Critical Media Analysis (30 points): One week this semester, it will be your responsibility to open the day’s discussion by talking the class through one key term/phrase from one of the week’s readings and illustrating this term/phrase by relating it to and analyzing one piece of digital media. The goal of this assignment is to create a repository of key terms on the class blog and to illustrate what we learn in class with current events and “real world” media. Please follow the following directions:

• Choose one key term/phrase from the reading you’re assigned to. Try to pick a term that is likely to be on one of the exams. The key term cannot be in the title of the reading.

• Find a piece of digital media that illustrates this term. You may choose a blog post, online comic, digital photograph, commercial, tweet, Facebook/Instragram post, or other digital media.

• On our class blog, create a blog post on the page called “Critical Media Analysis (your class time)” that includes:
  1. A definition of the term/phrase
  2. The media you chose to illustrate the key term. Whenever you can, embed the media (tweet, photo, video, comic, etc) by using the “add media” box to incorporate visuals. When necessary, use a hyperlink that leads to an outside page.
  3. Your written analysis of the media (300-word minimum).

• Make your blog post creative and well designed! See this post for ideas about making your blog post visually engaging. Before posting to the class blog, make sure you have signed into Blogs@Baruch and are on the page called “Critical Media Analysis (your class time).” To post a blog entry, click on “+ New” then “post” at the top of the page.  Use the term/phrase + your name as the title for your post in the top box and write your blog entry in the content editing box below.

• Finalize and post the blog by 11:59pm the night before class.

• Arrive to class a few minutes early, pull up the post.  At the beginning of class, deliver a presentation lasting 4-5 minutes that accomplishes the following:
  1. Define your key term, give some explanation of what it means
  2. Next, summarize the media you posted briefly. Tell us where you found it and in what context. If you use an article, please do not read it; this will take too long. If you use a video, show one minute or less to the class.
  3. Finally, analyze the media. Tell why this piece of media is a good example of the theme you chose from the reading(s). Give us your critical opinion of the piece of media, telling us why it is illuminating or significant. Your goal is analysis, not summary. See this page for the difference between analysis and summary.

Your media analysis will be graded according to the following criteria:

Blog Post:

Key Term Definition -5 points

Creative, Visual, Free of Errors – 5 points

Posted On Time – 5 points

Presentation:

Well-Prepared and Extemporaneous – 5 points

Analysis – 5 points

Length – 5 points