Comm 2101 Guidelines for writing effective annotations

Review chapter 10 of Vivian’s The Media of Mass Communication.

* Work on being specific. It is not enough to say that a story is consistent with other articles you've read/heard/seen. In what way is it consistent? Be precise. Use evidence from the article/story to support your claims.

* Work on being accurate. Spell names of people, places and things correctly. There are many problems which arise when you do not use correct spellings, and your own credibility is at stake.

* Work on using correct diction/word choice. Don't aim to impress, but rather aim to be clear. Use the right words and be direct.

* Avoid passive constructions (such as "It has been reported . . . "). I think it's best to identify the actor (the person or agency which has done something).

* Learn these two terms and use them correctly: byline, dateline

* Avoid ending sentences with prepositions (on, in, beside, below, of, from, etc.).

* Make sure your submission starts with a complete and correct bibliographic citation. Use a style manual if you have questions. There are style manuals behind the reference desk (on the second floor) of the library. Work on punctuating media publication titles--underscore or italicize newspaper, magazine, television and radio program titles. Put story titles in quotation marks. Use page numbers or times, where appropriate.

* Avoid redundancies. There's a difference between repetition for emphasis and needless repetition. This is not necessarily the easiest thing to discern, but I'd be happy to work with you on it.

* 'To quote' is a verbal construction. The noun form of the word is 'quotation'.

* Be careful with the attributions you make. Work on offering precise quotations and accurate paraphrases.

* Work on punctuating possessive forms. Check a style book for assistance.

* Make sure you know the difference between "weather" (climate) and "whether" (a conditional term), bias (noun) and biased (adjective), prejudice (noun) and prejudiced (adjective), and finally, lead (the metal and the present tense of the verb 'to lead') and led (the past tense of the verb 'to lead').

* Avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences. Strive for clear syntax.

* Number your pages.

* Work on subject/verb agreement--e.g., media have. ‘Media’ is the plural form of ‘medium’ and takes a plural verb.

* If you are going for an A, don't forget to use original insight identifying what you have learned from this story in your analysis. Make sure you incorporate your previous knowledge base in evaluating the story--draw from what you brought to this story. For example, what do you know about the Middle East, previous military actions by the U.S., etc.? And be sure to apply concepts from the book and from class to your assessments of the media coverage you're examining.

Pay particular attention to the second half of chapter 10 of your assigned text. Consider applying the following concepts in your annotations:

The U.S. Model; the European Model; and Evolving News Models
Objectivity (definitions, limitations)
Definitions of news
Journalists’ Personal Values:
Ethnocentrism
Commitment to Democracy and Capitalism
Small-Town Pastoralism
Individualism Tempered by Moderation
Social Order
Review discussion on Journalistic Bias (do NOT use opinion pieces for this assignment)
News Hole ----------------------------The Public Interest ------------------------24-Hour News
News Flow & News Staffing---------- Corporate Policy-------------------------- Gatekeeping
Competition ---------------------------Source Pressure ---------------------------On-the-record
The Consensible Nature of News------ Confidentiality----------------------------- Off-the-record
Advertiser Influence-------------------- Shield Laws------------------------------- Background/Deep Background