HistoryWeb Excursion- In your opinion, what are the major technological breakthroughs in American media history? Search for media history sources on the Web or go directly to the Media History Project at http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu.* Access their timeline and image gallery, and choose five scientific breakthroughs that seem to you to be most important. There is no single "right" answer to this question, but explain why you selected the events you did.
IndustryWeb Excursion- Search for sites devoted to media ownership or go directly to "Who Owns What," The Columbia Journalism Review's guide to media companies at http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/.* Who owns the media that you use most? Find the owners of your favorite newspaper, magazine, radio station, TV station, cable service and Web site. Any surprises? Any possible conflicts of interest? What could be the possible effect of that ownership?
ControversiesWeb Excursion- Search the Web for sites devoted to media criticism or go directly to Cursor at www.cursor.org, to Alternet at www.alternet.org, to AIM at www.aim.org, or to FAIR at www.fair.org. Select a current media issue that you find noteworthy, and describe how it could be seen from all three perspectives (as an impact, legal, and ethical issue) discussed in the "Controversies" section of this chapter.
*Some Web site addresses may change. When they do, please search for the Web site by name or topic on your favorite search engine. |
