LACC Psychology Paper
There are multiple ways that you can gather daily information through the media including newscasts, newspapers, news websites, etc. Your assignment is to analyze one news source and its contents. You need to analyze each segment/article for its informational vs. entertainment value. Please follow the specific instructions depending on the news source that you select. I strongly recommend that you try something out of your comfort zone–something you are unfamiliar with. (EVERYTHING SHOULD BE IN OWN WORDS, NO PLAGIARIZING)
TV (or other live streamed) Newscast:
Watch an entire ONE HOUR newscast (Avoid a channel like CNN that only does a few segments per hour. You want one that will include at least 20 different topics.) If you pick a newscast that only includes a few stories, you will receive reduced credit.
Include in your assignment the day, time, and channel.
Write down each segment as it occurs (e.g. Bad accident on the 405, fires in Northern California, cat got stuck in tree, etc.) Please number each segment.
Include a short 1-2 sentence description of what the segment was about (You can do this after the newscast is over if you don’t have time as you watch.)
After it is over, go back and determine for each individual segment whether its purpose was to inform or entertain. Explain why you think each individual article was informative or entertaining.
After you have done the analysis for each individual segment, write an in-depth paragraph of what you thought the overall purpose was for the news. Was it to inform? Or was it for entertainment? This is a separate analysis from the individual segments.
For Example:”Cat Stuck in Tree” A cat got stuck in a tree and the fire department was called. The family was fined for misuse of emergency services. I see this as entertainment because it is not very important that we know someone’s cat climbed a tree and couldn’t get out. (This is a hypothetical example. You may interpret it quite differently. Perhaps it is informative in that it warns against misuse of emergency services.)
Printed Daily Newspaper (e.g. L.A. Times)
Read the ENTIRE front section–all pages, not just the first page.
Include the name and date of publication.
Write down the title of each article on all pages. Please number each segment.
Include a brief 1-2 sentence summary of each article.
After you have read the entire section, go back and determine for each individual article whether its purpose was to inform or entertain. Explain why you think each individual article was informative or entertaining.
After you have done the analysis for each individual article, write an in-depth paragraph of what you thought the overall purpose was for the newspaper. Was it to inform? Or was it for entertainment? This is a separate analysis from the individual segments.
For Example:”Cat Stuck in Tree” A cat got stuck in a tree and the fire department was called. The family was fined for misuse of emergency services. I see this as entertainment because it is not very important that we know someone’s cat climbed a tree and couldn’t get out. (This is a hypothetical example. You may interpret it quite differently. Perhaps it is informative in that it warns against misuse of emergency services.)
For Online Newsites
Read the first 25 articles. I recommend that you write down the headlines, and then go back and read the articles, as the order often switches from minute to minute. Avoid advertisements that are often disguised as articles (you will often see “ad” in very small print.)
Include the name of the website and day and time you accessed the site.
Write down all 25 titles. Please number each segment.
Include a brief 1-2 sentence summary of each article. Please summarize in your own words, as copying and pasting will trigger the plagiarism detection software.
After you have read the all of the articles, go back and determine for each individual article whether its purpose was to inform or entertain. Explain why you think each article was to informative or entertaining.
After you have done the analysis for each individual article, write an in-depth paragraph of what you thought the overall purpose was for the news site. Was it to inform? Or was it for entertainment? This is a separate analysis from the individual segments.
For Example:”Cat Stuck in Tree” A cat got stuck in a tree and the fire department was called. The family was fined for misuse of emergency services. I see this as entertainment because it is not very important that we know someone’s cat climbed a tree and couldn’t get out. (This is a hypothetical example. You may interpret it quite differently. Perhaps it is informative in that it warns against misuse of emergency services.)
For any other news media source, follow the above directions and make sure you read/view 25 articles or segments.
Your paper should be double spaced, with one inch margins. Please use only Times or Times New Roman 12 point font. Submit your paper in Microsoft Word or RTF only.
Assignments will be checked for non-original material using SimCheck.
