Newpaper assignment ch 3

I enjoyed your triva and wonder what the value of such details might be in the scheme of accessing valuable information and ideas.

for next class, please do the following:
1. Follow up on one piece of trivia that came out of chapter 3--reflect on what one small "trivial" detail might represent. In other words, knowing who Nelly Bly is brings up why she is remembered. She is remembered for being the first woman to cross into significant journalism; she paved the way for embedded, investigative journalism; she used her position as a journalist to bring about social reform. Looking into the historical framework in which she lived, gives us insight into feminist critique. She demonstrates the interconnection between media and culture. Naturalist Loius Agassiz once said that "facts are stupid things unless connected to general principals." With Agassiz's insight in mind, locate a fact about newspapers and show how that "fact" is connected to a greater web of understanding. Hope that makes sense. Write up a paragraph (or two) to share with class. Hardcopy please.
25 points.

2. Do a cross comparison of 3 news sources. Look for patterns. For example, you could triangulate the represented stories. MSN, Google news, Yahoo news, ABC news or the Huffington Post or the Washington Post are certainly great options. I am sure you will find others that interest you. If you like, you might examine the lead stories. Are they the same? How do the headlines for those stories and the first line of the stories differ?

OR, locate a single story and show how that story is "spun" in three different sources of news. Here are some quick examples. Whitney Houston died recently.. how did three different media sources handle the story? What similaries, what differences were brought to light? Here is another example. Hugouly, a student from Virginia Tech, was on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. This is definitely a sensationalized story (just like Houston's death). Did news sources handle the case in the same manner using the same facts? Were the sources "objective"? Did sources emphasize different aspects of the case and the trial?

There are lots of options for this assignment, so please follow up according to the "spirit" of the assignment. We are investigating the treatment of "news" by looking at three different sources. I am not sure what you will find, so please do not think there is a "right" answer.
Write up your results--at least a typed page double or 1.5 spaced. We will look at these in class.
50 points.

If you have questions or concerns, please email me. I will post the assignment on our blog:
http://nmtmediastud12.blogspot.com/

If you want to check out last year's blog please visit: http://nmtmediastud.blogspot.com/