Monitoring the Global Media Project

Here is a description of exactly what the Monitoring the Global Media Project entails, and what readers can be expect when they read this blog.

An essential part of understanding the role and influence of IB requires a hands-on study of the actual content international broadcasters. As a research exercise, each student will choose an international broadcaster that they will listen to each week for 2 hours and then post on what they thought of the broadcaster’s programming. Any international broadcaster can be chosen. Since the course benefits the most from a diverse selection of broadcasters, no two students can choose to monitor the same international broadcaster. Thus, broadcasters will be chosen on a first come, first serve purpose. Each student must have chosen an international broadcaster and write a two-page description of the international broadcaster that they have chosen no later than January 29th (see below for details of the two-page assignment). Students are strongly encouraged to choose a non-English broadcaster when possible (you must be able to understand the language of the broadcaster that you choose). Examining foreign language international broadcasts would, of course, add an additional layer of depth to our comparative analysis.

As part of the project, students will be asked to, each week, post a short analysis of how his or her broadcaster presented the news. The class will, collectively, choose a topic each month (February, March and April) that will be the focus of the monitoring of international broadcasters, though you are also encouraged to comment on other topics that you think are relevant to the class (for example, how an international broadcaster reports negative news about its funding government or organization). Attention should be paid not only to how a broadcaster frames particular issues, but also the structure of the programming: is it interactive, does it offer a range of experts, is the format aesthetically pleasing, etc. The posts will be on a blog and made available to the public. The benefits of the blog format are numerous, including the use of hyperlinks to the original text of the IB that you are reporting on. Moreover, the blog format allows for greater interactivity, and you are strongly encouraged to read each other’s posts and respond as you see fit. The blog posts will also help you develop your final paper for the class. The goal of the global media monitoring project, along with helping you write your final papers, will be to compile a comparative analysis of how a diverse group of international broadcasters covered and framed several highly salient international events in the spring of 2008. This compilation, via your final papers, will be submitted for publication.