Term paper

COMM 102: Mass Media & Society

Term Paper Guidelines

• Length: 7-10 pages, 12-point Times New Roman, double spaced. (2,500-3,000 words)

• Style: APA

• Topic: Anything to do with Media & Society.

• Important: You may choose a topic that has been covered in class, but you must take what we have covered as your starting point and research the topic well beyond that.

• Sources: There are stacks and stacks of things called “books” in our library and the VPL. I am going to want to see some of these in the List of References or Works Cited section at the end of your paper. Wikipedia is not a valid source for academic research. It can provide a very useful place to start because it often lists good sources for further research, but it should not be used as a source itself. Our library websites also includes access to many e-books and databases, the most useful of which might be Communication and Mass Media Complete.

• Tip: You might want to query me on your proposed topic, as I can probably tell you if you will be able to find many good sources on it and I can probably point you to some of them.

• Due date: Sunday, midnight of week 10 for online sections.

Possible term paper topics

• How does mass media influence society?

• What are the contributions of mass communications to modern society?

• Marshall McLuhan from the Gutenberg Galaxy to the Global Village

• How Web 2.0 advances the Internet from Web 1.0

• How social media have changed politics

• How U.S. hedge funds came to control Canada’s press Citizen journalism

• Native advertising: Sell-out or saviour of journalism?

• Does Technology save or suck time?

• What are the effects of TV and Movies on young minds?

• Who controls content on the www?

• Is the data being mined about customers on the www a breach of privacy?

• Explain the importance of racial and gender diversity in mass media

• How has history repeated itself in mass media?