Comm 3525 Critical Analysis Paper

The Critical Analysis paper is based on the articles you collect/record over the semester and your reflections on those articles. Assess the quality of the coverage your topic has received based on what you've observed across the media and across time. Your paper should have a strong central thesis to guide the direction of your analysis. Your responses to the points below this paragraph should make use of evidence gleaned from the coverage you've reviewed. You need to make sure the argument you generate is well-supported by evidence from within this coverage.

Address the newsworthiness of your topic. How does this topic comport with the definitions of news you've been reading about and generating on your own? Does the coverage provide the audience with a better understanding of the issue/event after reading/hearing/seeing the story? In what ways does the coverage serve the democratic needs of the citizenry?

Analyze whether or not the coverage the topic has received reflects good or bad journalism. Evaluate whether or not the coverage has been objective, fair, balanced, accurate, authoritative and thorough.

Address concepts such as news flow on the days you collected your stories. Where were these stories placed within the news medium? What were the top stories of the day? What came before and after the particular story you reviewed? What difference(s), if any, did that make?

Identify what news values are contained within the coverage you've reviewed (conflict, impact, magnitude, oddity/unusualness, prominence, physical/emotional proximity, timeliness, currency, etc., etc.). Rate which news elements were most important in this story.

Evaluate the level of spin in the story. To what extent has the story been driven by the agendas of the individuals or organizations featured within the story? How accurate are the facts presented within the story? To what extent has deadline pressure affected the coverage of the story?

Provide a clear conclusion which summarizes your main points, refers back to your thesis and offers closure.