11/20

Final Project: Part 1

During the last weeks of the term you will work with a small group on a research project which will trace a particular catastrophe as it unfolded in the media. The hope is that as a critical viewer you will be able to see not just facts but the presumptions behind the coverage. Your group will first research the story as it unfolded, then analyze the ways the story was told. Our last weeks together will involve several small projects culminating in a ‘report’ on the media coverage of your catastrophe, particularly the differences in the ways it was covered in different newspapers (in this case the NY Times, The New York Post, and one international newspaper, The Guardian).

First, you will be assigned your group. After you have been assigned your group, the next step is to choose your catastrophe. The topic can be any disaster, tragedy or catastrophe of the last ten or so years, excepting the events of September 11, 2001. This includes school shootings, tsunamis, terrorist attacks in other countries, etc. This choice must be made by the end of class today.

Your next project is to assign each group member one of the three newspapers (again, the NY Times, The New York Post, and The Guardian). Then, for Monday December 3, each group member must collect and print out every article on the event in their newspaper for the two weeks following the catastrophe. This includes news reports, but also editorials, etc. Print everything out and bring it to class on Monday.

While I don’t expect you to have memorized the articles, I do expect you to have familiarized yourself with the coverage, and to be able to report intelligently on what the newspaper reported at the beginning of the cycle and then the end of the cycle, when they presumably had the full story.

Links to the relevant newspapers:

NY POST: http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm, then search under ‘Custom Newspapers’ or ‘New York Newspapers.’ Follow the instructions under Advanced Search to limit the search to the Post. Note: The Times is also available here, though the option below is more visually appealing

NY TIMES: The Times can be searched on its website www.nytimes.com, under ‘Archives.’ It also is available at ‘Historical New York Times’ at http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm

GAURDIAN: http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm, then search under ‘Custom Newspapers. Follow the instructions under ‘Advanced Search’ to limit the search to the Gaurdian. Note: The Gaurdian archive is also available at their website: www.gaurdian.co.uk