Chapter 2 section 3 discusses Methods of Researching Media Effects. One of those methods is a content analysis.
For this writing assignment I’d like you to analyze a piece of mass media (an episode of TV, a movie, news program etc.) using content analysis.
The book uses violence as an example of a type content to analyze but you can also look at political content, educational content, political content in comedy shows, sex etc.
So first decide the type of content you’d like to analyze (violence, politics, educational material, sex etc.), (2) find a program that you feel will contain enough of this content to write about, (3) watch and take notes, (4) write up your analysis.
Some questions to think about to get you started.
Was there too much, not enough, or just enough of the content present in the program? Does this reveal anything about our culture? What effects would the program have on different age groups? Could the program be improved with different content? Are there any programs you can compare it to, favorably or unfavorably? Etc.
Your responses should be (1) thoughtful, (2) engaged, (3) responsive, (4) developed, and (5) clear. The writing will be judged primarily on the quality of the work. However, proper grammar and structure will be factored in as well. Typical writing assignments are 1.5-2 pages based upon proper formatting: 12 point font, Arial, double-spaced, 1 in margins.
