Instructions
For the final paper, students will develop their proposals into a comparative analysis of regional/national media. For example, one might compare specific content (e.g. US’s Washington Post, Israel’s Haaretz coverage of Covid-19), media policies (Chinese vs. Saudi media regulations) or a genre (satire, romantic comedies, etc.) that operate in a transnational context.
Writers will use secondary and primary sources (see definitions in Addendum 1).
Secondary research from scholars will provide background information for the reader. Writers will make their own comparative analysis with primary research.
Primary sources for comparative analysis are often two types:
1. Institutional/organizational: e.g. major corporations, government agencies, advertising firms, and related revenue figures, government policy documents, media imports/export numbers, etc.
2. content analysis of media texts (media examples): e.g. themes in national advertising campaigns, film adaptations, the role of gender in two similar shows, how news organizations cover a topic, etc.
The paper should touch on both types of analysis, but the writer may choose which type (Institutional vs. content analysis) for the focus of the paper. You should aim to inform the reader on relevant media system context. A comparative paper on The Simpsons adaptation in Saudi Arabia, for example, would likely note the changes introduced to the show in light of the religious sensibilities of Arabic audiences.