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Avoid the Media Paper In Depth Group Project Interview Media Professional Media Personality
Paper 		Quizzes

 

We Interrupt This Broadcast for a Special Report

(Going In-Depth in a Particular Industry in the Media)

Group Project

Introduction to Mass Media (COMM 103)

 

Due Date: See Syllabus

To help us learn more about a particular industry in the media, you and your group mates are going to do some in-depth research. After completing the research, you will mold the results into an oral presentation for the class. Have fun with this. Don't make it boring. Think how you would feel if you had to sit through a boring presentation?

Your presentation should look like a newscast or roundtable discussion as if this report were going out over the mass media. You can also have your presentation resemble a talk show or morning radio team.

Interview a person in that field (it's better if this interview is done in person, but it could be done on the phone).

It must be at least a 15 minute interview. Need to decide who you going to interview and why. Also, will one group member or multiple group members conduct the interview? You must clear the person you are going to interview with the instructor before conducting the actual interview.

You can ask additional questions, but make sure to get answers to at least these questions

  1. Name
  2. Company that they work for
  3. Exact title
  4. What is their exact job in that industry?
  5. Why is that job important?
  6. Why did they go into that industry?
  7. Why do they feel that their industry is more important than other industries in the mass media?
  8. What's special about the industry they work in?
  9. If they had special powers for a day, and they could change one thing about their industry, what would it be and why?
  10. What media sources does that person consume on a regular basis? How do those media sources affect their life?

Case Study: Provide background or short history on a particular media provider in that industry. For example, if you were doing television you could do a history about WMGM-TV, MTV, or FOX. How much money did they make? How successful are they? What kind of media products do they produce? How do they make their money? This may require internet, book, magazine, and/or other kinds of research. You must use at least 2 sources.

Survey 25 ACCC students about their consumer habits in this particular genre. You need to record the age and gender for each participant.

You must ask each participant at least 5 questions.

For example, how many hours a day do they spend watching television, etc?

What is their favorite media source in that genre?

Uncover a new trend in the field. Conduct research and find out something new. Where is that field headed? Depending on the industry you are focusing upon, you can consult magazines such as Billboard, Radio and Records, Variety, Electronic Media, Editor & Publisher, etc.

Make an argument. Why is that genre important and influential? How does it affect our attitudes, beliefs, and values?

In-Class presentation must be 10-15 minutes.

You must provide 5 open-ended discussion questions to the class.

Provide a one-page summary of presentation for the class.

Provide some kind of visual aid (e.g. a Powerpoint presentation).

Pull together the material you have gathered into a unified presentation.

You must use a Powerpoint, and provide each member of the class with a printed copy of it.

Choose from the following list. First come, first served.

What you need to include (Due Date: See Syllabus)

The presentation itself (Due Date: See Syllabus)

What you hand out to the audience (Due Date: See Syllabus)

Contract (Due Date: See Syllabus)

What should be contained in the group contract?

  1. Plan for organization of roles and delegation of work.
  2. Plan for decision making.
  3. Communication plan (with each other and instructor).
  4. Plan for resolving conflicts .
  5. Consequences of breaking this contract. For example, if a free rider problem occurs, group members must register their concern with the non-participating member, and notify the instructor in writing that a warning has been registered.
  6. Anything else you see as important for the group to be effective.
  7. You must submit a complete copy of the contract, signed by all members of the group on the day of your presentation.