Organizational Analysis of photojournalism, or Marxist Analysis of magazines
Paper instructions:
Choose one and only one of the following options for Assignment 1. Each option requires you to draw on, refer to, and quote from Critical Media Studies and other course material in order to
show your understanding of the theoretical framework you are using. Each option asks you to make an analytic argument with a clearly stated thesis that is supported with logical rationale and
specific and appropriate exemplification. See the separate Grading Rubric on Blackboard for an explanation of how to write an academic paper for this and other classes in the humanities.
Evaluation of all assignments will be based on this rubric, so be sure to read through it multiple times as your draft and revise your assignment. Disorganized, random papers do not score well.
You will receive evaluative comments on your assignment in 3 specific areas:
• Quality of analytic argumentative claim and sense of “So what?”
• Successful and specific application of media studies theories drawn from course materials
• Overall quality of assignment with intellectual creativity taken into consideration
Format requirements for each option are given below. All assignments will be discussed in lecture, so do not email your professor or TA with questions about the assignment if you are not up
to date with viewing the lectures. Do not expect your professor or TA to respond to last minute questions.
Do not wait until the last minute to upload your work on Blackboard.
1. Marxist Analysis
Choose 2 but no more than 3 magazines that are published by the same media conglomerate. (See CMS page 27 for examples of magazines published by Time Warner.) The magazines may be
contemporary or historical, but they must be published by the same media conglomerate so that you can analyze them in terms of strategies of profit maximization (CMS, pp. 32-40), the
consequences of ownership patterns and profit maximization (CMS, p. 40-43), and /or Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s media filters as discussed in “A Propaganda Model”. (You may also
choose a contemporary issue and a historical issue of the same magazine.)
You must do more than simply identify examples of “logic of safety” (for example). You need to present an argumentative claim about your chosen magazines that is supported by specific 2
analysis of the magazines, including their written and visual components. Be sure to explain what’s at stake in your discussion. Yes, there are 3 examples of logic of safety but “so what?” How
might logic of safety contribute, for example, to the Marxist ideas of alienation and false consciousness? How do text and image work together to promote capitalist consumption?
Format:
Formal essay, 1500 words (5 pages), double-spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman, with 1 inch margins, in MLA or APA format. Do not include a separate title page. You must include a separate
Works Cited page (MLA) or References page (APA) that lists all sources. Additional research is not required.
Upload your essay on Blackboard as a file attachment in .doc or .docx format only. Do not copy the text of your essay in the submission box.
OR
Published webpage using an online platform such as http://www.wix.com/, http://www.weebly.com/, or http://prezi.com/. You should take advantage of the multimedia possibilities of web
publishing and include visual images as part of your discussion (video and hyperlinks are optional). You may present the various components of your argument as separate pages, but your
project should conform to the requirements of an academic paper in the humanities as outlined in the grading rubric. You can be creative with how your present your discussion, but the
discussion itself must be situated within the framework of a formal organized academic presentation. Additional research is not required.
Length: 1200 words + multimedia components. In addition to the factors outlined above, students will also receive evaluative comments on the effectiveness and creativity of your website.
Copy and paste the web address for your assignment in the submission box on Blackboard. Do not upload a file.
2. Organizational Analysis
Choose up to 3 (and no more than 3) individual examples of photojournalism that are linked in some way. For example, they may be from the same issue of a news magazine or a daily
newspaper (the Toronto Star is available on campus for free), the same online website such as the CBC or Globe and Mail, or by the same photojournalist. The source is up to you, but you must
choose examples of published photojournalism (including online publication from reputable sources). Videos, advertising and fashion images, and personal photographs are not acceptable. Be
sure to cite the source of the images you choose.
Provide a critical analysis of your chosen image(s) that draws on Donna Schwartz’s article “To Tell the Truth: Codes of Objectivity in Photojournalism” and the theoretical framework of
organizational analysis as discussed in CMS. You must make an argumentative claim about the 3
image(s) you select that is supported by your analysis of the photograph(s). Be sure to explain what’s at stake in your analysis. Yes, the image follows the rule of thirds, but “so what?” What
does your chosen image(s) say about, for example, journalism, beats, objectivity, informational bias, or how the organization of media affects what is presented and how it is presented?
Format: Published webpage using an online platform such as http://www.wix.com/, http://www.weebly.com/, or http://prezi.com/. You should take advantage of the multimedia possibilities
of web publishing and include visual images as part of your discussion (video and hyperlinks are optional). You may present the various components of your argument as separate pages, but
your project should conform to the requirements of an academic paper in the humanities as outlined in the grading rubric. You can be creative with how your present your discussion, but the
discussion itself must be situated within the framework of a formal organized academic presentation. Additional research is not required.
Length: 1200 words + multimedia components. In addition to the factors outlined above, students will also receive evaluative comments on the effectiveness and creativity of your website.
Copy and paste the web address for your project in the submission box on Blackboard. Do not upload a file.
3. Pragmatic Analysis
Consider the internet filtering policies of the Chicago Public Library and the New York Public Library provided below and, based on pragmatic analysis, answer the following question:
Should patrons of public libraries be free to search and surf the Web as they please; or should public libraries block patrons from accessing some material to protect minors from material that
might be considered harmful?
In making your argument in support of either Chicago’s or New York’s policy, you must draw on, refer to, and quote from the discussion of pragmatic analysis offered in CMS, Chapter 4. You
can also draw on the additional readings assigned for Week 4 in making your argument. Be sure to cite all sources. Additional research is not required.
Chicago:
The Chicago Public Library provides public access to the Internet as a way of enhancing its existing collections with electronic resources from information networks around the world. While
the Internet provides many valuable sources of information, users are reminded that some information on the Internet may not be accurate, complete, current or confidential. The Library has no
control over the information on the Internet and cannot be held responsible for its content.
It is not within the purview of the Library to monitor access to any resource for any segment of the population. The Circulation Policy of the Chicago Public 4
Library states: “The Library makes its collections available to all users without regard to age, sex, race, national origin, physical disability or sexual orientation.”
Viewing child pornography is illegal and subject to federal and state prosecution.
Source: http://www.chipublib.org/aboutcpl/cplpolicies/policies/computer_use.php
New York:
As required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”), in order to remain eligible for certain federal funding, the Library has implemented software filtering on all of its Internet-
accessible computer terminals. The software installed on Internet-accessible computers at the Library protects against access to visual depictions of obscenity, child pornography, and, in the
case of persons under the age of 17 years, materials that are “harmful to minors.” Users should be aware, however, that all currently available filtering software results in a degree of both
“underblocking” (i.e., permitting access to certain material that falls within the foregoing categories) and “overblocking” (i.e., denying access to certain constitutionally protected material that
does not fall within the foregoing categories).
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