions of convergence. In regards to data, you need to choose a new media venue that has enough content for you to be able to identify trends, but not so much that you cannot provide a succinct description of what it is like. For example, if you want to study blogs, you should not choose a blog that only contains five posts, since that will not be enough data for you to analyze. On the other hand, you do not want to choose a topic as wide as “YouTube,” because that is too large in scope for you to use inductive reasoning. On the other hand, if your chosen blog has over 500 posts, you need not examine every one. Expect to examine at least 20 instances of your chosen topic (20 blog posts, 20 YouTube videos, 20 podcasts, etc.) Also, the following channels/personalities are not acceptable as Term Paper topics, as they have a consistent history of having low-quality papers written about them: Joe Rogan, Emma Chamberlain, David Dobrik, and Mr. Beast.
Detailed explanation:
Over the course of the semester you will research, outline, and write a term paper on one venue for new media (e.g., a YouTube channel, a professional blog, a podcast, a fan fiction website, etc.). Once a venue has been chosen, you must spend enough time exploring the venue to analyze it using a critical or interpretive methodology. For example, think of the topics covered in the Ott and Mack reading, and determine if aspects of your chosen topic can be better understood by applying Ott & Mack’s concerns about culture, economics, or representation.
On one hand, you should read the requirements of this assignment as open-ended, and focus on developing and supporting your own argument. You need to examine your chosen media venue, decide for yourself what beyond the superficial is happening there, and support your assertions by combining the data present in your chosen media with the literature covered in class.
On the other hand, the paper needs to include material connecting the chosen media to the focus of the course. First, you must describe its formal aspects (what does it look like? How does one use it?). Second, you must demonstrate why this venue should be considered “new” (i.e., Is it an outcome of convergence?). Third, you must describe and analyze the economic aspects of this venue (Is it commercial? Who pays for it?). Fourth, you must describe and analyze the social and cultural aspects of the venue (Who uses the venue and what assumptions does the venue seem to make about its users? How do people who use this venue behave? What values do they express?). Finally, you must discuss the tensions associated with this venue (e.g., legal and ethical concerns) when appropriate.
An “A” level paper will make an argument about the chosen new media venue and support the argument logically, connecting concerns from the readings to rich descriptions of the media text itself.
