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Read the attached file and write 5-10 pages by choosing one of the 3 subjects in the file
JRN 380 Final Project Fall 2018
Select one of the three options listed below to complete for your final project in this course.
1. Multicultural Profile
Conduct a face-to-face interview with someone who is from one of the following groups to
which you do NOT belong:
African American
Latino/Hispanic
Native American/American Indian
Asian American
Arab American
Muslim
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender
People with physical disabilities
Your interview must explore your interviewee’s experiences with the media (TV, radio, movies,
music, magazines, books, comic books, video games, and advertisements, which although not a
mass medium, is relevant to our class) and the media’s portrayals or representations of his/her
cultural group. The focus of your interview should be this person’s beliefs and feelings about
how the media treat members of his or her multicultural group. How have the media impacted
her/his life? How have the media helped to define who s/he is? Specific examples are needed.
Some of the questions you may want to ask include:
• How do you prefer to be addressed as a member of your group?
• Where did you grow up?
• How did you feel growing up as a member of your cultural group?
• Have you ever experienced insensitivity, prejudice, or discrimination
because of your race/ethnic background/religion/sexual orientation/age/disability? Please
explain.
• How do you think the media have portrayed/represented people from
your group? Are the portrayals positive or negative? (You may consider asking about
various types of media and whether s/he has noticed a difference between portrayals in
news media and entertainment media.) Ask for specific examples — the more the better
(titles of movies and perhaps character name if relevant; TV shows and characters; songs;
names of video games; CNN, FOX, or other news source; etc.).
• What messages about your cultural group have you gotten from the
media? Ask for specific examples. Again: are there different messages being presented in
different media? Are mediated messages different in news media than they are in
entertainment media? Specific examples will be helpful.
• What role have the media played in helping you to define yourself (as a
member of your cultural group)?
• Have you ever been interviewed by the media? Was your experience
positive or negative? (Please specify.) What advice would you give reporters about
coverage of groups such as yourself? (Again, ask for specifics.) (No need to include info
about this if s/he has never been interviewed by the media!)
At the top of the first page, provide me with your interviewee’s contact information (single
spaced):
Name of interviewee
City in which s/he lives
Cell phone (or landline if no cell)
E-mail address
Your paper must not be a mere transcription of your interview, but you must include at least three
direct quotations from your interview that you believe capture the essence of your interviewee’s
experience with the media (or a particular medium).
At the end of the paper, I’d like you to write a page or so summarizing and analyzing what you’ve
learned. Meaningfully connect what you learned from your interviewee with material you read
about for class or material that was discussed in class. Then, write a few paragraphs about your
reactions to what you have learned and what this experience was like for you.
Paper Length: 5-10 pages, double-spaced, normal margins. Put page numbers on your work.
2. Examine multicultural news sources
Select one news publication or blog from two different groups listed below and read at least four
full-length news articles or blog posts from each that have to do with multicultural issues. They
should be current (from the last couple of months or so) and must deal with stories or issues
within the United States.
Tell me which two news organizations or blogs you’ve chosen to look at.
For each news article or blog post, provide the title, author’s name, source if something other
than the source you’ve listed (for example, the news organization may use an article written by
a member of the Associated Press, AP) date written/published, and a brief summary (in your
own words) so that I have a clear sense of what the main idea or issue is.
Write approximately ½ page of thoughtful analysis about the author’s perspective or point of
view. To what extent does the author’s culture matter to the way s/he presents the story? What is
his/her reality? Is it yours? Do you agree or disagree with this perspective or viewpoint? Explain.
What did this article/blog post make you think about?
Once you’ve completed all your individual entries, write an overall summary and analysis
(about a page) addressing the following: Taken as a whole, when you think about the articles
you’ve read and analyzed, what impression are you left with regarding how issues of diversity
and/or non-mainstream perspectives are covered, considered, and/or ignored in our society? Back
up your response with examples from your entries. Are these issues or stories handled differently
in a non-mainstream news publication than they would be in a mainstream news publication?
Explain. Can both be accurate? Is one right and the other wrong? Explain. What does this tell you
about perspective, point of view, or bias? What might be the effect of these different types of
coverage for an increasingly multicultural society? How important is it for different perspectives
to be heard?
Meaningfully relate some of what you write for the last part of this assignment to issues read
about or discussed in class.
Here’s an example of the layout you might use:
Source #1: Racialicious racialicious.com
Entry #1: “‘In Conversation: Fresh off the Boat,” by Kendra James. February 10, 2015.
Summary: Here, you will write one to four sentences summarizing the main point(s) of the article
or blog post, so that someone who hasn’t read the article could get a clear understanding of what
it’s about.
Analysis & Reaction: In this section you should explain the author’s perspective or point of view.
To what extent does the author’s culture matter to the way s/he presents the story? What is his/
her reality? Is it yours? Do you agree or disagree with this perspective or viewpoint? Explain.
What did this article/blog post make you think about? Include any other reaction or comments
you have to this article/blog entry.
Entry #2: ….
News organizations or blogs
General Multicultural
• Racialicious http://www.racialicious.com/
Native American
• Native American Times http://www.nativetimes.com/
• Native News Online.Net http://nativenewsonline.net/
• Indian Country Today Media Network http://
indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/
• Cherokee Phoenix http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/
• The Circle http://thecirclenews.org/
• National Native News (audio stories) http://www.nativenews.net/
Latino/Hispanic
• Al Dia News http://aldianews.com/
• NBC News Latino http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino
• My Latino News http://mylatinonews.com/
• FOX News Latino http://latino.foxnews.com/index.html
• Huffington Post Latino Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/latinovoices/
Asian American
• The Asian American Blog http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/
• Angry Asian Man http://blog.angryasianman.com/
• Reappropriate http://reappropriate.co/
• NBC Asia American News http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america
African American
• Huffington Post Black Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackvoices/
• NBCBLK http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk
• The Black Agenda Report http://www.blackagendareport.com/
• Black America Web (news) http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=news
LGBT
• The Advocate http://www.advocate.com/
• Huffington Post Gay Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gay-voices/
• Queerty http://www.queerty.com/
• Transnews http://transnews.org/
Arab Americans
• Arab American News http://www.arabamericannews.com/
• The Arab Daily News http://www.thearabdailynews.com/
3. Follow a minority writer
Select a minority writer who publishes analysis and opinions about minority, diversity, or
multicultural issues or topics. Summarize, analyze, and react to eight of her/his columns or
articles (see #2 above for more details) and prepare a brief biography. Columns/articles should
be current (from the last couple of months or so) and must deal with stories or issues within the
United States. Be sure to provide the name of the website where her/his columns may be found
and the URL to the homepage.
Write an overall summary and analysis (see #2), and be sure to connect meaningfully with
issues read about or discussed in class.
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All Papers, regardless of option chosen: Your paper must be typed, 12 point font, doublespaced,
and stapled, or it will not be accepted. Save a tree!: DO NOT use a cover sheet. Put your
name and class (JRN 380) in the header. Put page numbers on your work.
You will receive a lower grade for incorrect spelling, punctuation, capitalization, word use,
sentence structure, and grammar. Please proofread your papers before printing them out!
DUE: No later than Tuesday, Nov. 27 @ midnight.
This assignment is worth 250 points.
