English homework help
English homework help. JRN 380 Final Project Spring 2020
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 (this can be done virtually or by phone during quarantine) 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!)
Option 1A: Paper: At the top of the first page, provide me with your interviewee’s information
(single spaced):
Name of interviewee
City in which s/he lives
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.
Option 1B: Video: Create a video of the conversation/interview. Your video must not be just a
transcript of your interview, you must be creative, providing images of the showcasing parts of the
person’s story … i.e. — their home, neighborhood, examples from the conversation.
At the end of the video you need to include a summary analyzing what you learned. Meaningfully
connect what you learned from your interviewee with material you read about for class or material
that was discussed in class. Then, include a few comments about your reactions to what you have
learned and what the experience of this interview was like for you.
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. NOTE: to complete option #2 you will read and review a total of 8 articles.
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. You can use this as a template:
Source #1: Racialicious racialicious.com
Entry #1: “‘In Conversation: Fresh of 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
1. Racialicious http://www.racialicious.com/
Native American
2. Native American Times http://www.nativetimes.com/
3. Native News Online.Net http://nativenewsonline.net/
4. Indian Country Today Media Network http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/
5. Cherokee Phoenix http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/
6. The Circle http://thecirclenews.org/
7. National Native News (audio stories) http://www.nativenews.net/
Latino/Hispanic
8. Al Dia News http://aldianews.com/
9. NBC News Latino http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino
10. My Latino News http://mylatinonews.com/
11. FOX News Latino http://latino.foxnews.com/index.html
12. Huffington Post Latino Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/latino-voices/
Asian American
13. The Asian American Blog http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/
14. Angry Asian Man http://blog.angryasianman.com/
15. Reappropriate http://reappropriate.co/
16. NBC Asia American News http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america
African American
17. Huffington Post Black Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/black-voices/
18. NBCBLK http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk
19. The Black Agenda Report http://www.blackagendareport.com/
20. Black America Web (news) http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=news
LGBT
21. The Advocate http://www.advocate.com/
22. Huffington Post Gay Voices http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gay-voices/
23. Queerty http://www.queerty.com/
24. Transnews http://transnews.org/
Arab Americans
25. Arab American News http://www.arabamericannews.com/
26. 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, double-spaced,
DO NOT use a cover sheet. Put your name and class (JRN 380 – time?) 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 submitting them!