Written Assignment
Application of The Media in American
Politics to Studying Media Bias
Due November 10,
2005
The purpose of the extra
credit written assignment is to apply some of the concepts and ideas examined
in the course to real world news coverage. Assume you are commissioned by the Pew Research
Center for the People and
the Press (sounds reputable, doesn’t it?) to create a pamphlet designed to educate
the general public on various issues surrounding news bias and the problems
associated with detecting it in actual news stories. One goal of the pamphlet
is to help the public detect real news bias when they encounter real instances
of bias. On the other hand, much of the public already believes that political bias
is rampant in the news, but lack a firm understanding of what news bias actually
is and how to properly detect it. Thus, your job is to help to create a
skeptical and informed, but not a cynical, news consumer.
The paper or pamphlet
should unfold in three sections:
- First, your paper should begin with a discussion
of what news bias is (as well as “objectivity”) and how it may be
reflected in the three stages of producing the news (acquisition,
conversion and presentation) discussed by Paletz
in chapter 3.
- Second, provide a discussion of the several problems
with detecting news bias (covered in class), using examples from 2-3 (on-line)
newspaper or magazine articles. Obviously, you’ll want to discuss problems
with distinguishing between political and structural bias in this section
and discuss which type of bias is more prevalent, etc.
- Third, you may or may not be able to find good
examples of news slant or bias in two straight news stories (not columns
or editorials) from reputable on-line newspapers that cover the same news
story from decidedly different angles. You might try to find the same news
stories covered differently by two newspapers or magazines (or different
journalists) with a reputation for being on different sides of the
ideological continuum.* Of course, don't assume that every difference is
due to political bias. Your pamphlet will be misleading if you cry
"Political Bias!!" at each minute difference in the articles.
Also, be on the lookout for combinations of political and
structural bias. And you may want to simply conclude that you don’t have
enough information tyo reach a firm conclusion.)
- Finally, conclude with a general discussion of
the extent, nature and problems with evaluating bias in the news.
The assignment is due in
2 weeks (November 10th), at the beginning of class. The paper should be about 3
double-spaced pages, typed, with one-inch margins, written clearly and
carefully, proofed, and in good, standard English.
You MUST staple the 2-3 articles
to your paper as an Appendix and circle the sections of the article that you
use as examples. The paper should be about 4-5 double-spaced pages, typed, with
one-inch margins, written clearly and carefully, proofed, and in good, standard English.
Your essay will be graded
by three criteria: 1) your understanding of the relevant material in class and
the reading, 2) your application of the material to formulating a pamphlet, and
3) the clarity and organization of your arguments, as evidenced by use of
proper grammar, proof-reading, and so on.
Note: I will stop reading
your paper after encountering 4 typos and proofreading errors.
*Note: You might want to
consult Appendix A in Paletz for a brief run-down of
the slant of editorials of various newspapers and magazines. Here are several
links to free news outlets on the Internet that you might find useful.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.washtimes.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www1.pbs.org/newshour/
http://cnn.com/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/
http://www.csmonitor.com/