Media permeates and saturates virtually every aspect of our lives
• Our initial response is to react to believe/have disbelief, or a personal (emotional) reaction
• That many seldom analyze it beyond their own “truth”, how it affects all individuals and a society
In order to be effective news readers and media consumers, we need to critically think about and analyze how people are reporting about events, and how that impacts their viewers.
Also to consider: the historical context of the press, journalism, and its protecton afforded in the U.S. Constititution, the”Law of the Land”
•The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
•Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy
•Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough; an ethical journalist acts with integrity
Before reading on/starting your assignment in here, review the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) Code of Ethics, here: SPJ CODE OF ETHICS
to get a sense of the necessary obligations that professional journalists should be minding.
*Note: Many of the categories in this site provide a list of criteria options available to analyze your media sources, so it’s a good idea to spend some time absorbing this list and consider using any when it comes to analyzing media.
For this assignment, you will be drawing on your own perspective of media and analyzing media reporting (not opining on the content, although content has an impact).
Getting started:
Step 01: Create an APA template
Step 02: Write the introduction in narrative form, taking into consideration the following for ideas:
• What does media mean to you? How do you use media daily or at certain times?
• Is it effective, worthwhile, do you find it important and care, or avoid it? Why?
• How has media reporting changed over the years, in your lifetime so far?
• Any angles about media that gives your readers a perspective on media its value
• Make clear that this piece is about an analysis of media/media analysis, to transition into
Step 03: Open KTVB.com Boise’s Leading Local News
and decide on one story that has video and text, is less than 3 months’ old (not an update, but a new event)
Step 04: Summarize the source: need title, full name of author(s), and citations as you summarize (REQUIRED) in APA formatting for paraphrased information>
*Note: 2 cited quotes are required for this submission (no more than 3 lines which is is block/long quote territory).
Review Chapter 3 of the assigned reading, which helps with quote integration and purpose, along with the Synthesizing Sources page in this module
Step 05: Evaluate/provide a rhetorical analysis of the source, in line with any of the following
• whether the story is informative, persuasive, or entertaining, or cross of 2 or all 3
• ethos, pathos, logos (not using these words literally, but the art of rhetoric: authority, emotions, logic)
• the journalism code of ethics: which apply from the list, or cross reference with the above?
• wrap up the analysis: overall, what does the source “do” for journalism, and your perspective on media?
*Note: we will be covering how to create the essay in its entirety after break
Step 06: Create a References pagee; keep a separate Reference page, too (this will become an annotated bibliography for Essay to, just like Essay One)
