History of Journalism Project
Directions.
Select one of the topics listed below to complete the History
of Journalism Unit. Proposals are due at the end of class
today. The presentation should be no more than 5
minutes. You will be timed.
That means you must be succinct and narrowly focused.
You must have a power point or prezi. Include video clips, if
needed, but make them no more than 30 minute. The
objective is to give an insightful and
educational overview of one aspect of journalistic history.
No more than three people are to work on the same project in the same class. You will see that I have listed some possible focus areas. If you have another idea, please share it with me. There is lots of flexibility.
This is not a group project.
1. PROJECT GRADING: research-this is
a detailed outline of your presentation and is a class
presentation grade that reflects 4 days worth of
classwork. Again, this is due in a print out by the end of
class on Friday. Keep a copy for yourself. Your
outline has nothing to do with the day you are
presenting.
Be mindful that Wikipedia is not an acceptable source
for your research, but it may be a fine place to start. Look to get some ideas, if you wish,
but you must have 3 quality sites. That generally means
an org / edu / or gov or a reputable news source. Check with me, if you have a question.
(10 points off the top per day for any not received by the
end of class on Friday; plan accordingly.)
2. Presentation (oral presentation skills: audibility/ eye
contact/ body language; communication of knowledge,
as well as engaging and well-organized visuals and NO
MORE THAN 5 MINUTES. This is a writing grade in the
50% category.
How do I write an outline? Check the end of today's blog.
Suggested plan of attack: research Tuesday and Wednesday, compiling notes and sites, as you go along. Copy these into a document. Add any notes or observations that come into your head. Spend Thursday, assembling your work into the outline.
You have adequate time to complete the work in class. Please maintain a respectful level of noise, so as not to disturb your classmates.
TOPIC CHOICES: Let me know, when you have made your selection. (First come, first serve) We shall then narrow down as, or if, needed. You have 13 main topics, with sub topics beneath.
1. Printers: Find out about famous journalists that devoted themselves to improving the print industry. Show and discuss the progression of printing through the years. How have techniques changed and what impact did each change have on the newspaper industry? Letterpress, Offset Printing.
1. Possible focus: Gutenberg - mechanics of press and cultural impact
2. Printing in the American colonies- Benjamin Franklin, Elizabeth Glover
3. Mechanized presses
2. Reporters were sometimes found to be “radical” in different periods of history. (muckrakers)
1. Horace Greeley
2. Upton Sinclair
3. Sam Adams
4. Ida Tarbell
5 Matt Taibbi (contemporary journalist)
6. Andrea Elliot (contemporary journalist)
3. Coverage of politicians’ private affairs – How does the media handle cover personal situations in politicians’ lives? How have they done this in the past and what developments have occurred?
1. Profumo Affair
2. Chappaquiddick
3. Wilbur Mills
4. Monica Lewisky Bill Clinton
5. Thomas Jefferson
6. Strom Thurmond
7. Eliot Spitzer
8. Neut Gingrich
4. Examine the history of the papers owned and run by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hurst during the period from 1895 to 1905. How sensational can reporters write without becoming a “yellow journalist”?
1. Joseph Pultizer
2. William Randolph Hurst
3. Contemporary heirs to their papers
Make sure you have read this:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2009/03/bring_back_yellow_journalism.html
Also note sociological shifts and advertising.
5. Beginning with the area of the “Penny Press,” going through today, discuss the cost of newspaper subscriptions and the evolution of advertising. Consider how advertising helps finance production costs? How much revenue is generated today vs. years ago? How does the industry decide on the price of the ads?
1. Penny Press and Benjamin Day
2. The Herald and James Gordon Bennett
3. Walt Whitman as an editor during Civil War
6. Stunt (Immersion) Journalism – Does it take reporters engaging in “dangerous” acts to get stories and to make it in the field? How has it made a difference in society?
1. Nellie Bly
2. Black Like Me
3. Nickel and Dimed
4.Bait and Switch
5. The Year of Living Biblically
6. Friday Night Lights
7. War coverage of the Civil War / WWI / Vietnam War / Desert Storm. Show how reporting and photography has played a major role in shaping the public’s opinions of U.S. involvement. How has reporting changed over the last 100 years? Where do reporters, called correspondents, get their information? Restrictions? Choose one only.
8. Trace the course of the woman’s involvement in journalism from the colonial days to the present time. 1) Anne Catherine Green 2) Fanny Fern 3) Margaret Fuller 4) Middy Morgan 5) Jane Grey Swisshelm 6) Winifred Black (Annie Laurie) 7.) Bessie Bramble, Margherita Arlina Hamm, Julie Hayes Percy, etc. Find some current successes and compare stories. What has made them so successful? YOU MUST CHOOSE TWO NAMES.
