1. Search the Web for sites related to current media research or go directly to the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship at www.cios.org or the Freedom Forum at www.freedomforum.org. Access one of the research reports posted on the site. In your opinion, how does the research compare with the historical studies cited in this chapter? Does it seem to be more/less meaningful, more/less specific, more/less sophisticated? When compared with the studies cited in this chapter, did the contemporary study break new ground? Why or why not? Write a brief summary of your findings.
PowerWeb Articles
2. Go to the Student portion of the Online Learning Center and choose Chapter 13. In the left navigation bar under News, Articles & Links, click PowerWeb Articles. On the next screen, under the topic of Media Effects Research, read the article, "A Defense of Reading." Using material from this article and Chapter 13, prepare a statement about how, in your own experience, the effects of reading differ from the effects of watching television.
In addition, scan the list for other articles of interest pertaining to this chapter.
Industry
Web Excursion
3. What is the state of media studies at your own college? Access your school’s Web site and search for "media studies." Look under appropriate departments (Communication; Radio, Television and Film; Journalism) and under faculty interests. Now choose a second college you are familiar with and access their Web site in the same way. You might want to go directly to a college department such as the University of Florida Communications Research Center at http://www.jou.ufl.edu* or Ithaca’s Center for Research on the Effects of Television at www.ithaca.edu/cretv/.* How do the colleges compare in terms of the types of media research being conducted?
Weekly Update Archives
4. Go to the Student portion of the Online Learning Center and choose Chapter 13. In the left navigation bar under News, Articles & Links, click Weekly Update Archives. On the next screen, under the topic of Media Effects Research, read 10-13-03, "Beyond the ‘Seven Dirty Words’—Defining Broadcast Indecency." After reading this article, prepare a letter to the producer of your favorite television program explaining what you believe to be the effects of explicit language on TV.
In addition, scan the list for other articles of interest pertaining to this chapter.
Controversies
Web Excursion
5. One criticism is that media studies are not written for public comprehension. Search the Web for contemporary research reports or go directly to one of the sites listed in excursion #1. Find a report and analyze it. How would you present this report to the public? Acting as a journalist, write a brief article about the study.
Media World CD-ROM Excursion
6. View track 14, Debating the Effects of TV Violence (from NBC’s Today Show). Dr. George Gerbner, Dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Jonathan Freedman, a psychology professor from the University of Toronto, talk with Bryant Gumble about the effects of violence on television. What does Dr. Gerbner mean by the "Mean World Syndrome"? If TV is supposed to reflect reality, should violence be represented accurately?
7. View track 16, Violence in the Media and its Effects on Children (from NBC’s Today Show). With school violence constantly in the news, the debate over violence in the media became a central concern for the country. Is network television actually less violent than ever in its history? Should parents be responsible for what their children watch?
Weekly Update Archives
8. Go to the Student portion of the Online Learning Center and choose Chapter 13. In the left navigation bar under News, Articles & Links, click Weekly Update Archives. On the next screen, under the topic of Media Effects Research, read 06-24-02, "What Type of Mirror?—Studies of Television Character Diversity." Prepare a statement explaining what you believe to be the effects of television’s distortion of real life.
In addition, scan the list for other articles of interest pertaining to this chapter.
