KEITH FORREST

Home | Samples of My Work | Biography | Interpersonal Communication | Public Speaking | Contact Me

Communication Option | Curriculum Vitae | Succeeding in College |My Research |Advanced Writing |

Mass Media |Public Relations |Writing Scholarship

Welcome to Assignments Back to Mass Media
Avoid the Media Paper	In Depth Group Project	Interview Media Professional	Media Personality Paper	Quizzes

Avoiding the Media Paper
Introduction to Mass Media
Instructor: Keith Forrest

Due Date: See Syllabus

Length: 3-5 Pages

Format: Follow syllabus instructions for “Style for all papers” and “Standards for all papers.”

This paper will take you at least three days:

Day One: Record your media usage for a 24 hour period.

Day Two: Avoid media coverage for 20-hour period and take notes about your experiences.

Day Three: Write about your experiences.

Choose any 24-hour period and record a log of all your media consumption. Record how many minutes/hours you spent with each media form and the specific media sources you consumed.

•  Television

•  Radio

•  Newspapers

•  Magazines

•  Books

•  Film

•  The Internet

•  Recordings

•  Video Games

You should include this information on a separate page using a chart that looks like this:

Day and Date

Type of Media	Specific Media Source	Sections/Parts/Program	Time
For Example, Newspaper	The Press of Atlantic City	Sports and Business Sections	30 minutes

The next day, abstain from media contact/usage for 20 hours starting 4 pm on any day until the next day's class period. Do not watch TV, do not listen to the radio, do not play computer games, do not see any movies, do not read the newspaper, any magazine, novels etc., do not play computer games, do not check your e-mail, do not surf the Net, abstain from cellular phone use, do not listen to CDs/tapes.

I understand that you cannot cut telephone contact or you might have to use computer for work purposes etc. In those cases, try to keep it to a minimum and avoid using any media for personal purposes as much as you can. Choose a day that has your favorite sporting event or sitcom on TV. That day you can take notes about your experience, but don't write the actual paper yet. This will give you some time to process the experience. The next day, write about your personal experience with avoiding the media. Make sure to use concepts from the class in your analysis. If you conduct any outside research, you must include a bibliography. If you quote from the textbook, you must cite it properly. Your paper should have a clear thesis and conclusion. You should cite as many concrete, specific, and vivid examples as possible. The paper should answer the following questions.

1. How did it feel to have no interaction with the media for one day?
2. How did the two days compare to one another? What was different? Why?
3. Did missing a day of media consumption have any effect on your attitudes, beliefs, and values? If so, what was the effect(s)?
4. What do you think this experience tells you about our society and its dependency on the media?
5. What media source did you miss most? Why? What media source did you miss least? Why?
6. If you cut down on your media consumption permanently would it change your attitudes, beliefs, and values?
7. If you shifted your current media consumption to other forms of media how do you think it would affect your life? For example, playing video games less and reading the newspaper more.