Journalism and Mass Communication

Op-Ed Assignment Guidelines

You’re a staff writer at “The Charlatan”, Carleton University’s campus newspaper. Your editor has recently informed you about on-campus, student-centred debates concerning mass media, which you’re to address in an upcoming op-ed (i.e. editorial). In particular, the student body is unclear about the driving forces behind much of the media we consume. So your aim as a staff writer is to introduce students to the idea of media industries. Effectively, you’ll communicate your answer to the following question: what is the media industry is and why is it important to understand it?

Your piece should consider the following tension: the role of media in democracy on the one hand, and the idea that media are often produced with a for-profit motive on the other. Feel free to borrow descriptive concepts from the readings and/or lectures where appropriate, but remember to describe their meaning so that an audience of non- media studies students can follow along. In terms of formatting, capture a pull-quote from your writing and display it somewhere in the document using a large font—a technique used to grab the reader’s attention and alert them that an important point is being made. Also, feel free to include an appropriate image, bearing in mind it would be the article’s thumbnail if it were shared on social media.

The op-ed can be written in an informal tone, but it should read as though it can be published. This means that it must be clear, concise, and copy edited to address any issues with spelling and punctuation. In terms of structure, the first paragraph should introduce the topic, the last paragraph will summarize the case you’ve made, and the paragraphs in between should systematically explore the tensions created by the media industry.

The piece should also have a catchy title—something that reflects its main point while grabbing the reader’s attention. No direct citations from course material are necessary, though if you draw from a reading to define a concept the source should be indicated (i.e. “as Gasher et al. observe,…”).

As is the case in all writing for publication, this piece has a firm word count and it can not exceed 750 words. Be sure to have a look at the grading rubric on cuLearn before beginning the project so you know what we’re looking for.

Module 1

COMS 1001: Foundations in Communication and Media Studies

“capture a pull-quote from your writing and display it somewhere in the document using a large font—a technique used to grab the reader’s

attention and alert them that an important point is being made”