Topic: The Jussie Smollett case.
This paper counts as your course final.
Assignment Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to assess how well students have mastered the course material by asking each student to synthesize various concepts learned in class and analyze how these concepts apply to various aspects of a media case of a student’s choosing.
Assignment Details: Each student will research an example of media communicating a message to a mass communication audience, and will provide an analysis of that message and its impact. A student can choose any example of mass communication, including a film, television episode, documentary, book, magazine cover/article, television advertisement, song, social media post/thread, radio podcast episode, news article or broadcast, etc.
Students should only use reputable sources for researching their paper topic. Do not use unverified and unvetted online sources. Articles from reputable news sources, government sources, and other verifiable source material are acceptable.
Students are encouraged to use the robust St. John’s online library database for source material. see Library Services for instruction on how to search its databases for relevant mass communication subject matter.
Areas of analysis should include (but are not limited to):
1. Type of media used, and the medium on which message was communicated
2. Target population for the message
3. A description of the historical or contemporary time period and cultural context around the time the media message was introduced, and any relevant cultural concepts
4. Any intersections with issues of race, gender, class, sexual orientation /identity, religion, national origin, etc.
5. Any legal and ethical issues surrounding the media example
6. Media models and theories illustrated in the media case
7. Industry-specific trends and data
