– Minimum word limit: 1800 words
– Maximum: 2200 words
– References: 5 from required readings, 2 from independent library research (JSTOR)
– 5 required readings:
1. McChesney on the Death and Life of American Newspapers
2. Schudson: “Reluctant Stewards: Journalism in a Democratic Society” (2013)
3. Stephen Ward, 2018 “Democratically Engaged Journalism”
4. Street: “The Politics of Journalism” Street: “The Politics of Journalism”
5. Croteau and Hoynes, on Journalism and Objectivity
Grading Criteria
1. comprehension and application of key concepts, examples, and theories
2. critical thinking including independent research
3. writing structure and coherence
4. overall organization of the paper
Final paper prompts:
Compare and contrast the role of Journalism and social media platforms in forming a critically informed public culture.
Select from case study examples:
1. Media is the fourth pillar ( institution) of democratic governance because of its crucial role in circulating information, ideologies, and knowledge that constitutes citizens’ identity and creates public and counter-public spheres. What is meant by the media and liberal democracy paradox that Robert McChesney highlights? How do States regulate the political power of global media corporations in contemporary society?
◦ Journalism as a watchdog for Democracy –Public vs. Social Media Platform Corporations. We will explore the importance of Journalism in creating an informed citizenry. We will examine the contradictory role of media in democratizing and or polarizing the public due to the impact of media technology (the development of the internet and the rise of media platforms) in shaping online digital spheres.
◦ Misinformation society thesis and the Facebook dilemma. The Cambridge Analytica case was a result of Investigative journalism by the newspaper, the Observer (UK) – what can we learn from this case about social media platform companies? We will explore the problems of ‘Surveillance Capitalism’ and data mining of users’ private profiles to sell to advertisers. The user data helped Political Parties to win Elections (the 2016 US Election and the 2015 Brexit Referendum are two examples).
Grading Rubric
1. Comprehension (150)
– outline and thesis (intro, explain/reiterate the thesis)
– knowledge and understanding of course concepts/theories/scholars
– application of theoretical and empirical information from the course and independent research
2. Critical Analysis (100)
– collating, organizing and identifying significant and relevant information, key debates, and scholars
– clarity and coherence of overall argument/thesis
– originality (original research), integrate new research
– critical reflection in the conclusion
3. Structure/writing (30 points)
– structure of the essay
– writing style
– grammar/spelling
4. overall organization
– use of sources/referencing/reference list (appropriate citation style)
– word requirement met
– reference requirement met
Final Paper Structure
– Introduction: Briefly introduce your thesis originating in a prompt and or a case study topic.
– Body of the paper: Provide a critical analysis that begins with the paper’s aim and argument and background information contextualizes your paper topic. This usually means you need to include a brief historical and political context of the topic. You should integrate contributions of scholars from FIVE (peer-reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters) from the course and TWO independent research articles. You need to showcase a substantive engagement with SEVEN references. This means you are using these references to build your analysis and support your argument.
– Conclusion and Reflection: You should provide a summary of the paper and how your paper has provided strong evidence supporting your prompt questions and or your argument.
– All quotations need scholars and page numbers. Try not to use many quotes as it is always better to paraphrase in your own words. Reference all scholars you have used. Bibliography should be at the end for all the references you have used in the essay. Be consistent with your citation style, be it Chicago, MLA, or APA citation style.