Canadian Popular Culture. SSC 212G

Canadian Popular Culture. SSC 212G
Mass Media Assignment
Weighted – 10 % of your Final Grade

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The focus of this assignment is to: Consider the Source.

Research shows that an alarming number of Canadians get their news by reading headlines on
social media platforms. And they never look beyond that one posted sentence, never consider
where it came from or never read the actual article. They just automatically believe it to be true.
This is dangerous. Especially at a time when some of our news sources are admittedly
politically driven and one-sided. In addition, there are a number of headlines that are completely
false and made up and shared by millions on social media, in our ‘fake news’ era.

Assignment Details – Media Source Selection
Your job is to analyze coverage of the same current news event (from the last two years) from
two different media sources. By ‘different,’ I mean different in different in political or contextual
approach (for example: CNN coverage vs Fox News coverage)

Here are some links that may help you with selecting and analyzing your chosen media source.
Media Bias Chart –
Media Bias in Canada – includes a video explaining the above chart and directly references Canadian media sources –
***Your media sources must be North American (you are not limited to just Canadian).***
For the best assignment results, try to select two news sources that are not close to one another on the Media Bias chart (politically or contextually opposed).

Assignment Details

In your submitted assignment, please format it as listed below.
The format of your assignment should include: an Introductory paragraph, First Source Coverage summary, Second Source Coverage summary, and a Comparison and Analysis paragraph(s). Each of these three sections should have a bolded and underlined subtitle – Introduction, First Source Coverage, Second Source Coverage, and Comparison and Analysis.

In your Introduction section – in a paragraph, begin by very briefly summarizing the news
event and identifying the two media sources that you analyzed.

In First Source Coverage section – in a paragraph(s), summarize and describe the coverage by
one of your media sources. Consider what was included (interviews, images used, different
perspectives), the main focus (personal accounts, political or national implications,
calls to action) and the length of the coverage (in-depth/long or short/brief).

In Second Source Coverage section – in a paragraph(s), you will summarize and describe your
second media source, just like you did in the first source coverage section above.

In the Comparison and Analysis section, in a paragraph(s) compare and contrast the coverage
by your two different sources. This is the part that is weighted heaviest, and where you are
expected to use critical thought. Consider any of the following prompts in your analysis….
• Is the truth/facts evident in both sources?
• Did the sources have contrasting messages?
• How prevalent is any political or personal bias in either source? Is this achieved through what was focused on?
• Is the unique way that the event was covered intended to illicit an emotional reaction from the viewer?
• Were important facts excluded from either source?
• How does the everyday viewer determine bias, if they only get their news from one source?

Assignment Format, Assessment and Requirements

 Please submit your work in Blackboard under the Assignments link. To do this: Click on the bolded and underlined title – Mass Media Assignment and in the next window, submit using the buttons in the Assignment Submission section.
 Submit either a Microsoft Word document or PDF only.
 Check your SafeAssign score, to be sure you haven’t plagiarized.
 Use a minimum of 12 font size – font style and spacing choices are yours.
 There is no minimum or maximum word count. I am looking for the QUALITY of your analysis, not the QUANTITY.
 Assignment format is as stated above – with subtitles for each section (Introduction, First Source Coverage, Second Source Coverage, and Comparison and Analysis).
 Use the attached rubric to help you successfully meet the assignment requirements.
 This assignment will be marked out of 15 and is worth 10 % of your final grade.
 Plagiarism of any kind results in an automatic grade of 0.

Mass Media Assignment Rubric.
Rubric
Summary of the News Event 1 mark
-written in own words; highlights the main facts of the event
-lists the two media sources used in the assignment 0 marks
-has excluded one or more the elements required
Summary of the Coverage by the First Media Source 4 marks
-written in own words; clear and accurate descriiption of what was included in the article; a clear and accurate descriiption of the main focus; a descriiption of the length/depth 3 marks or less
-descriiptions are too brief to provide context to make comparisons; descriiptions are inaccurate; descriiptions do not include prompts you were asked to consider

Summary of the Coverage by the Second Media Source 4 marks
-written in own words; clear and accurate descriiption of what was included in the article; a clear and accurate descriiption of the main focus; a descriiption of the length/depth 3 marks or less
-descriiptions are too brief to provide context to make comparisons; descriiptions are inaccurate; descriiptions do not include prompts you were asked to consider

Analysis and Comparison of the Content of the Article 4 marks
-direct link to course content and clear evidence of critical thought; thoroughly addressing many of the prompts provided
3 marks or less
-missing either a direct link to course content; limited or minimal evidence of critical thinking
Grammar/Spelling 1 mark
-no errors
0 marks
-errors made
Bibliography 1 mark
-included and complete with working hyperlinks to the media sources used 0 marks
-missing or incomplete