Paper Guidelines

Final Paper

Aim

The purpose of this assignment is provide a case study of the changes taking place in journalism due to the proliferation of digital tools and networks. You should choose a topic that is compelling to you and aim to contribute to the overall understanding of the current journalistic environment.

Choose a networked journalism product, organization, idea, trend, or treatment of a particular story and evaluate it by comparing it to traditional news media products and norms.

Structure

Your paper should be between 4-5 single-spaced pages and should use Chicago style of bibliographic reference. All papers must build on literature in the field and include a literature review.

a. A thesis about what this comparison tells us about the networked journalism environment and how it builds on or challenges some of the ideas and theories introduced to in this class.

b. Historical background of the specific media product or outlet. For example, if you are studying a particular Website this section should include the history of that site—who started it, why, etc.

c. A description and analysis of the “text” or phenomenon.

d.  A description and analysis of the social/cultural impact of this “text” or organization. In other words, why does it matter?  What are its aims and what role does it play in local, national or global politics and culture.

e. A conclusion that discusses how this study contributes to our understanding of the networked journalism environment.

f. You will get extra credit if you post your paper on Medium or some other outlet.