Opinion Essays 1

M5:

Objectives:

· Discuss standards and rules to govern broadcast indecency for television, print, and the Internet.

· Explain why regulations between television, print, and the Internet are different.

Steps:

1. Read the material on the following links describing the beheading of Steven Sotloff

Steven Sotloff — WikipediaLinks to an external site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Sotloff

Isis video shows beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff Links to an external site.

https://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/world/meast/isis-american-journalist-sotloff/

2.   Discuss whether or not this type of material should be shown in newspapers, on television, and on the Internet. Remember, this is an extremely sensitive topic; Please be respectful of the opinions of your peers. Also remember that freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. If you propose restrictions, you must explain how those restrictions would work and why they not be a violation of the First Amendment.

If you do not want to watch the video, you are not required to. (It is available for viewing.)

The following are some questions to consider.

· Are the freedom of press and the freedom of speech important? Why?

· Should children see be protected from this type of material? How?

· Should the audience have some sort of choice?

· Should newspapers, television, and the Internet be regulated differently? Why or why not?

Post below about how you think the images of the beheading of Steven Sotloff should be regulated in newspapers, on television, and on the Internet. Your response should be a minimum of 200 words in length. You might want to include some information from Chapter 1 about Internet regulation in your response from this book “ISSUES IN MEDIA: SELECTIONS FROM CQ RESEARCHER - 4th EDITION” or older editions of this book. 

3. Read this post below:

“I believe freedom of press and freedom of speech are highly important. If the government can limit someone's ability to speak freely, they can limit what is and isn't considered the truth. I think this is particularly important in a democratic society such as ours. As voters, we have a say in our government and if we are not free to criticize or dissent then the impact of our votes could become insignificant. 

I also believe it is important to not censor videos and difficult subjects such as the murder of Steven Sotloff. I do not think it is necessary to watch such a video, I think just hearing about such an event has enough impact on a person. However, I think it is important to make this sort of content visible to the public so that someone can access it if they so choose. I believe it is important for people to have this access so they can form their own opinions on such things rather than to just believe what they are told to believe by their government.

I do not think that children should be exposed to this sort of material. However, I do not see a way to protect children from seeing violent content such as this or other inappropriate material like pornography, especially on the internet where everything is so readily available. I personally believe it is up to parents and guardians to decide what is and isn't appropriate for their child to view. I don't think this is perfect as not all parents have their children's best interest at heart, or are simply not present to enforce it. But I do not see any other feasible way to protect children from viewing inappropriate content. 

I think the audience's choice to decide what they do and do not want to view is essential. I think information (both factual and opinionated or satirical) should be made available to the public and the public can decide what they would like to consume and form their own opinions around in. 

I personally do not think that newspapers, television, and internet should be regulated differently in regards to freedom of speech. I think all medias should openly feature important factual information as well as allow authors to discuss and share their personal opinions and feelings about a certain subject. However, I think the internet is different as it is a much more accessible platform. Anyone can publish facts, opinions or false information online. I think this makes the internet quite special but I also think it creates a certain level of distrust relating to the reliability or quality of the content online. I think television and newspapers should have to follow a different standard to ensure the information (with the exceptions of opinions, of course) is factual as it is more widely accepted as fact by the public.”

2. Write a brief response to that post (100 words maximum). Be sure to discuss whether or not you agree with their ideas of how the media should be regulated. Specifically comment on the posts assessment of regulations for newspapers, television, and the Internet.

For this, you will be assessed on whether you included all of the elements in steps 1, 2, and 3 above. You will also be graded on how clear and concise your writing is. 

M6:

Objectives:

Describe media bias in politics.

Describe how politicians use media.

Steps:  

Citing at least three reputable sources using the MLA system of citation, analyze the media coverage and use of social media of one of the candidates for president in 2016 or any of the current candidates who have declared their candidacy for president in 2020. 

1) Write a 250-word (longer if needed) analysis of the research.  Be sure to cite at least three sources and to answer the following questions:

· How is the candidate and his or her party portrayed in the media? Give specific examples. 

· How did the candidate use social media in support of his or her campaign?

· Do you think the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated? Why or why not? (You may need to do research on this, but make sure you use a reputable source.) 

