Research Assignment: News Source
Please write an essay of at least 4 pages (typed, double-spaced, in times new roman 12-point font, and respecting MLA format for layout and citation of sources) on the following topic:
Each student will be assigned a historical event that took place in the world during the period from 1960 to 1989, and was considered by major media outlets to have been immediately news-worthy. Daily newspaper subscriptions remained high in this period, yet this is also the period in which most Americans began to rely on broadcast media (particularly network and local television newscasts) for information about late-breaking events. On the other hand, this periodization culminates immediately prior to the introduction of the World Wide Web, exists well before the mass distribution of camera phones and widespread digital crowd-sourcing, and takes place in an era without multiple competing 24-hour cable news networks.
The object will be to locate and analyze a single news report about the assigned historical event. This can be either a print source or an audio or video recording of a broadcast source. The report must be completely contemporaneous with the event itself; this means it must have been published or broadcast within one day of the event having taken place (absolutely no later than 24 hours after the event occurred). Establish the provenance of the source, as the news report itself should be the primary object of analysis in the paper, NOT the historical event upon which it focuses.
In the essay, first describe and define the news source as specifically as possible: Is it an article in a specific daily newspaper? Is it a particular network television newscast from that night? What was the reputation of the news source, if any? Second, analyze how the news report is framing the news event: What about the event does the report stress and why? Conversely, which elements of the event are not emphasized and why? In retrospect, are there facts relevant to the event that seem to be ignored by or perhaps even completely unknown to the news report? (This may require a bit of additional outside research) If so, what does this potentially reveal about the reporting practices used or the technological means of information-gathering employed?
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Title: Research Assignment
News Source
The attempted assassination of the late Pope John Paul II in 1981 was a major headline that filled the airwaves and print media over the next couple of days. The event took place on a Wednesday evening of 13th May. In a swift response, The New York Times had already written a fairly informative article about the incident that was published in the Thursday, 14th May 1981 edition. The article was written by Henry Tanner, and sought to inform a predominantly ‘ignorant’ public that had only just heard of the attempted assassination probably through radio or television. One of the key selling points that this article held was the fact that it was published in The New York Times. Indeed, Henry Tanner was an informed and respected journalist that was fully capable of handling the situation, and his reputation played a key role in bolstering the credibility of the article. However, it must be noted that the article received widespread attention based purely on the reputation that The New York Times held. Being credited as a reliable and informative the newspaper allowed its readers to get a glimpse into the happenings that so mysteriously surrounded the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.
Framing of the News Event
The framing of the event was specifically designed to provide as much information on the incident as possible. As a result of this pressing need, the writer alongside the editors at The New York Times opted to adopt a ‘narrative’ approach towards covering the incident. Being an incident that was still shrouded in mystery, the public wanted to know what exactly had transpired in the attempted assassination. The newspaper article provides details on the happenings that eventually led to the assassination attempt, and does so in a chronological order. In this way, many of the readers of this article, who did not enjoy the luxuries of radio and television were allowed to obtain information on the incident. The article narrates the ordeal in a step-by-step fashion, right from the shooting of the Holy Father to his admission at Gemelli Hospital. Every detail was included in the newspaper article, from the public’s descriptions of a possible accomplice to the perpetrator to even including medical statements and briefs provided by the surgeons and doctors at Gemelli Hospital. The chronological approach to writing the article allows the readers to place themselves in the scenario and to understand the process that led to the wounding of Pope. The article is also framed in a very positive context, one that exudes hope and promise in spite of the tragedy that had just occurred the previous day. Such framing helped in shaping the media attention that the story received for the next couple of days. It allowed media and print publication conglomerates to preach the message of peace and recovery, particularly for the wounded Pope. This process allowed the media to largely control, or influence, the barrage of media reports, comments and reactions that followed in the wake o...