Media Industries — Fall 2016 — Short Writing Assignments

Short Writing Assignment 1 (50pts; DUE 9/19)

You will choose one media/technology corporation and, in a 300 to 600-word document, summarize the following:

• What image of the corporation does their website convey? Rather than describe what you see on the website (e.g. a pithy description of the company or links to information about media/technology products), describe how the corporation might use the website to convey a specific “image” to the public (e.g. corporate priorities, the social impact of their product(s), specific topics addressed in news/press releases, types of information provided for current/future investors in a quarterly report, etc.).
• What is the company’s mission statement? If it is explicitly stated, you can cut&paste or summarize; if it is not explicitly stated, you will have to determine what could function as an implicit mission statement.
• Pick the person at the top of the corporate ladder (typically a CEO or Chairperson). Locate this person’s biographical information and list her/his past three work positions (the company may not change if s/he changed ranks in the same corporation).
• What other companies or brands are included in the corporate portfolio? If the company has many subsidiaries, just include information about categories used to structure them by division (medium, technology, etc.).
• Is the company currently hiring for any positions that describe a need/desire for entry-level college graduates? If so, what types of positions and do they require specific degrees or skill sets?

NOTE: It will be more difficult for you to locate all of this information about private companies because they are not obligated to report information to shareholders (or the public) when they are not publicly traded.

Short Writing Assignment 2 (70pts; DUE 9/29)

You will choose one “product” created by a media/technology company and submit a 300 to 600-word document about how this product operates within the circuit of culture model we discussed in class. The product you select will vary depending on the company you choose (e.g. a television network series sold on DVD, a new laptop, a comic book app for a mobile phone, etc.) and could be a product of the company you wrote about in the previous assignment.

Your explanation can begin with any segment of the circuit of culture but you should determine the most logical/effective way to describe how your product operates within each of the five circuits. Your explanation should address the following:

• The inception of the product (as an idea or continuation of the company product line) and if this product provides a particular representation for the company or the consumer.
• How this product contributes to or changes the company identity.
• The production of the object, which could include information about how it was made, the media/technological innovations necessary for its creation, etc.
• At least one way regulation has played a part in the creation or selling of the product; you can address formal (e.g. governmental) or informal (e.g. internal/corporate) regulation.
• How the product is meant to be or has been consumed.

You must locate (at least) two popular articles/blog posts to support your explanation. Be sure to use in-text citations in your essay to note where you located the information about each of these elements within the circuit of culture and include a works cited/bibliography with full citations at the end of your assignment.

Short Writing Assignment 3 (90 pts; DUE 10/17)

NOTE: This assignment is divided into three parts. Complete each part of the assignment before proceeding to the next.

PART 1, Instructions: Make a decision about the company/product you want to write about in assignments three through five.

PART 1, Assignment: Provide a question you want to explore about the economic conditions of the company/product.

PART 2, Instructions: You will explore how this question is addressed from the perspective of one industry trade publication (they are listed under the heading “Media Trade Publications” and include sources like Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Gamasutra, Computer Magazine, etc.). After you choose one publication, search for four articles published in the past year about your company/product (I will only allow you to read articles published before 2015 if the product/company you have chosen was not written about in trade journals during the past year). The key to this assignment is your article selection. Do not just select the first four results from your search query; instead, browse through the results to find articles relevant to the research question you provided in PART 1 as well as your interests about the company/product.

PART 2, Assignment: Continuing after your research question in PART 1, provide the following:

• A list of keywords or search terms used to locate articles. (If you struggle to find articles about your company/product, try to search for different words, such as a director’s name, the name of a company executive, the category for your product, etc.)
• A citation for four articles you found most relevant to your research questions. [e.g. Author. “Article Title,” Name of Publication. Day Month Year. Page Number (if applicable). Weblink.]

After reading these articles, select two and provide:

• a 1-2 sentence summary about the subject of the article/post.
• a 2-3 sentence argument about why the topic of the article is newsworthy (for the company/industry).

PART 3, Assignment: Continuing after your article summaries in PART 2, provide the following:

• A 2-3 sentence assessment of this trade publication as a pertinent source for your topic. (e.g. Did a lot of articles seem relevant? Did the articles seem objective or did they convey a specific point-of-view or bias? etc.)
• A 2-3 sentence description about how this research may (or may not) have addressed your question in PART 1 and how you will alter or enhance your search for information in the next research assignment. (e.g. Did you find different descriptions/keywords used amongst industry insiders? Was your company/product only discussed in particular contexts? Did you realize you would prefer to write about a different company/product? etc.)
  

Short Writing Assignment 4 (90 pts; DUE 10/31)

Provide a question you want to explore about technological conditions (or technological changes) that affect the company/product you wrote about in SWA #3. You will aim to find out more information about this question by doing research in the Lexis-Nexis database. Begin by searching for three relevant articles from different news publications. After you have selected three articles,

• Read each article and provide:
  • a citation. [e.g. Author. “Article Title,” Name of Publication. Day Month Year. Page Number (if applicable). Weblink.]
  • a 1-2 sentence assessment of the publication.
  • a 1-2 sentence summary of the article.
  • a 2-3 sentence argument about why this topic is newsworthy (for the company/industry).
• Provide the set of search terms that resulted in the articles you selected. This should be the final string of search terms rather than a random list of search terms you used in different searches.
• In 3-4 sentences, describe what insight this research provided about your question.
• In 3-4 sentences, clarify how you would describe these news sources as similar to and different from the trade journal you used as a source for research in SWA #3.

Short Writing Assignment 5 (150pts; DUE 11/10)

This assignment requires to you to revisit (or revise) what you wrote about the Circuit of Culture model in SWA#2. For this assignment, you will address how the product/company you wrote about in SWA #3 & #4 operates within the Circuit of Culture model and you will be expected to integrate a variety of sources to support your claims. (You may end up focusing on revision and expansion of your arguments if you are still writing about the same product/company you chose in SWA #2).

You will submit a 500 to 800-word document about how the product or company you wrote about in SWA #3 & #4 operates within the circuit of culture model.

As a reminder: your explanation can begin with any segment of the circuit of culture but you should determine the most logical/effective way to describe how your product operates within each of the five circuits. Remember to address each of the following elements:

• The inception of the product (as an idea or continuation of the company product line) and if the company has constructed a particular representation for the product.
• How this product contributes to or changes the company identity.
• The production of the product, which could include information about how it was made, the media/technological innovations necessary for its creation, etc.
• At least one way regulation has played a part in the creation or selling of the product; you can address formal (e.g. governmental) or informal (e.g. internal/corporate) regulation.
• How the product is meant to be or has been consumed.

You must incorporate research to support your claims. Your sources should include at least 2 blog posts, 2 trade journal articles, 2 newspaper/media articles, and 1 scholarly/academic source. You must use in-text citations to note where you located the information to support your claims about each of these elements within the circuit of culture and include a works cited/bibliography with full citations at the end of your assignment.