ASSIGNMENT TASK - INSTRUCTIONS: MEDIA ANALYSIS REPORT
BACKGROUND-
Media analysis is a vital part of the operations of large organisations, including government departments and state agencies, NGOs and private companies. A large number of professionals spend at least part of their time gathering, researching and seeking to understand media, in every form. Such analysis is often derided as 'spin' but it is a valid and important part of any organisation's operations: monitoring how media depicts relevant events and issues, and developing strategies to influence how that media coverage unfolds.
Sometimes this process may be cynical and self-interested (it often is in politics), but it is not always so. The Victorian TAC's long-running campaign against speeding and drink driving, for example, has saved thousands of people from death and trauma, and it is informed by, among other things, detailed analysis of media messages about road accidents and their causes.
This Assessment Task simulates one part of the communications program of a large organisation: media analysis. This entails reading media texts (by which I mean all media outputs, including broadcast and social media) and probing them to determine the underlying messages, the cultural constructions of truth, they contain
REPORT-
Your task is to closely analyse media texts relating to a contemporary incident or issue which has a strong crime or justice element. Crime can be broadly defined - it might include the obvious (murder, drug dealing) and the less obvious (official corruption, environmental crime). Justice similarly can be broadly defined. The punishment (or lack of it) of offenders, and the process of the criminal law are also valid fields to explore.
CHOOSING A TOPIC-
For this Task, our focus is on media which is considered 'factual', news reports about real events or issues, including the opinion and commentary which often swirls around particularly shocking or troubling events.
You can choose any medium: newspaper, radio, internet sites, television, and social media. Your topic need not be Australian in origin. The media need not be in English (though you will need to translate other languages for the benefit of the marker).
Whatever medium you choose, you will need ready access to a sufficiently substantial sample to make worthwhile analysis worthwhile. One news report about a minor drugs conviction in the Geelong Advertiser is not enough, but a look at how several convictions for similar offences over a few weeks could be an excellent topic.
It is quite likely that you will face the opposite problem: an overwhelming amount of material. It would be impossible to analyse all or even most media coverage of the conviction in 2014 of Rolf Harris for sexual offences. This will mean you have to narrow your focus to some particular aspect of your topic (perhaps the opinions expressed about the conviction in the two major Melbourne newspapers).
Please note that there are two topics which you are NOT permitted to focus on for Assessment Task this year:
- The murder of Jill Meagher
- The "ice epidemic", which received a great deal of media attention in 2015.
In consultation with my colleagues, I have decided to exclude these topics, because many students have studied them in other units. We understand the temptation to revisit a topic you are already familiar with, but the purpose of this unit is too expand your awareness. There are so many fascinating crime justice events and issues out there, and so much media about them: let's explore it. Also, when you revisit a familiar topic, it is rare that you do your best work.
REFERENCING
Every single media item you cite needs to be fully referenced, both in a footnote and in the reference list, following the oxford system
Length: 2000 words (not including reference list).
Attachment:- Media Analysis Report.rar