News Reporting

PLS 2010 – two part project (you are required to do this 3 times in the semester)

Introduction to the Assignment

I have asked you to read the news about American government for two reasons. One is the more you
see the terms/concepts we learn in class in active language being used the easier it will be to
comprehend their meaning and retain that knowledge. Two I hope that it will become a habit. Once the
semester is over you will still be keeping up with the events taking place with a critical and
knowledgeable mind.
Let’s report from what we have read so far.
The project has 2 parts
Pick an issue that matters to you. Read about it. Before the deadline write an analysis of at least 300
words and post it on blackboard. 80% of your grade. (40 points out of 50)
After submitting yours, read your classmates reporting. Respond back to one of their posts. Choose a
post that no one has responded (ideally). That should be done within the week of the deadline for your
submission. These should be at least 50 words, clear and critical assessments, which goes beyond “I
agree with you, how interesting” --- although that may be a good start. 20% of your grade. (10 points out
of 50)
Your first step then think about what issues interest you and start reading about them. If they are linked
to your major please let us know, this is not a requirement because I would like you guys to learn about
what matters to you most. But linking the issue to your major would also be important to see that
politics affects every aspect of our lives, from art to food preservation to fashion design.
Why are we doing this?
We want to connect our learning to real life.
Politics affect the choices available to us.
Politics affect our majors.
We want to be able to show we can express our
demands verbally as well as in formal written
language.
We want to learn how to make formal demands
using our democratic rights.
We want to form a longer term habit of reading
the news and being informed about the issues
that affect our lives.
What will you, as a student, get out of it?
You will learn how to write a comparative analysis.
You will learn how to focus on issues that matter for
us for 15 weeks – at least.
You will practice how to conceptualize issues,
pinpoint problems, design solutions.
Remember complaining is easy. We all would love a
“better education system.” Is there anyone that
would not like to see a “better health care program”
but how? This is the crux of the assignment. Politics is
about knowing what you want.
You will learn how politics affect your major field as
well as your life overall.
What are you supposed to do? How to do this assignment:

1- Think about a broad issue that interests you. That may be women’s rights, regulations in your major, a
social movement such as black lives matter, economic regulations. Start reading about this issue.
2- Skim through the book to see how/if the issue you care about is problematized. You may not find
immigration specifically in the book but civil rights and liberties chapter might help?
3- As you start reading about the issue start condensing your focus. What part of women’s rights are you
interested in? Is it reproductive rights? Parental rights? And read more focused specific news. This choice
might be dictated as what is in the news these days.
4- Once you find a specific focus start reading and find a method to keep track of your readings. As the
deadline approaches pick 3 different sources writing about the SAME story.
5- Read the 3 articles with a critical eye. Meaning: compare them, how do they differ? What does one omit?
What kind of specific words are they using? Is it undocumented workers, or illegal aliens? Which article is
the most useful for you and why?
6- Now that you have read these 3 pieces and you have been following this specific news for a few weeks at
least what kind of new evidence did you find in these pieces.
7- For the second and third submissions you should still work on the same issue as long as there are different
news to report. For ex. You should continue working on health care politics, but the news you report for
2nd and 3rd assignment should be within the last weeks of the deadline.
How do you know if your work is good?

For your own submission:

1- Be clear. Be precise. Be straightforward.
2- Provide names of the outlets as well as dates of the publication. Include the links to the pieces but you
still need to name the outlet and date.
3- It should not be longer than 600 words so choose your words diligently, try to avoid clichés and quotes
from the pieces.
4- Make sure to name the pieces when comparing either with authors or publications came. For ex.
NYtimes highlights X whereas WashPost emphasizes Y.
So the reader should understand
1- What is it that these articles are talking about? What is the news here? What happened?
2- How do these articles approach the same news from different perspectives?
3- What is the evidence they bring to support their arguments? Is it convincing?
4- The news reporting must comply with all academic honesty rules. So if you have further evidence issue
about the subject please include that link as well.
5- This is a comparative analysis news reporting, not a research paper. So no footnotes, citations,
references. It should be your own words, and analysis.
6- Your finished submission gives the reader an idea about all three articles and which one accomplishes
what kind of goal.
7- You have submitted it on the blackboard before the deadline. UNDER WIKIS –you must submit it twice.
One for my view to be graded, the other for your peer’s to comment.

For your peer review:

1- Did you provide a constructive perspective? Meaning: asking good questions, appreciating the work your
classmate has put in but also seeking more with intellectual curiosity.
2- Were you kind and respectful?
3- Did your classmate’s reporting make you think of another peer’s news report? Did you connect those two
or may be more?
4- The review deadline is 48 hours after the post is due.

Additional information on good discussion post habits can be found under grading
rubrics.
A good link to comparative media analysis can be found here https://towardsdatascience.com/how-does-news-
coverage-differ-between-media-outlets-20aa7be1c96a