English Writing Assignment 3 Part Assignment

Media Bias Discussion

Discussions play an integral role in monitoring your course participation throughout the term. You should check back to the weekly discussions multiple times throughout the week to engage in the discussion with your professor and peers. Participation is only counted during the week in which this discussion is assigned. Be sure to appropriately cite any sources you use to support your responses with standard APA citations. Answer the prompt question(s) thoroughly using a minimum of 150-200 words and respond to as many of your peers as possible - note that responses to 2 of your peers are required for full credit. Be sure to answer any additional questions asked by your professor in the discussion threads. Your initial post is due by Day 3 of the current week, and follow up posts to your peers are due on Day 7!  

· 50 Points - Rubric Based

· Initial Post due Day 3

· Responses due Day 7

Discussion Question: 

Choose one of the following options:

Option 1:

Question: This week, you read several resources and watched several videos that both explained and gave examples of logical fallacies. Seek out a logical fallacy, whether in a news article or in a discussion between friends/followers/people you follow on social media. Take a screenshot of the example and post it in your response. Explain which fallacy is being used and why you are categorizing it that way.  Example: Your friend on Facebook argues that every time he tries to buy M&M’S on days it’s raining, Kroger is always sold out. Therefore, he argues, rain causes candy shortages. You would tell us this is a false cause fallacy and why you chose the fallacy as opposed to one of the others.

Option 2:

Question: This week, you learned about argument, bias, and looked at a  Media Bias Chart  that examined how liberal, conservative, fabricated and factual news sources are. Find and synthesize/summarize two opposing news sources covering the same issue. Tell us:

1. What sources you used.

2. What do these outlets say?

3. What facts are verified by more than one source (i.e. what parts of the story overlap or are the same)?

4. Where do the narratives about the story or issue diverge? What still seems to be up for debate?

5. Based on what seems to be verified as true by both articles and their persuasive arguments, what do you believe is true about your chosen event?

Example of Clashing News: In January 2019, there were at least three narratives about an interaction between a Native American man/Omaha tribe elder and teenage boys from a Catholic school in Kentucky. While  this (Links to an external site.)  article claimed the “MAGA hat” wearing teens were harassing Nathan Phillips,  other (Links to an external site.)  news sources claimed Nick Sandmann (the boy pictured with Phillips) was trying to diffuse a situation that involved a third group. Even more sources argued Phillips  misrepresented (Links to an external site.)  his military service. More investigations happened since the original reports, and as of February 2019, Sandmann and his family are suing The Washington Post for defamation to the tune of $250 million.