Media paper Assignment
The purpose of this paper is to get you watch different television news programs and to compare how each covers the news, particularly political news.
You need to compare 4 television news programs on 1) CNN, 2) Fox News, 3) local tv news and 4) either CBS, NBC or ABC news (pick one). Make sure you watch news programs, rather than the talk and opinion shows (which are intentionally biased and which usually air in the evening). The CBS, NBC, and ABC evening news programs, which are broadcast around 6:30 pm, are 30 minutes long, including the commercials. CNN and Fox run 60 minutes; you can watch 30 minutes of them. The local tv news, either from Jacksonville or Savannah, also run 60 minutes; you can watch 30 minutes of them. If you do not have a tv or cable: CBS, NBC and ABC all record their half hour evening news programs on their websites. The CNN, Fox and local news websites record short clips from their programs; pick enough clips for 20 minutes of programming from each site.
Your paper must answer the following questions:
1. What news items were covered in each news program? (Write these down while watching, including the time and date of each program.) What sort of "agenda" is being set by each program?
2. How did each particular program cover (or "frame") these news items? Were they objective, "sensationalist" or biased in a liberal or conservative way? Give examples.
3. What commercial advertisements were broadcast during each news program? (Write these down while watching.) What audiences do you believe these commercials (including political advertisements) were designed to reach? If you are using a website, these commercials are aimed at YOU, based on your pattern of web use.
4. Which of these news programs did you prefer and why? Which news programs did you not like and why?
Write a 3-5 page typed paper comparing news programs on the 4 television networks and answering the questions above concerning what news items were covered, how they were covered, what commercials they featured and which programs you liked and disliked and why.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.