Assignment Summary
For this assignment, you will use a graphic organizer to monitor and analyze multiple global news outlets across a period of time. Once you have completed your organizer, you will answer key questions about the media’s coverage of a story and how this coverage changed and developed over time.
In today’s world, global media outlets such as websites, newspapers, and magazines give their readers up-to-the-minute coverage of breaking news and events from across the globe.
In the 24-hour news cycle, stories are constantly unfolding with the addition of new information and perspectives. As situations develop, reporters work to keep their audience informed, and readers synthesize new information with what they already know about a news event.
· Graphic organizer
· Access to three global media outlets
· Follow-up questionnaire
For this assignment, you are expected to submit two things:
1. A completed graphic organizer
2. A completed follow-up questionnaire
Step 1: Prepare for the assignment.
a) Read through the guide before you begin so you know the expectations for this assignment.
b) If anything is not clear to you, ask your teacher for assistance.
Step 2: Select three global media outlets.
a) Choose media outlets that provide daily coverage. Monthly periodicals and journals are not a good choice for this assignment, but many weekly news magazines also have websites that provide more frequent reporting.
· Some examples of reliable global news outlets include the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, the Associated Press, and Reuters. Discuss your sources with your teacher if you have questions.
b) If you do not have daily access to the internet, discuss alternatives with your teacher.
Step 3: Begin monitoring coverage of one news events.
a) Use your graphic organizer to keep track of a news story as it unfolds across a period of time. Choose a story that is likely to have continuous coverage. For example, a breaking news item will probably have follow-up stories over the next week, while an in-depth profile of a writer or artist will probably not be updated.
** You DO NOT need to wait 7 days in order to complete this assignment.
Use news stories from the past.
b) Consider how the story evolves depending on the handling of new events, information, and perspectives in news articles. Consider how media outlets report the effects of the news story, and note how the sources present opinions on the story in the form of editorials and op-ed pieces.
c) In addition to the notes you take in your graphic organizer, keep track of the titles, authors, and URLs of articles you read as the story develops.
Step 4: After a week, review your graphic organizer to analyze the evolution of the news story
a) Consider what trends and patterns you noticed, and what factors most influenced the coverage of the story.
b) Using complete sentences, answer the questions on your follow-up questionnaire.