JOUR 150 Research Paper Topics, Summer 2008

Your Final Paper for JOUR 150 is due Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at the start of class. Papers must be about 1,500 words, doublespaced, with attribution and citations throughout and end notes (a list of works cited) at the back. The University of California Berkeley Library has a handy guide for handling MLA Style citations; use this for writing your citations and end notes. Please refer to your AP stylebook for writing the paper. Please number your pages, and include your name and a word count at the beginning. Please cite at least eight credible sources in your papers, which you'll analyze and summarize when writing your papers. Please put all writing in your own words, unless you're using quotations and they're attributed.

This final paper project is worth 25 percent of your class grade, but the grade will be broken down into two pieces. On Friday, July 25, you must turn in at the start of class a list of at least six of the sources you'll be using to write your paper. You must also turn in a short synopsis of some of your research findings (which will help you to focus your paper); the synopsis can be up to 400 words.

The sources list and synopsis turned in July 25 are worth 5 percent of your class grade; your final paper turned in Aug. 1 is worth 20 percent. Source lists and synopses turned in late lose one full letter grade for each day that they're late; final papers turned in late receive an F. The only exceptions are if there is a death in the student's immediate family, or if the student is hospitalized.

Please choose from among the following topics:

Muckrakers and watchdogs: They were called muckrakers in the early 20th century, they're often called watchdogs today. Compare one or more of these investigative journalists of a century ago to one or more today, briefly profiling them; discussing their work and any ethical issues surrounding their reporting practices; and their impact on society and on the journalism profession.
Treatment of female sports reporters: Female journalists have made inroads in recent decades in how they're treated by sources, colleagues and bosses. Does this hold true for female sports reporters? Write about their treatment from the 1960s to today, and how they've joined forces --and filed law suits -- to bring about change.
Presidential election coverage: How well have the media covered the 2008 presidential elections, in terms of the candidates and their issues? Has the coverage been free from stereotypes -- by age, race and gender -- or has it been filled with them? Have media been reflecting inflammatory comments made by the candidates and the general public -- or perpetuating them?
The future of journalism: The news media have been undergoing rapid change in recent years, both in how they are reporting the news, distributing the news and generating revenues to finance their operations. What predictions are publishers, editors, media analysts, scholars and futurists making about news products of the future? What might they look like? What will be their focus (general-interest, or narrower niches?). How will we read or experience them (on cell phones, computers, TVs, refrigerators, other?) and what will their business models look like?

Finding sources: Where might you look to find information on these topics? Here are a few thoughts: books or book chapters; journalism reviews (American Journalism Review, Columbia Journalism Review, Online Journalism Review, for instance); other journalism magazines, such as the Society of Professional Journalists' Quill; journalism quarterlies; stories written by media writers in newspapers (such as Howard Kurtz in The Washington Post); articles on journalism sites or journalism educators' sites, such as the Freedom Forum, the Poynter Institute, the Newseum, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Black Journalists, etc. These are suggested starting points, not an all-inclusive list.

--Chris Harvey