Second Assignment 2023

Pick one:

1.  Appraise the Biden administration's media strategy in the first two weeks of the war in Gaza.  What message is the administration trying to convey? To whom?  How?  And for what end?  Consider the message box, though in this case, there is more than one.  That is, the administration is competing with non-US powers (e.g., Hamas, the Palestinian Authority) as well as domestic critics.

2.   Pick any current event in the Mideast (e.g., a battle, a terrorist incident).  Compare and contrast coverage in at least two American and two non-American sources (from different countries).  How did each define the story?  Did any show a bias?  Did any miss something important?  In your essay, find some outside documentation of the event in question (e.g., government sources) and learn about the news organizations.  Take care to distinguish between coverage that an organization itself produces and wire stories that it merely carries.  Remember that coverage may consist of more than one story and may involve more than one day. You may find English-language sources at:

• https://www.thebigproject.co.uk/news/
• http://english.aljazeera.net
• http://www.jpost.com
  
•  http://news.bbc.co.uk
  
• http://www.cbc.ca

3. In the months ahead, we could see a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. The antivaccine movement could hinder the federal response.  Write a memo to CDC Director Mandy Cohen (or another appropriate official) laying out a media strategy for countering antivaccine misinformation this fall. Consider the message box and consult the relevant literature.

4.  Pick any other relevant topic, subject to my approval.

• Essays should be typed (12-point), double-spaced, and no more than six pages long. I will not read past the sixth page. 
• Please submit all papers in this course as Word documents, not Google docs or pdfs.
• Cite your sources. Please use endnotes in the format of Chicago Manual of Style.  Endnotes do not count against the page limit. Please do not use footnotes, which take up too much page space.
• Do not use ChatGPT or any other generative AI. Misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own work is plagiarism.  
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. 
• Return essays to the class Sakai dropbox by 11:59 PM on Friday, October 27. I reserve the right to dock papers one gradepoint for one day’s lateness and a full grade after that.