JOUR 48800: Issues and the News
About this Guide
Course Description:
A capstone course for seniors majoring or minoring in journalism, designed to give the students an opportunity for in-depth news examination and analysis from numerous sources. Ongoing critique of major news issues of the day. Students examine the variety of information sources available and incorporate various points of view from around the world. They present key summaries of issues they are monitoring, producing news stories and analytic pieces.
Topical Pathfinders
Pathfinder on Freedom of the Press
Pathfinder on Reporter Safety
Library Support:
1. Make a research consultation with me by clicking "Schedule Appointment" under my photograph. You can also send me an email describing your topic and times you are available.
2. We'll gather background information in a Google Doc and look at different media outlets as appropriate to find coverage of an event.
Research Model
Now They Tell Us by
Michael Massing describes the American press coverage of the war in Iraq as "the unseen war," an ironic reference given the number of reporters in Iraq and in Doha, Qatar, the location of the Coalition Media Center with its $250,000 stage set. He argues that a combination of self-censorship, lack of real information given by the military at briefings, boosterism, and a small number of reporters familiar with Iraq and fluent in Arabic deprived the American public of reliable information while the war was going on. Massing also is highly critical of American press coverage of the Bush administration's case for war prior to the invasion of Iraq: "US journalists were far too reliant on sources sympathetic to the administration. Those with dissenting views--and there were more than a few--were shut out. Reflecting this, the coverage was highly deferential to the White House. This was especially apparent on the issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction .... Despite abundant evidence of the administration's brazen misuse of intelligence in this matter, the press repeatedly let officials get away with it." Once Iraq was occupied and no WMDs were found, the press was quick to report on the flaws of pre-war intelligence. But as Massing's detailed analysis demonstrates, pre-war journalism was also deeply flawed, as too many reporters failed to independently evaluate administration claims about Saddam's weapons programs or the inspection process. The press's postwar "feistiness" stands in sharp contrast to its "submissiveness" and "meekness" before the war--when it might have made a difference.
Call Number: General Stacks DS79.76 .M37 2004ISBN: 1590171292Publication Date: 2004
