Post 4: Due Friday 11/4

I'm posting this EARLY because there is a typo on your calendar. I put response to post 3 down for 2 weeks in a row. Sorry.

For this post I want you to pick an issue (domestic or international) to examine in 4 papers (it can be a in 4 U.S. papers or 1 U.S. paper and 3 foreign papers). Then I want you do answer the following questions:

• What are the similarities and differences between how these papers present the news?
• Analyze whether you think these news sources are presenting the news in a biased or objective manner. Consider the following: the pictures used, the verbs/language used, who was quoted and not quoted, the headline, and how the argument was framed (ie. the vocabulary, who and what was included/ excluded from the article).
• Pick and explain which news source you think did the best job on the story or issue you choose.

In the past my students have struggled with this so I wanted to recommend 2 examples of media comparison that I enjoyed last weekend on National Public Radio. On the program On the Media they had an article comparing presidential campaign coverage and one on how the Occupy Wallstreet movement is portrayed in U.S. and international media. They might be helpful for you.

Lastly I have some news sources to recommend for this project-

US news sources:
washingtonpost.com
latimes.com
foxnews.com
cnn.com
startribune.com
msnbc.msn.com

International news sources:
bbc.co.uk
guardian.co.uk
english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
jpost.com
chinadaily.com.cn/
xinhuanet.com/english