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last updated: 2/27/03 MIDTERM, 3/12/03:
Lectures/Recitations: Lectures/Recitations: 3. Trace the ideal of journalistic objectivity from the
end of the 19th century to the present - in particular, the situation
of impending war and increased military presence in Iraq. Do you believe
that journalistic objectivity is an ideal to which journalists should
aspire today? If so, describe how your ideal can be put into practice,
and how it relates to various practices of objectivity throughout history,
considering the issue of wartime journalism in particular. If not, defend
your proposed alternative by relying on historical examples. In either
case, pay particular attention to how your approach might contribute
to ideals of democracy and/or other ideals you embrace. Use historical
examples to bolster your argument. Lecture/Recitations: 4. You an executive in the CBS radio industry in the year
1947. You have been asked to write a report for the network, offering
insights into their current debate regarding whether or not to begin
a national news program for television. Assuming that you have worked
in the industry since the early 1930s, describe why you favor or disapprove
of such a venture by describing developments both inside the radio industry
and in parallel industries (magazines, FSA photography). Include in
your report such matters as your plans for content (including both technical
and narrative aspects): consider what's available now on radio that
might translate well into a tv network news program, and what evidence
you have that such programming will appeal to the large and diverse
national television audience (include reflections on how audiences developed
for radio). Suggest why you have reason to believe that advertising
on television could be lucrative, given what you have learned about
audiences and the advertising industry in your radio career. Lectures/Recitations: 5. The youth counterculture movements of the 1960s have
deep roots in the decades that preceded them. Describe how three factors
leading up to the 1960s provided a unique context for the development
of social change that unfolded in that decade (one of the three factors
needs to be the civil rights movement). How did the media - both mass
and alternative - play a role in stimulating various youth efforts of
the 1960s? If you had been 20 in 1968, where would you have put your
efforts in the media, and why? 6. In the twentieth century, visual imagery has played
an important role in constructing social understandings. Trace 20th
century developments in photography, photojournalism, advertising, television,
and film that have played an important role in how media professionals
employ visuals today. Choose and describe two images (still or moving)
that stand out in your mind that were presented to you in the class
and that you believe may have played a particularly important role in
shaping young peoples' understandings of themselves and their actions.
Considering the historical import of certain images in history, how
might media professionals employ visuals in an effort to contribute
to the country's evolving sense of democracy and/or its needed self-examination
of the ways in which it falls short of its ideals? 7. You are a young political reporter for a television
network, and the year is 1988. You’ve been asked to file a special
hour-long report on the upcoming election, designed to get the attention
of what your editor has referred to as the “MTV Generation.”
You’ve been asked to provide an historical focus on youth and
politics from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, ending with attention to
something somewhat current that is likely to be used in promos to get
the target audience’s attention. Due to limited funds, you may
only use existing interviews and visuals in your coverage of the Bush
and Dukakis tickets. Describe what you might elect to focus on in your
report, what you might be leery or at least cautious about using/presenting,
and why. Lecture/Recitations: 8. You have been invited to be a guest on Larry King in a debate about the role of alternative journalism in society. You can either choose to be a guest that: (a) believes that you must be in mainstream journalism in order to speak to the public and thus contribute effectively to democratic ideals, and sees advocacy journalism as merely "preaching to the choir," or (b) believes that dissenting journalism allows for the expression of ideas that in turn can contribute toward progressive and positive change in society. Prepare for your debate by gathering specific examples that support your position, and argue your case in this essay. Lecture/Recitations:
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