Research Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando
For your third essay, I would like to step outside of the book and into the sometimes crazy world of journalism. Likely, you've been told "the media spins things" and that "you shouldn't believe everything you read." Perhaps you've heard a conservative speak angrily about "the liberal media" or heard a liberal sneer at FOX News's "conservative bias."
For this assignment, I'd like for you to look at three different news reports of the same story. You will track down a report from a "liberal" source, a "conservative" source and a "mainstream (but likely slanted source), and compare how they represent the story they're reporting.
Topic: Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando
Introduction: Hook, brief description of the news story. Thesis ex. "Liberal, mainstream, and conservative media outlets reports the news differently .." Topic sentence and remember to explain how quote or example demonstrates a liberal slant, a conservative slant, or mainstream slant. Mainstream slant simply means a source that is supposed to be neutral but can be perceived as being more so on one side than staying neutral. Rember to use great transitions and significant quotes. Keep paper very organized and focused.
Areas of support- 3 points you'll look at in ALL of your sources. For example, headlines, language, and what's reported/what's not.
The argument part of your thesis should list three ways that your sources "spin" the story you've chosen. Potential areas of support include, but are not limited to:
1. Labels- Liberal sources might refer to people fighting climate change as "environmental activists" while conservative sources might call them "ecoterrorists." Likewise, a conservative source might refer to Sarah Palin as the "former governor of Alaska" while a liberal source might just refer to her as "Palin" without acknowledging the position of authority she once held.
2. Language- Look at various word choices made in the stories. A conservative source might say that "Hilary Clinton shouted at Trump" to make her look emotional, while a liberal one might say "Hilary Clinton defended herself again Trump's accusations."
3. Headlines and leads- the headline is the title of the story and the lead is the little summary in bold beneath the headline. Consider language and labels here-"Affordable Healthcare Made Available to Everyone" expresses a much different slant then "Obamacare is the Law of the Land."
4. Photos- Do they portray the person or the situation the article is talking about in a positive or a negative light? Think of which pictures of Hilary Clinton would appear on Breitbart and which pictures of Trump would appear on MSNBC.
5. What's reported? Whats not? - When covering a police shooting of an unarmed black person, an outlet that wants to side more with #BlackLivesMatter will probably emphasize the fact that the victim was unarmed and that the police officer did not have a valid reason to be confronting the black person in the first place. A source that's more sympathetic to the police might dig into the victim's past and report on previous misdeeds to make him look like "a thug."
Sources-You need at least three sources, one from each column.
1. Liberal/progressive examples- AlterNet, Democracy Now, Common Dreams, Mother Jones, The Nation
2. Mainstream (but slanted) It's supposed to be neutral but ends up seeming more on one side than the other. Examples are- MSNBC, ABC News, CNN, C-SPAN, CBS News.
3. Conservative examples- Fox News, Breitbart News Network, Hotair.com, The Weekly Standard, Human Events.
Conclusion: Restate your thesis. Connect to a larger issue-why does it matter? Wrap-up.
*MLA format, cover page, works cited page (website citations), 4-5 pages. Use an array of transitions and quotations. You must explain each quotation used and how it relates to the overall direction of the paper.