9. Evolution of the nature of comic strips. Why are some humorous, some adventurous; why are some self-contained in one day, and some continuing stories? What purposes do comic strips serve? choose 2
1. Yellow Kid
2. Alison Bechdel
3. Little Orphan Annie
4. Krazy Kat
5. For Better or Worse
6. Boondocks
10. Trace the lines of communication that went up across America from the telegraph to the telephone and radio stations. (2 people only)
1. the technology behind the telegraph, telephone and radio- how it changed communication.
2. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" and Clinton's radio broadcasts
11. Music and music videos have made a huge impact on the youth of America. Show how forms of music have changed over the past 50 years in equipment, as well as the variety of content available. What change in the music industry took place when MTV aired? How has MTV changed from the original format? Trace the history. Don’t forget to touch on ratings and censorship within the music industry.
1. how the technology has changed in the sharing of music
2. MTV-1964-1980 (PRE HISTORY OF MTV)
3. MTV- the last 20 years
12. Minorities have often had difficulties breaking into the media industry historically. Research and discuss historically minorities who have made it in the industry. What challenges did they face? How were they able to break into the industry when so many tried to shove them out? What was it about the people who were successful that helped them to make it? Did they have any advantages?
1.Newsroom Diversity- review of the following article
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/newsroom-diversity-a-casualty-of-journalisms-financial-crisis/277622/
2. Charlayne Hunter-Gault
3. Bob Herbert, Amy Holmes, Cornell West
4.Tavis Smiley, Donna Brazile, Roland Martin
5. Latino voices in the newsroom
13. How and why does the media work as a “watch dog” or society?
1. check out current investigative reporting-
http://www.ire.org/blog/extra-extra/
2. Watergate
3. Bill Dedman's 1988 investigation, The Color of Mondey for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on racial discrimination by mortgage lenders.
4. Seymour Hersh's stories on the My Lai massacre were distributed by the Dispatch News Service during the Vietnam War and won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1970; in 2004, Hersh reported for The New Yorker on torture inside the Abu Ghraib prison by members of a military police unit of the U.S. Army Reserve during the Iraq War
How do I write an outline?
Note that this is generic and should be adapted to your topic.
Presentation Outline Template
(you might want to copy this onto a word document and fill it in.)
I. INTRODUCTION (slide: image, title, your name- let the image dominate)
A. Background Information
1. General background information that grabs attention Write out your first sentence. (Do not say something like "my topic is..." Give a proper, imaginative and thoughtful sentence.
2. More specific background information to lead into the thesis.
B. Thesis statement
1. Topic..
2. What is or are your key point(s)?
II. BODY
A. First Point (include image)
1. Thesis statement
2. Supporting Ideas
a. Reason/Detail/Fact
b. More information and transition
c. Maybe even more information
3. Summarizing/Concluding/Transition sentence
B. Second Point
1. Thesis statement
2. Supporting Ideas
a. Reason/Detail/Fact and transition
b. More information and transition
c. Maybe even more information
3. Summarizing/Concluding/Transition sentence
C. Third Point
1. Thesis statement
2. Supporting Ideas
a. Reason/Detail/Fact and transition
b. More information and transition
c. Maybe even more information
3. Summarizing/Concluding/Transition sentence
D. Fourth Point (or more)
1. Thesis statement
2. Supporting Ideas
a. Reason/Detail/Fact and transition
b. More information and transition
c. Maybe even more information
3. Summarizing/Concluding/Transition
III. CONCLUSION
A. Summarize/Review key points
B. Concluding thought (Again, do not say "that's all.+
IV. REFERENCES (use MLA format)
Presentation Rubric---Remember that your presentation should be on a thumb drive, the exception being if you have a Prezi
Rubric for Presentations
Category
|
Scoring Criteria
|
Total Points
|
Score
|
Organization
(15 points)
|
The type of presentation is appropriate for the topic and
audience.
|
5
|
|
Information is presented in a logical sequence.
|
5
|
|
Presentation appropriately cites requisite number of references.
|
5
|
|
Content
(45 points)
|
Introduction is attention-getting and uses a hook sentence, as one would in an essay. Lays out the topic well and establishes a framework for the rest of the presentation.
|
5
|
|
Any technical terms are well-defined in language appropriate for the target audience.
|
5
|
|
Presentation contains accurate information.
|
10
|
|
Material included is relevant to the overall message/purpose.
|
10
|
|
Appropriate amount of material is prepared, and points made that are supported though visuals that contain only a minimum of text.
|
10
|
|
There is an obvious conclusion summarizing the presentation.
|
5
|
|
Presentation
(40 points)
|
Speaker maintains good eye contact with the audience and is appropriately animated (e.g., gestures, moving around, etc.).
|
5
|
|
Speaker uses a clear, audible voice.
|
5
|
|
Delivery is poised, controlled, and smooth.
|
5
|
|
Good language skills and pronunciation are used.
|
5
|
|
Visual aids are well prepared, informative, effective, and not
distracting.
|
5
|
|
Length of presentation is no more than 5 1/2 minutes. Warning given at the 4 1/2 and 5.
|
5
|
|
Information was well communicated.
|
10
|
|
Score
|
Total Points
|
100
|
|
