TX Politics and The Media: COVID-19 in The News
Guidelines:
Compare and contrast the cable news broadcasts of Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC covering the topic of the COVID-19 Viral Pandemic during the same news cycle. If you watch episodes on the same day, they are far more likely to be discussing the same new events.
You may pick episodes from these shows dating back one calendar year for this activity. Each program can be accessed on the parent network’s website or an online video archive (YouTube, Hulu, Google video, etc.). Watch each program for a minimum of 15 minutes to ensure the topic was fully addressed from introduction to the conclusion (I watch the news like a hawk, so it will be obvious if anyone didn’t get the whole story).
Be sure to follow each of the formatting guidelines provided in Addendum III of the syllabus and the specific guidelines for a discussion activity (minimum research and writing requirements) provided both online and in the syllabus.
Note: Any work that does not meet the minimum writing and research requirements will be marked incomplete, along with any late posts, off-topic content, or superficial answers.
Discussion Prompts (answer all of them):
• What was the context for the lead story on each show? What level of priority did “political news” receive in general?
• What were the similarities in the general nature of the way the topic was covered? What were the major differences?
• What did you see/hear that was relevant to the chapter readings from this Unit?
• Did you detect a bias? What was the nature of the bias (liberal v. conservative)?
• Was the bias more obvious on one network than the other? What is the rationale for using bias as a media company? Cite a peer-reviewed academic journal article for information related to a formal policy recommendation.
• How does bias impact you as a viewer/consumer of information?
• What is your overall assessment of the media’s coverage of political news after completing the readings for this unit, working on this activity, and examining the posts of your peers on this topic?
• How will the information from this assignment be useful to you in the near or long-term future? This could be from the perspective of a potential or actual voter, employee, employer, parent, student, etc. Be sure to clearly establish the perspective and how the information can lead to meaningful action. Only this last prompt does not require citing a source, since it is a personal question. Just remember not to use first-person tone in your writing.