Post your analysis below to share with others in the class. Include in-text citations every time you use a source; a Works Cited section should be at the end of your analysis. Make sure to proofread and spell-check your work.

2) Read the post below:

“According to scholarly article Predicting Elections with Twitter: What 140 Characters Reveal about Political Sentiment, “Barack Obama’s masterful use of social media in the 2008 presidential campaign has been widely credited as having established Twitter and other social media sites as integral parts of the political campaign tool box”(Tumasjan et al. 2010). By the next election in 2016 candidates had social media campaigning “down to a T,” often using twitter to “reach out to more voters and receive immediate feedback through, for example, the ‘likes’ mechanism (Wang et al. 2016). Candidate Donald Trump was and is known for being particularly vocal on twitter and often attacked other candidates on the platform. The portrayal of Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the media vary not only from each other but also by platform. Because Trump chooses to tweet and post freely, often without the correct filters, he is portrayed as a very “unhinged” man who speaks without considering the consequences. The Republican party on the other hand, curates content that is far more professional in it’s delivery to the public in comparison to Trump’s media presence. Some of Trump’s tweets include the phrases “washed up psycho,” “dumb and incompetent “stone cold loser,” in reference to some of the government officials he has worked with. His mannerisms on social media are often erratic, unpredictable, and informal, but nevertheless, he was still able to connect with his voters. Like other candidates he used social media to draw in supporters, educate them, and convince them of his policies and overall cause. During the election many of his supporters utilized the #Trump2016 hashtag to advertise their alignment. According to a study conducted and explained in the article Explaining Donald Trump via communication style: Grandiosity, informality, and dynamism, “Trump scored highest on (a) grandiosity ratings, (b) use of first person pronouns, (c) greater pitch dynamics, and (d) informal communication…[suggesting] that Trump benefited from all these aspects of campaign communication style” (Ahmadian et al. 2017). I think that the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated. Some argue that private media outlets and enterprises should not be forced to support differing view points, but with today’s surge in fake news and an increase in networks (Fox News for example) that claim to be fair and balanced but still have an overt alignment, having the Fairness Doctrine would allow a better balance between viewpoints and allow all perspectives to be heard equally.”

Write a one-paragraph response to the post. Be sure to address the Fairness Doctrine in your response.

For this, you will be assessed on whether you included all of the elements in steps 1 and 2 above.  You will also be graded on how clear and concise your writing is.

M8:

Objectives:

Explain how advertising with new media can benefit actors and films.

Steps:

1)   Choose one of your favorite actors or films and research what new media methods are used for promotion. (Start with Facebook or Google and see where your research leads you. If the actor or film you choose doesn't use new media, choose someone else!)

2)  Write a paragraph that describes what the actor or film is doing in the arena of new media promotions and post your paragraph on the discussion board.  The posting title should be the actor or the film's name. Be sure to include:

· a detailed description of the methods used and at least one link to one of the methods

· your opinion as to whether or not this form of advertising will actually be beneficial and why

3) Read the post below and answer the following:

“Into the Spiderverse

I can say from experience that a lot of the movie's hype came from the art style and how it draws from old comic book styles. If you go on sites such as twitter or tumblr (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., you'll find lots of people appreciating the characters and the creative animation. With the amount of people talking about how much they liked the movie, that can sway people into watching it. In addition to word of mouth, the movie also has an instagram (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and a twitter (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.  that posts concept art and other interesting bits about the movie, not to mention a high rating on Rotton Tomatoes and many articles about it. As someone who definitely appreciates good animation and loves seeing creative ways to utilize it, the hype around the animation was enough to get me interested. I feel that word of mouth is a good and fun way to spread awareness of a movie, especially in the form of memes. Memes are nice and people can get an understanding of the characters' dynamics while making people interested in the film itself.”

· Based on what you have viewed (which may be just a first impression), do you agree with this post assessment of the advertising? Why or why not?(One Paragraph long response)

Your responses will be graded based on whether all of the elements listed above are present and on how clear and concise your responses are. Remember, a paragraph is usually several sentences long. Have fun with this one!

Due date: Tuesday, June 11, 2019,  at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific time).