Assignment Guide

CW1 – Portfolio including media

‘Product’ (Part 1+Part2)

For this assignment task you will need to create a portfolio within which you must include the following elements:

 

Part 1: Design and make a media ‘product’ which could be presented on a specified online media platform.

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Part One (LO4)

 

Title of media product ………………………………………………………………………………………………..page number

 

Full Discussion

 

References (part one)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………page number

 

Part Two

Title: Commentary on the role and impact of media in 21^st Century world

A brief introduction of what will be covered in this section……………………………………………….page number

 

‘Power’ in and around media………………………………………………………………………………………………….page number

 

Contemporary social issues with digital and social media…………………………………………………………..page number

 

A reflection on media use ………………………………………………………………………………………………………page number

 

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..page number

 

References (part two) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….page number

 

 

 

Your media product should be ONE of the following:

 

• A podcast (recorded audio) – 5 min long
• A Vlog cast (video recording) – 5 min long
• A Blog (written) – 500 words

 

Blog

–should adhere to academic writing styles with good citations, references and clear subheadings where necessary. It must be included in the portfolio with clear heading reflecting the title of the blog.

 

Podcast

-The podcast should present coherent argument about the topic being discussed

– There should be a mention of sources used for the argument in the discussion.  It should be a well-structured argument and presentation of the topic being addressed.  The student should be able to adequately address the topic within the allowed 5 minutes

 

Vlogcast 

–The same as the podcast

 

NOTE: Suggest to students to write the discussion first, read and rehearse it many times before uploading to ensure perfection before recording

 

Note: Your media product must engage on one of the following subjects to raise awareness of the issues across media networks. You must decide the appropriate media platform(s) for your product, your target audience, and the most effective ways to communicate your “message” to this audience.

REMEMBER: You are not required to post your product on a media platform.

Choose one of these topics:

1. The representation of one social group within media
2. Media representation of crime
3. Media representation of health
4. The blurring of the public and private realms in new

Media

5. Digital media, social activism and democracy

 

Task Requirements:

For video or sound products (vlog cast or podcast), you should provide a link to your media product at the beginning of your portfolio

For written products (blog); include this whole in your portfolio

Your portfolio must be presented clearly using sub-sections for each part

 

 

Part 2: Commentary in which you discuss the role and impact of media in 21^st century. (1000 WORDS):

Your commentary must include the following:

 

1. ‘Power’ in and around media – LO2: Discuss and debate the issues of power in and around media. Suggestions about what may be included: Think about media ownership and the implications in society (why does media ownership matter?;  think about Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and the implication of media power he commands, think about how media industries are overwhelmingly dominated by a few powerful companies and its implication; think about Noam Chomsky – Manufacturing consent and many other theorists; you may also consider  the perspective of Giddens & Sutton and other theorists of your choice.
2. Contemporary social issues with digital and social media

You can demonstrate your understanding of LO1 by discussing the key debates and theories around the character, content, role and impact of media in contemporary societies. Suggestions about what may be included:

– some theories explaining contemporary media, think about Karl Max and his followers; think about Gidden and Sutton, Braston and Stafford, Hodkinson and many others; Also, think about the Frankfurt School; Functionalism and media pluralism and many others. Also, think about the positive and negative consequences of digital and social media in the contemporary society.

 

3. A reflection on your own media use based on your media diary (LO3) over the semester in relation to the themes discussed on this course (you may use the first person where appropriate). Suggestion about how you might approach this question:

Media Diary

During this module, please keep a media diary whereby you reflect on your own media use. You can log every time (or highlight key events) when you come into contact with a form of media (print, visual, sound or digital). I have made a template below, which you can use as an example to help you with your media diary.  Also state the period the diary covers (For e.g., media diary from Sept 1, 2021 – Nov. 30, 2021).

Date	Type of media used	Time spent	Reason for using this form of media?	Does this relate to any of the themes discussed on this module?
05/10/2021	Digital – online Guardian paper	30 minutes	Getting the latest information about the Vaccine Booster roll out	For example, relates to Lecture 3 on media representation
	TV
	Twitter
	Facebook
	Instagram
	Radio FM
	YouTube
	TikTok

Note: the list of media types on the table is not exhaustive, students should list only the ones used.

 

• Student could show a diary of their media use as above.
• Time spent on each platform daily could help to show usage
• Then followed by critical analysis of the extracts (data) from the diary
• Importantly, is relating the media use experience to some theories in your analysis

 

Note from the BNU Module leader on the personal reflection

The expectation here is that the students relate their own experience to the theories/themes covered on the module – therefore this is not just asking for students to re-write their diaries but to take extracts from their diaries to explore how the themes covered relate to real world issues they’ve experienced. It is key that the students use some of the theories/concepts/themes from the module for some analysis. Obviously, the word count doesn’t allow for a great deal of depth. The media diaries should have ideally been tied to the weekly academic content, which should help students to pick out relevant material for their assessment.

 

Note: Please provide separate references list for part 1 and part2 of your portfolio. Use the Harvard referencing Format.