Covid-19 Vaccine

Critically analyze the coverage of a recent event or issue by a wide range of media.

Apply reason and analysis to the content and coverage of the recent event or issue.

Evaluate the unique strengths and drawbacks of each type of media source.

Assignment Guidelines:

You must include a mix of media created by professional and corporate entities, as well as citizen journalists (bloggers, social media posts, etc.). You should include at least four sources (no more than six), and include all of the following:

Newspaper article (online or print)

Broadcast news segment (you can usually find these on TV News websites)

Blog article and/or Social Media Post

Radio program and/or Podcast

Paper Requirements:

6-7 pages (excluding references page)

1‑inch margins

Times New Roman, 12‑point font double‑spaced.

Page numbers in the top‑right corner.

Include the paper’s title and your name, single‑spaced and centered at the top of the first page.

Use MLA or APA formatting for citations and the reference page.

I STRONGLY PREFER the paper to be written in Google Docs, and then shared with me via a link that you can copy/paste into the assignment in Blackboard.

Pre-Writing Activities:

Choose a recent event or issue to explore, making sure to pick a topic that is receiving wide media coverage in a variety of formats. (For example Corona Virus, Climate Change, the passing of a public figure, Election 2020, etc.)

Read, watch, and listen to coverage of the recent event or issue, making sure to pull from a wide variety of media sources.

Critically analyze the coverage, examining: media length, images, sounds, links to more information, references to sources, interviews, etc. Make note of similarities and differences between the types of coverage in each media genre.

Basic Structure of the Essay:

Summary of Recent Event or Issue (approx. 1 page)

Describe the recent event or issue, and its importance in society.

Analyses of Media Sources (2-3 paragraphs per source)

Apply reason and analysis of the content and coverage of each source. How is the author or publication discussing this particular issue? What is being highlighted or left out of the discussion. Defend your answer using your critical analysis of the coverage. Make sure to consider bias, truth-telling, objectivity, and sensitivity, as well as author, format, audience, content, and purpose.

Evaluation of Coverage (approx. 2 pages)

Evaluate the media coverage as a whole, looking for any common themes, practices or connections between media genres. Compare and contrast the coverage across all the media sources selected. What are the similarities and differences that exist between each type of media? What are the strengths and weaknesses that each particular type of media present as it relates to covering this event or issue.

References

Include a bibliography of the sources used. Apply proper APA or MLA format.