FINAL PAPER TOPIC NOT DUE UNTIL MARCH 9

Please hand in your topic idea the last day before spring break. We will respond when you return with our take on whether you're on the right track or not. We will also be available to consult with you during April while you're working on it. We look forward to reading what you have to say!

THE GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB

Only one person in class thought this documentary did NOT qualify as alternative media. His reasons? HBO is a subscription ENTERTAINMENT channel aimed at a targeted audience, not a broad one; and the structure of the movie is very traditional. It breaks no new ground.

One person expressed a bit of doubt, but everyone else was pretty certain. Your reasons? In order of how often they were mentioned:

1. Treats viewers as citizens, not primarily consumers
2. Not made primarily for profit
3. Challenges the status quo, specifically the policy of the US Government and/or our attitudes toward the US military and war
4. Goes beyond or in a different direction than conventional media coverage
5. Interested not just in facts, but in finding out the truth even though it might be unpopular
6. Exposes truths we don't necessarily want to know -- "harsh" things
7. Unbiased
8. Biased
9. Uses ordinary people on both sides of the war as sources
10. Tries to educate

Interesting comments:

"I had no idea this place existed."

“If Rumsfeld watched this, he’d turn Miller loose on those who participated in its production.”

FINAL PAPER GUIDELINES

Final Research Paper due Monday, May 14 by noon. Please drop off either at my office (Bg 214) or in my mailbox in Bg 201. We will not accept e-mailed papers except in true emergencies.

This paper should be a reflection on the questions addressed in this course:

*How is each of us individually being affected by these thousands of hours of messages received by the mass media every year?
*How is our society being affected by these same messages?
*How, if at all, can we control these effects?
*What, if any, power do we have to affect the media promulgating these messages?
*If we do have any power to affect the media, to what end do we want to use that power?

You should pick a topic, and then try to answer these questions using the assigned readings, including the New York Times. (Please do NOT discard your newspapers as you use them!) For example, you should choose a specific kind of message (i.e., advertising, horror films, news, reality TV, etc.) Then discuss the effects; then discuss how you as an individual and how society can control these effects. Please use APA style and include a page listing all your references. You are expected to use AT LEAST 25 different sources. For example, you might reference 8 references from the two books we read in class, and 17 different articles or ads or photos from the New York Times. Minimum length: 1500 words. Your paper should have a title and subtitle.

Examples:

1. What kinds of messages am I getting about the war in Iraq from the Times? How many messages am I getting? How am I affected by these messages? How do I think society is being affected? How can I control these effects? What is my purpose in doing this?

2. What kinds of message am I getting about what’s important enough in the news to be in the front-page photo of the Times? How am I affected by these messages? How do I think society if being affected? How can I control these effects? What is my purpose in doing this?

Topic due: end of February
Hypothesis due: end of March

Katie Carter and I are available to meet with you individually if you need help with your paper during the month of April. Please e-mail one or both of us to set up an appointment if you wish.