MEDIA SNAPSHOT
ASSESSMENT ITEM 1: MEDIA SNAPSHOT
You will submit a 1000 word full-referenced report on the topic below:
Write a snapshot about the state of journalism in one of the following countries (JUST CHOOSE ONE): Burma, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Russia, India, the Philippines, Poland, Hungary or Venezuela. Take into account journalism cultural practices, regulations under which journalists work, the sociopolitical and cultural context, and the impact of globalisation.
Your report will be assessed according to the criteria sheet at the end of this Outline. You are encouraged to self-assess your work by submitting a copy of this assessment criteria sheet with your assignment.
Note: Do not use strings of long quoted passages from the readings with little summarising or analysis. If anything, err on the side of over-referencing your work. Use the criteria sheet as a check list before you submit. The best way to do this is to self-assess your work using the criteria sheet and submit this with your assignment.
Length: 1000 words
Expectations: expectations are that you'll look at the way journalism works in one particular country (from the list provided). To do that, you'll need to consider the culture that the journalists practice within. This might include that portrayal of women and other minorities, or the expectations that the population have in terms of the role journalists should play in their society. You'll also consider the regulations and laws that these journalists must work under and the politics of the society as well. Changes will have occurred in the journalism practices due to globalisation so you'll need to reflect on those as well.
In order to do all this, you'll probably use a mixture of peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles. The only things that count as peer reviewed are books and academic journal articles. Articles in newspapers or other journals do not count as peer reviewed because although they have been subject to an editor reading them, most have not been reviewed by anyone who is an expert in the particular field/subject matter the article is exploring. While I don't want to be prescriptive about it, I would expect a minimum of 4 peer reviewed references and 2 others although I think you'd need more to do a thorough job.
You'll need to reference both peer reviewed and other sources throughout using Harvard or APA referencing, as well as providing a Reference list at the end. Please do not use footnotes. Because we ask for a Reference list as opposed a Bibliography, every reference that appears in your Reference list should have also have been referenced somewhere in your essay.
I'll also include a little list of tips that I usually give to first year students about essay writing. I'm sure most of you will know all this, but it might be worth a referesher if you haven't studied for a while:
An academic essay is not the place for you to share general ideas and thoughts about a particular subject. Instead, you should be answering an academic question by reading a wide range of sources, drawing ideas together and presenting them in a way that makes sense to you (and the reader). This takes time, so don’t try and do it at the very last minute or it will be reflected in your mark.
Introduction – Introductions need to outline what the essay is about and how the argument will be developed. It’s good to include a little bit of theory eg definitions.
Body – This is where you really develop your arguments in a logical order. Generally, you need a new paragraph for each big idea.
Conclusion – Don’t just re-state what you wrote in the introduction here – you need to really tell us WHAT you’ve concluded and give a short overview of how you got there. This is not the place to include any new ideas.
Some tips on expression
· Always use Australian spelling/spellcheck. Never organize, always ORGANISE.
· Always spell out abbreviations when using them the first time
· Remember academic papers require formal language. Never use terms like “in the firing line” or abbreviations like Uni or &.
· Do not write in the first person. Rather than “I think the media published the story because…”, you should write “It is likely that the media had a range of reasons for publishing this story. They include…”
· Capital letters should only be used for proper nouns like the names of towns or publications. Publication names should also generally be in italics eg Sydney Morning Herald.
· Shorter sentences are generally clearer. Sentences more than 50 words are never really okay.
· It’s is the abbreviation of “it is”. This is the only time it should have an apostrophe
· Always proof-read – ideally get someone else to do it for you.
Essential reading:
Revisiting Asian Values in Journal of the History of Ideas
Article by Leigh Jenco 2013
Required resource?
Perpetual development journalism? Balance and framing in the 2006 Singapore election coverage in Asian Journal of Communication
Article by Mark Cenite; Chong Shing Yee; Han Teck Juan; Lim Li Qin; Tan Xian Lin 2008
Required resource?
Asian-based development Journalism and political elections: Press coverage of the 1999 general elections in Malaysia in International Communication Gazette
Article by K. Wong 2004
Required resource?
Accountability, democracy, and globalization: a study of broadcast journalism in India in Asian Journal of Communication
Article by Shakuntala Rao 2008
Required resource?