By successfully completing this discussion, you will be able to:Identify bias, if any, in your local television station’s reporting on crime or sports

By successfully completing this discussion, you will be able to:
MLO4: Identify bias, if any, in your local television station’s reporting on crime or sports (aligns with CLO2).
MLO5: Locate a crime-related or sports-related new story in your local community, present that story, and explain how your coverage adheres to media coverage best practices (aligns with CLO2 and CLO3).
MLO6: Discuss your peers’ communication strategies and other common issues that exist in media coverage of crime and sports (aligns with CLO2).
Review the “JTC 316 Discussion Rubric #2: Media Analysis” for discussion guidelines and expectations.
Initial Post Requirements
This discussion contains three parts. Complete all the course readings and access all associated resources before participating in this activity.
Watch at least two full episodes of your local TV station’s nightly news (in Colorado, think 9News, Fox31, The Denver Channel, etc.). This may take some planning, especially if you do not have a television, so get started on this activity early. Pay particular attention to either the news channel’s coverage of crime or of sports.Note: If you read Chapter 10 in our class textbook, focus on crime coverage. If you read Chapter 14, focus on sports.
Prepare and present an appropriately three-minute PowerPoint presentation. In your presentation, do the following:Evaluate the quality of the TV station’s coverage of crime or sports. Focus, in particular, on any areas of bias that you see in the news station’s coverage. Be sure to justify your analysis based on the best practices presented in either Chapter 10 or Chapter 14.
Locate a crime-related or sports-related news story in your local community. You may select a story described in the television broadcast, or you may locate one that was not covered. But, the story should be a local—as opposed to national—news story. Pretend that you are a reporter on your local news station and have been given 45-seconds to present your news story on the nightly news program. Do the following:Create a transcript of your story. Be sure that your transcript of the crime-related or sports-related event avoids stereotypes, biases, and adheres to the best practices described in either Chapter 10 or 14.
Present that transcript to the class as if you were reporting the news story on air. Avoid simply reading the manuscript in a monotone voice. Do your best to actually present the story in a way that is engaging to broadcast journalism viewers. Double check that your final story is 45-seconds in length.
Describe two-to-three ways you believe your on-air report adheres to the best practices outlined in Chapter 10 or 14.
Under your video link, write two-to-three open ended questions related to this chapter, this exercise, and your experiences. These questions should jumpstart conversation with your peers.
A couple reminders:
Record your presentation using Screencast-O-Matic or another screencasting tool of your choice. Your video should capture both your screen and include your web camera. Upon completing the video, publish it to YouTube. If you don’t wish for the video to be public, set it as “Unlisted” in YouTube.
Draw upon specific evidence from this module’s readings and resources in your analysis.
Limit your presentation to three-to-five minutes in length. Presentations longer than five minutes will not be graded. Similarly, presentations shorter than three minutes will not contain sufficient detail to warrant full credit for this assignment.
Embed this screencast video into a new discussion post. This means that your classmates should be able to watch your video directly from this discussion board. Your classmates will be much more likely to watch your video if they don’t need to go to YouTube to access it.
Discussion Guidance
Review the “Quality of Interaction, Organization, Creativity, and Insight Expectations” section on the “How to Participate in JTC 316 Discussions” for ideas on how to engage in a discussion with your peers about discussion topics like:
How did your analysis differ than your peers’ analysis? How was it similar?
What did you learn by reviewing your peers’ posts?
What ethical principles does this activity—and textbook chapter—highlight? How should these ethical principles influence your personal life and/or professional practice?
Of course, you should respond to your peers’ open-ended questions, as well.
Grading
This discussion will be graded according to the JTC 316 Discussion Rubric (accessible from the drop-down box, above).