Third Assignment, Fall 2017

Choose one of the following.  If you prefer a topic of your own, please let me know.

1.  Benjamin Wittes and Perry Bacon, Jr. offer sage advice about how to read stories with unnamed sources. (Also look back at our 9/28 class.) Analyze at least three recent (2017) stories about a current investigation or controversy that rely on such sources.  Answer these questions:

• Are the stories credible?
• Why do they use anonymous sources?
• How do the anonymous sources differ from the named sources?
• Who might the anonymous sources be?  What might their motivations be?  Be specific.

Obviously, you will need to research the investigation or controversy.  Keep an eye out for followup stories in which people confirm, deny, or sidestep anonymous allegations.

2.  Pick a "niche" issue that is typically not at the top of the news agenda (e.g., California transportation funding, food safety, NASA funding, research on Alzheimer's Disease).  Examine coverage both in mainstream media outlets (e.g., The New York Times) and specialized media (e.g., issue blogs, social media).   What facets of the issue are showing up in the specialized media but not in the mainstream media?  Examine the interaction of the mainstream and specialized media:  is one driving coverage in the other?

3.  Compare and contrast two of President Trump's press conferences.  Why did the president hold these events when he did?  What was he trying to accomplish?  What kinds of questions did he get? How did the press conferences play in the new media and legacy media?  To what extent did he succeed?  In your research, you should watch the video of the conferences as well as reading the transcripts:  take tone and body language into account.  You will also need to do background research on the issues that came up during the press conferences.

4.  Is the CSI Effect (Graber 274-274) for real? Review the relevant academic literature in law, psychology, and other disciplines.  "Academic literature" means peer-reviewed journals, doctoral dissertations, and scholarly books.

5.  Pick any high-profile criminal case.  How did media coverage affect the conduct of the trial and its outcome?  In your answer, consider such elements as gag order, changes of venue, and the press strategy of the opposing sides.

• Essays should be typed (12-point), double-spaced, and in a Word document that is no more than six pages long. I will not read past the sixth page. 
• Cite your sources. Use endnotes in Turabian format. 
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. 
• Return essays to the Sakai dropbox by 11:59 PM, Friday November 17. Essays will drop one gradepoint for one day’s lateness and a full grade after that.