Research
Project
Due dates: Projects will be
presented during the last two weeks of class: click
here for the schedule.
Working in groups of four, students will research a topic
in the sociology of news and present it to the class. The
presentations should be carefully organized and presented,
and should be between 10 and 13 minutes long. Each group
should also turn in a bibliography and an outline of their
presentation (which may be in the form of a powerpoint file
used for the presentation). The presentation should
summarize and analyze the evidence; do
not try to detail all your evidence to the class
(because this would take too long).
The presentation must have a coherent argument or point,
and it should address counterarguments, and use course
concepts. You are not allowed to use the word "bias," or to
claim that some reporters are more "objective" or "neutral"
than others. You should explain the methods you use for
your analysis, and research relevant
peer-reviewed scholarly literature on your
topic.
Click here for an example of a good
powerpoint/outline: this is a study of the media’s
coverage of a child abuse case, which created a national
uproar when Bill O’Reilly singled out a Vermont judge
and accused the State of Vermont of being “soft” on
child abusers.
Proposals: Students must either select
partners and inform Prof. Streeter of their choice by 2/23,
or they can let themselves be assigned to someone. Groups
must submit proposals for approval by
3/18.
Proposals should be about a page long (single spaced). They
should not just say what the project will be about. They
should state clearly exactly what your argument will be and
exactly what news stories in what format you will analyze
and what method you will use to analyze them.
Most projects will involve frame analysis; use this as a how-to guide. You
should also research existing scholarly literature on
your topic. Examples of scholarly analyses of the news
can be found here and here.
Possible topic areas include:
- A frame analysis of news media coverage of a recent political or social issue.
- A frame analysis of news media coverage of a political or social issue from the past, for example, anti-war protestors during WW I.
- A comparison of news coverage of an issue from different outlets, e.g., CBS News vs. Canada's CBC News on an aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- An analysis of the accuracy of famous news commentators' or experts' predictions about a particular issue, for example, Howard Dean's political career.
- A case study comparing traditional coverage of an issue to that of "new media" on the same issue, for example, the New York Times vs. blogs.
- A case study of citizen journalism, e.g., citizen journalists in New Orleans during or after Katrina.
- A case study of a moral panic, e.g., the runaway bride story.